Attraction
Part 2
by Trycee
Time Line: Scully's first few months working on the X-Files. This is pre-death of her father and sister, of course.
Disclaimer: I DO NOT OWN THE X-Files, this is written for fun not profit
Melissa and Scully stepped out of the bedroom and William Sr. stood up and walked over to his youngest daughter. "You okay, Dana?"
She smiled up at him. "I'm fine daddy. Its old boyfriend drama..."
He looked at her carefully to see if she were hiding anything. He could always tell her true feelings by looking in her eyes. He could see she was rattled but otherwise fine. He walked her back over to the seat she was sitting at. Scully picked up the menu's again and chose one. Melissa dialed the number and ordered. After small talk, the pizza arrived and Melissa doled it out to everyone on small plates. Scully thanked her sister for the fresh mozzarella pizza with fresh tomatoes and herbs. Maggie smiled too but she wasn't too pleased with the casual party but she sat back and let Melissa host it anyway.
"You ready Dana for the best cake, you ever had?", she asked excitedly.
"Not better than your mothers!", William said, turning to look at his wife. She smiled shyly. "What kind is it Missy?"
"I had it specially made for Dana," she grinned. "Come on, everyone over to the table."
Melissa put a few candles in the cake and lit it. After they all sang Happy Birthday, Scully blew out her candle and her sister sliced the cake, giving her the largest piece. They all sank back down on the couch and Scully tasted the cake. "OMG, Missy, this is fabulous!"
Melissa looked pleased. Maggie tasted the cake too. "This is better than mine, I have to admit."
"Sorry mom," Melissa said, looking over to her dad. He smiled but continued to eat his cake.
"I can't believe how fresh it tastes...", Scully continued. "You did good Missy."
Melissa sat down next to Scully. "You feeling better?"
Scully shot a look at her parents and then turned back to Melissa. "You talking about Ethan? Oh yeah...already forgotten."
"I don't mean that...you're disappointment in the fact that it wasn't Mulder at the door."
Scully shifted uncomfortably in her seat. She could feel her parents eyes on her. "Whose Mulder?", her father asked.
Scully looked at them then, her eyes a little low. "He's my partner. You heard me mention him before," she said, giving Melissa the eye.
William looked at his wife but she kept her eyes on Dana. Scully stood up, "You wanna another beer?"
Melissa pulled her back down. "Its your birthday, I'll get it."
Scully watched as her sister escaped into the kitchen and then she turned back to face both her parents. "So Ahab, what did Bill and Charlie say when you talked to them on the phone?"
Before he could speak, Melissa returned with more beers. "Now, I think its time to open presents..."
Scully looked annoyed at Melissa who was nearly laughing out loud but kept it in. Her face though had a large grin and she let a few chuckles escape now and again. Maggie handed Dana the present she'd brought. "For you honey...Happy Birthday Dana."
"Thanks mom," she smiled. "Thanks dad."
She opened the present to find a beautiful glass bowl inside. "Its Gorgeous... Thank You."
Scully picked up the gift her father had given her when he came in. "Who's this from?"
"The boys sent money and told me to pick it up for them," he smiled.
"I can imagine what Bill and Charles would pick out for me," she sighed. She opened it to find a gag gift as expected, a life-like mechanical snake. "I'll kill them," Scully grunted.
They erupted in laughter. "Leave it to them to send you that," Maggie said, shaking her head.
Melissa stood up and went into her bedroom, returning with a small gift wrapped up. "This is from me."
Scully opened the small package. It smelled of incense but a small Buddhist Mala bracelet lay in it. Scully picked it up and held it. Melissa smiled. "Its Buddhist prayer beads...like a rosary."
Scully smiled warmly at her sister but like a wave the tension between their parents and Melissa returned. "Thanks Missy...", she said, placing it on her wrist. She glanced over to her father and his face had turned red and he was looking at Maggie as if he needed an excuse to leave.
"Well, " Maggie began. "I think its time for us to head back home before traffic gets too tough."
William stood up and hugged his youngest daughter. "Love you Starbuck."
"Love you Ahab. Get home safe, okay, daddy?"
"I will," he nodded.
Maggie kissed her daughter and hugged her. "See you soon...We're coming to your house for the holidays, don't forget."
"I won't mom."
William held out his arms for his oldest daughter. "Love you Missy. Thanks for having us."
"You sure you have to leave so soon?", Melissa asked.
"Ah...yeah, traffic..."
He smiled and then stepped out of the way for Maggie to hug her eldest daughter. "Thanks Missy. I'll see you soon."
"Alright mom. Be safe!"
They turned and walked out the door and then Melissa sat back down next to Scully, a big smile on her face. "I knew that would do it!"
Scully looked surprised. "You did that on purpose to get them to leave?"
"Your real present is that now you and I can get drunk and their not here to say anything about it," she laughed.
Scully shook her head. "You're such a bad influence..."
"Hey, you're grown now...But come on...I still want to know about Mulder."
"What more is there to talk about?", she said, fingering the Mala beads. "This is nice, though I thought dad was gonna explode."
"Yes, Devote Irish Catholic explodes from wild wayward daughter influencing younger sister with Alternative Religion...news at 11, I got it...", she said, sipping on the beer. "Tell me about Mulder and stop changing the subject."
"What more can I say?"
"You told Ethan and all of us since we heard every single word that you had feelings for someone else."
"I had to say that," Scully blushed. "He wouldn't leave..."
"No, you meant it...Whats so bad about letting him know it?"
"Like you said, my past history. I'm a compulsive work dater," she said, frowning. "Does that even make sense?"
"You're getting tipsy," Melissa laughed. "But no, its true...you have a history of dating men at work or school...easy pickings..."
"What about you?", Scully asked curiously. "Who did you just kick out prior to mom and dad showing up here? I know you did because there's men's shoes in the closest."
Melissa smiled. "I didn't kick anyone out. I dated a guy for awhile...he lived here but nothing came of it. I'm just as bad as you...I don't think we'll ever find what mom and dad had."
Scully frowned. "I want that...what they have. That's why I don't think Mulder is the one."
"Explain why he couldn't be?"
Scully thought about him and then shifted so her legs dangled over her sisters. "He forgot my birthday!"
"He's a guy...since when did guys remember things like that?", Melissa said, tickling Scully's leg until she laughed and moved them.
"Okay, okay...", she said, straightening up. "He has a porn collection..."
"Hell, I have a porn collection..."
"You do?", Scully looked surprised.
"There's nothing wrong with that, Dana. God, live a little...but what else? Is he a heartless person? Is he self-centered?"
"He's a little self-centered..."
"Does he care about your feelings? Does he look after you?"
Scully was quiet a moment. "Yes he cares about me and my feelings. And then there's other times when he ditches me and runs off chasing after some lead or something. And he nearly gets himself killed every time...and then I come to..."
"To what?"
"To take care of him," she said, looking off from Melissa.
"I want you to pay attention the next time to what he does... Like that song...its in his kiss...it will be in his actions, Dana. What does he do on a daily basis to show you he could possibly be love material?"
"Love material? Don't you mean dating material?"
"No, I mean love material...what does he do that shows you he cares or that he's capable of caring? Judge him from that. You said he was a loner before and so he's probably not used to considering other people's opinions or feelings...but see if he cares about yours. It doesn't have to be anything major...it could be something simple."
"Okay, Okay!", Scully yelled. "It's my birthday, let's get drunk!"
Melissa smiled. "I've got the hard stuff hidden...Bailey's and ice to start, " she said, jumping up.
Scully smiled. "Missy, you are crazy but I love you."
Melissa filled two glasses with ice and poured Irish cream over it. "I love you too kid...now let's get plastered. "
Scully walked into the office the next morning, her head was spinning. She flopped down in the chair in front of Mulder's desk and he handed her a fresh coffee. "Hey Mulder," she said, holding the side of her head.
Mulder looked at her curiously. "Okay, Scully...what happened at your sister's yesterday?"
"I got a little drunk," she said, sipping on her coffee. "Don't worry...I can still work on the medical report."
He nodded but still stood directly in front of her, staring at her. "Scully...did I miss something?"
She shook her head. "What do you mean, Mulder? Miss what?"
"I get the feeling I missed something..."
She reached past him to his desk and picked up the file. "I have no ideal what you mean," she said, moving over to her area and opening her laptop. She looked back over to Mulder and he was still watching her. "Girls not out, Mulder. You know, sisters doing sister things."
The phone rang and Mulder picked it up, his eyes still on Scully. "Mulder?"
He listened on the phone and then hung up. "I'll be right back, Scully."
He looked back at her as he left. She sipped on her coffee and concentrated on her observations of the four year old boy, and began typing her report. Mulder returned a few minutes later and handed an envelope to her. "There was a guy named Ethan...he wanted me to hand you this."
Scully looked down shaking her head. "He came here?"
"Yeah," he said, looking as if he wanted an explanation.
She held the envelope and turned to face Mulder. "He's my ex...yesterday was my birthday."
Mulder's face fell and she could tell he looked very guilty. "Scully, I'm sorry, I'm really bad at remembering birthdays...I never remember my own..."
She smiled. "Mulder, its okay. I don't expect you to remember," she lied. She could tell that he wasn't convinced. "He showed up at my sister's house yesterday with my parents...he said he wanted me back."
Mulder stood stiff, staring back at her. She could see his nervousness and it surprised her. "I told him to get lost," she continued.
Mulder smiled suddenly. "So...he calls me to come upstairs and give you an envelope."
She slowly opened the envelope and pulled out a photo of her and Ethan. Mulder leaned in to look at the photo. It was a photo of Scully with longer hair standing next to Ethan. He was busy on his cell phone and she was looking unhappy. She stared at the photo and looked up at Mulder and smiled. Her smile caught him off guard. Mulder looked away. She looked at him carefully, she wanted to explain that what she saw was a photo of her unhappiness with Ethan. Instead, she ripped up the photo and placed it back into the envelope, handing it to Mulder. "The past is the past," she said, "Throw it out."
Mulder grabbed up the envelope and a small smile crept over his face. He tossed the photo in the garbage.
"Let's get back to work, Mulder, " she said, looking back to him.
"Alright," he said, sitting back behind his desk.
After working for several hours, well past 5, Mulder looked over to Scully. "Hey Scully...can I get you something to eat? You hungry?"
"My sister converted me to healthy eating now...", she smiled.
Mulder gagged. "Okay...well, can I get you something healthy to eat?"
"You paying?"
"I'm paying," he smiled. "Since I screwed up the birthday thing...", he said, standing up. "Come on...your choice in place."
Scully smiled to herself and followed behind him. "Mulder...you surprise me."
"How?", he said, turning back to her. He stood so close she could feel the heat radiating off his body.
She smiled again. "You just do...", she said, walking past him.
Mulder stood still watching as she walked past him. She turned to look back at him and his eyes drifted back up to her face, he'd been caught looking her over. She didn't look upset, instead she raised an eyebrow, smiled inwardly and pushed the elevator button.
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