Chapter 7 – This is not happening

The morning went great. The boys were extremely happy and loved their presents. Bill was being as nice as he could be. Mulder tried to keep his distance to Scully, but it was damn hard, when she was wearing a sweater like that – tide the right places – and had forgot to cover her cute little mole on her upper lip. His lips were actually quivering and begging him to kiss her. Mulder's bruise, were practically gone. This helped Bill a lot. It was easier for him to cope with the whole situation when he did not have to think about how that bruise had been inflicted.

"Where are you going?" Mulder asked Scully as she was heading to the door wearing her warm brown coat.

"I'm going for a walk with Naomi. Will you be fine here, or do you want to come along?" she asked him, concerned what he might get himself into with her relatives.

"Oh, I'll be fine, Scully. Don't you worry! And if I feel uncomfortable I can go to our room", he said.

"Okay, Mulder. But don't get yourself into trouble, okay?" Scully whispered so her family did not hear her ridiculous worries.

"You're the one going out, Scully! You be careful!" he said in a joking tone.

Once Scully had left he felt a little nervous. He had only been alone with Charlie and Maggie before and he could manage that. But now he was sitting alone in the living room with the scary Bill Scully. He tried to focus on the TV and wanted to say something about the program they were watching, but he couldn't concentrate on it. He could feel Bill's eyes on him.

"So… Mulder? What are your intentions with my sister?" he asked. Mulder would have thought he was kidding if it wasn't for the seriousness in his voice. He actually liked the silent treatment better.

"Well I intend to be nice to her… if that's what you mean", he said nervously knowing very well that wasn't what Bill wanted to hear.

"Not exactly, Mulder", Bill kept on going. "I was wondering if you would ever make an honest woman out of her."

"Well… I haven't been able to before. Being wanted by the bureau and all. I always wanted to though. I guess I will ask her someday", he answered more honest than he had intended to. As a matter of fact he already knew when and how he would pop the question.

"That's good. Don't wait too long though. I don't want by baby sister to get disappointed or hurt", said Bill.

"I know. I know I'm not what you expected her to end up with. But I swear to you, I would never do anything to hurt. And I love her with all my heart", Mulder now felt he was close to getting the long waited approval from Scully's most intimidating brother.

"I know you do, Mulder. I'm sorry I've been such a pain. I've just never gotten over what happened to Melissa. And with Dana being my only sister left, I just want the best for her. For a long time I haven't thought it was you. But now I'm beginning to think that if you really makes her happy, then you could be the one for her", Bill paused for a moment, while Mulder stayed calm. "I still don't like you much! And if you ever hurt her in any way, I swear I'll make you regret it. But for now I'll be civil towards you. I'll act mature, I promise you. But you can't be having sex with my sister when I'm in the next room."

Mulder blushed at his last comment, but was glad he had earned his respect. Even though Bill didn't like him he respected him and was not going to interfere in their relationship anymore.

"Thanks, Bill. And it won't happen again." Mulder stated.


"How do you know if it's true love?" Naomi asked her aunt as they were walking down the street.

"Are you seeing someone, Naomi?"

"Well… there's this boy in my math class – Damian – he is really cute and nice. We've known each other since we were kids. But lately we have been talking more, and he seems really… friendly. And sweet!"

"That's nice for you! It's a good thing if you become friends first. But don't wait too long to make a move. It only gets harder as the time goes by." Scully said talking from experience.

"You and Mulder worked together a long time before you got together didn't you?"

"Yeah we did. We were partners for seven years. After the first year we were inseparable. They tried to split us up, but there was just no way." She remembered first meeting Mulder and had a dreamish look on her face.

"When did you know it was love?"

"The love was always there. It just grew stronger and stronger as the years went by, and it became hard to suppress it. We knew we couldn't be together, when we were partners. But when he got fired, we finally became more than friends. Then he was gone for a while, and after that we had to go into hiding. But now were finally free. Were a couple and there's no one who is trying to stop us. It feels good – I've actually not even realized that until right this moment. You know, how good it feels to be free and with the one you... love!" Scully's heart felt warm talking about her and Mulder.

"I would like to have that with Damien. I would like to be friends with him first. I actually think we are friends. Maybe I could ask him over tomorrow? You could meet him if you want?" Naomi asked enthusiastic.

"I would really like that, Naomi. But you better ask your parents first!"

"Yeah… of course… but do you think he will say yes. It would be embarrassing if he didn't want to", Naomi said nervous.

"I'm sure he will say yes, Naomi. And if he doesn't want to, then it's his loss." Scully smiled at Naomi and she returned the smile.

When they turned the next corner they were met by several police cars and an ambulance. Scully could feel in the pit of her stomach that something wasn't right. That someone had died. It was a gift she had picked up from her other half. She and Naomi had instantly stopped moving.

"Stay here, Naomi! I'm gonna find out what's happened, okay?" Scully asked making sure her niece didn't have to see anything horrible.

"Do you think someone's been robbed… or hurt?" She asked not feeling what her aunt felt.

"Maybe. I'll be right back, honey!" She said and moved towards a police man who seemed to be in charge.

"Who's been murdered, sir?" She asked in her old FBI tone.

"Well, that's confidentially, miss. You and your daughter need to go home now. We're very busy, and the pathologist ain't coming home until the day after tomorrow!" the sheriff said in a rejecting and stressed tone.

"Well, I'm a doctor and I've worked for the FBI. I could help you if you want", Scully said as she showed him her ID. The sheriff was now very interested.

"Really? That would be great Miss Sc… I mean Dr Scully. But I must warn you. It's not a pretty case. A lot of blood!" The sheriff explained.

"I'll be fine. I can come to the morgue in an hour or so. I just need to follow my niece home. Will that be okay?" Scully asked.

"Yeah sure. We'll bring the body to the morgue. Once we got him gathered off the road that is." The sheriff stated as he wrinkled his nose.

"Gathered?" Scully asked in shock.

"Yeah, it ain't pretty. His arm is completely ripped off. And his leg is barely hanging on the body. If it's too much I understand. I wish I could make someone else to take my place in this case", the sheriff said honest. Scully now noticed the wrinkles he had around his eyes. He was probably some years older than her. Around 50 she would assume. His hair was more grey than black, and his eyes were dark and brown. He seemed friendly. Scully had got to know quite a few sheriffs over the years, some friendly and some not so friendly. But this one seemed okay to her.

"Maybe I should see him here first. If it is not possible to get him to the morgue in one piece", Scully said in her rational voice, which only Mulder dared to argue with.

"Okay. If you really want to. But I must warn you again! The body is hardly recognizable."

"It's okay sheriff…" Scully read his nametag. "Sheriff Groban!"

When Scully saw the body she stayed calm. It was horrible, but she wouldn't want to seem weak in front of the sheriff and the other cops. She noticed a thing in one of the deep cuts on the young boy. She got one of the deputies to bag it for her and send it to the lab. It looked like a claw. But not from any animal she knew about. She now knew she had to tell Mulder this. She did not want to, but knew he might be able to solve this thing. Back in the say it would definitely have qualified as an x-file.


When Naomi and Scully got back, Mulder instantly felt something had happened. He could see it in Scully. The very way she moved.

"What is it, Scully?" he asked her as Naomi had walked into the living room and he was alone with her in the hallway.

"There's been a murder in the neighborhood. Or an attack. It's hard to tell. I've got myself mixed up in it, and I need to go down to the morgue and perform an autopsy on the body. What's left of it that is. I won't lie to you, Mulder. This looks like an x-file." She said and looked into the familiar flame burning in his green eyes. It had been a while since she had seen 'the paranormal light-bulb' as she liked to call it. It went on everytime the man saw a chance of something being paranormal.

"I'm going with you, Scully!" he said, and she knew she couldn't stop him even if she wanted to.

"The last time you took on a case it almost split us up, Mulder! I'm worried it might again." She said and looked down to her feet.

"I know! But it won't happen again, Scully. You'll probably come up with some reasonable explanation for this whole thing and I can profile the killer. It'll be over before we can say extra terrestrial." He tried to joke and it brought a slight smile to Scully's lips.

"Alright, Mulder. I'll ask Charlie if I can borrow his car. Go get ready then!"


"This is so an x-file, Scully", Mulder said as they sat in the car on the way back from the morgue.

"I don't know, Mulder", she said as she gave him a look. "Sheriff Groban said that Vince Kane had a lot of enemies. Even though he was only 18, he often pissed a lot of people off and went out with a lot of daughters and sisters, which he left heartbroken. Someone could have staged it to look like an animal attack"

"Come on, Scully! It's a werewolf!" Mulder said enthusiastic.

"Mulder…"

"What about the claw you found on the body, Scully? You said it didn't match any animal you know about."

"Maybe it's from an animal I don't know about then. Or it's from a homemade werewolf costume."

"Oh my god, Scully! A homemade werewolf costume! That's your big scientific explanation?"

"So far it's the best explanation, Mulder!"

"Scully…" Mulder paused a bit and he made eye contact with her. "This really feels like old times, doesn't it, Scully?" his voice were very calm and pleasant now.

"Yeah, Mulder. It does! But you have to be more careful what you say now!" she said teasingly.

"And why is that?" he played along.

"Because if you're not nice to me, I won't be nice to you later", she smiled a sexy smile that made Mulder's heart skip a beat.

"Is that a threat?" he asked in the same teasing tone.

"It can be – if you want it to!" she moved her hand from her own thigh to his. It made him grab the steering wheel tighter.

"You know you could have won a lot of discussions back in the day, if you had just used that strategy", Mulder said as she moved her hand longer up his thigh.

"Oh, I know that, Mulder. But then we wouldn't get much work done would we?" Her tone was still teasing.

"Sure we would have, Scully! You know I actually had this fantasy about you when we were partners… I always thought about it when we were doing boring paperwork."

"Are you serious, Mulder? You fantasized about me?" she was truly astonished by this.

"All the time, Scully. All the time. I still do!" he admitted.

"But you have me now, Mulder. There's no need to fantasize anymore."

"You work long shifts, Scully! I need to… keep warm till you come home."

"That's disgusting, Mulder. You can't wait one day?" she removed her hand from him.

"Don't stop! I like it when you touch me like that", he said and smiled to her.

"I noticed that!" she said and nodded towards his suddenly tighter jeans. "But we're almost there, Mulder."

Ten seconds later they pulled up in the driveway by the house. They held hands as they walked in. She knew Mulder thought about the case, but she didn't want to talk about it anymore. Not today. They had told sheriff Groban they would meet him at the police station the next morning. But for now she would like to enjoy a nice Christmas dinner with her family. Truth be told it was hard for her too, to stop thinking about the case. It did seem strange. And she had that feeling, like something wasn't quite ordinary. She had never told Mulder about this feeling. She knew she had to be the rational part of the team they made. Even though she too had become a believer, it did not make it hard for her to be skeptical. The discussing with Mulder was simply too fun to hate. The case with Father Joe had been different. She hadn't believed him to be psychic. And with religion involved it really had been uncomfortable. But now she realized she had actually missed these kinds of cases with Mulder. It was a long time ago since they had been on a case like this. Even though they technically weren't a part of the investigation she had a feeling Mulder would contribute a lot to the solving of it. She didn't like that they may had to face danger. She knew this case could become dangerous and she would be happy if she and Mulder could stay in the background while the sheriff and his deputies did all the 'action'. Somehow she had a feeling that wouldn't happen though. Because… when had it ever?


So.. Do you still like this story? Does the new paranormal element function so far, or is it stupid? Had some doubts about it, but thought it might be interesting! Please just tell me if you like it :)
So far I love the reviews I've got. REALLY! They rock my world ;) Thanks a lot reviewers and people who keep reading this story!