I don't own The X Files or its characters. The X Files is the property of Chris Carter, and is not my intellectual property. There is no financial gain made from this nor will any be sought. This is for entertainment purposes only.
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Chapter 21 by AnarchyX-Phile
They discharged Dana later that day, giving her strict instructions to stay in bed and to drink plenty of fluids for the next few days. "You can come home with us dear; I got your bed ready before we left." Her mother said as she helped her get dressed.
Dana's face fell as she rested her hands on Maggie's shoulders. "I think I should stay in the city mom, in case they need me to submit statements of anything."
"Nonsense, Fox can take care of all that. And if they need you, I'll drive you back. I don't want you going back to that apartment—not after what's happened."
"I can stay with Mulder," she said softly as she looked down at the white tile floor.
"His living situation isn't much better than yours—he's not going back to his apartment either." Maggie countered as she helped her button up her coat.
Dana sat back on the edge of the hospital bed, completely exhausted already. "Where is Mulder anyways?" she asked, looking at the empty doorway as though she expected to see him there watching her.
"I don't know sweetie, he got a phone call this morning and rushed off. Come on, let's go." She said as she helped Dana stand up and take a few steps towards a wheelchair.
There was a quick knock at the door just as Dana sat down in the wheelchair. "There's my girl," Mulder said as he walked into the room, one hand behind his back as he clutched such a large bouquet of daisies that the flowers were sticking out past his sides.
"Did you bring me flowers?" Dana smiled as she tilted her head to the side to try and get a good look at the bouquet but he just shifted the other way as he shook his head.
"I knew I forgot something."
She held her hands out expectantly and he finished walking to her and crouched down until he was eye level with her. He brought the bouquet around and laid it in her lap.
She brought the flowers up to her nose and took in a deep breath. Maggie chuckled quietly and smiled at Mulder when he looked up at her. "You'll spoil her."
"I think it's too late for that, notice she didn't even tell me hello."
Dana laughed and shook her head. "Hello," she laughed as she held out her arms, smiling when he leaned in to give her a hug.
"Where have you been?"
"Your whole life or just this morning?" He asked as he kissed her cheek, wishing Maggie wasn't standing over them so he could really kiss her.
"This morning, Mulder." She answered exasperatedly.
"I rented an apartment. You are looking at the proud new resident of..." his eyes squinted as he tried to remember the address "625 Parkers Street."
"Oh really?"
"Yeah, Sam and a few friends are over packing up my old apartment now. Do you want to stay with me for a while? I don't want you going back to your apartment."
Dana turned back to look at Maggie, "Mom, can you give us a minute?" She opened her mouth to say something but then shut it, nodding her head as she walked out the door.
As soon as her mother turned down the hallway, Dana's arms wound around Mulder's neck as she pulled him into a real hug as her lips sought out his. When their lips parted, Mulder chuckled lightly, "there's my proper hello."
"Do you think you'll be moved in by tonight?"
Mulder lifted his arm and looked at his watch, it was barely lunchtime. "Definitely, it'll take me weeks to completely unpack but we'll have a bed and clean sheets by this afternoon." He looked at her and gave her a goofy smile. "Please Dana, come to my sleepover." He begged as he grabbed her hands and kissed the backs of her fingers.
She threw her head back and laughed before looking back down at him. "I don't know—convince me," she challenged as her eyebrow arched.
"Yes ma'am," he said as he cupped her face in both hands and pulled her into another kiss, this time letting the tip on his tongue barely graze her upper lip, teasing her cruelly as his fingers moved through her hair.
"Hmmm, I'm not convinced."
"I have spoiled you." he said as he kissed her again, sliding his tongue into her mouth and feeling his stomach tighten as soon as he felt her tongue rub against his. He tightened their embrace and pulled back to suck at her lip before diving back in. Her nails clawed at his back as she tried to pull him closer but the wheelchair armrests were getting in her way.
"Okay." She said breathlessly when their lips parted, "I'll go home with you."
"Good, because I don't mind telling you—I don't like sleeping alone anymore."
"My poor baby," she frowned as she brushed the hair off his forehead.
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Mulder wheeled her out of the hospital room and let her father take over steering the wheelchair while he ran down to the parking lot to pull his car to the front doors.
"Call me if you need anything." Maggie before she shut Dana's car door. She looked over the hood of the car, "soup, soup, and more soup." She said as she pointed a finger at Mulder.
He smiled and crossed his fingers over his heart before getting in to the driver's seat and cranked the car. "So I had them go ahead and set up the bed; I can drop you off there so you can rest while I go to your apartment and pack you some clothes. And then I need to go to the store and pick up some soup, soup, and more soup."
She laughed softly as she leaned the seat backwards so she could lie down. "Are you feeling okay?" Mulder asked as laid his hand on her knee.
"I can't do anything without getting tired," she sighed as she wearily laid her hand on top of his.
"Close your eyes, we'll be there soon." But she was asleep before he even finished his sentence.
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He chose this apartment for two reasons: the security was phenomenal with gate and door access codes, security camera and two guards patrolling the parking lot, lobby, and apartment floors 24/7 and it was large enough for him to grow into once he and Dana got married—whenever that maybe.
When he pulled into his assigned parking spot, he walked around to the passenger's side and opened her door, unbuckling her seat belt and pulling her limp body into his arms. She woke up enough to help him a little but he could tell she was weak so he tried to get her up to the apartment as quickly as he could.
When he came into the front door, the lobby attendant rushed to hold the door open for him as he balanced her in his arms. "I assume this is Ms. Scully?" the man asked nicely as he looked worryingly at the sleeping woman.
When he had rented and signed the lease, he had written both Sam's and Dana's names down so that they would be given a key to his apartment and access into the building. "Yes, she was just released from the hospital so you'll have to forgive her—she's not usually this quiet." Mulder laughed.
"Quite all right sir, I gave all your keys to your sister—quite the firecracker, that girl." He chuckled as he closed the door back and went behind the front desk counter.
"Yes, I'd definitely have to agree with that. Look, I didn't say so earlier, I was a little preoccupied, but I appreciate you letting me move in so quickly." Mulder said as he shifted Dana in his arms.
"It's not a problem, I can understand the urgency. To be honest, I was quite excited to find out that we have an FBI Agent in the building now."
Mulder smiled as he glanced down at Dana, "make that two agents." He said before he walked up the stairs, going to the third floor and walking to the end of the hall.
When he swung open the door, he cringed when he saw the flurry of people in the apartment. His parents were in the hallway, Sam and Terry were moving the couch around the living room trying to find just the spot for it, and quite a few people from work were in the kitchen putting away pots and pans and trying to organize the messy disaster.
When they saw him standing in the door, the noise level lowered slightly. Mulder stepped inside and closed the door, nodding to everyone as he walked down the hall towards his bedroom. His mother put her hand briefly on his shoulder, "how is she Fox?"
"She's fine, just exhausted."
"I just put fresh sheets on the bed, and I put a bottle of water on the nightstand." His mother said as she followed him into the room. She stepped around him and pulled the covers and sheet down so that he could lay her on the bed.
"Thanks mom, could you give us a minute?" His mother nodded and left the room.
As soon as they were alone, he slid her blue jeans off and pulled the blankets up to her hips. He put his hands under her shirt and wrapped them around her back until he found and unhooked her bra. She woke up momentarily and went to put her arms around him but was too weak.
"Let me do the work, huh?" he said softly in her ear as he kissed her cheek. He pulled her shirt off and then tugged her bra off her arms. He reached into a cardboard box marked 'clothes' and pulled out long sleeved blue shirt; he put it on her and finished pulling the covers over her body. He leaned down and kissed her lips before folding up her clothes and laying them on the foot of the bed. "Welcome home, baby." He whispered before kissing her again and walking out of the room.
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When she woke up next, the room was drenched in darkness as the moon shone through the window. She looked around the room and smiled, just this one room felt more like a home than Mulder's last apartment had. She saw her suitcase sitting on a chair in the corner and groaned realizing that he had had to go through all her drawers in order to pack her bag.
He walked into the room wearing a pair of large reading glasses with a book tucked under his arm as he balanced a bowl of soup, napkins, and a spoon in his hands. When he saw that she was awake, a smile spread across his face and he switched the overhead light on. "Glad to see you awake." He crooned as he walked over to her and handed her the soup.
"I've slept more in the last two days than I have my entire life" she groaned as she began eating. "Can you bring me my bag?"
Mulder took his glasses off and threw them and the book on the foot of the bed as he went over and lugged the suitcase next to her side of the bed. He unzipped the lid and started pulling out her clothes. "Jeans, pajama pants, and some nice short shorts." He said as he piled one stack on the floor next to the suitcase.
"Underwear" he said as he added a pile of panties and bras to the stack; he pulled out a black g-string and held it up into the light. "I brought this purely out of curiosity. First, I want to see how in hell you put these on—then I want to take it off you." He said with a wink before adding it to the pile on the floor.
Shirts came next followed by bathroom items and when he got to the bottom he cleared his throat as he looked up seriously at her. "I found something while I was there and I think we should have a talk." Her brows furrowed as she looked down at him; he reached into the bag and brought out her vibrator.
Her face instantly went red. "Mulder stop." She said as she tried to grab it from his hands but he pulled away from her and laughed.
"First—it's yellow. In what world would you ever find a yellow penis? I feel somewhat insulted that they felt the need to make a variety of different, unnatural colors… isn't a penis good enough without making it sunshine yellow?" he joked as he held it just out of her reach.
"Second, there's like six different switches and settings on this thing. How am I supposed to compare to that?" he laughed as he started mashing buttons. As soon as she heard the thing click on, her face grew even redder.
"Mulderrr," she whined.
"What does this thing take, like two C batteries?" He laughed as he mashed some more buttons and turned up the speed of the vibration. He hit another button and the tip started rotating. "Jesus…" he said as his brows furrowed too, "this is unfair on so many levels. I'm surprised it doesn't light up and play Barry Manilow."
"Actually…" Dana said as she scooted to the edge of the bed and held her hand out.
"You've got to be kidding me." He said as he handed it over to her as he watched her hit a small button and saw the damn thing light up. "Why the hell would you want to sleep with me when you could have that?"
Dana smiled and turned it off completely, throwing it back into her open suitcase. "Because you're better. Come here and give me a kiss." She said as she held her arms out towards him.
He shook his head but climbed into the bed next to her and pulled her until she was lying mostly on top of him. He was careful not to touch the wound as his fingers landed lightly on the back of her neck. "How are you feeling?"
"I'd be better if you'd hurry up and kiss me."
"You, my love, are too impatient." He chuckled as he kissed her softly. Even though it was quick kiss, it seemed to be enough for her since she laid her head on his chest and sighed contentedly; she smiled as his steady breathing lifted her body up and down as she moved with his chest.
"I don't think I am—I've waited for you my whole life." She said as she kissed his chest through his shirt.
"We are starting to sound a little like hallmark cards." He said as his hand started rubbing her back.
"I don't care—I like us." She mewed softly. It was a few minutes before she spoke again, "but don't ever touch my vibrator again." She said as she poked her finger into his stomach. He laughed and wrapped his arms tighter around her.
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The next morning they woke to the shrill of Mulder's phone ringing. "Mulder," he said mid yawn as he shifted out from under Dana to sit up on the bed.
It was Detective O'Brian from the police department. "Sorry to wake you, but I think you should come down to the jail—Tom Jackson attacked his cellmate last night."
Mulder cleared his throat and looked behind him at Dana. "We'll be there in an hour." He said before turning the phone off and lying back down. "How are you feeling today?"
"A lot better actually. Where are we going?"
"Down to the jail, I'm going to try and talk to Tom while you go give your statement. You think you're ready for that?"
"I'm fine." She answered as she sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed. She frowned at her pile of clothes on the floor.
She picked them up and started putting them back into her bag when Mulder stopped her. "You can hang them up in the closet—or use the dresser. Whatever you want."
"Did you just give me my own drawer?" she asked with wide eyes.
"Yeah," he smiled, "and if you eat all your breakfast, I may let you leave a toothbrush next to mine."
"Oh, I am a lucky girl." She said softly as she stood up and grabbed all her bathroom bottles. "Give me a quick tour before I take a shower." She said and then followed him out of the room.
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When they got to the station, Dana was already sleepy but she tried to hide it from Mulder. "Now, I'm not going to let him talk to you, but you can obviously watch through the window. It'll be a one-way so he can't see you." Mulder said as he parked the car and turned it off.
"Do you care if I watch?" Truthfully, she wanted to see him work but if she thought it was going to mess him up, if it would change his tactics, then she wouldn't.
"I don't mind. I just want you to understand that I'm going to talk about you, and while not everything will be true or necessarily flattering, I need you to understand that I'm saying it in order to get the information I need. I don't want you to get mad at me."
She gave him a hard look but nodded her head, "I want to see it."
They walked into the building and met O'Brian in the lobby. "Agent Scully, it's good to see you walking around—you were in rough shape when we found you a couple nights ago."
Dana smiled and shook the man's hand. "Thank you for your help. I remember bits and pieces but Mulder's told me how helpful you were to keep us together."
"Has Tom been brought into the interview room?" Mulder asked, not wanting to waste a lot of time. The sooner they got this done, the sooner he and Dana could get home.
"Yeah, he thinks Agent Scully is here to talk to him—that's the only way we could get him up here. Just between us, the man's a bastard and I don't feel bad about lying to him." O'Brian said as they walked deeper into the building, stopping long enough for Mulder to check in his weapon.
When they got close to the interrogation room, O'Brian requested for better chairs to be brought in so that Dana would be more comfortable. The guard standing in front of the interrogation room door stepped aside to let Mulder through but he stopped and looked down at her hand. "I know this is a completely rude and inappropriate question, but could I borrow your wedding ring for about twenty minutes?"
The guard looked at him oddly but, after getting a reassuring nod from O'Brian, she pulled the ring off and handed it to him. Mulder thanked her and put it into his pants pocket.
He stepped into the room, slamming the door shut hard behind him to catch Tom off guard. He grinned at Tom's deflated face when he finally realized that he was not going to see Dana. "What's the matter? Is it because my hair isn't red or is it that I'm a foot taller than you expected?" Mulder asked as he slid out a chair and sat down and laid his hands on the table separating him and Tom.
"I'm not talking to anyone but Dana—I'm especially not going to talk to you."
"Why especially not me? Because I'm the one that took her away from you or because I'm the one that shot and killed your partner? You know, I haven't thought about it like that but I've really fucked up your entire life in the matter of a few days."
Tom still refused to talk and merely crossed his arms over his chest. His mouth tightened into tight line and his hands clenched into tight fists. "I must thank you though, as your life has spiraled downwards, my life has done nothing but get better. Did you know that Dana and I are living together now? She couldn't bear to go back to her apartment after you were there so she moved in with me." Mulder grinned and leaned in closer to him, "God, she keeps my bed warm."
Tom slammed his hands against the metal table and tried to stand but the chains wrapped around his waist kept him seated in the chair. But still he said nothing, so Mulder hit well below the belt with the widest smile he could muster, "though, I gotta say—we don't sleep much."
"You shut the hell up about her. You don't deserve her."
Mulder reached into his pocket and plucked out the wedding ring he had borrowed. He held it out in front of him and twisted it around until the diamonds sparkled against the lighting, "I was thinking about asking her tonight," he mused and could have sworn he saw steam rising out of Tom's ears. "I've got so much damn money that I could keep her in my bed for the rest of my life and it wouldn't put a dent in my bank account."
"She'll never marry you."
"Now why would you think that? Tell me, in what universe would she ever consider being with you? The only reason she went out with you once was because she felt sorry for you." Mulder yelled as he stood up and paced the room. He didn't want to say what was coming next and wished like hell Dana wasn't on the other side of that window listening but he knew it would be Tom's breaking point and he wanted to make sure this guy never had access to Dana again.
Mulder slammed his hands hard on the table, making Tom nearly jump out of his skin. He lowered his voice, hoping Dana wouldn't be able to hear him, "the night before your date with her- I fucked her all night long, and just as soon as she got home, we fucked three more times."
"I should have killed you when I had the chance!" Tom screamed as he shook violently against his chains.
"You don't have the balls to do anything Tom, you never did."
"Like hell I don't. You think it was easy breaking into the FBI Database and deleting an entire profile?"
Mulder suppressed a smug smile. "How easy was it assaulting Dana?"
"I didn't mean to hit her that hard—but I couldn't let her talk to you."
"Is that why you put a hit out on me, huh? Is that why you told Frank Lovell to kill me—so that I couldn't be with her anymore?"
"You're damn right it is. How poetic it would have been too, to be murdered by the same man you were looking for. I guess I kind of helped close that case for you though."
"Oh you've done more than that. You have just confessed to committing more than 8 counts of felony offenses, plus some extra ones I'm sure they'll tack on just for the hell of it. You'll be going to prison for the rest of your pathetic life.
"Don't think this is over just because you can walk out that door. I'll never stop looking for a way to get to you… or her."
"I figured as much; scum like you never stop trying to drag everyone else down. Here's the difference between us—I'm man enough to protect her from people like you."
And with that, Mulder left the room, quietly handing the guard back her wedding ring before walking straight to Dana and embracing her, "I'm sorry you had to hear that. I made us sound cheap and I hate myself for it."
O'Brian had the decency to get up and leave, going into the interrogation room and getting Tom ready to be transported back to his cell.
Left alone, Dana put her hands on Mulder's face and kissed his cheek, "don't hate yourself, baby. You did the right thing; you got exactly what we needed. I love you—and technically, everything you said was true so I can't really be mad at you."
"Well, I think we were making love rather than fucking…"
"Aww, they should put that on a hallmark card," she teased as she leaned forward and kissed him. Her eyes closed immediately after she felt his lips touch hers and she missed the guards escorting Tom out of the interrogation room, missed the hurt look of betrayal on his face when he saw her clinging to Mulder, missed the flicker of pure, unadulterated hatred as his lip flared up in disgust.