"Sir, I really believe that this is in the best interests of the FBI!"
His most troublesome agent stood looking at him earnestly while Scully sat with her usual stoic expression. Assistant Director Skinner took a deep breath.
"Agent Mulder, if you give me enough quantifiable evidence, I am sure there will be no problem in an investigation into 'vampiric activities."
Skinner sat back in his chair preparing himself for another 'Mulder speech'. It began.
"As you may or may not know…"
Skinner's gaze drifted to Scully who was staring blankly at the stack of case files he had yet to sign off. As she lifted her head, she met his gaze and just slightly nodded towards Mulder. She gave Skinner a half smile and then started tapping a pencil against her leg.
"…Large area of tunnels..."
Her brows were furrowed, and she was clearly nursing a severe headache. The tapping accelerated. He really hoped Mulder would finish soon.
"...Deadly threat to the community…"
Mulder was still rambling, and Skinner could tell that this meeting was not going to end well. Mulder paused and looked at Skinner. Great, he's seen neither of us are paying attention.
"Well, Agent Mulder you've certainly made your point. Unfortunately, I do not see that this warrants investigation."
Mulder went rigid and slowly turned to Scully. Skinner saw him look into her eyes but strangely she looked back in defiance. This was a dynamic he had often seen from these two, but it was mid-case and more jokingly. He then realised what he had not picked up on when they had first entered the room. Scully had walked straight to her seat while Mulder shuffled slowly over and stayed standing.
He had been so focused on the outburst of Mulder's passion after that, he had ignored their previous moods. That was not a good decision.
"Mulder, I just don't think this is a good use of our time, for one there is no proof that vampires exist; these are probably just animal attacks."
Mulder turned slowly and raised his eyebrow.
"Scully, after all this time do you have so little faith in me?"
Mulder had really done it this time. The pair had been in far worse situations emotionally but the combination of rising tension and everything that had been going on recently, this was not going to do anything good for their partnership. Skinner looked to Scully, but she was not showing that she had been affected at all.
"Agent Mulder, Agent Scully you're dismissed."
oOo
Mulder lay on his couch moping. He had given what he had thought was a very detailed explanation behind this investigation. Clearly nobody else thought so. Mulder regretted what he had said to Scully but he knew his comment was justified. After all this time, after years of working together and countless instances where the findings could not be denied, still she did not believe.
Even after Antarctica, and Scully being hours from death, she had still ignored the obvious. However, she had made a lot of progress since he had first met the young FBI agent.
As difficult and as frustrating as it's been sometimes, your goddamned strict rationalism and science have saved me a thousand times over.
Those words were true enough but they were coming from a man desperate to stay with his partner and not considering that her rationalism could hinder their partnership irrevocably. Of course he could not blame Scully for that; in fact he blamed himself for wanting to believe so desperately that he was forcing someone else down the same path. He could never do that to Scully. He could never…
As his brain drifted into unconsciousness he was startled by a forceful pounding at the door that made his whole body jump. Of course he landed face first on the floor. He grunted and pushed himself up; tripping over the pile of newspapers that were collecting next to his couch, he half limped, half slid to the door.
Scully was standing there with her arms crossed and eyebrows raised at the state he was in.
"Scully, before you say anything, this may not be the best time. Do you think this could wait until tomorrow?"
She shook her head and walked past him. Standing there for a second, Mulder prayed this would not end with one or both of them storming out of the apartment. He entered his living room to find Scully had moved another stack of newspapers from the desk chair and sat down. He doubted she would be sitting for long.
"Mulder before you try and apologise I need you to hear this."
He sat down.
"I've been working with you for longer than I think I've done anything in my life. We've both lost more than I could have ever imagined but I still find myself walking down to that small office with hope that we're making a real difference in uncovering truths that need to be uncovered."
He tried to interrupt and assure that he understood but she held up her hand.
"I know that you want to understand everything that's hidden, but you must know that you're not going to get every case, solve every mystery. Our time on the x-files has changed both of us- for better or for worse. My beliefs have changed so much that I don't recognise the woman that first met you. And just because I don't see everything the same way that you do, doesn't mean I don't have faith in you. I believe that you believe."
She broke off for a moment and just gazed into his eyes, then pushed a strand of hair behind her ear and continued with a much softer tone. Mulder could hear the slight break in her voice.
"If you had walked out of that office you would have been taking a part of me with you. I rely on you to have an unquestioning belief."
Again she broke off but this time her gaze reached right into his soul and she held it there.
"I rely on you Mulder because I can't allow myself to surrender to my beliefs."
She turned and wiped away the brimming tears. And then with glistening eyes she looked back.
"If you gave up… If you gave up I don't know where I'd be."