Part Two of 25 Days of Ficmas
Working in an office, Fox Mulder literally crashes into the new employee, a redheaded woman he's never seen before, but who immediately captures his attention.
Christmas music played, people laughing and drinking, some flirting and standing too close, especially the married ones who should not be doing so.
Fox Mulder watched them all, sipping from his glass of wine. He saw Marge, who worked at the front desk, telling a joke to Jake, who worked in accounting, both of them laughing hysterically. Lola and Reggie were both nodding in agreement to whatever they were discussing. Paula and Tanya were whispering and looking over at Ryan who was speaking to the newest hire to the company.
The one who happened to be Fox's secret Santa recipient.
And the one whom he had fallen for the moment he ran into her just over a month ago.
Coming out of the copy room, his arms full, eyes down as he read and made sure the paperwork was correct, he had been hurrying to get back to his desk for a call, when he ran into someone. Bouncing back, his papers had flown everywhere as he heard a loud gasp as well as a splash of liquid.
Catching himself on the corner of a cubicle, he had slammed into it with his back, closing his eyes with a grunt. Opening his eyes, he had seen a woman covered in coffee, her blue blouse dripping onto the floor, his papers, and her shoes.
She had stood open mouthed, her coffee mug still in her hand, raising her eyes to his.
"I… I'm so sorry," he had said, not knowing who she was or from where she had come. "Let me… let me find a towel."
"Oh, I don't think a towel will really offer any assistance," she had said with a chuckle, shaking her head and her empty hand, coffee flying from it.
"I…"
"Fox! Your call!" Ryan had called from across the room.
"Yeah… I… Give me a second," he had called back and stared at her. "I'm so sorry."
"You have a call. Go. Not much you can do to help me at the moment." She had smiled and shrugged, looking down at herself, laughing with her arms stretched wide. "They won't wait and this can. Go." Smiling at him again, her blue eyes dancing, he had walked past her, apologizing again.
His mind had not been on the call, instead thinking about the woman and how she had looked covered in coffee, yet had not been angry. She had not yelled, but smiled and laughed.
What kind of person did that?
A week prior, he had been out on a date with a woman who had gotten angry at him because the sleeve of her coat had twisted as he attempted to help her put it on at the end of their evening. She had huffed and told him she could do it herself and how did that happen, anyway?
He had fumbled with an answer and watched her leave in a cab, knowing they would not be having a second date.
And yet, the woman he had left standing covered in coffee, with every right to yell at him, had instead laughed and shrugged it off.
He had not seen her again that day, but his papers had been brought to his desk, coffee stained and crinkly, with a note that had once more left him floored by that woman.
Sorry for the stains. Hope you didn't need them right away and you had a chance to print them for when you did.
No name had been added, but he had been determined to find out who she was, asking Marge after work who the new redheaded woman was and where he could find her.
With a knowing smile, Marge had told him more about her than he had anticipated. When she had finished, he explained to her what had happened earlier, not wanting it to be misconstrued as to why he had been asking.
"Oh, so you're the one who did that to poor Dana," she had laughed. "She left to go home for the day, as the coffee had gotten… well, she just needed to go home." He had blushed at that information, stammering words he did not remember. "She'll be back tomorrow though, hon."
And so she had, and he apologized again.
"Please, it's not a problem," Dana had said. "And hey, I got a half day out of it, so that's not so bad." He had chuckled when she smiled, though he had apologized again.
It had then become a joke between them when they crossed paths, for Dana to hug the wall and give him a wide berth. She had smiled every time and his heart had done a little flip flop, his tongue annoyingly tied and unable to speak.
He had hated himself in those moments, when his own body betrayed him and stopped him from having a proper conversation with her.
Then Marge had come around with the secret Santa list the first day of December, making sure everyone signed up. Two days later, she had brought around a Santa hat with the names written upon strips of paper inside of it. Cheers had gone up as she made her way from person to person and the recipient's name was chosen.
Fox had smiled as he put his hand in the hat, moving his fingers over many pieces of paper, before he had pulled one out and smiled at Marge. Waiting until she had walked away to see who he had chosen, he took a deep breath and opened the paper.
He had stood stock-still, his ears ringing as he had stared at it, the name written in Marge's perfect penmanship.
Dana Scully
Glancing up, he had seen Dana standing with a smile as she had taken her turn to reach into the hat. Taking out a name and looking at it, her face gave nothing away.
As the gift was meant to be thoughtful, and would not be exchanged or traded, the limit was set at $100. Panic had set in nearly immediately, his mind racing as to what he would get for her.
He had thought about it every day, debating many ideas: a nice bottle of alcohol, a scarf, chocolates, perhaps a gift certificate to a nice restaurant.
She was not married or dating anyone, as he had heard her discussing a bad date while in the break room, Tanya and Paula joining in with their own stories. Hearing them and not joining in the conversation, he had crossed a restaurant certificate off the list, not wanting her to feel an obligation to ask him to join her.
So he had brainstormed every day, until he had the perfect idea. It would be silly, but then under the silly, he would put the true gift.
Purchased and wrapped, he had added it to the gift table the morning of the party, then feeling nervous for the remainder of the day.
Now, the party in full swing, the time for passing out the gifts was getting closer. Part of him wanted to grab the gift and remove the silly one, but he also wanted to hear her laugh as she opened it, knowing it was from him.
And he did love hearing her laugh.
"Okay! Okay!" Bernie Adler, their boss, shouted with a laugh. "If everyone can pause what they're doing for a second, and if my assistant could join me, we can pass out these gifts." Marge danced over to him in her horribly ugly Christmas cardigan she wore every year, everyone laughing as Fox forced a smile, his stomach feeling as though it was full of knots.
Gifts were handed out, conversations and laughter recomensing as they were opened, cheers and shouts sounding around the room. Fox was handed his gift and he smiled his thanks, not opening it yet, his eyes watching Dana's gift on the table.
When Marge picked it up, he let out a breath as she carried it to her and placed it into her hands, her smile wide as she thanked Marge. He took a few steps closer as she untied the smooth silver ribbon, his mouth dry. She put the ribbon into her pocket and then opened the lid of the box.
Not wanting to be too close, but also wanting to be able to see her, he stopped far enough to not be in her direct gaze. Peeling open the tissue paper, he watched her frown as she lifted the item and set the box and lid onto a desk.
As she opened it, her frown turned to a huge smile and then she laughed, her eyes searching the room until she found him. Shaking her head, she looked back at the bright rainbow colored poncho as he walked over to her.
"Just wanted you to be safe and avoid another catastrophe," he said quietly. "And also so you can cross my path without becoming one with the wall."
"I love it," she giggled, taking off the Christmas tree headband she was wearing and sliding the poncho over her head. Spreading out her arms, she opened it fully, laughing as she spun around. "And look at that, it's a perfect fit."
He laughed as she spun again and he fell for her even further.
"There is also another gift in there," he said.
"Another? Oh…"
She picked up the box and lifted the tissue, finding the small gift card envelope. Opening it, she raised her eyebrows at him.
"For new, non-coffee covered, blouses," he said. "Or anything else you may want to get."
"Thank you." She put it back and motioned to her poncho. "Although this is more than enough." He laughed softly and nodded with a shrug. "What did you get?"
"I don't know. I haven't opened it yet."
"Hmm… maybe you should."
He tilted his head and she mimicked him, smiling as she raised an eyebrow, glancing down at the box in his hands. Nodding, he ripped the paper off the shoe sized box. Lifting the lid, he found a pair of red clown shoes.
"They squeak when you walk in them, so we will always know when you're walking around. Especially in the 'splash zone' of the office," she said and he laughed, taking them out of the box, quickly replacing his own shoes with them.
He walked past her, the shoes squeaking as she laughed hysterically, and he grinned. Walking back to her, he stared at her in her rainbow poncho, covered head to mid shin, and then down at his shoes.
What a perfectly odd pair they made.
"There is also another gift for you in there and it's to use however you wish," she said. He picked up the box and took out the gift certificate to his favorite steakhouse. Looking at her, she shrugged, licking her lips with an uncertain look on her face.
"You wanna get outta here?" he asked, surprising them both, and she froze before nodding enthusiastically.
"Yeah."
"Okay. Good."
They hurried to get their things, his shoes squeaking rapidly as her poncho flapped behind her.
When he helped her put on her coat, her sleeve got tangled and she laughed, waiting patiently as he corrected it. Walking to the elevator, his shoes squeaking and his own dangling from his fingers, he smiled happily at the evening's turn of events.
"How do you feel about Shaw's Steakhouse?" he asked, pressing the down button, and she grinned at him.
"It just so happens to be my favorite restaurant," she admitted and he hummed.
"That is extremely coincidental. I happen to have just been given a gift certificate for it."
"That is incredibly coincidental," she said, stepping inside the elevator as the doors opened.
He smiled, pressing the lobby button as she smiled back at him; the hood of her poncho lying on the collar of her jacket and poking out the bottom. He shifted, causing his shoes to squeak, the doors closing as she laughed and he joined in.