Coming Home (4/6)
Part four
by Nessy and Cirglas
Disclaimer and everything you need to know is in part
one, please read the other parts beforehand. This chapter
won't make much sense standing on it's own.
It was so embarrassing! Her mom was trying to set them up!
She would never live through this. So naturally, the first
thing she did when out of her mom's house, she apologized for
her mom's behavior.
His good-natured reply was: "Can you really cook that well? I
might consider marrying you."
Scully was thankful for the darkness surrounding them, for he
couldn't see the dark crimson creeping up her cheeks. But she
wrapped herself in false exasperation: "Muulllderrrrrr..." He
didn't seem to see past it and so she was rescued from a real
reply.
When they got home it was pretty late, just like the evening
before. They got ready for bed in silent mutual agreement.
Scully came out of her bedroom in way too big men's pajamas.
Mulder smiled at the sight. She had her hair pulled back in a
ponytail just like she had had it 24 hours ago, the first
time he had seen her after such a long time. She curled up
next to him on the sofa and they watched the news together.
When they turned off the TV Mulder looked over at her and
caught her yawning.
"You're cute."
"I'm not cute." She looked up at him with a grin on her face.
"I'm sexy!" Her forwardness had surprised him so much that
her words made him laugh out laud; something he rarely did.
But the truth ringing in those words was undeniable. /That's
my problem, Scully, that's my problem./
They settled onto their respective sleeping localities - she
in her bed, he on the couch facing her - and she switched off
the light. But Scully could hear him turning and twisting in
hope of a comfortable position. Then his hesitant words
reached her ears:
"Scully?"
"Hm?"
"You, um...think your mom likes me?"
"Sure, Mulder. Or do you think she offers me to every good-
looking man passing by?" Scully smiled. If he still hadn't
realized how her mom adored him...
"Scully?"
"Yes, Mulder?"
"Don't you wanna buy a longer couch?"
"Go to sleep, Mulder."
"Scully?"
"Yes?"
"Are you comfortable?"
"Yes, Mulder, and tired, too. So good night."
"'Night, Scully."
"Scully?"
"What?"
"Are you asleep already?"
"Well, I was."
"Oh, sorry."
"S'okay."
"'Night"
"Scully?"
"What now?"
"Sweet dreams."
Scully, although she badly wanted to be annoyed, had to feel
sorry for him. That couch probably was very uncomfortable for
his tall body, keeping him from finding any sleep.
"Mulder?"
"Yeah, Scully?"
"Come over here."
"Is that an invitation?", his humorous voice and soft chuckle
filled the air. But she already heard his footsteps on her
floor.
"I just don't want to deal with a cranky Mulder tomorrow,
only because my couch was too short. One night on the couch
may be okay. But as a doctor I can tell you: It really is not
good for your back." She knew she was rationalizing, but she
didn't care. His lanky form appeared next to the bed. She
could barely make out his silhouette in the dim light that
flowed in through the window. She tried to hide her uneasy
feeling at sharing the bed with him by turning her head in
the other direction. She knew she was attracted to him...
She felt the mattress shift under his weight and then he
jokingly said:
"But, Scully, don't try anything."
"Mulder. I'm not only a bundle of raging hormones. I can
handle myself and resist you." /Maybe./
She turned back towards him and could see he was pouting and
looking at her with that puppy-dog look. But she was able to
stifle the smile that threatened to form on her face. She
wouldn't let him win.
There was something in his eyes that made her think that she
would soon find out just how irresistible he was. /Who are
you kidding, Dana, you know he's irresistible./
After he had crawled under the blanket and she had turned her
face away again, he leaned near to Scully's ear and
whispered:
"You sure?"
The blanket moved with the shiver he had made run through
her. He was WAY too close! Finally she managed to ask in a
shaky voice:
"Mulder. What are you trying to do?"
He propped his head up on one arm and tucked a strand of her
copper hair behind her ear. He looked at her innocently.
"Nothing."
Scully let out a puff of air while saying, "Yeah, right."
Mulder started massaging her shoulders, not seeming to want
to stop tempting her.
Mulder's thoughts were heading in just that direction. He had
finally decided that it was time that they admitted their
feelings - at least to themselves. He was sure he loved
Scully and he thought she might return his feelings. He knew
that he had loved her for a long time now but somehow there
had never been the right time to tell her, even if he had
realized it himself.
After he had returned from his two and a half years of
absence, the bond between them was still there. They even
seemed to be closer than before, smiling more, touching more.
That probably could be based in the fact that they weren't
partners with the FBI anymore. The walls they had so
carefully constructed between them almost weren't necessary
now. And Mulder had to admit, he liked this new closeness. He
didn't want to go back to how they were. So he was probably
enjoying this back rub just as much as Scully was.
To his surprise Scully started humming softly. A sound that
almost could be compared to a purr. When he realized that
Scully was much too tired to react to his ministrations in
the way he had, to his own surprise, - almost - hoped, Mulder
slowed his hands and then gave her a soft finishing pat.
"'Night, Scully."
At that Scully turned around and suddenly Mulder found
himself with an armful of his partner and best friend. An
armful of Scully.
Her stroked her hair until he heard her breathing become slow
and steady, then allowed himself a chaste kiss to her
forehead. /We'll talk about this tomorrow./
And that was how they fell asleep: her head on his chest, his
arms around her, legs tangled and their breaths mixed.
Mulder came out of sleep to a red blob of hair. /Hey, I think
I know her!/ Even the view from the top was familiar. Only
the lying on his back was strange. Unconsciously he resumed
the caressing of her shoulder. He felt the irrational longing
to see her face. The roman nose, the soft curve of her
cheeks, the rosy lips he knew had to be as soft as they
looked... /Mulder, get a grip!/ But nevertheless he wanted to
look at her so much, that he had to give in to the desire. So
he carefully turned her head and studied her features.
Deprived of his warmth she tried to snuggle still closer in
her sleep. A lazy smile formed on his face in reaction while
his arms tightened their hold on her. He marveled at the fact
that someone so beautiful and fragile could at the same time
be so strong. For Christ sakes! She was about as stubborn as
he was! And every time he looked into her startling blue eyes
he could see the incredible intelligence looming just behind.
Oh, how he had missed her! He had missed her smile, her
skeptic eyebrow, her auburn hair and the clean, sunshiny
scent that she had. He had missed touching her arm to get her
attention, touching the small of her back to guide her down a
hall or through a door. And when he got the chance to cradle
her cheek in his palm...
He had missed those rare but electrifying embraces they had
shared over the last years. But those hugs had always been
born out of great pain and fear: Their first case... after he
had checked the mosquito bites; when he had rescued her from
Pfaster; after he had returned from Mexico and then Russia,
when his mom had been in the hospital; after Penny Northern
had died... and those rare times he got to give her a kiss...
even if it only was on the cheek, forehead or hand... he had
longed for those moments during his absence.
He had recalled them as often as he could. But those thoughts
had not particularly improved his mood. Sometimes the need to
simply hear her voice had been so overwhelming that he had
called her only to hear her softly spoken words on the
answering machine.
Scully stirred restlessly and he realized with disappointment
that his quiet musings were at an end. She awoke and favored
him with a bright smile.
"So...was this more comfortable than the couch?"
"Sure. I had a nice and warm blanket." He joked. That earned
him a playful shove to his ribs.
Scully had enjoyed waking up next to him. In fact she enjoyed
being next to him, period. Trying to postpone getting up she
asked:
"Well, what's the plan for today?"
"Oh, well, since it's Saturday we probably should look
whether there are any apartment ads in the paper that sound
good enough to check out personally. And then I'd like to go
over to the Gunmen. I need to get updated on some stuff."
Scully interrupted him: "You probably just want your video
collection back which you loaned to Frohike."
Mulder's eyes widened in shock and he feigned a mortal blow
to his heart. "Nah. But I don't think Frohike would give them
back anyway."
"And how about we rent a movie tonight?"
"Sure. Fine with me." Having settled that, the inevitable had
come. They had to get up. Scully was still cradled in his
arms and Mulder had a hard time letting go of her. Scully
reluctantly untangled herself from him and got up. /Life can
be so cruel.../
Scully looked up from her page of the newspaper ads. Across
from her Mulder sat on the floor, too, legs crossed, reading
glasses on, with a frown marring his handsome features.
"What's wrong, Mulder?"
"I just can't seem to find an acceptable apartment: This
one's too far away from the city. And this one is across the
town from you. This one is too expensive and these two are on
the sixth floor without an elevator."
"Well, the same here: Too expensive, not the best
neighborhood, way too far away, and with this one they don't
even want pets as tiny as fish." It was really strange. If
one of them found an apartment that seemed to be okay, the
other one was sure to find some kind of fault with it.
"Well, sorry, Scully, but it looks like I'll just have to
stay a while longer."
"Since you moved your stuff in already, I guess I'll just
have to put up with you, right?" But her heart made a happy
flip-flop at the thought.
The Lone Gunmen were paranoid as always, bombarding Mulder
and Scully with their newest theories. And while Byers and
Langly tried to convince Scully that even the Superbowl had
been manipulated by the government, Frohike eyed - leered at
- Scully in a for Mulder terribly annoying way. When Mulder
couldn't take it anymore, he possessively draped his arm
around Scully's shoulders.
A few feet away, Frohike started drawing something on a sheet
of paper. After a minute he set the pen aside and held up the
sheet for Mulder's inspection:
'I get the message!', it said, and Mulder had to smile at the
absurdity of the situation. He was being possessive of
Scully. And he had been so obvious that Frohike had relented.
/Luckily, Scully didn't notice. She would've killed me./
But Scully didn't seem to notice his sudden nearness. Or at
least she didn't seem to mind it. She was discussing
something with the other two Gunmen and seemed to be
concentrated on only that. The fact that her attention wasn't
focused on him made him jealous but, as he heard the word "X-
files", he decided it might be a good idea to follow the
conversation a little more closely.
"So they're closed down right now?", Scully was asking.
"Yeah, but they were open a year ago or so. But they closed
'em again when Skinner decided the team was too influenced by
trying to improve their career. So now they're waiting until
someone else applies for the job... By the way, I think you
two would be perfect for it." Byers smiled at Mulder first
and then at Scully.
Mulder tightened his arm around her shoulders and leaned
down, close to her face.
"Why, Scully, I think someone's trying to set us up."
She smiled up at him. "Yeah, Mulder, and with my mother that
makes two."
"And?" He couldn't keep the eagerness out of his voice.
"And what?"
"Would you come back to the X-files with me?"
She turned around and flung herself in his arms. "I thought
you'd never ask!"
So that matter was decided. First thing Monday morning they
would talk to Skinner and ask to get the X-files back.
Mulder's heart beat a little faster at the thought. That he
finally had Scully back still felt like a dream. But now they
might have the chance to work together again. As partners at
the X-files division.
Almost too good to be true.
Upon arriving back at Scully's apartment, Mulder forbid her
to even step into the kitchen. He had promised to cook. So
she had resisted the urge to rescue her kitchen and made
herself comfortable on the couch in front of the TV.
As Mulder came out of the kitchen to get her because dinner
was just about ready, he stopped dead in his tracks when he
saw her there, lying on the couch with her feet propped up on
one armrest - she was just the right size for lying there -,
chewing on her lower lip. She still wore her sweatshirt and
jeans but she wouldn't have looked any better for him, had
she worn anything else.
She looked so peaceful, even happy, and Mulder wished he
could make her feel this way more often. Then, right there,
he promised himself that even if they worked together on the
X-Files again, his first concern would be to make her happy.
He would never let anything come between them again. He
wanted to be close to her, wanted to be near her for the rest
of his life. Without her, life was just not worth living. At
that moment he made a decision, just like the evening before:
This was the evening. He was going to tell her that he loved
her.
He had made dinner for them. They had rented a movie and they
were going to spend another evening together. That seemed
like the right time to tell her that he didn't want his own
apartment. He wanted to stay here. With her. Forever.
"Earth to Mulder, earth to Mulder. Anybody home?" Scully had
caught him staring. He dipped his head sheepishly and tried
to evade her gaze.
"Um... Dinner's ready." He finally managed to meet her eyes
again.
She smiled at him and, holding his gaze, she turned off the
TV and walked over to the table he had already set and
decorated with two candles. She sat down and, since he still
hadn't moved, she asked:
"So? Is it ready or not?" She smiled a secret smile as Mulder
hurried off into the kitchen to get the food. It was fun to
be looked at like that. Especially by him. It made her
stomach feel as if she had hundreds of butterflies in it. And
she really liked that feeling.
"This is absolutely ridiculous!" Scully exclaimed as the two
characters on the TV declared their undying love for each
other. "Real life is NOT like that. This is so... so...
MOVIE!" Scully started laughing hysterically. It was just too
ridiculous.
"Hey, Scully, you picked the movie. It's your own fault."
Scully turned towards him and when her laughter ebbed off a
little, said: "Yeah, but I hadn't seen it before, so I
couldn't have known it was so silly."
Mulder's frown finally stopped her from laughing all
together.
"Scully... is it that impossible for two people who love each
other to become involved against better judgment?"
Scully gazed back at the TV screen where the two lovebirds
were in the middle of a kissing marathon. /Come on, say
something./ "No. It's the way they portray it. It's too
sappy. Too unrealistic. People meet over work, fall in love
but never act on it and then, apropos of nothing, they say 'I
love you' and everything turns out to be okay. A typical
Hollywood happy ending. Don't you think it's a bit too
unbelievable?" /You don't think so, so why should he?/
Since Mulder didn't reply, Scully turned her head and looked
at him again. She shrugged at him and tried to smile but it
was a feeble attempt. She hadn't wanted to sound so
unromantic. It was just that the irony of the situation had
gotten to her. They were watching a romantic movie about
hidden and suppressed feelings. It was like looking into a
mirror. But of course she couldn't let him know that she felt
that way about him.
He was still frowning at her and biting on his lower lip.
Suddenly she noticed how close their faces had become. Their
gazes locked, they looked at each other for what seemed like
an eternity. /I want to loose myself in his eyes./ Scully
moved her head just a tad more towards him. It wasn't even
purposefully. It just seemed as if she was being pulled to
him like metal to a magnet. Not that she wanted to resist...
But then she thought better of it. She gathered all her
strength and hesitated. But he took up her action and dipped
his head forward the rest of the way instead. When their
mouths were within a hair's breadth of each other, she was
lost. Although she honestly tried, Scully couldn't figure out
a good reason why they shouldn't share a small kiss. It
wasn't as if they had the bureau to answer to anymore. Not
that they had ever followed bureau protocol. She smiled and
whispered:
"But I want to believe..."
That was it. That had been all it had taken to get these two
souls to join. These two halves of a whole. They met in a
kiss so sweet and innocent and at the same time it was the
renewal and deepening of something they had had before. The
Kiss was only a soft brushing, nipping of lips. They were
merely sampling each other. Getting to know each other in a
way they had only dreamed of before. But what they had been
before, hadn't been enough for them anymore. It had been
time. Time to be fully aware of the feelings they had for
each other. Feelings they were now able to explore and fully
enjoy.
Mulder pulled away slightly, just enough to look at her. When
their lips lost contact her eyes opened slowly and the love
that shone there made Mulder forget how to breathe. Her mouth
curved into a smile and her eyes reflected the happiness she
felt inside. Her smile was infectious and he started grinning
like an idiot. But hey, who cared? The woman he loved with
every fiber of his being loved him back. That had to be
celebrated properly.
That celebration, of course, being a second kiss. So Mulder
leaned forward again and touched his lips to hers. He
realized that she eagerly returned the kiss and that made him
glad he had finally had the courage to take this next step.
The kiss grew more urgent and more passionate by the second.
As Mulder finally deepened the kiss, his arms encircled her
waist and Scully's snaked around his neck. They tried every
angle for better access. Their lips meshed and sought and
meshed. And fought a lovely battle. But in this fight they
were both winners. As an old saying has the kindness of
reminding us: 'Make love, not war.' And that's just what they
did...
End part four
The plot is thickening... Which plot?
The statement :"I'm not cute, I'm sexy!" belongs to Caro, a
friend of ours. But she IS cute...