THE NAKED TRUTH
by Avalon (avalon99@telusplanet.net)
http://members.dencity.com/avalon_online
From an idea by Sharon Nuttycombe and Linda Campbell
Skinner, Scully, R, 5/5
THE NAKED TRUTH V
EPILOGUE
Mulder was looking at her. She could tell. She could feel his eyes following her every move. Did the man never blink? Scully's fingers curled around a nearby paperweight. One more minute and she was going to throw it at him. Hard. She shifted uneasily in her chair, frowning at the papers on her desk.
He was still watching her.
That does it! She surged to her feet, the paperweight clenched in her fist. "Stop that right now!"
Mulder raised an eyebrow. "Stop what?"
She took a threatening pace forward. "You know perfectly well. Stop thinking at me. And stop watching me!"
"'Thinking at you' Scully?" Innocence coloured his voice.
She growled. There was no other word for it. "You know what I mean. You're dying to say it -- why don't you just get it over with?"
"Say what?" His eyebrows climbed higher.
"Ask me why I was handcuffed to the Assistant Director of the FBI outside a seedy motel yesterday. Just say it Mulder!"
He obliged. "Why were you handcuffed to the Assistant Director of the FBI outside a seedy motel yesterday?"
She clenched her teeth, tossed the paperweight into her other hand and sat down again. "It's none of your business."
Mulder gave her a disbelieving glance then stood up to walk around his desk. "Given that I was the one who picked you both up and got you out of there, I think I deserve some sort of explanation."
She narrowed her eyes. He was right. He deserved something. If he hadn't been searching the neighbourhood after the police had found her car at the bar, she and Skinner might still be out there, searching desperately for a cab.
Still, Scully would have been a lot happier if someone else had come to their rescue. Anyone else. It wasn't that Mulder had actually said anything when he had pulled up beside them outside the motel. No, it was the expression on his face. Or rather, the total lack of expression. As if he hadn't been at all surprised to find her looking like she had just been through an orgy and chained to a dishevelled ex-Marine who was missing a shoe.
No. He didn't deserve an explanation. She didn't have one to give him anyway. When it became apparent that she wasn't going to answer him, Mulder shrugged and gave her a quick grin. "Well, you know what they say, Scully...still waters run deep. And I'd like my handcuff keys back, please." A pause. "Unless you think you might need them later..."
"Shut up Mulder." She climbed to her feet, grabbed her coat and pushed past her partner. "I'm going home." With that, she was gone.
* * *
Scully stared blindly at her ceiling, images of the past few days going through her mind. So far she had answered her door naked and found herself lying underneath an unconscious Walter Skinner, had seen him at his apartment vaulting furniture wearing nothing but a videotape, had hit him over the head with a chair, had driven into the Potomac with him on a stolen motorbike, and had woken up handcuffed to him, both of them stark naked.
Naked Skinner. Miles and miles of ex-Marine.
Actually, it hadn't been such a bad week after all...
Scully ran the back of her hand over her forehead. Was it getting hot in here?
She was just contemplating getting up to open a window when the doorbell rang. Scully stared at the door pensively for a long moment. She knew who it was. Beyond any doubt. The only question was whether or not she was going to let him in.
Who was she kidding? Of course she was going to let him in. With only a faint hint of trepidation, Scully climbed to her feet and crossed the room. She hesitated once, then, with a deep breath, swung the door open.
It was...a pot of petunias. Pink ones. Scully blinked then peered around the corner. Skinner was leaning against the wall, arms folded, a videotape in one hand.
"Thought you might be interested in a movie, Agent Scully."
A wicked glimmer lit her eyes. "The Rock?"
"No. Die Hard."
Without pausing, Scully reached out a hand, grabbed him by the shirt, and pulled him forward into her apartment. "Let's hope so," she said, grinning.
THE END