*Chapter 5*
There could have been numerous scientific reasons why Scully did not pull her hand back from his. Temporary paralysis of the right side. Lost circulation in the arm. But the only truthful explanation out there was that she wanted this to occur, if only to prove to him that they were only friends. All thoughts of friendship vanished the moment his lips touched her hand.
Mulder had been dreaming about doing this with his best friend for a long time. OK, so maybe not with her hand. Not many people dreamt about making out with someone else's hand. But hey, it was a start.
He began this exploration of her hand with her delicate but strong fingers. He applied a small amount of pressure to her tips with his lips. Each pad of each finger was given equal treatment from his mouth. When her eyes slid shut, his almost closed in response to the sheer intimacy of that gesture. But they remained open. He wanted to gauge every minute reaction that her exquisite face expressed. With his eyes never leaving her, he worked down her fingers making sure he didn't miss a single inch of them with his lips. He watched her eyes twitch slightly behind her lids. He turned her hand over so that it cupped his face and he kissed the soft palm of her hand. His mouth opened so that his tongue could taste her. Mulder heard Scully moan softly, and he knew that he had found the correct answer. He returned to her fingers, opened his mouth once again, and allowed one finger to enter his mouth. His tongue circled her finger in an erotic matter.
"I don't..." Scully swallowed hard and started again. "I don't think sucking was part of the proposal."
Taking her finger out of his mouth, Mulder said, "I suppose you're right." He kissed her hand again and placed it back on the table.
Scully had a thousand muddled emotions running through her. Most of those emotions were ones that she didn't want to face. Not here. Not now. Maybe not ever. Perhaps, if she was lucky enough, the whole event had meant nothing to him. Perhaps it was just a harmless experiment to test...to test God knows what. She didn't feel like analyzing what that "what" was. She didn't care. She just wanted to be assured that it was nothing. If that were true, she wouldn't have to worry about what she was feeling. She would just tuck her tangle of newly exposed emotions in the back of her mind where all the rest layed; the ones that had been accumulating for the last five years. All she had to do was ask.
She looked up at Mulder and her question was silently answered. It was written in his eyes. Damn. It had meant something. An important something. A something neither of them could ignore. Whatever that something was, she didn't need it. She was doing fine without it. Sure, she didn't have much of a social life, but she had a job she loved (so few people could say that nowadays), and she worked with a partner that she lo...cared about immensely. She felt very lucky indeed and didn't need this new development to upset her balanced existence. Scully felt Mulder was about to say something so she paused her train of thoughts.
He never got the chance to speak his mind because the lights suddenly went out.
Mulder stiffened in his chair. In his line of work, an agent in a dangerous situation in the dark is most likely a dead agent. He then remembered where he was and relaxed. A room filled with federal agents may be frightening at times, but it was far from lethally dangerous.
Then he saw the light.
No, this could not be happening. They could not be coming back. This light, whatever it may actually be, had already stolen so many things from him. It had taken his sister, broken up his family, killed his father, and practically destroyed his mother along with any semblance of normality in his life. And Scully. He would never forget her abduction and the months that he was completely alone in the world. This light would not want him. He would not be that fortunate. It wanted Scully. Mulder was not about to let it happen again, though. Especially not in front of him. Not like his sister.
He was relieved when he found that he could sill move. He wasn't paralyzed like the last time. He didn't stop to ponder why that was, though. He had no time. He literally leapt over the table, grabbed a startled Scully, carried her to the near wall, and engulfed her in his embrace. She moved slightly, and he hugged her even closer to himself.
Scully wondered what had exactly happened. She knew the obvious facts. The lights had gone off, and Mulder had grabbed her. But why? What had possessed him to do something like that? She would have to think about that later, though. At the moment, she had to concentrate on something more important: breathing, a difficult task while tightly enclosed in Mulder's arms.
"Mulder, I can't breathe."
Instead of loosening his grip, he tightened it.
"Let go." Scully ordered with the strength that she had left. She was starting to feel dizzy from the lack of oxygen to the brain.
Mulder's response did not make sense to her. "No. The light. Not you. Not again."
He heard the footsteps as they moved toward him and Scully. He shook his head adamantly. Not this time he thought.
Jamie Sculder: As a reader, I also hate the cliffhanger. As a writer, I have to appreciate and respect the power that it can provide you. What a great way to draw a reader back in for more. Hopefully it is as successful for me as it is for others out there.
Juliet: What a fabulous toast. You may want to keep a little more life in you for the following chapters. My "cliffhangers" aren't over yet.
There could have been numerous scientific reasons why Scully did not pull her hand back from his. Temporary paralysis of the right side. Lost circulation in the arm. But the only truthful explanation out there was that she wanted this to occur, if only to prove to him that they were only friends. All thoughts of friendship vanished the moment his lips touched her hand.
Mulder had been dreaming about doing this with his best friend for a long time. OK, so maybe not with her hand. Not many people dreamt about making out with someone else's hand. But hey, it was a start.
He began this exploration of her hand with her delicate but strong fingers. He applied a small amount of pressure to her tips with his lips. Each pad of each finger was given equal treatment from his mouth. When her eyes slid shut, his almost closed in response to the sheer intimacy of that gesture. But they remained open. He wanted to gauge every minute reaction that her exquisite face expressed. With his eyes never leaving her, he worked down her fingers making sure he didn't miss a single inch of them with his lips. He watched her eyes twitch slightly behind her lids. He turned her hand over so that it cupped his face and he kissed the soft palm of her hand. His mouth opened so that his tongue could taste her. Mulder heard Scully moan softly, and he knew that he had found the correct answer. He returned to her fingers, opened his mouth once again, and allowed one finger to enter his mouth. His tongue circled her finger in an erotic matter.
"I don't..." Scully swallowed hard and started again. "I don't think sucking was part of the proposal."
Taking her finger out of his mouth, Mulder said, "I suppose you're right." He kissed her hand again and placed it back on the table.
Scully had a thousand muddled emotions running through her. Most of those emotions were ones that she didn't want to face. Not here. Not now. Maybe not ever. Perhaps, if she was lucky enough, the whole event had meant nothing to him. Perhaps it was just a harmless experiment to test...to test God knows what. She didn't feel like analyzing what that "what" was. She didn't care. She just wanted to be assured that it was nothing. If that were true, she wouldn't have to worry about what she was feeling. She would just tuck her tangle of newly exposed emotions in the back of her mind where all the rest layed; the ones that had been accumulating for the last five years. All she had to do was ask.
She looked up at Mulder and her question was silently answered. It was written in his eyes. Damn. It had meant something. An important something. A something neither of them could ignore. Whatever that something was, she didn't need it. She was doing fine without it. Sure, she didn't have much of a social life, but she had a job she loved (so few people could say that nowadays), and she worked with a partner that she lo...cared about immensely. She felt very lucky indeed and didn't need this new development to upset her balanced existence. Scully felt Mulder was about to say something so she paused her train of thoughts.
He never got the chance to speak his mind because the lights suddenly went out.
Mulder stiffened in his chair. In his line of work, an agent in a dangerous situation in the dark is most likely a dead agent. He then remembered where he was and relaxed. A room filled with federal agents may be frightening at times, but it was far from lethally dangerous.
Then he saw the light.
No, this could not be happening. They could not be coming back. This light, whatever it may actually be, had already stolen so many things from him. It had taken his sister, broken up his family, killed his father, and practically destroyed his mother along with any semblance of normality in his life. And Scully. He would never forget her abduction and the months that he was completely alone in the world. This light would not want him. He would not be that fortunate. It wanted Scully. Mulder was not about to let it happen again, though. Especially not in front of him. Not like his sister.
He was relieved when he found that he could sill move. He wasn't paralyzed like the last time. He didn't stop to ponder why that was, though. He had no time. He literally leapt over the table, grabbed a startled Scully, carried her to the near wall, and engulfed her in his embrace. She moved slightly, and he hugged her even closer to himself.
Scully wondered what had exactly happened. She knew the obvious facts. The lights had gone off, and Mulder had grabbed her. But why? What had possessed him to do something like that? She would have to think about that later, though. At the moment, she had to concentrate on something more important: breathing, a difficult task while tightly enclosed in Mulder's arms.
"Mulder, I can't breathe."
Instead of loosening his grip, he tightened it.
"Let go." Scully ordered with the strength that she had left. She was starting to feel dizzy from the lack of oxygen to the brain.
Mulder's response did not make sense to her. "No. The light. Not you. Not again."
He heard the footsteps as they moved toward him and Scully. He shook his head adamantly. Not this time he thought.
Jamie Sculder: As a reader, I also hate the cliffhanger. As a writer, I have to appreciate and respect the power that it can provide you. What a great way to draw a reader back in for more. Hopefully it is as successful for me as it is for others out there.
Juliet: What a fabulous toast. You may want to keep a little more life in you for the following chapters. My "cliffhangers" aren't over yet.