Chapter Two

Authors Notes: I just want to address Teresa's question about the chapters. There won't be too many, but they'll all be rather long. The reason for this is because unlike "Tomorrow", it wasn't written in chapters, but as one entire story. The reason I broke it up is because it's rather long to read at once. It's also a ploy to get more reviews. Yeah, I'm evil like that. Oh, and by the way, the Doug mentioned herein is a real person, (who tried endlessly to get a date with my aunt) who was my ski instructor… I must say, I made him more attractive for this story. So, if Doug is out there and he's a fanfic reader, I want you to know my aunt was lying. She wasn't really in a relationship. We all just thought you were a tad bit weird. ;-)

* * * * * * *

I opened my eyes, and was suddenly startled to not be in my own bed. I smiled to myself, realizing I was in Vermont with Mulder. I looked out the window and saw snow falling, and I could smell Mulder cooking what I believed to be pancakes inside. Mulder, cooking? This was new, for me at least. The clock in the room told me that it was 9:15, and I rolled out of the bed. I put my robe on over my pajamas, which I had unpacked last night before going to bed. I wandered into the living room, and saw Mulder at the stove with a pan, a few dirty bowls, and a box of pancake mix.

"Morning, Scully." He smiled. He was wearing a pair of sweats and a tee shirt, and hadn't showered yet.

"Good morning, Mulder. You? Cooking?"

"It's been a while, but I think I managed to remember how to turn on the stove," He grinned.

"You didn't have to make breakfast." I said.

"It's no problem, Scully. We've got reservations for lessons at 11:00. We have to rent skis first, and then we each have a private lesson, courtesy of the Gunmen." Mulder said.

"Sounds great." I smiled and sat down at the table.

Mulder finished the pancakes, and we ate. We made idle conversation about the weather and how beautiful Vermont is. When we finished eating, I insisted on cleaning up. I cleared the table and washed the dishes, while Mulder took a shower. By the time I was finished in the kitchen, he was finished in the shower. He had put on a turtleneck sweater and black ski pants, and his hair was still damp.

"All yours, Scully." He said.

All I could think was, *Oh, how I wish it was all mine.*

I smiled a thank you to Mulder and took a quick shower. I kept telling myself I couldn't get worked up over Mulder on this vacation. Mulder I were partners, but more than that, best friends. Our friendship is something I would never want to compromise, because it's one of those few things I know will always be there. It's a constant, he's a constant... Whenever I need someone, I know he's there. Whenever I need something, I know he'll do it for me. All because I'd do the same for him. We're best friends... Still, I know I want more. I want to be romantically involved with him, and I have for a long time. I never thought anything of it early on, but now it seems like a possibility. He kissed me. Why won't he do it again?

I was ready to leave the condo by 10:30, so we had enough time to rent skis. I had on a pair of black ski pants, a heavy sweater, and a blue ski coat that used to belong to Missy. Underneath that, I had on a few layers of clothing to stay warm. I walked along with Mulder through the snow, looking at all the happy people skiing about. It couldn't be that hard to learn how to ski, right? I mean, how difficult could it be? I've got good balance, and I'm light. I should be good at this.

We rented our skis uneventfully and walked over to the lessons area. They grouped you according to experience. Now, since I had no idea how to attach the ski to the boot and whatnot, I was clearly in the beginners area. Mulder, however, insisted that he remembered the basics from being a small child. We were the only two people waiting for lessons, and there were two instructors there.

"All right, welcome to Killington! My name's John, and, this is Doug." He introduced the other man beside him. "You folks have got private lessons, I understand?"

"Yes, that's right." Mulder said. "My name's Fox Mulder--call me Mulder, and this is Dana Scully."

"Okay, well, I'll be working with you, Mulder." John said.

"And, I'll be working with you, Dana." The other man smiled at me. He was about ten years younger than the first man, looking to be in his late thirties.

Mulder went off with his instructor, who was going to take him up a small hill on the lift. My instructor, however, decided that we ought to work on the basic mechanics before I went up the lift. I was annoyed that Mulder and I were separated, but I knew he was stubborn and wouldn't be able to start at the beginning. I managed to click my ski boots into the skis, and glide after the instructor.

"So, Dana, your husband's got experience?" He asked.

"Oh, uh, he's not my husband, he's just a friend." I smiled. Just my only friend.

"Oh, I see. My name's Doug, by the way, if you missed it before." He flashed me a toothy grin. He had blonde hair and bright blue eyes.

"Have you seen much of Vermont?" Doug asked, as he side stepped up the hill. He gestured for me to follow, and I did.

"No, actually, we just got here yesterday." I replied, making my way up the incline.

"It's a beautiful place, Dana. Maybe I can show you around."

"Oh, thank you, but we've got a lot planned."

"Okay." He smiled. "Alright, now, turn your skis. Not quite downhill, not yet. Okay, I want you to go down the hill, and when you want to stop and slow down, put the tips of your skis together to make a wedge shape. Don't let them cross, or you'll fall. If you do fall, stay still, and I'll come help you up." He grinned.

"Okay." I said, hoping I'd learn this quickly so I could ski with Mulder.

I started downhill, doing just as he said. I made it to the bottom and stopped perfectly. He skied down after me, and said "Good job." I smiled, happy that I wasn't having any difficulty with skiing. We repeated this drill a few times, and each time it was easier and easier.

After I had finished skiing down for the fifth or sixth time, he came up behind me at the bottom of the little hill.

"Now I'm going to show you how to hold the ski poles." He said.

He put both of his arms around me from behind, and clasped his hand around my forearms. This didn't seem very necessary, as I was pretty sure how to hold a pole. I was just about to say something when I felt his breath on my neck. What was this guy doing?

"Are you sure I can't take you out to dinner sometime while you're here?" He asked.

I shook his grip loose and turned my head to him.

"Yes, I'm very sure." I replied curtly.

"I don't even get a chance?" He asked, raising his eyebrow.

"Look, are you going to teach me to ski or not?" I asked, angrily.

"Fine, fine. Well, you can stop, so I'll take you up the smallest lift we've got."

"Okay." I replied, and I followed him, gliding on my skis.

I was flattered by Doug's offers, but I wasn't looking to meet somebody here. Especially when I was with Mulder. Sure, Doug was good looking, but he wasn't... Mulder. I knew nothing about this man, and I wasn't looking for a vacation fling. I didn't need or want that right now. What I had to do for the moment was stop acting like a teenager and fawning over Mulder. It was ridiculous... It didn't matter what I felt for him. We were partners and best friends... Who was I to betray that? Who was I to love him?

I realized Doug and I were at the top of the lift, and he lifted the bar. I hadn't said anything to him in a long time, and I almost felt bad. Almost. I managed to ski down the little hill at the end of the lift and follow him to the top of the slope. I was excited about skiing, and proud that I'd taken to it quickly. Well, I actually hadn't done anything except stopping yet, but I was damn good at that.

"All right, Dana, now, you want to traverse the hill, side to side, and not to gain too much speed. Why don't you follow me down half way, and then we'll regroup?" He asked. I nodded silently.

He made a path in the snow with his skis, just as he said, side to side across the hill. I followed, with effort, making all the "u" shaped turns. It was cold, and this was boring. I wanted to be with my friend, and I was stuck here with some ski instructor who was hitting on me. This weekend was not working out as I had imagined it. Of course it isn't, Dana, I told myself. Your imagination had you in bed with Mulder, under the sheets. Stop it! Stop it right now! Skiing. Following the tracks. Concentrate on that. Doug stopped and so did I.

"You're doing very good, Dana." He smiled. "Why don't you continue down the hill, and I'll watch from behind." The grin on his face was even bigger now.

"Yeah, I'll bet you will." I muttered, skiing down the rest of the way. Breathe, Dana, breathe. Soon the lesson will be over and you'll be with Mulder again, and you'll be happy.

Doug reached the bottom of the hill just after me. He looked me up and down, as if making an assessment. I was annoyed, cold, and bored with skiing already. Doug grinned again. He had an annoying grin, all his teeth flashed. They were big and white and annoying. He was obnoxious in everything he did, even his clothes were obnoxious. He had on these bright blue ski pants with a matching jacket. You couldn't lose him in a crowd if you tried. If it was possible, I would have separated myself from him a long time before we reached the bottom of that hill.

"You're doing *great* Dana. You must be a fast learner." He said.

"Thanks." I muttered.

"Now, why don't you get yourself over to the lift line, Ski Bunny?"

My jaw literally dropped.

"Did you just call me SKI BUNNY?" I asked, my voice growing rather loud.

"Whaaat, you don't like it? I thought it was cute, and therefore suiting."

"You don't take a hint, do you?" I asked, trying to keep my cool.

"All right, all right, c'mon, Dana." He said.

I turned around and started gliding towards the lift line, and that was when it happened.

I felt Doug's hand make swift contact with my ass.

I didn't notice Mulder at the bottom of an adjacent slope, and I wasn't able to stop myself before *my hand* made swift contact with Doug's face.

* * * * * *

Holy shit. Scully's ski instructor just slapped her ass. I haven't even slapped her ass! Who the hell does this guy think he is? How dare he lay a hand on her! I watched, from the bottom of an adjacent slope, as Dana Scully slapped her ski instructor in the face. She is *not* a woman to be reckoned with. I skied over to her as fast as I could, and I could see that she wass trying to get her skis off. She was frustrated and it wasn't making it easy. Soon, I was right next to her.

"Mulder," She begins, looking embarrassed.

"I saw everything." I said quietly, helping her get her boot out of the ski. The guy she slapped, her instructor, has just been standing there rubbing his cheek.

"Oh, God." Scully murmured. Does she think she looks bad for hitting this guy? As soon as she's got her skis, I pop mine off and march over to him.

"Who the Hell do you think you are touching her like that?" I demand furiously, up in his face. People are starting to stare.

"Look, I was just fooling around, okay?" The guy said, backing up on his skis.

"Just fooling around? Look, if she doesn't want you touching her, then you don't touch her! She's an employee of the federal government, and she should sue your sorry ass on sexual harassment! How DARE you treat her like just a peace of meat! How DARE you try and look at her that way!" I was screaming now. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Scully's face blushing.

"Hey, hey, calm down, it's not like you're married. Your just her friend."

Oh. No. He had no idea what he just started.

"It doesn't matter who I am!" I screamed. "I'm her best friend but that doesn't matter! It doesn't matter if I never met her! Leave her the hell alone, she doesn't want anything to do with you! You ever touch her again, pretty boy, and I'll break your legs!" I screamed, getting closer in his face. I was ready to keep screaming when I felt Scully's arm on my shoulder.

"Mulder, look, let's go, let's not waste time, I'm fine, it's okay," She was saying, noticing the crowd around us.

"The only reason I'm leaving you without killing you is because she asked me too." I muttered in his direction, and picked up my skis and then Scully's.

I walked off with Scully, and my instructor ran over to meet up with Scully's. This trip was not going at all as I had planned it too. In fact, I thought maybe on this trip I would tell Scully how I really feel about her. I know I'm going to tell her eventually--it's not going to go away. Now, she looks very angry, but almost upset, like she's going to cry. I walk her over to the ski lounge and put our skis on a rack with a bunch of others outside.

"Let me buy you a hot chocolate?" I ask, smiling.

"Just as long as you don't try and slap my ass." She smiles back at me.

"Oh, I can't make any promises." I tease, and I place my hand where I always do, on the small of her back. She doesn't seem to mind and we walk inside the large ski lounge. I watch her walk ahead of me, her balance thrown off by the clunky ski boots. Her normal, graceful stride is more bumpy and interrupted, but everybody walks that way in ski boots.

We sit down and take off our coats, and I get both of us hot chocolates. We're sitting at a table, and it's nice to be inside from the cold. The place is noisy, with lots of people running around in loud ski boots. All of it is tuned out at our table, for me at least, as I watch her sip the hot drink. I haven't said anything in a while, and neither has she. She looks far off, like she's thinking, and she still looks pretty pissed.

"So, are you going to tell me what happened with the ski instructor?" I ask, trying to gently coax the story from her.

"I lost it, Mulder. I shouldn't have hit him, I should have just walked away..." She began.

"What? Scully, if you hadn't hit him, I would have. He doesn't have the right..."

"No, Mulder, he doesn't. But I didn't have to hit him. I lost my cool."

"Was this an isolated incident with him?" I ask, fairly certain it was not.

She pauses for a moment, and the lets out a breath. Finally, she says, "No, it wasn't. The entire time he'd been asking me to dinner, or trying to touch me one way or another. I just tried to ignore it, and then he called me a little ski bunny, or something, and when I turned around he slapped my ass and I lost it. I completely lost it, and I slapped him. He deserved it, yes, but I should've been able to keep my cool in front of all those people..."

"Yeah, and he should have been able to keep his hands off of you." I said. Can you really blame the guy? It *is* hard to keep your hands off of Scully... But unless you're me, hands off or I'll take them off for you.

"You okay?" I ask.

"Yeah, I'm fine. It's just, I wanted this to be a lot of fun, and I feel like I brought it down with this." She smiled weakly.

"C'mon, Scully, it isn't your fault you're irresistible, even to the jerks out there." I grin. Innuendo, man's best friend. I see her smile, and her breath catch in her throat. Maybe I'm on to something here.

"Even the jerks like you, Mulder?" She teases back.

Oh man, she knows exactly what buttons to push. "Even the jerks like me." I smiled back at her. Especially the jerks like me.

"So, how'd you make out on the slopes?" She asks, changing the subject.

"Pretty good. Didn't fall once, and made it down the whole slope. How about you?"

"Skiing, I was just fine." She smiled. "I learned how to stop and go down the hill, but that was when the lesson was cut off."

"Well, there isn't much to learn besides stopping and going, Scully. I can take you up the hill I was on, if you can stop and go I think you can handle it. Besides, I'll be there to help you out." I said.

"Okay." She smiled. "Sounds like a good idea to me."

We finish up the hot chocolate, and put our coats back on. We walk out of the ski lodge, and I realize I forgot how damn cold Vermont was. I walk over to our skis, and look to Scully. She smiled, and I suppose she's ready to give this skiing thing another try. She clicks on her own skis by herself, regaining her independence after I tried to fight a battle for her earlier. I click my skis on and we glide together towards one of the lifts.

I didn't say anything until we were on the lift. "This hill's bigger than the one you were on, but I don't think you'll have any trouble."

"As long as you're a better instructor than Doug, I think I'll be fine." She smiled.

"Well, in the respect department, I certainly hope so." I smiled.

"Look, Mulder, you didn't have to do that for me before... I could've handled Doug.."

"I know you could have." I assured her. "But I didn't do that because I chose too, Scully. He infuriated me, I snapped. I don't like to see someone I care about treated that way."

"Thanks," She says quietly.

"Don't mention it, Scully. I would want you there for me if I was in your place."

"Don't worry, Mulder, when the women start smacking your ass, I'll be there to get in a catfight." She smiled.

"Now, *that* would be quite a sight." I grinned.

She laughed a little and said, "Inside, you're like the rest of them, huh Mulder?"

I grinned at her and asked, "Can you really blame me?"

We get off the lift at the top, and I see an unsure look on her face. I did just drag her up a mountain, telling her I'm *sure* she'd be able to ski down. She glances at me and sees I'm looking, and I look away. We get ready at the top of the hill, and I decided to take the lead.

"Okay, Scully, so you were able to stop and go, right?" I asked.

"Uh huh. The hill wasn't this steep though." She says nervously, accompanied by a weak smile.

"It's not that hard. Okay, um, well, you can follow me down, we'll go slow."

"I'm sure I'll be fine." She replied. Ah, she's realizing she's not the commanding one for once and it's bugging her.

If there's one thing I know about Scully, it's that she likes to be in control. She does not like it when I plan autopsies for her, or ditch her, or tell her what to do. It makes her angry, and I do it anyway. Maybe it's just because of how beautiful she is when she's angry. It's true, she is beautiful angry. Almost as beautiful as when she laughs. Almost. You see, Scully has this great laugh, but she never uses it. I mean, she laughs occasionally, but it's always restrained laughs, this little breathy laugh. It's still cute (she'd kill me if she knew I thought something she did was 'cute') but it wasn't as good as her *real* laugh. I've only been privileged enough to see it a few times, but it's loud, and it's beautiful. It's this great chuckle, and I'd do *anything* to see her laugh like that. I decide mentally that by the time we get back to DC, I'm going to make Scully laugh, for real. A big, loud chuckle.

For now, though, I glance over my shoulder and see her make her way down the hill behind me. I let her get in front of my for the hell of it, and we progress down the hill. We're keeping a rather slow speed, and it's kind of boring. We speed up a little, and we're almost at the bottom of the hill when I see her skis cross. She realizes her mistake, and tries frantically to correct it. It's to late, and the skis lose control. She veers off to the side of the hill, which is thankfully pretty empty. I ski up behind her, hoping to be able to grab her and regain her balance, but before I can, her poles fly up in the air. She follows them, and lands right on her bottom.

"Scully!" I called, even though I was next to her. My skis were against the mountain and I was stopped beside her. She had an unbelievably frustrated look on her face.

"Mulder?" She asked.

"Yeah?"

"This sucks." She muttered.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

"I'm fine, Mulder."

"Are you sure? I could call the ski patrol,"

"I'm *fine*, Mulder." She insisted.

"Does your leg hurt?" I asked.

"I'm FINE, Mulder." She replied snippily again, almost shouting now.

"Hey, I was just asking." I replied defensively.

"You were just asking three times." She snipped. "I'm fine."

"Alright, let me help you up." I offer her my hand, and although I heard an annoyed sigh, she grabbed on. I pulled her up in one fluid motion, and nothing appeared to be seriously injured.

"So you're okay? Nothing hurts?" I asked again, knowing I was pushing it.

"I'm fine."

"You want to head back to the condo?" I ask.

"Definitely. Skiing is clearly not my thing." She smiled weakly.

We glided to the end of the hill, where we clicked off the skis. We carried them the short distance to the condo, and she went inside while I put them away in the designated closet outside the condo. I walked in, and she had walked into her bedroom. A few moments later, she emerged in a pair of jeans and a green sweater with a low neckline. My lucky day. I smiled at her silently, and walked into my room and changed. I threw on a pair of blue jeans and a tan turtleneck, and walked back into the living room. She was sitting quietly on the couch, and hadn't moved to turn on the television or anything. She didn't notice me there at first, and I just gazed at her. I could get used to this...

* * * * * *

I was sitting on the couch when I felt his eyes on me. I finally looked over to him and gave a weak smile. I knew he was going to baby me over this falling thing. I was fine, I landed on my ass, I made an idiot of myself but I wasn't injured. I think he knew it, and he just liked to take care of me. Maybe he just knew how much it bothers me and he was trying to drive me insane, but I knew he would persist to ask if I was okay.

"You sure you didn't hurt yourself out there?" He asked. Ugh! I was so sick of him doing this!

"I'm SURE, Mulder! Why do you always do this?" I ask finally, frustrated.

"Do what?" He asked defensively.

"THIS! Worry about me? Treat me like I'm a piece of glass that's going to break if you push it too hard? Haven't I shown you I can handle myself? How long have we been working together, Mulder? Seven years? Don't you realize I can worry about myself?" I didn't realize I was shouting until I finished.

"Wow, Scully, all I did was ask if you hurt yourself because you fell, and you likely could have hurt yourself..."

"No, but," I was stammering now, feeling silly and searching desperately for a point to prove. "You do this a lot. I just, I don't like it. I don't understand why you worry about me like this. I can handle myself, Mulder, and I don't like you implying I can't."

It was his turn to get angry, I suppose.

"Hold on a minute, Scully. When did I imply that? All I did was something *nice*. Now I'm sorry, but I didn't think women dislike it when you do nice things for them. What the Hell do you want me to do when you fall? Laugh? I was doing something *nice*."

I had never felt like such an idiot as I did at that moment. Of course, I wouldn't let on to it, and I wouldn't let him win that easily.

"Look, I just don't like it when your always trying to take care of me..." I trail off.

"Well guess what, Scully, I LIKE taking care of you. That's why I do it!" He's yelling now. "I like taking care of you and I want to take care of you every minute of the day. I want to make sure nothing bad ever happens to you again, I want to protect you from every evil in the world, and I know I can't. I can't all the time, but can't you let me once in a while? Don't you see that I want to? Do you know WHY? Have you figured it out, Agent Scully?"

Half way through his speech, I closed my eyes and tilted my head down. Oh god. Oh god. My breath catches in my throat when I try to answer him.

"No." I answer his question, opening my eyes. My voice came out in a small whisper. I didn't notice the tears building in my eyes until I opened them.

"Because I love you!" He said, still shouting.

Oh my God. He's finally lost it. He can't mean that.

"Mulder, you don't have to--" I begin, but he doesn't give me time. He moves in swiftly and covers my lips with his own. I panic, and freeze up. Soon enough, I realize what's happening and kiss him back, pulling his body as close to mine as I can on the couch. I cling to him, kissing him, never wanting to let go. Mulder loves me. Mulder kissed me. Finally, he backs off of me.

"If you don't feel the same way, you need to tell me right now."

"I love you Mulder... I've always... I'm sorry I.."

He doesn't give me time to apologize, and he kisses me again. Before I know it, I feel him pick me up. He's carrying me! He's got one arm under my knees and the other supporting my back, and he's actually carrying me towards the bedroom. This is surreal, it's ridiculous, he's CARRYING me into the bedroom! I look up at him, about to tell him I can walk, when he meets my gaze.

"Uh-uh, you're going to let me treat you like a princess for just once." He said.

"Don't make a hobby of it, I like my independence." I teased.

He dumped me down on the bed and said, "I think this might change your mind."

All I could think was, you're right, Agent Mulder, it just might.