The taxi pulled up to the apartment building a few moments later. Scully paid the man and slowly got out of the car. As the taxi pulled away, Scully stared up at the building, trying to figure out why she'd decided to come here.
Finally she shook her head and went inside. She went up the elevator, and only stopped when she stood in front of Mulder's door. For a moment, it seemed as though she had lost her courage. Courage for what, she didn't know. She been to his apartment hundreds of times, never before had she been nervous. She glanced at her watch. Eleven o'clock. Would he even be awake, or there? She idly straightened the 2 on his door, seeing as how it had been knocked crooked. Finally she knocked.
She heard the sound of something falling inside and a muffled curse from Mulder. She withdrew her hand quickly, almost deciding to run. She wouldn't have had a chance though. A second later Mulder pulled open his door, dressed in only boxers. His eyes widened slightly at the sight of her.
"Scully? What is it?"
"Nothing Mulder. I...just wanted to talk."
He still looked at her suspiciously, but stepped aside to let her in. She stepped inside and sank down onto his couch, which already had a pillow and blanket on it. She looked up at him. "Did I wake you?"
He scratched the back of his head idly. "Nah. I was about to watch some TV. Had trouble getting to sleep lately. Watching ancient reruns seems to help put me to sleep."
Scully smiled and moved over as he sat next to her. She busied herself for a moment by looking around his apartment, which was as messy as ever.
She turned to him and saw that he was staring at her with a concerned look on his face. "Is something wrong, Scully?"
"No. I just..." She couldn't find a word or phrase to finish.
"Did Marson do something to you? Cause if he did, God help me, I'll-"
"No! Marson didn't do anything," Scully said, cutting off Mulder's sentence.
"Then what's wrong?"
"Nothing." She turned to him and was surprised to see that he was smiling. "What?"
"Scully, I've worked with you almost seven years. I think I'd be able to tell if something was wrong."
She sighed and smiled at him. "You're right, Mulder. You would be able to tell." She looked away for a moment.
"What did he do?"
"It's not what he did. It's more of what he said."
Mulder scooted closer to her, egging her on. "What did he say?"
"I don't remember all of it. Most of it was about you, me, and the X-Files."
"Oh, that old gig?" He put a hand on her shoulder, and she felt a sudden warmth sweep through her body, almost as if touched by fire. If Mulder noticed any reaction, he didn't show it. "I've dealt with that for years. So have you. Just don't let it get to you."
She turned her head to him, unaware of just how close they now were. She stared at him for a moment. He stared back into her eyes. Then the phone rang, causing both of them to jump.
Mulder stifled a curse and got up to grab the phone. "Mulder," he said, turning it on.
"Fox? This is Kevin Marson."
"And?" Mulder said, giving Scully a glance.
"Well, I just finished up a date with Dana, and...uh...it didn't go quite the way I wanted it to. She left rather abruptly."
"And?"
"Well, I was just wondering, you being her partner and all, if maybe she came to see you afterwards? If she's there now?"
Mulder frowned, "Hang on a second, Marson, you're breaking up." He put a hand over the receiver and turned to Scully. "Are you here?"
"What?"
"Are you here? Marson's asking about you, and I have a feeling that he wants to apologize, or something."
Scully frowned and shook her head. "No, I'm not here."
Mulder nodded and put the receiver back to his ear, where Marson was still trying to get Mulder's attention. "Ok, I can hear you now. You driving through a subway or something?"
"No, I'm just driving. Now, is Dana there?"
"No, Scully is not here. I haven't seen her since you two took off this afternoon."
"Are you sure? Maybe she's there, but hasn't reached your apartment yet. Could you look out your window and see if she's walking up, or if a taxi's driving away?"
"No! Listen, Marson, she's not here. She's not coming. Why would she come here?"
"She feels safe with you, maybe. I don't know."
Mulder fell silent for a moment, throwing a glance at Scully. "She's not here. And if you ever call my house again, I'll hunt you down and shove the phone up your ass, ok?" He abruptly pressed the talk button, threw the phone across the room, and sunk down onto the couch. He turned to Scully, who was smiling. "What? Do you think I went a bit too far with him?"
Scully shook her head. "No. I think he deserved what he got." She continued smiling at him, grateful that he had fended Marson off for the time being. She turned to stare out of his window. "Maybe it's a sign."
"Of what? Marson being an ass? I could tell that before you went out with him."
"No. Maybe I'm just not meant to find anyone." Else, a small voice in the back of her head added. She was startled at the thought, and shook her head to clear it.
Mulder shifted in his seat. "Don't say that, Scully. You'll find someone. Just not Marson."
Scully smiled and slapped Mulder lightly on the knee as she stood up. "Well. Thanks again for what you did. I thought I'd be able to talk with you for a while, but I didn't realize how tired I was. Got a long day ahead of us tomorrow." She turned and went to the door, Mulder behind her. She turned around, not realizing how close he was and almost slammed against him.
"Whoa, watch it there, Scully."
She smiled. "Night, Mulder," she said as she stepped into the hall.
"Night, Scully," he replied, leaning against his doorjamb. She walked down the hall, and when she got into the elevator, he was still there, watching her. He smiled at her, then disappeared back into his apartment