Chapter Seven - The Morning After
Mulder woke up not knowing exactly where he was and with absolutely no feeling in his right arm.
After blinking a few times, he realized that he was still in the bedroom and that his arm was asleep because Scully was using it as a pillow.
He eased his arm out from under her and stroked her hair as he waited for the blood to flow back into his arm. He was tempted to snuggle up with her again but his desire to do so was not as strong as his fear that his lower half would enjoy the snuggling a bit too much and wake up raring to go.
"Don't think Scully would want to deal with that this morning" he thought to himself and he quietly got off of the bed. He paused to look at his sleeping partner a moment before heading for the shower.
Roger and Brian sat in Starbucks following their normal routine of coffee and conversation.
"Any idea who placed the call to the police" Roger said and he stirred sugar into his coffee.
"The police wouldn't say" Brian replied "But if I was a betting man, and I am, I would say it was that old bitch who lives next to the Bucklands. She seems intent on ruining our fun."
"So what are we going to do about her?" Roger asked. "If this keeps up, people will start looking elsewhere for their entertainment and we will be stuck sleeping with our own wives"
Brian laughed at this. "Do you think we could drive her out of the neighborhood? Maybe we could get Richard and Jodi to be such annoying neighbors that she moves into a retirement community where she belongs."
"We barely know Richard and Jodi. We don't even know if they will even be game to join in our little activities. So far they only seem to have eyes for each other but I am hoping to get him out to the club tomorrow morning to see just how the Buckland marriage is holding up."
Brian nodded at this. "If it seems to be crumbling, I get dibs on Jodi. You know I really like the silent brainy ones."
Richard laughed. "Only if I can watch"
Scully opened her eyes slowly and knew immediately that Mulder was no longer next to her. She shut her eyes again willing herself not to be disappointed. After all this was Mulder - she couldn't really expect him to lie around in bed all day just to comfort her.
She sat up in bed stretching a bit when the smell of coffee brewing reached her nostrils. It smelled so wonderful that she quickly forgot all about Mulder and hopped out of bed and headed directly into the shower.
Scully emerged from the shower wearing her robe and rubbing her hair dry when the sight of Mulder sitting crossed-legged on the made bed startled her.
"He must feel bad about last night to have actually made the bed" Scully thought to herself and she walked back into the bathroom to hang up the towel.
Combing out her hair she looked over at Mulder who motioned towards her dresser with his head. She looked over there and spotted a steaming cup of coffee.
She picked up the cup, took a sip and smiled her thanks to Mulder wondering all the while if she should bring up last night.
Her actions were quite an embarrassment and she was quite happy not to talk about it. She just hoped that Mulder felt the same way.
Mulder took one look at Scully and after he pushed the thoughts that sprang to mind as she walked around in her barely closed robe combing her hair, knew instantly that she was going to act like what happened in this very room the previous night never happened.
He decided to let her ignore the issue. For now. In the meantime, he would have a little fun with her.
"So Scully, what exactly do you think happened last night?"
He saw the panic spring up in her eyes and decided to have pity on her "You know, at the party?"
"I have been thinking about that Mulder. I assume we were either drugged or subjected to mass hypnosis."
"My guess would be drugging. But how do we prove it?"
Scully smiled at Mulder. "Well, I could draw some blood from you and take it to the lab and test it."
Mulder paled a bit at this suggestion. "I thought you said you were never very good at taking blood."
"Well, I didn't say I wasn't any good at it, I just haven't had to do it too often. I am sure I could get a sample after two or three tries."
Mulder got even paler but nodded. "Okay."
"Or" Scully said smiling again at him "I can take something else down to the lab."
She walked over to her crumpled pile of clothes still sitting on the floor of her room and picked through them digging out her pair of slacks.
Scully walked over to the bed and sat down not noticing that her robe was offering quite a view to her partner. Mulder did his best to look elsewhere. She stuck her hand into the pocket and pulls out a piece of cheese, a small piece of wine biscuit and a napkin that contains a bit of a wine stain.
"Scully, you little thief" Mulder said smiling and shaking his head at her. "Let's add one of the muffins Agnes made to the pile."
"Do you still think she has something to do with all of this?"
"Yes I do. I would not be surprised if she was the one who called the police last night. She made it pretty clear that she doesn't approve of all this illicit behavior."
Scully nodded. "I guess it won't hurt to check. What are you going to do today?"
"I thought I would return that muffin plate to Agnes and see if I can get a better feel on her."
"What exactly do you think she is?"
Mulder looked at Scully surprised that she hadn't come to the same conclusion "A witch of course."
"That sweet woman is a witch?" said Scully frowning at him.
"I never said she was a bad witch."
Scully shook her head and went into the bathroom to get dressed. When she returned to the bedroom she found Mulder dressed as well.
"Hey Scully, how about I make you a little breakfast before you head out to your office like a good husband?"
Scully looked at him a bit uncertainly but smiled at him. "Sure Richard, I would love that."
Mulder saw Scully off and then headed to his computer to do some research on witchcraft. He spent about an hour absorbing as much as he could about rituals involving the heart.
Feeling relatively well armed with information, Mulder grabbed the muffin plate and walked over to visit Agnes.
He knocked on the front door while noticing the wide variety of plants that Agnes had growing in her gardens. They weren't the type of plant you normally saw in suburban gardens. Mulder was making a mental note to ask Agnes about the plants when Agnes opened the door and invited him in.
"Good morning Agnes, I thought I would return this to you in hopes that you will fill it up again quickly."
"Richard, you are such a flirt" Agnes said taking the plate from him and leading him into the living room. "Do you always flirt so outrageously?"
"Only when Jodi isn't around" Mulder said with a smile.
Agnes motioned for him to sit and offered him coffee. "No but I would love some water" Mulder answered not wanting to risk Agnes slipping him something.
Agnes went off into the kitchen and Mulder got up and wandered over to the mantle and was looking at the pictures on it when Agnes returned with a glass of water in her hand.
Mulder picked up a picture of Agnes and her late husband "You two were a very handsome couple" he said before putting the picture back and joining Agnes who had already sat down.
"That we were. We were so in love" she started with a rather dreamy look on her face. "We did everything together and then one day the magic was gone. He started looking elsewhere. I ignored it for a while but then he began to rub it in my face. That was just too much."
"So you made him pay?" Mulder said trying to look as innocent as possible.
Agnes just gave him a smile. "I was going to divorce him, yes, but he passed away before I could take him to court."
Mulder noticed the careful deflection of his comment and decided to change the subject. "Agnes I was noticing your garden. Jodi loves unusual plants - where did you get all of yours?"
Agnes smiled broadly and began to talk about her love of gardening and how gardening has been in her family for generations.
"Really? Do you mean vegetable gardening or did they specialize in flowers or herbs?"
"Mainly herbs. My family was known for their healing powers during colonial times. The Gibson Family were very well known."
"And you? Have you followed in their footsteps?"
Agnes looked a bit suspiciously at him but Mulder had a look of pure innocence plastered on his face. "A bit, why do you something that is ailing you?"
Mulder saw a small opening and even though he felt a bit guilty about how he was going to depict Scully he answered her without hesitation. "Well, not me. It's Jodi."
He paused dramatically as if he was thinking about whether or not to continue. Agnes looked at him encouraging.
"Please don't tell her that I told you this, but Jodi has been working so hard and has been under so much pressure from her job that she doesn't really like to. well. you know. make love very much any more."
Agnes nodded in silence but Mulder thought he saw a hint of anger in her eyes. Apparently he had hit a bit of a nerve with her.
"It seems like forever since we have been together and I am dying. I don't want to bother her about it but it is getting harder and harder to wait for her to be in the mood."
Agnes looked a bit more annoyed but kept her professional face on. "Do you want something to keep your desires in check or to put her back in the proper mood?"
Mulder smiled a bit sheepishly at her. "I am a guy you know. I must admit that I would like to try to get her back into the groove first."
Agnes nodded and smiled at Mulder even though it was obvious that her opinion of Mulder had lessened quite a bit. "I may be able to come up with something for you. Are you going to tell Jodi about all of this, or slip it to her without her knowing it?"
Mulder thought before answering. "I haven't really thought about it. What would you suggest?"
Agnes took no time to answer. "Honesty is always the best policy Richard, but sometimes one has no choice but to be a bit dishonest."
"So you have been in a similar situation?" Mulder asked.
"Let's just say that it took a bit of effort to get my husband's attention when we first met."
"You bewitched him?" Mulder said noticing Agnes bristling a bit at his use of the word 'bewitched'.
"You could say that" Agnes said without elaborating.
Agnes and Mulder wrapped up their conversation with Agnes agreeing to drop by later with a herbal tea for Scully.
Mulder left Agnes at her front door thinking that Agnes most likely did practice some sort of witchcraft. He couldn't help but smile at the thought of trying to convince Scully.
Mulder smile quickly vanished when he realized that he would have to tell his partner about the little story he made up. "Scully is going to kill me!"
+++++++++++++++++++++++++ End of chapter seven - any suggestions?
Mulder woke up not knowing exactly where he was and with absolutely no feeling in his right arm.
After blinking a few times, he realized that he was still in the bedroom and that his arm was asleep because Scully was using it as a pillow.
He eased his arm out from under her and stroked her hair as he waited for the blood to flow back into his arm. He was tempted to snuggle up with her again but his desire to do so was not as strong as his fear that his lower half would enjoy the snuggling a bit too much and wake up raring to go.
"Don't think Scully would want to deal with that this morning" he thought to himself and he quietly got off of the bed. He paused to look at his sleeping partner a moment before heading for the shower.
Roger and Brian sat in Starbucks following their normal routine of coffee and conversation.
"Any idea who placed the call to the police" Roger said and he stirred sugar into his coffee.
"The police wouldn't say" Brian replied "But if I was a betting man, and I am, I would say it was that old bitch who lives next to the Bucklands. She seems intent on ruining our fun."
"So what are we going to do about her?" Roger asked. "If this keeps up, people will start looking elsewhere for their entertainment and we will be stuck sleeping with our own wives"
Brian laughed at this. "Do you think we could drive her out of the neighborhood? Maybe we could get Richard and Jodi to be such annoying neighbors that she moves into a retirement community where she belongs."
"We barely know Richard and Jodi. We don't even know if they will even be game to join in our little activities. So far they only seem to have eyes for each other but I am hoping to get him out to the club tomorrow morning to see just how the Buckland marriage is holding up."
Brian nodded at this. "If it seems to be crumbling, I get dibs on Jodi. You know I really like the silent brainy ones."
Richard laughed. "Only if I can watch"
Scully opened her eyes slowly and knew immediately that Mulder was no longer next to her. She shut her eyes again willing herself not to be disappointed. After all this was Mulder - she couldn't really expect him to lie around in bed all day just to comfort her.
She sat up in bed stretching a bit when the smell of coffee brewing reached her nostrils. It smelled so wonderful that she quickly forgot all about Mulder and hopped out of bed and headed directly into the shower.
Scully emerged from the shower wearing her robe and rubbing her hair dry when the sight of Mulder sitting crossed-legged on the made bed startled her.
"He must feel bad about last night to have actually made the bed" Scully thought to herself and she walked back into the bathroom to hang up the towel.
Combing out her hair she looked over at Mulder who motioned towards her dresser with his head. She looked over there and spotted a steaming cup of coffee.
She picked up the cup, took a sip and smiled her thanks to Mulder wondering all the while if she should bring up last night.
Her actions were quite an embarrassment and she was quite happy not to talk about it. She just hoped that Mulder felt the same way.
Mulder took one look at Scully and after he pushed the thoughts that sprang to mind as she walked around in her barely closed robe combing her hair, knew instantly that she was going to act like what happened in this very room the previous night never happened.
He decided to let her ignore the issue. For now. In the meantime, he would have a little fun with her.
"So Scully, what exactly do you think happened last night?"
He saw the panic spring up in her eyes and decided to have pity on her "You know, at the party?"
"I have been thinking about that Mulder. I assume we were either drugged or subjected to mass hypnosis."
"My guess would be drugging. But how do we prove it?"
Scully smiled at Mulder. "Well, I could draw some blood from you and take it to the lab and test it."
Mulder paled a bit at this suggestion. "I thought you said you were never very good at taking blood."
"Well, I didn't say I wasn't any good at it, I just haven't had to do it too often. I am sure I could get a sample after two or three tries."
Mulder got even paler but nodded. "Okay."
"Or" Scully said smiling again at him "I can take something else down to the lab."
She walked over to her crumpled pile of clothes still sitting on the floor of her room and picked through them digging out her pair of slacks.
Scully walked over to the bed and sat down not noticing that her robe was offering quite a view to her partner. Mulder did his best to look elsewhere. She stuck her hand into the pocket and pulls out a piece of cheese, a small piece of wine biscuit and a napkin that contains a bit of a wine stain.
"Scully, you little thief" Mulder said smiling and shaking his head at her. "Let's add one of the muffins Agnes made to the pile."
"Do you still think she has something to do with all of this?"
"Yes I do. I would not be surprised if she was the one who called the police last night. She made it pretty clear that she doesn't approve of all this illicit behavior."
Scully nodded. "I guess it won't hurt to check. What are you going to do today?"
"I thought I would return that muffin plate to Agnes and see if I can get a better feel on her."
"What exactly do you think she is?"
Mulder looked at Scully surprised that she hadn't come to the same conclusion "A witch of course."
"That sweet woman is a witch?" said Scully frowning at him.
"I never said she was a bad witch."
Scully shook her head and went into the bathroom to get dressed. When she returned to the bedroom she found Mulder dressed as well.
"Hey Scully, how about I make you a little breakfast before you head out to your office like a good husband?"
Scully looked at him a bit uncertainly but smiled at him. "Sure Richard, I would love that."
Mulder saw Scully off and then headed to his computer to do some research on witchcraft. He spent about an hour absorbing as much as he could about rituals involving the heart.
Feeling relatively well armed with information, Mulder grabbed the muffin plate and walked over to visit Agnes.
He knocked on the front door while noticing the wide variety of plants that Agnes had growing in her gardens. They weren't the type of plant you normally saw in suburban gardens. Mulder was making a mental note to ask Agnes about the plants when Agnes opened the door and invited him in.
"Good morning Agnes, I thought I would return this to you in hopes that you will fill it up again quickly."
"Richard, you are such a flirt" Agnes said taking the plate from him and leading him into the living room. "Do you always flirt so outrageously?"
"Only when Jodi isn't around" Mulder said with a smile.
Agnes motioned for him to sit and offered him coffee. "No but I would love some water" Mulder answered not wanting to risk Agnes slipping him something.
Agnes went off into the kitchen and Mulder got up and wandered over to the mantle and was looking at the pictures on it when Agnes returned with a glass of water in her hand.
Mulder picked up a picture of Agnes and her late husband "You two were a very handsome couple" he said before putting the picture back and joining Agnes who had already sat down.
"That we were. We were so in love" she started with a rather dreamy look on her face. "We did everything together and then one day the magic was gone. He started looking elsewhere. I ignored it for a while but then he began to rub it in my face. That was just too much."
"So you made him pay?" Mulder said trying to look as innocent as possible.
Agnes just gave him a smile. "I was going to divorce him, yes, but he passed away before I could take him to court."
Mulder noticed the careful deflection of his comment and decided to change the subject. "Agnes I was noticing your garden. Jodi loves unusual plants - where did you get all of yours?"
Agnes smiled broadly and began to talk about her love of gardening and how gardening has been in her family for generations.
"Really? Do you mean vegetable gardening or did they specialize in flowers or herbs?"
"Mainly herbs. My family was known for their healing powers during colonial times. The Gibson Family were very well known."
"And you? Have you followed in their footsteps?"
Agnes looked a bit suspiciously at him but Mulder had a look of pure innocence plastered on his face. "A bit, why do you something that is ailing you?"
Mulder saw a small opening and even though he felt a bit guilty about how he was going to depict Scully he answered her without hesitation. "Well, not me. It's Jodi."
He paused dramatically as if he was thinking about whether or not to continue. Agnes looked at him encouraging.
"Please don't tell her that I told you this, but Jodi has been working so hard and has been under so much pressure from her job that she doesn't really like to. well. you know. make love very much any more."
Agnes nodded in silence but Mulder thought he saw a hint of anger in her eyes. Apparently he had hit a bit of a nerve with her.
"It seems like forever since we have been together and I am dying. I don't want to bother her about it but it is getting harder and harder to wait for her to be in the mood."
Agnes looked a bit more annoyed but kept her professional face on. "Do you want something to keep your desires in check or to put her back in the proper mood?"
Mulder smiled a bit sheepishly at her. "I am a guy you know. I must admit that I would like to try to get her back into the groove first."
Agnes nodded and smiled at Mulder even though it was obvious that her opinion of Mulder had lessened quite a bit. "I may be able to come up with something for you. Are you going to tell Jodi about all of this, or slip it to her without her knowing it?"
Mulder thought before answering. "I haven't really thought about it. What would you suggest?"
Agnes took no time to answer. "Honesty is always the best policy Richard, but sometimes one has no choice but to be a bit dishonest."
"So you have been in a similar situation?" Mulder asked.
"Let's just say that it took a bit of effort to get my husband's attention when we first met."
"You bewitched him?" Mulder said noticing Agnes bristling a bit at his use of the word 'bewitched'.
"You could say that" Agnes said without elaborating.
Agnes and Mulder wrapped up their conversation with Agnes agreeing to drop by later with a herbal tea for Scully.
Mulder left Agnes at her front door thinking that Agnes most likely did practice some sort of witchcraft. He couldn't help but smile at the thought of trying to convince Scully.
Mulder smile quickly vanished when he realized that he would have to tell his partner about the little story he made up. "Scully is going to kill me!"
+++++++++++++++++++++++++ End of chapter seven - any suggestions?