Chapter Ten - Getting To Know You, Getting To Know All About You
It seemed to Mulder that he and Scully had only been standing by the edge of the lake for a short time. He knew he had to be mistaken because even with him wrapped around her, Scully was beginning to shiver.
"I am such a jerk" he said looking down and noticing that Scully was standing barefoot in the water "You must be freezing"
He pulled away from her a bit more abruptly than he intended - once again considering himself guilty of hurting Scully.
Scully shook her head seeing Mulder begin his internal battle with himself. "Don't be silly" she turned him around so she could look at him. "It's my own fault for staying in the water so long. I guess I just didn't want the moment to end."
"It doesn't have to end" Mulder said looking down at her with eyes that told her that he had some pretty definite ideas about how to warm her up.
"No it doesn't" she agreed bending down to pick up her sandals. "But unless you want me to be too sick to flaunt myself in that black bathing suit tomorrow, we had better go home."
Mulder nodded and Scully had to admit that she felt a bit disappointed that Mulder no longer held her hand as they were walking. Obviously he had taken her declaration that she needed to get home as a signal to back off. He was right - it was.
Now it was Scully's turn to beat herself up. She knew perfectly well that she had blown a chance to truly kiss Mulder without any rules, pretenses or fellow party goers gawking at them.
"Idiot" she muttered under her breath.
"What?" Mulder said thinking she was talking to him.
"Me, not you" Scully said still quite annoyed with herself. "I seem to always know how to ruin everyone's good time."
Mulder stopped at this and turned Scully to face him. "You haven't wrecked my good time, not by a long shot. But remember you are making up the rules - I will pretty much do whatever you want"
Mulder looked at Scully's face in the moonlight as she slowly thought through what she had just heard. He hadn't meant to say that especially not now when they weren't even free to call each other by their real names.
He waited a bit nervous wondering how Scully would react.
Scully couldn't believe what she just heard. Surely she was mistaken. She and Mulder were just pretending tonight - more or less, right? After all they were undercover on a case, weren't they?
They didn't really mean what they were saying? Did they?
Finally Scully slowly nodded and began walking again.
Mulder wondered to himself what her response meant. But spoke no more about it. He did take her hand again and they walked hand in hand just enjoying being with each other.
The restaurant parking lot was all but deserted but for one lone car when they arrived back at their car.
"Where is everyone?" Scully said looking around the parking lot. "Surely we weren't walking that long?"
Mulder looked down at his watch. "Just after midnight" he said. "Don't suppose you want to park here for awhile?" he said unlocking her door for her.
She threw him a flirtatious glance "What would you do if I actually said 'yes'?"
She laughed at the look of panic on Mulder's face at the prospect of necking passionately in the car with Scully "Just what I thought."
Scully sat in the car and was still chuckling when Mulder got in. He looked at her and felt very tempted to silence her with a kiss but somehow that thought of making out with Scully with a steering wheel poking into his side didn't appeal to him as the prospect of getting to do it on the living room couch.
"You're lucky I'm a gentleman" Mulder said chuckling himself. He started up the car and pulled out of the parking lot not even noticing the small figure watching them from the other parked car.
Once within the safe confines of the car, Mulder and Scully talked briefly about their plans for the next day and how they would handle Agnes and the party at Roger's house.
After everything was settled they were silent. Both of them wrapped up in thoughts about what was about to happen between them.
Mulder, who felt so confident at the beginning of the evening, began to have doubts again. Scully wondered what she would do if Mulder's kiss was half as good as she thought it would be.
They arrived back at the house and instead of shifting into their normal routine they both hurried off to freshen up.
Scully took a bit longer and was surprised to see Mulder sitting down on the couch in the living room with another bottle of very good wine open in front of him.
Mulder patted the seat next to him on the couch and gave Scully a look that challenged her to sit anywhere else.
Having almost convinced herself that she wasn't scared of being that close to Mulder, Scully sat down and accepted the glass of wine that Mulder offered her.
She sipped it and let the heavenly taste of it roll over her tongue. "I think this is the first time" she began taking another quick sip before putting the glass down "that I am happy about you being involved with Phoebe."
Mulder saw a small opening and jumped on it. "Why does she bother you?"
Scully shifted a bit uncomfortably and fought the urge to drink more wine. "I just didn't like how you and she. she always.. she hurt you." She finally blurted out knowing that Mulder wasn't really buying what she was saying.
"You know Scully" Mulder said settling back into the couch "you and I have known each other for years. Have seen each other at our absolute best, nursed each other through personal injuries, grave diseases and the deaths of our loved ones - but I don't think we really know all that much about each other."
Scully smelled a trap and tried to avoid it. "What do you mean? I know you inside and out."
"I think you know how I will react in most situations but I doubt very much that you know that I always eat the inside of Oreo cookies first. Or that my favorite part of the turkey is the drumstick." He continued "You know the personal stuff."
"Is it so important that we know all of that?" Scully said wondering where he was going with this.
"Yeah, I think it is or will be soon enough. Hasn't there always been some personal aspect of my life that you have been dying to ask about but for professional reasons you didn't?"
Scully thought a minute and then blushed a bit. "Okay, if you insist. did you and Diana.oh never mind. It really is none of my business."
Mulder waited until Scully took another long sip of wine and then turned her face towards him. "It is your business and to answer your question 'no'. Diana wanted to but I didn't."
"Oh" Scully said feeling more relieved than she had a right to. "Does this mean you get to ask me something now?"
"Yup" Mulder said obviously starting to enjoy himself. "In Philadelphia that time."
"No" Scully cut in before he could finish "believe it or not, he was a gentleman. He knew I was drunk and wouldn't let me drive back to my hotel."
Mulder nodded looking rather relieved. "Not that I would have blamed you Scully. The X-files and I have pretty much robbed you of your social life. I hope it hasn't been too long." feeling somewhat embarrassed he decided against finishing his statement.
Scully smiled weakly "Probably since right around the time I started working with you."
Mulder stared at her obviously shocked by her answer. "You haven't.. you? I mean, look at you, you're beautiful smart and half the guys in the FBI would love to have a shot at you. Even Skinner."
Scully laughed at this "You flatter me Mulder. I think your view is tainted by spending so much time with aliens and mutants."
Mulder got very serious then and took her head in both of his hands. "Scully, you are an incredibly beautiful, incredibly sexy woman, intelligent woman." He released her before continuing "I am sorry I am holding you back."
Eager to lighten the mood, Scully said brightly "Well, Mulder surely your draught cannot be as long as mine. Not with the way women always throw themselves at you."
"Only once in the past six or so years." Mulder said barely above a whisper "and that was a big mistake. I was trying to fill a hole in my heart."
"California?" Scully said softly
Mulder barely nodded not taking his eyes off of hers. He wondered if his eyes were showing the pain he felt during those lonely months when she was gone, when he a turned to someone as desperate as himself to try and dull the pain.
It hadn't worked.
Scully looked at Mulder and couldn't believe the pure pain that she saw in his eyes. Her mother and Skinner had told her how upset Mulder had been during her abduction and how he was the only person who refused to give up on her.
But it wasn't until that very moment when she saw him trying to blink back a tear that she really understood how much the events of those three months had hurt him as well.
She put a tentative finger on his face and gently brushed the tear away. Mulder took her hand and place a long tender kiss on it.
Scully felt a shutter flow through her entire body. Mulder turned her hand over so that the palm was facing up and kissed it as well.
Scully closed her eyes savoring the feeling. When she opened them she saw Mulder moving closer to her without knowing it, her lips opened to receive his kiss.
His lips were soft and gentle and the kiss between them not one of passion but one of healing and tenderness. Their kiss lasted but a moment and when they parted Mulder looked down at her with eyes that seemed to reach right into her soul.
She smiled at him ever so slightly and he leaned into to kiss her again. This kiss deepened and Scully found herself opening herself to him and eagerly exploring him as well using her hand in his hair to pull him closer.
They stayed like that exploring each other until the lack of air caused them to part. Mulder took her in his arms then and hugged her kissing the top of her hair and her neck enjoying the way she snuggled trying to get closer to him.
He sat back then and pulled her down on top of him so her head lay on his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her and softly stroked her upper arm.
"Scully" he said planting a small kiss on her head "that was even better than I expected and let me tell you, I expected a lot."
"Thanks, I think" said Scully. She snuggled a bit closer and closed her eyes just enjoying the feel of Mulder holding her close.
"Mulder" she said looking up at him "thanks"
"Thanks? For what?" he said looking a bit puzzled.
"For stopping. For giving me a chance to digest all of this."
"I would like to say it was my pleasure Scully but I can't with all honesty. I will probably end up taking a cold shower when all is said and done."
Scully poked him in the ribs and he continued "Ouch. Seriously though, I said you could set the rules and I meant it. You and I both know what is at stake here professionally and personally and we don't want to do something we will regret later."
He looked down at her and smiled "But I don't think I will regret anything we choose to do. But seriously Scully, it is getting very late and I have an early date with Roger at the Country Club in the morning so unless you have had a change of heart, we should call it a night."
"You're right Mulder" Scully said forcing herself to leave the comfort of Mulder's arms.
Mulder followed Scully to the bottom of the stairs as if walking her to her door after their first date. Scully went up at step and then turned now able to look Mulder right in the eye.
She reached out and pulled him towards her kissing him with more passion than she thought she processed. After a moment or two, she pulled back and said in a voice huskier than normal. "Good night Mulder."
Mulder watched her climb up the stairs to the bedroom thinking to himself that he really was going to need a cold shower.
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End of chapter ten - what do you think? Too much MSR? Don't worry, the plot will thicken in the next chapter, I promise.
It seemed to Mulder that he and Scully had only been standing by the edge of the lake for a short time. He knew he had to be mistaken because even with him wrapped around her, Scully was beginning to shiver.
"I am such a jerk" he said looking down and noticing that Scully was standing barefoot in the water "You must be freezing"
He pulled away from her a bit more abruptly than he intended - once again considering himself guilty of hurting Scully.
Scully shook her head seeing Mulder begin his internal battle with himself. "Don't be silly" she turned him around so she could look at him. "It's my own fault for staying in the water so long. I guess I just didn't want the moment to end."
"It doesn't have to end" Mulder said looking down at her with eyes that told her that he had some pretty definite ideas about how to warm her up.
"No it doesn't" she agreed bending down to pick up her sandals. "But unless you want me to be too sick to flaunt myself in that black bathing suit tomorrow, we had better go home."
Mulder nodded and Scully had to admit that she felt a bit disappointed that Mulder no longer held her hand as they were walking. Obviously he had taken her declaration that she needed to get home as a signal to back off. He was right - it was.
Now it was Scully's turn to beat herself up. She knew perfectly well that she had blown a chance to truly kiss Mulder without any rules, pretenses or fellow party goers gawking at them.
"Idiot" she muttered under her breath.
"What?" Mulder said thinking she was talking to him.
"Me, not you" Scully said still quite annoyed with herself. "I seem to always know how to ruin everyone's good time."
Mulder stopped at this and turned Scully to face him. "You haven't wrecked my good time, not by a long shot. But remember you are making up the rules - I will pretty much do whatever you want"
Mulder looked at Scully's face in the moonlight as she slowly thought through what she had just heard. He hadn't meant to say that especially not now when they weren't even free to call each other by their real names.
He waited a bit nervous wondering how Scully would react.
Scully couldn't believe what she just heard. Surely she was mistaken. She and Mulder were just pretending tonight - more or less, right? After all they were undercover on a case, weren't they?
They didn't really mean what they were saying? Did they?
Finally Scully slowly nodded and began walking again.
Mulder wondered to himself what her response meant. But spoke no more about it. He did take her hand again and they walked hand in hand just enjoying being with each other.
The restaurant parking lot was all but deserted but for one lone car when they arrived back at their car.
"Where is everyone?" Scully said looking around the parking lot. "Surely we weren't walking that long?"
Mulder looked down at his watch. "Just after midnight" he said. "Don't suppose you want to park here for awhile?" he said unlocking her door for her.
She threw him a flirtatious glance "What would you do if I actually said 'yes'?"
She laughed at the look of panic on Mulder's face at the prospect of necking passionately in the car with Scully "Just what I thought."
Scully sat in the car and was still chuckling when Mulder got in. He looked at her and felt very tempted to silence her with a kiss but somehow that thought of making out with Scully with a steering wheel poking into his side didn't appeal to him as the prospect of getting to do it on the living room couch.
"You're lucky I'm a gentleman" Mulder said chuckling himself. He started up the car and pulled out of the parking lot not even noticing the small figure watching them from the other parked car.
Once within the safe confines of the car, Mulder and Scully talked briefly about their plans for the next day and how they would handle Agnes and the party at Roger's house.
After everything was settled they were silent. Both of them wrapped up in thoughts about what was about to happen between them.
Mulder, who felt so confident at the beginning of the evening, began to have doubts again. Scully wondered what she would do if Mulder's kiss was half as good as she thought it would be.
They arrived back at the house and instead of shifting into their normal routine they both hurried off to freshen up.
Scully took a bit longer and was surprised to see Mulder sitting down on the couch in the living room with another bottle of very good wine open in front of him.
Mulder patted the seat next to him on the couch and gave Scully a look that challenged her to sit anywhere else.
Having almost convinced herself that she wasn't scared of being that close to Mulder, Scully sat down and accepted the glass of wine that Mulder offered her.
She sipped it and let the heavenly taste of it roll over her tongue. "I think this is the first time" she began taking another quick sip before putting the glass down "that I am happy about you being involved with Phoebe."
Mulder saw a small opening and jumped on it. "Why does she bother you?"
Scully shifted a bit uncomfortably and fought the urge to drink more wine. "I just didn't like how you and she. she always.. she hurt you." She finally blurted out knowing that Mulder wasn't really buying what she was saying.
"You know Scully" Mulder said settling back into the couch "you and I have known each other for years. Have seen each other at our absolute best, nursed each other through personal injuries, grave diseases and the deaths of our loved ones - but I don't think we really know all that much about each other."
Scully smelled a trap and tried to avoid it. "What do you mean? I know you inside and out."
"I think you know how I will react in most situations but I doubt very much that you know that I always eat the inside of Oreo cookies first. Or that my favorite part of the turkey is the drumstick." He continued "You know the personal stuff."
"Is it so important that we know all of that?" Scully said wondering where he was going with this.
"Yeah, I think it is or will be soon enough. Hasn't there always been some personal aspect of my life that you have been dying to ask about but for professional reasons you didn't?"
Scully thought a minute and then blushed a bit. "Okay, if you insist. did you and Diana.oh never mind. It really is none of my business."
Mulder waited until Scully took another long sip of wine and then turned her face towards him. "It is your business and to answer your question 'no'. Diana wanted to but I didn't."
"Oh" Scully said feeling more relieved than she had a right to. "Does this mean you get to ask me something now?"
"Yup" Mulder said obviously starting to enjoy himself. "In Philadelphia that time."
"No" Scully cut in before he could finish "believe it or not, he was a gentleman. He knew I was drunk and wouldn't let me drive back to my hotel."
Mulder nodded looking rather relieved. "Not that I would have blamed you Scully. The X-files and I have pretty much robbed you of your social life. I hope it hasn't been too long." feeling somewhat embarrassed he decided against finishing his statement.
Scully smiled weakly "Probably since right around the time I started working with you."
Mulder stared at her obviously shocked by her answer. "You haven't.. you? I mean, look at you, you're beautiful smart and half the guys in the FBI would love to have a shot at you. Even Skinner."
Scully laughed at this "You flatter me Mulder. I think your view is tainted by spending so much time with aliens and mutants."
Mulder got very serious then and took her head in both of his hands. "Scully, you are an incredibly beautiful, incredibly sexy woman, intelligent woman." He released her before continuing "I am sorry I am holding you back."
Eager to lighten the mood, Scully said brightly "Well, Mulder surely your draught cannot be as long as mine. Not with the way women always throw themselves at you."
"Only once in the past six or so years." Mulder said barely above a whisper "and that was a big mistake. I was trying to fill a hole in my heart."
"California?" Scully said softly
Mulder barely nodded not taking his eyes off of hers. He wondered if his eyes were showing the pain he felt during those lonely months when she was gone, when he a turned to someone as desperate as himself to try and dull the pain.
It hadn't worked.
Scully looked at Mulder and couldn't believe the pure pain that she saw in his eyes. Her mother and Skinner had told her how upset Mulder had been during her abduction and how he was the only person who refused to give up on her.
But it wasn't until that very moment when she saw him trying to blink back a tear that she really understood how much the events of those three months had hurt him as well.
She put a tentative finger on his face and gently brushed the tear away. Mulder took her hand and place a long tender kiss on it.
Scully felt a shutter flow through her entire body. Mulder turned her hand over so that the palm was facing up and kissed it as well.
Scully closed her eyes savoring the feeling. When she opened them she saw Mulder moving closer to her without knowing it, her lips opened to receive his kiss.
His lips were soft and gentle and the kiss between them not one of passion but one of healing and tenderness. Their kiss lasted but a moment and when they parted Mulder looked down at her with eyes that seemed to reach right into her soul.
She smiled at him ever so slightly and he leaned into to kiss her again. This kiss deepened and Scully found herself opening herself to him and eagerly exploring him as well using her hand in his hair to pull him closer.
They stayed like that exploring each other until the lack of air caused them to part. Mulder took her in his arms then and hugged her kissing the top of her hair and her neck enjoying the way she snuggled trying to get closer to him.
He sat back then and pulled her down on top of him so her head lay on his shoulder. He wrapped his arm around her and softly stroked her upper arm.
"Scully" he said planting a small kiss on her head "that was even better than I expected and let me tell you, I expected a lot."
"Thanks, I think" said Scully. She snuggled a bit closer and closed her eyes just enjoying the feel of Mulder holding her close.
"Mulder" she said looking up at him "thanks"
"Thanks? For what?" he said looking a bit puzzled.
"For stopping. For giving me a chance to digest all of this."
"I would like to say it was my pleasure Scully but I can't with all honesty. I will probably end up taking a cold shower when all is said and done."
Scully poked him in the ribs and he continued "Ouch. Seriously though, I said you could set the rules and I meant it. You and I both know what is at stake here professionally and personally and we don't want to do something we will regret later."
He looked down at her and smiled "But I don't think I will regret anything we choose to do. But seriously Scully, it is getting very late and I have an early date with Roger at the Country Club in the morning so unless you have had a change of heart, we should call it a night."
"You're right Mulder" Scully said forcing herself to leave the comfort of Mulder's arms.
Mulder followed Scully to the bottom of the stairs as if walking her to her door after their first date. Scully went up at step and then turned now able to look Mulder right in the eye.
She reached out and pulled him towards her kissing him with more passion than she thought she processed. After a moment or two, she pulled back and said in a voice huskier than normal. "Good night Mulder."
Mulder watched her climb up the stairs to the bedroom thinking to himself that he really was going to need a cold shower.
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End of chapter ten - what do you think? Too much MSR? Don't worry, the plot will thicken in the next chapter, I promise.