Visitor in the Desert: Chapter Nine

Author: Gillian Leigh

Summary: I promised lighthearted, and I aim to please!

Disclaimer: C'mon now, we all know who owns the X-Files, and it certainly isn't a seventeen year-old with $22 in her pocket…

Author's Notes: I decided to post this chapter before the site goes down tomorrow night or whatever. Those of you reading this who are also keeping up on Coach II, the epilogue will be up soon, I PROMISE!

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Two weeks later…

            "…And Sam and Andrew want us to come over tomorrow for dinner," Mulder said, talking to Scully as he stood over the sink shaving. She turned off the water in the shower and stuck her arm out and said,

            "Hand me my robe please." He pulled the vanilla-colored terrycloth robe off of the hook beside him and handed it to her. She pulled it on and stepped out of the shower, blotting her hair dry with a towel, thinking about how nice it was to be able to sleep in on Saturday mornings, and not shower until nearly eleven. "That's great," she said. "I really want to meet Andrew. He was the other armed guard who confronted us the first day we came here." He nodded, and rinsed his razor off, and took Scully's towel from her, using it to dry off his face.

            "Hey!" she exclaimed indignantly, and playfully slapped his arm. He smiled and surprised Scully by wrapping his arms around her and drawing her body into his. His lips descended on hers, and the two kissed deeply for a number of moments. When they pulled apart, Mulder looked at her, still slightly out of breath, and said,

            "Who says Folgers is the best part of waking up?" Scully laughed and traced Mulder's lips with her index finger, rising up on her toes to meet his lips again. She smiled as she thought of the one thing she did that drove Mulder absolutely crazy when she kissed him, and then acted on it. She pulled back when she ran out of breath, and he looked at her, a wild look in his eyes.

            "You did that thing…" he said, apparently rendered nearly speechless.

            "Mmhmm," Scully mumbled, raising her eyebrow.

            "I like that thing," he said, and reached down to untie her robe as he kissed her again.

            "Mulder," she protested. "We can't. I have to leave for my mom's in an hour for lunch, and I'm too far along…" With each kiss he placed on her exposed flesh, she lost more and more of her valor.

            "We have an hour, Scully. And there are ways to work around that second part…" he said, quietly. "And either way, you started it."

            "Hi, Mom," Scully said as her mother opened the door to her apartment. Maggie smiled and ushered her daughter inside, offering a hug.

            "Hi, sweetheart." Scully offered her mother a tight-lipped smile, and asked,

            "How are you?" Maggie shrugged her shoulders, and smiled.

            "I'm adjusting. It's very nice here," she replied. "How about something to drink?"

            "I'll get it," Scully said, and headed into the kitchen.

            "No, Dana, it's alright. I'll get it. Why don't you go sit down in the living room?" Maggie wandered into the kitchen and got the pitcher of iced tea out of the refrigerator and filled two glasses. She returned to the living room to find her daughter staring off into space.

            "Dana, what's wrong?" she asked sitting down beside her.

            "I don't know," Scully replied, quietly. She sighed and took a breath before speaking again. "I don't know if it's hormones or if I'm imagining it, but I get the feeling that Mulder doesn't want to take the next step." Maggie raised her eyebrows and felt her heart sink as she watched her daughter's eyes fill with tears.

            "What do you mean, sweetheart?" she asked gently, covering her daughter's hand with her own.

            "Monica and John got engaged, and Mulder and I have been together for so much longer than they have… and he shows no interest in getting married. For God's sake, we have a son together, and a daughter on the way. I just feel like he doesn't want a commitment. As cliché as it sounds, I want to be Mrs. Fox Mulder, and have a house with a white picket fence and a dog. I don't have to have a fancy wedding, a few witnesses and the Justice of the Peace would be fine, but I want to be Mulder's wife, not just the mother of his children, or his girlfriend, or his partner. Am I being selfish, Mom? Am I being ridiculous?"

            Maggie shook her head. "Oh Dana, of course not! It's perfectly acceptable for you to want these things, but you need to tell Fox this, not me." Scully nodded, and wiped her eyes. "Now, sweetheart," Maggie said, smiling at her daughter. "I think we could both use some fresh air."

            "If by 'fresh' you mean piped in from above ground," Scully replied, and smiled at her mother. "Can we go to C.C.'s?"

            "Of course," Maggie replied. "I'll get my coat."

            The two women seated themselves at a table in C.C.'s Café, and Maggie slipped off her coat, and then said,

            "Excuse me, sweetheart, I have to use the restroom." Scully nodded and picked the menu up off the table and studied it, deciding what she wanted for lunch.

            "Chicken Caesar salad… sounds pretty good to me. How about you, Rhiannon?" The baby kicked her twice in response to her voice, and she smiled.

            "Excuse me, miss, are you ready to order?" Setting her menu down, Scully said,

            "I was actually waiting for my mother t--" She began, but then stopped when she saw who her waiter was. "Mulder?!" He stood beside her wearing a C.C.'s Café shirt, and carrying a notepad. "What the hell are you doing?"

            "Didn't I tell you that I took a second job?" he replied, leaning down to kiss her. "Hi there, Rhiannon," he said, placing a hand on her belly. The baby kicked at his hand.

            "What's this all about, Mulder?" Scully asked, regarding him curiously. He smiled at her and said,

            "Oh my, Miss Scully, I do believe there's something on your table." Scully had to work hard to keep her jaw from dropping as he jumped up on her table and pointed across the café.

            "Hit it, Fernando."

            One of the other waiters muttered, "It's Bryan," before pressing the 'play' button on a CD player. She turned an incredible shade of crimson as he plucked the sugar dispenser from the table and used it as a microphone. The first few chords of "I Think I Love You" played, and she watched in horror as he started to sing.

            "Do you think you love me.....? Ooo we!
            I THINK I LOVE YOU!"

            "Oh my God," Scully muttered, burying her face in her hands. Mulder grinned at her and continued to sing.

            "I'm sleeping
            And right in the middle of a good dream
            Then all at once I wake up
            From something that keeps knocking at my brain
            Before I go insane
            I hold my pillow to my head
            And spring up in my bed
            Screaming out the words I dread ....
            'I think I love you!'"   

            With that, he took her hand in his and pulled her to her feet. She could feel her neck and ears burning, and couldn't even look around, because she knew all of the customers in the restaurant were watching them.

            "This morning, I woke up with this feeling

            I didn't know how to deal with
            And so I just decided to myself
            I'd hide it to myself
            And never talk about it
            And did not go and shout it
            When you walked into the room .....
            'I think I love you!'" 

            With that, he dropped to his knees, and his eyes met Scully's as he still held onto her hand.

            "I think I love you
            So what am I so afraid of?
            I'm afraid that I'm not sure of
            A love there is no cure for
            I think I love you
            Isn't that what life is made of?
            Though it worries me to say
            I've never felt this way…"

            He climbed down off the table, and set his sugar dispenser down, so he could spin Scully with his free hand. She smiled at him when he pulled her close and danced with her around the café. As mortally embarrassing as the whole spectacle was, she found it touching, and she laughed as Mulder dipped her deeply.

            "Believe me
            You really don't have to worry
            I only want to make you happy
            And if you say
            Hey, go away, I will…

            But I think better still
            I'd better stay around and love you
            Do you think I have a case?
            Let me ask you to your face
            Do you think you love me?" 

            His face was inches from hers as he asked, "Do you think you love me, Scully?" She smiled and replied,

            "Yes, I think I love you, Mulder."

            "I think I love you
            So what am I so afraid of?
            I'm afraid that I'm not sure of
            A love there is no cure for
            I think I love you
            Isn't that what life is made of?
            Though it worries me to say
            I've never felt this way.

            "I don't know what I'm up against
            I don't know what it's all about
            I've go so much to think about
            Hey! I think I love you!
            So what am I so afraid of?
            I'm afraid that I'm not sure of
            A love there is no cure for
            I think I love you
            Isn't that what life is made of?
            Though it worries me to say
            I've never felt this way.

            "I think I love you!
            So what am I so afraid of?
            I'm afraid that I'm not sure of
            A love there is no cure for
            I think I love you
            Isn't that what life is made of?
            Though it worries me to say
            I've never felt this way…"

            The music ended, and Mulder kissed Scully chastely before releasing her, and then dropping down on one knee in front of her. All of the crimson color drained from her cheeks, and she studied him in shock.

            "Mulder…" He smiled up at her and pulled the velvet box from his pocket.

            "So Scully, what do you think? Do you think I have a case?" She was too stunned to speak and could only nod. "Then I guess my next question for you, Dana Katherine Scully, as belated as it may be, would have to be this one… Will you marry me?" A tear slid down her cheek, and then an enormous smile graced her face as she nodded emphatically and replied,

            "Yes, Fox Mulder, I will marry you!"

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