Part 34
Meanwhile in the tent Mulder has retreated into himself. Scully had gone into the tent with the intent of reassuring him about the future and she was shocked and saddened to find Mulder sitting cross legged with his back to her. In his right hand he holds her gun.
"Mulder, what are you doing with my gun?", she asks with a trembling voice.
"You know Scully, maybe Skinner is right. Maybe it is time to give up on this lifelong mission I have made for myself. Maybe everyone would be a lot happier if Spooky Mulder wasn't around anymore to interfere." He fingers the gun in his hand.
"Mulder, what are you trying to say", asks Scully getting very concerned.
"Maybe I should just end it. End it right here, right now", says Mulder turning but not looking her in the eye.
"Mulder, this is not you talking. You are confused and angry at Skinner. You aren't thinking rationally." Her eyes tear up as she tries to remember the key points of negotiating with a potential suicidal person. "You don't want to do this to yourself... or to me." She slowly reaches over and puts her hand over his on the gun. "We can work this out. We always do and this is not the way to deal with it." She is relieved when he allows her to take the gun away. She quickly takes the clip out and throws it out of the tent. It comes to rest against Skinner's foot who looks down and stares at it.
Scully crawls over behind Mulder and wraps her arms around him. She rests her head next to his. "Like I said we will work this out together. Don't resign, there is no going back then. Lets play by their rules and maybe we will learn more. I know thats not your usual style, but they haven't reassigned us. They've only made the X-Files more difficult to work with. They may think they know us, but we know ourselves...each other much better and this isn't going to stop us."
Mulder's eyes are teary as he turns and embraces Scully. He pulls her into his lap and kisses her once before she pulls away. "If you find that you can't go on with the arrangement we will deal with that once the time comes. I'm not going to sit back and let you suffer. It would be more difficult not being in the FBI while trying to investigate, but we could do it."
Mulder looks her in the eye. "You would still be in the bureau, you could help me. Be the spy they wanted you to be, but for me."
"I couldn't do that Mulder, listening to their comments on how they got rid of you. The day that you seriously decide to quit and put it in writing my resignation will be in the same envelope." She looks down and bites her lip. He tucks a lock of hair behind her ear.
"I won't give up yet Scully, I won't ruin your career." He releases his hold on her and gets up to crawl out of the tent. He finds Skinner embracing Kate who jumps away from him when she sees Mulder exiting the tent. Scully follows close behind.
"Sir, I've reconsidered", says Mulder glancing at Scully. "Agent Scully has talked some sense into me and I'm not going to quit. I've worked too hard over the past ten years and I'm not going to make everyone happy by leaving."
"I'm glad to hear that Agent Mulder", says Skinner. "I'm going to regret asking you this, but what happened with Bigfoot?"
"Well my opinion was Bigfoot was real, and Agent Scully actually agreed with me. Yes, that is the truly amazing part." He smiles over at Scully who smiles back. "That was until Bigfoot kidnapped Scully and held her hostage in a cave. Seeking an unfounded jealous resentment he came after me next and knocked me out. The next thing I knew I woke up and found Scully tied up next to me. Between the two of us we thought out a plan and when the so called Bigfoot came back. We had it well covered so we thought, but things turned around and Scully was almost ....raped."
"By Bigfoot", exclaims Skinner.
"No, by Bobby Lee Smith, serial rapist and one of the FBI's Most Wanted", say Scully speaking up. "Mulder interceded and during the struggle Smith was apparently shot. There wasn't any trace of him, but he is still alive and wounded somewhere out there." She glances around her, noticing the sunset on the horizon for the first time.
Just then Kate gives out a loud scream. Skinner turns to her wrapping an arm around her. "Kate whats wrong?"
"Bobby! He's here?", she cries.
"You know Bobby?", asks Scully amazed.
"Of course she does", says Mulder calmly. "Kate Smith, Bobby Lee Smith. You're related in some way aren't you?"
Skinner looks to Kate for a confirmation. She nods. "He is my ex-husband", she mumbles as she squeezes her eyes shut.
Mulder, Scully and Skinner stare at her their eyes full of questions.
Part 35
"Your ex-husband is a serial rapist?", asks Skinner slightly angry. "You mentioned that he was a nightmare, but you never mentioned that he was a wanted fugitive. You didn't know that he was around here did you? Otherwise I'm going to have to take you in for abetting a fugitive."
"No", cries Kate. "I haven't seen him in over three years. I thought he was either dead or in jail. I had no idea that he was even on the Most Wanted List."
"I believe her", says Mulder. "She didn't know anything about it. Sir, give her some slack."
"It appears that Smith has resurfaced and Kate is clearly frightened", says Scully approaching Kate and putting an arm around her. "He was an abusive husband, wasn't he?"
Kate nods. "He beat me up for everything that went wrong in his life. I only thank God that we didn't have any children. He would have abused them too and I don't know how I would ever deal with that."
"Some things are for the best", agrees Scully.
"Well, you are the senior agent", says Mulder to Skinner. "What do you want us to do? I don't know if I mentioned it before, but Smith is armed. He stole my gun when he attacked me."
"Great", says Skinner. "He is armed and could be anywhere. He could be fifty miles from here or he could be standing behind that tree over there. We can't do this alone agents. We definitely need backup. I think the best thing for us to do is for you to pack up your belongings and head back to the trailer park. We'll call the local PD and get some reinforcements. In he mean time Kate do you have a map of the local area?" Kate nods as she brushes the tears from her eyes. "I'm going to grid the area and assign sections. I also want to have a medic look at you and Scully. You've been through a lot and I don't like the look of that cut on your head Mulder."
"Scully already looked at it and said I was fine", says Mulder.
"I don't think you have a concussion, but I think it would be best if you got x-rayed", says Scully touching his arm. Mulder reluctantly agrees.
"You two aren't to be involved at all in this sting. You are still officially on leave and I'm going to stick to the ruling. After you get back to the park and get checked out I want you on the first plane to DC. You'll have to survive the rest of your "vacation" at home. Lets see that leaves you nine more days. Allright, Kate and I will go and wait for you in her jeep", says Skinner. "Pack up your gear and throw it in the back. He walks off leaving Kate behind. She follows still rubbing her eyes.
"What the hell is going on Scully? This all started as a little distraction from our mundane lives and now here we are getting sent home like little kids that have behaved badly on a field trip. I wasn't done researching these sightings and we've got nine more days. What are we going to do for nine days? Especially now as we don't have any freedom to pursue lead on our own."
"Mulder, lets just take one step at a time", says Scully. "First thing is first. We need to pack up our gear and get in the jeep. Skinner is already giving us an annoyed look because we are just standing here." She walks over to the tent and drags the two sleeping bags out. She gets down on the ground and starts to roll one up. "You know Mulder, despite being chased down by a bear, nearly getting drowned and being kidnapped by a serial rapist I really enjoyed this trip."
Mulder kneels and starts to roll up the other sleeping bag. "I had fun too Scully. It was really great to see you lighten up a little bit and let loose. We'll have to do something like this again. I mean camping, not looking for Bigfoot."
"A non-X-File related trip?", asks Scully amazed. "Is that possible?"
"Of course its possible", says Mulder. "And I have a really cool idea that I think you are going to love. You know its a long trip back to DC and who says we have to take a direct flight. What if we had a couple of layovers and just maybe we just happened to decide to take in a couple of sights and we missed our plane? We do have nine days until we have to report to the office."
"Mulder, you heard what Skinner said", says Scully staring at him as she ties up the sleeping bag. Mulder has crawled inside the tent and is tossing stuff out into the dirt. Finally he comes out and the two agents stand together as they start to take apart the tent. Scully starts to reprimand him again. "We can't just get lost, thats going to look bad Mulder."
"Come on Scully. Live for the moment. Skinner obviously is", says Mulder tossing the pieces of the tent in its bag and tying it closed.
Scully rolls her eyes and turns to see Skinner holding Kate's hands in his own. "I didn't think he had it in him", she says.
"Well Kate is obviously a very happy woman", says Mulder.
"You don't think they.. they, you know", asks Scully blushing.
"What? Did the wild thing?", asks an amused Mulder. "I don't know. You never can tell with people. Take us for instance. Skinner didn't say anything to us at all, so you can assume he is clueless about our little encounter."
"He found my nightgown though", says Scully.
"Thats pointless", says Mulder. "He didn't walk in on us. So, what's one of our mottoes?" Mulder points at Scully with a silly look on his face.
"Deny everything", smiles Scully.
"And?"
"Trust no one", continues Scully.
"Exactly", says Mulder glancing over at Skinner whispering in Kate's ear. Mulder smiles and then grabs Scully giving her a deep kiss and then quickly releasing her. He grabs the tent and one of the sleeping bags and starts walking to the jeep. "Come on Scully get those little legs moving. We've got to load up the jeep before the windows get too steamed up."
Scully laughs out loud as she picks up the other sleeping bag and her backpack. She follows Mulder to the jeep where Skinner and Kate hold looks of Cheshire cats.
Part 36
An hour and a half later the agents have been checked out by the medics and are packing up their belongings from the trailer. "Mulder, we can't leave all this garbage for Kate to pick up", says Scully pulling a trash bag out of a drawer. She starts to toss iced tea bottles into it. "Go ask Kate for a vacuum and pick up all of these shells off the floor. For the amount of time we spent in this trailer I don't understand where you found the time to eat all of those and make such a mess!"
"I can't help it Scully, they're a staple food of my diet", replies Mulder standing with his hands in his pockets.
"Just go and get the vacuum", says Scully. "And here, take this with you." She throws the bag of garbage at him as he exits the door. Scully goes into the bathroom and tosses her makeup into its bag and gathers up Mulder's shaving kit. She then takes a last look around the bedroom to make sure they haven't left anything behind. She sighs and approaches the bed to straighten the wrinkled spread. She rights it so it looks perfect for the next guest. She thinks to herself how she wishes Skinner hadn't come. Things had been going fine until he decided to butt in. She walks out of the bedroom as Mulder comes in with the vacuum. She hands him his shaving kit and walks over to her suitcase to put her makeup in. "Well everything seems to be here Mulder", says Scully as she starts to shut her suitcase. She stops and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. "Wait a minute. I know I am missing something." She turns and frowns at Mulder. "My nightgown! I never found the nightgown. What if Skinner is holding it as evidence?"
"You mean like he has a little fetish or something?", asks Mulder grinning as he plugs in the vacuum.
"No", says Scully rolling her eyes. "What if he is going to use this against us later? Are you really serious about not going directly back to DC?"
"Yeah", says Mulder. "I have a really great idea about where to go. I think we should go to .........and..........." He turns on the vacuum and keeps talking.
"What?! I can't hear you!", says Scully with her hands on her hips. "Mulder!" He ignores her and starts to vacuum up the sunflower seed shells from the carpet. She throws her hands up in the air and turns back to her suitcase to zip it up. All of a sudden she feels the suction of the vacuum on the back of her neck. She spins around and grabs it out of Mulder's mischievous hands. Turning it off she glares at him. "Mulder, get serious for once! Now are you all packed to go or what?"
"Oh, I see that now we are on the way home you're going to turn back into the same old Scully. Can't take a joke anymore can you?", says Mulder picking up his overnight bag and tossing it over his shoulder. "Maybe we should go right home. It would have been a big mistake." He walks out the door.
Scully watches him go. She thinks to herself that he is being too sensitive and he'll come out of it. He was being moody because of this newest restriction set on them. She turns back to her suitcase and lugs it off of the couch. "What was I thinking! I never even used the microscope and Mulder was right. It weighs a ton!" She drags it to the door and throws it down the stairs. It lands in the dirt and she hops over it closing the door. She looks around and sees Mulder sitting on top of a nearby picnic table. He is leaning on his knees, his feet resting on one of the seats. She snorts as she sees he is once again eating sunflower seeds. 'Doesn't he ever stop eating those', she asks herself. She leaves the suitcase behind and approaches the table. Sitting down beside him she tucks her arm through his.
"Mulder, you aren't going to get upset with me just because I don't enjoy having a vacuum cleaner sucking on my neck are you? I'd rather it was you and not the vacuum." She gives one of her rare giddy laughs. Mulder finally chuckles and looks at her.
"Its just you lose your temper too easy Scully. There isn't any reason to bite my head off. I was just teasing."
"I'm a redhead. I'm expected to have a temper", says Scully. "Well at least I'm a redhead at heart." She runs her hand through her hair. "Now are we going somewhere or not?"
"I had made some tentative plans, but now I'm not sure if it was a good idea", says Mulder looking away again.
"Tell me", says Scully pulling on his arm. "I promise I won't get mad or upset. I'll try to be more open about things. Oh, I know. You came up with something else to investigate. We're in California, I know you want to check out Death Valley. Okay, fine Mulder we'll go to Death Valley because thetas a good place for us to go when Skinner gets a hold of us again." She smiles at him, but he doesn't look at her.
"I didn't really have time to make arrangements myself so I had a little help", says Mulder leaning over and pulling a Fed-Ex package from his bag. "I called the other day from the trailer when you were sleeping." He pulls a piece of paper from his pocket and slaps it on top of the package and hands them to her. "I'll give this to you now, but its not how I really planned it. Like I said it was a bad idea." He pulls his arm from hers and picks up his bag. He walks away to talk to Howie on the porch of the office. Howie nods and motions Mulder over to the van and takes his bag from him.
Scully looks down at the envelope and sees the return address as "The Lone Gunmen". First she looks at the paper and sees a faxed confirmation for two tickets to Las Vegas. She laughs to herself as she realizes Mulder wants to try to hit it big. She opens up the Fed-Ex package and looks in. She sees a small velvet box and takes it out. Her expression immediately changes and she bites her lip as she opens up the box to see a carot diamond ring. She takes it out and really stares at it and then looks up at the sound of a motor. She sees Howie driving away in the van with Mulder in it. "Mulder! Where the hell are you going?", she yells as she jumps to her feet standing on the seat of the picnic table. The van leaves and Scully runs to the office where Kate and Skinner are standing over a map of the area.
"Kate! Did you hear where Mulder was going?", asks Scully gasping for breath.
"He is going back to DC Agent Scully", says Skinner. "As you should be. Now why are you standing here and not on that van?" He glances down seeing the package and ringbox.
"Thats a very good question Sir", says Scully looking down.
Meanwhile in the tent Mulder has retreated into himself. Scully had gone into the tent with the intent of reassuring him about the future and she was shocked and saddened to find Mulder sitting cross legged with his back to her. In his right hand he holds her gun.
"Mulder, what are you doing with my gun?", she asks with a trembling voice.
"You know Scully, maybe Skinner is right. Maybe it is time to give up on this lifelong mission I have made for myself. Maybe everyone would be a lot happier if Spooky Mulder wasn't around anymore to interfere." He fingers the gun in his hand.
"Mulder, what are you trying to say", asks Scully getting very concerned.
"Maybe I should just end it. End it right here, right now", says Mulder turning but not looking her in the eye.
"Mulder, this is not you talking. You are confused and angry at Skinner. You aren't thinking rationally." Her eyes tear up as she tries to remember the key points of negotiating with a potential suicidal person. "You don't want to do this to yourself... or to me." She slowly reaches over and puts her hand over his on the gun. "We can work this out. We always do and this is not the way to deal with it." She is relieved when he allows her to take the gun away. She quickly takes the clip out and throws it out of the tent. It comes to rest against Skinner's foot who looks down and stares at it.
Scully crawls over behind Mulder and wraps her arms around him. She rests her head next to his. "Like I said we will work this out together. Don't resign, there is no going back then. Lets play by their rules and maybe we will learn more. I know thats not your usual style, but they haven't reassigned us. They've only made the X-Files more difficult to work with. They may think they know us, but we know ourselves...each other much better and this isn't going to stop us."
Mulder's eyes are teary as he turns and embraces Scully. He pulls her into his lap and kisses her once before she pulls away. "If you find that you can't go on with the arrangement we will deal with that once the time comes. I'm not going to sit back and let you suffer. It would be more difficult not being in the FBI while trying to investigate, but we could do it."
Mulder looks her in the eye. "You would still be in the bureau, you could help me. Be the spy they wanted you to be, but for me."
"I couldn't do that Mulder, listening to their comments on how they got rid of you. The day that you seriously decide to quit and put it in writing my resignation will be in the same envelope." She looks down and bites her lip. He tucks a lock of hair behind her ear.
"I won't give up yet Scully, I won't ruin your career." He releases his hold on her and gets up to crawl out of the tent. He finds Skinner embracing Kate who jumps away from him when she sees Mulder exiting the tent. Scully follows close behind.
"Sir, I've reconsidered", says Mulder glancing at Scully. "Agent Scully has talked some sense into me and I'm not going to quit. I've worked too hard over the past ten years and I'm not going to make everyone happy by leaving."
"I'm glad to hear that Agent Mulder", says Skinner. "I'm going to regret asking you this, but what happened with Bigfoot?"
"Well my opinion was Bigfoot was real, and Agent Scully actually agreed with me. Yes, that is the truly amazing part." He smiles over at Scully who smiles back. "That was until Bigfoot kidnapped Scully and held her hostage in a cave. Seeking an unfounded jealous resentment he came after me next and knocked me out. The next thing I knew I woke up and found Scully tied up next to me. Between the two of us we thought out a plan and when the so called Bigfoot came back. We had it well covered so we thought, but things turned around and Scully was almost ....raped."
"By Bigfoot", exclaims Skinner.
"No, by Bobby Lee Smith, serial rapist and one of the FBI's Most Wanted", say Scully speaking up. "Mulder interceded and during the struggle Smith was apparently shot. There wasn't any trace of him, but he is still alive and wounded somewhere out there." She glances around her, noticing the sunset on the horizon for the first time.
Just then Kate gives out a loud scream. Skinner turns to her wrapping an arm around her. "Kate whats wrong?"
"Bobby! He's here?", she cries.
"You know Bobby?", asks Scully amazed.
"Of course she does", says Mulder calmly. "Kate Smith, Bobby Lee Smith. You're related in some way aren't you?"
Skinner looks to Kate for a confirmation. She nods. "He is my ex-husband", she mumbles as she squeezes her eyes shut.
Mulder, Scully and Skinner stare at her their eyes full of questions.
Part 35
"Your ex-husband is a serial rapist?", asks Skinner slightly angry. "You mentioned that he was a nightmare, but you never mentioned that he was a wanted fugitive. You didn't know that he was around here did you? Otherwise I'm going to have to take you in for abetting a fugitive."
"No", cries Kate. "I haven't seen him in over three years. I thought he was either dead or in jail. I had no idea that he was even on the Most Wanted List."
"I believe her", says Mulder. "She didn't know anything about it. Sir, give her some slack."
"It appears that Smith has resurfaced and Kate is clearly frightened", says Scully approaching Kate and putting an arm around her. "He was an abusive husband, wasn't he?"
Kate nods. "He beat me up for everything that went wrong in his life. I only thank God that we didn't have any children. He would have abused them too and I don't know how I would ever deal with that."
"Some things are for the best", agrees Scully.
"Well, you are the senior agent", says Mulder to Skinner. "What do you want us to do? I don't know if I mentioned it before, but Smith is armed. He stole my gun when he attacked me."
"Great", says Skinner. "He is armed and could be anywhere. He could be fifty miles from here or he could be standing behind that tree over there. We can't do this alone agents. We definitely need backup. I think the best thing for us to do is for you to pack up your belongings and head back to the trailer park. We'll call the local PD and get some reinforcements. In he mean time Kate do you have a map of the local area?" Kate nods as she brushes the tears from her eyes. "I'm going to grid the area and assign sections. I also want to have a medic look at you and Scully. You've been through a lot and I don't like the look of that cut on your head Mulder."
"Scully already looked at it and said I was fine", says Mulder.
"I don't think you have a concussion, but I think it would be best if you got x-rayed", says Scully touching his arm. Mulder reluctantly agrees.
"You two aren't to be involved at all in this sting. You are still officially on leave and I'm going to stick to the ruling. After you get back to the park and get checked out I want you on the first plane to DC. You'll have to survive the rest of your "vacation" at home. Lets see that leaves you nine more days. Allright, Kate and I will go and wait for you in her jeep", says Skinner. "Pack up your gear and throw it in the back. He walks off leaving Kate behind. She follows still rubbing her eyes.
"What the hell is going on Scully? This all started as a little distraction from our mundane lives and now here we are getting sent home like little kids that have behaved badly on a field trip. I wasn't done researching these sightings and we've got nine more days. What are we going to do for nine days? Especially now as we don't have any freedom to pursue lead on our own."
"Mulder, lets just take one step at a time", says Scully. "First thing is first. We need to pack up our gear and get in the jeep. Skinner is already giving us an annoyed look because we are just standing here." She walks over to the tent and drags the two sleeping bags out. She gets down on the ground and starts to roll one up. "You know Mulder, despite being chased down by a bear, nearly getting drowned and being kidnapped by a serial rapist I really enjoyed this trip."
Mulder kneels and starts to roll up the other sleeping bag. "I had fun too Scully. It was really great to see you lighten up a little bit and let loose. We'll have to do something like this again. I mean camping, not looking for Bigfoot."
"A non-X-File related trip?", asks Scully amazed. "Is that possible?"
"Of course its possible", says Mulder. "And I have a really cool idea that I think you are going to love. You know its a long trip back to DC and who says we have to take a direct flight. What if we had a couple of layovers and just maybe we just happened to decide to take in a couple of sights and we missed our plane? We do have nine days until we have to report to the office."
"Mulder, you heard what Skinner said", says Scully staring at him as she ties up the sleeping bag. Mulder has crawled inside the tent and is tossing stuff out into the dirt. Finally he comes out and the two agents stand together as they start to take apart the tent. Scully starts to reprimand him again. "We can't just get lost, thats going to look bad Mulder."
"Come on Scully. Live for the moment. Skinner obviously is", says Mulder tossing the pieces of the tent in its bag and tying it closed.
Scully rolls her eyes and turns to see Skinner holding Kate's hands in his own. "I didn't think he had it in him", she says.
"Well Kate is obviously a very happy woman", says Mulder.
"You don't think they.. they, you know", asks Scully blushing.
"What? Did the wild thing?", asks an amused Mulder. "I don't know. You never can tell with people. Take us for instance. Skinner didn't say anything to us at all, so you can assume he is clueless about our little encounter."
"He found my nightgown though", says Scully.
"Thats pointless", says Mulder. "He didn't walk in on us. So, what's one of our mottoes?" Mulder points at Scully with a silly look on his face.
"Deny everything", smiles Scully.
"And?"
"Trust no one", continues Scully.
"Exactly", says Mulder glancing over at Skinner whispering in Kate's ear. Mulder smiles and then grabs Scully giving her a deep kiss and then quickly releasing her. He grabs the tent and one of the sleeping bags and starts walking to the jeep. "Come on Scully get those little legs moving. We've got to load up the jeep before the windows get too steamed up."
Scully laughs out loud as she picks up the other sleeping bag and her backpack. She follows Mulder to the jeep where Skinner and Kate hold looks of Cheshire cats.
Part 36
An hour and a half later the agents have been checked out by the medics and are packing up their belongings from the trailer. "Mulder, we can't leave all this garbage for Kate to pick up", says Scully pulling a trash bag out of a drawer. She starts to toss iced tea bottles into it. "Go ask Kate for a vacuum and pick up all of these shells off the floor. For the amount of time we spent in this trailer I don't understand where you found the time to eat all of those and make such a mess!"
"I can't help it Scully, they're a staple food of my diet", replies Mulder standing with his hands in his pockets.
"Just go and get the vacuum", says Scully. "And here, take this with you." She throws the bag of garbage at him as he exits the door. Scully goes into the bathroom and tosses her makeup into its bag and gathers up Mulder's shaving kit. She then takes a last look around the bedroom to make sure they haven't left anything behind. She sighs and approaches the bed to straighten the wrinkled spread. She rights it so it looks perfect for the next guest. She thinks to herself how she wishes Skinner hadn't come. Things had been going fine until he decided to butt in. She walks out of the bedroom as Mulder comes in with the vacuum. She hands him his shaving kit and walks over to her suitcase to put her makeup in. "Well everything seems to be here Mulder", says Scully as she starts to shut her suitcase. She stops and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. "Wait a minute. I know I am missing something." She turns and frowns at Mulder. "My nightgown! I never found the nightgown. What if Skinner is holding it as evidence?"
"You mean like he has a little fetish or something?", asks Mulder grinning as he plugs in the vacuum.
"No", says Scully rolling her eyes. "What if he is going to use this against us later? Are you really serious about not going directly back to DC?"
"Yeah", says Mulder. "I have a really great idea about where to go. I think we should go to .........and..........." He turns on the vacuum and keeps talking.
"What?! I can't hear you!", says Scully with her hands on her hips. "Mulder!" He ignores her and starts to vacuum up the sunflower seed shells from the carpet. She throws her hands up in the air and turns back to her suitcase to zip it up. All of a sudden she feels the suction of the vacuum on the back of her neck. She spins around and grabs it out of Mulder's mischievous hands. Turning it off she glares at him. "Mulder, get serious for once! Now are you all packed to go or what?"
"Oh, I see that now we are on the way home you're going to turn back into the same old Scully. Can't take a joke anymore can you?", says Mulder picking up his overnight bag and tossing it over his shoulder. "Maybe we should go right home. It would have been a big mistake." He walks out the door.
Scully watches him go. She thinks to herself that he is being too sensitive and he'll come out of it. He was being moody because of this newest restriction set on them. She turns back to her suitcase and lugs it off of the couch. "What was I thinking! I never even used the microscope and Mulder was right. It weighs a ton!" She drags it to the door and throws it down the stairs. It lands in the dirt and she hops over it closing the door. She looks around and sees Mulder sitting on top of a nearby picnic table. He is leaning on his knees, his feet resting on one of the seats. She snorts as she sees he is once again eating sunflower seeds. 'Doesn't he ever stop eating those', she asks herself. She leaves the suitcase behind and approaches the table. Sitting down beside him she tucks her arm through his.
"Mulder, you aren't going to get upset with me just because I don't enjoy having a vacuum cleaner sucking on my neck are you? I'd rather it was you and not the vacuum." She gives one of her rare giddy laughs. Mulder finally chuckles and looks at her.
"Its just you lose your temper too easy Scully. There isn't any reason to bite my head off. I was just teasing."
"I'm a redhead. I'm expected to have a temper", says Scully. "Well at least I'm a redhead at heart." She runs her hand through her hair. "Now are we going somewhere or not?"
"I had made some tentative plans, but now I'm not sure if it was a good idea", says Mulder looking away again.
"Tell me", says Scully pulling on his arm. "I promise I won't get mad or upset. I'll try to be more open about things. Oh, I know. You came up with something else to investigate. We're in California, I know you want to check out Death Valley. Okay, fine Mulder we'll go to Death Valley because thetas a good place for us to go when Skinner gets a hold of us again." She smiles at him, but he doesn't look at her.
"I didn't really have time to make arrangements myself so I had a little help", says Mulder leaning over and pulling a Fed-Ex package from his bag. "I called the other day from the trailer when you were sleeping." He pulls a piece of paper from his pocket and slaps it on top of the package and hands them to her. "I'll give this to you now, but its not how I really planned it. Like I said it was a bad idea." He pulls his arm from hers and picks up his bag. He walks away to talk to Howie on the porch of the office. Howie nods and motions Mulder over to the van and takes his bag from him.
Scully looks down at the envelope and sees the return address as "The Lone Gunmen". First she looks at the paper and sees a faxed confirmation for two tickets to Las Vegas. She laughs to herself as she realizes Mulder wants to try to hit it big. She opens up the Fed-Ex package and looks in. She sees a small velvet box and takes it out. Her expression immediately changes and she bites her lip as she opens up the box to see a carot diamond ring. She takes it out and really stares at it and then looks up at the sound of a motor. She sees Howie driving away in the van with Mulder in it. "Mulder! Where the hell are you going?", she yells as she jumps to her feet standing on the seat of the picnic table. The van leaves and Scully runs to the office where Kate and Skinner are standing over a map of the area.
"Kate! Did you hear where Mulder was going?", asks Scully gasping for breath.
"He is going back to DC Agent Scully", says Skinner. "As you should be. Now why are you standing here and not on that van?" He glances down seeing the package and ringbox.
"Thats a very good question Sir", says Scully looking down.