14 Hours Earlier

FBI Basement Office

10.45am Dec 24th

Mulder's coffee was sweet. He didn't usually take sugar, but as he idly stirred the milk in with the small plastic white stirrer, Scully walked in. He stood hidden by the shadows, his lips parted about to imbue her with a morning greeting when he froze. Her rich red locks bounced freely about her face, concealing the smile she wore as she hung up her coat and circled her table.

She was wearing a casual pair of black trousers and low heels, but his eyes focused on the baby blue fitted top, with the low v-neck that revealed the glinting cross she perpetually wore. Her fingers brushed across the blue tinsel she'd taped around her PC screen the week before, much to his own protestation and he noticed the far away look in her eyes. Glancing quickly at his own desk, he spotted the red tinsel he'd surprised her with on his PC, and he couldn't help the smile that proudly gleamed his lips.

In his attempt to bask in the silent Scully moment, he unknowingly emptied three sachets of sugar into his coffee and stirred it slowly, his mind elsewhere.

"Gonna make me a cup, Mulder?" she asked without looking up, as she pulled into her own desk and rifled through the files that rested there.

"Always do, don't I?" His answer was quick, too quick he cursed, as he hurried to fix her a coffee, spilling the boiling water on his wrist in his haste. "Ow, Shit!"

His curse was low, muttered through gritted teeth, but it was enough to grasp her attention. Switching hands, he walked over with her drink, shaking his left hand in short sharp jerks to get rid of the tingling pain.

"Burn yourself?" She put the coffee on the table and took his hand before he could walk away. Turning it over to closely examine the red skin, she pulled it closer to her face to see it better in the dimly lit office. It was nothing he hadn't done before, she noticed, and probably would again. "You'll live."

Returning to his desk, his eyes watching the strands of red tinsel flutter as he sat down with a heavy whoosh, he ignored the stinging in his hand and sipped his coffee. It was definitely, too sweet.

"I thought you weren't coming in today anyway?" His voice had an unintentional edge to it as if he was blaming her for his lapse in concentration, that made him taint his coffee with a saccharine taste he couldn't swallow, and pour the hot water across his wrist, wetting his shirt cuff in the process and having to withstand repeated burns from the hot wet material.

"Don't worry Mulder I wont be here for long. I only came into collect some files for the paper I'm writing."

"Haven't you finished that yet?"

"Nearly. I'll finish it over the holidays."

The room slowly sank into a silence that comfortably enveloped both of them. As the heating made it's presence known, Mulder took the opportunity to roll up his sleeves and relieve himself of the wet cuff, as she gathered files from various cabinets, muttering names and dates under her breath as she searched.

"You're gonna have to do something about this system Mulder."

"It's fine the way it is, Scully. Don't mess with it if it ain't broke!"

She tossed him a small smile as she walked back to her desk, the elusive files held securely in her arms. Lunch arrived without ceremony, and Mulder soon recognized her home routine as Scully shut down her PC, fixing her notes into her case.

"Leaving so soon?"

"Yes Mulder, although my desire to remain in the basement with you all day is uncontrollable, I do have other places to go to and people to see. It's Christmas Eve and I plan on doing just that. You should try it."

"I've tried it. I didn't like it!"

"Well maybe you weren't doing it right." Accompanied by his low chuckle she wrapped her coat around her and closed it tightly, before tying the scarf loosely around her neck. "You know you're welcome to come to dinner, Mulder. Mom would love to have you over."

"I know I just..."

"Yeah...Bill will be there."

"I got some stuff I need to check out and then I promised the guys..." His voice trailed off as she stepped around his desk to see his screen, noticing the half filled in crossword on the New York Times web site.

"7 Down Mulder...procrastination...to postpone action."

"Yeah I got that one."

"Mulder, it's Christmas eve. There's no law that says you have to spend it alone."

"I know Scully."

"You know where I'll be."

Deciding not to push, she left him with a lingering look and a half smile as she collected her case from her desk, leaving the room with a swift motion of small steps, wafting a lingering scent of her perfume behind her. Mulder listened to her soft footfalls as she walked the short length of the corridor to the elevator and listened for the tinny ding as the car arrived. It seemed to shock him out of his seat; he bolted across the room and bounded out of the door to catch her as she stepped in.

"Scully?"

"Yeah?"

"Should I pick you up?" he asked hesitantly, one of his long arms holding onto the doorframe as he leaned around the corner to see her.

"Sure. About 7."

The doors closed slowly, solidly and he returned to his desk. Letting out a sigh as he fell back onto his chair again, this time with more assuredness. Suddenly the snow that was pelting against the window didn't seem so bleak, and the wind that threatened to disturb his cocoon was held at bay for just a little longer.

The urge to leave the confines of his basement was overwhelming as he hurriedly switched the PC off, grabbing his jacket from the chair.

In his haste, he didn't notice the sleeve of the jacket knock over the unwanted cup of coffee until it's contents had spilled all over his desk. His expletives came fast and furious as he rushed out to the toilets to grab a towel to halt the spill from travelling further. But finally his passage was cleared and he left the office, locking it behind him.

Foregoing the elevator, Mulder practically bounced up the stairs taking them two at a time only to slam into the locked door at the garage. Confused, he pressed harder on the metal bar that crossed the door but it wasn't moving.

"What the..." Again and again he tried, but decided against trying to break the metal doors down in favor of keeping his shoulder intact. He backtracked to the ground floor entrance and made his way through the empty halls to the main desk, where the security officer sat watching the bank of small black and white security televisions.

"Excuse me, I can't seem to get into the garage. The door's locked."

"Yeah all the doors are locked as of 11am this morning. The timer has been set. Your car in there?" the elderly man added with a smirk.

"Eh yeah it's where I tend to keep it when I'm at work!"

"Well the memo was sent out last week. Since the office was closing for the holidays they decided to minimize security breeches and lock up early."

"Well can I get my car out?"

"Sorry buddy, the whole system is on a timer. Won't be open again until the 28th."

"That's bullshit! The 28th? But, I need my car?"

"Well you shouldn't have parked it in the garage."

Mulder stared at him incredulously, his mind reeling with possibilities of how to hide the body but glancing him over he decided against it, he had enough to carry with his briefcase, especially when he didn't have a car. He exhaled sharply as he closed his coat over and stalked out through the front door. Immediately battered by the cold, he hurriedly made his way across the street to the bank of cabs that awaited his custom. Realizing now why there were so many spaces available in the FBI garage this morning, he called out his address to the driver and jumped in the back for the short journey, wondering how he was going to pick up Scully without his car.

This chapter was a little bit longer... :)