Title: Just a hug
Author: Petey
Rating: PG (MSR)
Summary: Pre-season 7. Scully stays late in the office with Mulder, afraid to go home alone.

feedback always appreciated

Scully sat at the corner of Mulders desk in the chair that she had come to accept as the closest thing she would ever get to a desk in this office. It was one of those rare days when they didn't have anywhere to go. No mysterious phenomena to chase down, no ufo sitghtings out of state or across the country, no rumours of monsters prowling any neighbourhoods. Scully was relieved to have such a relaxing day after everything that she had been through lately. She was tired, and found her eyes drooping as she picked at her finger nails. The ones on her left hand were longer than the ones on her right hand. Probably because she used her right hand more than the left hand. Her eyes wandered from her fingers to the watch on her wrist. It was almost nine o'clock, and Mulder didn't look like he was going home any time soon. She had been looking at her watch every ten minutes since 6 o'clock, each time thinking she should go home soon and get a good nights sleep. And each time she didn't go. She didn't go because the thought of going home alone made her feel worse. And waking up alone these days was like waking up with a hangover.

Scully looked at her watch again – 9 o'clock. She looked at Mulder, he was hunched over, his head laying sideways on the desk looking at a picture through a magnifying glass. Scully sighed lightly and stood up to go into the other room to get coffee. Mulder didn't even notice her leave.

Mulder stopped what he was doing and looked up. The room felt different. Scully's chair was empty. Had she left without saying goodbye? Or had he been too consumed in the photos that he hadn't noticed. He looked at his watch – 9 o'clock. He wasn't surprised if she had left, but he looked around the room anyway. He saw her in the next room through the glass doorway by the coffee pots. The coffee in those pots is probably leftover from this morning. She was leaning, her hands on the counter. Mulder tucked the photos back in the folder and stood up to put them in the filing cabinet.

Scully looked at the pots. The coffee was still warm, but she knew it was the stuff Mulder had made when he came in this morning. She considered making a new pot, but she knew that coffee at this point would only keep her up all night. And that was bad. She had to go home and go to bed. But something was holding her back. That dreaded voice she knew would come the minute she laid down, the one that reminded her she was alone. Scully would forego sleep any time to avoid that. She came back into the main office with an empty mug.

"Hey Scully, you change your mind about something?" Mulder indicated the empty mug in her hand.

"Hm? Oh yeah, coffee. Bad for me this late. It's bad for anyone this late. Unhealthy habit-"

Mulder nodded in agreement. He had come to reason over the years that anything medical she said he would not argue, he wouldn't say anything or add anything. It would only make him look dumb, Scully was the doctor here. She had her profession –medicine. He had his expertise –aliens, government agendas. Mulder nodded silently in approval of his own thoughts. He pushed the last file into the cabinet and closed the drawer. He looked down at Scully. She was looking down at the mug her hand as she let it dangle off her thumbs, twisting it from side to side from the handle. She wondered why she was still holding the empty mug. She put it on top of the filing cabinet and brought her hands back to rub her eyes Maybe that would help them stay open she thought.

Her plan didn't work. Now her eyes were dry and itching.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine" Scully looked up with her tired eyes and gave him a weak smile. At least it passed for a smile, it wasn't really much of anything. But it was enough to keep Mulder satisfied everytime he asked her if she was okay.

Mulder wasn't too worried. He knew that is was just fatigue bothering her. He mimicked her smile back and gave her shoulder a rub.

Scully averted her eyes from Mulder. And now, staring at his own broad shoulders, she saw the pillow that she snuggled up to everynight when she couldn't sleep –and that was a lot. She closed her eyes and leaned into him, laying her head on his chest. She rested there for a moment, this was better than her pillow already, her pillow did not have a heartbeat. Scully wrapped her arms around Mulder's body, he did not give way like her pillow and be squished to zero mass by her tighten arms, but in returned Mulder embraced her, wrapping his strong arms around her small frame.

"What's wrong?" he didn't know why he asked that. Nothing had to be wrong for this kind of closeness to happen between them. But in most situations that wasn't the case, something usually was wrong. A million thoughts ran through Mulder's head at the possibilities. But Scully eased his mind.

"Nothing's wrong. I just need a hug."

Mulder understood. He held her closer and rubbed her back, gently massaging away all the tension in her body. Scully released a deep breath and buried her face in Mulder's arms. She relaxed, and her breathing became more even with each breath.

"Oh, I could fall asleep right here" she said, smoothing her hands across Mulder's back and bringing them up to grip his shoulders..

"Don't –don't do that" he said, laughing a little.

"You can carry me, right?" she said teasingly.

He could feel her smile against his chest. "Maybe I should get you home while you're still in the mood."

"What?"

Mulder ran over the words he had just said in his head as soon as he said them. "I didn't mean it like that."

"Like what?"

"I meant you look like you haven't been getting a lot of sleep, and you should go home now while you still feel tired."

"You're right" Scully let her arms drop slowy to her side. Mulder traced his hand down Scully's arms and gave her hands a squeeze before letting go. "I feel a lot better. Thank you."

She did feel a lot better. For the moment. But there was still little thing that was still in there somewhere that had started this whole thing. She had gotten her fix but she was still going home alone.Scully rubbed her temples --she could feel the headache already.

"Are you okay to drive?" Mulder asked.

"I'm not drunk," Mulder.

They both smiled.

"Good night, Mulder."

"Good night, Scully."