Sleepily, Mulder wandered in the dark to the living room, picking up the insistent telephone. "Hello?" he mumbled, his voice thick and slurred with sleep.
He heard the caller breathing, and more clearly inquired who was calling, almost ready to hang up and stumble back to bed. That is, until a timid, whispered 'Mulder?' floated from the earpiece of his phone.
He awakened quickly as the adrenaline started flowing, "What's wrong?"
On the other end of the phone, Scully's unsteady hand smoothed over her face. "Can you come over? I need you." Her whispered words cracked on the last sentence.
"Of course. Okay. Are you okay, Scully?"
Scully shook her head, though assured him she was fine over the phone. "Can you walk? I'll be on my back porch. I don't want to wake up my parents."
Mulder nodded, "Okay, I'll be there in a few minutes. It'll be okay." Mulder hung up and quickly grabbed a T-shirt and a pair of jeans off his bedroom floor before slipping into the darkness.
He approached her backyard from the side, so he saw her before she saw him. She was sitting in shorts and a tank top—much too little clothing for such a chilly night—on the cement steps that led to the closed porch. She was staring at a space somewhere ahead of her feet. She turned away from him, ducking her head, before resuming her study of the sidewalk.
"Hey, Angel," he whispered so not to startle her, but she seemed surprised anyway. "Are you all right?"
She smiled, tight-lipped, and nodded. He squatted in front of her, soothingly rubbing her knee. When he leaned in for a kiss, though, she ducked her chin to her chest. For a brief millisecond, he though she was upset with him. When the smoke wafted guiltily out of her mouth, he was genuinely surprised.
He sat back on his heels, "I didn't know you smoked."
She smiled weakly and bluntly replied, "I don't" before taking a long drag on the cigarette, simultaneously exhaling and flicking the butt onto the ground between them.
He just stared at her.
"I mean, I used to. They're my mother's. Only when I can't sleep because I'm anxious about something. I've only smoked once since I met you, except this, I mean," she offered, gesturing to the ground between them.
"When..uh" he stuttered, "When was that time?"
"When I heard your father beat you."
Her callous bluntness hurt him, and he physically felt repelled. She looked up, though, and caught the hurt that distorted his features.
"I'm sorry, really. I'm just in a weird mood. I didn't mean it like that, honestly. I tend to get a little, cold, I guess. But when I saw what he did to you…Mulder," she looked up sharply, "I was so scared. If he was that capable of flipping out over the fact that the car was in the driveway, how little could cause him to really hurt you!" Her voice was sharp, not the remorseful tone of an apology, but the ferocity behind the words delivered much the same effect.
He nodded for a long moment to the point where the motion was repetitive rather than conscious. Like a drawn spring, the nodding faded off. After a moment of them both absolutely quiet, absolutely still, his voice, now timid, asked, "What is worrying you now?"
"Us." He wondered for a beat if she was breaking up with him. "Tomorrow. Tonight. I'm not sure what bothers me more: telling you no or telling myself no. God, Mulder, I…I've never been as close to anyone, except my family, as I am to you. I don't want sex to come between us."
He shifted until he was sitting cross-legged, looking up at her.
She laughed humorlessly, "Hell, they say that sex changes everything, but they never said that the lack of sex changes everything as well."
He shook his head, "Nothing's changed."
"Everything's changed," she countered, more stern than petulant.
"Scully, listen. I'm not going to lie to you and say that I don't want to, but that's not why I'm in this relationship. We're both young, and you're even younger than me, so you're right, it is a huge deal. But it's not going to push me away from you. I love you. And I didn't mean for tonight to come to that anyway, really. My weak attempts at cooking were not to seduce you, honestly."
She crossed her arms and brought her knees together, her feet still spread, so that her posture was more alluring than defensive in its innocence. She leaned forward but didn't speak.
His eyes were soft and his voice was smoother as he continued assuring her, "I respect your beliefs because they're yours. I don't have to agree with them. But you have to understand, Scully, that it's not always easy. Sometimes you're going to have to stop me."
She nodded.
"But you shouldn't smoke."
She smiled, her eyes visibly wet. "I know."
"Tomorrow is going to be fun. I'm surprised your parents are letting you stay over. My grandmother is thrilled. Oh, she told me you'll be sharing a room with my cousin Nancy. You'll like her. She's only in junior high but she's really funny."
She was not convinced, "Your parents—they don't even know me."
He shook his head, "It doesn't matter. And you don't even have to talk to them if you don't want to. As I said, there'll be enough people at the party that it'll be easy."
"What if I don't fit in?"
"Well," he looked thoughtful, "We get along all right, and I'm the most messed up one there is. If you can handle me, you can deal with the worst of them," he grinned at her.
She smiled, her eyes closing slightly.
"See? It'll be wonderful. Are you packed for tomorrow? It's about four hours away, so we're leaving at seven. You can tell your parents you're going to be home on Sunday around five because of Sunday brunch. And I can take you to church in the morning, if you want. There's a Catholic one not far down the road."
She lowered herself from the stairs and wrapped her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly, "Thanks you so much," she mumbled into his neck.
He kissed her forehead before kissing her lips. "Now, it's past your bedtime," he mock-admonished. "Do you think you can get some sleep, now?"
She nodded. He helped her stand up and pushed her towards the back door of her house. "All right, now I'll pick you up tomorrow morning."
She obediently walked through the porch and into the house. She smiled as he waited for the lock to click before walking back to his own house.
It was four o'clock in the morning.
Less than three hours later, the doorbell obediently signaled Mulder's presence. William Scully answered the door and politely offered Mulder coffee as he waited for Scully. Together, the two sat down at the kitchen table, the steaming mugs of coffee between them. The Navy Captain stared hard at the high schooler, and Mulder took a long sip of the too-hot liquid to avert his eyes.
"So, Mr. Mulder," Captain Scully started after a moment of watching the boy squirm. "You are going to a family reunion on Martha's Vineyard."
"Yes, sir. In Chilmark, where my family is from."
Captain Scully nodded as if he had known this information. "And you are taking my younger daughter away from this house. Four hours away, to be exact."
Mulder was not sure if he should agree or not, so he said nothing.
"I trust my daughter, and she seems to trust you, but she is my daughter. You will not harm her in any way, is that clear?"
Mulder had never encountered such a protective father, though he did not blame the man. "Yes, sir."
Mr. Scully nodded. "Where will you two be staying?"
"My grandparent's house, where the party is being held. I'm rooming with my Uncle Robert, Dana's staying with my cousin Nancy; she's twelve."
"And what about Sunday?"
"Well, the Mulder side of my family is Jewish, so Sunday isn't the typical Sabbath for us. There is a Catholic church, though, about five minutes down the road from my grandmother's house. Dana and I are going to attend the early…service."
Mr. Scully crossed his arms on the table, leaning forward. "Fox, have you ever been to a Catholic Mass?"
Mulder stumbled a little, "No, sir."
"Well, it will be a good experience then," Mr. Scully finished and stood as he saw his daughter enter the kitchen. Mulder turned and stood as well. Dana stood in the door jamb, a smile playing at her lips.
"Are you done, Daddy?" She asked teasingly.
"Come give your old man a hug, Starbuck. I'm not the one used to standing on shore as you ship off."
She laughed and walked over to her father, hugging him sideways as he kissed her forehead. With her tea-length skirt and her soft curls, standing next to her lumbering father, Scully did not look all of her sixteen years. For the first time, Mulder saw his girlfriend through the eyes of her father. He picked up her overnight bag and patiently stood at the entrance to the kitchen.
Scully turned to him, smiling. "Ready?"
"When you are."
She stood on her toes and kissed her father's cheek, saying good-bye. When she reached where Mulder was standing, he turned towards Mr. Scully, "Good-bye Mr. Scully. We should be back tomorrow evening."
"Take care of my daughter," Mr. Scully reminded him.
"I will, sir."
"I know you will, Son," the father changed his tone with this line, letting the boy know he approved.
Well, as much as a father can approve any boy hanging around his daughter.
The two teenagers walked out to the car with Mr. Scully following them as far as the front porch. When they reached the car, Mulder left Scully by the front bumper and packed her bag next to his in the trunk, taking the opportunity to admire her appearance. She had definitely taken care dressing for the occasion, Mulder mused. Her linen A-line skirt resembled the French-country style with its royal blue-on-white large floral pattern. She wore a well-fitted cardigan in the same shade of blue and tiny white sandals. She looked decidedly upper-class prep, a look he had not seen her in before. He had hoped that she would not have worried so much, but his worrisome self couldn't blame her without admitting hypocrisy.
As he opened the car door for her and climbed up beside her, he continued his thought process. She must have spent a great deal of time this morning; he hoped she was able to sleep. Her hair hung in soft curls, gently framing her face. Not that he usually noticed these types of things, but her make-up was impeccable. She was really set on making the perfect impression on his family, and her sweetness nearly broke his heart.
After the car pulled to a stop at the first red light they encountered, he pulled her hand into his. "Angel, you look gorgeous."
She smiled, relieved, "You think so?"
He kissed her knuckles, nodding fervently as he rested their hands on the middle console. "You know we have quite a way to drive before you see them. Do you want to stop somewhere and change into something more comfortable? We can change back into these clothes on the ferry."
She looked down at her clothes thoughtfully. "Yeah, you're probably right."
He replied, "Then we'll change when we stop to pick up breakfast. I need some coffee, but your father's coffee is really strong."
She laughed, "He uses chicory, like they do in New Orleans. Nobody else can stand it, either."
They stopped at a McDonald's and changed into t-shirts and jeans with a promise of changing back before any of his family saw her. Mulder ordered coffee for himself and orange juice for Scully along with breakfast sandwiches. A short time later, they were back on the road.
Three hours later, they were moving at a crawl, in line to board the ferry. Mulder watched, smiling as Scully took in the sight of the ferry with its cars docking. "Is this the first time you've been on a ferry?"
She nodded.
"Usually when I visit, I just board without my car, which is over there," he pointed to another loading point. "But I thought it'd be nice to have a car if we wanted to go somewhere. When we pull away from the dock, we can go up to the observation deck."
Scully smiled, "I'd like that."
For about thirty minutes, the two wandered around the deck, watching the ferrymen and whispering jokes about other passengers. They made their way to the edge of the deck, Mulder wrapping his arm around her waist. "See, just to the left? That's Martha's Vineyard."
She pulled her hair back in one hand, gathering it to protect it from the wind. "It's beautiful." Silently, they watched as the green spot on the horizon grew larger until it manifested itself as a recognizable island.
"I have something I want to give you," he whispered in her ear. "Let's go back to the car."
She nodded and took his hand and they weaved through the crowd. Once back at the car, Mulder dug through his bag before tucking his jeans back down and closing the trunk. She watched him, dubious amusement written on her face. He walked around the car to where she was standing. "Doubting me, Scully?" he teased.
She shook her head playfully, "Never."
He leaned against the side of his car and wrapped his arms around her, a small box held securely in his hands. He kissed her slowly, pulling away to watch her reaction. She smiled up at him expectantly when he failed to speak. He dropped his arms and shoved his hands stiffly into his pocket, fumbling for the right words. He brought his now-empty hands up in the air, visually trying to explain himself.
She lifted her eyebrows a little, but let him find the words on his own. He cupped her face in his hands. "I love you more than I thought I was able to," he started. Shaking his head, he tried again, "You are so important to me, as a friend and as my girlfriend." Frustrated, he walked away from the car, then turned and walked back.
He laughed nervously, "I'm really messing this up."
She shook her head but said nothing.
Looking around, he pulled Scully by the hand to a park bench cemented between the rows of cars and sat down beside her, their knees banging as he turned towards her. "My grandmother is a wonderful lady, and I know you two are going to get along really well. She's well-known in my family for being both generous and sentimental. For my fourteenth birthday, she invited me to the house for the weekend. She told me about her first love, when she was nineteen, and how it affected her. She always says that your first love shapes who you are as an adult. So," he trailed off, shyly pulling his eyes away from hers, playing with the fingers. "It's something special. Nobody gets to experience a first love twice. She says it's the foundation of our love lives. And since," he trailed off once again then whispered, "you're my first love, it's a big deal."
He grinned. "My grandmother said first loves are often overlooked, though never forgotten. Her first love gave her something to signify it, and I'm supposed to give it to mine." He pulled out the small box and tentatively handed it to her. "No strings attached, it's a thank-you for giving me this new beginning."
The corners of her mouth turned upward as she flipped open the lid. Mulder watched intently as her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. She looked up at him shaking her head before dropping her eyes back down. Gently, she ran her fingers over the hard roughness of the jewelry.
"It's gorgeous," she whispered. "Are you sure you want me to have this?" Her face was open and honest.
He nodded. "You aren't my first girlfriend, Dana, but you are my first love. You deserve this."
She beamed, "You're my first, too." She handed him back the open box. "Will you put it on for me?"
He nodded and took her left hand into his lap. He held the bracelet up to the light, dangling it in front of her. "Do you like it?"
She dipped her head before laughing happily, "I love it, Mulder. I can't believe you're giving me this!"
He kissed her before leaning back to attach the clasp on the bracelet. She held her arm up, admiring the way the light bounced off the… "Diamonds?" she asked.
He nodded. "Diamonds and white gold."
Her decorated arm flew up, her hand covering her mouth before returning out in front of her body. She twisted her wrist, admiring the tennis bracelet. Small circles of white gold and diamonds sat side-by-side, connected by shiny, white gold.
She laughed and kissed him hard on the mouth, still smiling when she pulled away. "I love you," she whispered. She leaned against him, her face to the sun peaking through the edge of the covered garage, watching the light dance of the diamonds. Affectionately, he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close.
"We should get back to car; we're about to dock," she mused, watching everyone walking to their cars. Mulder nodded and took her hand, leading them the short distance back to the car. Scully looked down at their hands, the shine of diamonds fit beautifully. She caught Mulder watching her and squeezed his hand.