What the hell, Dana? What are you thinking! You have to leave early in the morning. Plus you barely know this man! Before I could retract my offer he answers with "sure". No turning back now. I fumble with my key in the lock trying to buy some time.
" You have a beautiful apartment" he says as I hold the door open. Judging by the way he dresses and his demeanor, I can only assume he lives in the dumpy neighbourhoods if he finds this place beautiful.
"Thanks. Rent control makes it affordable. Furniture courtesy of my mom who decided having her daughter move out on her own was reason enough to redecorate her entire home. " I open my pantry to grab the coffee and the bag of beans goes flying, spilling all over the floor. " Damn it."
"Oh shit, here, let me help you. " He throws his coat onto a chair and is down on the floor faster than I can grab the broom and is picking up the coffee beans by hand. If I wasn't so irritated with him I might actually find him attractive. What the hell am I saying, I am completely attracted to him. I can feel my heartbeat in my throat as he gets closer to me, I can feel his breath on my face. I can feel the blood rising to my cheeks. "I think I got it all. I mean, there's worse things you could spill. At least coffee beans smell nice and are easy to pick up." He says with an akward laugh. "If you would rather, I could run and grab us a few beers from the store across the road. Saves another coffee mess. Besides, coffee makes me restless, and we have an early flight."
"Thank you Mr. Mulder, but I think maybe I'll stick to water for this evening." I stand up from the floor and instantly put on my tough girl front. I don't know why I am acting this way. He's just being friendly Dana, it's not like he's trying to get in your pants. And Mr Mulder? You're partners. You have to work together. Get your shit together Scully!
"You know, you can just call me Mulder. Everyone just calls me Mulder. No Mr, just Mulder. Mr. Mulder makes me feel like someone's dad, and as far as I know, I am not a father. Anyways, I have the casefile in my car if you want to look over it. I was just going to go back to the office before I ran into you at the restaurant and work on some stuff before catching the flight. If you don't mind, I will run out and grab it and we can go over it together. I mean I was going to ask you anyways, and then you invited me in so I assumed we were thinking the same thought. I'm sorry if you got the wrong impression. I was just trying to start our partnership off on the right foot. I know you're not happy about this and quite frankly I didn't ask for a partner, especially a female one, but let's just try to make a crappy situation good ok?"
Shit, now see what you've done. You made it awkward. I let out a sigh of embarrassment. "Sure, let's go over the casefile. You can fill me in on any pertinent information while I pack for tomorrow. " I wait until he shuts the door before I move. I'm 50 shades of embarrassed right now. Was it that obvious I wasn't overly excited to work with him? Did I make it that known? I feel sick to my stomach. I'm being a complete idiot right now. I'll finish this case with him and then I am going to ask the assistant director to be releaved of this assignment. He doesn't want a partner either, he said it himself. I try to fight the vile taste in the back of my throat but the feeling won't go away. My stomach flops and I run to the kitchen sink as I hear the door open. And the contents of my dinner are coming up my esophagus. I hear him throw his briefcase down and before I can even comprehend, my hair is pulled back and he is rubbing my back as what I can only describe as every meal I have ate today coming out of my mouth and into the sink. He hands me a washcloth to wipe my mouth off with.
"Thanks."
"Don't mention it. Are you ok? Here, let me help you to the couch. You should lay down."
"I'm fine Mulder. I think it was just the drinks I had at dinner. "
He washes out the kitchen sink of my stomach contents and puts a wet washcloth around my neck. He sits down on the floor in front of where I am on the couch. "If you want, we don't need to go over this stuff now. "
I must have dozed off because I woke up to my alarm at 6am, with a blanket around me, with my suitcase sitting by the door and a note attached that read "Dana, Didn't want to wake you. Packed your bag for you but you might want to just verify the contents, I've never actually packed someone else's suitcase before. I will pick you up at 7, I'll grab breakfast on the way. I noticed a lack of food in your fridge. Feel Better. Maybe no more wine for a while. Mulder"
If he wasn't so irritating, he would be the perfect man. I check the suitcase and surprisingly enough it is packed pretty good. I'm not sure if I should be happy or a little creaped out that he folded my bras and panties in matching sets. I quickly hop in the shower, throw on a skirt for comfort on the plane and just as I am about to slide my feet into my shoes I hear a knock on my door.
"Good morning, Scully. Black, 2 sugars. And a carrot muffin. "
How the hell did he know my coffee?