AN: Hey all, a warning for you. If the thought of either the Captain or Mulder at a strip club offends you, then you should not read this chapter. It is done to prove a point which Mulder does at the end of the chapter.
Please remember that I write adult fiction and these are two adult couples that love each other, so there will also be sex scenes from time to time, but nothing graphic (please see my stories under "M" for warmer stories). If that bothers you then this is probably not the AU series you want to read.
Thank you for following this series, and I value all of your feedback, all readers are appreciated.
Chapter 6
The two men sat across from one another at a table in a busy restaurant in Portland, Maine. The red checkered tablecloth and single candle created a slightly romantic atmosphere and Mulder grimaced as he looked at the Captain who was regarding the décor.
"This looks like a delightful place to bring a date. Is there something you would like to tell me, Fox?"
"Sorry, when I read the restaurant review this is not what I thought it would be like. It said it was a busy, well established restaurant with marvelous seafood. It didn't mention the ambiance."
"Hmm. Well if the meal is good perhaps I'll add this to my list of appropriate places to which I can bring Carolyn."
"That's a good point. Scully does like seafood."
Their order arrived, and the young woman gave them a knowing look and sighed, clearly disappointed by what she interpreted their status to be. "Here are you orders, and I will check back to see if you need anything else."
"Thank you, my dear," the Captain said, and she sighed again.
Mulder couldn't hide a grin and turned away.
"What is wrong with her?" The Captain asked, seeing her disappointment.
"She's unhappy that we're taken."
"How on earth would she know that?"
"Not like you would think." Mulder paused and leaned forward. "Look around, Danny and think about it."
The Captain regarded the area around him and observed the fine woodwork, the stone floor, the quiet tables with both a candle and a flower on them. And he observed that almost every table was occupied by a couple that leaned across and touched each other's hand and spoke in intimate whispers. He narrowed his eyes and looked at Fox.
"You mean they think that we're…you and I?"
Mulder grinned and laughed at the Captain's scandalized expression.
"Relax, Danny. It's not a big deal."
"Not a big deal? But they're wrong! We are both with beautiful women."
"True, but no one else knows that." Mulder's eyes twinkled with mischief. "Besides, all we need to do is to tell them that we're brothers."
"Brothers? What in hell are you talking about?" Daniel's eyebrows were practically scowling on their own.
Mulder just looked at him until it registered.
"Oh, that. Sucellos's rewrite."
"That would be it. Besides, look at it this way, wouldn't you rather let people think I was your brother?"
The look that the Captain gave him had caused many deckhands to cower in terror. Mulder simply cracked his crab leg and met the gaze of his friend.
"I suppose," the Captain grumbled. He began to eat his meal, subtly commenting on the various selections as he sampled each one. He was able to distinguish which spices were added to what dish, and deemed many superb, but one inferior.
"Danny, how would you make that crab cake better?"
"Why that's easy, more crab, less filling, and a firmer filling with a more flavorful but subtle sauce. It shouldn't overpower the seafood."
"That's a great idea," Mulder nodded, chewing his food. "You sound like you know a lot about cooking."
"I should. I've been doing it for the last seventy years or so."
"Do you like it?"
"Actually, yes, I quite enjoy it."
"Is eating any different now than before?"
"Rather. It's like everything has a hundred percent more flavor. I can taste the subtle nuances and flavors that I had missed before."
"Is it like that with all of your senses now?"
With a sour expression on his face, the Captain nodded at his friend.
"Are you done analyzing me, Fox?"
"Maybe, maybe not. Not really, we're not done with our day yet."
"We're not? You took me to see a modern naval vessel, which I may point out I had done before…"
"Yeah, but had you seen that ship?"
"No, I was restricted by distance."
"Did you like it?"
"Yes, I did. It's quite amazing what all the modern technology has achieved."
"Did you feel out of place?"
"What do you think?" Again, the scowl. "Anyway, as I was saying, we have had a full day. We ran this morning, we toured the naval vessel, we had lunch. We went to the fitness club, which by the way, I did enjoy."
"You liked lifting weights?"
"Quite. That is something I would like to pursue."
"We can work that out."
"And now we are having dinner. All in all, I think we have had a very full day and I am ready to return home."
"Nope." Mulder finished his meal and pushed his plate away from him. "We're not done yet. In fact, I think we may have reached the most important part of the day."
"What could possibly be left?" Daniel pushed his plate away from him too.
"I need to take you out for drinks. And we can get as shit faced as we want. I already told Scully about our night out and I'm sure she'll tell Carolyn."
"But what if I want to go home?"
"Not gonna happen until we're done." Mulder grinned at him.
"You mean I can't go home?" The Captain's voice held and undercurrent of anger.
"Nope. We have to drink and be entertained."
"Entertained? What in the world does that mean?"
"You'll find out soon enough, Danny." Mulder waved at the waitress to bring the check over to their table.
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The strip club was just filling up when Mulder finally convinced the Captain to go into it with him. The Captain sat down, his posture stiff, and his expression closed. Mulder sat down in the chair next to him where they could both watch the stage from about ten feet away. He watched his friend survey the patronage with a disdainful expression.
"Danny, don't tell me that you've never been to one of these places?"
"I have experienced something similar in my day."
"Been on the straight and narrow for a long time, huh?"
"I didn't have much choice. And even if I had it would not have mattered, for I do not want to stray from Carolyn's side." He fidgeted in his chair. "We should not be here."
"It's okay, we won't get in trouble. I cleared it with Scully."
"This is a common occurrence for you? I did not think Miss Scully would allow such a thing."
"She doesn't. This is an exception and falls under our look but do not touch clause. She understood my rational."
"Which is what? You feel that I need to see all manner of tawdry women prance about in next to nothing?"
"Something like that," Mulder signaled one of the tawdry waitresses dressed in a bikini as she walked by the table. "Two shots for me and my friend."
"Sure, honey." She eyed the two of them and licked her lips as she sauntered away.
Mulder leaned over and watched the sway of her hips as she walked away. "Nice!"
"Mr. Mulder!"
"Don't Mr. Mulder me. Relax, enjoy the show." The Captain scowled and crossed his arms in front of him and leaned back against his chair. Mulder sighed and leaned over so that he could talk to his friend. "Danny, whether you realize it or not, the point of this is to prove you are a man."
"Of course, I'm a man! I've never heard anything so ridiculous!"
"But do you remember what it is to feel like a man? Do you remember how a man reacts on a purely physical level when he sees a beautiful woman?"
"There is no need for this."
"I think there is. It will help you get in touch with yourself." Mulder smirked. "No pun intended."
The Captain's eyes narrowed, and Mulder saw just a glint of amusement before it disappeared.
"Look, here are our drinks. Just drink and enjoy the show."
"I only have to watch?"
"You only have to watch. We have women at home that will kick our asses if we do anything else."
"Very well, we will drink, stay a brief time, and leave."
"Agreed." Mulder slammed his drink and watched as Daniel did the same. Two more shots were soon on the table.
The lights blinked and dimmed a couple of minutes later. The spotlight came up on a long, dark haired woman in a revealing pink bikini. She went over to the pole on the stage and began to caress and gyrate seductively around it.
Mulder watched, appreciating her dance and what she was doing to inspire the men in the room. He licked his lips and felt a vague stirring in his nether regions. This used to be exactly the kind of woman he liked, tall, leggy and brunette. Then he met Dana Katherine Scully and he was forever attracted to petite, redheaded woman with a penchant for kicking male asses, notably his own. The Captain was staring at the woman on stage, his expression somewhere between unwanted fascination and reluctant acceptance.
Mulder closed his eyes and concentrated on his friend, trying to understand what he was thinking, and feeling. It was one of the things he was learning from his son, William, the fact that because of the experiments and alterations made to him, he also had some special abilities. He knew it was rude to use them without warning the Captain, but in this case, he felt it was warranted. The more he could do to help his friend, the better.
The dark-haired beauty had finished on the stage and was now working her way through the enraptured male audience, and up on stage was a pair of new dancers, a petite redhead dressed in blue silk, and a lovely, slender blonde dressed in a material of glittery golden transparency. Mulder's attention was immediately diverted as in his mind he imagined his Scully doing all the things that the woman was doing. He closed his eyes for a few moments and allowed himself to enjoy the feeling. The physical sensation of responding to his wife, the imaginings of his erotic fantasies. He expelled a deep breath as he ghosted his palm over the front of his pants.
He looked over at the Captain whose attention was fixated on the blonde dancer, who was moving offstage and in their direction. The Captain's breathing was shorter, and he exhibited all the signs of a man fighting his physical desires. The blonde and redhead noticed the interest of the two handsome men and made their way over to their table, dancing around Mulder and the Captain and touching them on their arms, running their hands across their shoulders. Mulder smiled and enjoyed the feeling of the fingers ghosting across his shoulders for a few moments, but when he offered her a bill, she smiled, tucked it down her front and began to straddle his lap. He laughed and gently pushed her away. Danny was frozen in his seat as the blonde was also touching his shoulders and chest, she ran a hand along the Captain's face and settled herself on his lap. After just a moment she gave him a surprised and sultry smile as she raised an eyebrow at him. Apparently, the blonde was intent on giving the good Captain a free lap dance.
The Captain appeared shocked and without warning he grabbed the young woman's wrists, stood up and lifted her off his lap, scowled at Mulder and stalked out the back door of the establishment. Only a little surprised, Mulder threw an appropriate bill at the woman and hurried out after the Captain. Mulder found him in the alley in back, pacing back and forth, growling to himself.
Mulder approached him slowly. "Danny? You okay?"
"Okay? I am far from okay! How dare you bring me to this place? How dare you defile the feelings that I have for Carolyn?"
"How have you or I defiled them?"
"By bringing me here! By allowing me to see these…these…"
"Women? Strippers?"
"Yes, them!" He glared at Mulder.
"And how do they make you feel?"
"Uncomfortable," the Captain growled.
"What do you mean by uncomfortable?"
"Are you dimwitted? You know what that means?"
"That you physically reacted to them?"
"Yes…that," the Captain said, and his anger dissipated just as quickly as it had appeared. "Damn it all! Why did I react like that? Why can't I control these urges?" He gave his friend a long look. "The only woman I'm interested in is Carolyn."
"And the only woman I'm interested in is Scully, but I reacted too." He walked over and laid a cautious hand on the Captain's shoulders. "It's because we're men, Danny. And whether we like it or not we have basic physical urges that we can't fight. Reacting to a woman doesn't mean that we are bad, that we have to do anything about it, it only means that we are men. Mortal."
A silence fell between them.
"And that's why you wanted me to discover? To feel?" His eyebrows were knit together in puzzlement. "I don't understand."
"You need to know that is what you are now. And to understand that even base desires are part of what you are, and it's okay. You're in a body now and it will react. Enjoy the feelings, the sensations, accept them for what they are, because it's what you are."
The Captain shook his head and stared at the ground and was quiet. Mulder waited patiently, and concentrated again on his friend, trying to sense the emotions that the Captain was feeling. He sensed an unwanted desire, awakening lust, excitement, insecurity, and shame for his reactions. Mulder was surprised when he was suddenly thrown out of touching the Captain's mind in a violent way.
Mulder gripped his head, trying to soothe the now raging headache. "Oww!" He looked across at the Captain who watched him with some satisfaction. "Did you do that?"
"Aye, I did. You should not be meddling when you're not asked to."
"I was trying to help."
"By tampering with my mind?"
"No! By sensing what you were feeling!"
"You're not a good enough psychologist to do that on your own?"
"Of course, I am. It was an aide." Mulder took a deep breath and calmed himself. "If I shouldn't have done that. I'm sorry. I'm still trying to get used to having some of these abilities, to be able to use them when appropriate."
"And you felt this was appropriate?" The Captain raised an eyebrow.
"Yes, as a matter of fact I did. Forgive me if I felt like helping a friend." Mulder scowled.
The Captain shifted from foot to foot and finally walked over to his friend and laid a hand on Mulder's shoulder. Mulder looked up and they shared a look and nodded and then stepped away from each other.
"Can we go?" The Captain asked.
"Yeah. As long as you think about what I said and start to accept what you are now."
"I will, Fox, I promise."
"Good, then my work is done. Let's go get some sleep."
"Home then?"
"No, we've both had too much to drink. And God help me, Scully's teaching me to be responsible. I got us a room. In the morning we can drive back." He shrugged.
The Captain nodded and followed Mulder out of the alley and into the street as they made their way to their hotel.