They got back to the motel and they both went their separate ways to get showered and warmed up. But Mulder was still worried about the cut on her back. He didn't know how serious it might be. There was a good amount of blood soaked into her shirt. But as always, she insisted that she was fine. He just wanted to see for himself. So he knocked on her door and waited for her to answer. He hoped she was out of the shower. After a minute the door opened and he found Scully standing there wrapped in a bathrobe.
"I was just checking to see if you were okay," he told her.
"I'm fine. A little sore, but it's not a big deal."
"Can I come in? I wanna take a look at your back."
"It's really not necessary," she assured him, but she did motion for him to come in.
He walked through the door and she closed it behind him.
"I'm pretty sure the bleeding has stopped. I tried to get a look at it in the mirror but it was kind of hard," she explained to him.
"Lemme just take a quick peek alright?"
"I'm not wearing anything under my robe," she told him somewhat sheepishly. She couldn't just drop it to the floor and let him take a look.
"I've seen it all before, Scully," he told her with a small smile.
She was aware that he had seen her naked before when he rescued her from the alien spaceship tank, but she tried to put that out of her mind because it was embarrassing and there was nothing romantic about it. But if she just dropped her robe in a motel room it would be a different story. She couldn't even believe he was bringing that up.
"Well just because you've seen it before, doesn't mean I'm going to show you now. I'm not unconscious and barely alive this time."
"Get something to cover up with then. A towel. I just wanna make sure you're alright."
She sighed and went to the bathroom and grabbed a towel. She sat down on the bed and opened the robe, while holding the towel against her chest. She let the robe fall down to her waist. She waited as Mulder sat on the bed behind her and took a look. She felt his warm hands touching her cold skin and it gave her goose bumps. Mulder examined the cut and deemed that it wasn't too bad. It wasn't bleeding anymore but it still looked like it hurt.
"Do you have the first aid kit?" he wondered.
"It's in my bag."
He went over to her bag and rooted through there, trying not to pay attention to her underwear but he peeked a little. What can he say? He's a man. And he had a half naked Scully sitting on the bed behind him. His mind was a little preoccupied, even though he really was just being a concerned friend. He found the first aid kit and brought it over to the bed. He took out a large bandage and placed it over the cut, taping it down. He patted her on the back lightly.
"All better," he said softly.
"I told you it wasn't a big deal," she answered.
"I just worry about you sometimes when my crazy capers end up with you getting hurt. That's the worst part of the job."
"I don't like it when you get hurt either," she admitted softly.
"Well then the two of us need to be more careful I guess," he smiled as he ran his hands up her back and rested them on her shoulders. He wasn't eager for her to get dressed again. He liked feeling her skin against his hands.
"We do need to be more careful I guess," she told him as she pulled the robe back up over her shoulders and tied it tightly. The feel of his hands on her bare skin was making her a little dizzy and she had to break the connection.
He patted her on the shoulder and silently cursed the stupid bathrobe being there now. But what did he expect? That she'd just sit there naked all day for his pleasure? Maybe in his wildest fantasies.
She stood up from the bed and faced him.
"I should really get dressed. Are you hungry? I'm hungry. I wonder if they have a pizza place around here?" She was trying to diffuse the tension in the air. She could feel it. She knew Mulder was feeling things he shouldn't be feeling and so was she.
She grabbed her bag and headed into the bathroom with it.
"I'll be out in a minute," she called out to him.
He just laid back on the bed and sighed to himself. What had he gotten himself into with her? It was never supposed to be like this. He wasn't supposed to fall in love with her. He knew she deserved better than him. He was always dragging her off to places unknown, risking her life for him and his crazy ideas. She didn't want to do it anymore, but for some reason, she was still here. And he knew it was because of him. She couldn't leave him any more than he could willingly leave her. Even if it meant she put herself in danger for his causes. That's not the life he wanted to give her. He wanted to give her something better than that. Something more normal. Something that he wasn't sure he was capable of giving her. But he just couldn't let her go. It was a weakness that he was aware put her in danger. Everyone knew what Scully meant to him. It was never spoken out loud by anyone, but even a fool could see the love he had for her. And that was dangerous sometimes. He knew that's why she ended up getting stung by that bee. They were trying to get to him by taking away the one thing he held most dear. And it almost worked. Because without her, he'd be nothing. He'd give up. And that's just what they wanted him to do. But he would literally go to the ends of the earth for her. He couldn't help what he felt. Sometimes he wondered how or why she put up with him. And the only answer he could come up with was that he meant as much to her as she did to him. He just wished they could say it and not just have this unspoken cloud above them. He loved her. And he was almost certain she loved him too. It was the only explanation for why she was still with him.
Scully finally made it out of the bathroom fully dressed and was surprised to find Mulder just laying on her bed.
"Did you call for pizza?" she asked.
"Pizza? I was supposed to call for pizza?"
"Well I said I was hungry and wondered if they had pizza. I just assumed you'd look in the phone book."
"Oh. I just spaced out. Sorry. I can look now."
He grabbed the phone book and looked for a pizza place. There was one listed so he picked up the phone and called out. He put the order in and hung up the phone.
"They said twenty minutes," he told her.
"Good, I'm starved. All that climbing must have worked off some calories."
"Yeah, I'm sure it did," he said absently, still lost in his own thoughts. Then he asked her, "do you want to go home?"
"What?"
"Do you want to go home? I know you don't like this case and think it's a bunch of crazy talk about killer mermaids. So I was thinking that if you wanted to go, you could go back. I can finish up on my own."
"Mulder, I'm not going home. We're here to do a job and I want to find whoever the killer is too. I don't know if your theory holds any weight, but I'm still invested in this. Why would you ask me that?"
"I don't know. It's just I realize you aren't as enthusiastic about some of our cases and you've already gotten hurt once today. I thought maybe you'd had enough."
"I'm fine, Mulder. If I really wanted to leave or believed there was no case here, I'd tell you. But something is happening here and I want to know what it is just as much as you do," she reassured him. "Besides I'm not that hurt. It's just a cut. No biggie. It's not like I'm in a hospital bed clinging to life this time."
"Don't remind me about those days," he said shaking his head. When she had cancer he thought he was going to die right along with her.
"I won't remind you. I'd rather not think of them myself actually. But the point is, I'm fine. Don't worry so much about me. I'm a big girl. I know what I'm doing."
"Alright, I won't worry. I just want you to be happy, that's all," he said sincerely.
"I'm perfectly content. Or at least I will be once the pizza arrives," she smiled at him.
She had no idea where any of this had come from. Apparently he'd been thinking too much while spaced out on her bed. She had no idea why he'd think she wanted to go home. Yes, she complained a little, but she always did that. And true, she hated the sheriff, but she could overlook that. She knew there was a case here and she wanted to solve it. Even if it wasn't a killer mermaid, it was someone murdering these people. And she wouldn't rest until she knew who it was. Plus, she didn't want to leave Mulder alone here. Her jealous streak wanted to keep an eye on the sheriff. She couldn't help that. Sheriff Dunbar had called Mulder 'dreamy'. There was no way she was leaving the two of them alone here without her supervision. She didn't trust the sheriff.
"Do you really think my theory could be right, Scully?" Mulder asked her curiously.
"A killer mermaid?"
"Yeah."
"Honestly I'm not entirely sold on that, but I know you believe it. I just have to wait and see for myself before I can form any conclusion about it."
"It must be hard for you sometimes to follow me in my monster quests. Why do you do it?" he wondered softly.
"Why do I do it?"
That was a good question. The easiest answer would be that it was her job to go along with him. After all, they were partners. But more than that, she wanted to see his theories pan out. They were often crazy, but sometimes they were true. And she liked seeing his face light up when he proved to her that something insane was actually real. She finally answered him.
"I do it because I believe in you. And even if we don't always agree on the cases, you're usually right that something is going on. You have good instincts. I trust you and your judgment." And the simple truth was, she just couldn't stay away from him. No matter what crazy quest he sent them on, she had no choice but to follow. It was not something she could put into words. She'd do anything for him.
"You have a lot of questions today, Mulder. Are you feeling alright?" she asked him curiously.
"I'm fine. I guess I just wonder these things sometimes and thought I'd ask." He just wanted to make sure he was right about her wanting to be with him. He couldn't bear the thought of her being dragged around against her wishes, just for him. He needed to hear that she believed in him.
She went over and sat on the bed next to him. She took his hand and held it in her own.
"I'm right where I want to be, Mulder. So stop worrying, okay?" she told him softly.
He just nodded and leaned over and put his head on her shoulder. He could smell the sweet scent of the shampoo she had used. He smiled to himself, then looked up at her. She was smiling too. He turned to face her and put his hand on her cheek. She reached up and touched it, holding it there. He looked into her eyes and saw so much swimming behind them. He wanted to read them correctly and not just see what he wanted to see. She wanted him, didn't she? He wasn't imagining it. He leaned in to kiss her and there was a knock at the door, stopping him in his tracks. So close, yet so far, yet again.
"I-I should get that. It's the pizza," she said awkwardly. The moment was ruined. Another kiss thwarted by some kind of intrusion.
Mulder just sat there with his face in his hands, silently cursing the pizza delivery guy. Why couldn't he have waited another few minutes? It was just his luck. But at least this time the kiss wasn't interrupted by something deadly to Scully. It was just pizza. And maybe he could get the moment back again? They better not get food poisoning or something else bad that would thwart his plans again. He needed to get that moment back.
Scully paid for the pizza and closed the door. She turned around and saw Mulder smile up at her.
"That pizza guy sure had sucky timing, didn't he?" he laughed slightly.
"Yeah that he did. But as long as the pizzas here, I'm ready to dig in," Scully said trying to regain her composure.
"Yep, let's dig in," Mulder sighed.
Pizza was the last thing on his mind, but she was hungry so they ate. It was so silent in the room and you could hear yourself chewing. It was driving Mulder crazy so he flipped on the TV just to have some noise in the room. The two of them had shared silence before. Lots of times. It was never awkward or uncomfortable though. It was always a pleasant silence. It was nice having someone you could sit with and not feel the need to always be talking. But something about this silence felt uncomfortable as hell for him. There was so much tension in the room, you could cut it with a knife. He had almost kissed her. Again. And she was going to let him. Again. But something stupid interrupted it. And once the moment is ruined, how do you get it back again? That's all he could think of. He didn't even pay attention to how many pieces of pizza he'd eaten because his mind was consumed with thoughts of getting the moment back and actually kissing her this time. Plus he was wondering what she was thinking. Was she upset the moment got ruined or was she relieved? He wanted to know, but couldn't come right out and ask her.
She was just trying to concentrate on the food. She was trying her hardest not to think about the kiss that was interrupted. She had wanted him to do it, but part of her was relieved he didn't. Because then she wouldn't know what to do with herself. It was something she'd wanted many times before, but how would things feel afterward? She just didn't know. I mean, they've kissed before. Mulder wasn't shy about planting one on her cheek or her forehead or even her lips. When she was sick, he kissed her all the time. It just wasn't a kiss like this one was about to be. And somehow that type of kiss would change everything between them. They could no longer pretend to be just friends. Platonic partners and nothing more. That's the way it was supposed to be. You weren't supposed to kiss your partner. But she really wanted to. On more than one occasion she had wanted to kiss him, but she never went through with it. The most she had done was kiss his forehead. She was trying to hold back. But she wasn't sure how much longer she could do it. Especially if he kept doing what he was doing, she'd never be able to resist him. Logic and reasoning aside, the reason she wouldn't be able to resist was because she didn't really want to. She had one weakness and that was him.
Finally he could stand the silence no more. "Was the pizza good?" he asked her.
"What? Oh the pizza. Yeah, it was good," she was startled out of her thoughts. "Did you like it?"
"I must have since I ate half the thing myself." The truth was he'd barely even tasted it. He just ate automatically.
"Well I'm full now. That really hit the spot." She pushed herself away from the table and got up.
"I'm done too." He got up from the table too and just stood there. In fact they both were just standing in the room looking like they had no idea what to do next.
"So it's almost dark. We'll be meeting the sheriff again soon," Scully said breaking the silence.
"Yeah, hopefully we'll see something."
It was silent yet again and Mulder couldn't stand it. He looked at her just staring at her feet across the room from him. He was just going to do it. So what if they both had pizza breath? He didn't care. He would just march right over to her and do it. Grab her and plant one right on her before she even knew what hit her. But for some reason, his feet wouldn't move. He just stood there. Why was he panicking? He knew she wanted him to do it. And if he was going to wait for another perfect moment, he could be waiting a long time. And he'd already waited six years. That was long enough.
"Mulder…" Scully said softly.
"Yeah?"
"Is it just me or is there weirdness between us?" They hadn't even kissed and already she could feel things changing.
"It's not just you. There's definite weirdness."
"Why is that?"
He moved towards her, finally getting his feet to move. He grabbed her hands and pulled her towards him. She looked up at him.
"I think it's weird because something was left hanging," he whispered softly.
"Yeah?"
"Yeah."
He put his arms around her and just hugged her, planting a kiss on top of her head. He was chickening out. He couldn't let himself do that. He pulled back and just stared into her eyes again. He saw her longing and it matched his own. He had to do this. It was for both their sakes. He leaned down and pressed his lips to hers. Just then, Scully's phone rang. Mulder started laughing incredulously.
"You've got to be kidding me," he muttered under his breath.
She just looked at him for a second and then she laughed too.
"I should get that," she told him softly.
"Please don't. Just let it ring."
"It could be important."
"It can wait."
He pulled her towards him again and pressed his lips to hers. He didn't care about the ringing phone. Nothing was going to stop him this time. He allowed himself to get lost in her kiss. It felt so good to finally be kissing those lips. She ran her fingers through his hair and pushed him towards her to deepen their kiss. She had to admit this was worth the wait. She didn't even hear the phone anymore and she wasn't sure if it stopped ringing or she just was so lost in the moment. Finally they both needed air and they pulled back from each other and just stared into each others eyes. This didn't feel weird at all. It felt natural. It felt like finally coming home after being gone for six years. Scully smiled up at him and he smiled back.
"Maybe you should check your phone now," he told her.
"Nah, it can wait," she said leaning up to kiss him again. It was so good the first time, she was ready for more. And so was he.
Finally they stopped and just looked at each other breathlessly. There were no words. There didn't have to be. Their eyes said it all. The only question on either of their minds was why did it take so long to do this?
"I guess I could check the phone now," she whispered softly.
"Yeah."
She held onto his hand and didn't want to let go as she walked over to where her phone sat. She finally released her grip on him and let his hand fall. She picked up her phone and looked at it.
"They didn't leave a message."
"See, it wasn't important after all."
"You were right."
"I'm always right," he grinned at her.
"I don't know about that one," she teased him. "Sometimes you're right."
He walked over to her and took her hand and kissed it. "I was right to kiss you, wasn't I?" He needed to know what she was feeling.
"Yeah, you were right about that," she admitted.
"It wasn't just me that wanted it?"
"Mulder, I attacked you with my lips. It should be fairly obvious it wasn't just you."
"Just making sure."
"Well you can be sure. I wanted it just as much as you did."
"And things don't feel weird now do they? Not like before?"
She shook her head. "No, it's not weird at all anymore."
"Good."
He leaned down and kissed her again and realized that he didn't really care about the case anymore. Why were they in Maine again? Suddenly a killer mermaid sounded ridiculous to him and all he wanted to do was stay in this motel room and keep kissing Scully. But he knew they had a job to do and it was starting to get dark. They needed to be back out on that boat. He just didn't really want this moment to end.
"Do you think we should head down to the pier now?" she finally asked him, in between kisses.
"I guess so. But I'm having a lot of fun here with you," he grinned at her.
"I know, but we've got work to do." She was trying to stay level headed.
"Work. Yes. Work. You know, we work a lot. Sometimes it'd be nice to just spend some time not working."
"I've tried to tell you that before but you're a total workaholic," she informed him.
"Well maybe I'll change my ways now," he smiled, kissing her on the top of her head. "I guess we should get going."
They straightened themselves up and tried to get refocused back onto the reason they were in that motel room in the first place. They weren't on a honeymoon, they were on assignment. And work had to come first. But both of them were going to be thinking about the time when they could be together again like this. That couldn't happen soon enough. But they got themselves together and headed back out to the pier in hopes of finding out some answers to their many questions.
To be continued…..