Disclaimer: Still don't own a thing … just borrowing it for my own perverse pleasure.
A/N: Sorry for any typos ... I was having issues with the editor & my internet connection. Thanks for the reviews!
Chapter 2
Tuesday
Mulder rolled off the couch and stretched his arms over his head as the morning sun hit him in the face. He stumbled around the furniture and stubbed his toe on the corner of a box. "Dammit!" he mumbled as he winced in pain. He hobbled into the washroom off the kitchen and stared at his reflection in the mirror, noting the dried drool mark on the corner of his lip. He turned on the faucet on and splashed cool water on his face. He looked around the small room in search of a towel and found nothing. Why isn't anything unpacked? As the water droplets ran down his arms, he reached for the toilet paper roll and pulled a length of it off and patted his face dry with it.
"Geezus, I stink," Mulder muttered under his breath as he caught a whiff of himself. He tossed the wadded up toilet paper in the toilet bowl and walked out of the washroom and headed up the stairs to the spare bedroom.
He walked into the room and found the bed in the same condition as he had left it the night before … barely assembled. Scully had delegated the task of 'assembling' the furniture to him. He had put the frame together and threw the box spring and mattress on top of it, then left Scully to dress it and unpack his clothes. Mulder walked to the closet and pulled the door open, expecting to find his clothes hanging inside, but was surprised to find the closet bare. Mulder scanned the room for his suitcase and found it missing from the room.
"Where are my clothes?" Mulder muttered aloud. He glanced at the doorway with a perplexed expression on his face and then shut the closet door. He walked down the hallway to the master bedroom and quietly entered the room. He spotted Scully asleep on the bed, dressed in the same jogging pants and t-shirt that she was wearing the night before, lying on the mattress pad and curled up around a pillow and the comforter.
Mulder smirked as he looked at her sleeping soundly on the bed. He walked quietly past her to the walk in closet and carefully pulled the door open. His clothes were hanging in closet along side hers. That's interesting, he thought. I didn't get the impression that she wanted to share with me last night. When they were unpacking and assembling the furniture the previous evening he had casually mentioned that they could save time and space by sharing the master bedroom and the bed, but Scully had shot him the 'death look' in response. He had retreated downstairs to make himself useful shortly there after, mostly because he was mad at himself … for bringing it up, for being a dick to her over the Diana fiasco, and for baring his soul to her in Galena. Now however, he was amused that she had hung his clothes in her closet anyway.
Mulder closed the door quietly and walked into the bathroom. He found his toothbrush on the vanity, right next to Scully's. He picked it up, squeezed the green gel onto the brush and stuck it in his mouth. As he brushed his teeth, he opened the medicine cabinet door looking for his deodorant, and discovered all of his toiletries arranged neatly next to hers on the small interior shelves.
After he finished in the bathroom, he walked back into the bedroom and pulled open the top drawer of the dresser looking for his socks. The top drawer on the left contained Scully's panties, bras and socks. His face flushed at the sight of them and he felt a rush of excitement swirl through him. He longed to pick something up and bury his face in it, but he held back for fear that Scully would wake up and call him a pervert. He closed the drawer, pulled up the one next to it and found his own under garments. He grabbed a pair of socks and pushed the drawer shut.
He heard a soft moan in the background as he shut the drawer and he looked over at Scully. Mulder stepped around the bed and braced his hand on the headboard to look closely at her sleeping form, trying to gauge whether she was sleeping or playing possum with him. He could tell from her breathing that she was asleep and he was fairly certain that she was dreaming as her eyes moved beneath her lids. As he watched her lying on the bed, he felt another rush roll over himself and knew she was arousing him again. He fought the urge to lie down next to her and wrap his body around hers. He had hinted to it the night before and her cold stare response had quietly squashed any hint of romance on this assignment. Standing here staring at her wasn't helping quell his feelings for her. He pushed himself back from the headboard and was turning to retreat from the room just as Scully rolled over on the bed, slightly arching her back and neck upward.
"Ohhh, Mulder," she mumbled breathlessly. "Ohh, fugme Mulder."
Mulder looked down at the love of his life and watched her mouth move in the motion of a kiss. Her body was clearly illuminated in the early morning light and he could see that she was still sleeping. He watched as she slid her hand under the waist band of her sweatpants and move to the mound between her legs. He could see her fingers moving against the fabric of the pants and he knew she was working the folds near her bud. He felt his arousal build and looked down to confirm the tent effect in his sweatpants.
Mulder bit his lip to control himself and closed his eyes as he imagined himself against her body, thrusting himself deeply into her core. He looked down at her again and caught sight of her just as her head tilted back on the pillow and she gasped out his name. The image of her climaxing as he hovered over her was etched solidly in his mind and he retreated from the room into the hallway and down the stairs to the kitchen. He wanted to be the one pleasing her and not just in her dreams. Although the thought of watching her peaked his interest, he could barely contain himself and knew it was better to just retreat. Mulder walked to the breakfast bar and rested his hands on the cool granite countertop, taking slow deep breaths in weak effort to wash those thoughts out of his mind. When he couldn't clear his head, he walked into the washroom and quietly shut the door.
As soon as he was in the small room, he pulled his arousal from his sweats. He stroked himself firmly and pulled the memory of making love to Scully from his memory bank. The sensory images of the softness of her skin against his, her lips brushing lightly across his face, and the warm wet core of her center beckoning him to push deeper inside her filtered past his eyes in slow motion. He remembered the feeling of closeness as she rode him in the hot tub, while he slid his hands over her hips and across the small of her back. The tight feeling on his sensitive tip as he took her from behind and drove his arousal home toward the tattoo on her back. Mulder felt sweat running down the side of his face and heard his breathing become more ragged in his throat. His stokes had quickened and his grip tightened as that final image took him over the edge. He gritted his teeth and whispered for Scully as the life drained out of him.
Mulder splashed cold water on his face and wiped his face dry with the bottom of his shirt. He opened the door and spotted his gym shoes in the hallway. As he pulled on his socks and shoes thoughts of Scully still filtered through his mind and hindered his movements. He finally had both shoes tied and walked to the garage entrance. He hit the opener as he pulled the door shut behind him and walked through the garage, stretching as he emerged onto the driveway. After a few moments Mulder jogged down the drive way and out onto the street for his morning run.
Scully stepped out of the shower and wrapped her hair in a towel as she slipped into her robe. She reached for the lotion on the vanity and began to smooth it over her legs while the memory of her early morning dream danced in her mind. The image from her dream of an intimate encounter with Mulder was so real, so lifelike … if she hadn't of known better she could have sworn he was standing right next to her. But when she awoke she found herself alone ... the reality of it only being a dream leaving a bitter aftertaste.
It was her fault that she was sleeping alone ... at least for last night anyway. It certainly wasn't for Mulder's lack of trying. He had put the idea out there, she was the one that shut it down. She wanted to say yes and wake up snuggled in his arms, but her stubborn side held her back. She was still upset with him about the night of their fight in the Gunmen's loft. The fight had boiled down to a matter of trust between them … and he had chosen Diana over her. Of course, her evidence that he had chosen Diana after their fight was all circumstancial, but he couldn't deny that he had run to her arms however. When Scully was looking for Mulder after Agent Spender asked for their help, she found him with Diana. Scully could only imagine what they were doing together and her jealousy fueled imagination drew a picture of them two of them between the sheets.
The doorbell rang loudly in her ear and she jumped as it startled her. "Shit!" she mumbled under her breath as she wiped her hands in the towel. She listened for movement from Mulder in the living room, but heard nothing.
"Mulder?" she called out to her partner as the bell rang again. "Are you going to get that?" There was no answer from downstairs. Scully walked to the top of the stairs and called out to him again. "Muld… Rob? Whatever you name is?" There was still no response. "Geezus christ," she mumbled under her breath as she pulled her robe closed and tied the sash. She walked down the stairs and looked around the kitchen and living room, half expecting to catch Mulder sleeping on the couch, but both rooms were empty. "Where the hell is he?" she asked aloud as she walked to the door and pulled it open. Mulder was standing on the stoop, his t-shirt drenched in sweat.
"What are you doing out there?" Scully asked him with an annoyed tone to her voice.
"I went for a run," he remarked as he stepped past her into the foyer. "Why did you shut the garage door?" He eyed her body covered in that robe of hers and wondered why she always covered herself up with that frumpy looking thing.
"I didn't shut the door," she answered and closed the door behind her. "I just got out of the shower."
Mulder arched his eyebrows at her and smiled. "I see that." He noticed that the towel was coming loose from her head wrap and caught it just as it began to fall. He pulled the towel off her head and untangled her hair from it. The wetness of her hair darkened it slightly making her blue eyes stand out more clearly.
Scully looked into his eyes and noticed the perplexed expression on his face. "What?" she asked him.
"You really didn't shut the garage door?"
"No, I didn't even know that you were gone," she answered. "I woke up and jumped right in the shower. Why?"
Mulder walked into the kitchen and pulled open one of the utility drawers under the breakfast bar. The remotes for the doors were sitting inside the drawer and he picked both up and laid them on the counter. "Because that tells me that someone knows the security code to the keyless entry pad," he replied and looked up at her.
"Not necessarily. Someone could have activated the door control from the pad by the interior door and then ran under the door as it was coming down," Scully remarked crossing her arms at her chest.
Mulder shook his head. "No, the door has a safety device on it, when something breaks the sensor beam the door automatically goes back up."
"Maybe they jumped the beam?" she argued.
"Well, they would've had to jump about five feet to clear it. There are two sensors. One is about 4 inches off the floor and the other is about four feet from the floor," Mulder said as he held his hand out to show the distance to her. "In order to clear the beam, the minute the button was activated, he or she would have had to dive from the interior door to the driveway." He shook his head. "So unless they had some magical talent, it's not likely. Unless…."
"Unless what?"
"Unless they activated the panel by the door and then left through the front door."
Scully shuddered at the thought of a stranger in the house while she was in the shower. Her response was visible to Mulder as he watched her face flush at the thought of it. "I liked your first theory better," she replied slowly.
Mulder walked around the kitchen counter and headed up the stairs to the master bedroom. Scully followed behind him and stole a quick look at his butt in front of her on the stairs. "Why don't we change the code?"
"Naah, I think we need to leave it for now … it might be part of the mystery of this case," Mulder answered as he walked into the spare bedroom pretending to head for the closet.
"Ah, your clothes aren't in there," Scully blurted out as he stepped into the room.
Mulder turned to look at her. He donned a perplexed expression and quizzed her a little, even though he already knew where his clothes were. "What? Don't tell me you didn't unpack them?"
Scully bit her lip and then started to giggle. "I hung them in the closet in the master bedroom."
Mulder held her gaze for a moment and then stepped closer to her in the doorway. He reached out and ran his hand across her cheek pushing a strand of wet hair out of her eyes. "I thought you didn't want to do that?"
"I never said that," she replied as her breath caught in her throat and his touch made her neck hairs stand on end.
"Okay," Mulder replied slowly trying to read the meaning in her eyes. She looked conflicted, but he decided to let it drop for now. There will plenty of time to work through that in the next few days, he thought as he turned to walk into the master bedroom. "Are you done in the bathroom?"
"For now."
"When I get done with my shower we need to go to the grocery store and stop at the field office to pick up the other rental car," he said as he pulled his t shirt off in front of her and threw it in the hamper. He made a mental note as he noticed her eyes dilate but acted like he hadn't noticed. He walked to the dresser and then hesitated for a moment, not wanting to give himself away for knowing that all of his clothes were unpacked in her room. "Are my?" he started as he pointed at his chest.
"Right side," Scully choked out blinking several times. Damn he looks great with his shirt off, she thought as he opened the drawers of the dresser retrieving a clean pair of boxers and socks. "Do you want some coffee?" she stammered nervously realizing she needed to escape from the room before she attacked him.
"Yeah, Laura … that would be great," Mulder teased her as he walked into the bathroom and pulled the door closed.
Mulder parked the minivan at the end of the driveway in front of Big Mike's house and looked up at the man who was power washing the sidewalk in front of the door.
"Isn't that our friendly neighbor?"
"Looks like him from the back," Scully replied looking up at him.
"What'd'ya think he's doing over here?" Mulder asked unbuckling his seatbelt. He turned and looked at Scully. "Maybe he'll cut our grass if we just let it grow."
Scully rolled her eyes and unbuckling her belt as well. "Don't forget my name ROB!" she quipped as she opened her door and stepped out of the vehicle. She opened the back door of the van and picked up the box of dishes that belonged to Mike and walked around the front of the van.
Mulder took the box from her and carried it to the front door of Mike's house. Winn Shroeder, their neighbor, was power washing the front steps and was oblivious of their approach until he turned around and sprayed Mulder's shoes.
"Oh, Rob… Laura. I'm so sorry!" he stammered as he shut the water nozzle off. "Good morning! How was your first night?" he asked nervously.
"Oh it was wonderful!" Mulder replied watching Winn's expression. "We just spooned up like little baby cats. Didn't we…" I forgot her name! "Honeybunch?" Mulder smirked. He's definitely hiding something, Mulder thought to himself.
"Sure, poopie head," Scully replied as she glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. He forgot my name, she smiled. "Are we in the right place Winn? I thought this was Big Mike's house."
"It is," Winn replied flatly. "I'm just helping him out while he is out of town on business."
"What kind of business?" Scully questioned him. "I thought he was a Vet."
"I don't know," Winn replied and nervously shifted the weight on his feet. "Veterinarian business? I just know he is gone for weeks at a time," Winn said shrugging his shoulders.
Mulder looked around the yard and then started to walk toward the front stoop. "I'll just put these on the …." He was cut off by Winn as the man stepped in front of him to block Mulder's movement to the door.
"How about I just take that," Winn said as he snatched the box out of Mulder's hands. "It just looks tidier than leaving them on the porch."
Mulder stood back and nodded his head. "More aesthetically pleasing?"
"Right," replied Winn with a fake smile plastered on his face. "Hey, why don't you two join Cami and I for dinner tonight? We eat early … about six."
"Sure," Scully replied looking over at Mulder. He put his hand around her waist and they turned to walk down the sidewalk toward the van.
"There sure isn't anything weird going on around here, honey bunch," he whispered in her ear as they headed down the sidewalk. Mulder stopped for a second and looked back toward Winn who was still standing on the sidewalk. "Oh, Winn…. About my basketball hoop. Who did you say I needed to talk to about that? Mr. Gogolak? Where would I find him?"
"7468 Watercrest Drive," Winn replied flatly as he stared Mulder down.
"Thanks Winn. We'll see you tonight at dinner." Mulder turned and walked back to the van.
Scully climbed in on her side and clicked her seat belt in. She looked over at Mulder as he shut the door. "If looks could kill Mulder, you'd be dead," she said as she arched her eyebrows.
"Did you notice the blood on the sidewalk as we walked up?" Mulder asked her as he put the van in gear and drove down the street.
"It was splattered on the side windows next to the door too," Scully replied.
"Good eye," he remarked. "Our friendly neighbor was a little too nervous about our visit. Killer returns to the scene of the crime?"
"Good thing we're going to the office," Scully said as Mulder wheeled the van out the front gate of the community. "We can do some background checks on our neighborhood."
"Dammit!" Scully growled as she threw the cell phone down on the seat next to her. "Why do people have their phone numbers unlisted?" she mumbled to herself. Their evening plans had been changed at the last minute by the Assistant Director. Mulder had called to inform her the A.D. was in town and wanted to discuss the case with them. Changing plans meant that Scully had to bow out gracefully from their dinner plans at the Shroeder's.
She looked into the back seat of the van and eyed the endless bags of groceries. She took a deep breath and pursed her lips. "Why do I always get stuck doing the dirty work?" she said aloud to no one. "Get the groceries, unpack the suitcases, clean the bathroom, and cancel with the neighbors… aghhhh!" she screamed in frustration.
Scully turned the van into the community and pulled up to the gate. She leaned out the window to enter her access code into the security pad and realized she was about four inches short of reaching the box. "Crap!" she cursed under her breath as she slammed the gear shift into park and opened the door to step out of the vehicle. She entered the code into the pad and listened as the "sing-song" voice welcomed her home.
"Welcome home Mrs Pettries."
"It's Pea Trees!" she screamed at the silver security box. "Like you even care! Whatever!" she mumbled under her breath as she drove the van around the gate and down the street. Scully braced her elbow on the side of the door and leaned her head against it as she sighed.
To say Scully has a rough day was putting it mildly. They had spent most of the day working on background checks on the neighbors they had contact with so far. Winn Shroeder was a real estate agent and was connected with the agency that was exclusive to the 'Falls'. His wife Cami was a teacher at the nearby Kindercare. Pat Berlander, the neighborhood welcome wagon, was a substitute teacher and worked at Pier 9 Imports, the retail store that Mr. Gogolak owned. The other couple that Scully could remember from the frantic move in team was Gordy and Sissy Vesch. They barely even showed up on the radar, having normal everyday jobs outside the subdivision.
That left just Big Mike and his mystery business trip that Mulder went to investigate while Scully took care of the grocery shopping. Normally shopping was an enjoyable event for Scully, but today, it just annoyed her. The people in the store were just a little too "yuppy" for her tastes and suddenly everything was on her nerves, including the "cookie cutter" neighborhood that she was being forced to live in for the next few weeks and the minivan that Kimberly, A.D. Skinner's assistant, had rented for them. So Mulder's call to tell her about the change in dinner plans was just icing on the cake and finding Shroeder's phone number unlisted sent her over the edge.
Luckily for Scully the drop to the ground was short. As she was pulling into the driveway, she caught sight of Cami walking toward her out of the corner of her eye.
"Hi Laura!" Cami called waving her hand at Scully.
Laura? Who's she talking too? Scully thought as she hit the window control button. Oh, yeah… that's me. Oops. "Hi Cami!" Scully replied, plastering a fake smile on her face.
"I'm so glad I caught you, Winn told me that he had invited you to dinner tonight," Cami started. Scully noted that she was nervous and her face was flushed. "Unfortunately, it's not going to work out for us tonight. He forgot that we have a meeting to attend at ummm…. our church. We could do it tomorrow night instead," she smiled nervously. "Okay?"
"Yeah, sure," Scully replied feeling some relief that she wouldn't have to come up with a fake excuse of her own. "Tomorrow night will be better for us anyway, since we still have a lot of unpacking to do."
"Oh sure you do," Cami said noticing the groceries in the back of the van. "I can help you carry in your groceries, though."
"Oh, no, I can get them," Scully protested.
"No no, don't worry," Cami replied as she ran around the van and pulled open the side door. "Two hands are quicker than one."
"Yeah, whatever," Scully muttered under her breath as she unbuckled her seatbelt and got out of the car. Did I leave any work stuff out in the kitchen? Scully questioned herself as she stepped out of the van, grabbing her packages and a bag of groceries from the front seat. Crap, I think Mulder left the file down there, shit … just cut her off at the laundry room, she thought as she hurried through the garage. Scully got to the interior door three steps faster than Cami and stepped through to block her advance into the house.
"Here, Cami, just set them on the washer," Scully pointed with her elbow. She set her bags down in the laundry room and turned around quickly blocking the hallway that led to the kitchen.
"Whew, they didn't look that heavy in the van," Cami laughed as she hefted the bags onto the washer. "Okay, Laura. Well, I'll let you go to unpack. Thanks for understanding about tonight," Cami said wringing her hands nervously. She back out of the doorway and walked down the driveway as Scully shut the door.
Scully had nearly stowed the groceries when her cell phone rang. She picked up the phone and spied the familiar name on the caller ID before answering. "Scully."
"Hi, I was calling for my wife, Laura …. Have you seen her?"
"Ha ha Mulder, you're a real jokester aren't you?"
"Did you bow out gracefully from our dinner date?"
"I didn't have to … Cami met me in the driveway and did it for me," Scully replied putting the last of the food items on a pantry shelf. "Apparently they have a 'meeting' to go to tonight." She stuffed the grocery bags together and stuck them under the sink.
"Yeah, at Big Mike's house, while they cover up more evidence," Mulder replied sarcastically.
"What? Why are you saying that?" Scully questioned him as she headed up the stairs to her bedroom.
"I stopped over at his office and none of the staff had any idea about his whereabouts," Mulder said with a sigh. "He just didn't show up for work today."
"And let me guess," Scully remarked as she kicked off her shoes and sat on the bed. "He never calls in sick."
"Well, that's the funny part," Mulder replied. "Someone did call his office this morning. There was a message on the answering machine stating that Big Mike wasn't coming in."
"How … did you…." Scully stammered trying to understand how he got the information on the call. Did he blow our cover?
"Don't worry, I didn't blow our cover," Mulder said interrupting her thoughts. "I told the office manager I was Mike's neighbor and that he had invited me to lunch."
"And she let you listen to the answering machine?"
"Well, after I batted my eyes at her," Mulder teased. "You'd be surprised what I can accomplish when I act all cute and innocent."
"Oh brother," Scully sighed and pretended to gag. "So who left the message?"
"It was a male voice, but it was distorted. I didn't recognize it," Mulder replied. "I sent one of the field agents in to retrieve the recording and run a call history on the phone. Are you ready to go to dinner?"
"I wanted to take a shower first to relax. I have residual road rage from the grocery store," Scully replied. She stood from the bed and walked into the bathroom fingering the towels hanging on the rack.
"I don't think you have time for that," Mulder replied looking over at his front seat passenger. "Driscoll has an early flight out. He wants to meet as soon as possible. Could you meet us in say 30 minutes at the place by the grocery store, what's it called? Red Truck Grill? Do you remember where it is?"
Scully sighed and rolled her eyes. Rush rush rush …. 'Yeah, I'll meet you there," Scully replied reluctantly and closed the phone.
Mulder flipped the phone shut and set it down in the cup holder of the Jeep Wrangler rental he was driving.
"She's meeting us in thirty minutes?" asked the man sitting in the passenger seat next to him.
"Yeah, she'll be there," Mulder said as he turned the Jeep left into the parking lot at the Grill.
"You just blew our cover story."
"Huh?"
"You told her that Dris had an early flight tomorrow … busted," Agent Nester replied from the back seat. Jung Nester and his partner Jeff Driscoll, former cube-mates and friends of Mulder and Scully, were in San Diego finishing up a case. Mulder had called on them to assist him at Big Mike's office in retrieving the audio tape from the answering machine.
"Oh, shit!" Mulder cursed as he put the vehicle in park. "Crap, maybe she didn't catch it. I wasn't specific about which A.D. was meeting us."
"As if would be totally normal for my father to be in California and want to meet you for dinner?" Dris remarked with a laugh. "Things any better between you two?"
"No … not really," Mulder said as he looked back at his choice in vehicles. He had picked it specifically to shake up the neighborhood … the cookie cutter houses, perfectly manicured yards where the vehicle of choice was either a minivan or luxury sport utility vehicles. The Jeep was the signature yellow with a black rag top, which was currently in the down position, and big oversized tires. The Jeep was fresh out of the car wash when Mulder had picked it up. Then he and Nester had taken it out for a "test drive" while Driscoll did the reconnaissance at the Vet Clinic. "But I think she is warming up."
"Right," Driscoll said as he held the door of the Grill open for his friend. "I'm sure she'll be real warm when she learns that you lied to her about dinner."
Mulder was relaxing on the couch watching the late news, dressed in sweats and a t-shirt. Dinner with their friends was relaxing and the amazing thing was Scully wasn't even mad about his little fib. She honestly looked relieved that it was just Nester and Dris rather than AD Skinner. She wasn't too keen about the Jeep, or more specifically the mud colored paint scheme. He chuckled as he recalled her stunned reaction.
"That's your rental car?"
"Yeah, isn't great?"
"No," she replied with arched eyebrows. "How did it get all muddy?"
"Well, we had to break it in," he replied with an innocent grin.
"I hope you plan on parking that in the garage tonight."
"Nope! I think it'll be more aesthetically pleasing if we left it on the drive," he replied flatly.
A crash of glass and metal from the second floor brought him out of his reviver. Mulder jumped over the back of the couch and ran up the stairs to find out what happened.
"Scully?" he yelled as he took the stairs in twos. "Scully?" Mulder heard movement from the spare bedroom and stopped in the doorway to survey the scene. Scully was crawling out from under a box. She looked up when she heard him laugh.
"You find it funny that I just got smashed under this box?" She scowled at him.
"Are you okay?"
"Yeah, other than a bruised ego," she mumbled as she tried to push the box off her legs.
Mulder crossed the room and picked the box up and moved it off her. "What were you doing anyway?"
"I was looking for a book that I thought had gotten packed with ….." she looked at him as he held his hand out to her. "Forget it; I wasn't really looking for anything." She let him pull her up to a standing position and she rubbed her hand across the back of her neck.
"Does your neck hurt?" Mulder asked as he watched her closely.
"A little," Scully answered as she rolled her head.
Without asking her permission, Mulder ran his across her neck and worked the pressure points at the base of her skull. He could feel the tension in her neck as he found two knots right away. He pulled her closer to his body as he kneaded the first knot with his strong fingers. Mulder felt Scully rest her hand casually on his chest and heard her gasp as he broke up the knot.
"Ohhh," she moaned quietly. "Gawd, that feels good."
Hmmm, I like it when she talks like that, Mulder thought as he formulated his reply. He had to tread carefully with his response as the slightest miscue would break the mood between them.
"You're pretty tense," he said quietly. Geezus, that sounded so romantic, Mulder thought as he chided himself. He slid his hand down her back and took her hand in his. "Come," he beckoned her as he led her out of the room and down the hall to the master bedroom. He led her to the bed and watched as she lay down on her stomach. He sat next to her and began to rub her back.
"Hmmm, Mulder," she whispered after a few minutes. She turned her head to look at him "You keep that up, I'm going to fall asleep."
"Would that be a bad thing?"
"No, except that every light in the house is on and…"
"Shhh," he shushed her. "I'll take care of the lights and lock the house up for the night. You just relax." To entice her, he pulled her hair off her neck and ran his fingers up her scalp, massaging her head as he went. He could feel Scully relax beneath him and heard a soft moan escape from her lips.
Mulder awoke with a jump and looked around the master bedroom of the house, taking a moment to remember where he was. He looked down at the redhead nestled against him and smiled. He had fallen asleep after giving Scully a back rub earlier and now she was sleeping soundly with her head resting in the crook of his arm.
Mulder adjusted his arm and turned it slightly to get the circulation moving it again. He rested his head back against the pillow and closed his eyes preparing to fall back to sleep. As he lay in the darkness of the house, he heard the distinct sound of the garage door motor running, slightly vibrating the floor beneath the bed. Mulder opened his eyes and stared up at the ceiling as he listened for any sound from the lower level. After a few seconds, he slid his arm from under Scully's head and rolled out of the bed.
He walked quietly out of the bedroom and paused momentarily at the top of the stairs. The glow from the downstairs lights illuminated the stairway and he could hear the TV playing in the background. Mulder padded down the stairs and turned left, heading down the short hallway to the laundry room. He reached the interior door leading to the garage and quietly turned the handle.
As Mulder pulled the door open, the light from the garage flooded the laundry room. Mulder stood in the doorway and stared into the garage with a perplexed expression on his way. Neatly parked in front of him were the minivan and the Jeep. "That's interesting," Mulder said aloud to himself as he stepped into the garage. Scully and I were sleeping. The front door is locked. Someone definitely has the code to the keypad, Mulder thought as he put his hand on the hood of the Jeep. The engine was cold, so whoever moved it into the garage didn't turn it on. So, they must have pushed it in here, he started to walk to the back of the Jeep just as the light on the opener timed out and the garage went black. Mulder stood in the darkness for a second allowing his eyes to adjust and then walked back to the laundry room door. He walked into the house and closed the door. Once inside he shut the lights off in the kitchen and living room and then walked to the TV set in front of the fireplace.
Mulder started to channel surf absent-mindedly as he stood in front of the TV. He was torn in his desire. Part of him wanted to go back upstairs and lay next to the Scully for the rest of the night, the other part of him was saying he needed to spend another night on the couch. He walked backwards to the couch and sat down on the edge. I'll just sit here for a while in the dark to make sure the garage monster doesn't try to cut through the house again he thought as he stretched out on his side and covered himself with the blanket.
Within minutes, he had fallen asleep.
TBC