Hey guys, sorry about the delay again. This time we had some technical issues. I wasn't the original author of this chapter, but my co-author has found herself unable to use her computer for the time being, so I wrote this one, which I wasn't really prepared to do. That's why it took... four months? Anyway, sorry about that.

On another note, this chapter was originally intended to be one of the comedic ones, but it gets kind of serious toward the end there. When I was writing it, I just kind of felt like that was the way to go. Anyway, hope you enjoy. Another chapter should be up pretty soon.

Author: blondescully

Mulder and Scully Shop for Curtains

July 2, 2009

"How about these ones?" Mulder suggested. They were in the draperies isle at Walmart looking for curtains for their living room. Scully blinked at the navy blue material Mulder was holding up.

"Are those anchors?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Yes," Mulder replied. "Our living room can be nautically themed. We can be pirates. All we need is a parrot. I think they're in isle eight."

"Those won't go with our lampshades," Scully pointed out, unenthused. "We need something with beige in it."

Mulder frowned. "Beige is a boring color."

"I know, Fox," Scully frowned. "But it goes with almost any color scheme."

"Except navy blue, apparently," he muttered.

"Beige goes fine with navy blue," Scully explained, undismayed by the tinge of bitterness in his voice. "We just need something to tie the beige in to the rest of the room." She turned her attention back to the wall of curtains next to them. "I was hoping for something in earth tones. Remember, our couch is chocolate brown."

"How about these ones," she heard Mulder's voice from behind her. She turned. He was clutching a fistful of beige material with brown paw prints running up it. "I think this would tie our lampshades to our couch perfectly."

"Fox," Scully said reproachfully.

"What?" Mulder held his hands up. "I like them. You wanted my opinion."

"I like them too," Scully replied. "For a child's room. This is our living room. This is we're we'll be entertaining guests."

"Oh, you want our neighbors to think we're just a couple of boring yuppies, so we'll blend in better," Mulder winked. "Got it. In that case," he moved down the isle. "I think lilac curtains would look utterly drole in our sitting room, don't you dearest?"

"First off Fox," Scully answered. "Drole means funny. Second, those are lavender, not lilac. Third, since when am I British?"

"I don't know," he argued. "Since when is our goal to impress upper-middle class suburbanites?"

"Fox, we did things your way—we did the fugitive thing—for six years. That was a long time," Scully said. "Do you think I enjoyed living in the middle of nowhere for six years? I had a forty-minute commute to work. Now it's my turn. Fox," she hesitated for a minute, studying the seafoam green curtains to her right. "This is the life I've always dreamed of."

They were silent for a moment before Mulder nodded. "Okay, if you want beige curtains, we'll find you beige curtains. We'll wow all the neighbors, we'll be the life of the block. How does that sound?"

Scully nodded gratefully as Mulder, reinvigorated, walked the length of the isle. "How about these?" he selected a piece of material. "See? They have the beige and the brown, and this green would match our walls. Or how about these ones? No wait, those have orange in them. Or how about—"

"Fox stop," Scully said. "I didn't really mean that." He looked back at her. "I know it wasn't your fault those charges were brought against you."

"Dana," Mulder approached her. "They weren't after you. You could have gone back any time you wanted, but you chose to give up your entire life for me, just like you did for the seven years we worked on the X-Files together. If I can't do the same, we should end this marriage right now." He paused. "Now how about those green ones over there? I don't think we're going to find anything that matches better than those. Are those curtains okay?"

Scully nodded without really looking. "Okay."

Mulder turned started toward the curtains, covering a distance in three steps that would have taken her at least six. "Do we need anything else?" he called over his shoulder.

"Toothpaste," Scully answered.

"Toothpaste?" Mulder grabbed a package of curtains turned to look at her. "We just had half a tub."

"That was before someone decided the neighbors' dog need its breath to be…I believe minty fresh was the term you used," she reminded him.

"Right," Mulder replied, shifting his eyes toward the ground. "Forgot about that."