Mulder watched Jane drive away, surprised and pleased by Scully's announcement. He wanted nothing more than to make the woman in his arms, his wife.
"I can get us two tickets to Vegas whenever you're ready - just say the word," he said nuzzling her neck.
His five o'clock shadow rubbing against her sensitive skin as well as his words had her giggling wildly and she squirmed in his arms until she was facing him.
"That's a very tempting offer, Mulder," she told him, sweetly, pulling him down so that she could nibble at his ear.
He shivered. "So is that a yes?" His breathing was becoming
ragged as Scully's lips blazed a passionate trail down his
neck.
"No."
"What?"
Scully laughed aloud. "Oh come on, Mulder. This is me. Can you really see us exchanging wedding vows with the neon lights, and an Elvis impersonator in a pink Cadillac?"
Mulder cocked his head, a thoughtful expression on his face as he pictured the scene.
"Yes."
Scully rolled her eyes. "Let's go, big guy. I'm starving. We can compromise over dinner."
"Yes, ma'am," he chuckled, following Scully inside, still envisioning an electric Vegas wedding.
WEDNESDAY
It took less than a week for Jane to decide that the hardest part about working with Dana Scully was keeping her reigned in. Despite the agent's previous assurances of good behavior, without the cast and strict limitations, she seemed bent on pushing herself relentlessly. Jane constantly had to pull her back in and fought diligently to keep the frustration at bay. Getting Scully to actually take a break was getting harder and harder.
By the second day she felt like she was already running out of ideas. She decided to try to get Scully to talk about her work, get her mind on something else, if only for a little while.
Scully laughed breathlessly. "Oh, no you don't. You're not fooling me; you're just trying to gather more background material for your books."
Jane shook her head. "No, really. I'm not pumping you, I'm just really interested. I mean, you don't have to give me intimate technical details, or names or anything you don't feel comfortable with. Maybe just some general stuff. Look, I know almost nothing about the FBI and I really want to get a small taste of it." She handed Scully her water bottle.
Scully took a large gulp before answering. "Well, it's not nearly as glamorous as you might think. You can't believe the amount of paperwork generated, even in this computer age." Scully reached for a towel and eased herself down on the mat to stretch. She decided to go ahead and talk to Jane about the FBI with the intention of keeping her from noticing how uncomfortable she was. She didn't want to waste a single minute, but she was forced to admit that a rest was in order.
Her leg was aching horribly and she was angry. It was irrational, she knew, but it didn't make her any less angry. Angry at the bones in her leg for not healing sooner, angry at the muscles in her body for tiring so quickly, angry at her heart for not being stronger and at the mandated pace of her rehabilitation, which she was angry for being so slow. She knew how illogical her anger was, and that only served to make her angrier.
Not wanting to take it out on Jane, personally, she kept her tone even as she described various sections of the FBI, the wide range of personnel employed and locations of some of the different field offices. As she talked, she continued to knead and massage the muscles in her leg, trying to relieve the cramping without being too obvious.
Jane listened attentively, nodding occasionally and refraining from commenting on Dana's discomfort. She would let the patient ask for help if needed, knowing if she volunteered her services, they would be denied.
At the end of their workout, Jane said she had to get ready for a meeting with a prospective publisher and made Scully promise to get some rest. Scully nodded absently, draining her bottle of water.
Halfway to the door, Jane stopped and turned back. She decided to risk taking a stand. She went down on one knee, getting eye level with Scully. "I mean it Dana," she said firmly. Scully looked up in surprise at her tone. Jane went on. "We've only just started. I can promise you, the pace will pick up, but if you overdo it now, we'll be back to square one."
Scully huffed softly and looked away. "Yeah, okay. I promise. I'll get some rest."
Jane decided not to push her luck; she won this round. She stood and again headed out. "I'll see you, day after tomorrow." Scully nodded again and managed a wan smile.
Jane met Mulder at the front door. "Jane," he greeted her, "How's it going back there?"
Jane chewed her bottom lip gently, choosing her words carefully. "Obviously it's hard on her to go this slow and I can see she's uncomfortable, but she continues to push herself. The workouts will be getting progressively harder - I just want her to be ready and I want her to be safe."
Mulder nodded in understanding. "No one ever said that this
assignment was going to be easy." He smiled and gave Jane's
shoulder a gently squeeze. "It's just that this has been
going on for a while now and Scully's losing her patience. I
can't say as I blame her. I'm sure I'd be the same way, you
know. Ask Scully. She'll tell you; I make a terrible patient
and you know what they say about doctor's making the - worst -
patients. So, you hang in there and I'll try and talk with
her."
Jane nodded and turned away, but almost instantly turned back. "Fox, why do you two call each other by your last names?" Jane inquired, curious enough to finally ask.
"Hoo boy," Mulder laughed. "It's a long story. How much time do you have?"
Jane grinned. "Not that much time. But I'll ask again when I can hear the whole thing." She said good bye and hurried out.
Mulder shut the front door after she left and shrugged out of his leather jacket. As he hung the garment up in the closet, he could hear Scully walking towards him. He paused, listening carefully - her gait sounded a little uneven. He'd bet any amount of money that she was limping.
"Hey," he said warmly, enveloping her in a gentle bear hug and lowering his head to capture her lips for a passionate kiss. Scully willingly obliged him, reveling in the velvety softness. She felt a yearning, deep with her soul, struggling for release. Soon, she hoped, very soon.
"I guess you saw Jane."
"Yeah." Mulder scooped Scully into his arms, much to her surprise. "She wants to know why we call each other by our last names," he told her heading down the hall to the large couch in the den, hoping to avoid explaining his actions for now.
Forgetting to question Mulder about his reason for carrying her, Scully stared up at him as he went to the kitchen. "What did you tell her?" she called out.
"Nothing," Mulder answered, returning with a cold glass of water and plopping down on the couch next to her, happy his ploy had worked for now. "She said she had to go."
Scully tipped her head. "Hmm. What were you going to tell her?"
Mulder shrugged his shoulders. "Now that I think about it, I don't really know anymore."
Staring at him, intrigued, she asked, "Do you want to stop using our last names?"
He thought for a minute. "Well, if we did, I could call you Katherine, although I have to admit that it'd take some getting used to."
Scully wrinkled her nose in distaste. "I don't think so. I'm not overly fond of my middle name. Besides, I'd have to call you William and I don't think you'd like that either."
Mulder cringed at the thought. William. His dad, Scully's dad, and God help him, her brother. Way too many Williams - even if they did go by 'Bill'. No way.
"Okay, then what?"
"Well," Scully thought out loud, "my mom is going to call us Fox and Dana no matter what, right?"
"Right," confirmed Mulder.
"And it would be cruel to make the Lone Gunmen change after all these years," she went on, "and they've known you a lot longer."
"Agreed. So where does that leave us?"
"I'm Scully and you're Mulder. And if you ever want to go to Fox and Dana - you just say the word. Otherwise, the long backstory on why we call each other by our last names will be summed up as old habit. You and I both know that there's a lot of personal reasons behind it and I think we should keep it that way - personal."
"Deal partner. That's the way it's been and for now, that's the way it's going to be." He paused. "What about after the wedding?"
Scully smiled. "Same thing applies. I may be Mrs. Mulder, but you can - always - call me Scully if you like."
Mulder nodded and held out his closed fist.
"What's this?" Scully asked, curiously.
Mulder opened his hand to reveal Scully's medication, including her pain medication, which she hadn't been taking for a week.
"Come on, Mulder. I don't need this." She stopped abruptly, eyeing him suspiciously. "Is this why I got the Tarzan routine a minute ago?"
"That's one reason." Mulder admitted as he leaned over and kissed her. "Another, is that I miss being needed as much and sometimes the urge to sweep you off of your feet simply overwhelms me."
Scully couldn't help but laugh and obliged him by taking all the medication. "Only for you, Mulder, only for you."
Mulder kissed her again.
