Chapter 6 (Mulder)
I walked through the crowded hallway with Scully and Kristen, my hand never leaving the warms spot on Scully's back. Over the years, this simple gesture had come to mean so much for the both of us. I used it to show Scully that I was there for her, that I would support her no matter what. It was a physical link between us, one that reminded both of us that we were not alone in the world.
As we walked, I remained silent, allowing Scully and Kristen to carry on their conversation about one of their classes without interruption. I knew Scully would comment on my unusual reticence later, but I honestly had nothing to say at the moment. I was happy to simply observe. It had been awhile since I seen Scully as lighthearted as she seemed at that moment. Our last few years had been fraught with horrible speculation about what might occur on December 22nd, with fear that we and the rest of the world would not have too much longer to live, and with a sense of hopelessness and despair. There were very few things to be happy about in our bleak lives. It was nice to see Scully smile again, to watch the dimples form in her cheeks (I knew she hated them, but I found them rather endearing), to see her crystal blue eyes so full of life. I knew that she wanted to discuss what had happened in hopes of fixing it, but I believed there was nothing to fix. We were exactly where we were supposed to be.
By the time we reached the cafeteria line, my stomach was growling, and I felt hungry enough that even the goo they tried to pass of as food looked appetizing. Scully, naturally, picked up a salad from a tray as I selected a burger and fries, hoping that it would not be as rubbery as I recalled school food being. "I don't see why you insist on eating that healthy crap all the time, Scully," I remarked.
"It's good for you," she informed me, adding a cup of fruit to her plate. After a moment's deliberation, she added one to my tray, too. I thought of putting it back, but one look at her face told me that I would be wise not to do so. She was determined to have me eat that fruit, and I knew from experience that if Scully was determined to do something, it would be done.
"So is fiber but you don't see me chewing on my test papers."
"Paper has a number of chemicals besides fiber that you probably should not ingest in large quantities," Scully informed me.
"Thank you, Dr. Scully." Just to spite her, I selected an ice cream from the small freezer beside the cashier's station. She opened her mouth to object but seemed to think better of it. Closing her mouth again, she approached the cashier and paid for her food. With some satisfaction, I also paid for my meal and followed her to a small, round table in one corner. As I sat down, I happened to glance at my ice cream and noticed for the first time that it was sugar and fat free.
"Finally noticed, did you?" Scully questioned.
"I bet it tastes like cardboard," I muttered as I pushed it to one side. "You want it?"
"No thanks, I'm good."
Kristen sat down beside Scully also carrying a salad. "I think these lines get worse and worse every day," she remarked.
"Try eating in Oxford's cafeteria at anytime between noon and two in the afternoon," I remarked, squirting ketchup onto my burger.
"You go to Oxford?" Kristen asked.
"Uh-huh," I answered over a mouthful of burger. I was relieved to find that it was not rubbery, but it was overcooked. "I'm a sophomore now," I said as I swallowed.
"What are you doing here then?"
"I came to see Sc-Dana," I corrected, knowing most people would find it strange if I called my "girlfriend" by her last name.
"You flew all the way over here just to see Dana?" Her tone seemed skeptical.
"What can I say? I like her."
Scully gave me her patented look, but I simply flashed her a cheeky smile before returning to my burger. "How did you two meet anyway?"
I glanced at Scully, silently telling her that she could handle this one and I would play along. Luckily, she seemed to have anticipated the question, for she was able to lie smoothly. "You remember that research I did this past summer at Harvard?" she questioned. Kristen nodded. "Well, Mulder also happened to be there to do research of his own, and we ran into each other one day at the bookstore. He'd been to Harvard before, so he offered to show me around some, and we hit it off."
"You met him this summer, and you didn't tell me about him until now? I thought you said this was a recent occurrence."
"We didn't start officially going out until a couple weeks ago," I said before Scully could speak. "I was too chicken to ask her out before." My eyes met hers, and the message in the sparkling blue orbs was clear: "You bet you were chicken."
"So, Oxford boy, what are you studying?"
"Psychology," I answered.
"Psychology? What do you plan on doing once you graduate?"
"You sound like my mother," I quipped, polishing off my hamburger with another large bite. After I swallowed, I continued speaking. "Truthfully, I'm not quite sure what I want to do except get as far away from my family as possible. I'm thinking of going to graduate school and then maybe going into research."
"Academia, huh?"
"There's nothing wrong with academia," I defended.
"I'm not saying there is. I'm just saying that you don't seem like the academic type."
"I was unaware that there was an academic type."
"You know what I mean."
"Do I now?"
"Well, if you really are a psychologist you would."
"How about we talk about something else?" Scully suggested, ever the pacifist. Kristen seemed reluctant to let the topic rest, and I, too, was curious what else she thought about me, but we both let Scully steer the conversation onto more neutral ground where it stayed for the rest of lunch.
After lunch, Kristen left us to make her way to her class on the opposite side of campus. Since Scully did not have far to go to make it to her next class, we walked relatively slowly through the hallways. "I'm going to go do some digging for the rest of the afternoon," I informed her as we walked.
"Digging for what?" I looked at her, and my eyes clearly conveyed what I would be looking for. "Mulder, you don't know that you'll find her."
"It's 1979, Scully. She's still alive. We found her diary."
"But you don't know where she is."
"April Air Force Base."
"Mulder-"
"Don't 'Mulder' me, Scully. If it was your sister, wouldn't you do whatever you could to get her back?" Scully was silent, and I knew she was thinking of how she had lost Melissa in her previous life only to gain her back in this one. I knew she would have done anything to have one more hour with Melissa, and she would certainly not deny me this same opportunity.
"Find, Mulder, but I'm going with you."
"Then let's go." I pointed to a nearby door which led to the back parking lot where I had earlier parked the car one of my friends in California had loaned me. Scully glanced in the direction I was pointing and sighed.
"You planned this all along, didn't you?"
"I knew you wouldn't let me down, Scully."
"One of these days, I'm going to say no, Mulder."
"You haven't yet, so I think I'll push my luck."
"Let me go call my mother first and tell her I'm staying over at a friend's house."
"If you must." I watched her go to find the nearest pay phone, leaning casually against the doorframe. I felt at home again for the first time in awhile. This was familiar stomping ground for me—investigating. And for the first time in awhile, I was feeling hopeful. I had a chance to find my sister—the first real chance I had had in years. Not only that, but I was still alive. The world had not ended. In my book, that was reason enough to celebrate.