"I guess I should be the one apologizing. It's nice to finally officially meet you, Dr. Dana Scully." He sheepishly held out his hand to her.
She just stared back at him, adrenaline surging inside of her. She was still on a high for outsmarting the three stooges, and now she was face to face with no other than "Mulder, I presume?"
Mulder's eyes widened in surprise. He couldn't believe the boys would just give him away like that. Dana Scully was surprising him by the minute.
She noticed the surprised look on his face and let out a small chuckle. "You look just like your friends inside. Don't worry, they didn't give you up as easily as you're thinking. I'm just that good." She grinned at him.
Mulder was now even more impressed that she was able to read him so well. He was always accustomed to hiding in the shadows, and playing off his mysterious persona. He knew he had met his mental match, and that the petite redhead standing before him was going to make him put up a giant effort, but he was willing to rise to that challenge.
"Are you going to say anything, or are you going to just stare at me like you do in my classes?" Scully asked as her eyebrow rose.
Mulder smiled shyly at her and ran a hand through his hair. "Gee, Dr. Scully, I didn't know you liked watching me as much as I like watching you."
Color rose to Dana's cheeks and she lowered her head slightly. She had to admit, the man standing before her was even more attractive up close. She had only caught glimpses of him sitting in the shadows of her class, and never wanted her gaze to linger too long in his direction. But as she lifted her head to look up into his eyes, she noticed how warm and oddly comforting they were to her. She should be completely freaked out that this man had been watching her, but she wasn't in the slightest. If she had to admit, she was excitingly flattered.
"In your dreams, or should I say, in your book's fantasies?" Dana smiled at him.
Mulder put his hand to his chest, pretending to be hurt by her words. "My books would be so lucky! Now that you've revealed the man behind the curtain, would you be interested in joining me in a late dinner?"
She had to admit that she was captivated already by this man, and wanted to know more about why he chose her as the muse to his next book. She had already concluded that he liked to challenge her just as much as she did him, and knew that would make for an interesting evening. It was an offer she simply couldn't refuse, plus, she was starving.
"Sure, I'd love to get to know more about the great and powerful Mulder." She smiled at him, feeling her sense of pride creep back to her because she was able to match a response to his earlier reference.
Mulder grinned back at her response and knew he was in for an eventful night. Maybe everyone was right, maybe he had met his match in Dr. Dana Scully. He held out his hand towards the main street, gesturing for her to lead up the stairs, away from the building. He followed, placing his hand on her lower back as he moved her towards his car.
He took her to an Italian restaurant he was familiar with that was down a few blocks. It was quiet enough for them to talk, but not so secluded that she would run screaming for the hills. As they were seated at their table, they both looked at each other and smiled shyly. They both wanted this evening to turn out well, and they were doing a good job of trying to contain the excitement and intrigue running through them.
"This place looks amazing, I take it you've been here before?" Scully asked as she looked around and then down at the menu.
"Yes, uh, I've been here once or twice." Mulder mumbled, completely forgetting that this place was familiar because his ex's family owned it. It was the first place he thought of, considering the area they were in. He now felt foolish bringing her here, but relaxed a little as he glanced around and didn't recognize much of the staff.
She noticed the uncertainty in his voice and looked up from her menu, "So there's a story to tell about is place?" she grinned as the arch to her eyebrow began to rise.
Mulder mentally scolded himself for not being on his game. Then he had to laugh in his head, he didn't know when the last time he even had to be on his 'game' was, since he hadn't really dated anyone since he career took off 8 years ago. Date? He didn't even know what this was. He was in a world of confusion, dining with his latest muse, something he never imagined he would do. He was terrified of how this would turn out, but he couldn't think of anywhere else he wanted to be.
He smiled at her, "Yeah, there's definitely some kind of story to tell. But nothing that you will get out of me that easily." He looked at her as he took a sip of his water, challenge created.
She stared back at him, holding his gaze. She knew she was being challenged, and she was ready to win this battle of wit.
"So then tell me, what do I have to do to get any kind of story out of you? I mean, other than the ones you create in your head." She grinned back at him.
"Well, we can do what normal people do on a date, and engage in these things called conversations."
"Is this a date?"
"Uh, I didn't mean - I just meant." Shit, he didn't mean to slip up and call it a date. He was just trying to be clever. So much for that.
She giggled at how flustered he became. "Relax, I'm just messing with you. Truth is, I don't really socialize with many people in my personal time. So whether it's a date or not, I'm just happy have a night out." She assured him.
He relaxed at her words, "Why is it that you don't go out much? I mean, you're beautiful and brilliant. I can't imagine there's not a line of guys waiting to have an evening with Dr. Dana Scully."
Color rose to her cheeks again. Damn, she's always been able to keep her composure, but he was undoing her slowly. She took a sip of wine and nodded. "Yes, I've had many invitations, but none that I've accepted. Lucky you."
She could tell that he was uncomfortable with positive feedback of any kind, and would instantly shy away at her comments of praise towards him. She didn't mean to make him feel shy, but she was just playing his game.
"Yes, lucky me indeed. I'm glad you accepted. I want to know more about you."
"You mean more than what you have obtained from watching me for the past month?"
Mulder chuckled. "Yeah, more than that."
Just as Mulder was about to ask her a question, an older waitress came over to take their order. She stopped as she spotted the familiar man sitting at a table with a tiny redhead. "Fox?! My god it is you! I haven't seen you in years! How have you been?" Sofia exclaimed.
"Sofia! I - I didn't know you were here, I would have said hi. I'm great how are you?" Mulder stammered out.
"Oh you know, same ol' same ol.' We've missed you around here! But I see you're doing well." She looked him up and down, and then glanced towards Dana.
"I'm sorry, this is D - uh, Scully." Mulder mumbled. He smiled apologetically at Scully and she just nodded in understanding. She shook hands with the woman. Sofia lingered a little longer, then eventually took their order and left.
"Oh, yeah, I'd definitely say there was a story here." Scully grinned back at him.
"I'm so sorry. I honestly didn't think any of the immediate family was here. I, uh, also didn't mean to not say your name. You have to understand, people don't normally associate the main characters of my books with any real people. The character that's based on you also has a similar name to yours, and the less pieces people have to put together the better. I didn't mean to disregard you in anyway I just-" Mulder stopped from just spewing out his words sporadically as her hand came to cover his on the table. He looked down at their hands and smiled.
"Relax, Mulder. I do understand that you have your pseudonym for work, and I wouldn't dare try to do anything to jeopardize your writing. Besides, I kind of liked just being called Scully. It has a nice ring to it, and no one else calls me that without the professional 'Dr.' in front of it." She smiled at him assuringly.
"I do have one question for you though." She continued.
"Sure, anything."
"Fox?"
Mulder winced at the mention of his first name. Before his career took off, he had removed the mention of his first name from his life. He was only known now as M.F. Luder or Mulder. It was almost his way of breaking away from his past.
"I'd love to tell you some sob story about how my parents have a sick sense of humor, but it's really just an unfortunate family name. Everyone just sticks with the last name, as I requested." Mulder explained with a small smile.
"And your pseudonym?" Scully asked.
"Nuh uh, question for question. It's my turn now." Mulder flashed her a wide grin, which caused Scully's eyes to widen slightly. "Why forensic pathology?"
Scully let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding and relaxed. She didn't talk about herself much with anyone, and she was scared he was going to come out swinging with the big questions.
"I really don't know. It was part of my rotation during my residency and I just loved the puzzle of it. I was fascinated by having to solve what the cause of death was, and bring some justice and peace for these people and their families. I like to help in any way that I can, and I found that this particular field held such a high honor." She explained, slightly embarrassed by the intensity of the gaze Mulder was bestowing upon her.
"Do you get to help on active cases occasionally as well?" Mulder followed up.
"Hey! It's my turn for a question. One at a time Mulder." She teased.
They spent the evening bouncing questions back and forth that they completely lost track of time. They realized that the restaurant was closing and they would have to make their exit soon, but neither wanted this evening to end.
As Mulder steered her to the car with his hand lightly placed on the small of her back, she stopped and turned abruptly, facing him.
"Look, I don't normally do this, but I actually had a really nice night tonight. I know we joked that this wasn't a date, and I don't even know if it was..." She paused, waiting for a signal from him.
As he nodded slowly, she continued "Good, well, I would love to get a chance to see you again." Scully finished, completely embarrassed by her confession and lowering her head to her chest so he couldn't see the red coloring rising in her cheeks.
He lifted her chin with his fingers so that her face met his. At that moment, Mulder could see every emotion passing through her bright blue eyes and leaned down and placed a chaste kiss on her lips. She smiled and opened her eyes again to meet his.
"I would love nothing more than to spend another evening with you, Scully." Mulder whispered.
She couldn't stop smiling as she moved away from him to get in the car.
He drove her back to her car and they parted ways. Both of them were completely lost in their own world over the evening they just had, neither of noticed the car that followed them from the restaurant...and then continued to follow Scully home.