Fragile

4

by

Trycee

Time-Line: Alternative Universe. Season 6. After Milagro and before the Unnatural.

Disclaimer: This is written for fun not profit.

Scully stared at the mossy grass where the priest stood surrounded by the members of Alex Hutchings family and friends at the grave site. Scully stared at the scene through her car window. She twirled the flowers around in her hand and sighed as Mulder watched her. He grabbed her hand and kissed the soft digits. Scully's head spun around immediately, her eyes the size of saucers.

"Are you ready?"

She stared at her hand pressed against his lips and watched as he kissed it softly. "Are you ready, Scully?"

"Yeah," she said, as he let go of her hand and opened the car door.

Scully watched as Mulder walked around the car and opened her car door. She stepped out, dressed all in black in a pantsuit and a black trenchcoat with the flowers in her hand. He matched her outfit with his black trenchcoat, a black suit and tie. He placed his hand on her back and helped her up the slope of the well kempt cemetery lawn. She reached for Mulder's hand and he gladly accepted it. They walked up slowly and stood behind the family as the priest read the liturgy. Scully made the sign of the cross and then bowed her head as she listened. She could see Alex Hutchings family weeping as they stood next to the open grave with a closed casket and two gravediggers standing just in the foreground.

Mulders arms brushed hers as they stood in the clean crisp air. The priest finished the short service and everyone except Mulder made the sign of the cross. The Priest shook the hands of the family, trying to comfort Alex's young daughter Faith. The crowd began to scatter leaving them alone. Scully stood rigid as the deceases sister noticed she was there. She glared at Scully. "What's she doing here?"

"I'm sorry for your loss," Scully said, licking her lips nervously.

Both the sister and her husband exchanged glances. Scully's eyes settled upon the pre-teen daughter who clung to her aunts side, burying her face in her dress. Mulder's arm encircled Scully, protectively, as the family pushed pass them, heading for their cars. Mulder and Scully were left alone staring at the gaping hole of disturbed sweet smelling earth that was being turned over and shoveled over the casket by the workmen. Scully stepped up to the casket and tossed in the flowers just as it was being covered with dirt. Mulder watched Scully as she made the sign of the cross before turning and walking back to him. He hugged her tightly, rubbing her back in circles. Mulder lifted her chin and watched her eyes as they fluttered about, He was to gauge her mood. "What is it, Scully?"

"Normally, when you attend a funeral there's a feeling of sadness but it's a different experience when you're responsible for the person being in that grave," she said.

"Scully, Alex Hutchings is responsible for being in that grave right now," Mulder said and then shook his head. "Actually, no. She was bi-polar," he sighed. "It wasn't her fault either. It wasn't anyone's fault. It was just a tragic accident."

Scully leaned further into Mulder's arms as he held her. "Come on, Scully. We've got a plane to catch. Skinner is giving us just a week off."

He kissed her cheek and squeezed her against him. He was enjoying the feel of her body against his. Scully sighed in contentment in his arms. She smiled up at him.

"Come on," he said, sliding his arm around her shoulder. "Let's get to Reagan. We still have hours of waiting at the airport before our flight out to San Diego."

Scully wheeled her luggage into her hotel room. She unlocked the adjoining door where Mulder was staying and retreated to her bed. It had been a long flight to California and she was exhausted. She could hear Mulder's rustling about behind the paper thin walls and it was a comfort knowing that he was there with her throughout this. They were not on the FBI's dime or on a case but on their own, in an attempt to heal the wound that had formed not long before. She sat on the edge of the bed with the tv on mute staring at the number in her cell phone several times, trying to decide if she would make the call. The knock on the adjoining door interrupted her thoughts. "Come in."

Mulder plopped down next to her. "Question?"

"Yes?", she said, twirling the cell phone in her hand.

"Are you visiting Bill this visit?"

She looked up at him suddenly. It was uncanny the way Mulder always seemed know what she was thinking. "This trip is about my coming to grips with my lost. This is about forgiving myself and changing bad habits. This is about mourning my daughter and including you in the process."

"A do-over," Mulder said, watching her carefully as she stared at the phone.

"I'm just not sure if being around Bill right now will help with the peace of mind that I need."

Mulder sat back against her.

"But, at the same time, I would like to see baby Matthew," she sighed. "But then again, will that be a good thing? Can I handle seeing him when I'm supposed to be in mourning? I mean, Emily had just died when he was born the last time we were here. Will it just remind me of what I will never have?"

Mulder stared down at his feet. "You never talked to me about your feelings about that too."

Scully turned her head to look at Mulder. "Its not easy for me. It never has been."

Mulder glanced over to the hotel pamphelets on the table that separated them. "You hungry? You want to order something?"

"That sounds about right," she smiled.

He smiled back at her. "Okay, order something, my treat."

Scully picked up the flyer and dialed up their dinner. Mulder stood up. "I'm gonna take a quick shower before the food comes."

"Sounds like a good idea," Scully said, rubbing the tension in her neck.

Mulder noticed and began massaging her neck. He was distracted by the smell of Scully's hair. Scully closed her eyes, leaning into his touch. She could feel her eyelids start to close until Mulder removed the warm of his thick hands from her neck and back. "Go ahead and take that shower, Scully, before you fall asleep."

She stood up and grabbed a towel, closing the bathroom door behind her. Mulder walked back into the adjoining room. He grabbed up his shower amenities and stripped out of his clothes and showered quickly, changing into a new set of boxers. He pulled on his sweatpants and a t-shirt when Scully's lite knock came. He jerked opened the door to see her standing in front of him, her wet hair was wrapped in a towel. Scully was dressed in one of her silk night clothes, fitted to her curvy body yet conservative. His eyes traveled over her from head to toe and she raised an eyebrow. The delivery man stood in the doorway waiting, his eyes glued to Scully. "It's $22.50, Mulder."

Mulder pointed his finger up. "Just a sec," as he disappeared back into his room. He returned with his wallet and stopped in his tracks as he watched the pizza delivery man checking Scully out as she petered about the room, laying out her clothes for the next day and finishing her nightly routine. Mulder felt feral as he walked up to the driver. He glared at the driver. "Seriously?", Mulder said through a clench jaw. The driver stepped back. "Dude...I'm no creep. I wasn't watching her. I didn't see nothing."

"Mulder?", Scully said, as she stood by his side. Mulder looked down at her and handed her the bags of food.

"Put this on the table, okay."

She fingered the wet towel wrapped around her head and looked back at the delivery man before turning from him.

Mulder paid the driver, his jaw clenched tightly as he watched him speed off before closing Scully's door.

"Protective?", she said with a sly smile.

Mulder turned to face her. "No, it's more than that."

"Is it?"

Mulder stared at her. "I have a few extremely selfish reasons to stop the delivery guy from watching your every move, Scully."

Scully sat down on the edge of her bed and let her curly hair fall down from the towel. She brushed the curls from her soft Irish hair. "Care to explain?"

Mulder tore open the paper bags and placed the Chinese food on the table, keeping his back to her. "Same reason I have to keep most guys away from you."

Scully turned to face him. "And that is?"

"Because...", he said, opening the bags and taking out each container of piping hot food.

She watched as he avoided her gaze. "Mulder?"

He turned to her finally. "It's for me to know and you to find out."

She smirked and shook her head. "Ah, your usual Mulder aloofness."

Mulder turned to look at her briefly before shuffling about nervously as he laid out the chopsticks and plates. Scully could see Mulder glancing shyly out of the corner of her eye.

"Chill, Mulder," Scully said. "Let's eat, okay?"

Mulder watched as she crossed the room and sat at the table across from him, a smirk visible on her lips. Scully's eyes would settle on him, before she would look away and his heart would beat a little faster. They ate comfortably and after cleaning up, Mulder turned to Scully, "I think I'm gonna...Good night."

"Good night," she smiled, as the door closed behind him.

The infomercials and psychic network pleadings were on every channel, irritating Mulder enough that he shut off the TV set earlier than he normally would. He laid down and attempted to get some sleep. He was startled when he heard her soft cries. He immediately jumped out of bed and opened the connecting door. Scully was whimpering, the same way he had witnessed before. She was tossing and turning in her sleep. "No, Emily...don't go...", she said in a quiet voice. "The car. It's coming. Emily. Please..."

Without hesitation, Mulder crawled into the bed with Scully and placed his hand comfortably on her hip. Scully's whimpers subsided immediately. Asleep, she snuggled up against him. He curled his arms around her small frame, drawing her closer to him. He could feel her soft breaths against his neck as she slept. He closed his eyes, willing his body to behave and fall back asleep himself.

The sun streamed through the window and Mulder awoke with Scully's nose buried in his chest hair. His entire body felt a warmth he hadn't since the last time he'd spent in Scully's bed with her wrapped in his arms. He was tenting the sheets proudly as he enjoyed the feel of her next to him. Mulder watched as Scully's eyes began to flutter open and he quickly grabbed a pillow placing it in his lap to hide it. Scully in typical fashion quickly jumped up, racing to the bathroom. Mulder sighed and sat up on the edge of the bed before retreating to his own room and closing the door behind him. He showered quickly and dressed in another black suit and trench coat. When he was finished, he knocked on the connecting door.

Scully was sitting cross legged with her luggage packed next to her on the bed. She stared at him with her eyebrow raised. "Mulder?"

"You're packed already?"

"How did I end up waking up to you this morning?", she asked curiously.

Mulder stood in front of her with a shocked expression. "Well...", he stammered, placing his hands on his hips. "I...", he said, shifting his feet, "You!", he said, pointing at her. "You were having a nightmare again."

"Yeah? And?", she said, cross-armed.

He smiled shyly as his face turned a beat red color. "I was trying to comfort you."

Scully glanced down for a moment. "Did it? Did you comfort me?"

Mulder nodded. "Quieted down right away."

"What exactly was I saying?"

Mulder sat down close to her. "You were saying 'No Emily. Don't. There's a car', like before."

Scully sighed and locked eyes with Mulder. "And if this doesn't work, what Dr. Kossoff recommended, what am I going to do? Take sleeping pills every night? Most of the time we're on a case and we can't sleep for days on end."

Mulder rubbed her back. "It'll be okay. I agree with her, this is going to work. You need this time to feel your emotions, Scully. You can't keep them bottled up forever."

"Ah," she said. "Are you worried about me?"

Mulder pressed his hand against her back and pulled her until she was leaning against his chest, his hand encircled around her. "Yes, I'm worried about you. I worry about you all the time. You know, it's rare, Scully, that we do this."

She looked up at him. "Do what?"

"Comfort each other. When Emily was dying, you wouldn't let me do this."

"I'm sorry. I get lost in my own emotions. My own thoughts. I mean, it was such a strange situation. I met my 3 year old daughter, Mulder, by accident in such a strange set of circumstances. I tried telling Bill and even my mother and they weren't supportive. They ridiculed me as a matter of fact. Well, Bill did. Mom was still unsupportive."

"I don't think you've ever told me what lead you to believe she was yours. You gave me only the cliff notes. I don't think I actually cared. I just wanted to be there."

There was a silence for a few moments until she looked back up to him.

"No, I don't think we have talked about everything that happened during that time," Scully said. She glanced at her watch. "The cemetery is opening in a few minutes, Mulder. Can we talk on the run?"

Mulder stood up and placed his hand on his spot. "We're staying here another night right? You're packed up already."

She peered at him. "I'm still debating whether to stop at Bills."

Mulder looked surprised. "How about this, let me pack up my stuff too and I'll grab yours and put it all in the back of the trunk, just in case."

Mulder watched as she headed for the rental car. He quickly packed up his room, grabbed her luggage and tossed it all in back of the Buick Le Sabre. He checked them out of the motel and then headed off towards the cemetery. He turned to Scully, "Okay...now. What exactly happened with your brother and mom?"

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