TITLE: All Along The Watch-Tower

AUTHOR: Jenna (aka DDIS2Hot / XFMnS4Ever)

FEEDBACK / EMAIL: Worshipped, adored and cuddled!

jennasxffic@lycos.com

SPOILERS: None

CATEGORY: CASEFILE; MSR; MT/SC; ANGST

RATING: PG

DISCLAIMER: Carter/1013/Fox, but you don’t

deserve ’em!

ARCHIVE: Two weeks exclusive with VS10, then

anywhere. Just drop me a line first.

SUMMARY: The ghost of Sequin Island Lighthouse

terrorizes Mulder.

AUTHOR’S NOTES / THANKS: This fic was written for the VS10

“Rainy Day Theme.” A “fishsmacking”

big thanks to the great MT-groupies at

Mulder’s Refuge. You guys are the best!

Special thanks to Obfusc8er and Vickie

Moseley for the beta jobs, and to

Humbuggie for the title suggestion. 😉

More author’s notes at the end.

WEBSITE: http://jennasxffic.tripod.com/

******************************************************

Sequin Island Lighthouse

Georgetown, Maine

Thursday, April 4, 2003

11:40 p.m.

The opalescent moonlight sifted through the cloudy sky on the

beach below. “Carson, what are you doing? We could get caught.

This property is off limits. I saw a ‘No Trespassing Sign’ back

there!”

“Oh, come on baby, let’s live a little. Besides, we won’t

get this far north again for a long time,” he said nuzzling her

into the crook of his arm.

As they walked along the beach, they could see the lantern

sweeping across the rough, pounding waves. Suddenly he let her go

and started running. “Race you. Last one there’s a rotten egg.”

“Carson! Where are you going?” she yelled at his retreating

figure.

“Follow me and you’ll find out!” as he dashed off in a

sprint across the grainy, wet sand.

She ran across the beach, following him until they reached the

door of the abandoned lighthouse. Reaching into his backpack, that

carried everything they needed that night, he pulled out a pair of

wire cutters and began to cut the lock on the door. “Carson! We

can’t go in there! What if we get caught in this place?”

“Jaden, baby, it’s going on midnight. There’s nobody around. No

one is

going to catch us doing *anything*,” he purred, raising his

eyebrows in amusement.

The hinges creaked violently as the door was forced open. Before

entering the abandoned lighthouse, Jaden reached down into the

backpack and pulled out the two flashlights she had thankfully

remembered to pack. “Here. You’re going to need this.”

As he clicked the flashlight switch, the darkness was quickly

illuminated and revealed cobwebs strung from the floor to the

ceiling of the grand room. Walking carefully into the room, they

saw old furniture covered by dusty white sheets, including one

tall skinny piece in particular. She pulled back the sheet to

reveal an old upright Baby Grand, which was in fairly good

condition from its looks. In fact, it almost looked new except for

the keys, which looked worn with extreme use. She gently stroked

the keys and the melody coming from them was still in perfect

pitch after all the years that had passed. “Weird,” she breathed.

“I wonder what’s upstairs?” he asked, grabbing her arm and

dragging her along before she had a chance to protest. She forgot

all about the piano as they ascended the stairs, and wondered what

wait for them above. Reaching the lantern room, he cut the chain

and opened the door to walk out onto the balcony overlooking the

deep blue ocean.

“Carson, isn’t this just beautiful?” she cooed, kissing his cheek

softly as he gazed across the crashing waves.

Turning to reach for his lips, she noticed a faint glimpse of

angry in his eyes. “Carson, baby, what is the matter?”

“Nothing,” he stated crossly.

“Did you hear that?” “Did I hear what?” he queried.

“That noise. Listen, there it is again.”

“Jaden, I don’t hear a damn thing.”

“Carson, what the hell is wrong with you? Why are you getting so

upset? Honey, I didn’t do anything,” she said defensively.

“Nothing. Let’s just get out of here.”

As she readied herself to turn and lead them back to the steps, a

sharp blow to her hindlegs caused her to fall forward and tumble

through the unstable balcony railing, down to beach below. A few

seconds passed before her husband realized she was missing.

“Jaden? Honey, where are you? Please answer me. Please?!” As he

looked over the edge of the railing and saw his wife below, he

felt someone shove him from behind and he followed her into the

dark abyss below.

******************************************************

Hoover Building

Washington, D.C.

Friday, April 5, 2003

8:15 a.m.

She walked into the office, glancing at his still form. He was

sitting at his desk with his feet propped up on the edge, perusing

the front page section of the Washington Post. She couldn’t see

his face, but the scent he had chosen to wear this morning

permeated her senses and made her weak in the knees. “Good

morning, Mulder,” she stammered, not yet seeing him.

“Oh, good morning Scully,” jerking his feet down off the desk like

he had been caught doing something wrong.

“Is there any…?” she groused, until she looked up and saw he had

dropped the paper. “Mulder, my God…,” she breathed.

“What?” he asked with alarm in his voice.

“Nothing. Never mind,” she smiled slightly and tried to regain her

composure. He quirked his eyebrows and turned to pick up his

coffee cup. “Your cup clean? I’ll bring you back some coffee.”

As he walked out the door, she shook her head in wonderment at how

well they knew each other. They had worked together for many

years, and it was always the same. They could always tell what the

other was thinking. People in the ‘bullpen’ upstairs weren’t far

from the truth when they called them Mr. and Mrs. Spooky. Her

thoughts began to stray back to how he had looked this morning

when she arrived. He had worn his dark blue slacks with his

standard black FBI dress shoes, but what she really focused on was

how he had carelessly strewn his jacket across the back of his

chair and was wearing his sleeves rolled up and had his wire-

rimmed glasses perched upon his nose. She had always been such a

sucker for those glasses.

Minutes had passed, but being lost in her thoughts she didn’t

notice until she felt him shake her arm. “Scully. Hello. Earth to

Scully!”

“Huh..what?” her face a little flushed from her thoughts.

“Where on Earth were you at just now?” he asked grinning.

“Oh, no where Mulder. Did you get my coffee?”

“Yes, and this from Skinner. It’ll make your toes curl,” he said,

handing her the memo and casefile. “He said they put this casefile

together quickly.”

She flipped open the casefile and began to take in the

information. “When did this happen?”

“Skinner said it happened late last night. Someone found the

bodies next to the lighthouse early this morning.”

“Who found them?”, she asked, glancing up from the pictures.

“An older couple who own the land around the lighthouse stumbled

on them this morning. From every indication, it looks as though

Carson and Jaden Clark committed suicide from the way their

bodies were found at the scene.”

“Do I detect a hint of skepticism in your voice, Mulder?” she

teased.

“Well, yes.” he replied sheepishly. As he began to pace about the

room, she became enthralled with studying the photographs of the

scene once more. “Scully, don’t you find it a little too

convenient that they landed exactly as they did from a jump that

high? Not to mention, they had no motive.” he asked, breathing

softly near her ear.

She sucked in a ragged breath and her head jerked toward him,

their lips merely inches apart. “God Mulder, what is *it* with you

today? You scared me to death! Don’t walk up behind me like that.”

“Sorry,” he said, backing slowly away from her. “Skinner had

Kimberly get us plane tickets. He wants us in Maine in the next

few hours. This case could turn into a circus. Especially if the

story I’ve heard gets out.”

She regarded him suspiciously. “What story, Mulder?”

“Well from what I’ve heard, the lighthouse this ‘supposed’ suicide

took place at is haunted.”

“Haunted?” She whipped her head up from the file, giving him an

look of incredulity.

“Yes, haunted,” he stated matter-of-factly. “There was a story

that goes a few years back where one of the lighthouse keeper’s

had recently married. The lighthouse is in an ‘out of the way’

area, so to speak. The story is his wife played the same song

over and over again because it’s all she knew, and the husband

axed her to death and then turned the ax to the piano.”

“Please don’t tell me the locals claim to hear her ghost playing

the piano,” she snorted.

Holding his coffee in one hand, he placed a hand across his heart

and gave a mock smirk. “You know me so well, Scully. It’s almost

scary sometimes how we really know one another.”

“Well, since Skinner is the one to give us this case, I guess we

better head out now,” grabbing her brief case and stuffing the

last two casefiles in. “I’ll wash out our coffee cups while you

gather your stuff,” her shoes clicking softly against the floor on

her way out the door.

A few minutes later, she returned with her lipstick refreshed,

hair smoothed and all put back together. “Ready?”

“Yes, I’ve already called Darlene upstairs and had her call ahead

and requisition us a car at the Portland Bureau.” Placing on his

suit jacket, he walked towards her and lowered his hand to his

accustomed spot low on her back, guiding her towards the door.

******************************************************

Portland Field Office

Portland, Maine

Friday, April 5, 2003

10:45 a.m.

Standing from his chair, the young agent shook Mulder’s hand with

a firm grasp. “Hello Agent Mulder, I’m Agent Groader. A.D.

Skinner said you were coming, but I didn’t think you would be here

so soon.” Agent Groader walked around from behind his desk,

staring down the corridor outside his office door.

Getting angry with his apparent disinterest in their quick

response to get to the crime scene, he asked with disdain, “You

waiting for someone, Agent Groader?”

“Uh, sorry. I understood that you were to have a partner with

you. I wouldn’t mind helping you out on this case, but we’re a

little shorthanded. We have some folks out sick this week,” he

meekly stated.

“My partner is parking the car. She will be here in a second.”

He glanced around and found Scully choosing to make her appearance

at that moment. She looked angry, which made her hair framing her

face look much more attractive. He chanced a small smile at the

younger agent. “Here she comes now.”

“Damn, what kind of place is this where you have to park a country

mile?” she huffed. She stopped herself from going any further

when Mulder pointed in the direction of the other person in the

room.

“Scully, this is Agent Groader.”

She offered her hand. “Ah sorry, nice to meet you.”

He took her hand cautiously and gripped it, letting it slide out

of his own quickly. “Yes, hello.” He quickly turned his

attention back to Mulder. He turned to pick up the file from his

desk. “Here’s the case file. I thought you might like some time

to go over the case before you head out to the site. We’ve

set aside a room back here with all the evidence at your disposal

including the pictures of the scene.” He left them to go about

their work.

******************************************************

Portland Field Office

Portland, Maine

Friday, April 5, 2003

11:55 a.m.

He looked over at Scully, who had laid her head in the crook of

her arm 30 minutes earlier, worn down from the long night before.

He didn’t have the heart to wake her, but they needed to eat

something and head on to the lighthouse. He softly fingered the

wisp of hair that had covered over her eyes and tucked it behind

her ear.

She stirred slowly at his touch and raised her head, gracing him

with a 1000 watt smile. “Sorry I fell asleep and left you with

all this,” she murmured.

“Ah, that’s okay. You needed to rest after everything that

happened about the Styler case this week.” Sighing, he stood up

and shoved away from the table. “I hate the way we have these

back to back cases without a break.” He paused for a second and

maneuvered until he was standing back behind her at the table.

Reaching his hands out, he began to knead her shoulders and she

sighed in contentment, leaning further back into his skillful

hands. “I don’t mind it so much for me, but I don’t like it all

for you, Scully.”

“Mulder, I’m…”

He spoke with a controlled fury. “Do NOT say that, Scully. This

last case did a number on you, and you know and I know it.”

She jerked away from his hands and twirled in her chair. “Mulder,

I said I am fine. I’m just a little tired.”

He sighed, shaking his head in disgust and moved away thrust the

files in his briefcase. “Let’s go Scully. We need to eat

something before we get to the crime scene.”

Realizing he was miffed, she gathered the autopsy reports and

turned to follow him out the door. The silence between them was

deafening.

******************************************************

Sequin Island Lighthouse

Georgetown, Maine

Friday, April 5, 2003

11:40 p.m.

It had been a long day. They had went over the casefiles for

hours, stitching together theories and motives of the three

couples that had committed suicides. There were no apparent

reasons behind their suicides at the lighthouse. To make matters

worse, the drive up the coast had been wrought with palpable

tension between them. She was glad when they finally arrived

at the crime scene, albeit late at night. She didn’t think

she could take much more of the silent treatment from him.

However, due to the most recent high profile suicide at

the lighthouse, that afternoon A.D. Skinner had urged them

to get to the lighthouse no matter the time of day.

They stepped over the fencing that protected the sand barrier from

erosion. She began to walk in step with him, trying to keep up

with his fast pace. “Mulder slow down please! We need to talk.”

He turned and examined her face closely. “About what, Scully? I

think you made it perfectly clear that there is nothing wrong with

you…that you were ‘fine’.” The word rolled off his tongue like

acid.

Her hair fell covering her face, but he noticed the fresh tears as

they began their descent down her face. “I’m sorry,” she

murmured. She reached up to wipe them away, but his hand stopped

hers in mid air.

“No Scully, I’m sorry. I’ve been a real jerk today. If you’re

fine, you know it. ‘M sorry I made you upset. I just worry about

you sometimes,” he declared, wrapping her in his embrace. He

could feel her tears wetting his shirt.

“No, Mulder, you were right. That Styles case did bother me.

Even a little more than I care to admit actually.”

“I don’t care, Scully. That was no excuse for me to get angry

with you.” He palmed each side of her face and delicately kissed

away her tears on each cheek, until he reached her lips. He

waited for permission, but she moved in and captured his lips in

her own time. Suddenly, he let go of her face as he heard a

scream coming from the top of the lighthouse.

Dashing towards the lighthouse, they arrived in time to see

someone falling over the balcony above. He unholstered his weapon

and waved at her to continue around the other side of the

groundskeepers shack. When he arrived at the clearing of the beach

below, there were marks on the sand, but the body was gone.

Oblivious to the crashing waves only a few yards away, he reached

into his pocket and pulled out his miniature Mag-Lite. As he

shined it to the balcony above, his mouth gaped open in shock. An

apparent apparition, an ax in hand, stood 53 above him with an

evil smile. As he looked back down towards the beach, an erriness

surrounded him and it was one like he had never known.

******************************************************

Sequin Island Lighthouse

Georgetown, Maine

Friday, April 5, 2003

11:50 p.m.

“Scully! I think you better get over here.”

She followed his muffled voice until she found him gazing down at

the marked sand on the ground.

“Take a look at this.” Her eyes followed the bright beams of his

Mag-Lite down to the sand.

“Mulder, what the hell? Someone couldn’t just fall more than 50

feet and survive. What happened to the body?”

“I don’t know, but how can you explain this?” flashing his lights

down to the marked, grainy sand once more.

“No…no I can’t, Mulder. Let’s go check inside the lighthouse.

Maybe someone pushed off whoever this was.”

They walked to the landing and found the police tape covering the

door. He took a glove from his pocket, opened the door and

entered slowly with his gun aimed and ready. Scully turned toward

the kitchen, taking the safety off her gun. Moving about the

living room, he looked down at the uncovered piano. He smiled

thoughtfully for a moment as he rubbed a gentle finger across the

wood. He remembered how Samantha used to get excited about her

piano lessons. Of course, he became bitter at the thought as soon

as he remembered the night she was taken. His father had left his

mother in charge of calling Mrs. Kalenbreckt, Samantha’s piano

teacher, to break the news that she had lost a student. His

mother had been heartbroken. He noticed the sheet music laying on

top of the piano. He pulled out the bench and sat to play, hoping

that some of his recall would come back from the times that

Samantha had tried to teach him the notes. The tune and pitch was

perfect as if someone had been to adjust it recently. The notes

continued to pour out of him.

Scully made her way to the main bedroom, which was attached

directly to the side of the lighthouse. Searching the entire

bottom floor, she found nothing out of the ordinary. She heard

the haunting sounds of music coming from the living room.

“Mulder? Is that you?” She returned to the living room to find

him sitting at the piano bench, with a far away look in his eyes.

“Mulder? I didn’t know you knew how to play the piano.”

“Yeah, Samantha taught me a little before she…”. He hung his

head in melancholy.

“I’m sorry Mulder,” she reached out to touch his shoulders.

He fled from her touch. He sighed loudly and turned to speak to

her. “I’m okay. Let’s go upstairs and see if there’s anyone here. I

thought I saw someone earlier.”

He led the way to the stairs and she joined in step behind. Once

they reached the top, he entered the lantern room alone, to ensure

no one was there. Once realizing it was safe, he lifted the door

and she climbed into the room with him. They crawled out to the

balcony in case someone was out on the other side. He figured it

was better to be safe, especially after what he had seen earlier.

Immediately sensing no danger, he stood and helped her to her

feet. They holstered their weapons and turned to glance at the

crashing waves below.

She rotated to find him staring at her with the same far away look

as earlier. “Mulder, are you sure you are okay?” she asked,

palming his cheek.

Recoiling away from her touch, he angrily spoke. “Yes, Scully. I

told you I’m fine. I really don’t want to argue with you

tonight. It’s been a long day already. There’s no one here.

Let’s just go back to the motel and get some sleep. Maybe

tomorrow will be a better day.”

“Mulder.” Her face was crestfallen and she turned back toward the

door of the lantern room. She felt something bump her legs out

from under her. Falling over the balcony, she quickly grabbed the

railing at the bottom of the lighthouse tower. Trying to pull up

was useless as her grip became weaker with each passing second.

She yelled for him, but he didn’t respond. A few seconds passed

and she stared up into his face, which had become contorted with

rage.

“Mulder! Help me up. Please, hurry I’m falling!”

Shaking the fog from his mind, he saw her barely hanging by one

hand. “Hang on Scully. Grab my hand!”

“Mulder, I can’t reach it! I can’t reach your hand!”

He stretched a little further and she grabbed on and pulled

herself up his arm. He hoisted her up above the broken railing,

only to loose his foot. She screamed as she saw him land in a

heap 53 feet below.

******************************************************

Sequin Island Lighthouse

Georgetown, Maine

Friday, April 5, 2003

11:55 p.m.

She tore down the steps of the lantern room and through the

building, feeling an odd cold chill as she made her way out to his

crumpled form below. “Mulder!” When she reached him, he was

lying on his back, but wasn’t moving. Saltwater began creeping

into the indentation his body had made on impact. In fact, she

detected no breathing sounds at all. She felt for his pulse, but

found that it was very weak. She covered him with her jacket and

proceeded to call for an ambulance.

“Mulder, everything’s going to be okay. I promise you.” She

rubbed his cheek with her finger, and felt the tears as they began

falling slowly down her face.

The cascading moonlight and twinkling stars which had cast a

bright glance on the sand were now absent. She noted dark storm

clouds in the sky, and soon the rain started. She tried to shield

his body from the pelting sheets of the heavy downpour, but to

little avail.

It seemed to take an eternity for the ambulance to arrive, but in

fact, had only been 25 minutes. When the EMT’s arrived, they

began to assess his Injuries quickly. His breathing was even more

shallow than before, if that was possible.

Placing him in the cervical collar and onto the backboard, one EMT

began to ask her questions. The other began to work on getting an

IV started. “Miss, how long has he been like this?”

Scully peered down to her watch and answered him. “Uh, I think

about 25 minutes, maybe a little longer. He’s going to be okay,”

her voice sounding more harsh than she intended.

“Yes Miss, he will be okay. We’re going to do everything we can.

Did you drive or do you want to ride in the ambulance with him?”

When she didn’t answer him immediately, he coaxed her. “Come on.

You can ride to the hospital and I’ll make arrangements for

someone to come back and get your car in the morning.”

They loaded him into the back of the ambulance and helped her up

beside him. The drive back to the hospital was quiet as the EMT

checked him over for injuries. The machines monitoring Mulder

began to beep and he started to flatline.

“Mulder? Damn it, Mulder, please don’t leave me now! You can’t

leave me. I forbid it!” Her grip tightened on his hand.

The EMT began gelling the paddles and yelled, “Clear!” He worked on

Mulder for several minutes. Finally, before pulling up under the

awning of the hospital emergency room, they got a response and a

pulse reading on the monitor.

******************************************************

Georgetown Hospital Emergency Room

Georgetown, Maine

Saturday April 6, 2003

12:30 a.m.

After Scully had given his information for admittance, the

receptionist walked her back to the curtained area where he had

been placed.

She began to break down into tears as she saw all the tubes and

lines attached to him.

Softly, the girl spoke to her. “Agent Scully, Dr. McLimore wanted

me to tell you he had to visit another patient but assured me he

would be back in a few minutes to update you on Agent Mulder’s

condition.”

“Thank you. I appreciate it.” She smiled, but it was contrived

for the benefit of the young clerk. The girl took her leave as

Scully returned to his bedside and grabbed his hand, testing the

weight of it, entwining with her own. She laid her head beside

his and the tears, which she thought had been spent, began to fall

once more. She raised her head a few seconds later when she heard

the door open.

“Agent Scully, I’m Dr. McLimore,” he said, offering his hand. She

lightly gripped it, unable to bring herself to do much more.

“Nice to meet you,” she murmured. She glanced down at Mulder’s

still form on the bed. “Can you tell me how serious it is?” she

whispered.

“Well, I’m not going to lie to you, Agent Scully. It doesn’t look

good. The salty ocean water the EMT’s found him in seeped into

his wound. It’s now infected. He was in shock when the EMT’s

brought him in as well as dehydrated.”

“That combination doesn’t bode well for his kidneys. In fact, I

have had to place him on renal dialysis, as his kidneys have

started failing. This, coupled with the fact that he had cardiac

arrest on the way here, I’m amazed he’s still with us. We will

have to take it one day a time. You look wiped out, Agent Scully.

I’ll arrange to have Agent Mulder moved to a semi-private

room where we can observe him around the clock. I can make

arrangements for the nurse to bring you some blankets for the

other bed in his room. You can stay there. We have a nurse’s

shower down the hall that you can borrow. Stay as long as you

need to. He will need you if he comes out of this.” The doctor

patted her hand and a sad smile appeared on his face as he walked

out the door to take care of the task at hand.

She stared at his retreating back and began to get angry. **If**

he comes out of this alive?! Not if, but when. He has come out

of it alive, she thought. If he doesn’t I’d be lost. I can’t

live without him.

She grasped his hand once more, placed a kiss to his temple and

whispered into his ear. “You hear that partner? I’m not leaving

you until you’re well again. You’re stuck with me. I’m sorry you

fell. If I could have just held on a little tighter…” As she

began to cry once more, the only thing she could hear was the

light hum of the ventilator over her sobs.

She awoke to a feeling of fuzzy softness close to her face. She

found herself lying in the bed next to his, their hands still

joined. Funny, I don’t remember getting here, she thought to

herself.

Over the next three days, the Gunmen and A.D. Skinner came to

visit him and to get her away for short periods of time. She

was grateful for the help she received from them. She knew

when the time come, she would need them even more.

******************************************************

Georgetown Hospital, Room 216

Georgetown, Maine

Tuesday, April 9, 2003

8:00 a.m.

Three days had come and gone with some improvement in

Mulder’s condition. According to his doctor, the dialysis

had helped in restoring his kidney function. They had been

able to take him off the vent as he started breathing on

his own. Pumping him full of antibiotics had helped the

infection on his back, which was almost completely healed.

However, the doctor had informed her that Mulder wasn’t

quite out of the woods yet. There were still signs of the

dehydration that had zapped his strength and, of course,

the coma which he was still in.

She awoke with a start, hearing him begin to talk. After a

few seconds of sleep-fogged thoughts, she realized he was

awake. “Mulder, you’re awake!” She jumped from the bed

and made her way in the darkness of the room to the door to

call for the nurse. She turned on the light over his

bedside. Reaching for a cloth on the table, she wiped the

sweat which coated his forehead in a

thin sheen.

“No! No, please don’t take her. Please!!!” He thrashed

against the sweat-soaked sheets.

“Shh Mulder, it’s just a dream. Wake up and come back to

me. Come on.”

As soon as he heard her voice, his eyes opened slowly and

took in her smile. Dazed and confused, he spoke roughly as

he sat up and embraced her. “Scully?! Oh God, I thought

they took you again. Please don’t ever leave me.” She felt

his warm tears drop on the back of her shirt.

“Shh…I’m here. No one is taking me anywhere.” She let

go and pulled back to look at him. His eyes had changed

colors. They were almost black. He jerked away from her

and looked suspiciously around the room before turning his gaze

back to her. “Who the hell are you? Get away from me. I know

what you did!” He began to panic, trying to scramble as

far back as the bed would allow him to.

“Mulder? Don’t you recognize me? It’s me, Scully. What

did I do?” she pleaded.

Before he could answer, the doctor and nurse came into the

room and asked her to step outside while they examined him.

Ten minutes passed and Dr. Capsan stepped out the door.

“Well, he seems stable physically other than being tired.

I asked if he would like to see you and he said no. I

think it best under the circumstances if you don’t go back

into the room right now. I’m sorry.” She stood stunned,

staring at the door as she watched the nurse leave the room.

“He wanted to make sure you got your things before you

leave,” the nurse said, handing her purse and coat to her.

She looked up at the nurse and nodded mutely. Confusion

began to set in as she made her way to the front of the

hospital. She learned the valet had already pulled her

car to the curb at the request of the nursing station.

She got behind the wheel, looking into the rearview mirror

as she drove away.

******************************************************

Georgetown Hospital, Room 216

Georgetown, Maine

Wednesday, April 10, 2003

9:00 a.m.

The shrill of the phone at her bedside awoke her with a start.

“Hello.”

“Scully where are you? I’m being discharged and I need you to

come pick me up.” he stated in confusion.

“Mulder?” She sat up with a bounce. “Give me 15 minutes and

I’ll be there.” Hanging up the phone she reached for her

clothes, and hurriedly placed them on. She combed her hair,

as she ran out the door.

Once she arrived at the hospital, she went straight to his room

and found him getting his personal belongings together.

“Mulder. Are you ready?”

He looked up and had tears in his eyes. “Why, Scully? Why

weren’t you here?”

She became concerned as she asked him, “Mulder, do you not

remember what happened yesterday?”

“What? All I know is that when I woke up the morning you weren’t

here. It hurt, Scully.” He moved away from her when she tried to

pick up his hand.

She heaved a small breath out. “When you’re ready, I’ll be in the

waiting room.” She turned and walked out the door without looking

back.

******************************************************

In the corner of the room, an apparition stood smiling and

reminding itself it’s task was almost accomplished. Almost.

******************************************************

On the drive back to the motel, the silence was heavy between them

again, just as it had been a few days before. When they reached

the intersection to go to their motel room, he headed in the

opposite direction.

“Mulder, where are you going?” she asked exasperated.

“I’m going back to that lighthouse Scully. I can’t believe that I

asked you to leave. Something more is going on here. I’m sorry

about that by the way.”

“It’s okay, Mulder. You weren’t yourself,” she said rubbing his

arm.

They reached the lighthouse and walked up to where his body had

fallen. He looked up and saw the apparition once more. “Scully

look up here!”

When she looked up, shock descended on her face. It appeared to

be an apparition pushing someone off the balcony, but no one fell

down in front of them. The woman smiled evilly down at them

before they heard the door to the lantern room close.

Reaching the lighthouse door, they heard the piano playing, but

found no one there. On the piano, laid a note in someone’s

handwriting. He snapped on his latex gloves and picked up the

note which read “You can’t keep him forever, Scully.” He stared

at her, becoming very afraid. He wondered who would know her

name. As his feelings of uneasiness came, she sensed it and they

began gravitating toward one. He grabbed her hand as they walked

out the door of the lighthouse into the pouring rain. They left

with a stronger unity than they had past, but faced an unknown

future.

–The End–

I know…I’m sorry. It’s a very cruel way to leave you hanging,

but I have to know. Did you like it enough for a sequel? If so

please send me feedback at jennasxffic@lycos.com. 😉

Treasures

By Mary Kleinsmith (Buc252@aol.com)

Categories/Keywords: MSR, Holiday, Valentine’s Day, Written for VS10’s Valentine’s Day challenge

Rating: PG13

Summary: Mulder and Scully spend a romantic holiday.

Spoilers: None

Disclaimer: Scully, Mulder, and Maggie Scully – and all the Scully clan – belong to 10-13, Fox, and CC.

Author’s Notes: One additional disclaimer on this story. The Book of Lists belongs to David Wallace, and the Lord of the Rings belongs to J.R.R. Tolkien. I couldn’t put my hands on my copy of the Book of Lists, so I had to fudge on the page number, but the specific list mentioned is real. If anybody has a copy, feel free to let me know where I went wrong!

Feedback: Please? Much appreciated!

Treasures

By Mary Kleinsmith (Buc252@aol.com)

“Wait just a second!” Mulder pled when he moved to open his door in response to her knock. He knew who it was going to be – there was no doubt. Scrambling about in his small dining area, he set up the borrowed screen, creating a hallway through which Scully could walk without seeing his Valentine’s Day preparations.

Out of breath, he finally opened the door.

“Hi,” he said bashfully.

“What are you up to, Mulder?” she looked at him suspiciously.

“Nothing at all. Why do you always presume I’m getting into trouble?”

“Because usually, you are, my love.” She pecked him on the lips as she walked by, hanging her coat on the pool-ball coat rack while he waited. “And, for the record, I’d call <that> ‘up to something’.” She motioned to the room divider with a grin.

“Can’t a guy try to surprise his lady?” Mulder asked with a roll of his eyes. Sometimes, it seemed all they ever did was converse in questions and eye movement.

He escorted her into the living room, which was unusually neat, he knew, and was pleased when she noticed.

“Mulder, I’ve never seen your apartment so clean.”

“It’s always clean, Scully.”

“Okay, so uncluttered.”

“Now I couldn’t very well entertain a beautiful lady with files and sweat socks laying around. Especially not today.”

“No, not today,” she said with a smile. It had been a long time since he’d had a Valentine’s Day where he didn’t feel like crawling into a hole and pretending he didn’t exist, and he wasn’t about to let the opportunity pass him by.

“Would you like some wine? I have a bottle chilling.”

“Sure, thanks.”

She watched as he walked away, wondering what else he had in mind for their evening.. Heck, she’d have been more than satisfied with a quiet night snuggling on his couch in front of the TV, maybe a romantic comedy if she could talk him into it.

Scully rose, wandering about the apartment. It really was amazing what he’d done in preparation for their evening. Every spec of clutter had been picked up and put into its place, leaving a room that looked much larger than it usually did.

All except for the boxes half-concealed in the corner, she now noticed. Whatever else he’d put away, these were left out. Perhaps he just lacked the closet space, but she was intrigued. Especially since each box said, “Fox” on the side.

“What are these, Mulder?” she asked when he returned to the room, two glasses and a bottle of wine in hand.

“Childhood treasures,” he said simply, pouring two glasses. He approached, handing her one.

“Treasures? Like baseball cards and that kind of thing?”

“Not quite. Go ahead, you can look.” As she took down the first box and began to open it, Mulder explained.

“When Mom moved from the house to the apartment where she . . .” he swallowed, but she tried to hide her pride when he went on. “Where she died, she put all this stuff in storage. After her death, I just left it there – I wasn’t ready to deal with it yet. But the renewal was up for the rental space, so I figured it was time to take care of it. Most of it was just junk. Furniture that had no sentimental value. But there were these boxes. The things from my room and those that I’d outgrown and had stored in the basement.”

He knelt down beside her, and she wondered if she wasn’t pushing him. He seemed ready to delve into his past, but she didn’t want him hurt. Was he ready?

The first box was heavy.

“Ah, the Mulder scholastic achievement archive,” he laughed.

“Basketball <and> baseball?” she questioned, holding up two first-place trophies.

“There’s one in there somewhere for cross country, too. What can I say, there was a lot I was running from at that point in my life.” He shrugged, as if it were nothing to have gone through everything he had in his life and still come out as good a person as he was.

She found the coveted Cross Country trophy, as well as several other trophies and ribbons for sports. It was obvious that his knack for athletics wasn’t something he’d developed after becoming an adult.

“And these?” she motioned to stacks of papers.

“Reports cards,” he grinned in embarrassment.

She began to flip through them, impressed at the grades. Twelve years of primary education were represented, and even back then, his mind was remarkable. But she couldn’t help but notice that there were none for Sam.

Somehow, he knew what she was thinking. “After Sam was taken, Mom removed her report cards from the box. I’m not sure what ever happened to them – destroyed, I imagine. I couldn’t find them anywhere. They destroyed or gave away almost all of her things; I should have known then that they knew more than they were letting on. She wasn’t coming home, no matter how hard I wished.”

Mulder seemed to lose himself in his thoughts for a moment, and Scully tried to comfort him with a hand on his arm. Finally, he came back into himself. “I did manage to keep one thing.”

Opening a second box, under a worn Stratego game, he found a battered lump of cloth. At first she thought it was a piece of Sam’s clothing, but upon closer inspection, it was a very old rag doll. Mulder took it reverently and placed it in her hands.

“It was Sam’s favorite – she never went anywhere without it. After she was taken, Dad looked everywhere for it. He wanted to get rid of it with the rest of her things, but he never found it.”

“Because you had it,” Scully stated, not questioning, and he nodded.

“I was so sure she was coming back, and I didn’t want her to come home and not have her doll waiting for her.” He caressed the doll and then set it aside.

In the same box as the doll and the Stratego game, she found a child’s magic set and a pair of what appeared to be . . . pointed ears?

“What . . .?”

Mulder laughed, his mood lifted. “I was about seven the year I was Mr. Spock for Halloween. God, what a dork I must have looked like.”

“You were Mr. Spock with a tiara?” Scully chuckled, holding up a sparkling item.

“Sam was a Fairy Princess the same year. I never meant to hold onto that, but she asked me to hide it for her. Mom said she was going to put away the costumes for the year, and Sam wanted to be able to play Princess all year round. So I stashed it, along with my ears.” He took the tiny item from her. “I never realized how small it was.”

“You’re looking at it through the eyes of an adult now. That makes a big difference.”

“Telling me I’m grown is okay, just please don’t tell me I’m getting old,” he smiled.

She took the tiara back from him and placed it and the pointed ears gently into the box with other board games and unremarkable minutiae.

Sliding the last box over in front of her, she was surprised by its weight. It all made sense, though, when she opened it to find it was filled with books. On the very top was a dog-eared copy of a paperback book. “The Book of Lists, Mulder? So even as a child you were intrigued by the things most find inconsequential.”

“Scully,” Mulder said, and she was surprised to notice he was blushing a bit. “There is only one reason that I, at fourteen, owned that book, and it’s on Page 256.”

“Page 256?” She asked, and he nodded towards the book.

“Go ahead, look it up.”

She flipped through the book until she finally found the correct number. There it was, right in the center of the page.

“10 Positions for Sexual Intercourse?” she laughed. “Mulder, what was a 14-year-old doing with this book?!”

“Well, from a parent’s perspective, it’s one minor thing in a book full of educational information. Not that that’s not educational, mind you,” he leered. “I always suspected that the adults never read the entire book – just flipped through, checked out a few lists, and approved it. I actually saw it first in the school library, but then I got a copy of my own. My father wasn’t exactly . . . communicative on the specifics of interpersonal relationships. That book and the Playboy my best friend swiped from his father <was> my sex education. No wonder I ended up so screwed up.”

Scully pulled him close by the collar of his shirt, planting a kiss on his lips. “I see nothing screwed up about you, Mulder. And what you learned, you learned <very> well.” She wiggled her eyebrows and kissed him again, this time longer. When they separated, she kept the book in her hand. “I think I’m going to hold onto this for future reference.”

“A 14-year-old’s fantasy come true,” he laughed, but there was heat there. She broke the eye contact to delve back into the box.

“Lord of the Rings. . . So this is where it all began.”

“Where what all began?”

“Elves, trolls, dwarfs, wizards, monsters, . . . and a human man who saves them all. With a little help from his friends, of course.”

Mulder got a wistful look on his face. “I always wanted to be Aragorn.”

“So you could romance the beautiful elf princess?”

“No, I think it had more with wanting to have control over my destiny. I’m still trying to get that one. He had such personal power – he was a King, even when he wasn’t in Gondor. Even when he wasn’t sure who he was meant to be.”

“You related to that a great deal, didn’t you?”

He nodded. “Especially after they gave up on finding Sam.”

“We had to read it for school; it wasn’t really my thing, but it was good. Do you know what I noted most from this book, Mulder?”

“No, what?”

“There are no people with red hair in Middle Earth.” They looked at each other in silence for a moment, and then both erupted in laughter.

“I never realized that before, but you’re right,” he said, wiping his eyes a few minutes later.

Scully went back to removing books from the box while she bit her lip. “Have you seen the movie? Or movies, to be precise?”

“Fellowship of the Ring? And The Two Towers?” She nodded. “I think you’d know if I had, but no.”

“Why not? I would have gone with you if I’d known you were such a fan.”

“I guess I was just afraid of being disappointed. That it wouldn’t live up to my imagination and expectations.”

“What could?” she kidded him. “But seriously. Please, come with me. There’s an old theater over in Georgetown that’s still showing them both.”

“Scully, I may not have seen the movies, but that doesn’t mean I haven’t heard of them. You’re talking about over six hours of theater.”

“Yes, I am. You got something better to do?”

“This Sunday?”

“Call it my valentine’s gift,” she suggested.

“No way. You deserve better than that.” A buzzer sounding suddenly in the kitchen drew both their attention. “I’ll be right back – gotta check on dinner.”

She directed her attention back to the books. They were nothing remarkable; texts from school, books on astronomy, baseball, basketball – all he things she knew he loved even to this day. She almost gave up until she noticed the final book, sitting in the box crookedly. Removing it, she found . . .

“Where did you find that?” Mulder asked. She hadn’t realized he’d returned to the room.

In her hands she held a small, white teddy bear. It was adorable, holding a satiny red and lace pillow that said, “Be My Valentine.”

“Sam’s?” Scully asked.

Mulder grinned sardonically. “No, not this time.”

“Yours?” she asked, surprised.

“Sort of. I saved up my allowance and bought that for the first girl I loved.” He smiled, and Scully understood that this wasn’t true love, but adolescent love.

“And you never got the nerve to give it to her?”

“No, I did.” Mulder sat down on the floor closely beside her. But . . . well, I guess 14-year-old girls are just more mature than boys. You might say I loved her from afar. I walked right up to her and gave her the bear.” He took it from Scully’s hands, holding it for the first time in many years, she was sure. “I asked her to be my valentine.”

She waited, wanting to ask what the young girl said, especially since Mulder seemed hesitant to go on. Finally, he swallowed and did so. “She threw it back at me. Laughed and said I was a ‘geek’ and threw it back at me.” A child’s sorrow shone through in his voice.

“Oh, Mulder. I’m so sorry.”

“I got over it,” he said, moving to throw the bear back in the box. Instead, she took it from his hands gently.

“May I have it?”

“Scully, I . . .”

“Please?”

“Why would you want it?” he asked, puzzled.

“I just think . . . I think it should belong to somebody who loves you.”

Mulder’s eyes glistened in happiness as he nodded. “Know anybody like that?”

“I know a lot of people like that. But nobody loves you more than I do.” She kissed him, and this time, it was no peck on the lips.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Scully,” he said when they finally came up for air.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Mulder,” she responded. “Now help me put all this stuff away, then you need to feed me.” He looked at her questioningly. “I have a feeling I’m going to need my energy later tonight.”

The End

TITLE: Red Becomes Her

AUTHOR: Inluvwthfox with Sammy

EMAIL: inluvwthfox@hotmail.com

RATING: R for violence.

SPOILERS: Irresistible

SUMMARY: When the holiday of love turns into the holiday of death.

DISCLAIMER: Mulder and Scully belong to Chris Carter and 1013 Productions. No

copyright infringement is intended.

AUTHOR’S NOTES: Thank you Sammy for giving me the idea for this fic and

pushing me along to get it done. Thanks also go out to Megs for her wonderful

support, her help with the ‘tough’ spots, and her wonderful betaing. 😉

FEEDBACK: Yes, please

x.Xx

He lurked in the shadow of her home, waiting for her to get comfortable for the

evening. He watched as she took off her business clothing, opting to wear her

jogging suit. He knew her routine, studied it in minute detail. She wasn’t the one he

wanted, but she was close. She looked enough like her to pass for his purposes.

He didn’t know her name, didn’t care too. All he knew was she was what he wanted

that night and he always got what he wanted. He moved closer to the house as she

moved from the bedroom to the living room. She sat down and turned on the TV.

He turned to see the delivery truck pull up to the house.

He smiled, happy for the timing of the delivery service he had enlisted the aid of.

He watched as the young man carried the box to the door and knocked.

The woman went to the door and opened it. He could see her fully now. He was

getting turned on by how much they looked like each other. The petite body,

piercing blue eyes, and the wonderfully red hair.

The woman collected her package and tipped the young man. She closed her door

and returned to her seat in the living room. She opened the package to find one

dozen red roses. She smiled, wondering who they had come from. The card said,

“Your secret admirer.”

She picked up one of the roses and sniffed it. She sighed at the sweet smell of the

flower. That’s when he made his move. He knew the drug would take effect soon

and he entered the front door with little difficulty. She tried to turn to see who was

invading her house, but found she couldn’t move. She tried to call out in fear, but

she couldn’t do that either.

He kneeled before her and stroked her hair. He smiled and said, “Don’t fear, my

dear sweet Dana. I’m here. I’ll always be here.”

xXx

Hot water ran down her back as she stood in the shower after a long day in the

basement office. She let the water wash away the day of paperwork and autopsy’s.

The day of running around looking for another mystery to solve or alien to hunt.

She let the water lull her into a calming trance where her mind drifted into a make

believe world where Mulder had Samantha back, she had Emily back and they were

all a happy family.

The ring of her phone broke her dream. She hurriedly wrapped herself in a big

towel and ran to it.

“Scully,” she said as the phone made it’s journey to her ear.

The familiar timber of his voice said, “Scully, want me to come over your place with

some Chinese? My treat.”

She smiled, “Sure Mulder. Give me about ten min….”

Before she could finish her sentence she heard Mulder hang up on her. She shook

her head and with a sigh returned the phone to its rightful spot.

Scully walked to her bedroom to change, wondering why Mulder wanted to come

over tonight. It wasn’t there usual movie night, and he never offered to just buy

dinner for her, unless there was something up.

As she pulled her shirt over her head, she heard a knock on the door. She yelled out

from her room. “Come on in, Mulder. It’s open.”

Mulder came in and deposited the bag of food on the coffee table. He glanced down

the hall as he went to the kitchen and grabbed some sodas. When he came back out

into the living room Scully was coming down the hallway, combing her wet hair.

Mulder laughed, “You look like a drowned rat, Scully.”

She grabbed one of the sodas out of his hand and turned towards the cough. “You

like it? I may start coming to work like this.” She smiled and sat down.

Mulder came around and took a seat next to her. They ate quietly and watched TV.

After a long while Scully looked at Mulder and said, “Mulder, why did you come

over here tonight?”

Mulder looked at her innocently, “I hate eating alone?”

Scully smirked and shook her head. “There’s a reason why your here, now spill it.”

Mulder sighed. “Alright.”

He pulled out the newspaper from the cushions of the couch. The headline read,

“Valentine’s Killer Strikes Again.”

Scully looked at the paper and then to Mulder with a raised brow. “This is the

reason your here? Are you afraid your next?”

Mulder glared, “Very funny, Scully. Look at the victim’s descriptions. The killer is

picking a distinct type of girl. Scully… you fit the profile.”

Scully was quiet for a long while as she stared down at the paper. She whispered,

“Mulder, I’ll be fine. I’m a trained agent with a loaded gun. This guy wouldn’t stand

a chance.”

Mulder sighed, “Alright. I just want you to be careful. I’d…I’d hate to lose you

again.”

Scully smiled and said, “Don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere.”

Just then there was a knock on the door. Scully said, “I wonder who that could be

this late? Your the only one who bothers me in the middle of the night.”

She opened the door to see Assistant Director Skinner standing there, stone faced.

She looked surprised. “Sir?”

Skinner looked in to see Mulder. “I figured I’d find you both here. Can I come in?”

Scully gave a nod and stepped out of the way. “By all means…”

Mulder looked to Skinner and said, “What’s going on sir?”

“I’ve got a new case for you.”

xXx

It had been raining again. Not a good thing in early February in Washington. It

made the roads even slicker then usual. It did manage to get rid of some of the dirty

snow that had piled up from the many winter storms but it didn’t help out an

investigation any. If there was any evidence left outside of a crime scene, it would

be washed away.

Mulder, Scully, and Skinner knew this all to well as they pulled up to the small

Washington suburb home of Shanda Smith. She had been the latest victim in a

string of ‘valentine’s killings’, as vice liked to call them. Some had finally got there

head out of there asses and decided, after the third murder, that it might be smart to

call in the feds.

The whole property had been marked off with yellow tape and police cars lined the

sleepy neighborhood street on either side. There was a uniformed officer guarding

the entrance of the crime scene. He stopped the trio as they approached.

“Sorry, no one inside without the officer in charges permission.” He held out his

hand, as if to stop traffic.

Skinner took the lead and said, “I’m Assistant Director Skinner. These are my

agents. Mulder and Scully.”

The officer looked over the three of them and then sighed. “Ok. Officer Scott is in

the living room, gathering evidence.” He stepped out of the way and let them in.

Skinner led the way into the living room, looking around for the officer in charge.

There were so many people in the room, doing various things that he sighed and

called out, “I’m looking for an Officer Scott.”

Everyone in the room stopped and looked at the trio. Mulder glanced over at Scully

with a smirk and raised brow.

A woman, wearing a business suit like what Scully usually wears, approached them.

She was petite, about Scully’s age, with bright flowing red curls that fell down past

her shoulders to her middle back. She had a look of determination on her face.

She held out her hand to Skinner to shake and said, “I’m Officer Samantha Scott.

And you might be?”

Skinner caught the contempt in her voice. This was her crime scene and she didn’t

like intruders. “I’m AD Skinner with the FBI. This is Agents Mulder and Scully.

Our unit has been assigned to help you out on this case.”

Officer Scott shook Mulder and then Scully’s hand. She sighed and said. “I’m

assuming you don’t know much about what’s going on so, I’ll start at the beginning.”

She led them into the living room, where a woman’s body was laying out on the

couch. The woman was stunning in her petite beauty. Dressed in a red dress, red

roses strewn on the floor around her. Her red hair laid beautifully against the cream

colored couch that was her last resting place.

Both Mulder and Skinner couldn’t believe how beautiful the woman looked, even in

death. Scully was to busy studying the crime scene to consider the woman’s beauty.

She noticed the redness around her neck. Like rub marks.

Officer Scott said, “This was Shanda Smith, a 34 year old Journalist. She’s single,

no known family. Neighbors say she didn’t go out much. Her job was her life. She

got home about 5:30 this evening. Soon after that a neighbor said he noticed a

delivery truck pulling into her drive. The neighbor, a James Franklin, was just

getting home from work. His wife asked him to go check on Smith, she had been

feeling kind of down lately. So, after his supper, he came over and found the door

ajar. He came into the house and found her like this.”

Mulder goes and looks at the door. “No sign of forced entry?”

Scott shook her head. “No, however it was either knew her or knows how to pick a

lock very well.”

Scully continued to look at the body. “Do you know what the murder weapon was?”

“As far as the forensic reports say in the other two cases, it was strangulation. But

not with a rope or hands. The coroner said that it had to be done with something

soft. That’s why the redness and bruising is so faint.”

Skinner looked at the roses and champagne. “It looks like she had company. A

romantic evening?”

Scott looked at him and shook her head. “No, the scene is the same in all three

crime scenes. Red dress, champagne and glasses, and red roses. I think it’s kind of

the killers calling card.”

Scully said, “I’d like to do the autopsy on this body and I’d also like to look at the

autopsy reports on the last two victims.”

Scott gave a nod. “No problem. Officer Jenkins can help you out there. Hey

Jenkins…”

A uniformed officer walked up to the group, “Yeah Sam?”

Scott smiled at the young officer and said, “Take Agent Scully to the medical

examiners and get her copies of the last two cases.”

Jenkins smiled and said, “Yes ma’am.”

xXx

He stood in the crowd across the street from the crime scene. The lights of the

police cars mixed with the rain gave the whole area and surreal glow. He almost

smiled at how idiotic these peons of law enforcement were, trying to solve a case

that was beyond there little minds. He knew this wasn’t a case for the locals. It was

something that only the big guys could handle and soon they would come.

That’s when the front door opened and she exited it. He couldn’t breathe, seeing her

standing there next to her tall, dark haired partner. She looked so lovely in the

mixture of red and blue lights. Her hair was perfect, even though the dampness of

the air should have made it flat.

She was chatting with another woman who looked a lot like her. A local, as he liked

to call them. One of the peons. His smile spread as he whispered, “That peon could

become useful.”

xXx

“Female subject, approximately 36 years of age. Apparent cause of death from

external exam, strangulation.”

Scully sighed and stopped the recorder. She stared down at the body on her table.

She wondered what had motivated the killer. Why he left such a romantic setting at

the crime scene. Why he killed this particular type of woman.

When she looked over the other victim’s files, she couldn’t help but notice it. They

all looked alike. They all looked like her. Mulder’s words rang in her ears.

“Scully… you fit the profile.”

She did fit the profile, to a tee. She shook her head to try and clear her mind. She

was an agent, a professional. She couldn’t let cases like this get to her. She thought

back to how she had reacted when Donnie Pfaster had taken her. She knew she was

a rookie agent and only acted the same as any other new agent would have. But she

still feared him, feared the situation.

She was brought back from her thoughts by the door opening. “Agent Scully, I have

the lab work you requested.”

The young lab tech had rushed the tests as a favor to her. She smiled at him as he

handed over the files. She looked it over as the young man anxiously said, “It’s a

very interesting case, if I do say so myself. I wonder why all of the victims had

taken Ketamine?”

She looked at him and said, “Ketamine?”

The tech gave a nod. “Yes, it showed up in each victims blood system and also in

the nasal cavity.”

Scully put down the file and went over to the woman lying on the table. She

swabbed the inside of the woman’s nose and handed the sample to the tech. “Can

you run this also?”

The tech smiled and said, “Yes ma’am. I’ll have it rushed.”

xXx

Detective Scott sat behind her desk, pouring over the reports from each crime.

Skinner sat across from her looking at his own notes. Mulder was pacing back and

forth, mulling over the killer’s motives.

They all looked up at the door as Scully walked in. She smiled and set a file down in

front of Scott.

“Ketamine,” she said.

Scott opened the file and looked up at Scully, “What in the hell is that?”

Scully sat down next to Skinner, “It was found in all of the victim’s bloodstreams.

It’s a general anesthetic used mostly for veterinary use. Recently it’s become one of

the more favorite of club drugs.”

Scott said, “So, you think all these women were users?”

Scully shook her head. “No, there wasn’t any sign of prolonged use. I think our

killer is using the drug on his victims. See, ketamine causes the user to go into a

kind of paralysis. You can see and breath, but you can’t move or talk.” She looked

up to Mulder, “It would be easy for him to kill his victims if they can’t fight back.”

The room fell quiet as everyone took in this new information. Scott finally broke

the silence by standing up. She grabbed the files and her coat. “Well, we aren’t

getting any closer to finding this guy sitting here. I’ve got some friends on the

Narcotics squad. I’ll have them track down known ketamine dealers for us.”

Mulder gave a nod and said, “I’m going to go over the files again, see if there might

be anything we missed the first time. Scully, I want you to go with me?”

Scully looked up at him, questioningly. Mulder answered her before she could ask,

“You fit the profile and we don’t know how he finds his victims. You could be a

target.”

Scully sighed, “Mulder, I’m fine.”

Mulder smiled and said, “I know, just humor me.”

Scully smiled back at him and whispered, “Ok.”

xXx

Skinner followed Scott down the hall and towards the narcotics office. He couldn’t

help but watch the way her body swayed as she moved down the hall. He shook his

head, trying to clear the dirty thoughts from his mind.

As they approached the door he stepped in front of her and held it open. He smiled

at her as she passed by. She stopped, turning back towards him, and smiled.

“Thank you Mr. Skinner.”

Skinner blushed slightly and said, “Please, call me Walter.”

She gave a nod and said, “Alright, but I insist you call me Sam.”

He gave a little smirk at that and whispered, “I’d feel more comfortable calling you

Samantha.”

It was Scott’s turn to blush as she replied, “Ok.”

“Look, I was thinking. Maybe after we get done here, we could go somewhere for

dinner?” As soon as he said it he wanted to take it back. He knew it sounded

desperate.

Scott sighed and said, “Well, I’ve already got dinner waiting for me at home.”

“Oh, husband cooks for you, huh?” Now, he felt really, really stupid. He came on to

a married woman.

“No. But my mother keeps me stocked up on the essential meals. You know, the

meat and potatoes type?”

Skinner smiled with relief that she wasn’t married. “Sounds good, actually.”

“Well, why don’t you join me? We could work on the case.”

Skinner stopped smiling abruptly. He wasn’t thinking about working tonight. He

forced himself to keep smiling. “That would be great.”

xXx

Mulder sat behind his desk, combing through the files on all of the murders. He was

so intent on his work that he didn’t notice Scully enter with coffee for each of them.

She smiled as she placed his coffee on the desk. She couldn’t help but admire this

man’s talents as an agent. She thought that all those who made fun of Mulder as

being ‘Spooky’ or ‘off the deep end’, never really got to know him and how much he

dedicated himself to his work and to helping people.

She sat down and watched him work. She hoped that he could figure this killer out.

Hoped that they could put an end to this madness. A shiver went down her spine as

she thought of the women this man had already murdered. She thought how much

each of them looked like her. Mulder had been right. She did fit the profile, but she

didn’t want him to know she was worried about it.

She also didn’t want him to know how much this case had brought back her fear

from the Pfaster case. She had thought she had put that behind her, but this case was

bringing back all of those old fears. She had to be strong and forget about that. It

was old news.

She was startled back to reality by a hand on her shoulder. She looked up with

momentary fear in her eyes. Mulder looked down at her with concern in his,

“Scully, are you alright?”

She sighed and put on her trademark smile. “I’m fine, Mulder.”

Mulder had a look of disbelief on his face as he moved back around to his chair. “I

asked you a question and you didn’t answer. You looked like you had something

troubling you. Want to talk about it?”

She shook her head and said, “It’s nothing. Just thinking about the case, that’s all.”

Mulder gave a nod and said, “Well, I think I’ve done just about all I can do here

tonight. How about I drive you home so you can get some rest?”

Scully gave a nod and stood up, grabbing her coat. “I think I could use some.”

xXx

Skinner sat back on Scott’s couch, looking over his notes once more. He smiled up

at her as she came back from doing the dishes. She sat down beside him and smiled

also, opening her on notebook.

“So, dinner was really good. A lot better then fast-food take out.” Skinner remarked.

“Thanks. My mom always said that she didn’t care that I was a cop as long as I

didn’t end up eating at the donut store and letting myself go. So, she keeps me fed.”

Skinner smiled and said, “Think she would feed me too?”

Scott giggled, “I’m sure if you asked her, she would. She’d probably like you. Your

a lot different from my ex.”

Skinner’s smile faded. “Oh, you were married?”

Scott sighed and shook her head. “No, engaged. He worked the beat. He didn’t like

it much that I was higher up the ladder then him. It kind of came between us.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

Scott smirked. “It’s alright. Life goes on, right?”

Skinner remarked quietly. “I guess it does, if you want it to or not.”

“You sound like your speaking from experience?”

Skinner sighed. “My wife and I ended up divorcing because of my job. I didn’t feel

like talking about work once I got home and she felt like I should let it all out. It

caused a lot of fights before we were through.”

Scott gently touched Skinner’s hand. “Some people just don’t understand that the

things we see on a daily basis aren’t something we want to share with others.”

Skinner gave a nod and squeezed her hand in return.

Scott stared at him for a moment and then sighed, “Well, this isn’t getting anything

done on the case…”

Skinner smiled. “Your right. Let’s get to work.”

xXx

He stood outside the cop’s home. She was inside with Dana’s boss. He didn’t know

much about him, just knew who he was from the few times he had visited her at

Quantico. He seemed like the typical Assistant Director type. No emotions, no

feelings, no expressions.

He smirked, wondering what the AD was in there doing with the pretty young cop.

Then he thought about what he was going to do to her after the AD left. She was the

closest he’d ever come to someone like his Dana. She was even a cop and to top it

all off, she was working with Dana also.

He got excited just thinking about it. He wondered if he could control himself

enough to just do what he always had or if he’d have to raise the stacks a little and

partake of the AD’s girl.

He was changing his plan for this one anyways, going in as the deliveryman himself.

What if he changed it a little more? What would it hurt? He laughed menacingly,

“It’s only going to hurt her.”

xXx

Skinner stood up and stretched. “Oh god, it’s late. I should go.”

Scott stood up beside him. “Thanks for coming by and working on this with me.”

Skinner smiled and touched her hand. “Not a problem. I’ll come over again, if you

feed me?”

Scott giggled, “It’s a deal.”

Skinner put his coat on and looked at her. “Oh…I wanted to thank you for the talk

too. It’s nice to talk to someone who knows what it’s like.”

Scott smiled gently at him and whispered, “Anytime you want to talk, just let me

know, ok?”

Skinner blushed slightly. Scott’s smile broadened at that and she leaned in and

kissed him on the lips. Skinner wrapped his arms around her waist. He moaned as

she deepened the kiss and pulled herself closer to him. She could feel what she was

doing to his body and it brought her back to her senses. She pulled away quickly

and turned away from him.

She scolded herself, “Stupid!”

Skinner looked at her in shock, “What?”

She turned back towards him and sighed sadly. “Oh Walter. I’m sorry. I didn’t

mean too… I mean…” She let out a long sigh.

Skinner frowned, “I understand.”

Scott placed her palm gently on his chest. “No, you don’t… I like you. I really do. I

just wasn’t thinking there for a minute. I guess what I’m saying is I need to take this

slow. It hasn’t been that long since Jake and I broke up. I don’t want to think about

him while I’m kissing you. Ok?”

Skinner smiled gently, “Ok.” He whispered.

She smiled gently, “So, you’ll come back for dinner tomorrow night?”

Skinner smiled. “It’s a date.”

xXx

Finally, he thought. He had waited outside the house for hours, hoping the old man

would leave. Now he was finally going to get his chance with her. He waited until

the AD drove away before he approached the door and rang the bell.

She opened the door saying, “I knew you’d be back for these?” She was holding up

Skinner’s notes.

When she the young uniformed man she looked slightly startled. “Oh, can I help

you?”

The man smiled and said, “Yes ma’am. I’ve got a delivery here for you.”

She looked at the box and smiled gently. She took it and said, “Come on in. I’ll get

your tip.”

She left the door open, allowing him to enter as she opened the box to reveal one

dozen red roses. She smiled gently and picked one up to smell it before she set them

down to go grab her purse.

As she stepped across the living room she felt dizzy and before she knew it she was

on the floor. She looked up at the man smiling down at her. He picked her up in his

arms and moved her to the couch.

“My dear sweet Dana. You are more beautiful then all of the roses in the world.”

Scott’s eyes showed her realization of who the man was. She tried to move but

couldn’t feel her body. She tried to scream but couldn’t make a sound.

He turned to look at the files on the coffee table. “How interesting. You think I’m a

spurned lover, do you? Well, your wrong there. You see my dear, anything I want I

can have. It’s always been that way, until I met her. There is no one like her and all

of you who pretend to be her just make me angry.”

She could see the rage burning inside him as he leaned over her, holding an ivory

scarf. She tried to control her breathing, thinking that any minute that scarf was

going to be around her neck, pulling it tight.

He took a deep breath and smiled, loosening his grip on the scarf. “What am I

thinking? You need to get changed, my dear. I have a special evening planned.”

He stood up and left the house for a moment, returning with a large duffle bag. He

set it down and swiped all the papers off the coffee table and onto the floor. He

pulled a vase out of the bag and grabbed the roses. He made them the centerpiece of

the table.

“Aren’t my roses lovely? They have a special scent too.” He laughed evilly.

Her eyes went wide, realizing it was the roses. He had put the ketamine into the

roses somehow. She watched him as he continued his work by setting up candles

and glasses. He hummed a tune, as he made sure everything was just right. Then he

smiled at her and reached into his bag once more.

He pulled out a sexy little red dress. “You will look so beautiful in this dress Dana

and the scarf will match it perfectly.”

She was screaming with all her strength but nothing was coming out.

xXx

Skinner opened the door to his dark, lonely apartment. He sighed and flipped on the

light. He couldn’t stop thinking about Samantha and that mind numbing kiss she had

given him. He knew he liked her and was sure that he could feel even more for her.

She had been the first person that she felt comfortable talking to about Sharon and

she understood the emotional baggage the job he had carried.

He moved to the couch and opened his briefcase, thinking he might as well get some

work done. Knowing that he’d be up all night thinking of Scott anyways. He looked

inside and cursed quietly. He had left his notes at Scott’s and he needed them for a

briefing with Kersh in the morning.

He sighed at the thought of going back out this late, but he also knew it meant seeing

her again. He grabbed his coat and headed for the door.

xXx

He stared down at the smooth skin of her shoulders against the bright red of the

spaghetti straps. He ran his hand gently along her collar and down towards her

breasts.

“You look amazing, Dana. Of course, I knew you would.” He leaned in and kissed

her pulse.

He pulled away and said, “I had thought about making this an extra special night.

Make our love real. But you look far to lovely tonight to ruin that. Besides, I

promised you I’d wait until Valentine’s Day.”

He gently caressed her cheek. “So, I guess there’s only one thing left to do.” He

pulled out the scarf and wrapped it around her neck.

xXx

Skinner knocked gently on Scott’s door. As he did it popped open a crack. He

peeked in and said, “Samantha?”

He could here something in the living room but couldn’t place what it was. He

slowly pulled his gun and moved that way. As he turned the corner he gasped in

shock of what he saw.

Candles, roses and champagne were laying on the coffee table. Scott was sprawled

on the couch, in a red dress. An ivory scarf hanging around her neck. She looked

almost blue.

He ran to her and loosened the scarf, looking for her pulse. He took a breath when

he found a weak one. He looked around the room and noticed that the perp must

have ran out the back door, as it was standing open.

He grabbed his cell and called 911.

xXx

He hid in the bushes and watched the ambulance take her away. He was angry.

Even more then before. That idiot AD had ruined everything. He had almost

finished with her when he came in. Now all of his stuff was being bagged as

evidence, including his precious scarf.

His plan was falling apart. But he wasn’t going to let that happen. He’d just have to

step things up a bit. He’d have to go to Dana now and finish what he had started.

He smiled at the thought of seeing her again, of touching her. It made him excited

just to think about it.

xXx

Mulder and Scully ran into the emergency room waiting area to find Skinner pacing

back and forth.

“What happened?” Asked Mulder.

Skinner sighed and had the two sit down. “I had gone to Scott’s to work on the case.

When I left I forgot my notes. I went back to get them and found her laying in her

living room, like the other victims.”

Scully gasped. “Oh my god. Is she…?”

Skinner shook his head. “The doctor’s are with her now. They say it was lucky I

came in when I did. Just a minute more and she would have.”

Scully sat there in shock. Not able to believe that this was happening.

Skinner sighed, trying to think straight. He pulled a plastic evidence bag out of his

coat pocket and handed it to Scully.

“This was what he used to strangle her. I’m assuming he used it on all of the

victims. The rest of the evidence was taken back to HQ, but I thought you should

see this.”

Scully looked at the scarf in the bag and then looked up at him. “Why?”

Skinner looked at her sadly and then looked down. Mulder took the bag from her

and looked the scarf over, turning the bag over and over. He stopped abruptly and

looked up at Skinner and then to Scully.

Scully looked at him, “What is it?”

Mulder whispered, “Your name.”

He handed the scarf back and pointed to the embroidered ‘Dana’ on the scarf. Scully

gasped and stared at it. It couldn’t be her scarf. She never had one like that and she

certainly would have known if something had been missing from her home.

Scully looked to Mulder and said, “This isn’t mine. It can’t be. I’ve never owned a

scarf like this.”

Mulder gave a nod and took the bag from her again. He looked up at Skinner, “Do

we have any prints on this guy yet?”

Skinner shook his head. “Not yet. There’s a duffle bag in evidence that they are

going to run and I wanted to also run that scarf.”

Mulder stood up and said, “I’ll take this down and have it run. Let me know as soon

as you find out something on Scott.”

xXx

Mulder turned on the computer to do a name search. They had got the prints and a

name for them. Now he wanted to find out what connection this man had to Scully.

Why he was killing woman who looked like her and why he carried a scarf around

with her name on it.

He typed in the name, Daniel Hinds, and waited for the information to come up.

Mulder looked shocked when he saw what it said. He had been at Quantico and

studied under Scully. He passed all of his classes with flying colors and had

accommodations from all of his teachers, except Scully. He had a lot of promise

and would have made a fine agent, but he couldn’t pass Scully’s pathology course.

Mulder smiled, thinking about how few agents would be able to pass a course she

taught. She was a tough agent and a tougher teacher.

As he read on he got more concerned. He had been hospitalized for anxiety soon

after dropping out of Quantico. They found him to show signs of insanity but the

man refused to stay and checked himself out against doctor’s orders. They couldn’t

keep him because he had been there voluntarily to begin with and he had not harmed

anyone.

Mulder hit the print button and hurriedly headed back to the hospital to tell Scully.

xXx

Scully stood at the window of the room they had given Scott. She watched as the

sun dipped behind the buildings and the moon arose to brighten another February

evening.

Skinner looked at her from his chair next to Scott’s bed. “Scully, you’ve been here

all day. Why don’t you go home and get some rest.”

Scully looked from Skinner to Scott and back. “Are you sure?”

Skinner smiled gently and gave a nod. “I’ll let you know as soon as she wakes up,

ok?”

Scully smiled and grabbed her coat. “Thanks sir. I’ll be back in the morning.”

xXx

Mulder entered Scott’s room and sat down by Skinner. “How’s she doing?”

Skinner looked at him and sighed. “She hasn’t regained consciousness yet. The

doctors think she will be able to fully recover, in time.”

Mulder gave a nod and looked around. “Where’s Scully?”

“Oh, she looked really beat, so I sent her on home.”

Mulder looked shocked and mad. “You did what?”

Skinner was about to repeat his statement when Scott sighed and started to move

slightly. Skinner stood over her and took her hand.

He whispered, “Samantha, can you hear me?”

“Walter?” She asked, hoarsely.

Skinner smiled and nodded. “Yeah.”

She smiled gently and then her eyes showed a fear that Skinner hadn’t seen since

Vietnam. “Dana….”

Mulder moved to the side of the bed. “What about Dana, Samantha?”

She looked at Mulder and said, “He called me Dana… He’s after her.”

Mulder and Skinner looked at each other, realizing what kind of danger Scully was

in.

xXx

Scully entered her dark apartment and threw her keys down on the table. She took

off her weapon and put it in the drawer and then moved to the kitchen to put on

some tea.

She came back into the living room and sat down. She felt a chill run across her

body and looked around to see where it had come from. Just as she noticed a

window in the corner of her living room was opened, she was grabbed from behind.

He pushed a knife to her neck and covered her mouth with his hand. “Don’t scream.

I don’t want to have to hurt you.”

She gave a nod and he loosened his grip slightly. She couldn’t believe who it was.

Daniel Hinds, a former student of hers. It all made sense now. He had an unhealthy

infatuation with her. He had tried to leave her gifts, which she refused. He even

questioned her one time after Mulder came to see her, asking about who he was.

He let go of her mouth and grabbed her hands, pulling them behind her and

handcuffing them.

“Why are you doing this Daniel?” She asked.

He smirked and said, “All you had to do was say yes when I asked you out. But you

said no. NO ONE EVER TELLS ME NO!” He yelled, waving the knife around.

She suddenly remembered that day in her office. When he came in with an ivory

scarf with her name on it, as a gift. She smiled gently and gave it back to him. She

told him that she couldn’t accept it and that she would like for him to quiet giving

her things. He was upset when he left the office but she never thought him capable

of anything like this.

“Ok. Calm down Daniel. I’m here now. Why don’t we sit down and talk about

this?”

He moved around to face her. He sat on the coffee table. “It’s to late to talk. You

had your chance and now it’s my turn. I was going to wait until Valentine’s Day but

that idiot of a boss and his little whore ruined that for me.” He rubbed his head

having trouble thinking.

Scully noticed this as a sign of insanity, “Daniel…your sick. Please, let me help you.

I know people who could help.”

He stood up and pointed the knife at her. “NO! I don’t need help. After tonight

everything will be all right. You and I will be together, forever.”

Scully sat back, trying to get away from the blade. Just then the door burst open and

Mulder ran in and fired a shot at Hinds. He dropped the knife and grabbed his

shoulder. He looked shocked as blood ran between his fingertips.

He looked down at Scully and said, “All I wanted was for us to be happy.”

Skinner grabbed his hands and cuffed him and pushed him out of the apartment as

Mulder went to Scully and unhand cuffed her.

He touched her cheek and whispered, “Are you alright.”

Scully gulped back her fear and nodded. “I’m fine. How’d you know?”

“Scott woke up and said he had called her Dana.” Mulder smiled weakly.

Scully nodded. “He said that he was doing this because I had turned him down

when he asked me out.” Her voice sounded weak and distant. “I never thought that

saying no could cause so many people to die.”

Mulder pulled her into him and caressed her hair. “It wasn’t your fault Scully. You

had every right to tell him no.”

Scully gave a nod and just held him.

xXx

He sat on the bed in the corner of his cell. The only light coming from the lover’s

moon. It was valentine’s night. The night he was supposed to be with Dana. He

wrapped his arms around his legs and began rocking. His dear sweet lonely Dana

wasn’t there with him. She was with her partner. His anger grew at the thought of

him touching her.

Slowly his cell door opened and the nurse entered. She smiled at him and he looked

up. He stared into her piercing blue eyes and smiled at the way her red hair shined

in the moonlight.

She sat down his dinner and said, “Her you are Mr. Hinds. Enjoy your meal.”

He smiled at her and said, “Thank you.”

She turned to leave as he said, “Happy Valentine’s Day, Dana.”

xXx The End xXx

CHY AN DOUR (Cornish Or KERNOWEK for “Our House” or

“Our home” KERNOW =

Cornwall)

Category: Written for IMTP VS 10 Valentine challenge.

Keywords: H MSR Mild Angst , very light MT ( Now

theres a shocker)

Rating: PG for several choice metaphores, lots of

affection, romance and

general goofyness. Stuff happens.

Summary: Uh well A reunion , a gift, and a cosy

weekend of planned romance

in Cornwall,rustic charm, Best laid plans etc etc..

Spoilers: FIRE and The PILOT. SOME MYTHARC eps.

Archive: 2 weeks exclusively on IMTP VS10 after that

my website and

anywhere that would want it..

Feedback: Any would be much appreciated.

dragonrider1@ntlworld.com

Disclaimer: They have more fun with me CC but Il be

nice and give them

back clean ,sweet smelling and refreshed.

A couple of brands of various drugstore products which

also dont belong

to me but hey Im giving you free publicity.

No point sueing. C’mon criss what would you do with a

mouldy cornish pasty

and my son’s battered scooter with the

wonky front wheel?

Author’s Notes: Humble appologies to the wonderful

folks of Cornwall.

I go there every year on vacations and spend simply

oodles of money in your wonderful Duchy. I am in fact,

part Cornish myself paternally, so please don’t take

the content of my fic to be in anyway derogatory,

either people , culture,language.etc…

All references thierin are made with a mixture of

personal anecdotal licence and deep affection. Its a

beautiful place to explore, beaches are

fantastic, and the weather is great (most of the

time.) A few scenes from the last James Bond was

filmed there. (VEG)

All incedents in this fic have been anecdotal either

to me, friends or loved ones and adapted for your

amusement and M&S’s. Although I fear a certain friend

will be quite honoured to know that I have forever

immortalised a previously entertaining feature of her

humble abode into X files fanfic. I say previous,

because the er problem has been recified. By

Liceneced workmen.

Chy an Dor (Kernowek for Our house)

“Mulder it’s so gorgeous!” Scully’s grin was all

bright eyes and teeth; a radiance of love dancing in

their blueness to rival the perfect sky, as she gazed

with awe at the picturesque cottage before them,

gravel crunching pleasantly as Mulder slid up the

drive in their rented open top MG. The car came to a

stop and he switched off the ignition. The car purred

a beat then stopped.

” This is it. I promised you candy box perfect. Can I

cook Scully? I knew you’d love it.” Mulder sighed

expectantly, turning to show off his own expensive

orthodontistry. He took off his shades, his thumb

gently grazing her cheek.

She looked like a 16 year old on her first big prom

date.

“Definitely Mulder.’

“Hey..”

His arms slid around her waist and he leaned in for a

kiss, claiming her lips with his own, a gesture she

hungrily returned. His heart did a happy little

Lambada knowing that he’d done something that had

delighted the love of his life and turned her into the

cuddly little ball of mushy promise, he cradled in his

arms. All his blood rushed south.

His other current love – the car, was hugging his ass

in a leather caress beneath him, which was quite

pleasing in several ways…. He really had to pick one

up when he got home. It was so choice.

Mulder imagined cruising around the countryside with

Scully in one of these, going from case to case in

beautiful sculptured seats. Weekends at the coast,

picnics etc.. Comfort personified. Better than a

bureau Crapsmobile any day of the week. Since he’d

become Scully’s lover, he’d developed a definite

extravagant streak. Not because he really cared about

his parents money, but now he often got overwhelmed

with the need to ensure Scully’s comfort and pleasure.

He had the cash, the “black” money his father had left

him, and he thought he might as well use it to make

her life a little better…a little happier. His

eternal guilt chip over things she had lost along the

way on his quest, still in prime working order,

despite her reassurances and love.

Scully seemed beside herself with happiness. Good to

know he still had the knack to make her happy,

especially after the unfortunate events in Oxford. The

reunion from hell. How he hoped that they could forget

the last few days and write them off as a particularly

unpleasant miasma of cosmic forces, bad moon rising or

post Christmas funk. The alcohol probably hadn’t

helped either. Scully had seemed a little out of

kilter lately anyway, it had started to gnaw at the

back of his subconscious.

Scully’s warm lips played tango with his own, paying

special attention to his pouty bottom lip, eventually

they came up for air, sun shining its benevolence on

them and not a cloud in the sky. February in Cornwall,

who would have thought the weather would be this kind.

It was perfect, the rolling hills and woods behind the

cottage were amazing and they felt like this was the

only little nook for miles around, and Scully’s hot

mouth eased away any fears he’d harbored in his heart

that she might be reconsidering their relationship.

He still couldn’t believe his luck that she had chosen

him at all.

The Ivy that hugged the whitewashed cottage walls sang

with the light breeze as if whispering “Hello”.

Mulder, content enough not to move for a few minutes

after what had been a long drive, burrowed further

into Scully’s neck, breathing in the Cherry scented

soap they had both been lathering themselves with in

the shower, the night before leaving Oxford. It had

tasted so good on her skin. Something south of

Mulder’s belly button twitched in remembrance. An

early birthday present he’d picked up for her in

Selfridges. He’d probably be buying a case before they

went home. The cottage break was her real present

though, and also doubled nicely as a romantic

Valentines getaway. Hopefully their latest and

unwelcome encounter with the demonic specter of Phoebe

Green would vanish into the ether of the beautiful

Cornish countryside and a weekend of serious passion.

With his nose buried in Scully’s fiery wind tussled

hair, all was right with the world…until he opened

one sleepy eyelid.

“Get down!!!!”

“Wh…what?”

SPLAAAAAATTTT!

“…Shit! …”

Literally.

The Seagull seemed to do a victory swoop above them

after scoring a direct hit on its unfortunate targets.

It prescribed a perfect arc in the sky and veered off

with a last cheerful shriek towards the sea.

Why Anton Chekhov had ever felt moved enough to name

one of his more famous plays after one of these

defecating feathered bastards, was beyond Mulder at

that point and found his hand twitching for the weight

of a gun that wasn’t there. Right now a Bee-bee might

come in useful.

They stared at each other for a second or two in utter

stupefaction, taking in the aftermath of the attack; a

truly astounding amount of greeny yellowish, foul

smelling substance the consistency of lumpy oatmeal,

that would make the ABH throw up in disgust,

generously pebble dashed all over their clothes,

clinging to their faces and hair, not to mention

spread all across the entire cherry wood veneer of the

car dashboard. Must have ricocheted at an impossible

angle for its payload to coat everything so

completely, Mulder mused, trying hard not to vomit.

“Yikes. Hot lunch, Scully?” He was truly stunned at

the sheer volume of crap that one bird could produce.

Had this been the States, he’d have thought that a

Condor had happened by and taken a dump on them.

“Look at this amazing new hair gel, I’ve discovered.

Umm.” He gingerly held his fingers up to his nose to

sniff at them.

” Mulder you are truly gross, do you know that?” She

scooped a lump of the slimy muck out of her eye socket

and vigorously shook it off her fingers, onto the

gravel. Mulder was wiping a blob off his nose with the

cuff of his sweater, spitting out what was smeared all

over his lips. Scully watched him use around 80% of

all his facial muscles in a mask of utter disgust.

” I live for moments such as these, don’t you?. Bang

goes the car rental deposit. I don’t even think Amway

products could cope with clearing up all this crap, or

the smell.”

Scully produced a tissue and began dabbing at Mulder’s

quivering lips. He looked a bit green. ” There. You

missed a bit. Just tell me there’s a hot shower or

bath and you packed my soap.”

” I did. There’s a Claw foot tub, candles, hot water.

Soft sheets…. ” She grinned goofily at him.

“There had better be Mulder, and don’t tell me this is

supposed to be lucky. That’s bullshit.”

“Actually its gull shit.”

“Mulderrrr…” What was it about the cadence of

her voice that spoke directly to his groin?

“Kiss me Scully.” He leered at her over the top of

the tissue. Puckering his lips. Waggling his eyebrows.

” Yuck, in your dreams, Mulder.”

” I promise to floss.” Her face pulled into a just-

sucked- a- lemon grimace in reply before making a

beeline for the trunk. He sucked in a breath, flicking

a lump of bird crap off his cowlick and followed her

out of the car. “Twice..?” he glanced back once at the

state of the car and wanted to cry.

SHIT.

Their footsteps crunched swiftly across the gravel in

their haste to get indoors, and out of range of any

more reinforcements that might turn up in true

Hitchcockian tradition. Mulder muttering something

under his breath that sounded a little like “muck’ but

not quite, as he literally kicked the door open. Rain

clouds were sifting in from the east and looked

ominous on the horizon. He considered it wasn’t

entirely beyond the realm of science fiction that the

vapid Phoebe could be an evil sprite from middle earth

in an latter-day incarnation, and sitting in her bat

cave somewhere with a rippling seeing- eye mirror like

the big boobed witch had in “Red Sonya” , and set this

unpleasant revenge on them in retaliation for Scully’s

display back in Oxford. Phoebe had always made a

startling Cawing noise –much like a constipated gull

during her noisier orgasms, he shuddered in

remembrance as he hefted the bags through the door.

Definitely a visual to banish forthwith and

concentrate on what he had planned with Scully.

The house was as beautiful inside as it was out; it

just smelled musty with disuse. It was so cozy, the

perfect love nest. Seascapes adorned the walls,

tasteful décor that extended to the quaint floral

print sofa that looked like a giant marshmallow ready

to swallow them up, it looked so comfortable. Scully

almost cried with delight when she spotted the huge

open log fire and the antique range in the kitchen.

The bedrooms revealed a king size canopy bed with

Fleur de Lillie cotton valence and bedspread. Mulder

thought how romantic it would be to cast a sea of

blood red Rose petals all over the white organza and

light candles all around the room. His heart did a

little unnatural twist thinking about him and Scully

lying side by side, the candlelight flickering in her

eyes and their skin painted with amber light, sipping

champagne. He just needed to distract her long enough

to put his plans into action. Perhaps while she was in

the bath. His long fingers closed over the felt

covered mound in his pocket, to reassure himself it

was still there. He let him smile despite his nervous

energy.

Professor Scott, who had always looked sagely upon

Mulder like a second son while at Oxford, had been

badgering him for years to take him up on his offer to

borrow the cottage and take a lady friend there. It

had only taken him the best part of two decades to

capitulate. He remembered fondly the knowing wink the

old buzzard had given him. Now slightly deaf and away

with the fairies, he’d taken one look at Scully and

surreptitiously pressed the keys into Mulder’s hands,

with shaky fingers that spoke of early Parkinson’s.

The old boy seemed to find it profoundly amusing when

Scully, who had taken just about all she could stand

from Phoebe’s obnoxious repartees of put downs, and

accidentally on purpose retaliated in very un- Scully

like fashion. Phoebe’s head became the sole

beneficiary of Scully’s virtuous generosity, in the

form of her untouched Fillet minion in sauce

Béarnaise. Much to the amusement of the assembled

thong. Professor Scott lit a cigar and puffed on it

with barely concealed amusement, taking in Scully’s

satisfied glow and Mulder’s open mouth astonishment as

the said Miss Green., all dripping fury and bug eyes,

had beaten a hasty retreat from the diner hall. Whose

bright idea had it been to seat her next to Scully?

Ooopse.

The professor had leaned over and whispered in

Mulder’s ear.

“She’s got balls, my boy. Do yourself a favor and hang

onto her. Marry her for god sakes.” Mulder had nodded

dumbly. The old guy smiled at Phoebe’s retreating

maelstrom as he handed him the keys. ” Silly Cow,

little Miss “Bury me a Y shaped coffin”, we used to

call her.” He chuffed on his cigar, laughing

imperiously.

So here they were, in a tiny village nestled in the

downs a few miles from Camborne.

They both fought the urge to sneeze as they dropped

their bags. First order of that day. Divesting

themselves of their clothes. This wasn’t quite the

reason Mulder wanted to get naked, but making love

would be a whole nicer not smothered in itchy bird

shit. He could hear Scully putting the kettle on the

range for tea. Right now he needed to strip and clean

his teeth…several times with a wire scrubbing brush

if necessary. No way was his missing out on Scully’s

amazing lips tonight. He was rooting for tongue too if

all went well with his gift.

Hot water rained down on their entwined bodies like a

warm blanket, cleansing the last of the Seagull

surprise from their hair and skin. Scully’s arms were

around his waist, head nestled against his chest,

drawn there by the rapid beat of his heart, warmth and

the cherry sweet smell of his skin, enjoying the

feeling of being clean again and revived by the water

and being with man she loved more than life itself.

He held against his own chest like a second skin,

nuzzling her neck and breathing her whole essence into

his soul. He loved her so much he wanted to weep. She

looked flushed, wonderful.

“Scully, what exactly made you mad enough so that

Phoebe ended up wearing your meal?” His soft voice

reverberated in his chest as he softly rinsed the soap

from her hair. Her eyes rose to meet his hooded green

ones and she let her lips curl up in a knowing smile

before melding herself to his mouth. God she was

beautiful, all wet and warm in his arms, nipping

little kisses down his face and neck

“I….er guess I decided she had it coming, Mulder. I

think it was the wine stripping away my normal good

sense. Right at that moment, it seemed like a good

thing to do at the time.” He was massaging her scalp

now and she automatically leaned into his touch.

“You enjoyed it way too much.” His voice was like

warm honey as his laugh ticked the hair at her neck.

” She got your Irish up…admit it. ”

“Yes she did…I guess…are you feeling sorry for

her?” He chuckled; her fingers smoothing over his

waist, feeling his stomach ripple in amusement.

” No, I’m just thinking of the poor chef who sweated

blood and tears to produce such a fine feast, only to

have you dump it all over Phoebe’s head. I enjoyed

mine. ”

” I enjoyed that. The satisfaction of seeing that

sauce dripping lazily down her prissy little face was

almost orgasmic. I wasn’t all that hungry, her

proximity had quite ruined my appetite for one

evening. I did the only thing I could have done under

the circumstances…what? Don’t tell me you didn’t

get a kick out of it? I know you Mulder.”

Mulder grinned devilishly, sucking air through his

teeth like ice cream had just gone in a filling.

Scully poked his chest with a teasing finger.

” I cannot lie to you. … yeah. Kinda hot. But that’s

my department.”

“What G-Man?.”

“Orgasms. Agent Scully.” His eyes rolled about in a

sultry leer that made her toes melt. Scully laughed

running her fingers up and down Mulder’s back.

” So you liked me defending your honor, huh.” That

piqued his curiosity.

” C’mon baby what did she say?”

” I…. ?”

Just then, a huge thunderclap cracked the air over the

cottage, shocking them both. Something loud crashed in

the vicinity of the living room, the sound of glass

breaking startled them.

Shit!!!! What now ?, Mulder thought groping for their

bath robes.

“What was that Mulder?”

“Dunno sounded like the living room window. C’mon.”

Sure enough, a large oak branch had come through the

window. Rain, Glass and debris strewn everywhere.

Mulder sighed, quickly dressing, leaving Scully to

build the fire up while he found boards to nail up at

the windows. The storm outside raged on.

Half an hour later Mulder emerged back through the

door cold, soaked through and shaking from braving the

elements, which had turned decidedly nasty since

they’d arrived here. Howling wind came through door

with him. He just wanted to drop. He went to stand by

the heat of the log fire Scully had built up while he

fixed the window. Apart from freezing through to the

bone, he’d managed to drive a nail into his palm

instead of the board. He looked miserable as he held

his bloodied hand to his chest.

“Here le me see that, Mulder.” She took his hand in

her own , away from his chest to inspect it. He was

ice cold.

” Its Okay, just a scratch…. it will be fine. I

just want to get back in that hot shower. I’m frigging

freezing.” His teeth chattered just to make his

point. Their romantic evening seemed to be sliding

further and further onto the back burner.

” Its more than a scratch, Mulder, this will need a

few sutures. I’ll get my kit. Aren’t you due for

another tetanus about now? ” He cringed. Uh oh,

Doctor Scully rides again. Trust her to remember

something as anal as that.

” Umm…. Maybe…Its okay, I want to get out of these

wet clothes now. You can see to it after. ” Blue

daring eyes locked on defiant green. He looked so

gorgeous when he batted those huge lashes at her. The

little boy in him could always knock her dead.

“Okay,” she acquiesced with a tired sigh. “Go get

your shower and get warm G-man. Careful with that

wound though, rinse it thoroughly but not with very

hot water. I’ll get you some clothes, make you some

hot tea and we’ll do this after. But…” and there was

a hint of evil about her smile that Mulder felt right

down to his frozen marrow. “…It comes with a jab. I

don’t want you getting lockjaw on me.”

Mulder’s leer reached right up to his ears as his

mind skittered off on a divergent thought at her last

words. Scully caught the look and pursed her lips.

She’d been with him way too long to need to wonder

what mucky little innuendo he was thinking about.

Mulder ducked into the shower again, while Scully

decided a visit to the ladies room was in order first;

she followed Mulder to the bathroom and stopped,

checking the other doors off the passageway. Where the

hell was it?

” Mulder? Where’s the ah…?” She stopped short at

the site of his splendid naked ass vanishing behind

the shower curtain. ” The um….”

Hot damn.

” Little agent’s room? Its outside.” His voice came

back through a cascade of running water and steam. The

smell of cherries pleasantly availed her senses.

” What? You are joking right? ”

” Scully this is rural Cornwall, land of legend and

devilish little people called Knockers, the Cornish

Pisky, pasties, communing with land sea and sky, half

the charm of living in rustic places is the outside

‘Chokey’.”

” A Chokey… Mulder? You mean I have to go out in

that storm…. in all that wind. Okaaayyyyy then. ”

She thought she heard him giggle. ” Mulderrrr? ”

“Its either that or a bucket….”

” Oh…nicely put, Mr. sophisticated.” She huffed,

sounding whiney even to her own voice ” coming from

someone who has been known to relieve himself in the

sink.” She heard a wet sounding chuckle and the sound

of a thud on the shower floor that told her he’d

dropped his soap. A wet, bemused , adorable Mulderface

appeared around the curtain.

” I did NOT!!!”

“Oh yes you did. Frat boy…Frohicke has the

photographic evidence.”

“Where?…That little weasel…I” Scully flashed him a

kilowatt smile that smacked of victory. Too much for

his liking. He couldn’t remember the incident in

question fully, but just prayed to the gods the

dastardly deed hadn’t occurred at Margaret Scully’s.

His height challenged friend was going to be dead meat

when he got back to DC.

“Mulder, honey, please can we hurry.”

” How about you try the sink facilities, G- woman?..”

Her glare seared his retinas with their intensity. ”

But…. on second thoughts…since you are um…a

little gender..err height challenged for that

activity…I’ll just get dressed and come out there

with you. Find the mag-light, will ya, Scully. It’s in

my rucksack. Can you hand me my robe. Please?” The

soft terry-towel landed on his head.

Scully just stared at him, strangely lost for words,

tapping her fingers in an irritable tattoo on the

wall, trying to ignore the ache in her bladder as he

threw on his bathrobe, then went off to find the

torch, shaking her head and rolling her eyes.

The ‘Chokey’ was two thirds of the way up the garden,

since the path went up hill, they had a devil of a

job, just keeping hold of each other, keeping upright

as the wind blew around them in an angry tempest.

Nature felt really pissed off in this part of the

world, they both gasped as the wind took their breath

away, leaves and branches slapped at their skin.

Individually, they both wondered about catching

pneumonia, most likely at this rate. So much for the

romantic weekend. Mulder felt a suspicious tightness

in his chest that was starting to be very unfunny.

Scully darted inside the dilapidated wooden door,

leaving the latch on. Mulder shivered miserably,

aiming his mag-light beam around the gap left in the

opening. He was nearly knocked flat by Scully coming

back through a beat later.

“What? What is it.. Scully?” He fought to steady

himself against the chokey wall, while she just looked

shellshocked.

” Mulderrr…it ….barfed up a rat…?”

“What?!!” Sheesh, you’d think some of the things

she sees at autopsy’s

” A …a rat! …horrible BIG rat! ” Her despair was

a shaky whisper fighting against the wind, half her

voice torn away by the elements, she swung back the

door and they both peered gingerly inside. Scully

grabbed hold of his ass. He bit down a gasp at her

fingernails digging in.

” Its was floating and it all welled up and slid over

the top. It’s flooding over. Its little eye looking up

at me. I almost sat on it.” Stifling an insane urge

to laugh, Mulder shone his torch at the troubling

sight before him.

This particular Chokey was not well. Something very

brown and nasty clung to every inch of the chipped

porcelain and something bubbled inside it like the

thing from the black lagoon, cheerfully burbling away

to itself like some hideous sucking swamp creature

from Mulder’s nightmares.

WUP WUP …WUP.

I know just how you feel, pal, thought Mulder as he

spied the unfortunate soggy rodent amidst the morass

of spilled ablutions. The smell made the chokey live

literally up to its name.

Shit.

” Alas poor Krycek , I knew him well. So that’s where

you have been hiding buddy. Scully, um, I need a

bucket full of soapy water and bleach. The ah…

facilities seem to be blocked so we need to find the

drain cover. ” Mulder sighed, he was looking at his

third shower of the evening, his chest hurt and his

hand throbbed like a battered heart, but the worst

feeling of all was knowing with all reasonable

certainty, that a wild and pleasurable coupling (or a

good ole portion, as the locals called it,) was not on

the cards tonight.

After this, he was going to have a very hot,

alcoholically saturated cappuccino and collapse into

those inviting fluffy virgin white sheets, hopefully

with Scully to fuss over him. When he turned around,

Scully was scowling and trying not to eat a mouthful

of hair that kept plastering itself in her face. Last

time he saw that look of death frenzy; it had been

aimed at one infinitely annoying Scotland Yard

inspector, whose social skills hadn’t evolved much

since Cro-Magnon times. She trembled with disgust or

annoyance, he wasn’t quite sure which, but she

suddenly grabbed his flashlight and was scuttleling

back down the path toward the cottage again before he

could utter another word. The back of her robe

swishing in the mud behind her. The howling wind

snatched away all but her choicest words of profanity.

On the other hand, perhaps he’d be sleeping alone. He

hung his head in the rain. This did not bode well. A

single tear slipped down his face and merged with the

moisture already there. The heavens were crying with

him in empathy it seemed.

Getting the drain cover off was a feat in itself and

took the two of them a good few minutes of scorching

‘F’ words and broken fingernails to achieve their

objective. Mulder was wheezing by now and for the

first time in an hour, Scully looked at him with some

concern, but even that was short-lived. It put him in

mind of that first case back in Oregon. A graveyard in

the rain, Scully laughed that time. Beautiful, all wet

and exhilarated, their partnership gelling closer

together with each moment of growing trust even at

that early stage. They’d both been so young. He’d

loved her then too. Even back that far, his heart

reminded him, as he hefted back the metal cover as she

watched on. She really looked pissed.

” Go back inside and keep warm Scully, I can do this.

” Scully glared at him, shaking her head. The rain

came down like stair rods now. He wasn’t sure what

had stopped her jigging about but for a desperate

woman, she looked much calmer now. He bit down the

urge to comment about the sink again.

” Can’t it wait to the morning? I should look at your

hand.”

Yep the sink had seen some action.

” Nah lets do this now, I don’t think Il be compos

mentis in the morning. I’m as stiff as Elvis now.”

She gave him a predictably filthy look.

Scully helped him pour the soapy concoction gingerly

into the drain hole. As it disappeared into the dark

abyss beneath them, they heard a swooshing noise going

the length of the drain. Hopefully that hit the spot.

Now for the second bucketful.. They heaved the bucket

into position, between them, fighting to stay upright

in the wind, all of a sudden the mag light went out.

Then two things happened simultaneously. Scully’s

fearful shriek drowned out Mulder’s heart stopping

yell, as some unknown heavy object cannoned into his

back and knocked him arms and legs akimbo flat across

the drain hole. The full force of the water from the

bucket shot up the drain like a bursting dam with a

horrible THUNK!. Scully and Mulder heard their voices

cry out in fearful union.

“OH SHIT!”

There was a short warning sound of ominous gurgling

before a huge torrent of water shot full force back

out the hole like a the old faithful geyser and

sprayed everything in its path with a dripping river

of crap. Scully fell backwards and Mulder cringed as

he heard a loud splash, an unhappy confirmation that

the love of his life had fallen in the pond he’d

spotted earlier. Something wet and slimy nudged his

face as he lay there breathless, and a even wetter,

raspy thing slid over his face, that stilled his heart

on the spot. A second or two later, it was thudding

again, he was panting at the frigid air,

dripping…smelling. Something rough almost took off a

few layers of his face. Yuck. He was up and out of the

hole then like a bat out of hell.

“What the…f..”

” Mulder?”

” Scully? ” He ambled towards her frightened voice,

the high level of it scaring him silly. Something was

following him…not just one thing, lots of things…

shitshitshit.. Every part of him ached as he spotted

the damp outline of Scully and he leaned forward to

grasp her hand.

Just then a blast of white light shone in their faces,

blinding them. Mulder arms automatically shot up to

his face to protect his eyes and he keeled over on top

of a struggling Scully trying to get up behind him,

her cold wet hands grabbing his ass cheeks. Normally

he would have enjoyed the sensation but their combined

inertia immersed them again in the icy pond; Mulder

spluttering and gasping as his face slid beneath the

murky water. They grappled against each other to sit

upright again. It was then they heard the hideous

laughter. …And something else. Something not quite

human.

Once their eyes became accustomed to the light, they

both gasped at the sea of red eyes bearing down on

them. They flew into each other’s arms, clinging

tighter than conjoined twins as they both tried to

breathe and couldn’t.

Oh God! Did he just yell that out loud?

The light came nearer and became more intense, then it

suddenly swung upward into the driving rain, leaving

enough light to see the shape of a…man?

” Not God, my andsome boy, jus farmer Morley. Seems ye

found my erd, avee?” His stout body seemed to fold in

on itself as once again the maniacal laughter floated

through storm like a hyena doing something unnatural

to a corpse. ” Ohh let the cows owt oohhh ohhhh,

ooohhh?” More laughter bounced around them.

Mulder was not amused. Christ, the stupid old fart

sounded akin to that alien from ‘Galaxy Quest’ ” Now

the damn cows were joining in with their braying.

Scully was too shocked to do anything other than to

cling to Mulder like a limpet. This joker should be

damned glad they left their guns in DC.

Cows…lots and lots of cows. If he had his way they’d

be hamburger. His eidetic mind’s eye played out a nice

fat juicy steak stuck right on phoebe’s head, while

her big mouth opened and a mooing noise came out.. A

prickly tongue curled itself around Mulder’s ear with

a playful slurp just then. Ewweee.

” Whoever you are, you Kernowek redneck jackass, don’t

just stand there like an asthmatic warthog, get us out

of this F*&&^^%$$#$% pond!!!”

Just then a previously dumbstruck Scully, found

credence to her voice.

” Fu… ff.. f*^&%#%#$#$!!!!!”

” Not in front of the, Bovine

Scully….ahhhhcheeooooooo!!” Wheeze splutter.

A little while later.

Mulder lay naked and warm beneath the white comforter

of their huge bed. Scully lay beside him, hands

lovingly running through his damp hair. He groaned

softly as he leaned into her touch. There was a short

beep and Scully removed the thermometer from his ear.

” BEEP! Your body temperature is 102,4.” The scratchy

digital voice on Scully’s new state of the art med-

gadget declared all too cheerfully, kind of reminded

him of Joan Rivers.

Scully put a stethoscope bell to his chest, smiling

ruefully as she listened. Mulder leered goofily at her

through a cherry Nyquil haze. Sitting there in her

peachy bathrobe, hair wet and cheeks carrying just a

hint of wind kissed flush, she looked too darn hot to

be a doctor. But he was glad she was. He hoped while

she was listening to his heart, that she could hear

just how much he loved her right then. She leaned

forward and kissed him, signaling that Doctor Scully

had retired for the evening and his lover had

returned. Not that he had any strength to show her a

good time. He felt like he was floating up amongst the

old oak beams in the ceiling. Their lips met again,

briefly dueling for a better taste of each other.

” Its official G-man. You have bronchitis. A couple of

days in bed and you should be fine. ” Mulder was

rubbing her back in little circles through her fleece

robe.

” Does that mean I get to share them with you, Doctor

Scully?”

” Only if you’re a very good G-man.” She was making

that purring sound at the back of her throat again.

” Sorry Scully. So much for romance huh.” he tickled

that sensitive spot behind her ear.

” If you are a very good boy, you might get a massage

when you’re feeling better. But I think for now I just

prescribe hot chocolate and a couple of hot water

bottles. ”

” You’re the only hot thing I want baby” She almost

squealed as he sucked at her ear lobe. His arms

pulling her onto the bed until she straddled his legs.

“Hey, it’s the 14th today. Happy Valentine’s, Scully?

I love you. Baby.”

” Love you too, Mulder.” She looked radiant in the

candlelight flickering around the room. She looked

hesitant for a second then looked up her eyes ablaze.

It was a look he didn’t recognize, just a tiny nuance

that had him curious and made his heart beat like a

little birds.

” I got you a present, Scully…” Now his heart was

thudding in earnest as he rolled slightly to one side

and slid his arm slid his pillow, fingers closing over

the almost pulsating little box, or was that just his

own pulse. He’d never been so nervous in his life.

This, despite being ill, this was a wonderful setting.

He’d save the rose petals for another day and the

champagne. It would taste much better when his taste

buds returned. He had to do this before his heart

gauged it’s way out of his chest. …

“Mulder, I got you one too, its …er big.. Pretty..

um big. Can I give you the little one first,”

“Scully…I…you did? Er…sure. ” She slid her

hand over the covers of the bed and pushed a fist

sized package into his shaking palms. Her impossibly

blue eyes never leaving his. He was holding his

breath, heart one big ache and for a moment he thought

it had stopped altogether. After what seemed like an

eternity, he tore his eyes away from hers and looked

down, uncurling his fingers. Two seconds later, the

paper was off and he gulped when he revealed ….a

jar of VICKS VAPOR RUB.

Mulder could not believe the high-pitched hysterical

laughter had come from his mouth. Scully seized both

his arms when she thought he might have some kind of

seizure and made him look at her. The little green

flecks in his eyes blew up in a riot, pupils dilating

madly in a way that shouted the hurt he felt. His lips

were trembling and his eyes held back a dam of tears

that made her smile fade.

” I um , I always wanted one of these, …err.. Every

boys wet dream…”

” Mulder, that prescription I was telling you about?

…That’s part of it. I have your real gift right here

the big one. Don’t cry…I’m going to rub this all

over your chest later. I’m sorry, please…love so

sorry. ” he sniffed, and choked out a sound that could

have been a laugh., eyes still holding a sadness she

hated herself for causing, already regretting the

silly gag. Something more serious was going on with

him and it shocked her to realize just how much she

misjudged this moment. Suddenly she felt scared.

Scared for both of them, the stress of the last few

days, the strangeness she felt inside that robbed her

of her normal equilibrium. His beautiful eyes held her

fast. She felt her breath hitch as she pulled a long

slim beautifully wrapped package from the deep pocket

of her robe, took his fingers and closed them over it.

His eyes were closed but his face was a mask. She

could hear his heart beat through the ambient light.

As loud as the storm in her mind and in every breath

she took with him, both of them now breathing in sync.

” This is the big present?” he bit his bottom lip as

she nodded. His fingers turning it over in his hands,

knuckled almost white, he was gripping it so tightly.

Scully gulped back a threatened tear.

” Its big, very big, trust me on this. The biggest

thing …”

” Is it a tooth brush? ” he made no move to take off

the paper. Something in her eyes made him start

tearing at it gently, almost in slow motion.

“Scully…?” His eyes changed colors so suddenly that

it made her gasp, it was that second she realized that

his mind has pulled into all the right places like a

Rubik’s puzzle and they were both staring down at his

hands, …..at the slim plastic pen shaped device that

showed two blue lines in two separate little windows.

They came together by consensus, arms tightening

around each other. Mulder’s face was suddenly wet and

from that split second, it was finally real to her.

The other half of her, the other soul that joined with

her to make this miracle merged as one and they

finally basked in the healing warmth of a supernova.

” Scull……god..ba ..ba bab..god baby!! Scully?

You’re pregnant…?oh god.” The rest of his emotional

wheezing got lost beneath her hair as he buried

himself against her and sobbed his heart out. She

nodded her head, suddenly laughing and crying , trying

to do the impossible and pull him closer.

After everything they’d lost after all they had been

through, all the pain, the fear and anguish, vaporized

in an instant. The miracle of their unborn child had

already begun to heal them.

He came up for a strong heaving breath. Chest tight

with emotion and they kissed at each others tears,

their fingers at each others temples. When he spoke

again he was gasping for air but she’d never seen him

so alive..

” I love you…so much.”

” I love you Mulder, …we love you.” her hands left

his face momentarily, and pulled his to caress their

unborn child. ” Happy Valentine, Mulder. I love you so

so much. I’ve never wanted anyone as much as I want

you. I wouldn’t have thought it was possible to feel

what I feel for you.”

” Your are my Heart scully, my life. No one could ask

for such a wonderful present as this. Thank you. So

Much…….Oh my GOD” She startled at his stricken

look.

” What? …Mulder, are you alright.?” She was too

busy worrying about his sudden hacking cough to

notice the little felt box he was pressing into her

palm.

Oh MY God!! MULDER…

” Almost forgot. Guess…now…” Choke …cough ”

this will come in handy. ”

” Mulder!!! Oh…”

“Scully will you do me the profound honor of becoming

my wife?.” his hands slid nervously to their child

safe in her belly. ” mother of my child.” Taking her

left hand in his own, eyes never leaving hers, he

leaned back, pushing the ring on her third finger. A

perfect fit.

” Oh Mulder. You know damn well I will!!! You have

the most amazing timing.”

” ummmm let me show you timing baby.” For the rest of

the night they lay together, never more than a breath

away. Despite his illness, they consummated their

engagement and their good news . Several times.

Later…

“Mulder?”

” Yeah baby?” His mouth had started that slow erotic

trail behind her ear again and she shivered.

” I hate to ask this but……..Did you close the soft

top on the car last night?”

” OH F^^%%&*)K!!!”

Champagne and Caviar

By Humbuggie

A VS10 Challenge

© 2003

san@sv-tales.com

The challenge: write a shortstory under 35K revolving

around the theme Valentine’s Day.

Was it a struggle? Yes! ?

Story: Mulder has a special Valentine’s Day planned for his

partner, but you didn’t expect that to go well, did you?

Type: MSR (sans sex), MT

Champagne and Caviar

I bought Scully champagne and caviar; both clichés to

celebrate a special occasion, but effective ones. She’ll never

expect me to do such a thing; in fact, I made pretty damn

sure she thought I had forgotten all about Valentine’s Day. I

have to admit: last year I almost did.

But not this year. Nope: this time I had something

extraordinary planned that will swipe her off her feet and

hopefully straight into my eager arms. So I found myself

standing in the small and cosy delicatessen shop two blocks

away from my apartment building, to buy my partner-in-life-

and-crime everything I believe she deserves.

Scully is particularly not a woman of luxuries but when they

are offered to her, she is usually very impressed. So I

decided that this year I would also invest time and cash in

this money-sucking special day.

I always liked getting her things. In fact, I buy them all the

time. Yes, I know you don’t think I’m a romantic, but I am.

Sometimes. I admit though that I was never keen on

Valentine’s Day.

I always found the ‘forced special occasions’ as I call them to

be over-exaggerated. Why do you have to give someone

something today, and not tomorrow, for example? Why not

celebrate every day that you have with the one you love?

Alas, Scully does like these types of days and after last

year’s – when I had almost forgotten it – I decided to do

something out of the ordinary today. So, for this Valentine’s,

I ordered a cute little Miranda-teddy bear that I found in an

online-shop. It arrived early this morning: a beautiful grey

cuddly thing with a cute, little white T-shirt. I know that she

will absolutely adore this. Hell, even I love it and I’m not a

woman.

I bought her another teddy too: a diaphanous one. Black

and gorgeous and absolutely stunningly looking on a petite

woman like her. She’ll love that even more than the

Miranda-bear. I do know my partner well, you know.

But of course gifts don’t complete a perfect Valentine’s and I

took advantage of the fact not many aliens are invading

planet Earth at this time. I took my time in the delicatessen

shop and tried out all the little nibbles the store manager

has set out for the occasion: French cheeses and wines,

Belgian chocolates, truffles, special oils and vinegars and

carefully toasted bread. There were oysters too but I swoosh

past them.

I’ve never liked the looks of oysters but the store manager –

celebrating his fifth anniversary right here in DC – offered

them to me with a gracious smile.

“These are rare Gulf oysters,” a beautiful brunette shop

assistant added as a sales pitch as if I am supposed to be an

authority on the subject. “They are rarely served in

restaurants these days but I can assure you that they taste

fabulous. Here, try one. Your wife will love them.”

“No thanks,” I said friendly, smirking at the ‘wife’-comment.

But the shop assistant kept on insisting that I should buy

some for Scully.

“Women generally love oysters,” she added to finish off her

pitch.

She spoke the magic words of course and I did decide earlier

that I would give Scully anything she would like. So what’s

the harm in buying a few oysters as well? If they truly are

sexually arousing, as the shop manager winked in my

direction, I could not leave them there, could I?

Despite the woman’s insistence to buy even more cheeses

and chocolates and whatever, I finally left with what I came

for: caviar and champagne, and a few oysters on the side

for tonight’s starters. After that, dinner would be served.

I wasn’t exactly an expert cook and of course she’s not just

getting the champagne and caviar. So I ordered a full dinner

from the caterer that lives down the block. Dinner will be

served at eight. And after that – well, you get the picture.

Let’s just say that import strawberries with chocolate crème

will complete the task.

Early this morning I called Scully and asked her to come to

my place around seven. We were supposed to be leaving on

a late flight to LA for a new case, I explained, having her

moan and groan at the injustices of life. Of course I didn’t

mention Valentine’s at all, knowing that this would piss her

off slightly.

She’ll be in for the shock of her life!

Yes, I admit it: I’m feeling quite content with myself. If

Scully thinks I won’t be able to surprise her anymore, she’s

wrong.

I showered around six and tried to ignore the acid feeling

building up in my stomach that warned me I was very much

hungry; I sort of skipped lunch today. Since Scully wasn’t in

the office to warn me, I had completely forgotten to take a

break. Skinner had wanted me to finish off two reports that I

had lying around for the past days and I wanted to finish off

early.

I nibbled on a cookie after drying off and changed into my

sexiest outfit: Scully’s favourite boxers and black turtleneck

sweater above a brand new blue jeans. I know Scully’s crazy

about me this way and I added a little of fabulous new Boss

aftershave to complete the process.

I hope she hurries.

I lingered around in the kitchen and prepared our starters.

The seven oysters I bought were lying around on a plate and

I watched them in awe: slippery little suckers dancing on

shells. I wondered what they taste like. Were they really

sexually arousing?

Finally, I couldn’t resist the curiosity anymore: I just had to

try one. Besides, I had to test if they tasted good. If they

were horrible – as I expected – I could always throw them

away and pretend I didn’t just spend half my income on

them.

“Bottoms up,” I said out loud, having a glass of water ready

just in case. And the oyster slipped from its shell into my

mouth. I could feel the sucker slither down my throat and

am suddenly absolutely appalled. What is this: a

delicatessen? My goodness, it tasted horrible!

The strange taste lingered on for quite a bit. I’ll never forget

this one, I think after I emptied two glasses of water and

nibbled on another cookie to get rid of the flavour.

The oyster actually worsens the burning acid feeling inside

my nearly empty stomach. Horrible! Just horrible!

I shoved the oysters back in the fridge amongst the other

food I haven’t touched in weeks and wiped my mouth.

Suddenly she knocked on the door.

Ah yes, this is it.

“Mulder?” Scully asked before I could open the door for her.

I deliberately blocked her view so that she would not see I

have set the coffee table with candles. She looked at me,

wondering why I wasn’t wearing a suit.

“Do we really have to leave tonight?” she groaned before

she even realized what I had in store for her. I smiled when

I noticed the way she was dressed: I love it when she wears

one of those gorgeous black outfit that express every curve

of her body.

She had a hair cut last week and her locks were dancing on

her shoulders, waving with every move she made. She wore

a light dash of make-up, just enough to accentuate her

eyes.

I smiled. “No, we don’t have to leave tonight.”

“What -?”

I stepped aside and watched as she froze in my door

opening when she noticed what I had done. Then she stared

from me to the coffee table and back. Only then she saw

that I was holding a single red rose in my hand. It’s the

smaller things in life that do the trick.

Graciously I offered her the rose.

“What -?” she repeated and I know it worked: she had

absolutely no idea.

“Milady.” I offered her my hand and she took it.

For the very first time in her life she is stunned. She opened

and closed her mouth, staring at me as if I have been

replaced by a clone. She does not know what to say. She is

speechless.

“Happy Valentine’s Day,” I grinned broadly.

“I thought you’d forgotten,” she said and I pulled her inside.

I took her in my arms and kissed her gently. She dropped

her bag on the floor and gasped slightly before our mouths

touch.

I took her by the hand and pulled her further inside. Then

she saw the bottle of champagne standing next to the

candles, and the small portions of caviar that I had arranged

on a china dish.

“This is amazing,” she spoke in awe. “How did you – why –”

“You thought I don’t have a romantic bone in me, did you?”

I grinned. “Guess again.”

“But I don’t have anything for you – I was pissed that we

had to leave tonight and I didn’t –”

“Don’t say a word.” I placed my fingers on her lips and

pulled her close to me. She grasped me and we just stood

there, perfectly still. I took in her scent and she did mine.

She truly was speechless.

“Sit down,” I whispered and she did. I knelt on the floor by

her side and pulled my first gift from underneath the couch.

She looked at the wrappings, tore it up and grinned when

she saw the Miranda-teddy.

“This is beautiful! Where did you get this?”

“I went online shopping,” I smiled.

“You set this up the whole time, did you?”

“Yep.”

“And what if we had been on a case?”

“Then the teddy would have gone with us.”

I smiled mysteriously. “There is another gift that you won’t

be getting now. It will have to wait until after dinner.”

“Another gift?”

“Yeah, but you could call that one a present for me. I figured

you wouldn’t be getting me anything so I bought myself a

little something.”

She roared with laughter. “Porn movies, Mulder?”

I laughed. “Maybe. But something tells me you’ll like this

even better.”

Within five minutes we were both completely at ease with

each other, chatting and talking about so many things as we

usually did, but I did start to build up that horrible acid

feeling in my stomach again. I couldn’t compare it with a

hunger feeling. In fact, it felt almost painful.

I tried to lean comfortably against the couch and fed my

partner little portions of caviar. She laughed at my

clumsiness. I poured two glasses of champagne too.

“A toast,” I stated. “To many more years to come.”

She smiled and kissed me before drinking hungrily. I

laughed.

“Thirsty for more, Agent Scully?”

“Mulder, you are so crazy,” Scully roared and I could tell she

was getting slightly drunk. An empty stomach and loads of

champagne do that to you. “I never thought we would end

up doing this some day.”

“You ain’t seen nothing yet,” I smiled. “In fact, tonight is

going to be a night to remember forever.”

“I hope so.” She leaned hungrily into me and her hands start

caressing my chest. I knew where she was heading and

grinned broadly as I pushed her away.

“Hey, dinner comes first.”

“You made us dinner?”

“Erm, I phoned for dinner, does that count?”

She burst into laughter and embraced me. “My god, you are

wonderful. I love you so much.”

“Now that’s quite a reward,” I grinned, leaned back and

experienced a first sharp headache that cut through me like

a knife. I forced back the feeling, ate some caviar myself

and enjoyed Scully’s excitement. This truly was a night to

remember.

I rose up and felt a floating sensation as I poured more

champagne into our glasses. Damn, I’m getting old if I can’t

even take one glass of it anymore, I think, swaying slightly

on my feet.

I drank a bit more and shook off the dizziness. And Scully

kept on drinking champagne. She liked bubbles.

At that exact moment a hard knock on the door startled us.

“Dinner is served,” I smiled and swayed towards the door.

Scully laughed at my inability to stay straight on my feet

and I realized she was experiencing the same dizziness too,

brought on by the bubbles.

Champagne danced around my stomach and there I was:

feeling drunk as hell. And Scully leaned back on the couch

and roared with laughter. I knew I could do anything with

her tonight. She was giggling like a child. I should have

waited with the champagne until she had eaten something.

“Thanks,” I said, offering the delivery boy a ten dollar tip. He

tapped his cap, bared a mouth with a set of missing teeth

and disappeared. I swayed back towards the living room and

placed down the paper dishes carefully on the coffee table.

By then Scully was stone drunk. I swear!

She was laughing, giggling and chatting.

I watched her and laughed with her, at the same time

becoming disoriented. The room started dancing with me. I

swayed on my feet while Scully somehow managed to place

food on two plates. I watched her and realized I could not

eat a single bite. Everything ached.

I suddenly felt like throwing out everything inside my

stomach. I turned towards her to tell her I was going to

leave for a second but wasn’t even able to tell her that

anymore. Instead, I rushed towards the bathroom and

managed to pull the toilet seat up just before I threw up the

little bit of champagne, caviar and oyster I had in me. And

apart from that followed bile. Lots and lots of it. What a way

to celebrate Valentine’s Day.

I sighed and leaned back against the seat, too tired to even

care that Scully had stumbled into the bathroom and was

staring at me strangely. “You’re drunk,” she lulled and looks

pale around the edges.

I wasn’t. Somehow I knew I was not drunk. Something was

struggling hard inside of me to get out, and that something

had to be the oyster. Even though most of it was out of me

now, I felt like it was still killing me.

I turned towards her, sat back heavily and groaned, “I think

I need a doctor.”

That sobered her up alright.

And so we ended up in hospital on Valentine’s Night.

I am not on a respirator, but an oxygen mask helps me to

breath. I suck in the air because it’s difficult to take deep

breaths and have my body work on its own. My mouth, arms

and legs tingle and I feel extremely weak. The constant

headache has been reduced to something that can be called

annoying. But at least it’s not destructive anymore. The

doctor told me I had a lot of good fortune on my side. Had I

not thrown up, I would have been off much worse. If I had

waited to come to hospital, I might have died. Yes, it was

that bad.

I ate the wrong type of oysters.

The doctor explains to me that this particular sort has been

proven to be very destructive in the past and is not served

in restaurants anymore. But there are still a lot of chefs who

take the risk because they taste excellent and are the best

of the best.

But they can also kill people. When you have the

unfortunate luck of eating a poisoned oyster, like I have

done, you are lucky to be alive. Of course shellfish poisoning

can be treated. But it can also kill.

I had the unfortunate luck of eating the best of the best.

Look where it got me. I’ll never forget the taste of oysters,

that’s for sure.

Scully sighs deeply as she sits by my side while I rest up on

a private room and try to ignore the last bits of nausea that

continue to creep up now and then. I don’t know if she sighs

because of me, or because of the splitting after-the-bubbles-

headache she is experiencing. I hope it’s the latter.

Finally she gives up and crawls into bed with me, holding

onto me as we both fall asleep. She is not exactly wearing

the diaphanous teddy or anything that looks like it, but at

least she is beautiful as ever, and made me laugh.

In the morning, as I am waking up with bright sunlight

dancing on my face, Scully wakes up too feeling the way she

looks: hung over.

And I smile, take her in my arms and kiss her.

“Next time, just buy me a porn video,” she smiles.

The End

Title: A Night To Remember

Author: Waddles 52

Summary: Mulder’s big plans for Valentine’s Day have

to be changed after a car accident lands him in the

hospital in California.

Rating: PG 13

Category: MT, MSR

Disclaimer: As if you didn’t know by now. Just for

fun. Not for profit.

Archives: Written for VS10, Valentine’s special.

After two weeks it can go just about anywhere as long

as you let me know.

Acknowledgements: As always to Vickie, who got me

started on this fun journey, and to Lisa for

listening to me rant and rave about life in general.

Feedback: I would love to hear from you at

Waddles52@wmconnect.com

“Have you got everything packed and ready to go?”

Mulder asked rather impatiently. “I don’t want to

miss our flight.”

“I’m just double-checking to be sure we have

everything,” Scully answered, turning in a circle to

survey the motel room.

“Okay. I’m going to take the bags down to the

rental.”

“We’ve got plenty of time, Mulder. Calm down!”

Scully laughed, used to seeing a much more laid-back

partner.

It was February 13th and they had been working a case

in California for the past two weeks. They were both

relieved that the case had wound up that morning

because they had big plans for Valentine’s Day.

Mulder was being very secretive about the plans he’d

made, but Scully was sure it would be a night to

remember. With a last look around the room she

locked the door and headed for the car.

Thirty minutes later they were sitting in bumper-to-

bumper traffic. Mulder tapped the steering wheel and

kept looking at his watch, all the while cursing

under his breath.

“Mulder, if you don’t relax you’re going to have a

stroke,” Scully chided him.

“I just want to get home,” he sighed. “I have quite

a few things to do before tomorrow night.”

“We’ll get there. Look, the traffic is starting to

move,” Scully pointed out.

“Hallelujah!” he exclaimed as he stepped on the gas

pedal.

The traffic jam seemed to disappear and the car was

soon traveling slightly above the speed limit.

“I would sure like to know what has gotten you so

uptight about tomorrow night,” Scully stated as they

continued to move at a steady pace.

“It’s a surprise, Scully, but trust me, you’re going

to love it.”

“Maybe I should be very afraid.”

Mulder’s expression changed to one of disappointment.

“Mulder, I’m just teasing you. All of your surprises

lately have been very nice,” she purred, laying her

head on his shoulder.

“Let me assure you. This is going to be over the

top,” he grinned.

“You’re sure you won’t give me a hint?”

“Nope.”

“You’re mean,” she giggled, punching him on the

shoulder.

“Take it easy! You know how easily I bruise.”

“Mulder, look out!” Scully screamed.

Mulder’s attention was drawn to a tractor-trailer

that had jack knifed in the curve ahead. In the span

of just a few seconds they found themselves in the

middle of a massive pile-up.

“Shit!” he exclaimed before darkness claimed him.

“Mulder, wake up!” Scully pleaded. The cars had

stopped their demolition derby maneuvers and all was

quiet.

“What? Scully, you okay?”

“Some bumps and bruises, but I think I’m okay. What

about you? You took a pretty hard hit on your side.”

“Hurts.”

“Where, Mulder? What hurts?” she asked as she

unbuckled her seat belt and tried to move closer to

him.

“Everything. Left side. You okay?”

“I’m all right. Don’t try to move, okay?”

“Hurts too much to move. Scully, you okay? What

happened?”

Scully sighed as she tried to open her door. At the

very least he had a concussion. They wouldn’t be

leaving today for sure. She pushed the door open and

made her way over to Mulder’s side.

She observed cars all around them, at odd angles and

in various states of destruction. A few people were

beginning to survey the damage and check on others.

With a little help from the man in the car behind

them, Scully was able to get the driver’s side door

open. She knelt beside Mulder to check his injuries.

She looked him over and moaned, “Oh, Mulder.”

Mulder was on a bumper car ride at the carnival.

Scully was sitting next to him as the car came to a

shuddering halt. He looked over and realized she was

gone. “Scully?”

“I’m here, Mulder,” he heard her answer to his right.

He slowly pried his eyes open to find that he was in

a hospital bed instead of the ride.

“Where? What happened?”

“We managed to wind up in the middle of a 17 car

pile-up. How are you feeling?” Scully asked,

dreading the answer.

“Left side hurts. You okay?”

“I’m a little banged up, but it’s not too bad. You

managed to get the worst of it.”

“Gotta get up and catch our flight,” Mulder

announced, making a move to sit up. Instead he was

overwhelmed by waves of pain and nausea as he quickly

sank back into the pillows.

“Mulder, take it easy. You’ll be doing well if

you’re out of here by my birthday.”

“No, we have to be home by tomorrow,” he insisted.

“I don’t think so. Mulder, your left side is a mess.

Your shoulder, knee and hip were dislocated. You’re

probably going to need surgery on that knee, by the

way. You also have three broken ribs, a left tib-fib

fracture and a mild concussion. You’re not going

anywhere.”

“Maybe tomorrow?”

“Absolutely not.”

“Damn, Scully. My surprise.”

“Your surprise can be rescheduled. You need to stop

worrying about that and let yourself heal.” Scully

took his right hand in hers. “You really gave me a

scare.”

“I don’t really remember much about it. Are you sure

you’re all right?”

“Yes, Mulder. I’ve been checked out and they didn’t

find anything more than a few scrapes and bruises.

You got most of the impact.”

“Feels like it. Hurts.”

“I know. After the doctors check your orientation

and responses they will probably let you have a

pretty strong pain killer.”

“Hope so. Why don’t you leave? You’ve got to be

tired. You look like you could use some rest.”

“I’ll find a motel in a bit. I want to stay with you

a while longer. Don’t worry about me. Just close

your eyes and try to sleep.”

Mulder finally convinced Scully to leave shortly

before midnight. The doctor had been in and decided

that he was sufficiently oriented to receive narcotic

painkillers. A hefty dose was administered and

Mulder slept for several hours.

The pain woke him with a vengeance. “Damn, why do

things always get so screwed up?” he thought. He had

made reservations at an exclusive restaurant with the

finest cuisine, service to match and strolling

musicians to add to the romantic atmosphere. He was

sure Scully would have loved it. After that he had

planned to drive to one of the most popular bed and

breakfasts in Maryland. To keep the romantic theme

going, he had reserved the honeymoon suite. Skinner

had even given them a few extra days off.

“Damn it! When will we ever catch a break?” he

sobbed. He tried to stop them, but the combination

of pain and frustration won out and the tears

continued to fall.

A nurse came in to check his vitals and IV. He

tried to brush the tears away but the nurse was very

observant and also very concerned. “Mr. Mulder, are

you having a lot of pain right now? I can get you

something for that.”

“I’m okay,” Mulder answered, rather shakily.

“You don’t look okay to me. What’s going on?”

Normally Mulder would have ignored her, but for some

reason he started to tell her about Scully and his

big plans that had been wrecked as surely as the car.

Patti Sims pulled up a chair and listened to her

patient pour his heart out.

Early Valentine’s morning, Scully entered Mulder’s

room expecting to see him in the same agitated

condition as the night before. Instead he was

sleeping peacefully, and was that a smile on his

face?

Mulder was in considerable pain throughout the day

and took the painkillers willingly. Whenever he was

awake his mood was very upbeat and he smiled a lot.

In fact, everyone on the staff seemed to be smiling a

lot. “Must be Valentine’s happiness,” she sighed.

Though she was puzzled by Mulder’s mood shift, she

decided to embrace it. He was due for some more pain

medication around six and she thought that would be a

perfect time to get something to eat. To her

surprise, Mulder refused his medication and his

dinner, not that he would have been able to eat much

anyway.

“Mulder, you need to try to eat a little something,”

she coaxed. “And you know you’ll be in agony without

your pain meds. What gives?”

“I don’t like feeling so groggy and as far as

hospital food goes . . .” he left his comment in the

air.

A young nurse came in and checked Mulder’s IV.

“Scully, this is Patti Sims. She’s my night nurse

and she put up with my crappy mood last night.”

“You have my sympathy,” Scully responded.

“Oh, he’s not that bad,” Patti replied.

An aide entered, carrying a dozen long-stemmed roses.

“Dana Scully?” she inquired.

“That’s me,” Scully answered.

“I have a delivery for you.”

Scully accepted them with a look of surprise on her

face. “Mom must have sent these,” she thought as she

opened the card. She was shocked when she saw that

they were from Mulder. “Mulder, how?”

Before she could get an answer to her question,

another aide pushed a cart into the room. It was

covered with a white cloth but Scully could tell that

it was food. A wonderful aroma filled the room.

“Mulder, what have you been up to and when? I’ve

been with you all day.”

Again, before her question could be answered a young

man wearing a tux entered the room. He was carrying

a guitar.

“Miss Scully,” Patti began, “Mulder was so upset that

you had to miss out on your Valentine’s plans that we

decided to help him out.” She pulled the cover from

the cart, revealing a feast of surf and turf.

“I know it’s not Antonio’s,” Mulder explained, “But

Patti assured me that Fredrico’s would come in a

close second.”

“You planned to take me to Antonio’s?” Scully asked,

her face reflecting her astonishment.

“I had the reservations for three months.”

The guitarist began to play softly.

“I’d planned on a violinist, but I think this will

do,” Mulder smiled. “Dave comes highly recommended.”

“He’s my husband,” Patti supplied.

“Go on and eat before it gets cold,” Mulder

suggested.

Scully walked over to survey the cart loaded with

salads, shrimp cocktail, lobster, steak and assorted

vegetables and desserts.

“This is amazing, Mulder.”

“Patti and the others really stepped up and pulled

this together.”

“Thank you,” Scully offered. “I don’t know what to

say. I’m really overwhelmed.”

“Why don’t you fix that man of yours a plate?” Patti

suggested as she brought some battery-operated

candles from under the cart and placed them around

the room. After she placed the last candle she

strode to the door. “Miss Scully, you have a very

special man here.”

“I agree. Thank you for helping Mulder with the

arrangements. This will be a night I will always

remember.” She brought a plate to Mulder and kissed

him softly on the lips.

“Oh, I have one more thing for you.” Patti pulled a

card from her pocket and handed it to Scully as Dave

finished one song and began to play another. “Take

good care of him,” she smiled as Scully opened the

card. Patti and the aide left the room while Dave

continued to play in the background.

Scully offered Mulder a bite of the shrimp cocktail.

“Sorry babe. I don’t think I can handle that right

now. I might try a little of the baked potato after

you read the card.”

“Okay,” she agreed, putting the plate down. She

opened the card and brushed a tear aside as she read

it. “The Beaufort Inn? Mulder, you really had this

planned out didn’t you?”

“Only the best for my Scully. We’ll just have to

arrange another trip, maybe the Bahamas or Jamaica?”

“Mulder, I love you,” she smiled and hugged him very

gently. “And I’m not just saying it because you went

to all this trouble and expense.”

“I know that, Scully. You put up with so much shit

from me that I just wanted to show you how special

you are, and like always my plans got screwed up.”

“It wasn’t your fault you know, and the fact that you

were able to pull all of this off from a hospital bed

makes it even more memorable.” She gave him another

kiss.

Mulder shifted a bit so he could deepen the kiss.

Despite his efforts to conceal it, a cry of pain

escaped.

“Mulder, that’s enough. You’ve got to have some pain

medication.”

“I don’t want to be groggy. I want to spend this

time with you.”

“And I won’t enjoy myself if you’re in agony,” she

countered.

“How about a compromise? Half a dose?” Mulder

ventured.

“No, you need the full effect of the medication.”

“That’s my final offer, Scully. Half or none at

all.”

“All right, Mulder,” Scully decided. “This is

against my better judgment, but I’ll go along with it

for an hour, then you get the rest.”

Mulder could tell by the set of her jaw that she

meant it, so he agreed.

After the medication was administered, Dave played

while Scully ate and fed Mulder a few bites of the

baked potato. When she offered him another bite he

held his hand up. “No more. I’m sorry, but I’m just

not hungry,” he sighed.

“I figured as much. Whenever you’re better we’re

going to Antonio’s, my treat.”

Mulder started to protest.

“No, Mulder. This works both ways. Can’t a woman do

something for the man she loves?”

“You do, Scully. Every time I’m in the same room

with you and I breathe the air that you breathe,

you’re granting me a great privilege.”

Dave sensed that he was no longer needed so he took

his guitar and quietly left. Neither Mulder nor

Scully noticed.

“Mulder, you’re getting really sappy,” Scully

giggled, “But I like it.”

“I just can’t help it when I’m around you,” he

smiled, then winced.

“Mulder, that’s it. I’m calling for the other half

of your pain medication now,” she decided, reaching

for the call button.

“This time you’ll get no argument from me. I’m sorry

to be a party-pooper, but I don’t think I can hold

out much longer.”

Patti came in with the ‘magic needle’ and deposited

the rest of Mulder’s pain meds into his IV. “The

muscle relaxant that the doctor ordered is in this

too, so give her a quick kiss before you sail away.”

“That fast, huh?” he questioned.

“Yep.” She deposited the hypodermic in the sharps

container and left.

“Stay awhile?” he asked Scully.

“Wild horses couldn’t drag me out of here,” Scully

assured him.

“Lay with me?” Mulder asked, already feeling the

effects of the combined medications.

“Until they make me leave.” She slipped out of her

shoes and lowered the rail. Mulder was asleep by the

time she carefully arranged herself beside him. She

put her arm across him, careful to avoid his injuries

and the various lines and monitors.

“Dana Scully, you are one lucky woman,” she thought

as she snuggled into him as much as she could. A

special Valentine’s surprise despite his painful

injuries and his love every day, every minute. Yes,

this truly was a night to remember. She whispered in

his ear. “Sleep well, Mulder. I love you.”

A few minutes latter Patti looked in the door to

observe her patient. He and his love were sleeping

soundly. She closed the door and smiled. “That

worked out quite well.”

She picked up the next chart and started down the

hall, glad that she had been a participant in their

night to remember.

End