Title: F-O-X Author: Susan Littlejohn Email: susanlittlejohn@netscape.net Rating: PG Category: MSR/VH(A) Keywords: Mulder/Scully Romance Spoilers: X-Files Fight the Future Summary: Deeper insight into the significance of Mulder's given name for Scully. Disclaimer: F. Mulder, D. Scully, CSM and other X-Files treatments and references are the EXCLUSIVE PROPERTY of 10-13 Productions ------------------------------------------------- F-O-X- MULDER: [Over his cell phone] Hey, Scully, it's me. (...'Bout time...) SCULLY: [Hurriedly into her touch-tone] Mulder, I just got in. What? [Pausing, with a frown] You sound funny...weird. Are you all right? Where are you? MULDER: [Trying to sound matter-of-fact, not succeeding] (...Just got in!) Nothin'. I'm fine. Can I come over? SCULLY: [Shakes her head 'no'] It's not a good time, Mulder... MULDER: Why not? Are you alone? SCULLY: Yes...[Throws her hand up] of course I'm alone. MULDER: All right, then. Look, Scully, it can't wait - REALLY. The future's at stake! SCULLY: [Frown deepens] Can't it 'til tomorrow...just this ONCE? MULDER: [Shakes his head 'no' at his dim reflection in the rearview mirror] The future's tonight. Believe me...I'll be there in a few. SCULLY: MUL-[click]-DER! [15 minutes elapse...then, his pounding on her door] MULDER: [Determined to sound in control] Scully...I know it's beyond late and we've got that total-waste-of-time review early tomorrow with Rushe, but I've gotta talk to you. Please...open up. I'll make it quick. [Door eventually opens. She nods he may enter, the familiar 'what now' look his greeting] MULDER: [Eyes her up and down] (...Just shoot me...please!...put me outta my misery once an' for all...what a little stunner!) [Pulls on his chin] You wore that? SCULLY: [Folds her arms across her provocatively-revealed chest] No, Mulder, beaded, basic black velvet dress is my nightgown. Don't you like it? MULDER: [Wolf whistles mentally] (...Are you ready to find out how much?...) You look good, Scully. (...Too good for my own...) [Frowns, looking wistful] (...Who am I kiddin'...what am I doin' here...) That's all I meant. Had a good time? (...Hope not...) SCULLY: [Looks him up and down] (...He's definitely NOT himself...) Tonight had its moments. Mulder, I don't mean to sound short, but I'm sleepy. I very much want to go to bed. What's this about? MULDER: Can I sit? [Heads for the couch] SCULLY: [Follows him, sucking her teeth a time or two] Oh, sure...help yourself. MULDER: (...Your couch isn't all I wanna help myself to, angel...) Long, dumb day, Scully. After you left, Cigarette Smoking Man paid me a visit. My eyes are still watering. Poetic justice... HE dies of cancer. But I probably will from second-hand smoke. SCULLY: I've never seen you like this before, Mulder. What did he say that's got you this wired? MULDER: Cigarette Smoking Man always upsets me. (...But this time you take first place...) Scully, it's personal, not FBI...not ExtraTee-related...not- SCULLY: -What IS it then? MULDER: (...You and me...) I was right then, right? The ol' Ted man's still carrying a torch for ya, Scul? SCULLY: (...Is THIS why you're here!...as if my love life is suddenly your Big Business...when your old flame showed up, she turned your head so fast, I was invisible...) [Sets her jaw] Torch, Mulder? No...I'd say more like a flame thrower if you're holding me to total accuracy as always. (...Albeit a burned-out one...poor Teddy...) MULDER: (Yeah, right...it figures - it's worse!...) He turned up the heat tonight, I take it. It wasn't just a for ol' times' sake since Med School date. SCULLY: [Her eyes slice into him] You want a blow-by-blow? OK: We sipped champagne, he held my hand a lot, played footsie with me under the table, kissed my cheek on the dance floor several times... MULDER: [Rolls his pained-looking eyes] Ok, ok - I get the picture! You're glad he wanted to see you again. [Mutters to himself] Too long...too little...too late... SCULLY: [Shrugs] (...Just about as glad when he threw me over for that flight attendant around the time I decided to become a Fed...) Mulder, do you want...a glass of water...something stronger? You look as if you could use - MULDER: Nah, I'm fine. You were saying... SCULLY: Well, we got to talking...he got curious about what I do, specifically, so I told him a little- very little about what we do. Nothing he could believ- MULDER: [Face brightens] We? You told him about me? SCULLY: [Nods, trying to quell her impatience because of his expression, but not totally successful] I wasn't about to have him think I chase our amazing, elusive aliens, along with the cast of thousand inexplicables all by my little lonesome. MULDER: [Far from a jocular mood] No...guess you couldn't do that. [Looks around as though losing focus until his eyes latch onto her scowling face again] Are you taking him back, Scully? [Holds his breath] SCULLY: If I did, why would that concern you? MULDER: [Looking wounded] Why!!? 'Cause YOU concern me. I saw you two outside headquarters the other day. All tight and cozy... SCULLY: [Incredulous] You were spying on me, Mulder? MULDER: [Winks] I'm great at not bein' seen, ain't I? Come on, lighten up. SCULLY: I don't believ- MULDER: I didn't follow you, but I didn't move on when I happened to see you with him, either. Couldn't help myself. Sorry...I guess. He wants you back, right? He does. Sure he does. Why else would he drive - drive mind you, all the way from West Palm Beach? Probably just had to show off that shiny Benz. He realizes he should've never let you get away. I'm right, Scully! (...And when you say, 'yes' I'm gonna tell him where he can go! Danee, you're MINE...no rich quack blasts back from your past to rip me off!...no, ma'am) Talk to me! SCULLY: [Touches his hand in an effort to calm him down, never seeing him this upset] Look, Mulder...Ted and I- MULDER: [Blurts before he can catch his mouth from running off again] If HE'S a flame thrower, I'm Three Mile Island. Wanna see MELTDOWN, Scully? [Blinks, stares, ashamed for having lost it completely] SCULLY: (...I've been waiting six years and still counting...) [She slides in closer, raises the back of her hand to his moist forehead, smiles angelically and whispers] Would you melt for me, Mulder?... MULDER: I'm there, Scul... [Takes her hand, kisses her perfumed palm] Dana. I'm so there. You're sittin' with serious fallout. I need you so bad- love you so much, I can't hear myself think anymore. I keep hearing what I said to you in my hallway where I delivered up my heart 'cause I thought you wanted it; thought it could make a difference. It plays over an' over in my head. SCULLY: [Feeling measurably more awake, kisses his cheek] ...Seeing Ted again has nothing to do with us; what we do. Who we are to each other... MULDER: Remember I told you, you made me a whole person...you've saved me a thousand times!?... SCULLY: Before the bee sting, right, Spooky? MULDER: [Crestfallen, he stiffens, goes to stand] Ya know, I should've taken your cue from the phone. It's too late for this! Sorry for keepin' you from a good night's rest. I'm outta here! Sweet dreams- SCULLY: [Yanks him back down] (...STOP JERKING HIM AROUND!...give him a fighting chance for once, DANA KATHERINE SCULLY - that's an order!...if I shut him down this time, it may be for good and I'll regret it for the rest of my 'oh no you don't, backoff' life...he's pushing it tonight...I'd better let him...) Mulder - I'm sorry. [Hugs him tight] MULDER: [Hugs back harder] No, it's ok... [Strokes her hair] It's all right. SCULLY: [Sighs heavily] No it's not. I'm a jerk...sometimes. How could I ever forget such tenderness, such warmth? So much stark beauty radiating from your pleading eyes? I don't mean, 'Spooky' the Bureau joke. I mean 'Spooky' as in mine. MY precious Spooky, whose words I'll never forget as long as I live. You touched me, Mulder. Forgive me for sounding flip. It's a reflex mechanism. You know me...I pick the most inappropriate times to find a sense of humor. Usually it's when I'm afraid to trust my feelings. Afraid to risk vulnerability so I won't get hurt... MULDER: [Kisses her forehead] I'd NEVER hurt you, Scully. Never. At least never intentionally. At least you still have a sense of humor. Mine's shot to smithereens. When you mention you and some other guy in the same breath, I get all the way strung out. Nothin' matters anymore but you. Without you there IS nothing! I'm drivin' myself crazy! SCULLY: [Kisses his temple] Oh, Fox... MULDER: I can't do the pretext stakeouts, the make believe meets, my lonely Saturday night stupid, X-rated fantasies anymore. I need the real thing, Dana. I need you! I've tried to make a weak attempt. Please help me make it all the way to whole persondom...I CAN'T get there the rest of the way without you. I don't know how...even if I did, what fun would it be gettin' there on my own. Please love me, Dana. Even if it's only a little. Even if it's only for a little while. Please. I don't know what else to say; how much I need your love, how much you mean to me. Everything's on the line. Please... SCULLY: [Smiles, but looks like she's going to cry] You're saying everything just right. Just perfect; with your usual professional finesse. The finesse you've used on me since they put us together. Ted and I were history long ago, Fox. He dumped me because I wouldn't put out when he wanted me to. He's got too many hidden agendas. I'm certainly not one of them; not any more. He's a lost, troubled soul: three divorces, one pending...two, no make it a possible three...DNA test results haven't come back yet...women he pays child support to, a highly-publicized, impending $5.8 million malpractice lawsuit staring him in the face, to which he admits he is liable. MULDER: Wow, he's sounds pretty together. [Squints, looks at her at an angle] Then why?... SCULLY: He needed to see me for the support I once meant to him. Yet, now he understands he'll never be right with anyone until he's right with himself. I feel sorry for him; we go back a long time. He was so different when he was younger. MULDER: [Sniffs] Uh huh, weren't we all... SCULLY: He's a brilliant man. He's not too good with real life though. MULDER: A lot of us have that same problem. Of course, you're not one of 'em. SCULLY: And a lot of us just go ahead and do something proactive about making life better. Maybe if you had told me my seeing him would upset you, I would have thought twice about doing it. MULDER: [Screws up his face] Come on, Scully, you're hearin' how much trouble I'm havin' now. If I'd have come out of my face like this in the office, you wouldn't have appreciated it. I can hear myself now...'Don't see him, Scully. I don't want you to. You're with me!' Reality? I don't think so. SCULLY: Probably right. MULDER: You know it! SCULLY: [Hugs him again to stroke the back of his neck] Well, you're telling me now, thank God. Don't you know after all this time we go so much deeper than the work? Surely you must, Mulder. You're not the 'guy I work with.' You are Special Agent Fox 'I'll-Make-You-Believe' Mulder. The impassioned genius I dream about when my lights go out. [He eases back from her] Don't look at me like that. I mean it! You don't have exclusive rights to fantasies. MULDER: I didn't mean...I just never thought...you SCULLY: Lately, I've been having some pretty wild thoughts about you...day and night... [Blushes ever so gently] MULDER: [Grins] We're gonna have to compare notes... SCULLY: Not to change the subject...well, on second thought, maybe I'd better. No sense starting something I may not be able to finish tonight, Mulder. I never thanked you properly for pitching in spur of the moment with Ricky while I was in bed getting over my cold, two Sundays ago. He's not the easiest two-year old to manage. Zoey said you were terrific; says she wants your number just in case I'm not available. You ARE terrific. I'm not telling you something you don't know. You KNOW. You have to. MULDER: (...Some of my best ideas have the shakiest starts...she does care...she thinks I'm terrific...wow!) [Caresses her cheek with his mouth. Tenderly, eases her expectant lips against his, kisses her long and deep] It's always been you...always will be. SCULLY: [Breathless, ecstatic] Truly that was worth the wait...thank you. MULDER: [Kisses her lips again, next her shoulders] No, thank YOU. You're goin' straight to my head. Tequila shots have got nothin' on you. Why I waited so long, I'll never know. How many times I tried to tell you how I feel, then chickened out, Danee... SCULLY: You've had so much on your mind for such a long, long time. Carrying the weight of the semi-free world on your trusty shoulders. Most of all your search for Sam... Thank you for letting me be a worthwhile part. Thank you for sharing. Sooner or later, you were bound to realize what you have right under your cute nose. Danee?... MULDER: [Snuggles into her neck, sighs] Too gummy? SCULLY: Coming from you, it sounds very sweet; very you and me...a bona fide couple; on the job and off. The way it should be. MULDER: So you love me, right? Right? It's gotta be love. I only ask 'cause you've never really come out and said... What? SCULLY: [Contemplates the helplessness in his face, the uncertainty checking back into his eyes. Shakes her head, chuckles] (...Hopeless, but thoroughly irresistible...my enigmatic love) You're a killer kisser. MULDER: [Chuckles boyishly] You're a scrumptious kissee. Soft, warm, in my arms like I'm never letting you go. I'm not...EVER! Sooo beautiful. I'm so lucky! SCULLY: Me too. Whatever you want, I'll do. Whatever you need, I'll be. I'll 'cell' you every hour on the hour when we're apart, telling you how much I...oh, Mulder. If there is any feasible way to express my burning feelings for you, I'd have to say they're beyond love. If there is such a thing. Maybe cherish is closer to the emotion. I CHERISH you, Fox. Fox...F-O-X...'F' for forever, as in you and me...'O' for only, as in my one and...'X' for ecstasy...you should fill that one in. MULDER: [Charmed beyond recognition, squeezes her even tighter so she can no longer move] I'll never look at my name the same way again. But,...uh, Danee, ecstasy isn't spelled with an 'X'... SCULLY: [Squirming for some leeway, takes his head between her hands, lines up their perspired faces] Just try debunking that! If I say it is - it is! Where HAVE you been these past 6 years? Now stop being picky. There are better ways to use that delicious mouth of yours. Like the way you used it a few moments ago...devouring mine. Pure ecstasy! Make me your true believer tonight...and always. MULDER: [Moments before following through] No argument from me. After all, you're the one with the clinching expertise and the best- smelling hair in the Bureau. 'X' marks the spot, my love...right...about...here... END ------------------------------------------------ If you'd like to respond to my fiction, my e-mail address is: SusanLittlejohn@netscape.net. Thanks!