Gone Fishin'
Book II
Part 7 (of 7)
by SkeletnGrl@aol.com
(submitted to the EMXC 7/30/96)
*See previous parts for disclaimers!
*Rated PG
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"You're sure you don't want to stay?" Mulder asked.  Scully nodded.

The airport terminal bustled with noisy tourists and travelers.  Her 
flight had been announced a few moments ago, and it was time for her  to
board.

"I really need to get home.  I've still got a lot of cleaning to 
do...especially after the extermination."  A comically disgusted look 
crossed her face.  "I spoke to Mom last night and Queequeg's back  home
safe.  He'd apparently gotten out somehow..." she shrugged, still 
mystified by that aspect, "and one of the neighbors had found him and 
taken him in.  Luckily they saw the signs and called her."

Mulder smiled.  "Good," he said.  Even though he wasn't especially  fond
of the hyper little dog, he knew that Scully had grown fond of it,  and it
made him happy that he was home safe waiting for her return.   The
loudspeakers announced the final boarding call for Scully's flight  and
they exchanged knowing glances.

"I'd better get going before they leave without me," Scully said.

"That would be a horrible shame," Mulder responded with mock  dismay.  He
wished she wasn't leaving, that they'd have more time  here together.  But
she was anxious to get home.  "Have a safe flight,"  he told her.

"I will."

"Watch out for those hovering lights," he added.  Scully gave him a 
dubious grin.

"I don't think they'll give me any trouble," she said.  She looked  toward
the boarding entrance, then back at Mulder.  "I'll call you when  I get
home," she assured him.

She turned away, heading toward the doorway.  "Scully, wait," Mulder 
called after her.  He  caught up to her and placed the straw hat he'd 
bought her the other day on her head.  "Don't forget this," he said.   She
looked up into his eyes, hers sparkling.

"Thanks, Mulder," she said softly.  She stood up on her tiptoes and  gave
him a soft peck on the cheek.  "I'll see you when you get back,"  she
said, and disappeared through the doors.  Mulder waved  halfheartedly as
she left.

He stayed to watch her plane taxi out to the runway and take off, then  he
headed back to the hotel.


Scully looked out the small window as the plane headed out over the 
ocean.  Below her, the sea seemed to stretch out to eternity.  The sun 
sparkled on the shimmering waves, the dark shapes of coral  formations
visible through the crystal turquoise waters.  She smiled to  herself,
thinking back upon the few brief days she'd spent there.  When  she'd
started this vacation, she'd never dreamed of it turning out like  this.

She'd learned many things during her stay here.  She'd discovered new 
things about herself, about Mulder, about dolphins and perhaps about  the
future.  She still could not explain everything that had happened to  her,
but it didn't distress her.  She felt a serenity she'd very rarely 
experienced in the past.  She felt hope.

She thought of Missy and smiled.  Missy would have loved to have  met the
dolphins.  She would have been overjoyed at the message they  carried. 
Missy had been a passionate advocate for the environment.  It  made Scully
happy to know that perhaps the dolphins could help  realize her Missy's
dream of a future where humans and animals alike  could live in harmony
together with the planet.  

 She thought about the rainy evening she and Mulder had spent  together,
laughing and holding hands as they made their leisurely way  through the
marketplace.  Again her lips curved up in a private smile.   It had been
fun.  They'd never been able to feel so comfortable with  each other
before.  They'd grown much closer over the past days, seen  each other in
a different light.  

She pondered, as she often had, about their relationship, about how  she
felt about the unique, passionate man who had become her partner  in more
than just their work.  Her fondness and affection had grown  even deeper,
and perhaps her understanding as well.  She'd looked  right into the face
of the unknown last night...been forever changed by  it.  And while she
still had no proof, no definitive answers, she  believed anyway.  Not in
any specific theory or explanation, but in the  simple possibility.

That was something she'd struggled to understand before, but now she  was
beginning to see how one could believe something even though  there was no
concrete explanation.

She wondered what would happen when their vacation was over and  they had
to return to their basement office at the J. Edgar Hoover  building. 
Would they return to their old walled-off selves, allowing  each other
only limited closeness and intimacy?  She recalled the night  when they'd
first seen the lights...after their delirious day of exploring  the main
avenue.  She thought he might have kissed her, then, if she  hadn't been
distracted by the lights.  And she wouldn't have objected.   It had been a
magical, romantic moment.  But she doubted they would  ever be in that
situation again.  They were not meant to be more than  friends.  That was
plenty.  She valued their chaste relationship with all  her heart.  She
suspected that any attempt to take it beyond that would  end in
disaster.  They were too different, incompatible on that level.   
Besides, she had an idea of what she wanted from a relationship, and 
Mulder was not it.  

Not that he was horrible or anything.  He just wasn't her type.  He'd 
make some woman very happy one day, she suspected.  That woman  just
wasn't her.  She was too independent.  She knew what she wanted,  and she
went for it.  And he had his own stuff to deal with.  He had  many ghosts
to reconcile.  

She regarded their vacation together with fondness.  She was glad that 
they'd had this chance, that they'd met the dolphins, that they'd danced 
to steel drums in a tropical paradise.  Things would soon be back to 
normal, she knew.  They'd be off tracking down clues and suspects in  some
inexplicable case in no time.  But she would always have the  memory of
these days.  And she'd always know that Mulder cherished  that memory, too.

She gazed down at the waters speeding by below her, growing more  distant
now as the plane ascended.  She spotted movement....a pod of  dolphins! 
Their lithe bodies cut through the waves, diving and  surfacing, leaping
above the water and spinning in the air.  There were  maybe a dozen of
them.  She could see smaller, juvenile ones  swimming along in the center
of the group.  Were "their" Speckle,  Nick and Mack among them?  She
couldn't tell from so far away.  If  they were, were they passing on their
knowledge?  Were they teaching  the others what they had been
taught....what shed glimpsed a part of  when she'd "spoken" to them?  She
hoped so.  For the dolphins, for  themselves and for the world.


Mulder stood on the hotel balcony, looking out over the beach, the  trees,
the ocean.  He wanted to etch this scene on his memory, to hold  this place
in his heart.  He had so many memories crowded into his  brain that were
painful or confusing.  Memories he sometimes wanted  to just erase.  This
one he wanted to keep.  He wanted to be able to  return here if he was
feeling overwhelmed or down.  He wanted to be  able to come back to this
spot, here with the dolphins and with Scully.

He sighed.  Even though the place was still beautiful and made him  feel
at peace, there was something missing now.  The dolphins had  gone.  He
wondered where they were now, if they were performing  their mission, and
if he would ever see them again.  And Scully was  on her way home.  He
knew he'd see her soon, probably before they  had to go back to work.

But it just wasn't the same.  He wasn't really sad, just a little 
melancholy.  Like after you've seen a great movie or finished a book  you
loved...you're happy that you had that experience, but also  disappointed
that it's over. 

Maybe he'd go home, too, he thought.  But the idea was instantly  squashed
as he thought of his apartment.  He really didn't want to  spend the rest
of his vacation there.  Perhaps he'd move on to another  hotel, travel
across the island some more, explore a little.

He nodded to himself.  He was sure he could find plenty to do the fill  up
the rest of his stay here, even if it would be a little lonely without 
Scully.  He was already formulating a plan.  He'd drive up the coast a 
ways, do some more diving, maybe explore a little of the night life.  Or 
maybe he'd rent a real boat.  A nice big boat with a cabin and decent 
motor.  

He rubbed his chin thoughtfully.  Maybe he'd even go fishing.

The END!!!

Please send any comments or questions or criticisms to  SkeletnGrl@aol.com
Thanx for reading!!