Disclaimer: The characters used in this story are the property of Chris Carter, 1013 Productions, and Fox Broadcasting. No infringement is intended. Rating: PG-13 Classification: SR Keywords: Mulder/Scully romance Spoilers: none, really... maybe a slight one for Redux II Feedback: Always welcome at di_mulder@hotmail.com Summary: In the sequel to "Remember Me...", Mulder and Scully discuss the ring that hangs around Mulder's neck years after their first meeting in 1989. * * * * * I Remember... By: Diana Alexander (di_mulder@hotmail.com) * * * * * The door to Apartment #35 burst open, the door slamming against the wall violently. A petite red-headed woman dragged a taller and obviously injured man into the apartment. She finally allowed him to collapse onto her couch, staring down at him with frustration. After several moments, he looked up at her and sighed tiredly, "I'm fine, Scully." "Like *hell* you are!" If it was possible, Scully's glare became even more fierce. "The last time I checked, an attack by a large panther was not considered as fine, Mulder." The worn and comfortable flannel shirt Mulder wore was torn to shreds at the right shoulder, and the shirt was soaked with blood. His jeans were worn and ragged at the ankles above his hiking boots. Scully dropped the two backpacks on the floor beside her couch and ran her hands through her red hair. Her own apparel was smeared with the blood she tried to clean up while on the way back to her apartment. "Hold on a sec, Mulder. I have some antiseptic spray in the medicine cabinet," Scully turned on her heel to walk into the bathroom. "Scully, I'm sorry..." Mulder called out on impulse as she walked away. She turned back and arched an eyebrow at him. "For what, Mulder?" "You just got out of the hospital, Scully... you just recently got over your cancer, too. You shouldn't have had to take care of me because of my own stupidity. I really thought this was going to be nothing more than a nice trip to the forest." "You've told me that before, Mulder." "But this time I mean it, Scully..." The look in his eyes begged her to believe him, and she felt the pull to him that she had been fighting for five years now. "I believe you, Mulder. Now relax while I go hunt for the antiseptic." Mulder sagged against the cushions of her couch and thought back over the last couple of days. She had gone into the hospital for a work-related illness that had him scared that her cancer had returned. It turned out to be nothing that a few antibiotics couldn't cure, but the scare had left him uneasy nonetheless. As soon as she was well enough again, he invited her on a trip to the woods, and, after a few tense moments when he'd wondered what her answer was going to be, she told him yes, and they started making plans. He hadn't counted on getting injured by a huge cat that had escaped >from the nearby zoo. Now he knew why his partner didn't care for cats. He shifted and felt a cool movement underneath his shirt. A smile crossed his face. He still wore the ring he'd gotten from that mysterious young woman so many years ago. 'Okay,' he acknowledged to himself, 'so it's only been nine years, but it feels like it happened so long ago, and to another person, almost...' The night before Scully had walked into his office and life, Mulder had known about her coming to try and debunk his work, and had slid the ring off his finger. However, when he did so, he felt a sudden sense of loss, but wearing it as he had been for the last couple of years wouldn't have worked into his plan of messing with her mind. He'd found an old golden chain in his scant collection of jewelry, and had placed the ring there, and worn it around his neck, except for when he was under extreme stress. Then the chain was draped inside a drawer until he felt the compulsion to wear it again. "Okay, Mulder, off with the shirt." Scully's voice shocked him out of memories of the past, and he found himself staring at her. She had changed out of the blood-stained clothing and into a pair of tight blue jeans and a loose T-shirt. She was holding a washcloth and a can in her hands while tapping her feet impatiently. "Mulder, did you hear me? I said, off with the shirt." He was suddenly reluctant. He had been secretly in love with his partner for years, practically since the day they met. He really didn't want her to find out about the ring that he couldn't bear to remove, even though the time when he had needed that talisman had passed. "Mulder, I need to make sure that wound doesn't get infected. Take the shirt off before I rip it off myself," Scully said, one side of her mouth turning up in a suggestive way. "I might even enjoy it." "Oh, really?" Mulder mocked her arched eyebrow expression with a grin. "Maybe I should let you go ahead. I mean, if you're going to enjoy it, that is." "Maybe you should," Scully responded, enjoying the banter that had sprung up between them. "But then you'd have to wipe the drool away again." "Oh, Scully, that's no problem," Mulder grinned widely. "In fact, it would be a pleasure." Scully hid a smile behind her hand, then turned serious once again, to Mulder's great disappointment. "Come on, Mulder, I know how you hate hospitals. You *do* trust me, don't you? I'm not only your partner and best friend. I'm your doctor!" "Of course, I trust you, Scully," Mulder told her with a smile. "I just don't want to have you exposed to my manly chest." "Oh, please, Mulder," Scully rolled her eyes at him. "It's nothing I haven't seen a dozen or more times before. Take the damned shirt off." Mulder sighed, finally realizing that this was one argument with his partner that he wasn't going to win, and so he started trying to get the flannel shirt off. Scully sighed as well, realizing that he couldn't do it by himself, and so reached up to start unbuttoning the shirt. By working together, they got the shirt off and she started cleaning the wound. "Mulder, how in hell do you get yourself into these situations?" "I don't know. I'm just talented, I guess," he responded with a wide grin. "I believe it," she rolled her eyes at him as she tugged the cap off the can of antiseptic spray. "Ow," he pouted. "I haven't even done anything yet, Mulder. You're such a big baby," she said, trying not to laugh. He hissed as she applied the spray, then she fashioned a gauze bandage, and placed that over the wound. Pulling away, Scully realized two things. First of all, she was straddling Mulder's legs, and with all the tension between them, it was a dangerous position to be in. Second of all, there was a ring dangling on a chain around his neck. A very familiar ring... "Mulder, who gave you this?" she asked as she looped her finger inside the ring. "Why didn't you tell me about it? I never knew you were married." "I wasn't. Married, I mean," he sighed, trying to explain to her. "I got it about nine years ago, when I was still trying to recover from the Phoebe disaster. I did tell you about *that*, didn't I?" "Yeah," Scully scowled slightly. "Continue." "Well, I received this ring in some of the most unusual circumstances I can recall, and after all this time, you know we've been in a quite a few," he smiled at her. "Yeah, isn't that the truth?" she laughed, and he relaxed. Some of the situations he spoke of had nearly gotten either or both of them killed, and it was nice to see that she could look back with hindsight and laugh about it. "Well, I was just driving one day, and I ended up at this New Age Convention. There was this beautiful woman standing in the middle of the conference floor, looking incredibly bored." "Did she walk over and invite you to tea?" Scully smiled, remembering what had happened one day, nine years ago. "Yes. How did you know?" "Mulder, will you take that ring off and let me look at it a minute?" "Sure, Scully," he said, then managed to get the ring off the chain and handed it to her. She smiled as she slipped on her glasses to look at the inscription on the inside. Finally, after several moments, Scully looked back up at him, smiling, "Mulder, I gave you this ring." "That was you?" "It was," she acknowledged with a smile. "Then maybe the title 'Enigmatic Doctor Scully' isn't too far off after all, then?" Mulder grinned at her. "Tell me something, Mulder..." she ventured. "What?" "Did you remember me?" "Oh, Scully, I never could have forgotten you. You haunted my dreams for years. Yes, I remember..." She sighed softly, "I remembered you, though I tried not to, though I told myself that it was silly. I couldn't forget. Then I got partnered with you at the Bureau and I thought those thoughts had been replaced, only they hadn't." "Explain." "I was having the same thoughts about you after we were partnered that I was having before, and--" Scully grinned evilly. "--they weren't exactly partnerly." They both laughed, and leaned in for a kiss that lasted several minutes, then Scully pulled away reluctantly. "I've been wanting to do that for years. Now what do you say we get you to bed, Mulder?" Scully grinned again. "We can't have you getting even more injured, can we?" "Oh, no," he said as she helped him off the couch. "We can't have that." She led him into the bedroom, and right before she closed the door behind them, she heard a whisper in her ear, "Are you going to heal me, Doctor?" "Maybe," was her only response as the door closed behind them. * * * * * -End- Bwhahahaha... I'm soooo evil, aren't I? Shall I do another part? Drop me a line at di_mulder@hotmail.com to let me know :)