Categories > TV > X-Files
Title: Winter Wonderland
Author: Cerasi J.
Rating: PG
Summary: Basement tours, ice cream and a skating rink. My first attempt at MSR.
Keywords: Mulder/Scully Romance
Spoilers: None! HA!!
Feedback: Please! CerasiJ@yahoo.com
Website: http://www.ffo.puckin-a.net
Archive: Fan Fiction Online, FanFiction.Net, The Gossimer Project
Disclaimer: I don't own Mulder, Scully or anything from the X-Files, I wrote this to amuse myself on what else? A snowy day of course! ^.^'
Author's Note: Okay, so, Skinner would probably not be leading tours in the basement... it's called plot hole! =D
---
"How's it sound?"
"Like you're having a lot of fun torturing Scully."
"HA!!!!"
-My brother and I as I read him the first draft of this story.
---
J. Edgar Hoover Building
Washington D.C.
December 13, 1998. 3:57 p.m.
Special Agent Dana Scully's faded blue eyes flicked from the clock on the wall to her partner on the other side of the room. His feet were up the desk and he was throwing pencils at the ceiling again.
She watched the slender hands on the clock move gracefully to four P.M. She sighed, almost time to go home. Home, where she would cook a lonely dinner, feed the dog, and maybe take a nice, hot bath.
Nah, probably not.
She'd probably wind up going home, ignoring the dog, the phone, the TV, and crawling right into bed. Suddenly remembering she had no food to cook that lonely dinner, she pulled out a notepad and began writing out a grocrey list.
Mulder watched her from across the office, "So, Scully. Any plans for the evening?" Scully glanced up, startled out of her thoughts by Mulder's sudden question, "Uh, no. No, just going to go to the store and pick up a few things, and maybe take a hot bath."
"Ooh," Mulder said with a flirty grin, "A hot bath and you didn't invite me?" She frowned at him, "Mulder-..."
"...- Kidding Scully, I'm only kidding."
Still frowning, she replied, "I don't think you are." Mulder chuckled and shrugged. Scully's eyes and attention returned to the notepad and she jotted down "bread". Scully scratched her head, thinking deeply. She then wrote, "cheese, milk, shampoo."
Mulder got to his feet and walked to the tiny fire escape window in the basement office he and Scully shared. "Hey," he said, "It's snowing!" Scully nodded, ignoring Mulder and writing, "dog food, toothpaste".
Mulder turned to face her, "Hey, earth to Scully!" She looked up and replied, "Hey! Earth to Mulder! I'm making a grocrey list!" He grinned and leaned over her desk, trying to get a look at the notepad she held, "Lemme see!"
"No!" Scully held the notebook to her chest, so Mulder wouldn't see. "Uh huh," he said, still grinning, "You're writing love letters!" Her face flushed, "Mulder, I am not! I am writing a grocery list!"
"Right, sure you are. What's the guy's name? Mike? Dan?" Rolling her eyes and returning the pad to her lap she said, "Mulder, there is no guy-..."
"Rob?" he interupted her, "Scott? Lance?"
Smirking she looked at the list and read off, "Bread, cheese, milk, shampoo, dog food, toothpaste, frozen pizza, and Chinese take-out for dinner." Mulder placed the back of his hand to his forehead and put on his best Scarlett O'Hara act, "Dear Mike, I love you darling! When are you coming home to me?"
Rolling her eyes again, she wrote, "Note to self: Get Mulder a girlfriend, ASAP!!!!" She looked up at him again, "Shut up, Mulder." He laughed and laughed, "Ha! I knew it! She admits it! Scully has boyfriend!"
Still grinning, he cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, "SCULLY HAS A BOYFRIEND!!"
"Mulder!" Scully stood up suddenly, the notepad falling to the floor, "Enough!" Mulder, who was giggling like a school girl asked, "Why? You don't have anything to hide, do you, Scully?" She blinked and thought, "Well, no, but-..." Before she could finish her sentence, Mulder crossed the room, swung open the door and yelled into the empty hallway, "SCULLY HAS A BOYFRIEND!!!!"
Scully gasped and scampered across the room to shut the door, "Mulder!" she exclaimed, "Shut up!" Mulder, who was not almost hyperventilating, said, "Oh... why? There's no one down here but you and me." He wiped a tear from his eye, "Lighten up, Scully."
Scully crossed the room for her coat, suddenly the door opened. She spun around; thinking Mulder was at it again. A.D. Skinner poked his head in, "Agent Mulder! I am attempting to conduct a tour here!" His gaze settled on Scully, "And Agent Scully, please try to keep your personal life to yourself."
Skinner slammed the door shut, and the two agents watched in horror as about twenty people walked past the frosted pane of glass in the door. Scully sat at her desk again, she groaned. Rested her elbows on the desk and put her head in her hands.
Mulder looked at his feet, "Sorry Scully..."
She glanced up, fire sparking in her eyes, "Sorry?! You just made a fool of me in front of Skinner and a whole bunch of people, and all you can say is 'Sorry'?!"
Snaching up her coat and grocery list, she stalked toward the door. "Scully, wait!" Mulder crossed the room and grabbed her arm, "I'm sorry! Really, I was only kidding-..." She twisted free of his grip, "Have a good weekend, Mulder."
She turned on her heel and walked quickly toward the elevator. "Scully!" Mulder yelled after her, she ignored him and kept walking.
Muttering a curse under his breath, he grabbed his coat, turned off the lights and ran after her. He got to the elevator just as the doors were closing; he stuck his hand in between them, "Scully, please, let me make it up to you."
Scully said nothing; she stared evenly at him. He stepped into the elevator, the doors were beginning to close, and stopped as another person stuck their hand in. Mulder threw a look over his shoulder and saw something he didn't like. Skinner.
"Agents," Skinner said. He turned to the tour group behind him, "Ladies and gentlemen, some of our fellow agents." A murmur went through the small group of people, a man in the back said to Scully, "Hey darlin', can I have your number?"
Skinner began herding the tour group into the elevator, and Scully fought desperately to get out. "Scully," Mulder tried to grab her elbow, "Wait, please!"
An older woman patted Mulder's arm and said, "Sorry honey, I think she just dumped you." Mulder gaped at her.
Scully, now free of the crowd of tourists, made a mad dash for the stairs. Mulder started after her, and Skinner held him back, "Let her go, Mulder."
Sighing, Mulder leaned back against the wall, feeling every set of eyes upon him. The same man who asked for Scully's number spoke up and said, "Gee mister, you must have done something awful to tick her off like that."
Mulder, who'd had had it up to the brim, mumbled, "Shut the hell up." Skinner glared at him, "Agent, I would like to see you in my office when this tour lets out."
Sighing, Mulder knew he was in for it now.
---
Luckily, Scully made it out to her car with no further incidents from anyone. She started the car, and sat on her hands to warm them. She shivered, her breath came out in tiny silver puffs. She'd been too hard on Mulder, she supposed, but sometimes he needed to be yelled at to be kept in line. Like a puppy. Or a small child.
Her hands finally warm enough to be placed on the steering wheel, she left the parking garage and headed off to Teer's Market.
---
Twenty minutes later, Mulder sat across from Skinner's desk. He stared at his hands in his lap and listened to Skinner rip on him. "Agent Mulder, what you said to that man was uncalled for. And very unprofessional. It's things like that that make the FBI look bad."
Mulder sighed, "Cut to the chase, Skin-Man, how much time do I get in the brig?"
"One week without pay, in fact, two for calling me Skin-Man."
Mulder stood, extracting his car keys from his pocket. "Thanks, that's all I needed to know." Turning, he left the room and headed toward the parking garage.
---
Dana Scully residence
Georgetown, Virginia
6:07 p.m.
Scully leaned against the door of her apartment, arms full of grocrey bags. She jostled the bags in her arms and pulled out the key for the door.
Shoving the key in the lock, she gave the knob a quick twist and stumbled inside. The first thing she noticed was the lights were on... she didn't leave the lights on this morning, did she?
No, she never left anything on. Quietly setting down the grocery bags, she snuck toward the living room. Cocking her head to the side, she heard faint sounds coming from the television set.
Scully drew her gun, still sneaking along the wall toward the living room.
She waited, listening for other sounds. After about five minutes, she decided there was no one in the apartment. Sometimes when the power went off and came back on the TV, lights and radio would turn themselves on.
Nodding to herself, she was sure the power had just gone off.
As she walked back toward the entry-way, Scully caught a glimpse of herself in the large, standing mirror she kept in the dining room. She stood looking at herself for a moment, them smiled and stuck a Farriah Fawcett-Charlie's Angel's pose.
Scully laughed to herself and tried to look tough in front of the mirror, while still attempting her best Angel's impression. Her gun pointed at the ceiling, she said quietly, "Dana Scully: the newest Charlie's Angel."
A voice said from the living room behind her, "Hey Scully, I didn't know you liked Charlie's Angel's."
Surprised, Scully screamed loudly. On impulse, the finger she had wrapped around the trigger tightened. The gun fired upward into the ceiling.
Scully gasped and dropped the gun as if it had suddenly grown wings and asked for a cup of coffee. She looked up at the now smoking, black bullet hole in her roof. She turned to the voice behind her, "Damn you, Mulder!" She yelled, "How did you get in here?!"
He didn't answer; he started wide-eyed at her. "Scully," he finally managed to say, "You just shot a hole in your own ceiling."
Quickly picking up her gun and shoving it back in the holster, she replied, "So what! It's my damn ceiling, if I want to shoot at it, I will!" Turning to him, she said, "You didn't answer me, Mulder, how'd you get in here?!"
Mulder stared at the gun in her hand, "Um. If I tell you, you're not, um, gonna shoot me, are you?"
"No."
"You gave me a key, remember...? I came over to apoligize to you."
The expression on her face softened, "Oh." Mulder began to back away, with his hands held up in a surrendering gesture, "But I understand if you don't except that apoligy... I really do, but answer me this... do you shoot at all your house guests?"
At this she smiled a bit, "Your apoligy is accepted, Mulder, and no, I don't shoot at my house guests."
Scully's phone rang and she rushed past Mulder to answer it. Mulder glanced up at the ceiling and then at the mirror, he chuckled and made his way to the front door to get Scully's bags for her.
From the room he heard Scully saying over the phone, "Yes Mrs. Tanner, it was a gunshot-... no, I'm fine-... uh, heh... well, you see, my partner-..."
Mulder shouted, "Don't go blaming this on me, Scully." He gathered up the bags and headed toward the kitchen, where Scully was on the phone. "Yes, I did fire my gun Mrs. Tanner-... no-... I'll pay for all the damages. Yes, you too. Terribly sorry about that, uh-huh, you too, buh-bye."
Scully hung up, sighed and looked at Mulder, "That was my upstairs neighbor, the bullet went through her coffee table and shattered an antique vase."
Mulder snorted and put a can of coffee in the cupboard, "What a corker, eh?" Scully pulled a container of Royal Fudge ice cream from a bag and shoved it in the freezer, "Yeah, well, now I have to pay for that vase."
Suddenly feeling very depressed; Scully sighed again, re-opened the freezer and pulled out the ice cream again.
She opened the lid, grabbed a spoon and started digging around for the chocolate-covered peanuts in the ice cream.
"Gorging, are we, Scully?" Mulder raised an eyebrow and took the spoon from her. "Mmm!" Came the outraged response from Scully, who had a mouth full of ice cream. She grabbed for the spoon.
Mulder then took the ice cream container and held them both above his head, out of Scully's reach. Finally swallowing the ice cream, Scully said, "Oh, you're so mean to me!" He grinned, "I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream."
He took the spoon, and had a bite then pretended like it was oh-so-good. "Mmm, this is great stuff, Scully, are you sure you don't want some?" Scully glared at him, and reached for the container he still head above his head, "Give it back! I paid for it!"
Mulder shook his head stubbornly, "No."
Scully decided she had to fight dirty if she wanted that pint of Royal Fudge back, so she stepped on Mulder's left foot with her two inched high-heel.
"OW!" Mulder cried out in pain, "Why-..." But it was too late for questions, Mulder had lowered his arms just enough so Scully could grab the ice cream.
"Hey, Scully, that's not fair!" Scully, with a laugh, toed off her shoes and high- tailed it for the living room. Mulder started after her, still yelling about the unfairness of it all.
Glancing around frantically, and seeing no where else to go, Scully threw herself on the couch and curled up into a ball. In a moment, Mulder was standing next to the couch, prentending to glare down at his partner.
"Scully, shouldn't you know by now," he leaned down and tried to pry the now-melting container out of her hands, "that you should bring enough for the rest of the class?"
Scully, however, was not about to give up that easily. She pulled the container back towards her; this caught Mulder off guard, and caused him to stumble towards her. Placing his hands on either side of Scully's head, he caught himself before he fell.
Scully raised her eyes to meet his and realized their faces were only inches apart.
She licked her lips and was about to ask if he could back up a little bit, but that's when it dawned on her, that she didn't want him to back up, she wanted him to kiss her. It also dawned on her that Mulder had really nice eyes. And before she could actually stop herself, she was telling him, "You've got really nice eyes, Mulder."
Surprised, Mulder stood up and blinked at her, "Thanks. I think." He held out his hand to help her up.
A little bit disappointed that he didn't kiss her, Scully let herself be pulled up. Mulder looked uncomforable for a second then said, "Well, I came over her to apologize to you, and I was hoping I could make it up to you."
Looking down, Scully spotted a chocolate-covered peanut in the ice cream container she still held. She picked it out and ate it, "Oh?" She swallowed, "How so?"
Mulder shuffled his feet, "Um, well, see... Sam and I, we used to go ice skating every December... and I was, um, well, wondering if you'd like to go with me." He looked up at her, "Ice skating, I mean."
Scully shook her head; "I don't know how to ice skate, Mulder."
"I could teach you!" He said, hopefully. She thought it over; he did look awfully cute, begging her to go with him like that. Scully decided that if her partner was any animal, he'd be a puppy, because he had the whole sad-eyes thing down pat.
She wondered how many hearts he'd broken back in college.
"Okay, okay, fine, I'll go," Scully said quickly, trying to avoid that intense gaze of his. A grin found it's way onto his face and melted Scully's heart, "Okay!" He eyed her business suit; "You'd better change, unless you want to set a new trend for figure skaters."
She glanced at Mulder, she hadn't noticed that he had already changed out of his work clothes and was wearing winter clothes instead. Scully chuckled and shook her head, "Fine. I'll be right back." She handed the container of Royal Fudge off to him and started toward her bedroom.
---
Fifteen minutes later, Scully stepped out of her room, clad in black leggings and a large lavender sweater with a matching headband to take the place of a winter hat.
"Ready?" Mulder asked when she walked into the kitchen. She nodded and pulled her boots out of the closet, "Yes, where are we going again?"
"Ice skat-... oh, you mean where?" Scully nodded. "Oh," he said, "There's a place off of M Street that's a rollerblading rink in the summer and ice skating in the winter."
"Oh," Scully blinked, "Never been there." Mulder grinned, "I have."
"Big surprise." Grabbing her purse and her car keys, she said, "I'll drive," and took off out the door before Mulder had a chance to protest.
---
Washington D.C. Ice Rink
7:00 p.m.
"Mulder," Scully said, her voice waivering slightly as she watched the graceful people on the ice, "I don't think this is such a great idea..."
"Why not?" He questioned, sitting down to put on his skates, "Oh, I know, you want Mikey or Rob to be here for the couple's skate, don't you?" He smiled and winked at her, but something in his eyes told her he was hurt as he spoke.
"No, Mulder, I mean... I can't skate, I'll make an ass of myself and I know it." Her eyes strayed from his face back to the rink. "Well," Mulder said as he laced up his skates, "At least you're honest about it."
He winked at her again. Scully ploppled down beside him on the bench and began to lace up her skates like Mulder.
When they were all laced up, Mulder stood up and started toward the ice, then he seemed to remember Scully was a beginner. He offered her a strong looking hand and hauled her to her feet.
Scully would never admit it, but the touch of his hand sent a slight shiver through her.
"C'mon, you can do it," Mulder coaxed as Scully took tiny steps toward the ice. When her feet were on the frozen surface, Mulder took her hands, stood backward, and said, "Okay, first we're gonna teach you how to glide."
"Glide?" Scully echoed, wondering if gliding was what Sarah Huges looked so nice doing.
"Yup," He started to skate backward and pulled Scully along. She froze, "Mulder, don't you think I should be wearing kneepads or something? I don't want to be black and blue on Monday morning."
He chuckled, "You'll be fine, just relax, you're doing great." She held his hands tight and tried to relax.
"It's just like walking," Mulder assured, "One foot after the other... there you go, just like that... left foot, right foot, yeah! You're gettin' it!"
Scully felt her cheeks flush at his praise, "Thanks." She found herself smiling shyly at him.
"Okay," Mulder said, "I'm gonna let you go, and I want you to skate to me, okay?" Scully started to shake her head no, but he had already released her hands. Startled by the sudden loss of balance, Scully's foot slipped behind her and she started to fall towards the ice.
Mulder's arms shot out and caught her around the waist before she hit the cold floor. She clutched his arms as he hauled her back to her feet, "You okay, Scully?"
She looked up at him to see him grinning in amusement.
"Yeah," Scully breathed, her heart rate slowing, "I'm fine..." His arms stayed firmly placed about her waist, "You sure you're okay? I didn't expect you to fall quiet so soon."
Scully laughed at this one, and suddenly felt much better. "C'mon, I want to learn more!"
Taking each other's hands again, Mulder taught her how to skate without falling down, stop, turn, and even skate backward.
Within two hours Scully had more confidence than she ever had before. She felt like she was on top of the world, and she had only fallen twice!
It was nearly 9:00 p.m. when Mulder admitted Scully had tired him out, he invited her out for a cup of hot chocolate and she accepted.
Removing their skates, they pulled their clunky boots back on and headed towards Scully's car.
Compared to the graceful ice skates, Scully felt like her boots weighed a ton. Mulder, like the gentleman he was, helped her into the car and hopped into the drivers seat.
---
Fifteen minutes later, Mulder and Scully sat at a small diner sipping hot chocolate, one cup with marshmallows, one without. "You did great tonight, Scully, I'm really impressed."
Scully, for the millionth time that evening, found herself blushing at his words. "Well, I only fell twice, which I thought was pretty good. I'm glad I wasn't like that girl in the red coat! The poor thing kept tripping over her boyfriend's feet!"
Both of them laughed as they recalled the memory. "So," Mulder said, when he was through laughing, "What'd you get me for Christmas?"
Scully smiled, "Nothing, we weren't going to exchange gifts, remember?"
Mulder mocked hurt, "I don't remember coming to that agreement!"
For the next hour, they sat talking about work, family, the holidays, and how much they hated taxes. When Scully couldn't keep her eyes open a moment longer, she decided that it was time to go home.
They finished off the dregs of their hot chocolate, paid the bill and headed out to the car.
Mulder helped her in again and he drove. Feeling like she couldn't say another word, Scully reached over and turned on the radio.
One of her favorite Christmas tunes was on the radio, Winter Wonderland.
Mulder grinned and sang along, "Walkin' 'round in women's underwear..." Scully glanced at him sharply, but couldn't keep a smile off her face, "Mulder!"
He kept singing, "He'll say, Are you ready? We'll say, 'Whoa, man! We'll wait until the wife's outta town."
Scully laughed, and Mulder sang the whole way home. He parked Scully's car in her spot and walked her up the stairs. When she stood at her door, she smiled up at him. "Thanks for taking me tonight, I had a really good time."
Mulder looked at his feet and shuffled them, "Yeah, I had a really good time, too. Thanks for coming with me."
"You're welcome, Mulder." Scully kept on smiling up at him. He went on, "And... I'm sorry for being such a jerk in the office today, I really didn't mean to offend you..."
She had had such a good time at the skating rink, she'd almost forgotten about the episode at the office today.
Scully shugged her shoulders and turned the doorknob. Taking the hint, Mulder said, "'Night Scully," turned and started to walk away.
"Mulder?" She called.
He turned back, and cocked his head to the side. "You know what I want my boyfriend's name to be?" She asked softly.
"What's that?" Mulder said wryly.
"Fox." Turning, Scully let herself into the apartment.
Author: Cerasi J.
Rating: PG
Summary: Basement tours, ice cream and a skating rink. My first attempt at MSR.
Keywords: Mulder/Scully Romance
Spoilers: None! HA!!
Feedback: Please! CerasiJ@yahoo.com
Website: http://www.ffo.puckin-a.net
Archive: Fan Fiction Online, FanFiction.Net, The Gossimer Project
Disclaimer: I don't own Mulder, Scully or anything from the X-Files, I wrote this to amuse myself on what else? A snowy day of course! ^.^'
Author's Note: Okay, so, Skinner would probably not be leading tours in the basement... it's called plot hole! =D
---
"How's it sound?"
"Like you're having a lot of fun torturing Scully."
"HA!!!!"
-My brother and I as I read him the first draft of this story.
---
J. Edgar Hoover Building
Washington D.C.
December 13, 1998. 3:57 p.m.
Special Agent Dana Scully's faded blue eyes flicked from the clock on the wall to her partner on the other side of the room. His feet were up the desk and he was throwing pencils at the ceiling again.
She watched the slender hands on the clock move gracefully to four P.M. She sighed, almost time to go home. Home, where she would cook a lonely dinner, feed the dog, and maybe take a nice, hot bath.
Nah, probably not.
She'd probably wind up going home, ignoring the dog, the phone, the TV, and crawling right into bed. Suddenly remembering she had no food to cook that lonely dinner, she pulled out a notepad and began writing out a grocrey list.
Mulder watched her from across the office, "So, Scully. Any plans for the evening?" Scully glanced up, startled out of her thoughts by Mulder's sudden question, "Uh, no. No, just going to go to the store and pick up a few things, and maybe take a hot bath."
"Ooh," Mulder said with a flirty grin, "A hot bath and you didn't invite me?" She frowned at him, "Mulder-..."
"...- Kidding Scully, I'm only kidding."
Still frowning, she replied, "I don't think you are." Mulder chuckled and shrugged. Scully's eyes and attention returned to the notepad and she jotted down "bread". Scully scratched her head, thinking deeply. She then wrote, "cheese, milk, shampoo."
Mulder got to his feet and walked to the tiny fire escape window in the basement office he and Scully shared. "Hey," he said, "It's snowing!" Scully nodded, ignoring Mulder and writing, "dog food, toothpaste".
Mulder turned to face her, "Hey, earth to Scully!" She looked up and replied, "Hey! Earth to Mulder! I'm making a grocrey list!" He grinned and leaned over her desk, trying to get a look at the notepad she held, "Lemme see!"
"No!" Scully held the notebook to her chest, so Mulder wouldn't see. "Uh huh," he said, still grinning, "You're writing love letters!" Her face flushed, "Mulder, I am not! I am writing a grocery list!"
"Right, sure you are. What's the guy's name? Mike? Dan?" Rolling her eyes and returning the pad to her lap she said, "Mulder, there is no guy-..."
"Rob?" he interupted her, "Scott? Lance?"
Smirking she looked at the list and read off, "Bread, cheese, milk, shampoo, dog food, toothpaste, frozen pizza, and Chinese take-out for dinner." Mulder placed the back of his hand to his forehead and put on his best Scarlett O'Hara act, "Dear Mike, I love you darling! When are you coming home to me?"
Rolling her eyes again, she wrote, "Note to self: Get Mulder a girlfriend, ASAP!!!!" She looked up at him again, "Shut up, Mulder." He laughed and laughed, "Ha! I knew it! She admits it! Scully has boyfriend!"
Still grinning, he cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, "SCULLY HAS A BOYFRIEND!!"
"Mulder!" Scully stood up suddenly, the notepad falling to the floor, "Enough!" Mulder, who was giggling like a school girl asked, "Why? You don't have anything to hide, do you, Scully?" She blinked and thought, "Well, no, but-..." Before she could finish her sentence, Mulder crossed the room, swung open the door and yelled into the empty hallway, "SCULLY HAS A BOYFRIEND!!!!"
Scully gasped and scampered across the room to shut the door, "Mulder!" she exclaimed, "Shut up!" Mulder, who was not almost hyperventilating, said, "Oh... why? There's no one down here but you and me." He wiped a tear from his eye, "Lighten up, Scully."
Scully crossed the room for her coat, suddenly the door opened. She spun around; thinking Mulder was at it again. A.D. Skinner poked his head in, "Agent Mulder! I am attempting to conduct a tour here!" His gaze settled on Scully, "And Agent Scully, please try to keep your personal life to yourself."
Skinner slammed the door shut, and the two agents watched in horror as about twenty people walked past the frosted pane of glass in the door. Scully sat at her desk again, she groaned. Rested her elbows on the desk and put her head in her hands.
Mulder looked at his feet, "Sorry Scully..."
She glanced up, fire sparking in her eyes, "Sorry?! You just made a fool of me in front of Skinner and a whole bunch of people, and all you can say is 'Sorry'?!"
Snaching up her coat and grocery list, she stalked toward the door. "Scully, wait!" Mulder crossed the room and grabbed her arm, "I'm sorry! Really, I was only kidding-..." She twisted free of his grip, "Have a good weekend, Mulder."
She turned on her heel and walked quickly toward the elevator. "Scully!" Mulder yelled after her, she ignored him and kept walking.
Muttering a curse under his breath, he grabbed his coat, turned off the lights and ran after her. He got to the elevator just as the doors were closing; he stuck his hand in between them, "Scully, please, let me make it up to you."
Scully said nothing; she stared evenly at him. He stepped into the elevator, the doors were beginning to close, and stopped as another person stuck their hand in. Mulder threw a look over his shoulder and saw something he didn't like. Skinner.
"Agents," Skinner said. He turned to the tour group behind him, "Ladies and gentlemen, some of our fellow agents." A murmur went through the small group of people, a man in the back said to Scully, "Hey darlin', can I have your number?"
Skinner began herding the tour group into the elevator, and Scully fought desperately to get out. "Scully," Mulder tried to grab her elbow, "Wait, please!"
An older woman patted Mulder's arm and said, "Sorry honey, I think she just dumped you." Mulder gaped at her.
Scully, now free of the crowd of tourists, made a mad dash for the stairs. Mulder started after her, and Skinner held him back, "Let her go, Mulder."
Sighing, Mulder leaned back against the wall, feeling every set of eyes upon him. The same man who asked for Scully's number spoke up and said, "Gee mister, you must have done something awful to tick her off like that."
Mulder, who'd had had it up to the brim, mumbled, "Shut the hell up." Skinner glared at him, "Agent, I would like to see you in my office when this tour lets out."
Sighing, Mulder knew he was in for it now.
---
Luckily, Scully made it out to her car with no further incidents from anyone. She started the car, and sat on her hands to warm them. She shivered, her breath came out in tiny silver puffs. She'd been too hard on Mulder, she supposed, but sometimes he needed to be yelled at to be kept in line. Like a puppy. Or a small child.
Her hands finally warm enough to be placed on the steering wheel, she left the parking garage and headed off to Teer's Market.
---
Twenty minutes later, Mulder sat across from Skinner's desk. He stared at his hands in his lap and listened to Skinner rip on him. "Agent Mulder, what you said to that man was uncalled for. And very unprofessional. It's things like that that make the FBI look bad."
Mulder sighed, "Cut to the chase, Skin-Man, how much time do I get in the brig?"
"One week without pay, in fact, two for calling me Skin-Man."
Mulder stood, extracting his car keys from his pocket. "Thanks, that's all I needed to know." Turning, he left the room and headed toward the parking garage.
---
Dana Scully residence
Georgetown, Virginia
6:07 p.m.
Scully leaned against the door of her apartment, arms full of grocrey bags. She jostled the bags in her arms and pulled out the key for the door.
Shoving the key in the lock, she gave the knob a quick twist and stumbled inside. The first thing she noticed was the lights were on... she didn't leave the lights on this morning, did she?
No, she never left anything on. Quietly setting down the grocery bags, she snuck toward the living room. Cocking her head to the side, she heard faint sounds coming from the television set.
Scully drew her gun, still sneaking along the wall toward the living room.
She waited, listening for other sounds. After about five minutes, she decided there was no one in the apartment. Sometimes when the power went off and came back on the TV, lights and radio would turn themselves on.
Nodding to herself, she was sure the power had just gone off.
As she walked back toward the entry-way, Scully caught a glimpse of herself in the large, standing mirror she kept in the dining room. She stood looking at herself for a moment, them smiled and stuck a Farriah Fawcett-Charlie's Angel's pose.
Scully laughed to herself and tried to look tough in front of the mirror, while still attempting her best Angel's impression. Her gun pointed at the ceiling, she said quietly, "Dana Scully: the newest Charlie's Angel."
A voice said from the living room behind her, "Hey Scully, I didn't know you liked Charlie's Angel's."
Surprised, Scully screamed loudly. On impulse, the finger she had wrapped around the trigger tightened. The gun fired upward into the ceiling.
Scully gasped and dropped the gun as if it had suddenly grown wings and asked for a cup of coffee. She looked up at the now smoking, black bullet hole in her roof. She turned to the voice behind her, "Damn you, Mulder!" She yelled, "How did you get in here?!"
He didn't answer; he started wide-eyed at her. "Scully," he finally managed to say, "You just shot a hole in your own ceiling."
Quickly picking up her gun and shoving it back in the holster, she replied, "So what! It's my damn ceiling, if I want to shoot at it, I will!" Turning to him, she said, "You didn't answer me, Mulder, how'd you get in here?!"
Mulder stared at the gun in her hand, "Um. If I tell you, you're not, um, gonna shoot me, are you?"
"No."
"You gave me a key, remember...? I came over to apoligize to you."
The expression on her face softened, "Oh." Mulder began to back away, with his hands held up in a surrendering gesture, "But I understand if you don't except that apoligy... I really do, but answer me this... do you shoot at all your house guests?"
At this she smiled a bit, "Your apoligy is accepted, Mulder, and no, I don't shoot at my house guests."
Scully's phone rang and she rushed past Mulder to answer it. Mulder glanced up at the ceiling and then at the mirror, he chuckled and made his way to the front door to get Scully's bags for her.
From the room he heard Scully saying over the phone, "Yes Mrs. Tanner, it was a gunshot-... no, I'm fine-... uh, heh... well, you see, my partner-..."
Mulder shouted, "Don't go blaming this on me, Scully." He gathered up the bags and headed toward the kitchen, where Scully was on the phone. "Yes, I did fire my gun Mrs. Tanner-... no-... I'll pay for all the damages. Yes, you too. Terribly sorry about that, uh-huh, you too, buh-bye."
Scully hung up, sighed and looked at Mulder, "That was my upstairs neighbor, the bullet went through her coffee table and shattered an antique vase."
Mulder snorted and put a can of coffee in the cupboard, "What a corker, eh?" Scully pulled a container of Royal Fudge ice cream from a bag and shoved it in the freezer, "Yeah, well, now I have to pay for that vase."
Suddenly feeling very depressed; Scully sighed again, re-opened the freezer and pulled out the ice cream again.
She opened the lid, grabbed a spoon and started digging around for the chocolate-covered peanuts in the ice cream.
"Gorging, are we, Scully?" Mulder raised an eyebrow and took the spoon from her. "Mmm!" Came the outraged response from Scully, who had a mouth full of ice cream. She grabbed for the spoon.
Mulder then took the ice cream container and held them both above his head, out of Scully's reach. Finally swallowing the ice cream, Scully said, "Oh, you're so mean to me!" He grinned, "I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream."
He took the spoon, and had a bite then pretended like it was oh-so-good. "Mmm, this is great stuff, Scully, are you sure you don't want some?" Scully glared at him, and reached for the container he still head above his head, "Give it back! I paid for it!"
Mulder shook his head stubbornly, "No."
Scully decided she had to fight dirty if she wanted that pint of Royal Fudge back, so she stepped on Mulder's left foot with her two inched high-heel.
"OW!" Mulder cried out in pain, "Why-..." But it was too late for questions, Mulder had lowered his arms just enough so Scully could grab the ice cream.
"Hey, Scully, that's not fair!" Scully, with a laugh, toed off her shoes and high- tailed it for the living room. Mulder started after her, still yelling about the unfairness of it all.
Glancing around frantically, and seeing no where else to go, Scully threw herself on the couch and curled up into a ball. In a moment, Mulder was standing next to the couch, prentending to glare down at his partner.
"Scully, shouldn't you know by now," he leaned down and tried to pry the now-melting container out of her hands, "that you should bring enough for the rest of the class?"
Scully, however, was not about to give up that easily. She pulled the container back towards her; this caught Mulder off guard, and caused him to stumble towards her. Placing his hands on either side of Scully's head, he caught himself before he fell.
Scully raised her eyes to meet his and realized their faces were only inches apart.
She licked her lips and was about to ask if he could back up a little bit, but that's when it dawned on her, that she didn't want him to back up, she wanted him to kiss her. It also dawned on her that Mulder had really nice eyes. And before she could actually stop herself, she was telling him, "You've got really nice eyes, Mulder."
Surprised, Mulder stood up and blinked at her, "Thanks. I think." He held out his hand to help her up.
A little bit disappointed that he didn't kiss her, Scully let herself be pulled up. Mulder looked uncomforable for a second then said, "Well, I came over her to apologize to you, and I was hoping I could make it up to you."
Looking down, Scully spotted a chocolate-covered peanut in the ice cream container she still held. She picked it out and ate it, "Oh?" She swallowed, "How so?"
Mulder shuffled his feet, "Um, well, see... Sam and I, we used to go ice skating every December... and I was, um, well, wondering if you'd like to go with me." He looked up at her, "Ice skating, I mean."
Scully shook her head; "I don't know how to ice skate, Mulder."
"I could teach you!" He said, hopefully. She thought it over; he did look awfully cute, begging her to go with him like that. Scully decided that if her partner was any animal, he'd be a puppy, because he had the whole sad-eyes thing down pat.
She wondered how many hearts he'd broken back in college.
"Okay, okay, fine, I'll go," Scully said quickly, trying to avoid that intense gaze of his. A grin found it's way onto his face and melted Scully's heart, "Okay!" He eyed her business suit; "You'd better change, unless you want to set a new trend for figure skaters."
She glanced at Mulder, she hadn't noticed that he had already changed out of his work clothes and was wearing winter clothes instead. Scully chuckled and shook her head, "Fine. I'll be right back." She handed the container of Royal Fudge off to him and started toward her bedroom.
---
Fifteen minutes later, Scully stepped out of her room, clad in black leggings and a large lavender sweater with a matching headband to take the place of a winter hat.
"Ready?" Mulder asked when she walked into the kitchen. She nodded and pulled her boots out of the closet, "Yes, where are we going again?"
"Ice skat-... oh, you mean where?" Scully nodded. "Oh," he said, "There's a place off of M Street that's a rollerblading rink in the summer and ice skating in the winter."
"Oh," Scully blinked, "Never been there." Mulder grinned, "I have."
"Big surprise." Grabbing her purse and her car keys, she said, "I'll drive," and took off out the door before Mulder had a chance to protest.
---
Washington D.C. Ice Rink
7:00 p.m.
"Mulder," Scully said, her voice waivering slightly as she watched the graceful people on the ice, "I don't think this is such a great idea..."
"Why not?" He questioned, sitting down to put on his skates, "Oh, I know, you want Mikey or Rob to be here for the couple's skate, don't you?" He smiled and winked at her, but something in his eyes told her he was hurt as he spoke.
"No, Mulder, I mean... I can't skate, I'll make an ass of myself and I know it." Her eyes strayed from his face back to the rink. "Well," Mulder said as he laced up his skates, "At least you're honest about it."
He winked at her again. Scully ploppled down beside him on the bench and began to lace up her skates like Mulder.
When they were all laced up, Mulder stood up and started toward the ice, then he seemed to remember Scully was a beginner. He offered her a strong looking hand and hauled her to her feet.
Scully would never admit it, but the touch of his hand sent a slight shiver through her.
"C'mon, you can do it," Mulder coaxed as Scully took tiny steps toward the ice. When her feet were on the frozen surface, Mulder took her hands, stood backward, and said, "Okay, first we're gonna teach you how to glide."
"Glide?" Scully echoed, wondering if gliding was what Sarah Huges looked so nice doing.
"Yup," He started to skate backward and pulled Scully along. She froze, "Mulder, don't you think I should be wearing kneepads or something? I don't want to be black and blue on Monday morning."
He chuckled, "You'll be fine, just relax, you're doing great." She held his hands tight and tried to relax.
"It's just like walking," Mulder assured, "One foot after the other... there you go, just like that... left foot, right foot, yeah! You're gettin' it!"
Scully felt her cheeks flush at his praise, "Thanks." She found herself smiling shyly at him.
"Okay," Mulder said, "I'm gonna let you go, and I want you to skate to me, okay?" Scully started to shake her head no, but he had already released her hands. Startled by the sudden loss of balance, Scully's foot slipped behind her and she started to fall towards the ice.
Mulder's arms shot out and caught her around the waist before she hit the cold floor. She clutched his arms as he hauled her back to her feet, "You okay, Scully?"
She looked up at him to see him grinning in amusement.
"Yeah," Scully breathed, her heart rate slowing, "I'm fine..." His arms stayed firmly placed about her waist, "You sure you're okay? I didn't expect you to fall quiet so soon."
Scully laughed at this one, and suddenly felt much better. "C'mon, I want to learn more!"
Taking each other's hands again, Mulder taught her how to skate without falling down, stop, turn, and even skate backward.
Within two hours Scully had more confidence than she ever had before. She felt like she was on top of the world, and she had only fallen twice!
It was nearly 9:00 p.m. when Mulder admitted Scully had tired him out, he invited her out for a cup of hot chocolate and she accepted.
Removing their skates, they pulled their clunky boots back on and headed towards Scully's car.
Compared to the graceful ice skates, Scully felt like her boots weighed a ton. Mulder, like the gentleman he was, helped her into the car and hopped into the drivers seat.
---
Fifteen minutes later, Mulder and Scully sat at a small diner sipping hot chocolate, one cup with marshmallows, one without. "You did great tonight, Scully, I'm really impressed."
Scully, for the millionth time that evening, found herself blushing at his words. "Well, I only fell twice, which I thought was pretty good. I'm glad I wasn't like that girl in the red coat! The poor thing kept tripping over her boyfriend's feet!"
Both of them laughed as they recalled the memory. "So," Mulder said, when he was through laughing, "What'd you get me for Christmas?"
Scully smiled, "Nothing, we weren't going to exchange gifts, remember?"
Mulder mocked hurt, "I don't remember coming to that agreement!"
For the next hour, they sat talking about work, family, the holidays, and how much they hated taxes. When Scully couldn't keep her eyes open a moment longer, she decided that it was time to go home.
They finished off the dregs of their hot chocolate, paid the bill and headed out to the car.
Mulder helped her in again and he drove. Feeling like she couldn't say another word, Scully reached over and turned on the radio.
One of her favorite Christmas tunes was on the radio, Winter Wonderland.
Mulder grinned and sang along, "Walkin' 'round in women's underwear..." Scully glanced at him sharply, but couldn't keep a smile off her face, "Mulder!"
He kept singing, "He'll say, Are you ready? We'll say, 'Whoa, man! We'll wait until the wife's outta town."
Scully laughed, and Mulder sang the whole way home. He parked Scully's car in her spot and walked her up the stairs. When she stood at her door, she smiled up at him. "Thanks for taking me tonight, I had a really good time."
Mulder looked at his feet and shuffled them, "Yeah, I had a really good time, too. Thanks for coming with me."
"You're welcome, Mulder." Scully kept on smiling up at him. He went on, "And... I'm sorry for being such a jerk in the office today, I really didn't mean to offend you..."
She had had such a good time at the skating rink, she'd almost forgotten about the episode at the office today.
Scully shugged her shoulders and turned the doorknob. Taking the hint, Mulder said, "'Night Scully," turned and started to walk away.
"Mulder?" She called.
He turned back, and cocked his head to the side. "You know what I want my boyfriend's name to be?" She asked softly.
"What's that?" Mulder said wryly.
"Fox." Turning, Scully let herself into the apartment.
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