Date: Mon, 17 Jan 2000 23:32:49 -0800 (PST)
Source: direct

Title:          After Pfaster
Author:         Gaijin Bushido
E-Mail:         Not Provided
Category:       SR
Rated:          PG
Spoilers:       Orison, Millennium, Milagro
Keywords:       Mulder/Scully Romance
Summary:        Post episode piece for ORISON
Disclaimer:     Not mine, so SUE ME CARTER! I dare ya!


Apartment of Dana Scully

The Crime Scene Unit troops from the local PD had been
in the place for hours, Scully was less than impressed
with this; but she knew it was required. Det. Lange
had questioned her, albeit nicely, and seemed
satisfied that the body of the wanted fugitive
spoiling Scully's living room carpet was exactly where
it should be. In the condition that it deserved to be.
No one would
mourn for Donnie Pfaster.

The M.E. was finished with Pfaster's remains, and were
just wrapping him up for his trip to the County
Morgue. Scully's apartment was in a worse shambles
than was wrought solely by Pfaster. The CSU cops were
not known for being tidy. Scully had had enough for
awhile, there was no way that she was staying there
that night, maybe not for a couple of nights. She made
a mental note to have Father MacCue come by and bless
the place before she spent another night there. Her
old ingrained Catholic ways would get the better of
her in that regard.

She packed an overnight bag, well, a suitcase really,
and was waiting by the door with Mulder; ready to lock
up once the last of the local PD had finished.
Pfaster's corpse was wheeled out, passing by her
within inches. An involuntary shudder ran down as her
spine as it passed. Mulder noticed, but made no
comment, she'd been through hell today...perhaps
literally Mulder mused to himself.

"Det. Lange, if you don't need us, Agent Mulder and I
will be waiting out in my car until you're finished up
here. Just let me know when I can lock up. OK?"

"Not a problem Agent Scully, we shouldn't be much
longer. Oh, by the way, do you have another weapon
you can use until we get this one," here he held up
Scully's Sig Sauer, neatly bagged and tagged, "back
from ballistics?"

"Yes, I've got my Glock, I'm OK for a sidearm."

"Good. As I said, we won't be much longer; I'll have
someone come get ya when we're done."

"Thanks." Scully said, as she and Mulder exited the
apartment, heading for her Explorer.

The walk to the vehicle passed in silence. Scully let
Mulder in, then entered herself. She turned the engine
on to run the heater, and put some soothing, (to her)
classical music on the stereo.

"Are you OK Scully?" Mulder asked for the umpteenth
time.

"I'm fine Mulder! I just needed to get out of that
apartment for awhile."

"You're fine?" Mulder questioned, a hint of scepticism
in his voice.

"I'm fine...for now anyway; I don't know how I'll be
later."

Deciding the discretion was indeed the better part of
valor, Mulder let the issue go for the moment. They
were still in a quasi-public venue, sitting in front
of Sculy's building, people coming and going. Mostly 
fellow Law Enforcement types. Mulder knew that Scully
would maintain her tough facade until she was in
more private surroundings...maybe even then she'd keep
it up. He hoped not.

As they sat quietly listening to the music, Mulder's
mind flashed back to the last time Scully had had a
run in with Pfaster, back in Minnesota, lo those many
years ago. At that time, she'd accepted his comfort;
even in front of others. She was a stronger person now
though. No...Mulder thought, not stronger per se,
just better able to keep her emotions in check. Still,
there was a lot of strength in Scully's compact frame,
and Mulder realized, not for the first time, that
Scully was indeed the stronger of the two of them.
Mulder had an all consuming urge to just cradle Scully
in his arms and protect her from all the evil's of the
world.

He recalled the incident with Padgett, and the ghost
of the 'Psychic Surgeon' which had attacked her last
year.
She had clung to him for support, and he would give
her the opportunity once again. He was aware that on
that
particular occasion, his presence and comfort had
helped her. She'd had the opportunity to decompress
in a private way, away from prying eyes. That was one
trauma that she had not bottled up, they'd exorcized
it
together. So they would do with Pfaster. Mulder had
felt very close to Scully at that time, she had let
him in completely, no walls. He was yet to tell her
how much he was moved by the complete faith and trust
she
showed in him that day. In fact, as he was helping
her, she was helping him. A symbiosis that neither
knew
was taking place.

Mulder looked over and saw that Scully had her eyes
closed. The even cadence of her breathing telling him
that she was asleep. Not surprising really, she was
physically and emotionally drained. Taking a human
life, even that of a murdering son of a bitch like
Donnie Pfaster, was never easy. He knew, he'd taken
human life himself on more than one occassion.  Mulder
hoped that Morpheus was treating Scully well while she
was in his temporary care. But he knew that though she
may be asleep, she was most assuredly not resting.
Mulder was content to watch her sleep, happy to do so
even. Not for the first time was he struck by her
beauty. Mulder took every opportunity that he could to
watch Scully sleep. It was his guilty pleasure.

Mulder's attention was drawn to the front of the
building, the CSU cops were trooping out, loaded down
with their bags of tricks. A uniformed city cop
approached the Explorer. Mulder quietly got out and
intercepted him.

"They all finished?" he asked the cop.

"Yes sir. Det. Lange says to come on up and lock 'er
up, we're all done here."

"Good." Mulder replied.

"How's she doin' sir?, your partner I mean, Agent
Scully."

"She's going to be OK, she's just a little tired at
the moment," Mulder replied, grateful that the cop was
showing concern for a fellow LE officer.

"I'm glad to hear. She did a good job in there, that
fucking piece of shit Pfaster ain't gonna be killing
anyone else, that's for sure."

"True. Look, could you  do me a solid Officer..."
Mulder spied the nameplate on the cops shirt,
"Washington. Keep post out here 'til I get back, and
make sure no one disturbs Agent Scully?"

"No problem sir, take your time. My partner and I'll
make sure she stays safe and secure until you get
back."

Mulder nodded his gratitude, then went up to Scully's
apartment. Det. Lange was waiting.

"Agent Mulder? Where's Agent Scully, is she OK?"

"Yeah, she's asleep and I didn't want to wake her for
this."

"Understood. Well, I can tell you that this is
officially a done deal. It's a righteous shooting and
that's all she wrote on that."

"Thanks, I appreciate that. I'm sure Agent Scully will
as well."

"Hey. we're all family Agent Mulder. Family looks
after one another as far as I'm concerned. Look, I'm
not
technically supposed to do this, to endorse a private
business and all; but here's the name and number of
the best company in the county for cleaning up after
Crime Scenes." He handed Mulder a slip of paper. "Be
sure to mention that you're on the job, and that I
told them you were to get a 30% discount and the
quickest
possible service."

Mulder checked out the slip of paper.

"Yeah, they are pretty good. I've used them for my
place a time or two." Mulder dead panned.

This comment got a raised eyebrow from Det. Lange, but
no comment.

"Thanks again," Mulder said to the Det., "I'll just
make sure everything's secure here, then lock it up."

Mulder did a walk through of Scully's apartment,
taking note of just how damned messy a Crime Scene
Unit could be when they were working! Still, it was
the nature of the beast and couldn't be avoided. In
the bathroom, Mulder pulled the plug and let the bath
tub drain. He also collected up all of the candles
Pfaster had set up for his macabre tableau, and tossed
them in a bag.  Seeing that all was secure, he locked
up her apartment and returned to the Explorer,
stopping along the way to dump the bag of candles in
the building's dumpster. He said goodbye to Det.
Lange, and they exchanged business cards. He was happy
to see that, good as his word, Officer Washington and
his partner were keeping a weather eye on Scully...and
that she was still fast asleep. He thanked the two
uniformed cops for their courtesy, and got back into
the Explorer.

He gently nudged Scully;s shoulder, and she was
instantly alert.

"Mulder. I fell asleep, sorry."

"Don't be Scully. You OK to drive? You can follow me
back to my place, that way we don't have to come
back later and get my car."

"I'm going to your place Mulder?"

"Yes Scully, you are. Please don't argue with me on
this one."

She forced a smile. "I'm fine Mulder, and OK, your
place it is, no arguments. If I beat you there I'll
let
myself in."

"Thanks Scully, I'll meet you there."

Mulder's Apartment
One hour later

Scully had settled her things into Mulder's now usable
bedroom, and her toiletries, what of them she had,
were squirreled away in Mulder's bathroom. Mulder was
out on an emergency grocery run, as it had been
decided that she couldn't live on 2 year out of date
Tropicana orange juice, even if it did have extra
pulp,
and sunflower seeds.

Scully decided that she needed a bath, she needed to
feel clean...and to know that Pfaster would not be
allowed to rob her of one of the few genuine pleasures
she had in life. She was surprised to find that Mulder
had a supply of her favorite bath oils and soaps, even
shampoo, on hand. She also noticed that they had
never been used, so he didn't buy them for Diana;
they'd been bought with her in mind. Scully was
touched
by this. For the first time all day, a genuine smile
crossed Scully's lips. Fleeting, but a real smile
nonetheless! She ran the bath, made sure that the
apartment was secure, and that her Glock was within
easy reach. She then left a note for Mulder telling
him that if he needed to use the bathroom, he'd better
find an empty bottle or an understanding neighbor. All
this done, she sank thankfully into the warm caress of
the bath.

She was startled only once, when she heard the
apartment door open, and she instinctively reached for
her Glock. But then she heard Mulder cursing, and the
sound of falling groceries. She smiled, and relaxed
once again, listening with rising mirth as Mulder
picked up what he had dropped, and stumbled off to the
kitchen, muttering to himself the whole time.

A short while later, there was a light rap on the
bathroom door, and Mulder softly calling.

"Hey Scully, you OK in there?"

Scully smiled again. He was trying, and she'd be
eternally grateful for that.

"Yeah, I'm fin...I'm OK Mulder, just relaxing."

"Are you hungry, could you eat something?"

"Umm, actually I am kind of hungry, yes. What are you
making?"

"It's a surprise Scully. It'll take about an hour, is
that enough time for ya?"

"Yes. And Mulder..."

"Hmmm?"

"Thanks!"

"No problem Scully, you just relax and leave the
cooking to me! The master will not disappoint!"

Scully gave a good natured groan and returned to her
bath.

Supper would be a surprise, Mulder was sure of that.
He'd called Mrs. Scully and gotten the recipe for
Dana's favorite comfort food. He'd also filled Mrs.
Scully in on the salient details of the day's events.
Dana had called her, of course; but the call had been
rushed. Mulder assured Maggie that Dana was physically
fine, and that he was going to do his damndest to see
that she was emotionally fine as well. Maggie had
felt better on hearing that from Fox, and that Dana
was going to stay with Fox for awhile. She was aware
of
the fact that Fox could relate to what Dana had gone
through, far better than she ever could.

Title:          After Pfaster (2 of 2)
Author:         Gaijin Bushido

Next, Mulder had been a good boy, (well, he really had
NO choice in this regard, and called Skinner. He
advised Skinner of what was going on, where Scully
could be reached, etc. Not surprisingly, Skinner was
aware of the incident with Pfaster; he (Skinner) was
their boss and as such the local PD and Bureau Field
Office had given him a 'heads up' on the situation;
his
Agents being involved in a shooting and all that. As
is Bureau policy, Skinner advised Mulder that he,
(Mulder) and Scully both had seven days off with pay
for 'Critical Incident Stress.' He also instructed
Mulder to call his, (Skinner's) office in two days to
get the appointment information for Mulder and
Scully's respective sessions with the psychologist.
Whether they
liked it or not, the FBI was like all other major Law
Enforcements Agencies these days. Any member involved
in a fatal incident MUST go through a 'Critical
Incident Stress Debriefing.' There are no exceptions
ever made to that rule. Even Mulder couldn't
circumvent that one.

Mulder set about the task of cooking supper, as a
bachelor of long standing he was actually quite adept
in the kitchen. He soon had everything going nicely.
Mrs. Scully called while he was cooking, she talked
him through a bit of it, and was checking up on Dana.
Told that Dana was having a bath, Maggie said that
she'd hold off calling again until tomorrow. Mulder
suggested that he and Dana drive out to see Maggie the
tomorrow. This sat very well with Maggie, who promised
Fox a dinner he would not soon forget. Mulder knew
that he would have to follow through on this one!

"Scully! Supper's gonna be ready in ten minutes, you
almost done?" 

"Sure thing Mulder, no problem."

"Need any help drying off Scully?" 

"You wish Mulder!"

"Hey! Scully?"

"Yeah Mulder?"

"What are you wearing?!" 

Scully's laughter could be heard through the door.

"That's ten minutes Scully, hustle up or no dessert!" 

"Yes Sir!!!"

15 Minutes Later
Kitchen
La Maison de Mulder

Scully entered the kitchen, she was wearing a pair of
sweatpants, a sweat shirt 3 sizes too big for her,
(Mulder recognized it as one of his) and a pair of
socks. Her hair was up.

"Scully, only you could make that outfit look so
good!"

Scully blushed. "Thanks Mulder. Something smells
great! Are you sure YOU cooked, or did you have an
expert EBE chef in here to do it?"

"You wound me Miss Scully, now sit down and prepare to
be dazzled."

"Dazzled, huh?" Scully smirked at Mulder, and sat
down. Her meal was served to her with a flourish.

"Mulder! How did you know?!" Scully asked as Mulder
sat the food down in front of her.

"A little bird whispered it in my ear Scully, what do
ya think? C'mon, I'm an investigator so I
investigated."

"Uh huh, OK Mulder...did you thank my mom for the
recipe?"

"Sure did Scully, now dig in."

They ate their supper in companionable silence, Mulder
had been deliberately keeping the conversation light.
He would not push matters, rather, he'd let her talk
it out when she was ready to. Scully was aware of this
tactic, appreciated it, and was preparing herself.
She was not one who showed her weaknesses to others,
although in this particular case she knew it was not a
weakness, per se, to need to talk about what had
happened to her. Nor to feel the need to do so...or to
be held and comforted, by the one man she truly loved
and trusted. Truth to be told, Pfaster had scared the
shit out of her.

Supper over, Mulder insisted that the dishes could
wait, perhaps for months he said; so they both headed
for the living room. Scully sat on the couch, legs
drawn up beneath her, arms folded across her chest.

"Would you just prefer a neon sign that says 'Leave me
alone,' Scully? Your body language is pretty clear."

"Mulder..."

"Sorry Scully, that was uncalled for..."

"STOP MULDER! Just stop, please." Scully uncurled
herself and stood up. "You're right Mulder, I need to
talk about this, and I can...will, only do so with
you. Please sit down Mulder, I'm going to need to pace
while I'm doing this."

Mulder nodded his understanding, staying silent as he
took a seat on the couch.

Scully recounted all that happened prior to Mulder's
arrival. Including how she felt as events were
transpiring. How her terror was quickly replaced by an
all consuming fury at Pfaster for invading her space;
only to revert back to terror. Then of her
determination to recover her weapon and actively
defend herself. How she did so, knowing that as
Pfaster was a fetishist, he would not come for her
until everything was 'just so.' Then hearing Mulder
enter, his
questioning of Pfaster, and her entering the living
room to find them both there.

Then the compulsion to fire! The feeling of complete
detachment as she squeezed the trigger of the
Sig...how she was not in control, and how that rattled
her more than Pfaster's actions.

That's when Mulder noticed the wall start to come
down, he saw a slight trembling in her and a single
tear forming in her right eye. Mulder did not get up,
he'd give her an option, allow her to retain control.
He held his arms out to her.

Scully went to Mulder immediately, and allowed him to
enfold her in his arms. She curled up in his lap...and
the flood gates opened in earnest. Mulder held her as
she cried, letting her get it out of her system. She
cried for about 30 minutes, until she was cried out,
and exhausted.

"I'm sorr..."

"No Scully," Mulder said quickly but kindly, "please
don't apologize for letting me in."

"OK, I won't apologize. But I will say thank you
Mulder, thank you for so much." She looked up at him,
a brave little smile curling her lips. "And I mean it
Mulder, thank you."

She reached up and stroked Mulder's cheek, an errant
tear escaping from his eye as well; she kissed it
away, then gave him a soft kiss on the lips.
Remebering Mulder's New year's Eve  quip when he
kissed her in the hospital waiting room after Frank
Black left, she said.

"See Mulder, the world didn't end."

Now it was Mulder's turn to smile.

"No Scully, it sure didn't."

The End, Finito, that's all folks!

If you enjoyed it...good. If not, oh well, shit
happens.