From: "TANYA PARTRIDGE" Date: Mon, 7 May 2001 13:32:28 +0100 Subject: Alien Encounters, by Natalya Fox Source: direct Title - Alien Encounter Author - Natalya Fox E-Mail address - coleen_all_things@hotmail.com Rating - not needed Category - S, R Spoilers - none Keywords - The Mulder/Scully Relationship Summary - Mulder and Scully meet in a situation even stranger to them than many of their cases. Alien Encounters For the 25th time that evening, Fox Mulder wondered what in the world he was doing. He had swapped his basement for a bar, his computer for champagne, and a gorgeous redhead for a stunning California-blonde named Mandy. In fact, he was seriously beginning to wonder if he had maybe had a personality transplant somewhere between breakfast and his 11 o clock coffee break, because Fox Mulder the paranoid loner had somehow transformed into Fox Mulder the romantic! At least, that was the theory. This new concept he had discovered, that of social acceptability, was far further from his comprehension than anything he had experienced during his work on the X Files. In fact, he decided, his reason for being at the candle-lit restaurant table was probably more due to a momentary lapse in his sanity than a transformation in his personality. Because the somewhat uncomfortable reality of the situation was that he was not enjoying himself one bit. His beautiful high school sweetheart, the wonderful food, and the flickering candle light, turned him off as rapidly as the sun shining on a carton of milk left out of the refrigerator. Sitting making a paper swan out of his napkin, whilst throwing non-committal grunts in the vague direction of Mandy's voice, Mulder allowed his thoughts to wander. He had no idea what she was wittering on about anyway, since her five minutes of mindless weather-related comments had been all his patience could take. He was not a big fan of small talk. He and Scully never even let it grace their vocal chords, yet they still managed to spend hours together without a second of awkward silence. Contented and concentrating pauses in the conversation were a regular occurrence, but he could not recall a time when he had ever felt the need to break them. As much as Scully insisted on disagreeing with his every word, they had developed a mutual respect and understanding that ran deeper than any outsider could ever comprehend. She had even begun to take his outlandish theories slightly more seriously than she had in the past, although he knew she would never admit it herself. Mandy squealed with laughter at yet another of her brainless comments, and Mulder, to his own amazement, found himself producing a smile and laugh even more superficial than her own. He was startled, and ashamed, at how easily it came to him, for he was not usually the sort of person to maintain a false exterior. Mandy however, was false from top to toe. Mulder gazed into her eyes, searching for just a glimpse of her character or inner being, but all he saw was a circle of bright blue. They were a pretty colour, but colour was all they had to them. There was no life there, no soul. Scully's blue eyes were never as cold as this. Scully's eyes conveyed to him everything inside of her head that could not be put into words, and more besides. In them was reflected every inch of her soul. One brief glance and he knew exactly what she was feeling, and when their eyes met for longer he felt as if nothing in the world mattered more to him than her. It was true, nothing did. Fox Mulder made a sudden comeback from the depths of Scully's eyes to the restaurant, as Mandy excused herself to "go freshen up", and waddled towards the bathroom, doing her best to draw the attention of every male in the vicinity to her backside. Absently prodding a piece of meat with his fork, Mulder pictured her fidgeting around in front of the mirror. When she returned her hair would be brushed so that it shone, every hair perfectly in place. It had probably been brushed so much it was on the verge of falling out. Mulder grinned at the strange mental picture! Where would she be without her hair, and the rest of her pristine, well-manicured outer shell? Without her make-up, would she even be a person? He doubted it very much. Not that there was anything wrong with a good appearance. He had always adored Scully's fiery red hair, but on her it was more than a decoration, it was a part of her character. She didn't need make-up to be the most beautiful women he had ever seen. He often teased Scully about the way she was so easily aggravated, but in all honesty he had always been mesmerised by the intensity that burned inside her when she was truly set in her beliefs. Mulder looked at his watch. Mandy had been in the bathroom for over half an hour. He glanced around the restaurant, only to see a young waiter strolling towards him with a smug grin on his face. "The blonde asked me to pass on her apologies, sir," said the waiter, with a distinct hint of relish in his voice. He leaned in close. "But check out the drop dead red at the bar...her date just left!" The waiter winked at Mulder, then glided away with an armful of dishes. Not wishing to appear too obvious, Mulder casually glanced over in the vague direction of the bar, only to be faced with an uncomfortable gaze perfectly matching his own. Perching awkwardly on a bar stool, looking amazing, but distinctly out of place, was Dana Scully. They exchanged brief, embarrassed smiles, then stared at their drinks, each struggling to get used to the idea of the other talking part in any kind of social activity. After a brief period of discomfort, Scully stood up and waited to pay her bill. Mulder made his way over to the bar and did the same. Within minutes they had both paid, and walked out of the restaurant. But apart from a brief, tender brushing of hands in the doorway, to onlookers they seemed not to even acknowledge each other's existence. Outside in the parking lot, Mulder turned and looked into those eyes that had distracted him in the restaurant. They gazed back at him, accompanied by a tiny smile and a squeeze of the hand. Mulder spoke first. "Goodnight, Scully," he said gently, with a smile filled with tenderness and love. "Goodnight, Mulder," said an equally tender voice. Fox Mulder strolled to his car, and within seconds he had screeched out of the parking lot and away down the street. He wondered if Scully had noticed him there before he had seen her. Had she been observing the entirety of his disastrous date, and did she realise that she was the reason he would never be able to give his full concentration to any woman. He certainly had no plans to mention the evening's events when he saw her in the basement of the FBI building the next morning, and he felt it was unlikely that she would. They had already discussed it in the parking lot, when his eyes met with hers. That was all the time they had needed to say what they wanted to say.