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Archive Note:  Charleyne Hall has a new email address:  lazydark@aol.com
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From: lazydark@aol.com (Drakkar)
Subject: New: Another by Charleyne Hall
Date: Mon, 28 Aug 95 21:03:43 GMT

*Authors note:  Ladies and gents, this is a mild romance.  Not
the usual sexual shit that is found.  It explores the possibility
of a M/S romance.  Now, I'm not cutting down the authors of
the other stuff, it's just not my thing. :)  Well, here we go.
Hope you like it.

Charleyne Hall

P.S. I hope this format is a little easier to read for
some, I got a helpful tip from a reader of my
other work.
***

     Fox Mulder stood behind his partner, staring at the
computer screen before them.  She was writing one of her
usual reports and his name popped up more often than not, as
her fingers flew over the keys with amazing agility.  He
smiled, closing his eyes because they hurt from the glare of
the screen.  He breathed out a sigh,opening his eyes as she
typed the closing line.

     'In my opinion this case is open and shut.'  it read.

     'Scully, that's a bad way to end it.'  he said, a grin
slinking across his mouth.  She snapped the desktop computer
shut.
     'Why Mulder, because you can't handle the fact that it
wasn't a true X-File?'  she asked, turning in the chair so that
she could look up at him from under her glasses.
     'No, that's not it at all...'  he began, but it was
hopeless cause.  Until now she hadn't said 'I told you so.'
but the look on her face said that it was coming.  He was
relieved that she didn't say it.
     'Well, Mulder.  I'm famished, I'm going home then
I'm going to have a good home cooked meal.'  she said,
pushing back the chair and causing him to move away.
     'Okay, I'll stay here and tie up the remaining loose
ends from the case.  Have good meal, Scully.'  he said,
moving back when she pulled her coat off the back of the
chair.  She removed her glasses, slipping them into a case and
smiled at him, her blue eyes flashing.  He couldn't help but
notice once again how beautiful she was.
     'I will, Mulder.'  she replied and headed for the door.
She slipped the coat over her shoulders and flipped her auburn
hair from under the collar.  When she reached the door, she
glanced back at him a look of worry on her face.  He
pretended not to notice and felt sorry when she slipped from
the office.

     Dana Scully walked down the corridor of the office
building, feeling progressively worse the further she got from
his office.  She could still see his burning hazel eyes in her
mind.  I should have invited him home with me for dinner,
she thought sadly.  She knew that he'd just go home to his
empty appartment, crack open a beer and watch some terrible
movie on television.  Mulder, as far as she knew, had no life.
She stopped walking and gritted her teeth together.  It wasn't
too late to go back and ask him, she thought as she turned
around and walked just as calmly back.

     'Mulder?'  the voice was weary.
     'Hmmm?'  he said, not even glancing at the face that
had once again poked around the door.  He marked a few
more things on the file before him, then slammed it shut.
     'Do you want to come to my place for dinner?'  she
asked, slipping once again into the office.  This time he
looked up.  She stood, leaning against the door jamb,
frowning slightly.
     'No, Scully, not this time.  Thanks for asking.'  he
said, thinking that she probably just felt sorry for him.
     'Mulder, please. I would really enjoy your company.  I
mean, I was just going to eat alone anyway.'  she tossed him
a glance.
     'Really, I appreciate your offer but I have a lot to sort
out here...'  he began.
     'But you wouldn't turn me down because you know
that I'd sit there kicking myself for not making you come.
Get your coat Mulder, I'm finished asking, now I'm
demanding.'  she said, a sly grin crossing her face.
     'Alright, but I'm not much company.'  he said and
stood up.

     Scully looked at him as he stretched his muscles.  His
dress shirt was slightly ruffled and his tie hung loosely around
his neck.  He looked like a little boy who'd dressed up in his
fathers suit but had no idea how to act in it.  She glanced at
her watch, noting that it was almost six in the evening.  Her
stomach rumbled and she willed him to hurry up.  She hoped
she hadn't made a mistake by forcing him to come with her.
As she looked at his tired face, she knew instantly that she had
not.  The hazel eyes were lit up happily, despite how he tried
to hide it.  She snapped her fingers together, trying to make
him hurry up.  She really was hungry and it would still be a
while before she had dinner made.
     'Patience is a virtue, Scully.'  he said, throwing her a
look of mock disgust.
     'Speed is a vitrue too, Mulder.'  she shot back.  They
both laughed and Mulder grabbed his coat from the hook on
the wall.  On his way out, he flicked the lights off and locked
the door.
     'Scully, thanks.'  he said as they made their way down
the hall.
     'Mulder, you are damned lucky I turned back,
otherwise you'd probably go home and just watch TV.'  she
said, punching him lightly on the shoulder.
     'You know, you're probably right, but I appreciate it
anyway.  Maybe I'll even cook for you.'  he said.
     'Yeah, right.  Don't scare me, Mulder.'

-----

     Mulder did indeed hold to his word, though.  He
wandered around her kitchen, learning where everything was
and made her go into the den to relax while he cooked up an
excellent smelling dish.  She read over one of her medical
journals while the excellent smells assaulted her, making her
stomach rumble even more.  After an hour, Mulder appeared
wearing her oven mitts and a corny smile.  She eyed him and
cracked a smile of her own.  He still looked like a little boy
that had dressed up, but now he just looked cute.
     'Ready?'  he asked.
     'Mulder, I'm not so sure I want to eat something
you've cooked.'  she replied, getting up from the sofa where
she had curled up, holding the medical journal.  He walked
over, put his mitted hands on her shoulders and said,
     'Don't insult me, Scully.  I promise you I can cook
better than I can clean.'  he said, eyes beaming like a child
that had just accomplished a major feat.
     'Alright, I'm prepared to suffer for my actions.'  she
said and followed him into the hallway which connected the
kitchen, den and dining room.   She walked behind him into
her own dining room and was agast at the sight.  Mulder had
set the table for two with some of her better dishes (he
must've looked a little harder than she'd thought), there was a
hot plate in the center of it.  Some of the candles that she kept
in a hope chest just outside the kitchen in the hallway were on
the table beside the hotplate.  If the situation had been any
differant, she'd have thought it romantic.  Instead, she thought
it was cute. She had no idea that Mulder had any table
manners at all but as she looked at the settings, she noticed
that the table was set according to the traditional way her
grandmother had taught her.  Spoon to the right of the knife at
the right side of the plate and fork on the left.  There were
wine glasses out too.  Scully gasped and turned to Mulder.
     'Mulder, I'm impressed.'  she said.
     'My grandmother taught me how to set a table, years
ago.' he said, as though he'd read her mind.
     'I know, that was unfair of me to think you had no
inbred social behaviors.'
     'You didn't think I had proper table manners?'  he
asked and Scully realized she said something she hadn't meant
to.
     'I'm really sorry, Mulder.'  she said as she caught the
hurt in his eyes, before he masked it.
     'No matter, I will disprove that when you taste what
I've cooked for you.'  he said seeming to gain his happy
attitude back.  She still felt like an idiot though.  She moved
around to the other side of the table and Mulder followed her.
In a gesture of his gentlemanly attitude tonight, he rushed
forward and pulled out the seat for her.  Scully felt silly.
Why was Mulder acting like this.  Maybe aliens had taken
him away and replaced him with a clone.  Scully bit her lip to
surpress a smile at that thought.  It didn't matter, she decided,
she enjoyed this strange behavior, sure it was something that
did not happen often.  She still felt little threads of discomfort
about the situation, but they were pushed away when she
realized that she liked being fawned over by her partner.  He
was sometimes so...
     The thought line was lost when Mulder returned, she
hadn't even known he'd left the room, carrying a platter of
food covered in a white sauce.  Her mouth fell open as the
aroma crept around the room.  He set down the platter and sat
down at his spot.
     'Voila.'  he said, leaning forward and staring into her
eyes intensly.  He was trying to catch her reaction.
     'Smell's good.'  she said, struggling not to let her
surprise show in her face while she was under his scrutiny.
'What's it called?'
     'Pasta a la Mulder.'  he replied, settling back into his
chair and glancing around the room.

     Mulder was hurt by her comment but let it slide.  He
would indeed show her and she would not be able to hide her
reaction to the taste of the food.  He knew that she liked pasta
and he knew too that this was a good recipe.  He dished out a
plate for her, then a plate for himself but he did not eat a bite
until she had taken the first.  He watched as she thoughtfully
put a forkfull in her mouth.  He watched as her eyes lit up
and she nodded to him.
     'Mmm.  Good.'  she said, her mouth still full.
     'Ha, I knew you'd like it.'  he said, putting some of
the pasta into his own mouth.
     'Mulder, I don't know what to say.  I'm just glad I
invited you back.  I was just going to have...'  her voice
trailed off as she glanced at the look on his face.  'What?'
she asked.
     'Nothing.' he said, letting his gaze drift elsewhere.  He
didn't know why he'd been staring at her so intensly.
Actually, that was a lie.  He'd been looking at her on a new
angle and it scared him, somewhat.  Thoughts of a very black
passion crept into his head and he closed his eyes, trembling
as he pushed them away.  His fist tightened around the fork he
still held in his hand and his lips tightened into a thin line.
     'Mulder?'  she questioned.  Oh, don't talk Scully.
That's not helping, he thought.  Why was he having such a
provblem pushing away his emotions.  The air in the room
was the problem, it held scents of her and he just couldn't
escape.  Maybe he'd just let his emotions play out.  'Mulder,
what's wrong?'  she asked, concern creeping into her voice.
He opened his eyes and relaxed.  He smiled at her.
     'Just enjoying the flavor.'  he said, but knew that she
didn't believe him.  She said nothing, the look of concern
dropping from her face almost as fast as it had appeared.  She
was smiling again.  That smile...
     'Scully...'  he said and she looked up, catching the
tone in his voice.
     'Yeah?'  she answered nonchalantly.
     'Uhm.  Never mind.'  he said.  He looked away, a
very deep red blush coming to his cheeks.

     Dana Scully looked at his red face and knew what he
was going to say.  She wasn't glad that he hadn't said it, but
she was impressed that he'd held back.  Sometimes she felt
something for Mulder that she never knew was there.  It was
hard to explain, even to herself.  She glanced at his boyish
face and smiled, knowingly.  He'd had some of the same
feelings she had.
     Sometimes she just wanted to forget that Mulder was
her best friend.  She wanted to put her hands into his dark
brown hair and feel the softness of it.  Sometimes she just
wanted to reach out and touch him.  Of course it never
happened, she was professional woman that could keep her
emotions in check.  Or so she'd thought until tonight.
     One thing she knew for sure was that she was
unwilling to give up Mulders friendship for something that
would inevitably end badly.  Restraint was the key and it was
still in her reach.  She swallowed the pasta that she'd put in
her mouth and looked away from him.   His cheeks gradually
returned to their normal colour and his face looked a little less
tortured.  She was glad.

-----

     Scully laughed at Mulder's joke.  The rest of the
dinner had gone quite well, after they both realized that
neither was willing to change what they had.  They had joked
with each other and playfully threw insults.  She commented
again on his dinner and was glad that he'd never brought out
the wine.

     She smiled at him again as he picked up his coat and
headed for the door.  She followed him down the hall and
waited by the door as he slipped into his shoes and tossed his
coat over his arm.  He turned to her a wide grin on his face.
     'Thanks, Scully.'  he said, pushing a hand through his
hair.
     'Hey, thank you, Mulder.  I mean, I would have had a
very very boring dinner without you!'  she said and put a hand
on his shoulder.  'We'll have to do this again sometime.'  she
said and let her hand drop to her side.  He shrugged and
smiled.
     'Yeah, next time at my place.'  he said.  She smiled
and opened the door for him.  He glanced at her and stepped
out, then suddenly he turned.  She stood above him, his feet
on the top step of the porch.  He gazed into her eyes and
quickly planted a kiss on her cheek.
     'For what will never be, Dana.' he said and was gone
before she could say a word.  She closed the door and leaned
against it, her hand on the cheek he'd kissed.
     'For what will never be, Fox.' she said, collecting her
wits and wandering into the den to finish reading the medical
journal.

***

The End

Well, there it is!  I hope you liked it.  A quick one indeed,
inspired by something I know will never happen.

Thanks go to my younger sister, Katy, she laughed at me
when I asked how you properly set a table and chanted:  'This
is how we set the table, set the table, set the table...'  drawing
a little diagram in the air for me.

Comments are welcomed!  lazydark@aol.com




Some things cannot be explained.
Most things need to be explained.
The truth is out there, that's why Chris Carter created
Fox Mulder.

The truth is out there but so are the lies, that's why Carter
created Dana Scully.


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