Date sent: Tue, 05 Aug 1997 12:30:04 -0700 From: apatrick@ps.usf.edu (Angie Patrick) Subject: Story: "Car Trouble" Hi all! I've been reading a lot of very good fanfic for the past few months and I felt inspired to submit one of my own stories to the archive ... that is, if the archive will have it! This is my first submission, so if anyone actually reads this and likes it, let me know. With that said, the characters of Dana Scully, Fox Mulder and Walter Skinner are property of the Fox Network, 1013 Productions and Chris Carter. I'd also like to believe they belong to Gillian Anderson, David Duchovny and Mitch Pillegi, some of the finest actors I have ever watched on a television series. Thank you for making these people seem so real. Now for the warnings/ratings, etc. Title: Car Trouble Author: Angie Patrick Rating: PG-13 for some mild language and some very minor sexual content. Classification: S,H,R Spoilers: None. Keywords: Summary: Nothing seems to be going right for Dana Scully one fine morning, and just when she thought things couldn't get any stranger ... Dedication: As I said this is my first attempt to post anything, so since this is a little special for me, I'd just like to dedicate this story to some of my favorite X-File writers ... Paula Graves, Leyla Harrison, Sheryl Martin, Juliettt and Lydia Bower ... I hope that maybe one of these days, my stuff will equal yours. You all are my inspiration to keep trying to write interesting fiction. And now, on with the "show." Any comments, suggestions, etc. will be gratefully accepted at apatrick@ps.usf.edu. Archivists: Please post/archive wherever you see fit. Just keep my name and email attached. Thanks! ******************************** "Car Trouble" By: Angie Patrick apatrick@ps.usf.edu ******************************** I knew today was going to be interesting when I nearly fell on the landing outside my apartment. I was already running late for work -- a first -- and I was rushing. I forgot that the landing had developed a small crack in it, and as luck or fate would have it, I stepped squarely in it. My ankle attempted to twist under me and I faltered forward, catching myself before I fell over. Luckily, I didn't break my ankle. I recovered from the surprise and made my way to the car, cell phone in hand to call Mulder and let him know I was going to be a few minutes late. Just as I reached the car, a neighborhood dog came out of nowhere and nearly mowed me down, so of course, I jumped back to avoid it. Unfortunately, I landed straight in a mud puddle. So much for my new heels. And I really liked these shoes! So anyway, I was so irritated at that point, I just heaved my stuff into the car and decided to wait to call Mulder. I got in, pulled on my seatbelt and fired up the engine. I was finally on my way and I sighed with relief that nothing else had gone wrong. Five minutes into my drive I was finally relaxing a little. I decided to call Mulder while I waited at a light to let him know I was running late. The phone rang twice, then he picked up. "Mulder." "Mulder, it's me." "Hey Scully. Everything okay?" I was tempted to tell him about the dog, the crack, the heels and the mud puddle, but I just couldn't bring myself to say it. Instead, I gave him my usual. I think of it as my Scully Special Encoded Message. It's the one that he's supposed to decipher based on the way I say it. "I'm fine," I said with a huge sigh, starting out again as the light changed to green. I made my way up the ramp to the highway and merged into traffic with no problems. Thank god for that. "So ... why are you calling me? Aren't you supposed to be here in 5 minutes?" "Oh ... yeah ... I'm running a little late. I'm about 15 minutes away, Mulder. Sorry." "That's okay, Scully. Problem this morning?" Obviously, the secret encoded message hadn't gotten through to him. Damn. I was going to have to tell him. "Umm ... just a few things--" I was cut off by a violent jerk of the car to the right and a lot of noise and vibrations coming from the left side of the vehicle. I dropped the phone in my lap and pulled the car under control and off the side of the highway. "Oh great!" I suddenly remembered I had been talking to Mulder. By now he was probably frantic at all the commotion he had probably just heard over the cell phone. Either that, or he was wondering what the grumbling sound was he was hearing ... my stomach was growling pretty loud from the lack of breakfast that morning. Of course, my head was aching from the lack of coffee, too. So I snatched up the phone just in time to hear him yelling my name. Great. Thanks. "Scully! Are you okay?" "Mulder, stop yelling. I'm *fine*." Figure that one out, Mulder. "Sorry. What happened?" "Well ... " I got out of the car to survey the damage. It was as I suspected. A flat tire. Damn. And no coffee shop or cheesy restaurant in site. I rubbed my temple with my free hand. "Scully, you still there?" he asked, the panic returning to his voice. "Sorry, Mulder. Umm ... yeah ... I have a flat tire. Guess I'm going to be just a little bit more late." I rolled my eyes as I looked at the remains of my tire. Oh, shit. When was the last time I had to change a tire? Oh, christ. This is all I need! "Scully, do you need any help?" he ventured. I could see him sitting at his desk, that smartass grin plastered on his face. Time to rescue Dr. Scully ... again. If I didn't get some coffee soon I was going to kill someone, which, with the Smith pressing into my lower back wouldn't be a far cry from a possible reality. "Mulder ... " I lost the heart for the retort I had thought of and gave in. "Mulder, I'd love some help." "Okay ... tell me where you are and I'll be there soon," he replied. I could still see the grin. I rolled my eyes again, but this time I smiled despite the situation. I gave him my location. "Sit tight, I'll be there in a flash." "Mulder," I said to try and catch him before he hung up. "Yeah." "Could you please bring me some coffee?" I was beyond caring what kind of joke this would bring out. I needed caffeine in my system fast or there was going to be a shooting on the highway. "Sure thing, G-woman, sure thing." With that he hung up. About 15 minutes later he pulled up behind me in the Muldermobile. That's the Taurus we never seem to get enough of in our travels to cases. Maybe the Taurus would get a flat tire one day and we could just go crazy and shoot holes in it so that we could get it turned into scrap metal. God, how I hated that thing. How do we always end up with it? "Here's your coffee, Agent Scully," he said, grinning and offering me the steaming cup of salvation. I was fit to be tied at this point. It could have been hot, black sewer water with caffeine additive for all I cared. All I wanted was the damn drug in my system. Quickly. I contemplated chugging it for greatest effect, but that didn't seem like a very ladylike thing to do. So I sipped it as best I could. Of course, it was boiling hot and I damn near burned the hell out of my mouth, but, hey, when you need your fix, you need it. To hell with the consequences. After all, I couldn't be out there putting myself on the line for Mulder without an adequate amount of caffeine in my system, now, could I? So I stood there sipping my caffeine cocktail, watching Mulder wrestle with the spare, admiring the lean muscles of his back that I could see even through his jacket. "Need any help?" I offered, hoping he'd say "no." Of course, he didn't. "Yeah, sure ... can you just help me get this jack in the right place, Scully?" he asked innocently but for the silly lopsided grin plastered on his face. I almost cracked up laughing at the look he was giving me and the whole absurdity of the situation, but instead, I agreed to help. Dumb me. For a doctor, I sure can be stupid sometimes. Tire changing. *Not* my thing. "Okay. What do you want me to do?" I asked in my typical no-nonsense Scully voice. It's the one I use when I don't want to show I'm afraid or irritated or plain old not interested in whatever the hell is going on around me. Hey ... I need down time, too! So anyway, I ended up getting down on my hands and knees, trying to position this jack in the right place so we can get the tire off the vehicle, and as luck would have it, a rig drove by and splashed me with water from the rain that had fallen earlier this morning. "Shit!" Poor Mulder nearly fell over when he heard me cuss. I tend to avoid cussing around him. After all, I wasn't raised in a barn and I don't want him to know that I *can* cuss like a sailor when I want to. But mud on my favorite suit needed something stronger than "darn." "Scully, I'm so sorry. Why don't you just let me handle this. I shouldn't have made you do that." He was trying very hard not to laugh or grin. I could tell by the sparkle in his eyes. I was feeling dangerously close to unholstering the Smith. Then I remembered it was only a suit and it would probably come out just fine. But the suggestion in the air was another matter ... "Hey! You didn't *make* me do anything Mulder. I asked you if you wanted my help. It's just dirt and water. It'll come out." I glared at him for greater effect. I even gave him the eyebrow. He seems to have figured that one out. The don't-push-me eyebrow. He backed up a step and tripped over the spare, landing on the pavement with a thud. Of course, I instantly felt guilty for what had happened, so I went to him and made sure he was all right. "You okay?" I asked, trying not to grin. I really was worried. I was only close to grinning because it all had suddenly struck me as amusing. Him getting hurt was not funny. Call it inappropriate emotional response syndrome. I managed to keep the grin under wraps. He rubbed the back of his head and winced. "Oooo Scully, you sure do know how to keep a man off-balance," he said softly as he scrambled to his feet. His suit had suddenly become dirtier than mine. Then his eyes met mine and there was just no more holding back. We both cracked up laughing. "Has your whole morning been like this?" he asked, tears from laughing so hard streaming down his face. I rubbed my eyes and tried to get myself back under control to answer him coherently. "Yes," I finally squeaked out between new fits of laughter. He walked the three feet of distance between us and stood in front of me. Then he reached out and wrapped his strong hands around my arms and rubbed them. He was smiling and looking into me. The way he does whenever we're standing this close. I smiled back and suddenly I felt the heat rising into my face and my body began to feel liquid and warm. Uh-oh. I looked down unable to handle another second of his intense gaze. I felt his hand under my chin and as he brought my uncertain eyes back to look into his steady gaze, I lost my inhibitions. I felt myself lean into him and watched as he bent over me, claiming my lips with his. His mouth demanded attention. He kissed me hard and pulled me against him. I was shocked but not surprised. Shocked that he had picked *now* but not surprised that this is what it would feel like to kiss Fox Mulder. Oh god ... I was melting. I wondered whether we'd be missed if we just didn't show up at the Bureau ... He must have felt what I was thinking and he pulled away, watching me for a sign of ... ? Anger? "Scully, I ..." he looked at me with all the apprehension of a baby bird pondering it's first flight. I didn't seem to care what the consequences would be anymore. I was tired of denying myself. Denying him ... denying *us*. "Don't Mulder," I said, shaking my head and smiling. "Don't what?" he asked cautiously. I had clearly confused him. There's a first. Me confusing *him*. This was almost fun. "Mulder ... I hope you weren't going to apologize for that ..." I said carefully. "Well ... I ... no. I wasn't. I was going to ask you ..." his voice trailed off and he looked away for a moment. When he looked back into my eyes I knew the rest of the sentence. "I was going to ask you if I could do that again." I stepped forward and grabbed the lapels of his suit jacket, pulling him back down to me. Just then it started raining again. I broke the kiss and stepped back, looking up into the sky defiantly. "I don't believe it!" I yelled at the sky as the rain started to soak through my jacket and blouse. Then I looked back at Mulder who was staring at me, his eyes riveted on my now saturated blouse. Ivory. He could see right through it. I already knew what he was thinking because I was thinking the same thing. He leaned into me and whispered, "Let's get out of here." I nodded my assent and made tracks for his car. Work could wait. This was definitely an extreme possibility I wanted to explore. 11 a.m. Scully's Apartment We are laying in my bed giggling like teenagers. "Do you think he's going to hunt us down?" Mulder asks trying to control himself for a minute. "Nah. Why would he? As far as he knows we're just off investigating something somewhere. I doubt anyone even misses us." "Umm ... Scully ... we had a meeting this morning at 9 a.m. with Skinner, remember? I told him you had broken down on the highway and I was going to help you out." Oh shit. The meeting. I had totally forgotten. It was bad enough that we had missed, what 3 hours of work, doing ... mmmm ... I purred at the thought of it. Whatever. I'd think of something to tell him. "Hey, I have an idea," Mulder says, his naked body looking positively inviting in the light coming through the shades. I rest my head on his bare chest and listen to his heart beat for a moment, then look up at him. "What's your idea?" I ask him, grinning at him mischievously. Whatever it is I hope it involves him making me call his name about a hundred more times. "No ... Scully ... god ... you're insatiable! What've I gotten myself into, here?" He pulls me on top of him even as he rebukes me for my sudden "appetite." The grin on his face works against his words. I run my fingertips down his side and caress his upper thigh. He bites his lip in response and his eyes light up again. "Are you going to tell me your idea or do I have to *somehow* drag it out of you?" I ask him not really caring what the answer will be. I am determined to feel him inside me again. "Scully ..." he breathes in deeply and closes his eyes. Then he finds my hands on his body and stills them. "Scully ... call Skinner and tell him you're still having car trouble." "Me ... lie? Are you kidding, Mulder? I'm the world's most unbelievable liar." I am shocked at his suggestion, because he knows how bad a liar I really am. But then ... "Okay ... *I'll* call him ... but you have to promise to keep your hands *off* me when I do!" he grins at me as he says it and begins to pull me off him. I feign dissappointment as he breaks our skin-to-skin contact and he leans over me and kisses me. It is a slow, deliberate kiss. He knows how to get me going. I push him away slightly and smile at him. "Sure ... call ... tell him whatever you want Mulder," I say, knowing already what I intend to do. "The phone is right there." I point at the nightstand and try not to give myself away. I watch as he turns his back to me and picks up the phone, dials the number and starts talking. "Yeah, well, sir the car is having a major problem. It seems that when Agent Scully swerved off the road she bent the axle and ... well ... the shop hasn't determined the full extent of the damage ..." Just then I press my body against his back and my hands wrap around his chest, massaging him ... He nearly drops the phone. "Swerved?" I whisper innocently into his free ear. He turns his head to the right a little to try and fend me off. I smile slyly and catch his ear in my mouth. I feel the shiver run through him. He is nearly stammering on the phone with Skinner. "Hold on a second, sir, Agent Scully is trying to tell me something," he says coolly and then covers the speaker. He looks at me with his Mulder deathstare and his eyes narrow. "What are you trying to do here?" he whispers. "Giving you incentive to end this conversation," I reply, purring at him. He grins at me and shakes his head. Then he tries to push me away and resumes his conversation with Skinner. "Sorry, sir, ... yeah ... well ... if it's okay ... I'm not sure how much longer this is going to take, so why don't I just request the rest of the day off at this point so we can get this taken care of?" I narrow my eyes at him. What? I can't handle this on my own? Oh, ... yeah ... tell him anything ... that's what I told him before he called Skinner. I bite my lip. "Okay, sir ... sure, she's right here, hang on a second and I'll wrestle her from the mechanic ..." Mulder covers the speaker again, and grinning wildly, hands me the phone. I take it and remember that I am supposed to be stressed out over my car being shot to hell. "Yes, sir ... yes, I understand ... no, sir ... well ... I think that I should just go ahead and take the rest of the day off and get this problem resolved, sir ... if that's okay." I am trying not to moan into the phone as Mulder is now *licking* my back and rubbing my thighs while I talk. Oh god. He has moved to my neck and is kissing me ... behind the ear ... oh jesus. "Yes, sir ... okay, sir. Thank you for your understanding," I stammer out. "See you tomorrow." I replace the receiver quickly and turn on Mulder, pinning him to the bed awkwardly. "You little..." I catch myself before finishing. He is grinning at me again. "Car trouble. Isn't it great, Scully?" His eyes are positively shining. "Yeah. Now *show* me how great, Agent Mulder," I say as he skillfully flips me on my back. ------ end -------- That's it folks! Pretty silly, huh? It was just a little relief from some of the more serious stuff I've been attempting to write. Please write me and let me know what you think ... please ....