From: "Lacuesta" Date sent: Sat, 26 Jul 1997 20:25:58 +0000 Subject: "The Dating Game" - submission! From: P. Lacuesta (lacuesta@mnl.sequel.net) Date: July 14, 1997 - Monday Subject: NEW: "The Dating Game" (1/1) Title: "The Dating Game" Author: P. Lacuesta E-Mail: lacuesta@mnl.sequel.net Rating: G Category: SRH Spoilers: none Keywords: MSR. Summary: Scully and Mulder try to get a life... right in front of each other. DISCLAIMER(to the tune of "Jack and Jill"): Fox and Dana aren't mine, they belong to Chris Carter! And to Ten-Thirteen Productions and to Fox Television. Please don't sue me, anyone! Please don't sue me, anyone! Please don't sue me, anyone! I'm doing this just for fun! ...Okay, okay, so the wording's a little lousy. Hey, it's 10:40 pm, and what I *really* should be doing right now is cramming for my Social Studies Long Test tomorrow. I'm kind of harassed right now. Still, I'd much rather do this than read about ethnic tribes and their musical instruments of choice. This is my seventh fanfic piece, after "Mea Culpa". I told you I'd try to get out of the angst rut after that one. So here I am, with "The Dating Game", and hoping very devoutly that you all like it. If you do (and even if you don't) - here's the begging part - please send feedback!!! PLEASE SEND FEEDBACK!!! (Just to drive the point home, you know. One more time....) *PLEASE SEND FEEDBACK!!!* I LIVE on feedback. More'n that, I answer 'em. It's always nice to come home to some fun mail, don't you think? Meet new friends, fellow X-Philes all over the world. So please, after you read this (or even before ;), please send me whatever ya got. Take pity on a little scrounging author like me.... ;D Send everything - criticism, comments, suggestions, corrections, even flames, ya learn from yer mistakes ya know! - to lacuesta@mnl.sequel.net. Thank you more than I ever could say to my dad (hope you're having fun up there!), my mom, my brothers, everyone at "The X-Files" for bringing such a wonderful show to us, all the XF-fanfic-writers out there for inspiring me, Adam Lee for archiving this, everyone involved in the Gossamer Project for bringing this great archive to life so well, and last but DEFINITELY not the least to God and All Those Up There. They must be having a ball laughing at all of us poor mortals stuck down here.... Very great and special thanks also to Nora (GreenFish), Ashley, Beth Hommel, Vickie Moseley, Piper, Ter, Amy, Chupacabra, and Nicolette Lerch. You guys are the ultimate. Everybody be sure to check out all of GreenFish and Vickie M's stuff, right here at Gossamer! Oh yeah, before I forget, this story is set somewhere, I guess, in the middle of the first season. Pretty early. Okay, it's almost eleven o'clock, I really gotta study before my *older* brothers start yelling at me. Hope you all enjoy this! Once again, I'm BEGGING... PLEADING... IMPLORING you for feedback!!!! :D x x x THE DATING GAME by P. Lacuesta June 13 Chez Mathilde Fine French Dining 7:19 p.m. Damn and blast his stupid male ego anyway. It had no business laughing at him like this. Why on earth should he care? "Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me." For some reason he had difficulty believing that right now. "Unlike you, Mulder, I would like to have a life." "Mulder, you need to get out more often." "Same old weekend routine, huh?" Ouch. He hadn't been working with Dana Katherine Scully for very long - she'd been assigned to him only a little less than five months ago - but already he was taking her very seriously as both a partner and a friend. And taking her seriously meant believing almost every word she said to him, considering what it meant, taking it into consideration as he decided what move would he next make. Even the little teasing parts. Okay. Fox Mulder knew he was one of those people who could easily be classified as workaholics. Hey, he loved his work, he believed in it, he truly tried to do his best in it as much as was Mulderly possible. The missed meetings and the absences at FBI get-togethers were only natural - he dreaded the ridicule and name- calling he always got then. It was the chasing-down-the-criminals and standing-in-the-light-of-truth-justice- and-the-American-way part of the job that he loved. Okay. So he didn't have that much of an actual social life, a life outside of his work. He didn't have a girlfriend, he hadn't been on real dates in, what, three years or so. But that didn't mean he had to do THIS!!! He sighed and pulled his coat more snugly about him. It was cold for a late May evening. And here he was, standing bathed in the yellow light emanating from the French restaurant behind him, waiting for his date and feeling very very stupid. It meant a great deal as to how much he took Scully seriously that he had actually - albeit secretly - joined a computer dating service. That visit to the service's DC office had been a little over a week ago. Just that morning he'd gotten e-mail from both the dating service and his blind date, telling him to meet her in front of the restaurant at seven tonight. So now he scanned the crowds for a "leggy blonde with blue eyes and a cute nose" and hoped fervently that she wouldn't come, so that he'd have a valid excuse to just go home and mope around alone for- Oh. Darn. There she was now... My oh my. Long golden hair curled down past her shoulders. In spite of the night's cold, she had on a short white silk skirt that showed quite a lot of leg. And her large, almond-shaped blue eyes twinkled at him like bits of watery sky. This was going to be one heck of a night. "Hi," said the cute leggy blue-eyed blonde. "You must be Fox. I'm Nicolette Ashley, but call me Nicki." "Uh, hi," he said, smiling involuntarily. He had to admit it, she was one pretty woman. "Yeah, I'm Fox Mulder. You ready to go inside now?" "Sure, let's go!" Nicki replied cheerfully, with a cute grin of her own. Wishing all of a sudden that he'd brought some flowers for her, Fox took her arm and led her inside the classy restaurant. "I'm really sorry I'm late," she said apologetically, turning to smile her thanks at the valet who opened the door for the two of them. "You see, my cat had, well, made another mess of himself, so I had to clean him up before I...." Now *that* was a mighty fine car. Dana Scully couldn't help smiling at the posh black convertible in the parking lot as she pulled in next to it in her own red Ford Taurus. "Filthy rich, now, aren't we," she murmured, unable to take her eyes off the flashy thing. The owner took good care of it, too - it was obviously over a year old, but the baby was looking real nice. Tearing her gaze away from the car she looked into the rearview mirror again to check her appearance. Usually she wasn't quite so vain - just clean, neatly pressed clothes, a touch of lipstick and a hint of blush, and go. But tonight she wanted to look extra nice - if only to make herself feel good if the date didn't turn out as well. Up till now she still couldn't get over the fact that she had actually gone to a computer dating service - albeit secretly - and asked to be set up. She knew she didn't have much of a life outside her work in the FBI and she accepted that. It was OK. She could live without a boyfriend or even a date. But when other people started telling her to "get a life" on an almost weekly basis... things took a little turn for the more serious. "Other people" in this case included her three-month-old partner Fox Mulder. Okay, she admitted it, the guy was a genius. Elite private elementary school, a scholarship to another exclusive private high school. Oxford psychology graduate. She figured he knew what he was doing - most of the time - and so she usually took him quite seriously. Although most of his theories were totally outlandish and his methods unorthodox, she had to admit he got results, and he got them fast. That had to mean something for the guy. So when he started teasing her about "not having a life," "weekend routines" and "hot dates in the Caf, Autopsy," she started to rethink her whole life system. Okay, okay, so it was silly - she shouldn't let some dumb guy change her life. But... well, her mother was going on and on about grandchildren, and - if truth be told - she'd been giving it quite a lot of thought lately, when she was sitting around alone once again in her lonely apartment. Okay. So. Hair in place. It better be, she thought grimly. That elegant little twist and those dangling curly things had cost her fifty dollars, plus a five-dollar tip for the hairdresser, given out of guilt, mostly. Lipstick. Blush. She'd even put on a tiny smidgen of eyeliner - what the heck, go the whole hog. He'd sounded like a pretty nice guy anyway, she thought with a resigned sigh as she caught up her handbag and, opening the car door, stepped outside. Not exactly a total loser. Careful not to snag her little ice-blue dress on the car, she quickly searched the area for a tall black-haired guy with wire-frame glasses who looked like he would be a computer systems analyst. For a moment she hoped that he hadn't showed up, so she would have an excuse to just get back in the car and drive home as fast as she- Oh. Darn. There he was. He caught sight of her at the same time and walked over. Dana felt herself smile in spite of herself. The guy really was cute, she decided with some relief. Black hair that was so neat as to be respectable, but there was still a wayward lock that made him look endearingly young and boyish at the same time. Brown eyes twinkled behind the glasses. Black jeans and a forest-green turtleneck were clean and neat and unwrinkled - sure sign of a decent man, as her mother had once told her. "Hi," the guy said, smiling as he walked up to her. "You must be Dana. Paul Hommel, at your service." "Yeah, Dana Scully." Smiling back warmly, Dana shook his offered hand. "I'm sorry I'm a little bit late." "Oh, that's okay, I was late ten minutes, actually." He took her arm chummily and they began walking toward the door of the Chez Mathilde. "You cold? Here, take my jacket. It's pretty cold for late May, isn't it?" Fox couldn't believe this. He was actually enjoying himself. He sat forward, listening intently to Nicki's story. "...And my friend was just totally oblivious to this guy, who was coming on to her totally outrageously, but she had no idea," Nicki chattered, grinning. "We just took pity on the poor guy. He must have been hitting on her for ten straight minutes. When my friend got back - she still didn't know how much she'd been torturing the guy - we told her she might at least have *talked* to him a little for his effort." "What happened to the guy? It must've been horrible for him." "Oh, well, he finally gave up on her and went to the bathroom." She lowered her voice conspiratorially. "Goodness only knows what he did there." He grinned. "You have one wicked mind." "I'll drink to that!" Grinning back, she held up her glass of white wine and they clinked. Taking a sip, she continued, "But enough about me. I'm sorry, I've been chattering on and on and not giving you a chance. You're really an FBI agent?" He nodded. "You must know a lot of sick people." She sounded vaguely sympathetic. He grimaced. "A lot would be about it." "That must take a lot of guts," she said admiringly. "You been long in the job?" "Oh, about - I don't know, seven years, maybe." "You look awfully cute to be a seven-year-old FBI agent." Her eyes sparkled behind her wineglass. He smiled in pleased embarrassment. "Well, *you* look awfully cute to be a nurse. And you sure seem a lot nicer than some of the nurses I've known - and I've known a lot." She grinned. "You've been in hospitals a lot?" He rolled his eyes. "A lot a lot. My partner wonders why I always get hurt enough to have to check into a hospital at least every other case. There was this one particular case where I--" He had been idly looking around the room, but his gaze froze on the two just entering the restaurant. The man had his back turned to him, but the yellow overhead lights gleamed on a familiar red-gold head. Scully? What's she doing here? AND WHO'S THAT GUY WITH HER?!?!? "Fox? You okay?" "Yeah. I just thought I uh, saw someone I knew." "Oh really?" Nicki twisted around in her seat and scanned the room. "That is such an amazing coincidence. Maybe you could introduce us." He forced his voice not to break. "Uh, no, it's okay, he's--" Necessity is the mother of invention. "He's that guy in the white shirt over there, but, well, I don't want to disturb him--" He gestured vaguely toward someone in a corner. Nicki followed his desperate gaze, and grinned when she saw the woman who was with Mr. Anonymous. "Oh. Yeah. Wouldn't want to distract him from his wooing, right?" She winked. Involuntarily, Fox felt a warm blush spread on his cheeks. "Right." "So anyway. You were saying something about a case--?" "Oh yeah. Sorry. So there was this one case when Sc- my partner and I were hunting down this pyrokinetic guy..." He sat back with a "once upon a time when I was just knee-high to a squirrel" grin and tried to settle into his story, but his keen hazel eyes were trained on his surprisingly stunning-looking partner and the guy she was with as they wound their way through the Chez Mathilde crowd to a table.... right across the aisle from Nicki's and his. Paul was really nice, the food looked good, the lighting was soft and muted and "La Vie En Rose" was playing softly, and Dana was enjoying herself to the limit. She knew she looked good, too; the ice-blue silk of her little dress shimmered in the lights and her curls waved daintily in the air. There was an unconscious, wondering sort of smile to the pink-frosted lips as Paul, chatting comfortably, escorted her to a table, a smile that said, "Is this actually happening? This is too good to be true..." "So you're an FBI agent?" asked Paul, interrupting her thoughts. She smiled back at his good-natured grin and nodded, picking up her fork and knife and preparing for her salade niĜoise. "Yes, I've been in the job for almost three years now." "Well, you've got a lot of guts, I can tell you," he said admiringly. "From what I've heard, it's pretty grueling work to be in the FBI. You must meet a lot of terrible people." She grimaced. "Terrible would be it. And worse, most of the time." He smiled. "I'd ask you to tell me about some of your cases, but I probably wouldn't be able to stomach it." "If I did it, you can too." She grinned back. "Although I have to admit, there *have* been some cases that have really shaken me up." "You seem like a really strong person." His voice was filled with honest admiration, not flirtation. Dana found that she was liking him more and more with every second. "Well, I guess you have to be, when you work in the FBI," she admitted, letting her thoughtful gaze wander the room before her. "Sometimes you're confronted with the most horrible, the most gruesome and inhuman of cases, that you just have to be as strong and as brave as you can possibly be just to--" Gee, that guy looks awfully familiar. Unconsciously, still rattling on about her work, she leaned back in her seat, trying to get a closer look at the guy seated just at the next table. He seemed afraid somehow, almost paranoid, ducking unnaturally low in his seat and raising his hands to cover his face- Mulder? What are *you* doing here? AND WHO'S THAT BIMBO YOU'RE WITH?!?!? "Uh, Earth to Dana. Please come in." "What?" She whipped back to Paul, who was smiling a sort of polite, embarrassed smile at her. She flushed uncomfortably and tried to smile back. "Oh, Paul, I'm so sorry. -Where was I?" "Sometimes there are just these crimes...?" "Oh." Dana sighed and gave an embarrassed smile. "Sometimes there are just these crimes that seem so... unbelievable to you. You just wonder what on earth could possibly have led someone to commit them. There's a certain method that we were taught in which we try to put ourselves in the mind of this killer to better understand him and how he works...." Fox was still more or less able to keep up the conversation decently enough, but he was hampered by the fact that his partner, the ever so professional, businesslike, almost inhuman Doctor Scully, was sitting at the next table with another guy. He had the uncanny feeling she had noticed him too, and so he was awkwardly trying to cover himself, without Nicki noticing. She's talking to him. She just looks so serious about what she's saying. I wonder what they're talking about that's so- She's laughing. I can't believe it, she's actually laughing! What the heck is that guy doing that I- Ohmigoshshe'slookingshe'slookingpleasenopleasedon'tletherseeme.... Ohshitshe'slookingatme. She is looking right at me. She is almost staring at me. She's lost track of what she's saying to the guy, he's looking at her funny and she's looking at me funny... Oh. Well. Great. She recognized me. See how her eyes do that quick flicker. They widen just a little, little bit. She's shocked to see me here. Okay, so maybe she's shocked to see Nicki here, too. Well, if she's going to stare like that, might as well give her something to stare at. Make like you're enjoying yourself. You're really having fun; the food's great, Nicki's a really interesting person-- He's tapping on Scully's arm. Oh good, she's looking away from me now. Thank goodness. Now I can breathe again. Not that *that's* an easy feat when she's got her hair up and wearing a little dress and looking so incredibly stunning not five feet away from me. Steady on, Mulder boy.... And now back to Nicki. "I can't believe that actually happened to you, Nicki! So what did you do then?" The appearance of her cool, professional partner Fox "No Life" Mulder at the next table with a blue-eyed blonde with a skirt cut up to *here* almost destroyed the date right then and there, but thanks to a couple sideline college courses on Creative Writing, she'd managed to make Paul believe that she'd just thought she'd seen an old friend at a corner table. Paul was coaxing her to introduce him, but she'd pointed out a woman in the corner sitting with some guy in a white shirt and made Paul think her "friend" was on a date and not to be disturbed at the moment. Whew. That got him off *that* dangerous track and safely onto the subject of his job as a computer systems analyst. He seemed pretty happy talking about it for the moment, so Dana tried to split her mind evenly into one half paying full and intent attention to what Paul was saying and the other half keeping a close, intensely curious watch on Mulder. Gosh who *is* that girl?? She looks like one of those women in Mulder's magazines. She has got to be the epitome of the brainless blond bombshell. Ugh. I hope she's not rubbing Mulder's leg with her foot or anything. If she is and I find out I am going to take my gun and shoot her. I swear. Has Mulder seen me by now? Gosh I hope not. He and the Blonde seem to be enjoying themselves, though. Wonder what they're talking about... ...Waiddaminit. He's laughing. He's laughing!!! He's laughing and so is she. This is the first time I've ever seen him laughing. What does she have, Mulder, that I don't??? Sexy legs, maybe. Big blue eyes. A big chest. And empty space between the ears. The guy is a typical sexist through and through. He's looking around. He looks pretty paranoid if you ask me. He's in a classy French restaurant and he *still* thinks he's being watched by Cancerman's cronies? That man never ceases to amaze me. Oh no. He's looking at me. Quick!!! Duck!!!! HE'S LOOKING AT ME!!! RED ALERT! RED ALERT! HE'S LOOKING AT MEEEEEEEEE!!!!! Well, he recognizes me, that's for sure. And he knows I recognize him. This is just so awkward. Boy, we can't even get a life without running into each other. Quick. Act like you're having fun. Ooh, great joke, Paul. I'm having fun, I'm enjoying myself, I'm trying to get a life going. ...Okay, he's gone. Mulder's looking away. Aaah, yes. Whew. Back to Paul. "Wait a minute, Paul. Isn't Dilbert a CSA too? It must be fun sharing a job with a guy in a bestselling comic strip." Now, Nicolette Ashley was no fool. She had keen eyes and she used them well. And Fox had no chance of escaping her quick, all-seeing gaze. She'd managed to keep up a comfortably chatting, friendly front all this time, even as she kept a sharp surveillance on her date. He was a darn hell of a cute guy. An absolute heartbreaker. She'd be truly sorry to see him go. But - darn it, she was a 'shipper, a born matchmaker. And she could see plain as plain that this particular Fox's heart belonged to the redheaded gal at the other table, whoever she was. He'd been trying not to show it, he probably didn't want her to think that he didn't like or wasn't interested in Nicki. He'd managed to keep up his end of the conversation, managed to continue making sense in his replies, even as he shot the occasional look at the aforesaid woman-at-the-next-table. But Nicki could see where his real interests lay. She didn't mind, much. True relationshipper as she was, she liked to see true love unfold right before her eyes. Fox Mulder and the woman were definitely and obviously in love. This was better than a movie. Nicki zeroed in on the apple-of-Fox's-eye. She was attractive, maybe not conventionally, but rather classically. Nice nose, creamy white skin, red-gold hair styled impeccably into a smooth twist. She was dressed simply but elegantly, in a shimmering silk dress, with only tiny pearls and a gold cross at her throat for jewelry. Evidently a woman of taste. Nicki sighed inwardly as she noted Fox's beautiful hazel eyes dart once more toward the woman. Okay, okay, she could take a hint! I'll just finish this sentence, then I'll go to the ladies' room.... and see what happens. For the umpteenth time that night Paul Hommel watched as Dana's sea-blue eyes flickered toward the guy at the next table, so swiftly as to be almost imperceptible. Almost. He sighed inwardly. She'd been shooting looks at the guy all night. She was trying not to be obvious, but Paul could see it all right. He had no idea who the mystery man was in relation to Dana, except perhaps for the "love of her life." Now, Dana Scully was a beautiful woman. He'd realized that the moment he'd first seen her only a few hours ago in the parking lot. Her hair gleamed like fire even in the muted lighting of the restaurant, and her movements were graceful and precise. He was truly sorry to have to let her go at this. But he definitely wasn't one to stand in the way of true love like the one she and the man-at-the-next-table so obviously shared. She'd been relatively successful at keeping up a good front, making sensible replies when necessary. But time and again those eyes had darted toward the next table, burning with curiosity and even some hostility - especially when they focused on the blonde the guy was sitting with. Paul observed the guy. He was okay, pretty regular-looking, he supposed. At least he wasn't ugly. This was all his male ego had to say on the matter. Dark hair, slightly scruffy; a big, Jewish sort of nose; a black Gap turtleneck, bluejeans. Why was it that it seemed as if the entire city's adult male population was always decked out in jeans and turtlenecks these days? Paul sighed again as Dana's blue eyes flicked once more toward the guy. Okay, okay, he could tell when he wasn't needed. First chance he got, he'd sneak out to the men's room... and watch the saga unfold from there. "Would you order me a cup of coffee, Fox?" said Nicki quickly, rising from her seat. "I'll just go to the ladies' room. I won't be a minute." Okay, maybe fifteen, she amended silently. Poor Fox looked crushed when she slipped deftly from the table and began wending her way through the crowd. That's weird, she thought, puzzled, for a moment. For someone in love with the woman at the next table he sure looks scared of her. As for Fox, he hunkered down low and hastily ordered the coffees from a passing waiter, praying that Nicki wouldn't be very long. He'd hate to be around to face Scully after this. It was okay even if he had to face her the next day at the office, safe in the armor of his suit and tie and Stonefaced-FBI-Agent Mode, but out here...! It was positively scary. Please, Scully, don't torch me now. Not yet. "That was a fabulous cassoulet," Dana remarked appreciatively as the waiter was taking away their used plates. "I'll have some quiche lorraine for dessert. What about you, Paul?" "Get me some quiche, too." He smiled and rose to his feet. "I'll just be a minute." Uh-oh. Don't leave me here with Mulder. She could only smile weakly and wave Paul on and hope that he wouldn't be very long. And that Mulder wouldn't start with her - not yet. It could wait for tomorrow, right? She'd feel a lot more secure in her professional suit and in her FBI-Agent Mode. Please let it wait 'til tomorrow, Mulder. Suddenly something was hurtling through the air, sparkling briefly in the light, and then it landed at his feet. Without thinking, Fox pushed his chair back and stooped to pick it up. A slender hand reached for it at the same time. "Mulder, what are you doing here?" hissed in his ear. Dana figured, if they were going to tease one another about this, she might as well beat him to it. Fox gave a frustrated mental sigh, picked up the pearl earring Dana had dropped, and handed it back to her, leaning over the aisle to speak to her. "Actually, I was wondering the exact same thing about you," he said calmly. "And don't we look all pretty tonight, Miss Scully?" She smiled and tried to hide the sudden flush of color on her cheeks. Then she sighed. "If we're going to start getting on each other's backs on this, we might as well get right to it. I'm" - she sighed again and smiled slightly - "on a date, I guess. And I am having a pretty good time, too," she added, firmly. "So am I," he said, trying to sound smooth and self-assured. "My date's a really interesting person. She tells the greatest jokes, I can tell you." "Well, Paul's not bad either." Dana was determined not to let him win in this. "He is such a funny guy. And guess what? He's a firm science advocate - science is definitely his God. If it's not logically and scientifically proven, it's crap." Pointed ice edged her words. However, Mulder refused to rise to the bait. "Sounds like your perfect soulmate to me." She smiled bleakly, disappointed, and sat back. He sat back, too. For several minutes there was awkward silence. And finally he grinned. "What are *you* so smiley about?" "This is pathetic, Scully. We can't even try to get a life without getting in each other's faces." She laughed. For some reason Mulder felt immensely relieved - and satisfied - to hear her laughter at one of *his* jokes. Hear that, *Paul*? I can make her laugh too. "So who's the sexy blonde?" Dana finally asked, one eyebrow arched. He shrugged. "Nicki. Nicolette Ashley. She's a nurse at the John Adams Memorial Hospital. Who's the hunk?" "Paul Hommel. Computer systems analyst. He's nice." "So's Nicki. She's really interesting." "Oh? Well, Paul tells a mean story, too." "Really?" "Mm-hmm." He sighed. She sighed. Then they both turned to one another and grinned. "Can I move over?" asked Fox. He went to sit in Paul's seat. "You know, I have this uncomfortable feeling that Paul noticed how I was always checking on you. Oh, thanks." This to the waiter, who had brought her and Paul's slices of quiche lorraine and who seemed quite surprised to see Mulder suddenly at the table. "I really feel sorry for the poor guy. It's not his fault, really." "Yeah, well, I get the feeling Nicki noticed how *I* was always looking back at *you.* I've got this really bad guilt attack. It's not her fault, either." "He's a really interesting person, in all honesty," continued Dana generously. "And so is Nicki. She's a great conversationalist - knows how and when to listen and when to talk." They both shrugged. "It's not their fault *you* happened to be sitting at the next table," they chorused, grinning. Dana glanced in the direction of the bathrooms. "I wonder what's taking Paul so long, though." Paul Hommel drummed his fingers restlessly on the marble of the men's room sink. Fortunately the bathroom was empty except for him, so he was free to fidget alone. Twelve minutes had passed since he'd left Dana at the table to talk to her man, and Paul wasn't sure if that was enough time. They'd just better be almost kissing when I get back, he thought mischievously. Still, there wasn't much one could productively do in a bathroom for fifteen minutes. So, three minutes later, Paul finally gave in to temptation and impatience and marched out of the men's room. There was a flash of green before he felt the impact with something soft. "Oof!" came a muffled cry. Hastily he righted himself and extended a hand to someone who was sitting dazed on the floor. "I'm really sorry," he said hurriedly. "Are you okay?" "Yeah, I'm fine," came a breathless voice. And then he found himself staring mesmerized into deep blue eyes. "You just... caught me by surprise." "Paul Hommel," he said automatically, sticking out his hand. The blonde smiled and shook it. "Nicki Ashley. I was just, uh, spying on my date." Paul grinned. "Think he's cheating on you?" "Oh, he *is*," Nicki giggled. Pulling Paul aside, she peeked around the corner of the corridor doorway. "See, he's that guy in the black turtleneck. He's not really my date, though. I just met him through a dating service. But the moment I got here I knew he had eyes only for that redhead over there--" "*That* redhead?" Paul asked, intrigued. "She's my date for tonight. But I only met her through a dating service, too. And it was pretty obvious from the start that *she* had eyes only for *your* date." For a moment all was silent as the two spied on Dana and Fox. Dana was saying something and looking in their direction, so Nicki and Paul quickly ducked back. Then, cautiously peeking around the doorway again, they watched as Fox had both bills brought in and they forked out some money. Then they left, Dana laughing at some joke. Nicki sighed, a rapturous, contented sigh. "Aren't they so cute?" she said dreamily. "They make a great couple." "They're obviously made just for each other," Paul agreed happily. "I'm glad we left them alone together." "We're not ones to stand in the way of true love, now, are we?" Nicki looked up at Paul's intense dark eyes, twinkling with mischief and good nature, and smiled. "Definitely not." Well, I promised everybody at the end of "Mea Culpa" that I'd get out of the angst rut, now, didn't I? So, how'd you guys like it? Good? Bad? Ugly? Whatever ya got, throw 'em at me, I can take it. ;D