From: Cyra Date: Fri, 29 Sep 2000 10:58:32 -0700 Subject: NEW: Deja Vu 06 - Odysseus by Cyra NC-17 Title - Deja Vu 06 - Odysseus Author - Cyra Rating - NC-17 Classification - SRA Spoilers - Pusher Keywords - Mulder/Scully romance. Summary - Dana Scully meets Fox Mulder at a party and chemistry ensues. But some funny things keep happening...things that give them the strangest sense of deja vu. Feedback - ccontryman@ups.edu Disclaimer - Yeah, I don't own them. Whatever. Archive - Gossamer, Spookys, Fran. Elsewhere, please let me know. Author's notes - Odysseus had a crazy life, and fate loved to mess around with his head. But when he eventually got home to Penelope, they learned to trust each other even though they knew they were both nuts. I started wondering what it would have been like if Scully had never joined the FBI, but my firm belief in fate led me to think about how all these funny things would have turned out if Mulder and Scully were not partners, but a couple. I took liberties with the timeline, wanting to cover those episodes with the most romantic tension, but not wanting to be constrained by what was supposed to happen when. This is the last part of this series for the time being. I might be persuaded to write a sequel...hint, hint. *** "You're incredible." They were laying in her bed, still breathing hard, Mulder's hand clutching Scully's. She looked at him. "I've never felt this way before, Scully." "Then why did you try to leave?" She whispered. He closed his eyes. "Because I love you." She sighed and sat up, rolling over to him. "Mulder, you're not a muddleheaded person, but that was a very muddleheaded thing to say." "Scully, what happed with Duane Barry could happen again. It probably will. When you were gone, it was like I was dying. I slept on your couch, Scully. I couldn't stand being away from this place, from the memory of you." "Mulder," she said achingly, running her hand over his chest. "What we have here is not something that you can take or leave. You belong to me, no matter how many aliens or sewer monsters or Duane Barrys are running around after you. And even morphing guys who hit on me." Mulder snorted. "You never did tell me what was up with that guy." "Let me make some dinner while I tell you. I'm starving." After he had explained his theories about the Van Blundht case, and after Scully had stopped giggling, they ate scrambled eggs and cinnamon toast together at her dining room table. "This is what I want," she whispered, offering him a bit of toast, which he ate from her fingers. "I want to sit and eat with you every day of my life. I want to sit with my children and watch you try to burp the baby. How do you feel about that?" Mulder looked away, suddenly cold. "Mulder?" "Scully, I'm sorry, but I have to work in the morning. Would you be upset if I left you now?" "Will you be back?" She asked in surprise. "Yes. Tomorrow." "All right, then. Drive carefully." She kissed him sweetly, helped him gather his clothes, and saw him out. Once outside her door, Mulder leaned his head against the wall and shut his eyes tight. Children. Oh, God, he'd forgotten about that. What was he going to tell her? *** Walter Skinner hung up the phone, frustrated. Mulder wasn't home. Mulder was never home these days. He suspected that his best agent had found a girlfriend, which was disconcerting in a way. He'd always thought of Mulder as a Lonely Heart. At any rate, he had to find Agent Mulder or there would be hell to pay. He made a few calls, pulled a few strings, and found out that there had been a rather *heated* altercation between Mulder and a woman named Scully earlier that week. "Apparently they almost went at it right there in his foyer," the surveillance techie told Skinner with a gleeful laugh, "But I guess Mulder knows about the taps because he got her out of there. I hear she's a real hottie, too." Twenty minutes later, Skinner was outside an apartment in Georgetown, looking up at a softly lit window and wondering what the hell he was going to be interrupting. He sighed and walked inside, damning Mulder and his sudden social life to hell. He knocked sharply on the apartment door, and was surprised when it was flung open almost immediately. A fantastic-looking redhead stood there, a big smile on her face, which collapsed instantly. "Oh," she said, her hand going up to her throat. "Hello. Can I help you?" All in all, she was a great-looking woman. She looked to be about five feet tall, all soft curves and white skin, her eyes crystal blue and wearing something soft that clung. Mulder had good taste. Skinner wondered how the big lanky lug had caught her. He was infuriated when he felt himself start to blush. "Ma'am," he said, whipping out his ID in a properly authoritative manner, "I'm Assistant Director Walter Skinner of the FBI. I'm looking for Agent Fox Mulder." She blinked. "Excuse me?" "I'm looking for -" "I heard what you said. Why did you come here?" "Are you not an acquaintance of Agent Mulder's?" She blushed a little. "I am, but I'm at a loss as to how you know it. I was under the impression that the Right to Privacy was still a sacrament in this country." "Don't believe everything you hear," Skinner growled, further angered by the guilt he was feeling. "Is Agent Mulder here?" "No, he's not," she said. "But if you'd like to wait for him, he'll be here soon." She allowed him inside, and Skinner found himself right in the middle of a scene of seduction. Candles were lit on her shelves, Dave Matthews played on the stereo, and something was cooking. He swallowed convulsively. "I'm Dr. Dana Scully, but I suppose you already know that," she said. "I hadn't known you were a doctor," he said. "Where do you work?" "Georgetown Memorial." Skinner stood in front of her fireplace, staring at a picture of Dana Scully along with what seemed to be her family. She looked happy in the picture. Carefree. He wouldn't have expected that from a woman who was dating Fox Mulder. He supposed he expected another Diana Fowley. "What are you looking for Mulder for?" She asked. "Is he in trouble?" "No," he said. "I've got a tip on the case he's working on. It needs to be handled right away." "Oh. I suppose my evening is ruined then, isn't it?" "More than likely." "In that case, would you like some of this? I won't be able to eat it all myself." He turned to find her taking a lasagna out of the oven. Home-made. He felt even more like a heel. "No, thank you, Dr. Scully." "Eat it or watch it go down the garbage disposal," she said brusquely, in a voice he knew not to argue with. Sharon knew how to use that voice, too. He took the plate meekly and, at her prodding, took the seat across from her at the dining room table. He looked around him, feeling vaguely surreal. He was sitting with a beautiful woman, eating a meal that she had cooked, surrounded by soft light and her perfume. He missed his wife. "How long have you known Agent Mulder?" Skinner asked, in a desperate attempt to remember this woman as the girlfriend of one of his subordinates. He could not afford to get caught up in the lair she had created. "Only a few months," she said. "Are you Mulder's direct superior?" "Yes." "You would have heard about the Edward Jerse case. He was my fiance." Skinner almost spit his lasagna across her fine linen tablecloth. "You're the one he tried to kill?" "Yes. And don't look so panicked, Mr. Skinner. Mulder and I knew each other before that happened. We did not become involved in an agent-witness capacity." "Wait a minute," Skinner said suspiciously, dread rising in his throat, "Scully. That was the name on the Barry case file, too." "Barry followed Mulder here and took me after he left," she said placidly. Skinner put down his fork, feeling ill. "Don't even," she said sharply. "I've gotten enough shit about this from Mulder. I have no intention of blaming him for that. It wasn't his fault." "You're a witness," Skinner hissed. "An *abductee.* Mulder knows enough not to get involved with you." "She didn't give me a choice." Skinner turned to see Mulder coming in the door, dressed to the nines and holding a bunch of flowers. He laid them carefully on the coffee table. "This is a cozy picture," he said, taking in Skinner and Scully, sharing a meal in her blatantly seductive apartment. "I figured that you wouldn't be able to enjoy it with me," Dr. Scully said, standing to meet him. "Apparently, you have other plans." "Damn," he said. "That smells good, too." "Agent Mulder," Skinner said carefully, his anger bubbling under the surface, "Do you have any idea how many regulations you have broken by getting involved with a witness -" "He told you that I didn't give him a choice," Dr. Scully snapped. "After I got out of the hospital, Mulder tried his best to break it off with me. I practically had to twist his arm to get him to come over tonight. Will you feddies *please* lay off the protocol and regulations and the 'for your own good' nonsense? I would just like to spend a quiet evening at home with *Agent* Mulder, okay?" Skinner sighed. "Mulder, Modell has been located. It's time to move. We don't have time for this." Mulder turned to Dr. Scully, who was a foot shorter than he was and looking up at him with clear annoyance but not a little concern. "Scully, this could take a while. We should reschedule." "Fine," she said wearily. "Are you going to get yourself killed tonight?" "Not if I can possibly help it," he said. "I'll call you when I can." "Be careful," she whispered, and Skinner was unable to look away when she got up on her tiptoes and kissed Agent "I-haven't-gotten-laid- since-the-Reagan-administration" Mulder hotly on the mouth. God, he could see Mulder's knees weakening. He was feeling warm. Mulder and Skinner were silent until they got into the car. "She's certainly...forceful." "Tell me about it." Mulder leaned his head back against the headrest. "I'm head over heels for her." "You know that you're putting her in danger, don't you?" "I told her that. She very politely told me to go to hell." Mulder looked at his boss. "What would you do? I was in love with this woman before I even knew what she did for a living. Damn, I was practically in love with her before I knew her name or that she was engaged. She knows it, too. When I tried to break it off, she... well, I won't get into that. But she wouldn't stand for it." "I suppose...there's nothing you can do, then," Skinner said carefully. "But what happened with Barry can happen again, Mulder. And there's no way you can keep her safe all the time. She's vulnerable as long as you associate with her." Mulder considered. "She told me that I can't protect her from life. That things happen and it's no one's fault. I don't think she fully understands what I'm up against." "Maybe you should tell her." "I did. She doesn't believe." "God, Mulder, you're in love with a *skeptic?* I would never have believed it." Skinner's opinion of Dana Scully was rising with every minute. When he again looked at Mulder, the agent was staring at him. "What's on your mind, agent?" "Don't even think about it, sir. Keep your hands off." *** Upstairs, Scully irritably cleaned up her apartment. She extinguished her candles, turned on the lights, put her lasagna in the fridge, changed into a pair of flannel pajamas. With her luck, Mulder would freak out again at this new development. He would convince himself that she shouldn't have to deal with a boyfriend who was on twenty-four hour call. Well, to hell with that. She called her sister and vented, then called her mother and vented, then flopped down on the couch to work on some papers that she'd been ignoring for the past few days. It wasn't like her to sulk when she was angry, but then, it wasn't like her to go chasing after a guy with the enthusiasm of a horny teenager. What had come over her lately? She mused dejectedly, and almost ignored the phone when it rang...but for the hope that it would be him. "Dr. Scully?" Scully recognized the voice of Assistant Director Skinner on the other end of the phone, but damn if she was going to let on. "Yes?" "This is AD Skinner. Mulder's boss." "Oh, yes. What can I do for you, sir?" She asked, looking at her clock. Mulder and Skinner had left three hours ago. "I'm afraid Mulder is in the hospital, Dr. Scully. He's been shot." Scully felt her heart freeze up. "What hospital?" She asked quietly. * Mulder was going to be fine, but he was unconscious. Scully slowly sat down next to his bed, taking in the readings on the monitors around him. He was going to be fine, she told herself. "What happened?" She demanded of Skinner in a quiet voice. "That's classified." "Bullshit. You know. Tell me what happened." Skinner sighed. "He shot himself." Scully rounded on him. "What!" "We think that the suspect forced him to turn the gun on himself." "How? How can that be?" "We don't know." Skinner regarded her carefully. She looked calm, but her eyes were bright and she was breathing rather deeply. He was afraid she was going to pass out. "Dr. Scully, this is what Mulder's life is like. This is the consequence of what he does for a living." "I know that," she snapped irritably. "I don't need you along with everyone else telling me that Mulder's wrong for me." He withdrew silently, strangely cowed by this tiny woman with the determination of a bull. He wondered what it was about Mulder that she liked so much. *Loved* so much. When he came back about a half an hour later, Dr. Scully was sitting next to him, holding his hand in his. Mulder was awake, and they seemed to be in the middle of a deep conversation. Never one to pass up an opportunity to eavesdrop, Skinner loitered outside the door and listened in. "My brother will get over it, Mulder," Scully was saying patiently. "He's overprotective, but he can be reasoned with. I've got my mother and my sister on our side." "What about your dad?" Mulder asked. "He doesn't have much to say on the subject," she said. "He's generally not too intrusive into my life. All he wants is for us to be happy. Granted, he sometimes has different ideas about what will make us happy, but his intentions are pure. My father will love you." Skinner couldn't believe this. Mulder was having trouble with the in-laws. It was enough to make him nauseous. "I wouldn't care so much about them," Mulder said heavily, "If I didn't think they were right. You don't need this. Go be a doctor. Go be a doctor, go find yourself another Ed Jerse to marry. Not some guy who tries to shoot himself in the head and misses." "Ed Jerse, I will remind you," Scully said icily, "Tried to have a Dana barbecue in the basement. I will draw my own conclusions about acceptable boyfriends, thank you very much." Mulder laughed at that, then sighed and was quiet for a long while. Skinner peeked around the corner and found that he was slowly kissing Dr. Scully's hand, rubbing it between his own, and generally worshipping her in the only way his wounded body and the hospital staff would allow. "I won't try to dissuade you again, Scully," he murmured, "But only out of fear for my masculinity." "Good." Dana moved her chair closer to him and kissed him deeply. "Now, why don't you tell me more about what happened tonight. Is your suspect in custody?" "Well, in a manner of speaking. When my own stupid bullet grazed my temple, the pain woke me up enough to be able to turn the gun on him. I'm not sure he's going to live." "That's got to be hard, Mulder. I'm sorry." Mulder was silent. "Was he really that hard to resist?" "Let me put it this way, Scully. If you had been there, it would have been tough for me to resist if he told me to shoot *you.*" Skinner laughed to himself at that, and retreated quietly. He thought, on the drive home, that Scully probably wouldn't have stood by and let fate take Mulder for a ride. Finis...for now.