Date sent:        Sun, 2 Nov 1997 20:57:42 -0500 (EST)
From:             Skubadivr@aol.com
Subject:          Field of Dreams


"Field of Dreams"
By Lindsay Barone

Disclaimer- They're mine...ALL MINE!!!! Not for really (although I wish). FM,
DS, lalala belong to Fox, CC 1013 productions, blah blah blah....oh a couple
characters are mine, but they don't really DO anything, so forget them...oh,
and please don't sue! High school students don't have much money (if
any!!)Your lawyer would cost more than you'd get from me!!!

Category- mild MSR/humor

Rating- PG, almost PG-13ish (suggestions, naughty words)

Archive- Archive anywhere, as long as my name and email are attached.

Summary- Our favorite agents join a Bureau softball team that will play in a
4th of July tournament for the Make-A-Wish foundation. Can't say anymore,
it'll give it away (even though there isn't much of a plot)

Spoilers/Content Warning- Umm...absolutely none.

Authors Note- YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Redux is on tonight....I started this
story about 3 weeks ago, but now IT'S HEREEEE!!!!!!!!!!!:-)

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
  The sunlight that streamed through Dana Scully's bedroom window was
blinding. As she opened her eyes and sat up, she realized that it was the
fourth of July. What a perfect day for softball, she mused as she climbed out
of her bed and stumbled into the shower. She turned on the water, letting the
steamy water rush over her, gently awakening her senses. Quickly, she washed
her hair and face, and jumped out of the water. Grabbing a towel, she wrapped
it around her tiny frame and wandered out into her kitchen. Glancing at the
clock, she realized with a jolt that Mulder was picking her up for the
softball tournament at Memorial Park in a half hour. 
  Turning back around and heading back to her bedroom, she dropped the towel,
and quickly threw on her so-called *uniform*- a pair of baggy black mesh
shorts, her white baseball shirt that had "Team X" on the front and "Scully"
on the back. Slipping on her sneakers, Scully stood up and went to her
bathroom. Grabbing her hair brush, she pulled her hair into a ponytail and
applied her makeup quickly. Feeding her ponytail through the back end of the
Yankees cap Mulder gave her for Christmas, she heard the doorbell ring.
Snatching up her baseball mitt, purse, and a picnic basket she had packed the
previous night, she opened the door. Mulder was standing there, a
half-playful, half-impatient look on his face. Looking him up and down, she
saw that he was dressed identical to her, minus the ponytail and makeup.
   Choking back her laughter, she greeted him "Come on Mulder. Let's get this
show on the road."
   He smiled, and pulled her door shut behind them.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

  As they approached the car, Mulder turned to Scully. "What position do you
want to play today?" he inquired. Unlocking his car, he pulled open the door
to the back seat for Scully. She tossed in the picnic basket and her mitt,
then slammed the door. Walking around the car, she opened the passenger door
and climbed in. Mulder had already pulled out by the time she answered
  "Oh, either second base or left field, I guess," she replied with a shrug.
"It doesn't really matter much."
  "Okay," he said. "Second base it is." Fiddling with the radio, he put on an
old Elvis song. "Oh and by the way, we were a player short, so I let Frohike
join the team. He's the left fielder," he added with a smile, waiting for the
Scully storm. He wasn't disappointed.
  "Mulldderrr!" she groaned. "Do you realize that  he will not leave me alone
for the ENTIRE day! if he stares at me during all of the games, you can't
blame me if I screw up. It'll be your fault if I do. Just remember that.:
  "Okay, Dr. Scully, but I thought you didn't believe in that sort of thing,"
he smirked.	
  " Hey, it's your influence," she snapped back.
  "Oh? How so?" He cocked his eyebrow skeptically, like Scully had done to
him so many times.
  "Well, after four years of hearing your bizarre theories and beliefs,
SOMETHING had to rub off on me, and it sure as hell wasn't going to be any of
that UFO crap."
  "Okay, you win," he replied. "But don't let me rub off on you anymore. You
still need to be my favorite little skeptic."
  A slight smile traced her lips, and she turned her head to look out the
window. "Uh, Mulder?" she began hesitantly
  "Yeah?"
  "Aren't we going to Memorial Park?"
  "Yeah..."he started.
  "Well, there it is." Scully pointed out the window at the maze of softball
fields and swings that Mulder was flying past at about 90 miles an hour.
  "Damnit!" he cried, hitting the steering wheel.
  Scully gave her best effort to hold back the laughter that was rising up in
her throat, but it was too much. A small giggle escaped, and Mulder shot her
a dirty look. "Mulder, relax!" she cried, trying to control her laughter.
Once she regained control, she said "Mulder, just turn around in that parking
lot, and go back! It's not that big of a deal!"
  "Whatever," he replied, jerking the wheel to the left. He pulled into the
parking lot, but then immediately backed out, back into the stream of
traffic.
  A few seconds later, they arrived at Memorial Park.  Pulling the car over
to the side of the road, Mulder looked over at Scully and smiled. "Everybody
out."
  Scully climbed out of the car, and went around to the back seat. She pulled
out her worn baseball mitt, along with Mulders'. Mulder grabbed the baseball
bat out of his trunk. "God, you have no idea how long it's been since I used
this bat," he mused, swinging.
  "No, I don't. How long?"
  "Geez, it must've been my senior year in high school. I still remember my
last game. I had the game-winning hit. I was--"
  "Mulder, I hate to interrupt this little trip down memory lane, but we DO
have to get to the game BEFORE it starts." Scully interjected.
   " Okay, okay. I'll tell you my little story later,"
   " I'll be looking forward to it," Scully replied dryly. "Now let's go!"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
   Twenty minutes later, they were playing catch to warm up in the middle of
the field. The whole team had arrived, and was ready to play and win. The
game started in 15 minutes, against the Annapolis P.D. team.
   "Everybody come on in," Mulder yelled. "I've got the starting line-up
ready."  That got everybody's attention, and the jogged in to where Mulder
was standing in the dugout. "Okay, now we'll be batting first. Pendrell,
you'll lead off, followed by Frohike and Skinner. I'll bat clean-up, and then
we'll have Scully, Cliffson, Clayton, Mrs. Scully and Langly. Everyone okay
with that?" he asked. 
   Everyone nodded, and then Mrs. Scully piped up from the back. "Fox, what
positions are we playing?"
   Mulder smiled at the elder Scully. "We've got you at catcher, Skinner
pitching,  Scully at 2nd, Pendrell at 3rd, Frohike at left, Clayton at
center,  Cliffson at 1st, Langly at short, and I'll be in right. Any
questions?" Without waiting for an answer, he continued, "Then let's go get
`em!" The other team ran out onto the field, and the ump yelled, "Batter up!"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
  It was noon, and Team X was involved in their 3rd game for the day. They
won their first two games, one against the Annapolis PD team, the other
against the VCS team. They were currently in the bottom of the 9th inning of
a tied game against the Alexandria High School varsity baseball team. Skinner
had just struck out, and Mulder was up. He had one strike and one ball, and
was squinting into the sun. 
   "Come on Mulder! You did this in high school, you can do it now!" Scully
yelled. 
   Mrs. Scully turned, shocked. "How did you--"
   Scully cut her off with a smile. "He started to tell me about it earlier
in the car. I cut him off because we were late, but I already knew the whole
story anyway. How could you not remember that game, Mom? You were there
because of Bill."
  Then something dawned on her. "We were living in Chilmark when you were a
freshman, weren't we?"
  "Yup! I'll never forget that game...it was the most exciting high school
game I've ever been to."
  "Does Fox know?" she inquired.
  "Nope. I'm gonna tell him today, before the fireworks--Nice hit, Mulder!"
she suddenly yelled.  Picking up a bat, she approached the plate. If she hit
a home run, or at least a triple, the game was won. Taking a deep breath, she
raised the bat, and stared straight ahead at the pitcher, who was maybe 17.
He released a ball, and it went whizzing by her.
  "Strike one!" the ump yelled.
  `Come on Dana, you can do this,' she mentally chided herself. `Fox did it,
and so can you.'
  "Strike two!" The umps voice snapped her out of her thoughts. 
  "Let's go Dana, you can do this!" Suprised, she turned and looked at
Mulder. He smiled, and she readied herself for the pitch. 
   It came right down the middle, a perfect pitch. Scully closed her eyes and
swung as hard as she could. When she heard the bat and ball connect, she
opened her eyes and dropped the bat. The ball was soaring over the
outfielders' heads, and she took off. She ran furiously, as did Mulder. The
ball was brought in just as Mulder crossed home and she crossed third. She
kept running, skipping actually, with joy. She had won the game! When she
skipped over the plate, Mulder ran to her and swept her up in a huge hug. 
  "You did it Scully! You won the game!!!" he cried excitedly
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
  After their exciting victory, the team gathered all of their picnic baskets
and blankets, and set up a picnic down on the bank of the Potomac. The
conversation was light and fun; everyone was thrilled with winning
three-straight games. Amongst the food and laughter, Mulder caught sight of
Scully talking to Frohike. Uh-oh, he thought. I'd better go save her.
  "...his ass!" Scully finished, just as Mulder approached.
  "What about my ass?" he teased.
  "Nothing about YOUR ass, Mulder. It was a joke Charlie told me last night
on the phone," Scully quickly replied.
   "Uh-huh, I'm sure. I know how much you like my ass. Don't hide it anymore,
Scully. Tell Frohike it's over between you two, and let us go away to..."
  "To what?" Scully prompted him with a sly grin. "Well Mulder, to what!?"
  "To procreate," he finished.
   Frohike looked bewildered as he asked, "Um, Mulder, you guys aren't
serious are you? Because I can leave you two alone, if you want."
   At that, the pair burst out laughing. "Of course we're not serious,
Frohike. Relax, man," Mulder answered when the laughing had died down. 
   Scully wiped the tears from her eyes, and then asked,  "So, Mulder, do you
want to hear the rest of the joke? You already know the punchline."
   "Don't bother. I've already heard it...from Langly . He just told it to
me."
   "Oooo I'm gonna kill him! I told him not to tell you!" she responded.
   "Don't bother. It would be no competition," Mulder smirked. "Well, anyway,
are you guys ready to win our last game? If we do, we get a really cool
trophy that I would love to add to the clutter in our office,"
   "We'll get `em, don't worry!!" Scully replied cheerfully.
   "Good, now let's go get some more food." 
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
   A few yards away, Mrs. Scully sat with A.D. Skinner, watching the pair.
She watched how they joked with each other, how that invisible bond kept them
in synch .
   "...don't you think so?" Skinner finished.
   "Um, what? I'm sorry Walter,  I was a bit distracted. What was that
again?" Margaret answered sheepishly. 
   He followed her gaze to his pair of agents, and then smiled. "It's amazing
what they have, isn't it? Partners, and best friends. They have some sort of
bond..the strongest I've ever seen."
   "You noticed it too? It's amazing!" Meg replied.
   "Are you kidding? Everyone at the Bureau has noticed it by now. It's
amazing how many rumors I hear each week about the two of them. Half of
Washington probably thinks they're married!"
   "It's so much deeper than love, though. Of course, they don't even admit
they're in love, but it's so obvious. They're so close, he probably knows her
almost as well as me!" she stated, shaking her head.
   "They'll realize it eventually. They're both intelligent people, but
honestly, so dense!" Skinner said, chuckling softly.
  Satisfied, Margaret leaned back against the tree and continued watching her
daughter and her partner.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
  The sun was beginning to sink as the awards ceremony began. The ecstatic
`Team X' was sitting together, psyched to receive their trophy. They had won
all four of their games, and were the 1997 champions. As the announcer
stepped up and presented the 3rd and 2nd place plaques, Scully looked over at
Mulder with excitement. Just then, the announcer called " Would the
first-place TEAM X come up and receive their team trophy?!"
   The team let out a big cheer, then jumped up to collect their prize.
Mulder took the trophy, and held it high over his head. he was in his glory,
and with the whole team cheering and laughing, photographers started taking
pictures of the happy bunch. Mulder handed the trophy to Scully, who looked
at it, and then smiled up at him. "So, where are we gonna put this? It might
get lost in the office."
   "Oh, don't worry. I've got a nice little spot on top of a filing cabinet
for it," he responded.
   "Okay, I'll trust you with it. I'll be there to keep an eye on it," she
answered with a wink.
   "C'mon, let's get set up for the fireworks," he said, draping his arm
around her.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
   The night had settled in, and the jubilant Team X was settled out to watch
the fireworks. They had had a delicious picnic, and now Mulder and Scully
were stretched out on their blanket next to each other. They stared up at the
stars as Scully pointed out constellations. She looked over at Mulder, who
had a distracted look on his face.  "Whatsa matter, Mulder? Looking for
UFO's?" she asked.
  "No, I was just thinking there was something I was going to tell you but I
can't remember what it was," he replied, his brow furrowed.
   "Ummm.....oh yeah, you never finished your baseball story," she said with
a hidden smile. "But, ya know, I think I can finish that story for you. Let's
see...oh  yeah, It was a home game, bottom of the 9th. If your team won this
game, they were conference champs. There were two outs, and you had 2 strikes
and 2 balls."
   "How did you---" he began with his mouth hanging open.
   "Just shhh. Anyway, the pitcher released an inside curveball, and it was a
full count. As the pitcher released the ball you prepared for the swing, and
let loose with the best swing I've EVER seen from an amateur. Well, the ball
was out of the park, and you skipped around the bases. Your hit won the game,
and the conference," she concluded with a smile.
  "Okay, Ms Scully, how the hell did you know that?!?!" he asked
incredulously.
   She let out a pearly laugh. "Mulder, do you happen to remember who played
3rd base on your baseball team?" she asked.
  "Um, lemme think...Bill..Scul- oh my god, your brother! I never made that
connection!!! But how did you remember that?" 
  "It was pretty hard to forget. I do remember, however, wishing that Bill
would have a party with the whole team at our house so I could talk to you,"
she looked down, embarrassed. He looked into her eyes, and then she quickly
looked down, a blush creeping on her cheeks. "That was the best baseball game
I've ever seen played, and I really respected how you didn't fold under the
pressure."
   "Wow," he finally said, sighing. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"
   "Oh, I don't know, it just never came up," Scully answered, playing with
the fringe on the blanket. Just then, the fireworks exploded overhead. She
leaned back, and watched the colorful bursts explode. The show was a
half-hour long, and Scully enjoyed ever minute of it. As a child she had
always gone to the fireworks with her whole family. She used to sit in her
fathers' lap, and they would stare at the stars until the show. `Oh Ahab, I
miss you,' Scully thought. When Mulder looked over at her a tiny tear was
trickling down her cheek. He pulled her into his lap without resistance. 
   "It's okay, Starbuck," he whispered in her ear.
   Scully looked at him with a mixture of amazement and gratitude, then
looked back up. Just then, a bright flash went off, and nearly blinded them.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
July 5th
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
  Scully stormed into their basement office, and threw something down on
Mulders' desk. Glancing down, he saw a front page display of the celebration
at Memorial Park the day before. Right dead center was a picture of Mulder
holding Scully in his lap. He looked at her, and said "Oh, geez. That flash
last night, it must've been Skinner or your mother."
  "Let's kill him," suggested Scully.
  "Sounds good," replied Mulder, and then the two of them ran out of the
office, ready to murder someone, most likely AD Skinner.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
The End

I know, I left it pretty open-ended, so should I write a sequel? No? Anyway,
said ANY comments to Skubadivr@aol.com