GETTING CLOSER Chapter 1 : The Sympthoms  (1/2)
by Deisy
erness@indo.net.id

Rating	  : PG, mostly for the next parts in this series.
Category : S, nothing special, a beginning of R
Keyword  : Mulder/Scully, slight romance
Summary: Working late on a case, Scully falls asleep at Mulder's
                place. She then disputes with her mother as Mrs Scully
                sees the sympthoms of a blooming love between them
                while Scully herself denies it.

xxxxx

  Scully ran her eyes down her Notebook-PC screen through the serial numbers
and words. She
sighed, sat back, took off her glasses and rub her eyes.  "Honestly, Mulder,
I can't see anything
here. It's almost.." she glanced at her watch,"God ! 2 AM ! Just great. My
back begins to hurt, my
tears keep running down like a waterfall. I can't do it anymore."
  "Wait up, look at this. I find a pattern."
  The two FBI agents were at Agent Mulder's apartment. They were studying
all the records and
evidences they gathered from the crime scenes, but apparently they forgot
the passing of time.
Both of them were on the floor, Scully with her Notebook-PC and Mulder with
his box of papers.
  "What pattern ?" Scully asked unexcitedly as she stood up and went to the
toilet.
  "Look here ! The dates, times, they match to the similar case which
occured last year ! See ?!"
  "So what if it is. I'm fed up." She snorted and dropped her back on the
couch. Mulder looked at
her and smiled. He went to her and sat by the couch.
  "Tired ?"
  "Exhausted," Scully replied with eyes shut.
  He smiled and tapped her forehead with his fingers,"Get some sleep then."
He wasn't sure if
Scully heard it. She seemed to gain unconsciousness very immediately. He was
amused to see
her curled up like a cat. He went to his bedroom and took a blanket to cover
her. The he glanced
back to his papers and tried to concentrate. But he founded very difficult.
  He didn't remember falling asleep. But the next morning, he found himself
sitting on the floor,
leaning to the couch, and laid his head less than five centimeters from
Scully's. He moved his
head and felt that she put her hand on it. Feeling him moving, Scully woke
up. She blinked her
eyes to gain back her consciousness and the next second, it was clear that
she was surprised to
see Mulder's face so close.
  "Morning," greeted him in a whisper.
  Scully didn't answer. Semmed like she still couldn't remember how could
she be sleeping on
Mulder's couch.
  "It's okay, you can go back to sleep," he stood up and went to the
bathroom to wash her face
and brush his teeth. When he went back, Scully was sitting sleepily, rubbing
her eyes. Mulder sat
beside her.
  "Your blouse got wrinkles here and there. Why don't you get one of
my shirts for a change. I'll go out to get some croissants." He tapped his
fingers on her cheek
gently and left.
  A few minutes after he left, Scully was still recalling her memories and
pulling herself together.
It wasn't a habit for her to spend a night at her partner's place even it
had been almost five years
since they started working together. And instead of taking the bed, she took
the couch, exactly
where Mulder usually slept almost everyday. She let out a breath and went to
the bath	room and
found a clean towel in the wardrobe.  She took a shower, used his showergel
and soon found out
that Mulder's got a good taste. After that she took one of his shirts and
wore it. It was too big for
her, obviously. She was obliged to fold the sleeves many times before she
could see her fingers
again. Curiously, she reached for his shaving-kit. She pulled out an
aftershave eau de toilette.
She hesitated but sprayed a little on her wrist and smelled it. It was
Mulder's usual odor every
morning they met at their office. She smiled and sprayed some more on her neck.
  She went to the kitchen afterwards. It was too tidy for a man's place. She
began to wonder if
Mulder had enough nutrition through his daily life. She opened and checked
all the cupboards
and drawers in the kitchen. Boxes of cereals, canned food and fruits, eggs,
flour. Coffee,
chocolate, and tea.. lemon tea, she smiled. Next door she found some snacks
as dried sunflower
seeds, potato chips, and chesnuts. In the refrigerator she found milk and
cheese, some
chocolate bars, and some yoghurt and cream dessert. She exhaled. < Well, he
doesn't sleep
enough, and apparently he doesn't eat enough too >, she said to herself. <
Okay, Fox Dear,>,
she spun around and grinned, < I'll give you some nutrition now >.
  She took all the chocolate bars and melted them in the microwave. Then she
took the flour and
shook it with the milk. Enjoying herself as she worked, she smiled to
herself, recalling when the
last time she did this kind of thing.  When was the last time she had a
serious relationship ?
Sure, with his senior doctor when she was in her Forensic residency. Then
she joined the FBI
and her love life was seemed to be taken away. She had had some
relationships, dates, but
nothing serious and she began to forgot those things. She let out a deep
breath. Then she turned
on the coffeemaker and took the jams and butter out on the table.

  Mulder went back. He opened the door and peeped in. "Scully ?" He took off
his coat and went
to the kitchen as he heard noises there. He freezed at the kitchen door,
astonished with the view.
"Scully ?"
  Scully glanced surprisedly. "I didn't hear you came. Got the croissant ?"
She put the plate of
pancakes on the table.
  Mulder put the croissant paper sack on the table and saw that Scully had
arranged the butter
and jams there. His eyes followed her as she opened the refrigerator an took
the apple juice. <Is
she acting as my wife ?>
  Scully saw the look in his eyes. "I hope you don't mind my inspection on
your kitchen," she took
a croissant and put it in her plate. "Don't worry, I'll help you with the
dishes." She looked at him.
"Your mouth's open."
  "Oh," he finally got his voice back,"it's not it. It's just.. well, with
this circumstances,.. I think I
should go back through that door again and greet you `Honey I'm home'." He
sat down.
  Scully smiled without looking at him. "Well, it's a quite unnatural
circumstances for me too. I
don't have the habit."
  "Preparing the breakfast ?"
  "Spending a night at your place," she corrected him.
  "Well, if you can provide a good nutrition for me like this, you can stay
her forever," said Mulder
half-laughing.
  Scully watched him and beyond her smile, she wished that Mulder's sentence
was sincere.
  "This morning air refreshed my brain as I went out," Mulder said,"and
something strucked my
mind."
  "And what is that ?"
  "Last night, before you got... unconscious," he smiled,"I told you about
the similarity of dates,
times, and murder fash	ion, didn't I ?"
  "Uh-uh.."
  "So we've got to find the corelation between them. How come, two different
suspects,
committed murders with the same fashion, times and dates, but with a year
interval ?"
  "I've got no idea at all, Mulder."
  "My conclusion is that maybe there're not two suspects, maybe there's just
one from the
beginning."
  "One suspect," repeated Scully, looked at him straightly.
  "One suspect," Mulder sat back, satisfied. "I'll drive you home after
this so you can get a
proper rest. You've got dark circles under your eyes."
  "What are you gonna do ?"
  "I'm going to the Documents and Records Section, looking for the
record of that case in last year's documentation."
  "I'll go with you then."
  "With that look ?"
  Scully blushed, feeling suddenly ashamed. "Your shirt's too big," she
said, nodding at the many-
times-folded sleeves, and noticed that the lower edge almost got to her knees.
  "Oh, it suits you alright," teased Mulder. "It's okay, you need more rest
than I do."
  Scully sighed,"You never listen everytime I warn you about your sleep."
She stood up and
brought the dirty dishes under the water tap.
  Mulder went beside her. "Dana, I.. er.. I really appreciate that you did
all this for me."
  "Come on, it's nothing compared to all you've done for me in these past
years."
  "Dana, I've never had a `home sweet home breakfast' with anyone since the
day I left for my
own way. Since I got my own apart	ment and live on the path I choose, I.. I
don't really have any
social life."
  Mulder looked at her in the eye. Scully turned her face away.
  "Fox.. I'm sorry, Mulder, I.."
  Mulder put his hand on hers,"Go ahead, Dana, call me Fox."
  Scully gasped. She turned away as she couldn't bare Mulder's
eyes piercing through hers, reading her mind. But finally she found her
voice again. "Fox, it's..
it's been almost five years since we worked together. I don't know what this
four-year means to
you, but I.. I want you to know that.." she lifted her face and their eyes
met,"it means a lot to me."
  Mulder squeezed her hand as Scully glanced away. But he felt her squeezing
his hand in return.
"Come on, I'll take you home."
  Scully arranged the dishes on the shelf. She packed up her belongings and
a few moments
later they left Mulder's apartment.

xxx

  It was about eight when Mrs Margaret Scully knocked on her daughter's
apartment door. She
presumed she was still asleep as she got no answer, so she went in with her
key. She was
surprised to find that her daughter was nowhere. She was puzzled as she sat
down in the
kitchen. It was her habit to visit her daughter on Saturdays just to spend a
little time together,
talking. Dana would call her up if she couldn't accept her visit, for
example when she was busy
with a case or else. But as far as she remembered, Dana didn't leave any
message to her this
week.
  The clock was ticking, and as she began to worry, she heard the front door
being unlocked,
then she heard her daughter's familiar laughter.
  "God, Fox ! You're not saying that she actually pushed you into the Thames
in the middle of
January !"
  "She did, Dana. I got a terible flu afterwards. That's the last time I'd
ever fall in love."
  As she stepped in, she stumbled on something and would certainly kiss the
floor if Mulder didn't
put his arm around her to keep her balance.
  "Thanks," she smiled, holding on his arms. Then she looked up and saw her
mother right in
front of her.
  "Mom ?"
  Mrs Scully watched her daughter as she came closer to kiss her cheek. She
smiled at Mulder.
"Hello Fox."
  "Nice to see you, Mrs Scully, in a good condition."
  "Sure, me too. It's just.. I don't really remember what to say in this
kind of circumstances ?"
  "What kind of circumstances ?"
  "Well.. Coming early, seeing my daughter's not home. And next thing happen
was.. she
stumbled in with a man beside her."
  Scully glared at her mother. "Mom, what do you mean by saying that ? How
could you think of
such a thing ?"
  "What do I think, Sweetheart ?"
  "We're having a case right now !" Scully couldn't keep her voice low. She
walked to the kitchen
as she didn't want to argue with her mother in front of Mulder. "We were
studying the evidence,
and the time just slipped away ! Do you expect Mulder to drive at 2 o'clock
in the morning just to
take me home ? In that case you'll find him sleeping here right now !"
  "Honey, if you don't want me to come you should've called me."
  "I didn't say I didn't want you to come !  But with my way of life, you
must understand that.. I
have to go through lots of unnatural circumstances !"
  "You never really explain to me, Honey."
  "Mom, will you stop thinking that I'm still your sixteen-year-old Baby
Girl ?! I'm a grown-up
person now ! I know what I'm doing ! This is the path I choose !"
  Mrs Scully was taken aback with her daughters sharp words. Dana turned her
face away,
blinking her eyes to hide her tears. She had always wanted to say those
words to her mother,
and finally she got a chance.
  "Sweetheart, I'm sorry."
  Scully looked up as she heard her mother's calm voice.
  "Melissa's gone. Bill and Charles are away. You're the closest one I have
left now, Sweetheart.
It made me feel that I always wanted to keep you for my own," Mrs Scully
went closer to her
daughter and caressed her face. "But this morning, when I saw you coming in
with him, laughing,
then he held you in his arms.. He called you Dana, and you called his Fox..
You're wearing his
shirt, and.. and you smell exactly like him ! Sweetheart, I just.. I lost
control."
  "He lent me his shirt because my blouse is a mess. I took a shower at his
place, I used his
showergel and I wear his after	shave eau de toilette. I slept in his sofa
last night, I fell asleep
there ! Mom, please.. you know exactly what kind of relaton	ship I have with
Mulder."
  "After all these five years ?"
  "Mom..  it has nothing to do with last night."
  Mrs Scully watched her daughter's sincere eyes and hugged her lovingly.
"I'm sorry,
Sweetheart."
  Scully hugged her back. "I love you, Mom."

  Scully left her mother in the kitchen. She saw Mulder near her
bookshelves. She went to him.
"You must have overheard every	thing," she said,"So just don't pretend that
you didn't."
  "I'm sorry."
  "What for ? You're innocent," she replied,"Anyway, it's okay. She.. she
can accept it alright."
  "What do you mean ?"
  "I mean she can accept that I'm no longer her Baby Girl. Quite late, don't
you think ?"
  "She loves you," he said understandingly. "Well, I'd better get going. I
don't think Holly would be
there til lunch time."
  "Okay. Call me if you find anything."
  Mulder put on his coat. "You just get some rest. Tell your mother I'm
leaving ?"
  "Okay."

  Mrs Scully watched them from the kitchen door. She concerned a lot about
her daughter. She
knew exactly when the last time Dana had a serious relationship and she knew
exactly how it
ended. It had made her hard to ever give her heart and her trust  to any men
afterwards. Mrs
Scully sighed. Dana had told her a hundred times that she and Fox were just
friends between
their professional partnership. But as a mother, Mrs Scully had an intuition
on her daughter. She
worried that Dana would be hurt again. She sighed and tried not to think
those negative
possibilities.
  "Fox !" she called out, stopping him from leaving.
  Mulser paused at the door and looked at Scully with questioning eyes.
Scully returned the look.
  "Will you be back for a little lunch ?" Mrs Scully said from the kitchen door.
  Mulder eyed Scully who did the same way. She shrugged, <It's up to you.>.
Mulder glanced at
his watch, counting the time. "Well, I don't really know if I can finish
before time."
  "Oh it's okay. Why don't you call if you can make it or not ?"
  Mulder nodded. "Okay. Thank you, Mrs Scully." He turned back at
Scully,"Get some rest,
Scully. I don't want to see you nosebleeding when I get here."
  Scully sobbed. "Don't worry, I'll nosebleed before you come."
  Mulder widened his eyes and ticked her nose gently. Then he stepped out
and left.

xxxxx

This is my first fiction, a little too weak ?
Patient, guys, everything's weak at first..
Let's see how things improve the next Getting Closer series.
Comments and feedbacks are welcomed at erness@indo.net.id.
Thank you for reading !

GETTING CLOSER Chapter 1: The Sympthoms  (2/2)
by Deisy
erness@indo.net.id

Rating     : PG
Category : S, nothing special, a beginning of R
Keywords: Mulder/Scully, slight romance
Summary: (1/2) Working late on a case, Scully falls asleep at Mulder's
                place. She then disputes with her mother because Mrs Scully
                sees the sympthoms of blooming love bethem while Scully
                herself denies it.

  Scully was sleeping so soundly while her mother was preparing lunch. She
didn't hear a gentle
familiar knock on the door. Her mother went to answer it.
  "Fox ! I didn't expect that you'd come back so early."
  Mulder went in and took off his jacket. "Where's Dana ?"
  "Sleeping," she replied as she walked back to the kitchen. "Seems like you
two had an
exhausting night, hmm ? Why don't you go and wake her up ? It's almost lunch
time."
  Mulder nodded and went to her bedroom. The door was a half closed. He
pushed it and peeped
in. Scully was lying on her chest. Her face was hidden by auburn mass.
Mulder went in silently.
He looked around the room he had never went into. He swept through her
collection of perfumes
and lipsticks on her dressing table. The wardrobe was firmly shut, and he
didn't take the risk to
open it. He went to sit beside her on the bed.
  His fingers wiped the strands of hair  to reveal her lovely face. She
seemed so peaceful. Her
eyes were firmly shut, her lips were a little opened. And her nose, her cute
roman nose.. He
sighed, who would ever thought that inside the cute small thing, a deadly
tumor was lying
dormant, waiting a perfect moment to explode ?
  He bent down as he ran a finger down her cheek. "Hey, Dana," he whispered
to her ear. He
tapped her cheek gently with his finger. Scully regained consciousness
quickly, she blinked her
eyes and when she saw Mulder, she managed to sit up directly.
  "What time is it ?" she rubbed her eyes.
  "1:15. Your mother sent me to wake you up." He looked at her pale face.
<So, this is her
without cosmetics mask>. But she seemed better. The dark circles under her
eyes had vanished.
Her cheek were developping rosy colour.
  "Are you okay, Scully ?" He put his hand on her shoulder.
  Scully nodded. "Ehhmm.." she sighed. "I had a liitle headache when you
left. But I'm okay now."
  Mulder pulled her to lean on his shoulder. Instead of refusing, she
settled her body into his
curves and allowed him to duck his nose into her hair. She felt his warm
breath there.
  "Dana ? Fox ?!"
  Mrs Scully's voice startled the two in the bedroom. Scully released
herself from his arms
immediately. She stood up and tidied her hair with her fingers. Her face
blushed as she followed
Mulder out. <What would she think, if she saw us like that>, Scully thought.
  Mrs Scully had prepared a marvellous lunch, at least for Mulder who didn't
really know what the
meaning of Nutrition. They talked a lot during the meal. A family
conversation. So opened, and
so relax. Scully realized that she and Mulder had never really talked like
that. They had never
really talked at all. Sometimes, often, they understood each other so
perfectly that conversation
wasn't needed. But this afternoon, Mulder talked a lot about his side which
was totally stranger
for Scully.
  "Christmas is coming soon," said Mrs Scully. "Dana, this year is your turn
to prepare the tree
and the dessert."
  Scully looked up at her mother. "Oh yeah. I'll just get the decorations
and let those screaming
kids finish the decorating."
  "What are you doing for Christmas, Fox ?"
  "Oh, nothing," he said directly. "I don't really celebrate it."
  "Well, you're always welcomed in our family, Fox," said Mrs Scully. Scully
widened her eyes as
she heard this. <Oh, Mom..> She couldn't explain her feelings. She knew that
her mother cared
for Mulder as her own son.. <or maybe, son-in-law ?>. She grinned at the
extreme possibility.
  "What are you grinning at, Dana ?" asked Mulder.
  Scully turned her face at him and rolled her eyes. Mulder understood at
once. <You're right, this
is not my business>, he said to himself. Scully said nothing. She felt a
little awkward. <How can
you be so relax to call me Dana in front of my Mom ?>.
  The lunch was ended with ice cream. Mrs Scully brought the dished to the
washing basin.
  "That's okay, Mom, leave it." Dana stopped her. "You've prepared a
wonderful lunch, so it's my
turn to do the dishes." She went to the washing basin and started to do the
dishes. Mulder went
beside her, drying the clean dishes with a napkin.
  "It's okay, Mulder, you don't have to do it."
  "Don't treat me as a guest."
  Scully raised her brows. "Okay, then why don't you finish this by
yourself, and then sweep the
floor, and tidy the kitchen as well ?"
  Mulder squeezed the back of her neck in return. Scully giggled. Mrs Scully
watched the scene
with a great amusement. But she knew she wasn't wanted, so she went out to
the livingroom,
leaving the two alone.
  "Aww, Mulder, that hurts !"
  "Here ?" Mulder pressed his thumb on her shoulder.
  "No, a little to the left.. Aww !"
  Mulder massaged the `aww' part gently. "There's a great tense here. Maybe
you slept in a
wrong position."
  "Maybe I'm allergic to your couch."
  "Next time, take the bed."
  "The matress must be hard as you never sleep on it," commented Scully,
turning off the
watertap. Mulder gave her a strong press on the `aww' part which made her
squeal.
  Mrs Scully couldn't help glancing at the kitchen, and through the opened
door she caught a
glimpse of Dana pushing Mulder's chest but he grabbed her waist and squeezed
her body from
behind. Her daughter was laughing one of her rare laughter. And Mulder's
face, Mrs Scully shook
her head, <I've never seen him smiling wider.>.
  "What time is it ?" he glanced at the kitchen clock. "Weew.. I'd better
get going, don't you think
? This is supposed to be your day with your mother, then I came and spoiled it."
  Scully smiled at him. "No you didn't. If you say that you didn't have a
good time with us, you're
a liar."
  "I didn't say that. I had a great time here. What I meant is you," he
gazed at her. "Am I bugging
you by being here ?"
  "Of course not," she answered sincerely. "Now if you want to join us and
have lunch together
every Saturday, you know where to come." She felt him slipping his fingers
into her hand. She
squeezed it reassuringly.
  "I'd better get going," he said at last.
  Scully nodded and they went out of the kitchen. Mulder excused himself to
Mrs Scully.
  "Leaving, Fox ? Are you sure ?"
  "Well, I'm not the only one who needs to eat, Mrs Scully, my fish would
scream to my
nightmare if I'm late feeding them."
  Mrs Scully smiled at the tall man. "Okay. Take care of you." She hugged
him instantly. Scully
walked him to the door.
  "Well, I'll see you on Monday," he said as putting on his jacket.
  "Okay," Scully nodded, as she tried to conceal a disappointment of his
leaving. He walked out
and Scully closed her door. She went to sit beside her mother.
  "Well, I see a lot of improvement of you two after these five years,"
began her mother. Scully
frowned. She didn't like this conversation. "I never knew that you could
laugh so freely in front of
him."
  "Mom.."
  "C'mon, Dana.. I'm not blind."
  "But if you have normal eyes, you won't see a thing that doesn't exist !"
She turned back to the
TV which was featuring a videoclip of an old song of Lea Salonga and Brad Kane.
  "Yet. Doesn't exist yet. But it will."
  "Now you're a fortune-teller. Let's see how many kids I'd have with him in
your crystal ball,"
Scully mocked at her. "C'mon Mom... knock it off.. There's nothing between
me and Mulder."
  "Really ?" Mrs Scully grabbed the remote control and turned the volume up,
exactly when the
chorus entered.

........	anyone who sees us
	knows what's going on between us
	it doesn't take a genius to read between the lines..

  "Mom, please..." Scully began to feel desperately. She felt like being
pushed to the corner by
the facts. It was so embarassing.
  Mrs Scully smiled at her daughter's reaction. Sooner or later, today or
next year, Dana would
have to confess anyway. "C'mon, Dana.."

........	and what about the laughter
	the happy ever after
	like voices of sweet angels are calling out our names
	and it's not just wishful thinking
	or only me who's dreaming
	I know that these are sympthoms of
	we could be in love..

  Scully's face was as red as Washington's apple. She sank into the big
pillow and said nothing.
Mrs Scully smiled in wisdom and caress her daughter's hair lovingly. She
bent down and
whispered in her ear,"Take your time, Honey. It's only the sympthoms."

xxxxx
The end
xxxxx

That's it ! That's how it all begins in Getting Closer Series.
Keep in touch, and see how they get closer step by step, and one day,
they'll be close enough
to..  use your own imgination.
Thanks for reading !
Feedback and comments are welcomed at erness@indo.net.id