From: Rachel Kottler Date: 21 Aug 1999 17:55:55 GMT Subject: NEW: Happiness (1/1) Title: Happiness (1/1) Author: Rachel Kottler Email: debunker77@hotmail.com Rating: PG Category: V, A, MSR Spoilers: Dreamland, FTF Summary: Mulder is in a mood and tries to push Scully away; fortunately, she lets him know that he's being stupid. Distribution: Sure, as long as everything stays together and you let me know where. Disclaimer: Scully and Mulder are the property of Chris Carter and 1013 Productions. Date written: January 1999 thanx to Amber xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Scully knocks on Mulder's door. No answer. He left his cell phone in her car and she didn't want to wait until Monday to give it back, knowing how attached the man is to his phone. She pulls out her keys and unlocks the door. She steps into his dark apartment and walks toward the living room, intending to put the phone on the coffee table and then go home. She notices that Mulder is sitting at the far end of the couch, completely still, completely quiet. He doesn't acknowledge her presence. "Mulder, why didn't you answer the door?" No answer. No movement. "Mulder? Mulder, what's wrong?" Scully places his phone on the table and then walks over to the couch and stands in front of her partner, hesitating a moment before deciding to sit down beside him. She sits with her right leg pulled underneath her so that she can face him. "Mulder?!" The heightened tone in her voice tells Mulder that she is becoming annoyed by his silence. He slowly blinks his eyes and then turns his head to look at her. He is still silent. Scully raises an eyebrow, waiting for him to say something. "Scully . . ." His voice sounds strange to her, and far away. "Yes?" "Why are you here?" "I was returning your phone. You left it in the car--" "No, that's not what I mean. Why are you still here with me? With the Bureau? With all of the shit that surrounds us?" She wonders if the us he is referring to is him and her or him and the FBI. She doesn't know where this is coming from, but it's not exactly new territory for them. Apparently he's in the mood to push her away again. "Mulder, I'm here because I want to be here." There is more than a hint of exasperation in her voice. "This can't make you happy, Scully. You got sucked into this madness . . . this quest of mine . . . I don't even know what it is anymore. I know you have your own quest now, you have questions of your own that you need answers to . . . but the whole thing is just one huge mess and I don't know what's going on anymore. But I do know that this isn't what you wanted your life to be. And I know for damn sure that you deserve better than this." Scully knows these words. He said the same things to her after they returned from Antarctica. She thought her own words then had convinced him that she was where she wanted to be. "Mulder, why do you keep doing this? Why do I constantly have to reassure you that I want to be here with you, with the X-Files?" "That's just it, Scully--the X-Files are gone. They've been gone for months. And I don't know what to do. I can't sit by and do their grunt work while everything that we've done over the past five years is destroyed--" "So what do you want to do, Mulder? Because if you keep going like you are, it won't be long before you're out of the Bureau for good." "I don't think they want me out of the Bureau." He sees her eyebrow raise and a wry smile appears on his lips. "Well, OK, yeah, they want me out, but they've had enough reason to get rid of me for a long time. There's a reason why I'm still here. Why both of us are still here." "What reason, Mulder? Do you think it's about the virus? And the vaccine?" "Probably. That's probably part of it. But there's probably more, too. And who knows when they'll decide to let us in on their plans. It could be months, years. And I don't want that for you. I want you to have your normal life, Scully." Scully smiles. He's putting himself through this torture because of her. She should probably expect this by now, but it always surprises her, and at times angers her, that he cannot accept that her decisions are her own, made in sound mind and judgment. "Why are you smiling, Scully? You think I've finally gone off the deep end?" "Mulder, I appreciate your concern, but I can look out for myself. If I wanted my normal life right now more than I want to find out what that virus is and where the vaccine comes from, I'd leave. Yes, there's a part of me that wants to stop, to settle down. But there's a larger part that needs to continue our work." "We don't have our work anymore, Scully." "Well, I have faith that we'll get it back." "Do you? I wish I did." "Mulder . . ." She doesn't know what to tell him. They sit in silence for a few minutes before he speaks again. "So, Scully, once we conquer the bad guys and save the world, you'll get away from me and find a husband and raise a family . . . you know, enjoy a normal life void of any unexplained phenomena?" This is a question. She can't understand how he could ask this after what has happened between them in recent months--not to mention the past five years. Brilliant and obtuse, that's her partner. "Um, more or less, Mulder, yeah. Except I think it will be kind of hard to marry you and raise a family with you if you aren't around." He laughs. Because she is kidding. She's just trying to pull him out of his brooding. But when he looks at her, he sees that she is completely serious. She can't be serious. "You aren't serious, Scully?" "I am serious, Mulder." "You are?" The look of total bewilderment on his face makes her smile again. "Yes." "You can't be." And all he can do is stare at her. Finally, he looks away and tries to think of something to say. "So, then, I guess your life won't be totally void of unexplained phenomena." "You think our being together qualifies as an X-File?" She is surprised, but also amused. "Um . . . I . . ." How is a man supposed to create coherent speech after being proposed to by the most vital, brilliant, beautiful thing in his universe? "Because I think it's extremely logical, Mulder." "Logical?" "Yes, I think it's the most logical thing that could happen. Just look at all of the evidence, Mulder. It all points toward one thing." "One thing?" "God, Mulder! Yes, one thing. You and me. Together. Happy. Living a normal life. More or less." She looks at him as if he were a slide under a microscope. "It /was you/ in the hallway that night, wasn't it, Mulder?" She sees the recognition in his eyes, and knows that he understands what she is trying to tell him. "We both wanted that kiss to happen." "We did?" He asks this with a smile as his gaze travels down her face to rest on her mouth. "Yes, we did." And she raises her head so that her lips can meet his descending mouth. And she finds her happiness along with his. El fin.