From: "C. Shuy" Date: 25 Apr 1999 10:02:09 -0700 Subject: [xfcreative] "Honey, I'm Home" From: "C. Shuy" Disclaimer: Fox Mulder, Dana Scully, the X-Files, and associated characters are property of David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Chris Carter, Ten-Thirteen Productions and Fox Broadcasting Corporation. They are used without permission and no copyright infringement is meant. Any elements not recognized as being taken from the show copyright Christina Shuy. Comments and other things sent to cshuy@netcom.com are much appreciated. All of my fanfic can be found at http://www.crosswinds.net/seattle/~trouble42/cshuy/ Thank you to Diana Alexander for the space and the set up. Note: This song belongs to Shania Twain and Mutt Lange. And I thank them for writing such a great song. It certainly does fit some days. Rating: PG(language, maybe), Story, bit'o'humour Spoilers: Well, minor ones from season six. Pre-TwoFathers/OneSon Summary: Scully has a bad day. Mulder tries to make it better. "Honey, I'm Home!" by Christina Shuy cshuy@netcom.com There was a loud knock at the door. A loud, familiar knock. Mulder smiled to himself as he set the CD player to playing, setting it to a certain track. "Just a minute!" He said, running for the door. He had just finished setting the table with his rarely used place settings. He opened the door and saw Scully standing there, looking haggard and more than a little stressed out. The music track had just started. "Hi, Scully! Come on in." He smiled at her, trying to get her to relax. She just looked at him uneasily, almost as if not knowing what to expect. She seemed more than slightly wary, almost as if she'd been in a similar situation before. She raised an eyebrow at him when she realised he had a CD playing and the song was making him want to dance. The lyrics of the song playing caught her ears. "The car won't start - it's falling apart I was late for work and the boss got smart My panty line shows - got a run in my hose My hair went flat - man, I hate that (hate that)" Scully walked in and shrugged out of her overcoat, even as she looked at Mulder strangely and listened to the lyrics of the song at the same time. The artist sounded familiar, though she couldn't quite place either the voice or the other song. Mulder, though, just looked at her with a smile on his face. Even that look was familiar, only she almost expected him to be leering at her instead of just warmly grinning at her the way he usually did when he was trying to get her to relax. "Mulder are you sure inviting me over was a good idea?" Scully's tone of voice was a touch suspicious. "Why not?" A shrug. "It's just that... you offered to cook me dinner and help me relax... and I think I'm afraid." "What do you mean, Scully? I can cook, you know. I don't cook for just anyone." "Does that include yourself, Mulder?" "Most times, yeah, Scully. Besides, as I heard someone else say once, there aren't many recipes that say 'Serves one'." "You have a point there... which is why I cook and save most of it for later." "That's still kind of depressing, Scully." "True." She sighed. It had been a long day, and she felt totally wiped out. "Why not have a seat and let me take care of everything? From what little you've told me, you've had a hell of a day." Mulder smiled at her before going back to the kitchen. Scully watched him go, his hips swaying as though he had longer hair... MUCH longer hair, which is when the familiarity of the artist on the CD player suddenly hit her. Before she could consider much further, though, the song continued. It was a song, she was coming to realise, fit sometimes. Especially on a day like today. "Just when I thought things couldn't get worse I realized I forgot my purse With all this stress - I must confess This could be worse than PMS." "Though not by much." Scully murmured, still listening to the song. It had been a really bad day that day. She already knew Mulder was bored almost senseless by the current assignments of looking into fertilizer purchases by Assistant Director Kersh, but the kind of day she had just finished having made most things Skinner had put them through to be a picnic. As for Kersh, considering the day, even Kersh seemed pleasant, even if only slightly. She *had* forgotten her purse, her panty hose had a bad run in them and they'd been her last pair. Then, her hair was not behaving, making her look like she had gone through a windstorm. Not only that, her car had refused to start that morning, and she'd been forced to take a taxi in, causing her to be late to another chewing-out session that had been scheduled. Which, in turn, only made Kersh chew them both out even more than he had intended originally. "This job ain't worth the pay Can't wait till the end of the day Honey, I'm on my way Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Honey, I'm home and I had a hard day Pour me a cold one and oh, by the way Rub my feet, gimme something to eat Fix me up my favorite treat Honey, I'm back, my head's killing me I need to relax and watch TV Get off the phone - give a dog a bone Hey! Hey! Honey, I'm home!" For the first time that day, Dana Scully smiled and actually meant the emotion behind the expression. Part of her sorely wished that she did have someone to do that for her on a daily basis. It was only then that she realised that she did. Mulder. That is, if she let him. And that was the problem. Mulder was the type of person where you gave an inch, he'd take a mile. Although that mile might well be a nice place to go... eventually. "Scully?" Mulder's voice startled her out of the reverie she had slipped into. "Earth to Dana Scully..." She blinked and saw him holding out a bottle of IBC to her. She noticed the thoughtful look on her partner's face. "Dinner *and* a root beer? Who are you and what have you done with the real Fox Mulder?" Scully smiled, taking the bottle from him. "Oh, ha-ha." Mulder feigned offence. However, even as Scully grinned at her partner, he returned her smile. He'd wanted to see her smile, and was glad to see that it worked. "I broke a nail opening the mail I cursed out loud 'cause it hurt like hell This job's a pain - it's so mundane It sure don't stimulate my brain" Dana Scully studied her fingernails. Lately, the job had been so boring, she could almost swear she heard both her hair and her fingernails growing. Except for today. Today, she seemed to be doing more hair PULLING, and her fingernails were a bit chipped from all the stress and strain, not to mention the fact that she'd chewed on them. Well, at least she hadn't broken any of them. Yet. "This job ain't worth the pay Can't wait till the end of the day Honey, I'm on my way Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey! Honey, I'm home and I had a hard day Pour me a cold one and oh, by the way Rub my feet, gimme something to eat Fix me up my favorite treat Honey, I'm back, my head's killing me I need to relax and watch TV Get off the phone - give a dog a bone Hey! Hey! Honey, I'm home! Oh, rub my neck will you" Right as the line had been spoken by Shania Twain in the song, Mulder's hands had started working on the knot of tension in her shoulders and the sensation was toe-curling. Fortunately, she'd kicked off her shoes already. Upon entering Mulder's apartment, actually. Which was a good idea, especially considering her toes were curling now and she felt shivers down her spine as she began to truly relax under her partner's massaging of her neck muscles. Relaxing warmth began to spread, even as he moved from neck to shoulders. Dana Katherine Scully, Special Agent with the FBI, and forensic pathologist, was finally beginning to relax, after a day even Hell would have thought was difficult. "Honey, I'm home and I had a hard day Pour me a cold one and oh, by the way Rub my feet, gimme something to eat Fix me up my favorite treat Honey, I'm back, my head's killing me I need to relax and watch TV Get off the phone - give a dog a bone Hey! Hey! Honey, I'm home! "I'm home, that feels much better" Mulder felt her relax under his hands and smiled to himself. "You know, Mulder, a woman could get used to this." "Well, if said woman is you, then by all means... get used to it. I'll be willing to cook for you anytime." Mulder grinned, just as the kitchen timer went off. "Go ahead and sit down at the table. Excuse me. I do believe dinner is ready." Mulder returned to the kitchen to retrieve dinner. On the way, he stopped to hit the CD changer and the more soothing sounds of Bach's Brandenburg Concertos drifted out of his stereo speakers. She caught the beginnings of his air conducting even as he went to go check on the food, which she was now smelling. Scully admired his table settings. The black stoneware plates seemed just like Mulder's style. Actually, they were her style as well. She had a set almost exactly like what he had set out on his table. Off to one corner, she could see what had been on the table stacked rather neatly and unobtrusively. Apparently, Mulder was picking up her habits, even if his desk was still a mess. "What's for dinner, Mulder?" Scully asked, upon his return from the kitchen, carrying platters of food. "I was thinking 'fun', Scully, so I made fettucine alfredo with garlic bread, ordered barbequed ribs, and I have a whole box of fudgesicles in the freezer we can eat while we watch fun movies." Mulder continued to grin even after he revealed each of the dishes sitting on the table. Each entree he'd mentioned had been dished up family style, and there was more than enough for the two of them. "Mulder, I wasn't aware you had any fun movies." "Oh, I do. Disney, mostly. Though I do have both versions of the Star Wars Trilogy, depending on which one I'm in the mood for. Or would you rather watch a few hockey games I've managed to tape in the last few months... especially since I know you're not much of a Knicks fan." That last statement was spoken grinningly. Scully grinned. "Only if they've got Wayne Gretzky in them." "Why, Scully, are you admitting to having a crush on the Great One?" "Mulder, shut up and let me eat. After all, you did say this was to help me relax, right?" "I'll see what I can do. Eat up, Scully. You look more relaxed now than you have been. And it's better to eat when relaxed than when stressed." "Mulder, you have no idea..." -End- Author's notes: That one line of Mulder's about not many recipes say 'serves one' is borrowoed from a fic I read once, only I can't remember who wrote it or which fic it was in... so I apologize now for that bit of plagarism... but I liked the line and figured I would use it. Largely because it IS true. "The Truth is Out There. Trust No One."- from "The X-Files" Pursuing a BS(Electrical Engineering)-Math 209 - Spring Quarter 1999-CSULA Looking for work and a place to live - San Jose bound delayed till August "If his hand moves from the small of my back, shoot him." Anne Rooney(C-16) "Don't mind him. He'll go on forever." - Dana Scully, The X-Files "Alpha"