From: MD1016 Date: 02 May 2000 02:30:16 GMT Subject: New: Maybe Yes by MD1016 Gossamer: VA Rated: PG Spoilers: 6th Season Keywords: none Summary: Sequel to Pyrrhic Maybe Yes by MD1016 Scully looked at her partner, who sat hunched over, elbows on knees and panting. Sweat stained both the front and back of his navy t-shirt and grey shorts, and slicked his hair to his forehead and neck. They'd started running at just after six, and by Scully's watch it was ten of seven. The morning sun was bright, and the air at their altitude was thinner than either of them was used to. Normally she would've declined his invitation for a jog before breakfast, but since it had been the first complete sentence he'd graced her with in more than two weeks, she could hardly refuse. "I'm getting old," he complained, and then coughed a little. "The path's uneven," she supplied. "Half of what we did was up hill." He glanced at her, and then turned to face the vista. They'd stopped at a look-out of the valley below. The blue slick surface of the lake glimmered with the reflection of the rising sun. White houses dotted the opposite shore, interspersed through a dense cover of forest. It was a beautiful morning. Too bad Scully would most likely spend the entire day in the morgue looking for clues to the most recent unexplained series of deaths that they were investigating. "How many years have we been doing this, Scully. When are we going to find some level ground?" When she looked at him he was already staring at her. "It's hard to be mad at you. I don't have the energy anymore." A cool breeze washed over them. It chilled the sweat on the back of Scully's neck, and send a shiver down her spine. "Good. I'm tired of being mad at." She leaned back against the slats of the wooden bench and inhaled deeply. They'd been there four days, and she still wasn't accustomed to the faint sweetness of unpolluted mountain air. "But I need to understand something, Scully." He folded his hands so tightly his knuckles turned white. "I need to know...on the last case...that night by the pool..." He cleared his throat and clenched his jaw. "What do you want to know, Mulder?" "How you could do it. How you could sit there and offer me sex in exchange for my relationship with Diana. Don't you have any respect for me? For yourself?" He said her name, and Scully's stomach clenched. It had been two weeks without even a mention of that woman. "I'm not a whore, if that's what you're suggesting. I don't sell myself to get what I want." She didn't bother to hide the hurt. "But I do give of myself to help those I care about." "You offer too much." "I know. I always have. But it's still not enough, is it?" He glanced at her, and she kept her eyes focused on the tiny sail boat making its way down the narrow lake. "She gave you something I couldn't." He sighed. "Scully, don't do this. Diana's gone." "You're right." "And besides, it's not a contest. You don't have to sleep with me just because she did. No one's keeping score." "I didn't offer to sleep with you. I suggested we become lovers -" He cut her off with a pointed: "You said I could use your body!" "Because you said a body was all that mattered to you." A bird squawked over head and then dove down towards the valley. Scully watched it until it blended with the trees below. Now that she'd caught her breath, the sun wasn't warm enough on her bare arms and legs. She stared at her goose bumps. "Maybe I offered because I don't want things to be like this anymore, either. Maybe I want some even ground for a while. Maybe you...maybe you mean everything to me, too." He didn't move when he asked, "Maybe?" "Say yes, Mulder, and find out." "Maybe I will." She risked a glance at him, but his gaze was on the water below. "Maybe," she asked. "Maybe." He stood then, and stretched his arms above his head. "It's getting late. And we've got miles to go." She nodded as she joined him on the path. "But it's more or less down hill from here, isn't?" His eyes remained on the ground in front of him, but a wistful smile bloomed on his lips. "More or less." End.