From: eponine119 Date: Wed, 22 Nov 1995 17:28:50 -0800 Subject: NEW: Mulder's Girlfriend (1/1) Disclaimer: These characters, their lives and their furniture belong to Chris Carter, 10-13 and Fox. Not me. My comment: This is my silly take on what's been so recently discussed: will Mulder acquiring a girlfriend spoil the show? There is no X File. There is no relationship. There's just...this. If you like it or don't, email me at eponine@uci.edu Mulder's Girlfriend by eponine119 eponine@uci.edu Scully stopped short when she saw Mulder in their office. She blinked twice, but the image before her remained the same. "New suit?" she asked finally. "Don't act so shocked, Scully." She recovered herself well enough to retort, "Does this mean the agency is finally giving us a clothing budget?" "You wish," Mulder said and caught her smile as she imagined the possibilities. "Then where'd you get the money?" she asked. "I sold my tapes." Mulder said proudly. Scully was shocked. "All of them?" "All of them." "Good for you," she said as she sat down at her desk, but she didn't sound like she truly meant it. Her forehead creased a little. This was really serious, she thought, if Mulder was selling his porn tapes and spending money on his appearance. She'd written his new girlfriend Kelly off as a passing trifle. Now it appeared she'd been too hasty. "Scully!" She snapped out of her thoughts as she heard Mulder say her name. "Did you hear what I said?" "No." "Skinner wants to see you." "Me?" "You. Alone. What'd you do to get in trouble?" "Me?" she asked, searching her memory. "Nothing." "Good luck." Mulder said and buried his nose in a file. She noticed as she passed that the file label didn't even begin with X. Things were getting strange, she thought. "Does Agent Mulder seem strange to you?" Skinner asked, his face looking pinched behind his glasses. "Sir?" "Let me start over." Skinner said. "Do you think Agent Mulder's new...relationship...is affecting his work?" "No, sir," Scully answered, puzzled. "Are you certain?" his eyes searched her face. She thought back. "Well...now that you mention it, he does seem sort of...well-adjusted lately. Almost happy. Not that that's bad," she said quickly. "But he acts like he's starting to trust people. And, now that I'm thinking about it, I don't think he's mentioned aliens or any other strange phenomena in relation to a case since he met her." Skinner nodded. "Do you see what's happening?" "Yes," Scully looked up, her eyes wide in alarm. "Mulder's acting weird. Or, normal. Which for Mulder is very weird." "And his work is suffering. I never thought I'd see the day Fox Mulder didn't care about UFOs...and I was worried about it," said Skinner. "Is that why you called me in here?" Scully asked. Skinner nodded. "I hate to ask this of you, but...do you think if Mulder were more interested in you, he might be more interested in his work?" Scully stared at him. "Are you asking me if I would be willing to break up Mulder and Kelly?" she asked, scandalized. "Of course, I can't order you to do anything. I'll give you some time to think about it." Skinner said, dismissing her. Scully returned to the basement, her thoughts in an uproar. Could she do it? Morally? Would it be the right thing to do? She walked into their office and stopped. Mulder had his back to her, pushing the final thumbtack into a new poster. A sunset. He felt her eyes on him and turned. "Like it?" She felt all nervous and trembly inside. "What happened to the old one?" she asked. "I'm tired of it...I was going to throw it away, but do you want it?" He held the large paper out to her. She accepted it and spread it out on her desk. "I want to believe," the letters proclaimed. Scully turned quickly and left the office, practically running until she reached Skinner's office. "I'll do it," she declared. She was a little nervous three mornings later, reviewing her routine before Mulder arrived at the office. Was it the right thing to do? He seemed so happy, who was she to spoil it? The only reason he's happy is because that woman is sucking his brain out through his...nevermind. Mulder wasn't Mulder any more. She had to believe he'd thank her for this later. She looked at the picture of the sunset. She had to save him. Finally he came into the office but he didn't even look at her. Five minutes passed, ten. Scully was starting to get angry. Plan B, she said to herself and slid smoothly into an opening gambit. She rose from her chair and crossed the room to his desk, tottering on heels so high they'd make Paula Abdul turn green with envy. She slid a file up from his desk and sat down on a corner of the desk, crossing her legs, the whisper of her pantyhose deliberately audible. She swung her booted foor gently as she perused the file. Good, Mulder was staring at her. But he didn't say anything. With a shrug, she set the file down. She sighed and slunk back to her desk, resting her chin on both her hands. "Scully?" he asked. She didn't look up. "Is something wrong?" She heard concern for her in his voice. The old Mulder was in there somewhere. "It's not important," she said, looking sad. He got up and walked over to her. It was working...so far. Mentally she crossed her fingers. "Scully, what's wrong?" he asked. "You can tell me." She faced him. "I'm not sure you want to hear about it." He bent so he was on eye level with her. "Hey, come on, I want to know. If something's bothering you..." She looked at him carefully. "It's personal," she averted her eyes quickly. "Scully-" "Ok, you really want to know?" She asked. He nodded. Her heart was pounding as she wondered if she could actually pull this off. "I feel...reckless," she said, leaning in toward him. She had his full attention, she noticed, once he took a quick look down her loose blouse. She struggled to recall that perfect "Moonlighting" rerun she'd caught the other night. "I feel like..." she paused to draw him in, "I feel like picking up some man and not even knowing his name, and spending the night with him and not even know -" "Scully!" Mulder said sharply. "You're right. I'm sorry. I should have kept it to myself. We have work to do." She turned away to work at her desk, watching him out of the corner of her eye. It was a moment before he rose and returned to his desk and even then he was staring at her. This is going to work, she thought, I'm going to get my partner back. She got up to leave their office a little earlier and more eagerly than usual. "Scully-" said Mulder then hesistated. "What are you doing after work?" "I thought I'd have a few drinks and relax," she said, no real reference to her earlier outburst. "Why? You want to come?" "No," he said too quickly. "Bye," she walked out slowly, knowing he was following her. She was in the bar, bored stiff, for three whole hours before Mulder came in after her. She swiftly pushed away her juice drink and tried to look bombed. "Come on," he grabbed her arm and pulled her up. "Mulder?" she blinked and stumbled. "I'm driving you home." They sat in angry silence in his car. Scully felt bad that he was mad at her but reminded herself that this was for his own good. She looked up out the windsheild and froze. "What's that?" "What?" "That." She pointed, terrified. She was being bad, and now she was going to punished for it, she thought suddenly. "Oh my God," Mulder said in awe, looking up at the lights in the night sky. "It's an airplane," Scully said quickly. "No," he said, amazed, "It's a UFO." At least her partner was back, she thought, her eyes still trained on the lights. He floored the gas, following the lights for several miles until they just....disappeared. Mulder and Scully exchanged a look. Then Mulder turned around and drove her home. He was excited when he returned to his apartment. "Kelly, you'll never guess what," he said to the woman sitting on his couch, flipping channels. Click. Click. "I saw a UFO." Click. Click. "It was fantastic." Kelly slammed down the remote. "Fantastic?" she cried at last. "Fantastic? I've been sitting here waiting for five hours and the best excuse you have is a UFO!" Her angry eyes met his confused ones. "You believe it, don't you? You're just as crazy as when I met you. I thought I could change you, but I guess I was wrong." She grabbed her coat and her purse. "UFOs," she snorted and the door slammed. Mulder stared after her. Why was she upset? he wondered. He sat down and thought about it. Kelly had tried to change him, he realized, and it had almost worked. Funny how he didn't miss her after realizing that, the thought as he rummaged through his bookshelf to classify the UFO he'd seen. There was a bare spot on the wall where the sunset had recently been. Mulder wasn't smiling when Scully walked in. "Scully?" he asked. "Yes?" she asked back, wondering if her plan had worked. It looked like the old Mulder...she wondered if it would have worked if they hadn't seen that blimp of weather balloon or, well, UFO. "I -uh - did you by any chance keep my poster?" he asked. She grinned as she pulled it out of her desk. She even helped him hang it. She'd never been so glad to see the silly thing. Mulder was back. Now life could progress normally...which was usually pretty weird. End. So there you have it, the true story of Mulder's girlfriend. Please email me and tell me what you think (eponine@uci.edu) Coming soon:" Dinner and A Movie" (probably this weekend, it's all written) "Dares 4: a new hope" (as soon as I write it, maybe this weekend) "The Happiest Place on Earth....until Mulder and Scully got there" (After Dares, after I go to Disneyland...)