From: ephemeral@ephemeralfic.org Date: 23 Jun 2002 22:14:33 -0000 Subject: One for the Road by Starbuck_Jayne Source: direct Reply To: Starbuck_Jayne@mulderandscully.co.uk One For the Road By Starbuck_Jayne Starbuck_Jayne@mulderandscully.co.uk Rating: PG but you know I'm not very good with ratings! Spoilers: Arcadia, Hollywood AD but very minor spoilers! Keywords: MSR Disclaimer: None of the characters in this story belong to me I am just borrowing them for a while. They belong to Chris Carter, 1013 and Fox. Archive: Anywhere at all just please keep my name and e-mail attached, but no flames please I'm way too delicate! Summary: Does anyone else really miss those "Mulder and Scully on a case file" moments? Feedback: On my knees and begging for it. Author's Notes: Well, I'm not so sure when this is set, probably in a time like the one between Je Souhaite and Requiem, but a few years in the future. Mulder and Scully have two children and aren't on the run. I was just watching Bad Blood and started thinking about the good old days :) One For the Road Starbuck_Jayne It was funny that she didn't remember being drunk within the past twenty-four hours, and yet that seemed the only plausible explanation for how she managed to be sitting in the passenger seat of Mulder's car in the middle of nowhere. "I cannot believe I let you talk me into this!" She had to laugh at herself; it was either that or question her sanity. Mulder smiled as he played with the radio. He'd promised her it would be romantic, like a second honeymoon if only they'd had a first. "This is where I bring all the laydees...are you implying that's not normal?" Mulder feigned shock before abandoning the radio project and stretching his arms behind his head. "So run this by me one more time. We're out on a deserted highway in the middle of the night because..." "It's haunted." "Haunted, of course." "Come on, Scully? What did you expect?" He laughed, "Besides, you didn't have to come." "So I'm going to let you go off roaming the countryside, chasing your imagination by yourself am I?" "See, Scully, I knew you cared!" "You know, Mulder, this place is the site of one of the biggest natural iron ore resources in the country," "Scully!" Mulder gave his partner the kind of look you might give someone who had just offered to flash you, or told you in great detail the kinds of things they wanted to do to you in bed. "What I'm saying, Mulder, is that the iron ore combined with the energy from overhead power cables will generate a huge magnetic field. High levels of magnetic flux in the temporal lobe have been known to cause strange visions." "Yeah, and did *you* know, Scully, that..." "That...?" Scully suddenly had the strangest feeling of deja vu- as if she was re-living the past ten years of her life in that one moment. It had taken her about eighteen months to convince William that eating things he found under the sofa wasn't a good idea, but she was still working on convincing Mulder that it wasn't healthy to spend 3/4 of your adult life pursuing childish dreams. She was rescued from the torment that would have been a deep and meaningful conversation into the origins of ghosts by the ringing of her cell phone. "Scully." She looked towards Mulder as she listened to the caller, causing her partner to shift slightly through apprehension. This left him supported by his elbow, which rested on the edge of the car window. "Ok, yeah, Mom, just make sure he gets plenty of sleep and tell him I'll see him tomorrow. You too, bye." Scully hung up the phone. "She thinks Will's got chickenpox," she said, assuming Mulder had worked out who she'd been talking to. "Is he ok?" "Oh yeah. Nothing that the promise of a few days off school won't fix." Mulder grinned. "You know, Scully, I never imagined being a dad." "I suppose no one does, really. I imagine you just think you'll spend your whole life being the child, and your own father will always be there, the real father figure." "I have to admit, Scully, I don't think I felt that "magical instant bond" after the birth." Scully coughed. "Mulder, you weren't there when Will was born, and you, erm, passed out during Katie's birth." "I didn't pass out...that floor was slippery!" They laughed. That strange formal laugh they seemed to have developed over the years. It was more a quick acknowledgement of the other's wit than genuine amusement, and it had got to the point where neither could remember the days of pre-FBI carefree laughter anymore. Scully grasped Mulder's fingers as they caressed her cheek and pulled them towards her lips. "This isn't like old times at all, Scully," Mulder sighed, "I miss the FBI." "Really?" "No. I miss the typing pool though," he grinned in a way that earned him a half- hearted look of disapproval. "You tired, Scully?" "Nope," she yawned, covering her mouth with the back of her hand as she stretched. "Ok," Mulder nodded before turning to face her." "Shouldn't you be watching for ghosts, Mulder?" "Scully, we've known each other a long time, right?" "About ten years," she said, "why?" "And we've been together, what, four?" he said, ignoring her question." "Five," she rested her head on her left hand, "if you're counting Rob and Laura." Her attempt at humour went unnoticed, her husband's attention clearly elsewhere. Moments passed by and he didn't speak, so Scully sighed and offered him some coffee from a Thermos she'd brought. As a general rule, the pair didn't bring refreshments on a stakeout, mainly due to the fact that Scully always seemed to be on some sort of confusing diet, whilst her partner seemed able to stay alive on little more than sunflower seeds and beer. In this case, however, Scully had determined that she would need all the help she could get to avoid falling into a boredom-induced sleep. She sipped her coffee in silence, the creamy liquid seeping down her throat, leaving its bitter imprint on the back of her mouth. It was the distant screech of an owl that startled Scully from her reverie, the sound piercing the almost eerie silence that had engulfed the pair. At the same time she felt a small breath of icy air, and shivered in spite of herself. Mulder gave her a questioning gaze, but didn't speak. She returned the communication with a shrug before taking another sip of her coffee. "Ok, so what have I never asked you about?" Mulder was really scraping the barrel now as far as conversation went. "Mulder..." Scully chided him before suddenly breathing in sharply. "Oh! Did you feel that? It's freezing!" She exclaimed. "Yeah, right, Scully!" Mulder laughed. "Mulder, are you saying you can't feel anything?" "I'm not sure I know what you mean, Agent Scully," Mulder's tone went unnoticed on his partner, who was moving for her gun. As this realisation dawned on him, his own hand touched the holster at his waist. "Mulder..." "I see them, Scully," Mulder rose and slipped out of the car, "kinda tempting to shout 'FBI!'" he muttered to his partner. Directly in front of the couple was the figure of a man, his back to them as they moved in from behind. "Careful, Mulder," Scully noticed that he was moving ahead of her, "he may be armed." "Yeah, and he may be dead." Scully rolled her eyes. "Sir?" She called to the stranger, "Sir, would you mind turning around?" The man appeared to be momentarily startled, and began to run towards the edge of the highway. Mulder and Scully followed, and it was moments before Mulder was within feet of their target. The road lurched suddenly to the left-a blind corner. The pair lost sight of the man for a matter of seconds, but by the time they had rounded the corner, he was gone. "Where'd he go?" Scully was slightly breathless-chasing criminals no longer being a major part of her day-to-day life. Mulder replaced his gun and shook his head. "Retreated to the next world?" He suggested. "Come on, Scully, let's go home." He put his arm around his wife, and they walked back towards the car. Scully had to wonder if maybe he was tiring of the paranormal investigator's lifestyle at last. In a weird way, she had to admit that she missed the stakeouts - sitting in the middle of nowhere, staring up at the stars because their conversation about genetic mutants and alien life forms had hit a dead-end. The stars were out in full that night, glittering jewels that adorned the dark sky, beautiful despite providing no light. Beautiful, but worthless. "You ok, Mulder?" She moved her head from its resting place on his shoulder and regarded him as closely as she could. He didn't answer, just gave her arm a gentle squeeze. "Leaving so early tonight," she laughed and raised her hand to feel his forehead. "Are you feeling ok?" She was shocked to find that the skin pressed against her hand was considerably higher than normal. "Geez, Mulder! You're burning up!" She exclaimed. "Come on, we'd better get home." "Ok, but I'm not sleeping on the sofa again." XXXXXXX "Mulder, it's just the chickenpox," Scully shook her thermometer, "no need for panic." "So much for bedside manner," Mulder tapped his doctor lightly on the hip. "Mulder, any more of that and you'll be watching that 'Lazarus Bowl' tape." The point was taken and Mulder raised his hands in defence. "Ok, now get some sleep," she bent down to kiss his forehead, before moving from her position on the edge of the bed. Sliding underneath the covers, she turned off the light. The room was plunged into a heavy darkness, the only light coming from a meagre shaft of moonlight that crept underneath the curtains. In the darkness Scully felt a pair of arms entwine themselves around her, and a small voice declare that he was "always very happy to be lying on top of her". XXXXXXX Thanks for reading! Feedback worshipped...no, seriously. :)