From: EmilyMuldr@aol.com Date: Thu, 13 Jul 2000 14:34:23 EDT Subject: Rose Resolutions (1/1) by Dana Katherine Mulder Source: direct Title: Rose Resolutions Author: Dana Katherine Mulder (EmilyMuldr@aol.com) Rating: PG Classification: SR Spoliers: Nada Keywords: Mulder/Scully friendship Summary: Some good old fashioned bonding right around the most romantic time of the year could send things bouncing off in new directions... Author's Notes: All right, I know it was the wrong holiday, but I actually wrote this one over Easter. I don't know, Valentine's Day is just sexier than Easter, ya know? Of course feedback isn't just welcome, it's a necessity! Please send me any comments you have. I'd love to know what you think, but if you didn't like my story, be gentle! So do your good deed for the day, send me some feedback! Disclaimer: I'll admit it. I stole em. But I promise I gave em back, so don't sue. Besides, why do you want to sue me for the valuable $5.31 I've saved? That'd be cruel. Archive: Feel free to archive this anywhere, just let me know first! Special thanks goes out to my editor, Marie, whose ideas and insight helped me develop my story even further. ********************* Rose Resolutions by Dana Katherine Mulder Barley's Italian Restaurant Thursday, February 13 7:32 PM Dana Scully smoothed down her black skirt before opening the glass door to Barley's Italian Restaurant right outside Alexandria. She was meeting Mulder there as a celebration of finally clearing the mounds of paperwork off both of their desks. Mulder had suggested the outing when they had one last case file to finish up. As Scully entered, she quickly glanced around for Mulder, finally spotting him at a table for two near the back. Scully walked over to the table, once again smoothing down her skirt, while her black pumps clicked noisily on the wooden floor. "Hey, Scully," Mulder greeted as Scully took her seat across from him. He had been eying the menu, the case file set off to one side of the table. "Hi, Mulder," Scully replied, taking the sight of him in. He was wearing his suit from today, minus the jacket. He had brushed his hair back, but a few pieces still fell across his forehead. His hazel eyes sparkled in the dim light of the restaurant as he looked toward her. "Scully," Mulder started, "I hope you don't mind, I went ahead and ordered a couple glasses of wine for us." "Oh, Mulder, no that's great," she replied, smiling slightly. "Yeah, well, I thought we deserved a celebration after having our collective asses chewed out for the past week." Scully laughed. In the past week, they had definitely made more trips to Skinner's office than they had in a long time. Then Scully asked, "So all we have to do is make a conclusion on the Porter-Ross case?" "Yeah, that's it. Maybe Skinner'll leave us alone after we get that done. I'm getting rather sick of our little conferences." "For every hour we've wasted in his office getting yelled at, we could have had the paperwork finished a hundred times over," Scully added. "I think Skinner gets some kind of stress relief therapy by yelling at us," Mulder stated taking in the essence that was Scully. She had changed since work. She was now wearing a knee length black skirt with a white blouse over it. She had her soft auburn hair pulled back away from her face with tiny silver clips, leaving a few strands still dangling by her ears, framing her face. And her blouse, well it was just the slightest bit see through... Mulder's thoughts were abruptly interrupted by the waiter bringing two glasses and a bottle of wine to their table. "Are you folks ready to order?" asked the waiter. "Umm, I haven't even looked at the menu yet," Scully started. "Scully, try the homestyle baked spaghetti with mushrooms, it's really good, the sauce is their own trade secret." Scully looked up from Mulder toward the waiter and said, "I'll have that then," Make that two," Mulder added before the waiter left to deliver the order to the kitchen. Mulder then lifted his glass into a toast and said "Happy early Valentine's Day, Scully." Scully smiled thoughtfully and said, "Happy Valentine's Day, Mulder." ~*xXx*~ Mulder was right. The spaghetti was excellent, more like exquisite. The had carried on a conversation about weekend plans, work, and other matters, only touching the subject of the case file long enough so that they would be able to draw up enough conclusions for a report. When they were finished Mulder asked, "Ready to go?" "Sure." "I'll walk you to your car then." "Ok, it's parked across the street though. The parking lot over here was full when I pulled up." "That's fine," Mulder added before leaving money for the meal and then helping Scully up from her chair. Mulder led Scully out of the restaurant and onto the rainy street by the small of her back, not dropping his hand from that position even after they exited the building. The street was now dark, street lights providing their only light. Scully's car was parked across the street at a small pharmacy. Outside of the pharmacy was a stand with a man selling a wide array of colorful long-stemmed roses. When they reached Scully's car, Mulder said, "Geez, you think that guy has enough different colors of roses Scully?" She looked at Mulder and said, "Well, you know each color means something different." "Oh, yeah?" "Well, sure, Mulder. White is usually friendship, yellow can mean jealousy, red's I love you, pink's I like you, etceteras." "Hmm, I didn't know they each meant something special," Mulder said glancing towards the stand again. "Yeah," Scully added watching the drizzle dampen Mulder's soft chestnut hair. Then she said, "Thank you, Mulder, I really had a great time." "I'm glad," he said smiling. "All right," she said smiling back at him. "I'll see you tomorrow." "Bye," he said, trying to burn the picture of Scully's warm smile into his memory. After her car had safely pulled away, Mulder walked toward the rose stand. As Mulder approached the stand, a man bundled in a green coat asked cheerfully, "What can I do for ya?" Mulder replied, "Oh, I'm just looking." "You lookin for somethin for the wife?" the man asked. "No, I'm not married, just a friend." "Oh, that pretty redhead you were with? Girlfriend?" "No, she's just my friend. But yeah, it's for her." "All right then, let me know what I can do for ya." "Ok," Mulder said back. Mulder let out a sigh and began thinking about what color to get Scully. Mulder's mind continued thinking about which color he should get. Mulder thought as he picked up a flower from one of the various bins and took out his wallet to pay for it. ~*xXx*~ J. Edgar Hoover Building Basement Office 6:40 AM Scully opened the door to their office wondering where Mulder was. She thought he would have been there earlier considering they had an 8 AM with Skinner once again. When she walked in, Mulder's desk was completely cleared of the usual clutter it attracted. On the right corner of his desk lay a solitary long-stemmed red rose. Curious, Scully walked over to it. As she picked up the card that laid next to it, a huge smile spread across her face. Scully- Red Means I Love You ~The End~ ******************** Well, I sure hope you liked it! *Please* send me feedback at EmilyMuldr@aol.com, I live for that stuff! I'd love to know what you think. ******************** "Who are these men who would create a life whose only hope was to die?" --Scully "I don't know. But that you found her, and you had a chance to love her, maybe she was meant for that, too." --Mulder "She found me." --Scully "So you could save her." --Mulder From the 5th season's "Emily" ********************