yFrom:             DiLisky@ix.netcom.com
Date sent:        Sat, 14 Jun 1997 18:09:15 -0700

Title: Sleeping Beauty
Author: Kristyn Collins
Rating: PG-13 (for suggestive material)
Classification: VR (M/S Romance)
Spoilers:
Keywords:
Summary:  Scully falls asleep on Mulder's couch.  When he returns from a 
date, he feels there is something that he needs to tell her.

As noted in the Classification, this is a M/S romance story.  Non-shippers 
beware.  I suppose I should include a disclaimer, so here goes:
Disclaimer:  All characters belong to 10-13 productions and the Blessed Chris 
Carter and Fox Entertainment.  Not to me.  I wish they were, cause then I'd do 
some pretty cool things with them, but that's an entirely different subject.  
No infringement intended.

This is a sappy story, and it's short.  It's my first attempt.  Hope you like it.  
(PS This is my first submission, and I LOVE LOVE LOVE E-MAIL!  WRITE ME!)



Sleeping Beauty
A Shippy Story
By Kristyn Collins
        Scully lay on the black leather couch, next to the aquarium.  Her lips were 
pursed, her eyes fluttered.  She was asleep, and having a not-so-partnerlike 
dream about Mulder.  She dreamt he was holding her.  They were in her bed, 
and they were naked.  But they were not making love, just holding each 
other.  He was warm, and he smelled good, like musk and aftershave.  But as 
she heard the door to his apartment, she roused herself from the appealing 
dream.  It took her a minute to remember she was in his apartment.  When 
she opened her eyes, she was face-to-face with the real Mulder.  He looked at 
her strangely.
        "Scully, what are you doing here?" he said, helping her to sitting position.
        "I came over to share some paperwork with you.  You weren't here and the 
door was open, so I decided to wait.  I fell asleep on your couch.  What time is 
it?" she yawned.
        "Almost midnight," he sighed, taking a seat next to her.
        "Really?  That late?  I got here at eight," she paused, "I'm sorry, I didn't 
mean to intrude.  Where have you been all night?"
        "Actually, I was on a date," he said, looking at the floor.
        "Really," her voice unusually high, "a date?" The last word tumbled out of 
her mouth.  She was sure he could hear the bottled up emotions in her voice.
        "Yeah, with Celeste, another field agent.  She's nice but..."
        "But stupid?" Scully cut him off.  That "but" made her hope.
        "No!  She's very smart, and sexy, and she listens to me.  It's just 
that...never mind it's dumb," he said taking off his sport jacket and tie.  He 
sunk down into the couch.
        "What Mulder?  Tell me!" she was anxious.  That dream had awakened her 
feelings for him tenfold.
        "No.  Nevermind," he said again, "Let me see that paperwork," he reached 
for the papers on the coffee table.  She got to them first and held them out of 
his reach.
        "Not until you tell me!" She felt like a high-schooler.  Why was she doing 
this?  He made her feel sixteen years old tonight!  She played keep-away for 
a few minutes with him.  She got up and ran across the room, giggling all 
the while.  He did not follow her.  He looked very weary tonight, and she 
wondered if this Celeste had anything to do with his sadness.  Her face 
softened and she returned to her seat next to him, handing him the papers.  
He set them back on the coffee table.  She mouthed the words, "I'm sorry," 
and he nodded.
        "I suppose I should tell you.  You'll get it out of me anyway.  You always do," 
he smiled thinly, "I guess I can trust you with this.  I can trust you with 
everything else." She returned his smile.  Scully put a hand on his knee, 
urging him on.  "I was talking to Celeste, telling her about my work.  I told 
her about the x-files and about you and about the aliens.  I kind of skipped 
the part about my sister." He looked up at her and gazed into her eyes, 
"When I look at you Scully, I see myself.  When I looked at her, I saw this 
woman whom I barely knew staring back at me.  It was like that first day I 
met you.  Except she didn't have the tenacity.  I told her about the aliens, 
and do you know what she said?  She said, Wow!  That's really interesting!  
Aliens always interested me!  I really do believe in the existence of existence 
of extra-terrestrials!'  Pretty ironic, hush?"
        "Yeah!" she laughed, "I remember when I told you the first time MY ideas 
about aliens!"
        "That's just it Scully.  I couldn't be with a woman who agreed with me all 
the time!  What fun is that?"
        "Well, if arguing all the time is FUN, we must be having a better time than 
the Lone Gunmen do on the Kennedy Assassination Forum on the Internet."
        He laughed.  Then his face grew serious, "You're not understanding what it 
is I'm trying to tell you.  What I need to tell you, Sc-Dana."
        "Dana!!!?  Dana!!!? Must be important for you to call me that, what is it?"  He 
touched her thigh, near her hip.  Her flesh trembled at the touch, and he 
pulled his hand away.  She closed her eyes.  Ms. Logic, Dana Scully, knew 
what was coming, but she honestly had no game plan, no idea what to do 
when it happened.  There she was, on his couch.  Fox Mulder's couch.  And 
he was about to tell her how he felt.
        "Dana, this is important.  Tonight, while dancing with Celeste I found 
myself pretending it was you I was holding so close.  Wishing it was you," he 
moved closer to her, gently touching her chin with the back of his hand.  
Her eyes were still closed.  "Please answer me.  I need to hear you voice."
        It took a few minutes, but when she finally did speak, her voice had none of 
the tenacity he had previously spoke of.  It was timid and scared, like a 
child's, "You know how I feel about you, Mulder.  But I'm scared.  What are 
we supposed to do now?" she asked, putting her head in the crook of his 
shoulder and arm.  Hiding herself from him.
        "I don't know how you feel Dana.  Tell me." His arm encircled her.  She was 
shaking, maybe she was crying.  He didn't want to hurt her.  He had done too 
much of that over the past four and a half years.  He thought that this would 
make her feel better.  After another long silence she looked up, her cheeks 
tear-stained.  He just wanted to make the pain stop for her.  All these years, 
that was all he has ever wanted.  She looked intently into his eyes, searching 
for something.  He mouthed the word, "please".
        "You're a pretty okay guy, Mulder.  I like you a lot."
        "You LIKE me?"
        "Well, I have been feeling like a sixteen year-old today.  I guess that's the 
appropriate term.  Mulder, I respect and admire you more than I have ever 
respected and admired a man before, except maybe my father," she said.  He 
looked away from her, unable to meet her gaze.  He knew where this was 
going.  You're just a friend, Mulder.  I can never love you more than that.  
He could hear her voice saying those words.  No! His heart screamed.  After 
all we've been through!  How could she reject him?  He pulled his arm away 
from her angrily.  But she grabbed his hand and pressed it to her neck, 
"Mulder, I respect, admire and...I lo...love you.  I love you," she said.  Then 
she began crying again.
         "I love you too.  But more than that.  When I thought I'd lost you, when 
Duane Barry took you, I thought someone had ripped my heart out.  When 
Donnie Pfaster made you shake and cry it brought me more pain than works 
express.  When...when you were diagnosed with cancer.  You can't imagine 
the hurt I felt.  I know that sounds selfish, but you were so strong.  So firm.  
And I knew then that I was nothing without your strength.  I knew then I 
loved more than a friend.  That you were so much more to me.  And that I 
could never live without you!" he moved in for a kiss.  She was reminded of 
Eddie Van Blundht, but only for a second.  This was much better, this was 
real.  But Dana Scully couldn't handle it.  She just didn't know what would 
happen tomorrow.  
        "Mulder?  What happens tomorrow?"
        "Tomorrow?  I'm not thinking about that!  Tomorrow we wake up together 
on this couch after a long, long night."
        "That's not what I meant," she said turning red at the mention of their long 
night, "What happens now?  In the future?"
        "We have sixty kids and live happily ever after!  Who cares?  Live in the 
present.  In the present, I'm here and you're here and we love each other 
and we want to be together.  So let's do it!"
        "But..." he silenced her protest with a deep, long, satisfying kiss.  She 
wanted more and more and more, "Okay," she said, her mouth pressed 
against his.  He began to undress her, unbuttoning her blouse first.  He 
touched her bare skin and his eyes fell on the little golden cross.  He smiled.
        "I remember when I found this.  When you were gone.  I held it for you, 
and gave it to you when you came back.  When you came back to me," he 
said, as he fingered it.  Then she touched his hand and moved it down to the 
rest of her blouse buttons.  She kissed him.
        "What made you tell me tonight?  Besides Celeste?"
        "I saw you sleeping on my couch.  You looked so peaceful.  You were so 
beautiful and I knew that I had to tell you.  You were a sleeping beauty."  She 
held his hand.  
        "Mulder, lets just take off our clothes and hold each other.  I don't want to 
make love tonight.  I just want to feel you skin against mine."
        "Whatever you want, G-woman," he said and laughed, removing the rest of 
her clothing.