From: Mike Conrardy Date: Fri, 13 Nov 1998 14:20:49 -0800 Subject: Something More Than This Spoilers: The End, Fire Classification: Vignette Archive: Anywhere your little heart desires, just let me know so I can visit it. Feedback: Please send ANY feedback to srdiesel@earthlink.net. I would love to know what you think. Summary: What would have happened if Scully had lingered a little too long in the parking garage of the Psyche Facility and Mulder had walked out and caught her sitting there? Disclaimer: I'm not worthy! I'm not worthy! Nothing belongs to me except my horribly misguided interpretation of Mulder and Scully's feelings for each other. No infringement of any kind is intended. Authors' notes at end. Title: Something More Than This by Karen Conrardy "First," she said leaning forward and flicking off the lighted screen. "I want you guys to tell me who Diana Fowley is." She crossed her arms across her chest as they flinched. "Diana Fowley?" Byers said surprised. "Geez, we haven't heard that name in awhile." "Then you know her." Scully stated. "Well,...yeah..." Byers confirmed. Langly looked completely uncomfortable as he squirmed in his chair. "She was Mulder's...chickadee when he just got out of the academy." Frohike began. "Good lookin'." "Well, she claims to have worked closely with him for awhile." Scully said. The information she was receiving was not what she had wanted to hear. She had been hoping that they had never heard of her. "She was there when he discovered the X-Files. She has some kind of background in para-science." Langly told her. Another blow. Scully cringed inwardly. She closed her eyes for a moment and reopened them when Byers continued. "She got a Legat appointment awhile back...in Berlin. I always wondered why they split up." Scully nodded forcing a smile. The Gunmen looked at each other. "Well, let's see what you boys can find." She turned the screen back on and stood back to let them work. X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X She drove up to the entrance of the Inget Murray Psychiatric Hospital and got out of her car. At the moment she didn't know what she was going to do with the information she had just been given. She felt pure, unbridled jealousy rise and she shoved it down just in time to peek through the window of the observation room to see Mulder smiling, talking, and holding her hand. He looked so relaxed with her. She couldn't bear to be in the same room with the two of them, especially if they were talking about old times. She stepped away from the door and continued down the hall before they spotted her. Then she stopped abruptly and turned back the way she had come, not affording them another glance. She got into the car and sighed heavily. What had she let herself fall into? She knew Mulder was weak when it came to women. She could save him from a hundred horrible monsters and gruesome deaths, but she couldn't watch him and Diana together, or any woman for that matter. She didn't know if she could keep her feelings to herself if this woman pulled him away from her, from their partnership. She just couldn't face him here. She dug her cellphone out of her pocket and hit his speed dial number. She swallowed, not believing she was doing this. "Mulder." He answered. "Mulder, it's me." She said wearily. "Where are you?" "I'm ah, I'm on my way to work." She lied. "I was hoping I could show you something. Something about the boy." "Well, I'm at the Psyche Facility with him right now. Why don't you come by and show me?" He suggested. "Ah, no...I'd-I'd prefer to show you at work, if that's okay." "Okay, what is it?" "I think you'll be surprised...very surprised." She answered. "I'm on my way." He told her. He had already walked away from Diana and started down the hall. He had been grateful for the interruption. Her popping up in his life like this felt like Phoebe all over again and he silently wondered if it was really just coincidence. He walked towards the exit without saying anything to Diana. Scully was still the only person he could, and would trust. Whatever she had to show him must be important. Normally she did whatever he asked. Maybe she was as skeptical about Diana's appearance on this case as he was, not to mention that spineless little runt, Spender. Scully flipped the cellphone shut and slid it back into her coat pocket. What was she so afraid of? That Mulder might be happy, that he might trust someone else? She had to admit, being the only one a certified paranoiac trusted made her feel pretty powerful. Things had gotten so crazy for them, so many twists in their lives, she just didn't think she could bear to see him share his work with someone else. As much as she hated to admit it, she wanted it to be their work, and only their work. Sometimes she felt it was the only connection she had to Mulder. 'Well, I'd better get going.' She thought to herself. She reached for the ignition to start to the car but the keys weren't there. She looked in her coat pockets, only the phone. Her jacket pockets were empty. She patted her pants...there they were. But she would have to undo her seatbelt to reach them. As she unclasped it, she heard the door to the Center opening with a creak. She looked up to see Mulder stepping out and looking for his own keys. He looked directly at her and stopped. "Shit! God damn it!" She mumbled, wrenching her keys from her pocket. She sighed heavily again. She would have a lot of explaining to do if she drove away. Hell, she had explaining to do now. She slid the key into the ignition anyway as he walked over and slapped his hand down on the hood of the car. He shot her a look that meant he knew the gig was up. He walked around and got into the passenger side. "Drive around over there where we can be in private." He pointed ahead of them indicating a fairly secluded area by the elevators. She did as he said, not looking at him. She parked and he reached over and turned the car off, watching her intently. She reached into the backseat for her briefcase and he stopped her, putting his hand on her arm. "What's up, Scully? Why did you lie?" "I...I have some things to show you." She said, still reaching. He pulled her arm back and tilted her chin up so that she had to look at him. "What's wrong?" He looked concerned. "I came in." She sighed again. "I saw you and Diana-you looked busy, so I thought I would catch you at work." "Try again." He told her. She reached behind her and brought out the folder that she desperately wanted to show him. Anything to lead him away from this conversation. She'd jump on the hood and do the hula if he would just drop it! "This is..." Instead he took the folder out of her hand and put it back into the open briefcase, never taking his eyes off her. "Tell me." She threw her hands up. She saw that she wasn't getting out of this. Nothing she could think of was going to sound reasonable, Scullyable, at the moment. "I went to see the guys this morning...about the case...and I asked them. I asked them who Diana is, who she is to you anyways." He nodded, encouraging her to go on. "Well, they said that you two were quite an item..." "Was." He stressed. "And that she's a believer, background in para-science. So when I came to see you, you just looked so happy, so, so comfortable with her..." She looked down at her lap. "You were holding hands and I felt like I'd be intruding." She whispered. Scully looked up at him and saw that he had the biggest, goofiest grin on his face. "Why Dana Katherine Scully, I do believe you're jealous!" He exclaimed. "I'm not..." She protested, not smiling. Boy, did she feel stupid now. God, if she could just travel back in time five minutes... "She's nothing to me." He told her seriously, taking her hand in his. "It's been a long time, a lot of distance between us. I made that clear to her this morning." "She was with you when you discovered the X-Files." "Yeah, but she didn't stay. I'm a hard person to get along with. I know I don't need to tell you that." Scully smiled in agreement. "It's hard for me to see you share your work, your passion with someone else." God, she sounded like a teenager, jealous that her boyfriend was working at the snackbar with a new girl. She had to show him her findings on Gibson, but she didn't want to let go of his hand. He rarely discussed personal matters with her and this was a very personal matter. "It's *our* work." He corrected. "Scully, you know you are the only one I trust. Doesn't it seem a little convenient for her to be showing up now? On our most important case thus far?" He asked, confirming her suspicions. She nodded. "I was thinking that." "Scully," he started, drawing her back to the original issue. "You and I are partners. But I also think we are more than that. We are two halves of one whole. Without you, I would have been six feet under a long time ago. I think we are meant for something bigger, more grand than all of this. No one is going to separate us, especially not my old girlfriend." "What could be bigger than this?" "I'm sure we'll find out together." He smiled at her tenderly, brushing a strand of hair from her face. He squeezed her hand and leaned forward to give her a chaste kiss on the mouth, as if to say 'You know I'm right, just relax'. Her eyes slipped shut when his lips touched hers but they opened again when he drew back. She stared at him, trying to process what he had just said. "So, what have you got to show me?" He asked. "Is it everything we hoped for?" "And more." She assured, reaching again for the results of Gibson Praise's tests. THE END Author's Notes: The first time I saw this episode I was thinking 'Hurry up! Get out of there! He's going to catch you and then you'll have some explaining to do.' I wondered for a long time what she would say, and I'm sure this isn't it. My husband balked at the kiss, but I really felt that it wasn't meant to be a romantic kiss. It could be if you wanted it to, but I felt it was Mulder's egotistical, self-serving way of bringing Scully over to his side. I think he would view this action as getting her attention. He can be such a butthead sometimes. It really surprised me to see how the writers on the show wrote Scully to be so jealous in this episode. It was so unlike her, but then again, was it really? Besides, my kiss is a lot tamer than the one that WOULD HAVE happened in the movie. Damn bees...