Subject:  Thank You 1/1 by Ally Carson
AllyC42@aol.com


Title: Thank You
Rating: At the most a PG
Spoilers: none
Keywords: MSR
Summary: Scully comes to a realization after an unexpected gesture from
Mulder.
Disclaimer:  Ugh... I hate this part.  Well, since I have to do
this...(takes a deep breath)...the characters and names of Mulder and
Scully are not the  property of me but of Twentieth-Century Fox and
Chris Carter.  The story is original, and no infringement is meant by
me.  I'm just a lowly author wanting to have a little fun...:)


***********************************************************************
Thank You
by Ally Carson
AllyC42@aol.com
***********************************************************************

Dana Scully looked up from an enormous pile of files and sighed.  She
and
her partner, Fox Mulder, had been searching through these files for
hours now,
without finding what they were looking for.  She shifts her gaze to her
partner, who is buried to the elbows in dusty, 50 year old files.  She
smiles faintly when he sneezes after dropping an unusually dusty file on
his desk.
 Mulder seems to feel her eyes on him and looks up, meeting her eyes. 
He
grins, waggles his eyebrows at her, and then returns to the files after
drawing a chuckle from her.  Scully shakes her head, trying to remember
how
she had ended up at this point in her life.  She closes her eyes and
thinks
back...  back to the first time she met Fox Mulder so long ago.
        She had been called to the director's office, a clinical
pathologist who had been working with the Bureau for a couple of years. 
She had walked in, observing that a thin, aged man smoking a cigarette
was standing behind the desk silently.  She sat down, and without much
beating around the bush, was told about her new assignment.  The
director's orders were to "spy" on Special Agent Fox Mulder, which
startled her and created some disturbing thoughts in her head.  She had
then been directed to a musky, dark basement office.  The outside, she
remembered thinking, was nothing more than a
custodian's closet.  She took a deep breath and walked in, waiting a
moment while her eyes adjusted to the dark surroundings of the room. 
She gasped as she looked around at the walls covered with pictures of
mythical monsters and UFOs and dusty cabinets full of files.  She
eventually centered her attention at the lone, hunched figure opposite
from where she was.  He was examining some slides of possibly a recent
case. 
        "Are you Agent Fox Mulder?" She inquired softly.
        "Who wants to know?" The figure replied, not stopping his
intense
study of the slides.
        "I'm Agent Dana Scully, your new partner.  I've been assigned to
work  with
you on the X-Files.  I'm looking forward to working with you, Agent 
Mulder."
        "Oh really?  I was under the impression that you were sent to
spy 
on me.  Isn't it nice to be so highly regarded." He replied
sarcastically.
        "Well, I am only here to work with you, not to spy on you."
Scully replied
with defiance in her voice, a little annoyed at his tone and his refusal
to acknowledge her presence.
        Slowly the man at the desk put his eyepiece down and turned
around in his chair.  Scully's eyes grew somewhat wider as she took in
her first look at the man that would be so much a part of her life for
the next six years. He stood up and offered her his hand.
        "Do you believe in the existence of extraterrestrials, Agent
Scully?" Mulder asked with a smirk. 
        Scully gave him what became nicknamed "The Look," which
consisted of her skeptical nature expressed through her face.  He
smiled, and Scully realized that his hand had enveloped hers and a warm
tingling sensation was traveling up her arm.  She took her hand back and
stepped back to study the man that was before him.  Mulder was six feet
tall, lanky, and incredibly handsome.  He had a chiseled face with light
brown, tousled hair.  As she gazed up at him from her 5 foot 4 inch
frame, she looked up into emerald green eyes behind horn rimmed
glasses.  His well-defined nose and sculptured  mouth seemed to just
reaffirm the rest of him and making him all the more desirable.  She
could see that even with the navy suit on, he was very well-toned with a
slight hint of honed muscles...   
        "Scully, are you alright?" Mulder asks, bringing her back to the
present. "You weren't fantasizing about me, were you?"
        Scully raises an eyebrow, glad to be pulled out from her
reverie, then retorts, "Not anymore than you do when you are coming up
with one of your fantastic theories on a case!"
        Mulder's eyes lit up as he flashes her one of his patented
'll-melt-your-insides smile and closes the file he was looking at.
        "Why don't we call it a day and get something to eat?  My
treat." He asks,
offering to pull her up from her sitting position on the floor.
        "Why not...  at least we know that nothing's going to disappear
with a  flash of light if we leave...  " Scully says with amusement.
        "Hey, it could happen...  if you wish hard enough." Mulder
replies,
smiling.
        She takes his hand and he pulls her up.  For a brief moment,
their bodies brush against each other and sparks fly.  Scully's eyes fly
up to Mulder's face, her breath temporarily knocked out of her.  Mulder
looks down at her with an intense but indecipherable look, and Scully
takes a step back and looks away, praying for him to lighten up the mood
again.  Her prayers are answered and Mulder steps out of his haze and
grabs the door, waiting for  her to leave the room so he could lock the
door.  She closes her eyes and takes  a deep breath, then follows him
out the door.
        "So, Scully, what's it going to be tonight, chicken, fish, or
wholesome American beef?" Mulder asks, grinning from ear to ear as he
pulls out of the parking lot.
"Oh, I don't really care...  shredded bird, seasoned saltwater, or
imitation
 meat all sound about as appetizing as anything." Scully manages with a
tired 
smile. "Scully, you're no fun!  What say I surprise you?" Mulder asks,
turning
to look at her. 
	"I don't know Mulder.  The few times that you've surprised me I've
 been shot at, almost sacrificed, kidnapped, and spied on.  Any other
girl would be
running in the opposite direction when she sees you coming." Scully
replies
with humor.
"Ouch.  Just trust me this one time.  I promise nothing will happen to
you,
okay?" Mulder asks with puppy dog eyes.
"With my life...  " Scully says, turning towards him.
"I would never let anything happen to you." Mulder tells Scully, his
voice
deepening. 
Mulder's eyes grow serious and the mood suddenly changes.  Scully
starts  to realize that she had inadvertently directed the conversation
to a more serious and sensitive topic.  Neither of them say anything for
the rest of the trip.  They arrive at an expensive restaurant downtown
and Mulder pulls into a parking spot.  Scully feels rather confused,
since when Mulder treats, it usually means fastfood.  She looks at
Mulder questioningly, but he avoids her stare.  Instead, he just gets
out of the car and heads for the door.  Scully follows, curious to see
what he had in mind.  She reaches for the
door at the exact moment that Mulder does, and their hands touched, and
each of them jumped back as it something bit them.  Scully rushes
through the  door into the restaurant, not waiting to see if Mulder is
following.  She stops  at the reservation booth and Mulder, finally
catching up to her, says with a breathless voice, "Reservation for two
under Mulder."
        "Ah, yes.  Follow me please."  The waiter leads them to a
secluded
table in the back of the restaurant by the window.  Scully gasps when
she sees the
table settings.  A candle lit the table, which was covered with a soft
pink
tablecloth.  A bouquet of roses is centered on the table with a small
card.
 Scully looks at Mulder and asks, "What is all this, Mulder?"
"Read the card, Scully." He replies, urging her to read the card.
Scully takes the card, which reads "Thank You" on the outside and opens
it.
 On the inside, Scully reads "Scully, Thanks for not poking a hole in
ALL
my theories, Mulder."  She looks up and sees Mulder shifting from one
foot to
the other, reminding her of a young schoolboy asking for his first date.
 Mulder watches as Scully's eyes grow bright and she gives him the most
heart-tugging smile that he's ever seen.  His heart skips a beat and he
 feels
his face light up with the biggest smile that Scully's ever seen.  She
 feels
herself being drawn into Mulder's now grey eyes, looking at her with
such
 a
joy in them.  Scully's rational side kicks in and she is compelled to
sit
down, a blush creeping into her cheeks.  Mulder follows suit and a few
minutes later the waiter takes their orders.  While they're waiting for
 their
food, Scully desperately searches her mind for something to talk about.
She
had been in a state of shock since they arrived at the table.  She
couldn'
t
believe he had gone to so much trouble to thank her for something she
just
accepted as part of their friendship.  When she looks up at him, Mulder
 looks
away, almost like he is embarrassed to be caught staring at her. 
Can it be true? Scully asked herself.  Is Mulder getting a little shy?
As she watches, red color climbs up his neck into his cheeks, and Scully
laughs internally as her question is answered.  Mulder looks relieved
when
their food arrives.  Throughout the dinner, neither of them spoke, each
wrapped up in themselves.  The mood is charged with electricity, but
neither
one would admit to themselves that they were being affected by it. 
Scully
felt strongly attracted to her partner and her close friend, and every
time
he would bring a piece of food to his mouth Scully couldn't help but
 watch,
mesmerized, as his lips worked the food off the fork into his mouth. 
 Mulder,
on the other hand, was thinking along the same lines.  He couldn't help
 but
notice the way that the lighting brought out Scully's radiant red hair
and
shocking blue eyes.  His mind would travel to uncharted territory
between
them, and he would have to jerk himself, and his body, back into
neutral.
 When the dinner is done and they are getting ready to leave, Scully
 glimpses
at Mulder out of the corner of her eye, noticing how he fidgets with the
tablecloth while waiting for the check.  Mulder then pays for the dinner
 when
the check arrives and Scully gets up, ready to leave.  Mulder tugs at
her
sleeve, motioning for her to wait.  She turns around in time to see
Mulder
pluck a rose from the bouquet and hand it to her, his expression
unreadable.
 She takes it with lowered eyes, and she follows Mulder out of the
restaurant.  Mulder and Scully both get in the car, and they leave the
parking lot.  On the drive back to her apartment, Scully is silent and
calm,
but her nerves were on end inside.  She has never seen this side of
Mulder
 in
the years that they have worked together and she doesn't like not
knowing
what to expect.  As they approach her apartment, Scully looks over at
Mulder
in the moonlight.  His face seems concentrated on the road, but his
hands,
which were on the steering wheel, is knuckle white. 
I guess he's as uncertain as I am about this whole thing. Scully thinks
to
herself.
Mulder pulls to the curb at her apartment building and turns off the
engine.
 Scully, uncertain as to what to do, looks at Mulder for his move.  He
looks
over at her and smiles hesitantly. 
"You've had a tough night.  I'll see you in the morning.  Sweet
 dreams...  Dana."
Mulder says.
Scully's mind rushes to Mulder's last word.  After their first few
cases
together, it had been a mutual unspoken agreement to call each other by
 their
last names.  It had become something of an endearment, and it caught
Scully
by surprise to hear him call her Dana.  Mulder must have noticed his
slip,
because at that moment he averts his eyes and seems to wait for her to
correct him as he had corrected her at the beginning of their
partnership.
 Instead, Scully takes a chance and asks Mulder a question that she
would
never of thought that she would ever say to any man at this time in her
 life,
especially him.
"Mulder, you look rather tired as well.  Would you like to stay here
 tonight?
 I have a couch and I know how much you enjoy sleeping on those...  "
Scully
 says
softly, watching Mulder carefully.  She hopes the humor she added to the
end
would lighten the mood a bit.
Mulder stares at her for a moment, seeming to turn this suggestion in
his
mind a couple of times, then silently nods, giving her a small smile. 
 Scully
lets out a breath she didn't know she was holding, and gets out of the
car
before she loses her courage.  Mulder does the same, and after locking
the
car, follows her up the steps to her apartment.  She fumbles with the
keys,
and after several tries, manages to unlock the door.  She turns on the
closest lamp to her and placed her purse and keys on the kitchen table.
She
then places the rose in a vase and goes into her bedroom to change. 
"Make yourself comfortable.  Would you like anything to drink?  Coffee?"
Scully asks, noticing her voice is a little shaky and hopes that Mulder
doesn't hear it. 
"No thanks.  I'm fine.  You've got a very cozy apartment, Scully.
It'
s very
nice." Mulder's voice travels to the bedroom.
"Thanks.  I don't see it very often myself...  it always seems like it's
 brand
new when I walk through the door."  Scully walks back into the den and
stops
dead in her tracks.  Mulder has removed his suit jacket and placed it
next
 to
him on the sofa.  His tie is loosened and his hair out of place as
usual.
 His eyes are closed and he seems more relaxed and vulnerable as she has
 ever
seen him.  He doesn't notice that she's in the room, and so Scully
takes
 this
chance to think about what she should do next.  As Scully is wrapped up
in
her thoughts, Mulder opens his eyes and spots her standing near him.  He
takes in her now comfortable clothing, consisting of a cashmere blue
sweater
and jeans.  He notices the way that the sweater and the jeans showed off
her
curves and he makes a mental decision. 
Scully is jerked out of her reverie when she feels an arm pulling her
down.
 She willingly allows Mulder to pull her onto the couch with him,
situating
herself in a comfortable position.  Mulder switches on the television
and
channel surfs until he hits the sci-fi channel. 
"How 91bout a little Roddenberry?" He asks, his eyes warm.
"Star Trek?  Sure, why not." Scully replies, taking his lead.
"You, a Trekkie?  Really?" He drawls slowly. "Weren't you the one that
 said
science fiction movies are food for the idiots?"  He puts his arm above
his
head to defend himself from Scully's attempt to hit him with a cushion. 
 They
settle back to watch the movie, and Scully doesn't move away when Mulder
 puts
his arm around her and pulls her close.  She leans her head against his
shoulder and allows the moment to take her to bliss.  They both watch,
as
fate would have it, as Captain Picard is pulled into an adventure on a
 planet
where sex is done at the drop of a hat...  any hat.  Both of their minds
turn
 to
the closeness of the other person.  Scully stiffens, waiting to see what
Mulder would do next.  At first, a disappointing silence occurs, leading
Scully to believe that perhaps her gut instinct about the attraction she
 felt
between them was just her imagination.  Then, suddenly, it happened.
"Hey Scully, you think that Picard is cute?" Mulder asks slyly.
"Oh I don't know...  I suppose he is if you like that bald, old, and
stuffy
type." Scully replies with a hint of laughter in her voice.  She turns
her
attention away from the screen and finds herself directly facing Mulder,
their faces inches from each other.  Mulder seems to back away, and
Scully,
feeling a slight twinge of disappointment, lowers her eyes with a sigh.
Her
eyes fly back up and open with shock when Mulder leans forward and
touches
his lips to hers gently, as if testing the waters.  He pulls back
minutely,
allowing Scully time to pull away.  When she doesn't, Mulder kisses her
again, this time longer and more insistent.  Scully kisses him back, her
hands creeping to the back of his head.  Mulder places his hands in her
hair
and adjusts her slightly for better reach.  He teases her lips with his
tongue and she opens her lips, welcoming his touch.  Scully's mind goes
blank, and whatever was on her mind disappears forever.  Mulder's other
 arm
pulls her towards him, pressing her tightly to him.  Scully lets go and
allows Mulder to take what he wants, and she doing the same.  After what
seems like an eternity, Scully pulls back, struggling for air.  Mulder's
 eyes
have turned a dark hazel with desire, and Scully can't help but fall
into
 his
swirling pools of dark intent. 
"Um...  .Scully?  Before you say anything...  I just want to get
something off
 my
chest." Mulder says, breaking the silence.
"What is it?" Scully asks nervously.
"Well, this is really hard for me to say...  but I have been wanting to
tell
 you
this for sometime now...  " Mulder stammers.
"Mulder, you can tell me." Scully replies, putting a hand on his arm.
"I...  I love you, Dana Katherine Scully." Mulder says with a sigh.
Scully's eyes grow wide with shock.  She says nothing in reply.  Mulder
mentally kicks himself and starts to try to remedy the situation.
"Look, maybe I shouldn't of said anything.  I'm really sorry.  Just
 forget
that I even thought to make such a fool...  " He starts.
Scully interrupts him.  "Mulder...  "
"...  of myself.  I shouldn't of done anything to jeopardize our
partnership
 and
our friendship...  "
"Mulder!"
"I just couldn't keep it to myself much longer.  I'm really sorry...  I
 hope you
can just pretend you never heard me say...  "
"MULDER!!!!"
"What?" Mulder stops in mid sentence, waiting for Scully to talk.
"I love you too, Mulder." She says softly, with a smile from her heart.
"Really?" He chokes, barely breathing.
"Yes, for the longest time." Scully replies.
"How...  how long?" Mulder asks, incredulous.
"Oh, I guess since I first saw you hunched over your desk looking at
slides
with those glasses of yours." Scully thinks back. 
"I thought you must of thought I was the biggest dork with those glasses
 on!"
Mulder manages to spit out, still in a state of shock.
"Actually, I thought you were the sexiest man alive at that point."
Scully
replies earnestly.
"YOU'RE KIDDING! I thought YOU were the one who had more sex appeal than
Marilyn Monroe!" Mulder stutters, in even more of a state of catatonic
 shock.
Scully blushes, then Mulder's face grew serious. 
"What is it, Mulder?" Scully asks, afraid.
"Dana, call...  call me Fox." Mulder finally says.
Scully looks at him as if he has said the most romantic words in the
world.
 She realizes how much it took him to let her call him by his first
name.
 After his sister Samantha's disappearance, he wouldn't even allow his
parents to call him that.
"Scully?" Mulder says, his voice deep and shaky.
Scully doesn't speak; she only offers him her hand.  He takes it, and
she
leads him into the bedroom.  The last thing that floats down the hallway
is
Mulder's amused voice saying, "Well, at least we'll save the Bureau
money by only renting ONE room from now on...  " and the sweet laugh of
the woman who
loves him.