From: "Anna-Karin ~" Date: Fri, 13 Oct 2000 07:55:06 CEST Subject: These are a few of my favourite things, in the Fluky Archive Source: revision Title: These Are a Few of My Favourite Things Author: *Biala* Rating: PG-13 Spoilers: Fire, Post-Modern Prometheus, Rain King, tiny one for feature film Keywords: MSR, A Summary: Mulder makes a list of his own Disclaimer: Bla-ha, bla, bla, bla-ha. I don't own the characters. Please don't sue me, no harm was done to any of the used persons. The characters all belong to Chris Carter, 1013, FOX, David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson. I wouldn't want to own the characters, despite the fact that I would make a hell of a lot of money if I did, the present owners are doing a far too good work with them to give or sell them to me, or anyone else. Author's note: I want to thank the ones who read this story at www.txf.net before I sent it anywhere else. You all gave so much positive feedback and kept me writing, thank you! Thanks to Nilla who read the story and told me what she thought before I sent it. Feedback: Yes please, please, please! My e-mail box is far too empty for my taste. But, my fellow tweeners, shippers and fanfic-readers, please be kind to me! This is one of my first attempts to write a fanfic ever, and since English isn't my first language, please don't mind small grammar mistakes or miss-spelled words. Thanks to you all for reading my story! Have fun (or don't, it's all up to you)! DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT: Anywhere, just e- mail me first to let me know. These are a few of my favorite things. "What was that?" Scully jumped high as the sound of thunder broke the silence in the little house. "Thunder," Mulder said and looked around. He picked up another sun flower seed from the small bag and chewed on it thoughtfully. Scully jumped again as her cell phone rang. She picked it up out of her coat pocket and answered. "Scully. What? Great. Just great! Yeah, I understand. Thanks. Bye." She hung up and turned to Mulder. "The chopper which was going to come and get us out of here can't fly in this weather. The man I spoke to said they'll be here as soon as the storm ends." "Then what's the problem? The storm will end, won't it?" "Yeah, it will," Scully nodded. "Tomorrow." Mulder sighed and rose from the chair he sat on. He walked over to the fire place and grabbed the basket placed there. "C'mon Scully," he said in a cheery voice. "We gotta get some dry wood and start a fire before it starts raining cats and dogs and it gets freezing in here." Mulder took Scully's hand and pulled her up from where she was seated on the floor. They ran out of the house hand-in-hand and then over to where someone had placed the wood. When they'd filled the basket as much as possible, the sky opened and the rain fell down on the two lonely people outside a little house, near the airfield, in the middle of nowhere. "This was just the only thing missing." Scully closed her eyes and arched her neck so that she faced the grey clouds above her. "What?" "Heavy rain." Mulder turned to look at his partner as she let the rain pore over her face. She had a brief smiled on her lips, just as if she enjoyed standing out there in the rain. Another lightning crossed the sky and lit up her face. Then she froze and turned to Mulder with her eyes wide open. "My bag! I left it outside the house, for some stupid reason. All my clothes must be all soaked through by now!" She started running towards the house. Mulder followed right behind her, carrying the full basket. Scully grabbed her bag as soon as she reached the front door and then pulled it inside to examine its content. She sadly found out that every clothing she had in that bag were just as wet as the clothes she was wearing now. She looked down at herself and saw the puddle around her feet from the dripping clothes on her body, and the she looked at Mulder. Her damp hair hung all over her face as she stood still in the middle of the room. Heavy raindrops fell on the roof and the windows shook every time lightning and thunder broke the air. Mulder was sitting on the floor next to the fire place, trying to get a fire started. "Everything wet, huh?" he said, still looking at the pieces of wood in front of him. "Yeah, each and every shirt, sweater, skirt and t-shirt." Then Mulder turned to take a look at her and said: "I have a clean, dry shirt in my bag,. You can take that one, if you want to." "Really?" Scully sounded hopeful at the thought of getting on a nice, warm shirt instead of her wet one. Then another though hit her: "What about you? You're all wet, too. What'll you wear if I take your only clean dry shirt?" "I have a pair of dry jeans, and I won't suffer from not wearing a shirt, if only I could get this damned fire started! You'll have the shirt. My bag's over there." He pointed at one of the chairs around the table as he spoke and Scully went over to dig in his bag. She found the shirt, a nice, warm flannel shirt, and turned to Mulder. "Is this the one?" she asked. "Yeah." Mulder turned for a second to answer her. "Thanks." Scully looked around to find a room where she could change, but the only things she saw beside Mulder and the fire place were a table, two chairs and a bed. No door. She sighed and turned her back to Mulder before she started taking off her clothes. At first, she felt a little embarrassed by changing in the same room as where Mulder was, but then she came to think of all the times he had seen her without a thread on her body, he'd even carried her when she was totally naked, and she went on undressing herself. Everything was wet, even her bra, and she stripped down to her panties before she took the shirt on. Those, however, she left on. They weren't exactly wet, either, so she didn't mind. When she was finished, Mulder had got the fire started. She walked over to him and sat down. "It's a little too big, isn't it?" Mulder said with a smile. "The color suits you, though." "It'll be fine. I won't get cold," Scully said and tucked her feet under the shirttails. The sleeves were rolled up several times, and yet her hands barely showed. They sat in silence in front of the fire place for a while. Then Mulder shivered and Scully turned to him. "Mulder, you've got to take that shirt off, otherwise you'll catch yourself a cold." "Ooh, Dr. Scully, I better obey your orders," he said and started to unbutton his shirt. Scully felt her heart beginning to beat faster as Mulder's chest was exposed. He looked at her with a burning gaze and suddenly she felt like a shy school girl again. She turned her eyes away from him and looked into the fire. She felt her cheeks burning, but if it was with embarrassment or if it was the heat from the fire, she couldn't tell. Mulder got up and walked over to his bag and dug out a pair of dry, black jeans. He got out of the ones he was wearing and stood a second in his boxers before getting on the new ones. Then he began digging again. His hand was holding an apple when it appeared out of the bag again and he turned to Scully. "Hungry?" "A little." He tossed the apple to her and she caught it easily. He grabbed one apple for himself and then returned to the fire place. Scully took a bite of her green, juicy Granny Smith and chewed thoughtfully. Mulder watched as she did so, and noticed how gorgeous she looked with his shirt on, sitting on the floor with an apple in her hand. After a few minutes he broke the silence between thunderclaps. "I'll give you a penny for your thoughts, Scully." "Huh?" Scully turned around, surprised by the sound of his voice. "A penny for your thoughts," Mulder repeated. Scully shook her head. "I was just thinking of how rarely we really talk. I mean, you're my best friend and yet I practically don't know a shit about you. I mean, what you like to do when you're not working and so." Mulder pondered her words for a few minutes before answering. "Yeah, you're right. We really should *talk* a lot more than we do. And now is as good a time as ever, and as far as I know, we don't have anything better to do." "No, guess not." "So, what do you wanna know 'bout me?" "Well..., your top 5 favorite things." "My top 5..., jeez Scully, your trying me hard here. Well, here we go:" End 1/? Part 2/? Disclaimer in part 1. "Number 1: Baseball. Both playing and watching." Scully quietly waited for the continuation as she sat crossed-legged on the floor. "There's something amazing about baseball. I can't put my finger on what exactly, but there's something. You just clear your mind and give in to the game." "I think I know what you mean," Scully said. "That's what you showed me that night at the baseball field, when we were playing a pickup game." "You're right." Mulder smiled at her. He was getting warmer now, with no wet shirt on. "I'm glad you came to realize and understand just what I wanted you to see." Scully let a small smile lit up her face for a second. She looked in to the fire and was fascinated by the lights and shadows it created. Mulder was quiet, thinking. After a minute or two he broke the silence and spoke. "I think I'll put dancing as my number 2. Not that I dance a lot, but I really like it. Remember the case with the Great Mutato?" "Yeah, sure do. That dance was really great, thanks if I didn't thank you earlier. I was surprised you didn't take the chance to dance in that Rain King-case, though. I'd figured out you liked dancing by then, and I have to say I'm somewhat disappointed. You're a great dancer." Mulder didn't answer this. He just looked at Scully, who was still looking at the fire, even as she spoke. There was silence, nearly absolute, except for the rain on the roof, the sounds from the fire, and the two of them breathing. The red and yellow flames reflected in her eyes as well as in the windows behind them. Then he smiled at the thought of him dancing with that Sheila. "You meant dancing with you, right? At least I hope you didn't mean with Sheila, or whatever her name was." Now Scully looked at him. "Of course I mean with me. I love dancing too, you know." At her words, Mulder stood and extended his hand to her. She looked at him, her eyes silently asking him what he was up to. "Dance with me, Scully. Please?" She smiled and took his hand. He pulled her to her feet and she allowed herself to be safely secured in his arms. There was no music, but none of them cared. They just looked into each other's eyes, smiling. Their feet moved slower and slower until practically standing still. Then Mulder spoke. "It's getting late." Scully nodded for an answer and looked away from Mulder's eyes for the first time in quite a while. Mulder released his grip on her and spoke again: "You take the bed, I can sleep on the floor by the fire." "No Mulder, I want you to have the bed, you're not even wearing a shirt. Besides, this shirt of yours that I'm wearing is big enough to serve as a cover for me. I'll sleep on the floor." "But Scully, I never sleep in a bed, I'm not used to it. You take it." "That's another reason why you should have it: Take the chance that for once sleep in a real bed when you have it!" "Heads of tails?" "What?" "Heads or tails?" Mulder repeated and picked a quarter out of his pocket. "Tails. For the floor." Mulder threw the coin up in the air and the easily caught it. Scully leaned in to see it when he after putting it on his other hand uncovered the coin. Heads. She sighed and walked across the room towards the bed. Now he was happy, she thought. Why wouldn't he ever listen to her? She curled up like a ball under the thin blanket and turned her face to the wall. She heard Mulder stretch out on the rug in front of the fireplace. It must be warm there, she thought as she shivered a little. She tried to go to sleep, but she was freezing and the thunderclaps still broke the air every now and then. Plus, she could hear Mulder's calm, even breathing. The sound of that could wake up the dead. At least that's how Scully felt at the moment. At last, her mind wandered off to some slumber in between sleep and wake. Mulder comfortably stretched out on the rug and fell asleep almost immediately, something *very* unusual for him. He slept light, though and woke at the sound of Scully tossing and turning over in the bed. He tried to convince himself that she would fall asleep any minute and that he could go back to the wonderful land of dreams. This didn't succeed, though, it only made him feel guilty. He got up from where he laid by the fire and walked over to Scully. "This is ridiculous," he said and picked her up in his strong arms. She vaguely protested, but he just whispered: "You're freezing. You'll sleep by the fire, *with* the blanket, too. I can't believe I insisted on you taking the bed. It's really cold back there." She gave up protesting and lay still in Mulder's arms. He lowered her to the floor when he heard her whisper: "Don't go away Mulder. Stay. Stay here with me. Sleep here." He looked at her in surprise, and but didn't say anything. He just placed himself beside her, arms still around her tiny body. Then he remembered he'd left the blanket over in the bed and stood up. Scully looked at him questioning him with her eyes. "Just gonna get the blanket," he said and walked across the room. As he returned with the blanket, he knelt beside Scully to put it over her. He looked deep into her blue eyes and suddenly his movements stopped and all he was aware of was the expression in his partner's eyes. They were radiant with emotions. Mulder felt his heart miss a beat and his body tense and relax as Scully moved and lightly kissed him on the mouth. He couldn't believe it at first. How could this lovely, wonderful woman want a loser like him? But his doubts were erased as he saw the reassuring smile on her face. He then bent forward and returned the favor. Scully put her arms around him and let the kiss deepen. Her nails traced endless patterns on Mulder's back. His fingers were tousled in her hair before moving down, exploring her body. Suddenly she pulled away, gasping for air. "Oh my God, Scully!" Mulder whispered, his eyes shining with all his love and desire. He kissed her once more and said: "Can you possibly imagine how much I love you?" She smiled. "If it's anywhere close to how much *I* love *you*, yes, I have a pretty good idea." They kissed again until Mulder broke it. "Scully?" "Uhuh?" "D'you mind if we don't take it any further than this tonight? You are so special to me, I don't wanna rush into something too soon. Tonight I'd love to just lie here and just keep each other warm." Scully gave him a quick kiss before answering: "That sounds wonderful to me." End part 2/? Part 3/? Disclaimer in part one. "Mulder?" "Uhuh?" "You're not done with your top 5 yet." "OK, I'm thinking." "I'm waiting." I lay on the floor, head on Mulder's chest. I can feel it rising and sinking with every breath he takes. He is warm and safe. I feel warm and safe now. In Mulder's arms. Where I belong. I can hear his heart beating. Strong beats. Like nothing could ever change the even rhythm of his heart. Like nothing could ever destroy this man. The man I love. My man. My Mulder. I know nothing of this is true. Beneath the strong surface of Mulder is a soft, vulnerable man. Anything could destroy him, just like that. In the blink of an eye. "Earth to Scully!" I hear his velvet voice from far away and is snatched back to reality. "Sorry. Just thinking." "I just figured out what my number 3 will be." "And?" "Working." "Workaholic!" I playfully accuse him and he smiles in response. "Well, not the work itself, but waking up every morning knowing I'll be at work, knowing you'll come in after a while, that's what keeps me going. Knowing I'll see you at work every day, it's like being saved, the reason to why I've survived this long. Even though we almost always disagree over my theories, I know you'll be there for me, always, like ever. Not that I take you for granted, I would never do that, but somehow I just know you'll be there for me in the end. That's why I put work as my number 3." "Did I tell you I love you?" I say, smiling. "I believe you did, but I don't mind hearing it again." "I love you, Mulder." "Which is why I put you as my number 4. I really wanted to put you as my number 1, but I couldn't, as I don't consider you a thing." "OK, now you only have one thing left. I'm just dying to hear what it is!" "Well, Scully, number 5 is a tricky one. It's my last and there are so many things I'd like to add to my list." I smile and reach up to kiss him. God, is this man gorgeous or what?! "You could make another list later, if you want to. Get on with it now, I can't stand this torture of curiosity!" "OK, my number 5 would have to be...drums...kissing you. I had to include that one since I'm kind of addicted to it now..." Now it's his turn to reach down to kiss me. His velvet lips taste delicious and I say between kisses: "I'm kind of addicted to kissing you too, Mulder." Then we're both silent for quite some time. The raindrops keep falling on the roof and the fire's almost out. The air around us is getting chilly and I shiver. The blanket doesn't offer much warmth anymore, and Mulder pulls me closer to him as he notices I'm cold. I snuggle up even more against his chest, his warm strong arms cuddling my tiny body. I've gained some weight since the cancer disappeared, but I'm still too thin, I know that. Mulder knows that, too, and he's trying to feed me with rich food and sweets, but I have no appetite for that. I appreciate his care, though. It's nice having someone who looks after and cares for me. Mulder's gone to sleep now, his chest is rising and sinking in unison with his even breathing. He looks like a baby when he sleeps. Not at all like that worried, troubled man he is when he's awake. I believe it's because you can't see into his eyes, into his soul, when he sleeps. I wonder if he knows I can read him like an open book through those gorgeous hazel eyes of his...? Yet I doubt I have ever seen him this peaceful. There usually are some kind of traces of shadow over his face even in sleep, but now he looks completely calm. I settle in comfortable in his embrace and close my eyes. I'm somewhat afraid of falling asleep. Perhaps things aren't this good in the morning. If I don't sleep at all, maybe I can prevent morning from coming? I'm usually not the one afraid of sleeping in this partnership, Mulder usually takes care of that bit, so my thoughts are pretty irrational. Christ, my whole life just turned upside-down, everything is irrational. Wait a minute, Dana! You just said your whole life had turned upside-down, isn't this what I've always wanted? This is great! Now I'm debating with myself, what's going on in my head? Then I smile at myself and irrational thinking. I know just what the hell is happening with me. I'm in love. Well, I've been in love for the past, what is it now, seven years?, but I didn't let it out until just now. Suddenly I'm not afraid anymore. So what if things aren't great in the morning? I'm sure it's fixable. Mulder and I are always fixable. End 3/? 4/4 She's still sleeping. I don't wanna wake her. She's so beautiful asleep. Her face is smooth, without that worried wrinkle she's always wearing on her forehead. She looks young. Not a day over 20, even though I know she's 35. My heart increases its speed when I look at her, just as it has been doing over the past six years, from the very first time she walked into my office. She didn't have that wrinkle then, must have gotten it somewhere along the path we're walking, most likely by me. Or as a result of me, I'm not really sure which one. Not that it matter, I certainly blame myself for it anyway. In fact, I blame myself for almost everything bad that has happened to her. Not out of self-pity, that's for sure, but because I really think she would have a better life without me. She says she wouldn't change a day, but deep inside she must know I'm the reason for all her misery. She wasn't sleeping the last time I took a look at her, so she must have fallen asleep while I was gone in the land of dreams. It's not often that I happen to fall asleep before her, she usually is the sleeping part of this partnership. I look at her again and my heart fills with joy. Joy and love. And amazement. Amazement over that this gorgeous woman who could have anyone she'd like would like to have me. To be Mrs. Spooky all along. To walk the line. I wonder whether she'll still feel this way when she wakes up. I don't know. How could I know? I don't really know her that well. Not as well as I believe she knows me. Sometimes I feel like she could look into my very soul through my eyes. I wish I had the same capability, that I could see what's going on in that beautiful mind of hers. To be able to tell her I really know she's not always 'fine' when she says she is. To know how she really feels, to be able to at least try to give her some comfort. My mind is wondering more than usual tonight, I notice. As I close my eyes, I see visions of Scully: Scully in casual clothes, going out for a sailing trip. Scully in business suit at the FBI, smiling at me, arguing with me over some theory of mine. Scully at a dinner table at a restaurant. Usually, I just see a smiling Scully, out of reach, as I close my eyes at night. Tonight she's not out of my league anymore. Suddenly, she stirs and opens her eyes. I smile down at her. The smile I receive erases all of my doubts from just minutes before. She reassures me that at least now, she feels the same way. But hey, it's not morning yet. She reaches up and puts a tiny hand to my cheek. The stubble she must find there scrapes against her palm as she runs the hand up and down. Her thumb is drawing small circles on my upper lip. "Hey, Scully?" I say in a low voice. "Yeah?" "What about your top 5?" "*My* top 5?" "Yeah." "I'm going to make a top 5?" "Yes." "Over my top five favorite things?" "You got it." "Well, Mulder, I don't have a list of my top five favorite things in my head. I'll have to get back to you on that." I smile at her. "Why? I had to make up my list at the spot." "Because I don't think I've experienced my top favorite thing of all times yet. And it won't be tonight, either." "Why, Agent Scully, what on earth could you be referring to? Are you in any way coming on to me?" "You'll just have to wait and see. By the way, what time is it?" "2.40am." "Still a long time till morning. Maybe we should try to go back to sleep." "Maybe," I answer. As the word slips over my lips, she is there, kissing me. I kiss her back. This is sure something a guy could be addicted to after trying it one time. As we break the kiss, she settles on my chest again. In like four seconds she is asleep. Her even breathing is sounding through the quiet room, trying to be in unison with my own. I wonder how she does that. Falls asleep in such a short time. She used to fall asleep on long stakeouts, she's lucky Skinner never found out. I'm always afraid of sleep. Afraid of what it'll bring to me. Afraid of what the world will be when I wake up, of what I missed during the time away. Yeah, sure, sometimes I dream nice dreams, but it doesn't happen very often. It's usually nightmares or no dreams at all, which is even worse. I hate not to remember. It's perhaps my worst enemy. I've had more than my share of stolen memory. I look down at my tiny partner. Again I'm stricken by her looks asleep. How young and peaceful and innocent she looks. Yet I know that isn't true. Not all of it anyway. But she is my angel. My one in five billions. When I think of that I'm not afraid of sleep anymore. I know what I have now, I 'm pretty sure what the morning will bring. And maybe if I'm a good boy, I'll eventually hear Scully's top 5. The end.