From: "Nicole" Date: Fri, 20 Nov 1998 22:49:55 -0500 Subject: They Danced (1/1) Title: They Danced (1/1) Author: Nicole H. Classification:S - story Time Line: Takes place after the movie (a couple days after) Summary: After the movie, M/S decide to investigate their relationship, but was that a mistake? Disclaimer: They are not mine. Fox Mulder and Dana Scully and any idea's relating to the show do not belong to me. Also the four lines of lyrics come from Sarah McLachlan's CD "Solace" and are from the song "Path of Thorns". xxxx They Danced xxxx He sat alone as usual. Resting his head against the cold leather couch that sat in his living room, he let his mind drift. He could only think of her. Of course he wanted to, but he had so many other issues to sort out before he could even think of having a relationship with his partner. She was beautiful. As much as he hoped that she would leave his thoughts for a brief moment so he could concentrate, a part of him wanted to think of only her. He was sure that she was doing the same thing right now at her own apartment. He wished that she would call him. He had a better idea, maybe he should phone her. The phone rang numerous times at Dana Scully's apartment, before she answered it. She had been in the washroom taking a long awaited bubble bath. The phone not only interrupted her bath though, it also interrupted her thoughts of her partner. How he had risked everything, including his own life, to save her and how he had expressed his own feelings towards her. She could never leave him now. Not in a million years. She picked up the receiver knowing it would be her partner. "Hi, Scully?" he said. "Yeah, hi Mulder." "How are you feeling?" Fox Mulder questioned. Their trip to the Antarctic had put Scully through a lot of stress and weariness. "I'm all right Mulder. How are you?" "Oh, I'm ok! Listen, I was thinking if you weren't doing anything, maybe we could grab a bite to eat. You know, we deserve a break from our work, we've been through a lot." Mulder waited for her to answer. He held is breath as she contemplated the situation. But he knew her answer before she said it. "Sure Mulder, I'd love to." "Great," he said. " Why don't you come over to my place and we can decide where we want to go from there?" "Sure, I'll be right over." They both hung up the phone and began to get ready for the evening. Scully really didn't know where they were going to end up eating, but she had somewhere fancy in mind. She opened up her closet doors and found the dress that she wanted to wear. It was a light blue, satin dress that was quite form fitting when she tried it on. It was long and the straps were placed just slightly off the shoulder. 'Perfect' she thought. 'Mulder will definitely not be expecting this'. She wanted to surprise him, but more than anything she just wanted to have some fun with him! She stood before the mirror and came to the conclusion that the dress was very un-Scully like. Mulder was going to love this. The bell rang in Mulder's apartment and he pressed the button so Scully could come up. He wasn't ready yet. In fact he had just gotten out of the shower. When she arrived at his doorstep he had a pair of suit pants on and a white collared shirt that was partially undone. As she walked inside, Mulder couldn't help but notice the unexpected change in her appearance. She stood there well aware that her partner's eyes were fixated on her dressy look. A smile cracked her face as she started to giggle, "Mulder!" He realized that he was staring at her and began to laugh as well. "So where do you want to go to dinner?" Scully asked as she sat down on Mulder's couch. He sat down beside her as they went over their choices. "We could go to Eve's," he suggested. "Or that fancy restaurant on Alcorn Avenue. Or wherever you want." "I was thinking Angel and Adia's. They have excellent food and a dance floor." "Oh, a dance floor, you didn't tell me that you were expecting a dance out of this evening Agent Scully," Mulder joked to her. She was smiling, why shouldn't she be she loved this man. And he loved her, he hadn't told her directly but she knew it. After all these years he owes her a dance! He said it himself just a couple of days earlier, he owed her everything. And 'everything' included a dance if she wanted one! "OK," said Mulder. "Angel and Adia's it is then." Scully smiled. He would do anything she wanted. "Give me a minute to get the rest of my clothes on, and then we'll go." Scully nodded her head and waited for Mulder to get ready. A couple of minutes had passed before Mulder came out of his room. He was wearing a nice jacket, not like the one's he usually wore to work but one that Scully had never seen him in before. He looked good. Now it was her turn to stare him down. She watched him as he fiddled with his tie. She noticed that he had missed a button when he was doing up his shirt. She casually walked over to him and reached for the undone button. "You missed one," she said. "Thanks." Mulder let her do up his button. She fiddled with the button with her fingers but her eyes did not leave Mulder's. Five years of working together platonically were about to explode. They both knew it would happen one day. Instead of doing up the button, Scully began to undo the rest. She shed Mulder of his jacket. He loosened his tie and Scully removed it from around his neck. She was nervous, she shouldn't have been though. Mulder was the one that she knew best in her life. She trusted him completely and loved him so much. But they had never crossed that line between partners and lovers before. His arms wrapped around her, assuring her that he needed her in every way possible. "Dance with me Scully," he requested. Mulder went over to his CD player and the sound of Sarah McLachlan's voice filled his apartment. Mulder had a feeling that they wouldn't be making it to Angel and Adia's tonight. "Through the years I've grown to love you. Though your commitment to most would offend. But I stuck by you holding on by my foolish pride. Waiting for you to give in." Scully listened to the soft lyrics as Mulder held her close. This song was about her. It was about her feelings toward Mulder and he knew it. She rested her head against his chest and they danced. It was seven o'clock a.m. when Scully woke up. It was raining outside. She felt Mulder's arms holding her body. Her eyes came into focus and she noticed that her dress along with Mulder's pants and shirt were sprawled out over a chair. Mulder stirred beside her. She flipped over to look at him. His face was stubbily and he was still sleeping peacefully. As much as Scully loved this man, she was having doubts about the previous night. What had she done? She stood up from Mulder's embrace. She was crying. The tears were falling from her eyes like the rain that showered the outside. She looked at her partner. He was sexy when he was asleep, god he was sexy when he was awake. But Scully worried about how that night would affect their future together. It was what she wanted but she could have settled for another couple of months of foreplay. She wondered how Mulder felt about all this. She didn't want to wake him though. She just wanted to go home. Scully's crying subsided for a moment while she got dressed. She found a white V-necked T-shirt in a drawer and a pair of plaid boxers. That would do. She was only going outside to get into her car. She left her dress behind and departed from Mulder's apartment. As Scully made her way toward her car, the tears filled her eyes again. She was confused. The night was perfect, but nothing would ever be the same between her and Mulder. Mulder woke up when he heard his apartment door open and close. He looked at the empty space beside him. Alone again. He knew why Scully left. He had the same doubts, was the night a mistake? But he had to catch her. He had to comfort her. He pulled on a pair of jeans and a navy sweater and jogged down the hall to the elevator. He pressed the button and waited. And waited. It wasn't fast enough, he was going to miss her. He ran down the stairs and into the lobby. He saw her. Scully was already outside in the rain. He noted that she was wearing his clothes. When Mulder met up with Scully, they were both drenched. He looked into her eyes, they told of plenty he all ready knew. "Scully, don't go," he pleaded. "Don't leave. Don't leave me." "Mulder, I'm going home. I think you know why." She took his hand in hers. And they stood there in the rain, speechless. "We can't do this Mulder." Mulder knew himself that it would change everything. But they knew that their relationship was headed in this direction. It was just a matter of time. "Scully, I," "Shhh," she interrupted. "Don't speak." She didn't want this to be their last intimate moment. What had she been thinking when she left Mulder's apartment. She had changed her mind so many times in the past twenty-four hours. She went from trying to impress him, to giving herself to him in the bedroom, to not wanting their relationship to come to that and now, now she just wanted to hold onto him forever. He pulled her close to him, attempting to shelter her from the rain. He kissed the top of her head. "I love you," he whispered to her. "I've loved you from the start," she whispered back. They stood in the rain for the next few minutes, holding each other. All they had ever needed was each other. They had finally surrendered to their feelings and let love take over their partnership. Before they went back inside Mulder leaned in to kiss Scully between the raindrops. That's how you know it's love.