From: ephemeral@ephemeralfic.org Date: 13 Jul 2001 03:13:44 -0000 Subject: The Truth and a Sailboat (1/1) by Megan Source: direct Reply To: dreamland_1013@hotmail.com Title: The Truth and a Sailboat (1/1) Author: MeGgiE42 Rating: G Spoilers: Through season 8 Classification: MSR, fluff Archive: Go ahead! Just tell me first! :-) Summary: "Mulder," Scully said eying the dreaded case file lying on his desk, "you hate boats. What's so important about this case that it makes you want to step foot on one again?" Author's notes: OK, this is only my second fic, so I'm still a little rusty, but please read it and tell me what you think! It'd really mean a lot to mean! Thanx :-) ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ "C'mon Scully, It'll be fun!" How many times had she heard that exact phrase before? 'To many times', Scully thought. She looked at Mulder, eyebrow raised. "Besides," he grinned, "it's an assignment, so there's not really much we can do about it. Might as well make the best of things!" Mulder slapped the manila envelope down on the desk with an ungraceful *plop*. "Mulder," Scully said eying the dreaded case file lying on his desk, "you hate boats. What's so important about this case that it makes you want to step foot on one again?" She thought about the last time he had set out to find a ship, what a disaster that had turned out to be. Mulder gave her his trademark grin, reading her thoughts. "It won't be anywhere near the Bermuda Triangle," he leaned in closer whispering, "I promise." ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ She couldn't believe she had let him talk her into it. But when he pulled his 'hurt-puppy-dog' act, there was nothing in her that could resist. Scully sighed placing the duffle bag on the bed. She had decided to take it instead of a suitcase. Suitcases were just too big and bulky to take on a boat. Especially a sailboat. ~A sailboat. I wonder why a sailboat?~ she thought zipping up the bag. She thought she had overheard Mulder talking on the phone. Something about "easier to manage, and less people to be disturbed." whatever that meant. She had just finished making sure everything was packed when there was a knock at the door. "It's me," came a familiar voice. She opened the door to find Mulder, clad in jeans and a white t-shirt, trying to juggle a duffle bag, a backpack, a camping lantern, his keys, and two rather large bags of sunflower seeds. Quickly she took the backpack and lantern before they could fall. "Thanks," he said dropping the duffle bag inside the apartment. "Thought I'd have to leave some of this in the elevator." He grinned adding, "and it wasn't going to be the seeds." Mulder tucked his keys into his jeans pocket and came inside to help Scully with last minute preparations. "Clothes?" "Check" "food and water?" "Check" "Guns?" "Check" ~you could never be too careful~ Mulder stopped, wrinkling his brow. There seemed to be something that they were forgetting ~oh well, it must not be that important.~ Smiling, he picked up their bags and headed towards the door. Scully grabbed the lantern and backpack, making sure she didn't forget the sunflower seeds. ~Two weeks without them? Mulder wouldn't survive.~ Glancing around the apartment one last time, Scully shut off the lights. ~Atlantic Ocean, here we come~ ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Stepping out of the car, the two agents were greeted with a fresh burst of salty 'sea air'. Scully took in a deep breath, sighing. She had forgotten how much she really loved the sea. Memories of fishing and sailing with her father and brothers flooded back. Melissa had always wanted to stay home with mom, but Scully had always looked forward to the times that her and her brothers would set out with their dad on an new adventure. Every time was it was different, and with every time a new challenge lurked- waiting to be conquered. Every once in awhile she got a special treat. Those were the times that it was just Ahab and Starbuck. They would pretend they were setting out to catch that Moby Dick once and for all. She loved those times. Mulder noticed the dreamy look in Scully's eyes. He knew that she loved the sea, and the memories of her father it brought back. At first he wasn't sure if this was a good idea, but the look in Scully's face told him he had made the right choice. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ "Mulder, she's gorgeous," Scully said stepping onto the deck of the small boat. She ran her hand over the handcrafted wood. Suddenly she stopped, resting her fingers on the intricately carved letters. Her eyes softened at the name it spelled out. Emily. "Mulder," she paused, "where did you-" "I didn't," he said reading her mind. "Didn't what?" Scully was confused. Mulder leaned against the side of the softly rocking boat. Then in answer to her question he replied,"She's mine." Scully looked skeptical, "Mulder, you're telling me you- the man who complains about inheriting his father's sea legs- bought a boat?" He paused then smiled, "Not 'bought' exactly. It belonged to my aunt. When she died, she left it to me. It's been spending some 'quality time' in my mom's shed for the last ten years." Scully smiled, "but why bring her out now?" "Like you said, I inherited my father's sea legs," he grinned, "I'd actually forgotten about it until about two months ago." Her voice softened, "Why did you name her Emily?" Mulder saw the look in Scully's eyes. ~Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all.~ His spoke matching her tone, "I wanted you to have her." Scully was stunned and deeply touched at the same time. For a second she wasn't quite sure if he was talking about the boat or the little girl. Which ever it was she was suddenly overcome with emotion. "Mulder this is the sweetest thing anyone has ever done for me." She paused taking his hand, "but I couldn't." Squeezing her hand Mulder said, "No Scully, I really want you to have this. Think of it as a gift for all you've given me over the years. I know it's not much to make up for all you've lost but..." Scully's eyes watered. "Mulder,you've already given me more than I could ever wish for." She paused, and Mulder thought it looked like she was contemplating whether or not to continue. Finally she must have decided to and went on, "You've given me hope when I was struggling with my cancer, and then again when I found out that I could never have children. You told me to 'never give up on a miracle', and now that we have William, there's nothing more I could want,except," Scully took a deep breath taking Mulder's other hand. ~It's now or never Dana~ she told herself. After what seemed like an eternity she finished her sentence, "you." Mulder couldn't believe his ears. ~Was he really hearing this? Did Scully-*Dana* Scully- the one who almost never showed her emotions, just tell him that all she could want was he himself?~ His heart leapt with joy at the thought. Mulder grinned ear to ear, and put his arms around her waist. "Dana Katherine Scully," ~She was surprised that he used her first name~ "I love you." With that Mulder leaned in to give her a kiss. Not just a friendly New Year's Eve kind of kiss, a deep romantic kiss- even better than the night when William had come home. Scully sighed and rested her head on his shoulder. "So Mulder tell me about this case of yours." He grinned, knowing that no matter how boring or ugly this 'case' was, it was definitely going to be a fun trip. ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~* Well, it's not as good as my first fic, but I was just in the mood for some good 'ol fluff. *sigh* :-) Please, if you have the time send feedback!!! It'll mean more to me than you could ever imagine! :-)