Title - The Twig Series: (5) Cupid's Bow
Author - Megan Sullivan
E-Mail address - lessa1@geocities.com
Rating - PG
Category - S R H
Spoilers - None, really.
Keywords - Mulder/Scully Romance
Summary - Fifth story in The Twig Series:
Archive - Ok to archive at Xemplary, Gossamer, and Ephemeral.  Anywhere
else, let me know.

First off, just let me say that yes, I'll admit it.  This series is 
corny.  It's just a tad sappy... ok, it's really sappy.  But working on 
it is a great way to eliminate writer's block on my other stories.  So 
if you don't like it, just don't comment.  Most of the time I enjoy 
critism, but just not on this series.  I write it on a whim for the 
people who write and tell me they like the series.  And if you do enjoy 
this story and it's companions, I'd love to hear from you.

Oh, and just so you know, this series was begun before I saw the episode 
that introduced Tara Scully, and it's probably become an alternate 
universe story because of this.

And (can I have any more notes here?) I agree that the I did pretty much 
cop out on the dinner scene, but I decided that it had been over two 
months since I started this story, and I /needed/ to finish it.

The Twig Series: Christmas Mayhem
The Twig Series: (2) To Dance
The Twig Series: (3) Yes Mom, It's True
The Twig Series: (4) Sharing the News
(All the stories can be found on my homepage at 
http://www.geocities.com/Paris/8533/fanfic.html)

"A word is a bud attempting to become a twig. How can one not dream 
while writing? It is the pen which dreams. The blank page gives the 
right to dream."
- Gaston Bachelard 

Ok, the plot idea is mine, but not too much else is.  All X-Files 
characters are the property of Chris Carter, Fox, and 1013 Productions 
(and probably some other people).  I have no malicious intent when using
these characters.  I'm not making any money off of this story and 
neither is anyone else.  'Ferris Bueller's Day Off', while being a great 
movie, is not mine.  It is the property of Paramount Pictures.

Enjoy! (Story begun on November 27, 1998, completed on February 9, 1999)


The Twig Series: (5) Cupid's Bow
By Megan Sullivan

***********
February 12
***********

Special Agent Dana Scully returned to the basement office, chuckling to 
herself.  From his desk, her partner looked up at her, confusion in his 
eyes.  

"Ok, Scully, I think you need a break.  Giggling when you return from 
Pathology is not a good sign.  Dead bodies are not supposed to be 
amusing."

She grinned at him.  "Pathology was not amusing," she said, tossing a 
file folder on to his desk.  "Boring, but not amusing."

"All right then, I'll bite.  What put you in such a good mood then?" he 
asked, chewing absent-mindedly on the end of his pencil.

"You know Agent Lewis, right?  From Violent Crimes?" she asked as she 
seated herself at her desk and opened the file folder at the top of her 
stack.

"Joe Lewis, sure, I know him.  Kind of a weasely guy, isn't he?"

"Mulder, he isn't weasely.  He's just... mouselike, that's all."

"Mouselike!  That's an understatement.  He looks like..." he trailed off 
when she gave him the evil eye.

"Anyway," she said, stressing the word.  "You might say he has good 
taste in women."

Mulder was silent for a moment.  Then it hit him.  "He propositioned 
you?"

She rolled her eyes.  "I wouldn't call it propositioning.  He asked me 
out, Mulder.  On a date.  For Sunday."

"The man asked you out on Valentine's Day?" he asked.  She nodded and he 
laughed.  "What did you tell him?"

"I told him I already had plans and thanked him for the invitation."

"Oh, so you have plans, eh?  Anyone I know?"

She grinned and decided to play along.  "I think you two may have met a 
time or two.  He's kind of a tall guy.  Funny nose, messy hair.  You 
know the type."

He leaned forward over the desk.  "Funny nose?"

She laughed and nodded.  "Well..." she began.  A knock at the door 
stopped her train of thought.  She turned around.

A delivery boy from a local florist stood in the doorway holding a vase 
of red roses.  "Excuse me," he said, his adolescent voice cracking.  "I 
have a delivery here for Agent Scully?"

"That'd be her," Mulder replied, pointing at Scully.  

The delivery boy stepped into the office and Scully stood to accept the 
flowers.  She reached into a desk drawer, pulled out a bill, and tipped 
the delivery boy.  He thanked her and left.  Scully sat back down at her 
desk, placing the flowers near her computer.

"They're nice, Scully.  Who's the special guy?" he asked innocently.

She opened the card and read it.  She smiled and looked up at Mulder 
with a coy smile.  "The guy with the funny nose," she replied.

"Ahh.  He must be a great guy."

"He likes to think so," she said with a sly grin.

"So, back to our earlier subject.  What did Lewis say when you turned 
him down?"

She laughed.  "He seemed surprised.  As if I wouldn't have a date for 
the single most commercially romantic day of the year.  But he smiled 
and said he hoped I had a good time.  He was quite charming about it 
all."

"So, in essense, he was hitting on you even though he knew you already 
had a date for Valentine's Day."

"Maybe.  Does that bother you?"

"Why would it?" he asked innocently.

She winked at him.  "Back to work, Mulder."

"Aww.  You're no fun."

"I try."


***********
February 13
***********

Scully sat at her kitchen table eating a bowl of cereal and reading the 
morning paper.  She had placed the vase of roses from Mulder in the 
center of her kitchen table.  At least, that's where the flowers were 
for now.  She had moved them multiple times.  She was in the middle of a 
mouthful when the phone rang.  She hastily swallowed and reached for the 
phone.

"Hello?"

"Good morning, Dana!"

Scully smiled and sighed.  "Mom, why are you always so perky in the 
mornings?"

"I'm not always perky.  You're just not a morning person, Dana."

"I think I've heard that before."

"Hey, I've seen you before your coffee.  I don't know how Fox puts up 
with you in the mornings."

The comment made Scully pause, wondering just what her mother was 
implying.  She decided to let it drop.  "Mom, Mulder learned long ago to 
bring me coffee before attempting to speak to me.  Besides, it's not 
that often he sees me all that early in the morning.  Only if we're out 
on a case somewhere."  Scully knew her last sentences sounded a bit 
silly, but she knew what her mother was implying and wanted to steer her 
towards the truth.

Her mother responded with a soft laugh.  "Either way, Dana, the man's a 
brave soul.  Anyways, the reason I called is to find out just what you 
have planned for tomorrow night."

Scully laughed.  "Nosing your way in, mom?"

"Oh, I wouldn't say that... but yes."

She grinned.  "Well, since you asked so nicely, Mulder's taking me out 
for Valentine's Day, Mom.  But he won't tell me where.  Just that I 
should dress to the nines and wear my dancing shoes."

"So he's taking you dancing, then?"

"He wouldn't say, but I'm guessing that's what wearing my dancing shoes 
implies."

"So Fox is taking you dancing.  That's very romantic, Dana."

Scully felt herself blushing.  "I know."

"So what are you wearing?"

She laughed.  "My dancing shoes.  And a great blue dress I told you 
about."

"Oh!"  Maggie sounded pleased.  "You'll be stunning.  You two have a 
great time."

"I have no doubt that we will."

"I love you, Dana."

"Love you too, Mom."

Scully was still beaming as she hung up the phone.  Her mother always 
seemed to want details on her relationship with Mulder.  Scully couldn't 
blame her.  Maggie had been hinting at the possibility for quite a 
while.  Scully stuck her spoon back into her cereal and lifted a small 
spoonful to her mouth.  The cereal was slightly soggy but still 
palatable.  She resumed her breakfast when the phone rang again.

Scully sighed as she answered the phone.  "Hello?"

"Hey Scully."

"Good morning, Mulder.  To what do I owe this phone call."

"I was wondering if you had any hot plans for tonight," he asked 
innocently.

She laughed.  "Honestly, Mulder, I was planning on staying home and 
taking a long bubble bath and shaving my legs and all that fun stuff."

"Hey, sounds like fun.  But Scully, the correct answer to that question 
is 'No, Mulder, I don't have any plans for tonight,'" he replied.

"Oh," she laughed.  "Let me try again.  No, Mulder, I don't have any 
plans for tonight.  Better?"

"Much.  Well, then Scully, since you don't have any plans, how about a 
movie in.  And pizza too.  My treat."

"Hmm... pizza and a movie with you, hey?  Your place or mine?"

"Your choice.  But I'll have you know that I cleaned."

"You cleaned, Mulder?  I've got to see that.  Your place then.  Time?"

"How about seven?"

"Sounds good."

"It's a date.  I'll see you then."

"I'll be there."

With that, the conversation was over.  For some reason, Scully and 
Mulder never really bothered with pleasentries over the phone.  No 
hello's, no goodbyes.  It was just their way.  Some found it impersonal, 
Scully just found it normal.  As normal as anything with Mulder could 
be.

*******
6:58 PM
*******

Just before seven that same evening, Scully knocked on Mulder's 
apartment door.  She knew she was a tad early, but the weather was 
slightly inclement, and Scully didn't want to be late.  If she arrived 
after the pizza, there was a chance there wouldn't be much left for her 
when she finally got there.  She had decided to dress comfortably rather 
than worry too much about her appearance.  She wore a pair of jeans and 
a navy blue sweater over a white t-shirt.  The sweater featured a green 
and brown floral stripe that crossed her chest and looped around her 
upper arms.  On her feet were red and white striped socks and a pair of 
brown shoes.  She knew Mulder would get a kick out of her socks.  She 
knocked gently on the door, waiting for an answer.

She got it almost immediately.  Mulder flung open the door, a wild grin 
on his face.  Like her, he wore jeans, though he paired it with a white 
long-sleeved mock turtleneck.  "Hey, Scully," he said, inviting her in. 
"You're early."

"Only by a few minutes.  Wanted to beat the pizza guy."

"What, don't trust me with the pizza?" he asked innocently.  She gave 
him a look and he relented.  "Ok.  But I didn't eat it all last time."

She rolled her eyes.  "So what wonderful, intellectual film did you get 
for us to watch?"

"Only one of the best movies around," he replied, taking her coat.  
'Ferris Bueller's Day Off.'"

She laughed.  "Good choice, Mulder," she said as the doorbell rang.  
Mulder opened it revealing the pizza delivery girl.  He paid for the 
pizza, gave her a tip, and closed the door.

******************
Later that Evening
******************

The empty pizza box sat on Mulder's coffee table and he and Scully 
cuddled on the couch, watching the end of the movie.  The credits ended 
and Mulder untwined himself from Scully to grab the remote and turn off 
the television.  Once he accomplished the task, he once again wrapped 
his arms around Scully and propped his feet on the coffee table.  She 
drew her knees onto the couch and her arms encircled his waist as she 
leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder.  They stayed in 
this position for more than a little while.

He smiled and kissed the top of her head.  "Scully, we should do this 
more often."

"Already trying to get out of taking me out tomorrow night?" she asked, 
looking up at him with a grin.

He laughed.  "I don't think so.  We don't get to dress up and dance the 
night away every weekend."

"So we are going dancing?"

"Good investigative skills, Agent Scully."

"Where are we going?"

"That I can't tell you."

"And why not?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You should be able to figure that one out.  If I told you, it wouldn't 
be a surprise.  Just be ready to go by six."

She nodded and reluctantly loosend her her grip around Mulder.  "Well, I 
really should be going, Mulder.  I'm tired, and I don't want you to have 
to go dancing with a woman who has bags under her eyes."

"Scully, you aren't trying to bail out on me, are you?"

She laughed.  "No way, Mulder.  It's not every day I get to go dancing. 
I just want to look my best."

He kissed her on the forehead and chuckled softly.  "Then I'll let you 
be on your way."

"Thank you.  Good night, Mulder."

***********
February 14
***********

Wrapped in her bathrobe, Scully tried to quickly pull the curlers out of 
her hair, but her nervous fingers kept tangling her hair in the small 
rollers.  She sighed and dropped her hands to her sides, staring at her 
reflection in the mirror.  "I cannot go out looking like this," she 
laughed to the reflection.  Her makeup looked great, smoky eyes and 
scarlet lips.  The rest of her, however, needed a bit of work.  She 
still wore her bathrobe, and half her hair remained wound around small 
pink curlers.  She took a deep breath and started to unwind her hair 
once again, a bit slower this time.  A few minutes later, her hair was 
loose.  She ran her fingers through the tight curls a few times, then 
attempted to arrange them gently.  She placed two rhinestone studded 
combs on either side of her head, moving some of her hair away from her 
face and forming a mass of tiny curls around the back of her head.  She 
shook her head gently, smiled at herself, then frowned and yanked one of 
the combs out, causing curls to cascade down towards the right side of 
her face.  She fluffed her hair once more and finally smiled happily at 
her reflection.  She grabbed her bottle of hair spray and gently 
spritzed her hair.  Then she spritzed some more.  A whole lot more.  
Finally satisfied, she picked up her earrings from the countertop and 
placed them in her earlobes.  She walked out of her bathroom and into 
her bedroom, where she picked up a bracelet from her dresser.  As she 
lifted the bracelet, her eyes lit on her charm bracelet from Mulder.  
She finished fastening the first bracelet around her wrist and on a 
whim, she picked up the second bracelet and wrapped it around her wrist. 
She was fumbling with the clasp when she heard a knock at her door.  

"Damn," she whispered.  "Just a sec, Mulder," she called.  She fastened 
the clasp and rushed to the front door.  She unlocked the deadbolt and 
opened the door to reveal Mulder, wearing a black tieless tux.  He 
clutched a bouquet of daisies in his hands.  He grinned at her and 
curiously raised an eyebrow at her attire.

"Kind of risque, Scully, but I like it," he said as he leaned in to kiss 
her cheek.

She grinned and rolled her eyes.  "Give me another minute, Mulder."

With a nod, he headed toward her kitchen.  She scurried back to the 
bedroom and shut the door behind her.  She grabbed her dress from the 
bed and quickly unzipped it and slipped it over her head.  Twisting 
slightly, she managed to zip the dress.  She slipped her feet into her 
shoes, fastning the tiny buckles on her anklebone.  She took one last 
glance in her full length mirror and nodded in approval.  The sparkling 
deep blue spaghetti strapped dress fit perfectly, hugging her body all 
the way to the ankles.  To permit dancing, and movement in general, the 
dress featured a slit along the front right side, ending mid-thigh.  She 
admitted the dress was a bit racier than her usual attire, but it was a 
holiday.  She hurridly fastened a small rhinestone pendant around her 
throat, fluffed her hair, and calmly walked out of her bedroom to meet 
Mulder.

She found him perched on her kitchen counter, hands clasped in his lap. 
The daisies sat next to him in an old jelly jar partially filled with 
water.  He grinned childishly at her.  "I liked the robe, but I think I 
like this better."

She laughed softly.  "So, you gonna tell me where we're going?"

He shook his head.  "Nope.  You'll just have to wait."

"Ok, but I refuse to be blindfolded."

"Your loss, Scully," he laughed.

************************
The Moonlight Restaurant
************************

They pulled into the parking lot and Scully looked curiously at Mulder. 
"Mulder?  Isn't this..."

"That great place with the amazing big band music, that's right."

"How did you get reservations?  I thought this place was booked solid 
for tonight."

He laughed.  "I have a friend on the inside track.  Actually three 
friends."

Her lips parted in a grin.  "The Lone Gunmen helped you get 
reservations?"

"They did more than help.  They did all the work.  Well, ok, Byers and 
Langly did all the work.  Frohike wasn't all that helpful."

"Why..." she began to ask.  Then she grinned.  "Oh."

"Yeah, oh.  He's still a little upset with me."

She blushed and laughed.  "Poor little guy."

"Well, you know, Scully, I could always set you two up..."

"No, no," she interrupted quickly.  "That's quite all right, Mulder."

He escorted her into the restaurant where they were seated at a table 
next to the dance floor.  Mulder ordered for them and they were just 
finishing their meals when the band began another set.

Mulder glanced at Scully over the top of his wine glass.  "Dance, 
m'lady?"

She bit her lower lip and grinned at him.  "I would be honored," she 
replied.  He stood and took her hand, leading her onto the dance floor 
as the band began to play an up tempo song.  Scully wasn't surprised to 
discover that Mulder was a talented swing dancer.  Together, they 
whirled around on the floor, laughing the entire way.  They were no 
where near as good as a few of the other couples, couples who appeared 
to dance at competition levels.  But they weren't bad either.  The song 
ended and the band kicked off another song.  And another.

Two sets later, the band took yet another break and Mulder grinned at 
the woman in his arms.  "Scully, to quote an over used phrase, we've 
danced the night away."

She chuckled softly and nodded.  "I can tell.  At least, my feet can."

"Scully, I told you to wear your dancing shoes," he said softly.

"And I did.  But I had to wear something with a substantial heel.  
You're a whole lot taller than me, you know."

He laughed and gently ran his hand down her spine.  "So you're ready to 
head home then?"

"Yeah," she said, nodding.  "We'd probably better be going.  We do have 
to face work tomorrow."

He groaned.  "Scully, only you would bring up work."

"Well, Mulder, I just don't think Skinner would appreciate us sleeping 
at our desks on Bureau time."

He laughed and escorted her into the hall where he left her side to get 
their coats.  He helped her into her coat and she spun around to smile 
at him.  She stood on her tiptoes and gently kissed him on the lips.  He 
smiled against her lips.  

"Thank you, Mulder," she said as she pulled away.

The corners of his eyes crinkled as he smiled at her.  Wordlessly, he 
placed his hand in it's customary spot at the small of her back and led 
her outside to the car.  

********
11:20 PM
********

Not only did Mulder drive Scully back to her apartment building, he also 
escorted her to her door.  Early on in their friendship, she had 
protested when he offered to walk her to the door.  Secretly, he had 
been a comforting presence to her after a rough case.  Now that they 
were more than just friends, he walked her to her door each time he 
dropped her off.  And she never protested. 

Scully reached into her small purse and pulled out her keys.  She 
unlocked the door and opened it.  She stepped inside and smiled at 
Mulder, who was still leaning against her doorway.  

Mulder smiled at her.  "Thanks for an amazing evening, Scully," he said, 
stepping just inside her doorway.  

She laughed.  "I'm the one who should be thanking you, Mulder.  You're 
the one who arranged all of this," she said, stepping closer to him and 
slipping her hands under his jacket, sliding her hands up to his chest.

"Me and the guys.  Though I hope you don't plan to thank Frohike like 
this too," he grinned, looking down at her hands on his chest.

Her hands stopped moving and she looked up at him, one eyebrow raised.  
"No, I wasn't planning on it."

"Good.  Though I know he would enjoy it."

She rolled her eyes.  "We'll never know."

"Oh, Scully, I know.  This is Frohike, remember."

She slid her arms up around his neck.  "Goodnight, Mulder," she said, 
pulling his face down to hers.  He wrapped his arms around her waist and 
leaned in to kiss her, tongues tangling together.  After a moment, they 
separated.  He leaned in and kissed her on the cheek.

"Night, Scully," he said, separating himself from her.  He placed his 
hand on the side of her cheek and smiled at her.  She returned the 
smile.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Mulder," she said softly.  He nodded and turned 
to go.  She closed the door behind him and locked the door, grinning to 
herself.  She sighed happily and walked into her bedroom to get ready 
for another week of work.  With Mulder.


Yes, it's done.  Feedback?  Feedback?