From: shoshana1013@excite.com
Date: Thu, 08 Apr 1999 00:56:15 PDT
Subject: New: Virginia Beach, Part Deux (1/1)


TITLE: Virginia Beach, Part Deux (1/1)
AUTHOR: Shoshana
EMAIL ADDRESS: shoshana1013@excite.com
DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT: Anywhere 
SPOILER WARNING: Everything through Alpha. 
RATING: PG
CONTENT STATEMENT: MSR
CLASSIFICATION: V
SUMMARY: A little sequel to Virginia Beach.
DISCLAIMER: These characters do not belong to me.
FEEDBACK: Would love it.


Virginia Beach, Part Deux
By Shoshana


     The sun had gone down.  The temperature dropped swiftly and Scully
shivered as the sea breeze blew past them.
     "You're cold, aren't you?" 
     "Yeah, we better get back to civilization."
     Mulder was amazed at how their lives had changed in the last few hours.
Any other time he would have had Dr. Scully examine him for signs of shock.
He had never held her in his arms for so long and with such obvious comfort
on both their parts.  Thoughts of what came next were constantly buzzing in
his head, despite all his best efforts to banish them.
     Scully's mind was quite a bit less agitated than her companion; she
wasn't thinking what next, she just wasn't thinking that far ahead.  She
hadn't taken the mutant turtle story seriously when Mulder mentioned it to
her last Wednesday.  She had more knowledge of marine biology than he,
having grown up at naval bases on both coasts.  She decided to go with the
flow this time and see what cockamanie excuse he would invent for this jaunt
to the still freezing waters of the Atlantic.  She allowed herself to snoop
through his agenda and other files only because she was convinced Mulder had
an ulterior motive in bringing her to Virginia Beach during the off-season.
He would probably have dubious motives during any season for that matter, so
better safe than sorry.  
     They held hands on the walk back to the motel, neither daring to break
the spell by risking conversation.  Mulder broke the silence first when they
arrived back, "Hungry?  There's a crab place open within walking distance."
     "Sure, that sounds great.  Let me get my coat, first."
     They broke grip of one another's hands and entered their respective
rooms to get extra protection from the now chilly ocean breeze.  The
restaurant was a five minute walk away, long enough for the two to chat idly
about how changeable the weather was near the sea.
     During dinner, while cracking crablegs and sipping on draft beer, they
discussed Scully's cases while an internist.  The origin of this topic of
conversation was unknown, just an association away from some other
non-pressing issue they strayed into. They happily chatted over dinner,
unaware that  some of their more colorful stories were unsuitable fodder for
the dinner hour.  Occasionally, they were aware of a few curious stares from
other patrons, especially when Scully concluded in a rather loud voice that
cadavers who'd had previous brain surgery were the most fascinating to
dissect.  Only two F.B.I. agents, inured to the sight of bloody corpses,
could dine and discuss memorable sights and smells of past autopsies.
     They were having a great time.  Mulder was finally totally relaxed, his
stomach ceasing to flip-flop every time he looked over at her beautiful blue
eyes.  He said a silent prayer that they hadn't even kissed outside, just
gotten a little closer as the wind blew a little colder and finally drove
them indoors for dinner.  He wanted this to last forever.  He had never been
comfortable as the aggressor in the few relationships he'd had.  He had just
seemed to meet women along the way who had more guts than he to initiate
that first kiss, first roll-in-the-hay, first declaration of love.  Maybe he
never really felt convinced of his worthiness before, relying on jokes and
innuendo to break the tension of a relationship.  He had always felt shy
about telling women that he was in love with them.  Despite all his success
at Oxford and the F.B.I., he never felt at complete ease with his ability to
give and receive love on an equal basis.  Not with any of his short-lived
relationships and certainly not with Diana.  Their whirlwind courtship
shortly after she joined him on the X- Files was now open to agonizing
scrutiny.  But now, with Scully, he felt good, confident, optimistic.  They
were so accustomed to each other, as devoted as two friends could be, that
he just didn't want to move faster than need be.  He would never forgive
himself if he fucked up his only opportunity to woo her the way he wanted
to.
     After dinner, they leaned back in their chairs and looked at the damage
before them. Seafood restaurants that encourage unrestrained messiness from
their patrons are never pretty post meal-time.  Scully wondered where all
the other diners were.  Maybe their dinner conversation had chased them
away.  Most likely it was just getting late.  She didn't want to leave yet,
much more comfortable lazing around the table with Mulder than contemplating
any grander plan for the evening.  He seemed amenable to that, so she
thought she'd catch him off guard a bit, ask him one of those questions
swirling through the back of her mind.  She inched her chair closer to his
side of the table so the few patrons in the place could barely hear them.  
     "Mulder, is it all right if we take this slow and easy?  This is our
first date, you know?"
     His eyes lit up with laughter and a chuckle rumbled through his
slightly drunk and crab-stuffed body.  "Scully, I would much rather live to
see our second date than annoy a Federal Agent with a Sig Sauer who has had
a little too much to drink at dinner."
     "Oh, yeah!  You've been throwing them back pretty good yourself,
G-Man!," she responded, laughing heartily.
     "It's so good to hear you laugh," he said. "We never get to carry on
this way at work.  To tell the truth, if we did, they'd probably send the
men in white coats forthwith."
     "Not to mention ruin my reputation as the "Ice Queen."
     "That seems like an ill deserved moniker if you ask me.  Some of these
agents are just jealous that you don't lose your composure at least once in
a while when we go out to crime scenes."
     "I've been close, very close.  But it's just not something I've ever
wanted to do in front of a mostly male crowd.  I knew from medical school
that just as many guys lose their cookies when we dissected cadavers.  We
all just had to control that impulse, if we wanted to finish medical school.
Then, when I chose forensic pathology, I knew I had to curb it completely."
     "Speaking of impulses and composure, how the hell are we going to keep
our private business a secret now, Scully?"
     "You don't get out much, do you Mulder?  We're already an item on the
water cooler agenda.  I've heard plenty  of juicy rumors just by visiting
the lavatory down from Skinner's office."
     "Oh really?  So I should be strutting around like a peacock, like I'm
getting laid night and day?"
     Scully emitted a most unladylike snort, and doubled over laughing.
"Don't get too optimistic there, Agent Mulder.  We haven't even gotten to
first base yet!"
     "Well, nobody else seems to think that!  Why not play along with our
'friendly' colleagues, mess with their minds a bit?"
     "Oh Mulder, you mess with their minds every time we go out on an
X-File.  No need for overkill, I'd say.  Anyway, back to the original
question.  If we want to keep our private life private, all we have to do is
do more of what we've been doing for the last few years.  Nobody'll notice
furtive glances, stolen gazes...the entire Hoover building has been noticing
those things for years.  You've just been innocently oblivious to it all.
For all your powers of observation as an investigator, you can be totally
dense and self-absorbed when it comes to the work world around you."
     "Maybe I've just come to be that way, cocooning myself when people
believe that I'm mentally unstable for my belief in extra-terrestrials.  I
was mocked and giggled at before you started working with me and that's
probably when I started ignoring everyday life at Hoover."
     "Well, anyway...there's nothing to fear there.  But my Mom will know.
She's always been partial to you, Mulder."
     "Plus she has Mom-radar, I suppose.  That doesn't bother me a bit.
It's Bill, I fear."  Mulder cowered in his chair, eliciting more giggles
from Scully.  He reached over and grabbed her hand, kissing her palm,
holding it tight.  She hadn't stopped shaking with laughter yet, but reached
over and brushed his errant locks out of his eyes.
     "You need a haircut, Mulder."
     "O.K., get that medical bag out, Scully," he jested.
     "Yeah, sure, fine, whatever.  Hey, what do you want to do tomorrow?  I
think there's a really nice aquarium here."
     "Sounds fine," he said. And then, in a softer, more private tone, "Just
so we do it together.  And when we go, we can finally see some giant sea
turtles, Scully.  Or at least, some really, really large everyday turtles,
O.K.?"
     "O.K., sounds good to me. Let's get going.  I'm beginning to feel that
beer."
     "You wouldn't want me to take advantage of that weakness, now would
you?"
      "No Mulder, I think we can restrain ourselves for now.  Go pay the
check, I'll meet you outside."
     She swept out into the night air, relieved that the freshness of it
sobered her up and gave her back her resolve to sleep alone tonight.  Mulder
looked good, very good to her woosy sensibility in the restaurant.  She just
wanted to wait till they'd had some time to get used to this new status quo
before marching irrevocably forward.
     He was out in a minute, lacing his arm around her waist and kissing her
forehead gently.  They walked happily, silently to the motel, arriving at
Scully's door first.
     He smiled at her and said, "If this qualifies as our first date Scully,
do think you could grant me a good-night kiss?"
     She beamed back at him and coyly said, "I usually don't kiss on the
first date, you know.  I think we can make an exception this one time.  I'm
not expecting too many more first dates in my life, you know, so I'd better
make the most of it."
      Clearly touched by her words, Mulder took her face in his hands and
kissed her gently, briefly.  She pulled her head against his chest, wound
her hands around his waist and rubbed his back gently.  He ran the fingers
of one hand through her hair, massaging her lower back with the other.
They remained like that until Scully, grappling with her own inebriated
feelings, broke the hug and kissed Mulder on his hands.  He made no protest,
kissed her forehead and waited while she struggled with the motel room
door.
     "Goodnight, Scully," he said as he walked next door and fiddled with
his own stubborn lock.
     "Goodnight, Mulder," she countered, as she slowly shut her door for the
night.
     
fin