From 76021.3043@CompuServe.COM Sat Mar 15 21:33:01 1997
Newsgroups: alt.tv.x-files.creative
Subject: Waffles on St. Patrick's Day (1/1)
From: Laura Herold <76021.3043@CompuServe.COM>
Date: 16 Mar 1997 03:33:01 GMT
--------
It's likely that the reader knows the origin/owner of the
television show The X-Files, but if not, and to cover my butt: 
It belongs to Chris Carter and Fox TV.

Info for reader and archivist:
Rating: G
Fiction Classification: S(tory)
Summary: A brief holiday tale about friendship and lunch
Spoiler warning: Indirectly refers to season 4 developments

Without further ado:

Waffles on St. Patrick's Day
by Laura Herold

Jerry's Diner
Somewhere in Virginia
March 17
12:34 pm	

	Mulder slid into the booth, across the table from Scully. She 
noticed for the second time the hint of a smile that was tugging 
at the corners of his mouth. "What's going on, Mulder?" she asked. 
"Why did we have to come all the way out here for lunch?" Mulder 
shrugged off his coat and laid it next to him on the seat. He had 
insisted that she come with him to what turned out to be a 
semisanitary diner. During the trip in the car he had skillfully 
and infuriatingly evaded her questions. "Mulder--"

	"The waffles are fantastic," he said, his nose buried in the 
menu.

	Scully looked at him for a moment and reluctantly let herself 
be sidetracked. "For lunch?" she said.

	"Why not?" Mulder asked, setting the menu aside. There was a
mischievous look in his hazel eyes, and Scully was about to ask 
him about it when a waitress arrived at their table.

	"Ready to order?" the waitress asked. 

	"Waffles," Mulder said, "lots of syrup. And coffee."

	Scully smiled. "The same," she said. "The syrup on the side."
After the waitress left, Scully looked back at Mulder who was 
rummaging around in his coat pocket. "Mulder, what--"

	"Have you ever had cannoli?" Mulder asked without looking at
her.

	"I hope that's not what's in your pocket," Scully said, imagining
those pastry rolls crushed in a napkin inside his coat.

	"Nope," Mulder said. "But I really love them." He produced a 
small box and slid it across the table to her.

	Scully just looked at it where it came to rest in front of her. 
"Mulder--"

	The waitress set coffee cups down in front of each of them
and walked away without a word. Mulder raised his cup in a toasting 
motion. "To the X-Files," he said. Scully raised her cup and nodded, 
and they both sipped the scalding liquid. Scully set down her cup and 
slowly moved the small box closer to her. She looked up at Mulder, 
but his face gave absolutely no hint of what was going on in his 
mind. She was about to open the box when he said: "Wait." 

	The waitress had returned with the plates of waffles, Mulder's 
gleaming with what appeared to be a whole bottle of syrup. Scully's 
came with a small cup of syrup on the side. 

	"Well?" Mulder said. 

	Scully looked at him. "What?" she said.

	"So?" Mulder said.

	"Excuse me?" Scully said.

	Mulder pointed at the box. "Happy St. Patrick's Day," he said.

	"Mulder--" she started, but this time she stopped herself. "You
didn't have to get me anything."

	"I wanted to, Dana," he said. "Besides, you'll probably hate it, so 
it won't be that big of a deal."

	Scully lifted the lid off of the box and set it on the table. Inside
was a gold pendant in the shape of a four-leaf clover strung on a 
gold chain.

	"I just thought, with today being what it is..." he said, drifting
off.

	She looked at him. "Thank you," she said.

	Mulder looked at her in silence for a moment and then said, "If
you'd like I can put it on you." Scully smiled and slid out of her
side of the booth and then sat down on the edge of his side, her
back to him. She felt him reach over and pick up the necklace,
and she lifted her hair and waited, eyes closed. He swung the 
pendant over her head and then clasped the chain behind her,
his fingers gently brushing her neck. "I just want you to know 
that even though I might not act like it sometimes," he said, "I 
*do* care; I *am* concerned."

	"I know that, Fox," Scully said. She stood up and then slid
back into the other side of the booth.

	"You're the best friend--"

	"I know," Scully said. "Thank you."

	For several minutes they ate their waffles in silence.

	"When I was 10 and Samantha was 6 my family went on a 
camping trip," Mulder said finally. Scully looked up from her 
plate into his clear, intelligent eyes. "Sam wandered off into 
the woods when no one was looking, and everyone sort of 
panicked. Everyone was running around looking for her, calling 
her name." He looked away for a moment, out the window. 
Then he looked back to Scully. "My mother found her just 
sitting on the ground looking through a patch of clover for 
one of the lucky four-leafed ones, just ignoring the hell out 
of everyone who was looking for her."

	Scully smiled. She knew how hard it had to be for him
to bring up a memory like that, so she just let silence
descend instead of asking him about it.

	"Sometimes I wonder if it would have made a difference if 
she had found one," he said. "I wonder if changing something 
somewhere along the line would have made things turn out 
differently -- for whatever reason."

	Scully fingered the clover at her throat. "So, this isn't just 
about St. Patrick's Day."

	Mulder played with his waffles for a moment before looking 
at her and responding. "I'm willing to do anything, believe in 
anything, try anything, if it might make you well," he said. 
"I'm determined to devote myself to it."

	Scully shifted uncomfortably in her seat, and said, "I don't 
want you to think..."

	"This isn't about what I think," Mulder said. "This is about
what I owe you." Scully looked away from his intense stare. 
"When you were... when..." He paused for a second. "You are 
what's most important to me, Dana. For the longest time I
didn't see that, or I ignored it or denied it.  But now I know
that The X-Files... all of that is nothing without you."

	"You don't have to say that," Scully said. "I know what your
work means to you. I would never stand in your way. I would
never expect you to do anything that would sabotage your
chance to find Samantha."

	"I know," Mulder said softly. "But there isn't anything I 
wouldn't do for you."

	There was a silent moment while Scully held his gaze and
realized that he knew and meant exactly what he had said. 
Then she reached her right hand across the table and set it 
on top of his left. There were a million things she could 
think of to say, but she didn't say any of them. No words
would have been enough. She just squeezed his hand gently.

	"Be well," Mulder said. He put his right hand on top of hers 
for a moment and then slid both of his hands away. He tossed 
a twenty on the table, stood, and slipped on his coat. "Now 
let's get back to work."

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Comments may be sent to Laura Herold at:
peridot@compuserve.com