From: Imadethis1013ms@aol.com Date: Sun, 25 Mar 2001 21:34:38 EST Subject: What Now Source: direct Title: What Now? Author: Bridget Delia O'Loughlin Category: Mulder/Scully Romance Rating: PG Summary: A misunderstanding leads to jealousy and some unlikely behavior from Scully. Disclaimer: These characters do not belong to me. Just borrowing them for a bit. No infringement intended. Any and all comments welcome. E-mail: imadethis1013ms@aol.com WHAT NOW? "How am I supposed to deal with this?" Dana Scully said to herself as she entered her apartment after a long day. She was referring to the fact that her partner, Fox Mulder, had found himself a girlfriend. She had stopped by his apartment to drop off some papers and found him entertaining her. She and Mulder had had an argument earlier. Not that that was anything new. This one had been a little more personal. Mulder ended up walking out on her. She wanted to set things straight with him and had used the papers as an excuse to go to his apartment. She was shocked by what she had seen. It was obvious that they were in the middle of something. Mulder was very annoyed when he answered the door and his shirt was untucked and his hair was mussed, as though his "friend" had been running her fingers through it. "What are you doing here Scully?" He said with a tense voice. "I... I just wanted to give you these papers." She said, looking around him to the gorgeous brunette sitting on his leather sofa. "Yeah, thanks. Anything else?" "Umm, no. No that's all. I'm s...." She was looking down at her feet. She couldn't finish. "Yeah, well. I'll see you on Monday." He touched her shoulder and she jumped. "Are you alright?" He said in a much kinder voice. "Yeah, um, I'll see you on Monday." She said as she turned to walk away. "Scully?" He called. "Yeah?" "Have a good weekend." He stammered out. "Yeah, you too." She said softly but he had already gone inside. When she got to her car she realized that tears were standing in her eyes. She sat there for a while to gain control before going home. She was glad it was Friday. She would have the weekend to get her emotions under control. She had very little planned for the weekend, dinner at her friend Kate's on Saturday night and shopping with her mother on Sunday. She cried herself to sleep that night. She had long ago accepted that she was in love with her partner. She thought he was in love with her too, that they belonged together. She knew now she was wrong. She had not let another man near her for a very long time. It felt too much like cheating on Mulder. It broke her heart to realize that he didn't feel the same way. How long had he been seeing that woman? Why hadn't he told her about it? How could she have been so stupid? He obviously thought of her only as his partner and maybe a sister. But there was nothing brotherly in the way she felt about him. She slept late on Saturday. Much later than was usual for her, it was after ten when she got up. She spent the day doing errands and cleaning her apartment. At six thirty she got dressed for her dinner at Kate's, grateful that she had someplace to go. If she spent another evening in her apartment thinking about Mulder she would go crazy. At eight o'clock she rang the bell at Kate's house. Kate answered with a big smile and a hug for Dana. "Hi. I'm so glad you could make it." She said as they hugged. "So am I." Dana replied softly. "Hey, are you okay?" "I'm fine." "I really hate it when you say that." Kate said sternly. "I really am fine." "No you are not. Come in here and give me your coat. Join me in the kitchen and we'll talk." "Where's Gary?" "My loving husband is in New York. He got called in on a consultation at Bellevue Hospital." Dana was counting on Gary being there, he would prevent Kate from pumping her for information. Now she would be stuck with Kate and her twenty questions. She followed Kate into the kitchen and sat down on a stool at the island. Everything smelled wonderful. Kate had obviously gone to a lot of trouble. Kate smiled at Dana and handed her a glass of wine. "Everything smells great. What are you cooking?" "Well, I started out to just make a simple chicken dinner and things went on from there. We have homemade New England Clam Chowder, a Chinese salad, rosemary chicken, garlic roasted potatoes, asparagus and apple pie for dessert." She grinned. "Oh, I made herb bread." "Wow, what came over you?" Dana laughed. "I was inspired. Actually, I'm hungry and everything sounded good. So I got a little carried away. I hope you're really hungry." "On my best day I couldn't eat all of that!" It felt so good to laugh. "So why don't we do the best we can, Gary loves leftovers, and you can tell me what's upsetting you." Dana knew she wasn't going to get away with not telling her, so she started. She told Kate all about Mulder and their partnership. She left out the fact that she was in love with him but she wasn't fooling Kate and she knew it. Finally Kate asked. "So Dana, how long have you been in love with him?" "I was hoping you wouldn't ask that." She said quietly. "Okay, does he know how you feel?" "NO!" "Well, don't you think you should tell him?" "Kate, you don't understand. Mulder doesn't look at me that way. He's my partner. He thinks of me as a friend." "Dana you don't know that." "Yes I do. I stopped by his apartment last night to drop off some papers and he was entertaining." "Ouch." "Yeah. I'm not his type. Mulder goes for the tall, thin brunette type. You know the supermodel type. He's not the least bit interested in his short red headed partner." "Dana the man went to Antarctica for you." "I know that, but it was for his partner nothing more." "Are you serious?" "Kate, I'm very serious." "Oh Dana. What are you going to do?" Dana had started to cry. The pain she was in was too much. Kate held her hand and tried to sooth her. "Dana, you can't go on like this. You have to tell him." "I can't. I don't know how I'm going to face him on Monday." Kate was quiet for a little while and Dana could see the wheels turning in Kate's head. She got her tears under control. "What are you cooking up now?" Dana asked cautiously. "I'm getting an idea." "Oh no. I'm not playing Ethel to your Lucy." "No it's not that bad. I'm thinking that we need to find out how he feels about you without you telling him how you feel about him right?" "Yeah." She said very concerned. "Okay, well the easiest way to find out is to have another man interested right?" "I don't like the sound of this." "Sure you do. Listen, Gary will be back tomorrow. I know he would love to do it!" "Kate, are you crazy!" "No come on this is a great idea. It will work. What have you got to lose?" "I can't believe I'm even considering this. Mulder will know what I'm doing." "No he won't. We'll be very subtle. We're not going to hit him over the head." "I don't know." "Dana you have to find out if he cares that way. What's better than the old jealousy routine? I'll have Gary call you on Monday morning, make sure you aren't there. We'll agree on a time. Mulder will answer the phone and Gary will leave a message with him about dinner that night. Then on Wednesday afternoon, Gary will stop by and ask you to dinner again. On Friday he'll send you flowers. It's perfect!" Dana reluctantly agreed to this crazy scheme. She felt a little better about the situation. At least she was going to find out if Mulder cared. She hoped she didn't end up embarrassing herself. Sunday went well with her mom. Maggie knew something was going on but knew better than to ask too many questions. She decided to let it go and check on Dana later in the week. Monday morning finally came and Dana made sure she was first in the office. She would be pleasant and smile. It would throw him off balance. She made the coffee and sat at her table with her computer on waiting. Gary would be calling at ten. A deep voice brought her out of her trance. "Morning Scully." "Morning Mulder. Nice weekend?" She said with a smile. "Yeah it was okay, you?" He looked at her quizzically. He expected her to be angry about Friday night. "Yeah it was, thanks. Coffee's made and I've stated on the report on the Miller case. Skinner wants it by this afternoon." "Okay, thanks." They worked in companionable silence for a couple of hours. At five of ten, Scully excused herself to the ladies room. She paced the ladies room for about ten minutes. She was sorry she had agreed to this ridiculous idea. Mulder was going to know what she was doing. This was so embarrassing. Finally she headed back to the office. "I was beginning to think you fell in." He said with a strained smile. "Sorry, I ran into someone." She sat down at her computer. "Who's Gary?" Mulder asked softly. "Excuse me?" "Gary, he just called. He wants to take you to dinner tonight. Who is he?" "Oh Gary. I met him on Saturday, we went to brunch yesterday." "Scully, what do you know about this guy?" He sounded alarmed. "Mulder, don't. I can take care of myself." She got up and left the room. She came back about a half hour later. Mulder looked up at her sheepishly. "I'm sorry Scully. I just don't want to see you hurt, okay?" "Thanks for the concern Mulder, really, but its just not necessary, okay?" "Okay." He knew if he said more she would just get angrier. He didn't like this at all. The rest of the day went slowly. Neither of them mentioned Friday night. Mulder wanted to explain to her. He knew what it looked like but it wasn't romantic. Jessica was an old friend from the Vineyard, she had shown up unannounced after his run. He had just gotten out of the shower when Jess arrived. Mulder was angry at Scully and didn't want to explain it to her then. Jessica could see how upset Mulder was about Scully. She tried very hard to get him to go to her and explain, to tell her how he felt about her. Obviously he refused. He gave Jessica the same speech Dana had given Kate, the whole partner, friend thing. Jessica didn't buy it any more than Kate did. Now Scully had gone out and found herself another guy. He hated it, but he had no right to say anything to her. By Wednesday Mulder was going crazy. He was dying to ask Scully if she had gone out with this Gary on Monday night. He had just about worked up the courage when he heard a knock on the door. "Dana?" The man called. "Gary!" Scully jumped up. Mulder groaned. "Hi" She said softly and sweetly. Gary leaned down and kissed her lightly on the lips. "I hope I'm not interrupting you." He said smiling. "Not at all, we're just doing paperwork. Oh, Gary I want you to meet my partner. Gary Barnes this is Fox Mulder." They shook hands. Scully could see Mulder's jaw tighten. She smiled. Mulder misunderstood the smile and he excused himself. "Dana, how's it going?" Gary said laughing. "I feel terrible about doing this, Gary." "Hey some of us guys need a good kick in the pants every once in a while. It's pretty harmless. Don't look so worried." "You really think so?" "Yeah I know so." "Okay." "Listen, I've got to meet Kate so I'm gonna run. Talk to you on Friday." He said with a wink. Mulder was gone for over an hour. Scully smiled when she heard him clear his throat. "Hey, where did you run off to?" She asked seriously. "I forgot I had an errand to run. So that was Gary." "Yes. What did you think?" "I don't know. I only met the guy for a couple of minutes." Mulder moved over to his desk. "So are you seeing him tonight?" "Yes we're having dinner." "Oh." Mulder started working again. At six-thirty Scully started to clean up her desk, she knew Mulder was watching her. "Mulder, I'm leaving now. See you tomorrow." Scully was watching him closely. "So early?" "Mulder, it's six-thirty and I have a date. I'll see you tomorrow." She smiled and put her coat on. Mulder didn't say anything to her. On Friday morning when Scully arrived at the office Mulder was already there. She smiled when she saw a large bouquet of red roses on her desk. "What's this?" Scully asked smiling. "They just came. There's a card there." He said with a little bit of anger. Scully opened the card and blushed a little bit. It made Mulder crazy. "So I assume they're from Gary." He said with a sarcastic tone. "Yes they are. What a sweet man." She smiled again and smelled the flowers. "Don't you think this is going a little fast?" "What do you mean?" "He's rushing you!" "Mulder, he is not." She said firmly. The phone rang just then and Mulder grabbed it. "Mulder." He said harshly and listened. "It's Romeo. I've got some things to do. I won't be back today." "Mulder..." "Have a good weekend Scully." He said as he slammed the door. "Hi Gary." She smiled. "Hey, how's it going?" "Well, he's not happy about the flowers, your call was perfect timing. He just stormed out slamming the door." "I think you've got your answer Dana. They guy is gone over you." "I'd like to think that. I'm not sure what to do now though." "Maybe we should break up?" "I really appreciate you doing all this. I'm sorry if this has been uncomfortable for you." "Are you kidding! I'm enjoying this. I hope you two are very happy together." "Thanks Gary." "Hey Dana, why don't we have brunch on Sunday in Mulder's neighborhood." "Don't you think that's laying it on a little thick?" "Nah. It should be the last straw for him. Think about it and let me know." "Thanks Gary. I'll call you and Kate tomorrow. Scully decided that Mulder did need one more push, she called Kate and told her she would love to have brunch with Gary on Sunday. There was a nice little cafe down the street from Mulder's. He ran by it while jogging. Kate teased her about giving Gary back when she was finished. She and Gary were sitting outside at the cafe when Mulder ran by. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw them. Gary had seen him first and startled Dana by taking her hand and kissing it. He whispered in her ear that Mulder was watching them. Gary saw Mulder's shoulders slump when he saw them. He turned and ran in the other direction. Scully felt terrible about what she was doing. She told Gary she couldn't do it anymore. "Honey, you don't need to. You just have to reel him in. Why don't you tell him the truth?" "Which truth do you mean?" She said shaking her head. "That I'm married." Gary smiled. "I don't know what I'm going to do." When Scully returned home there was a message from Mulder. He was taking a weeks vacation. This had gone too far. She got in her car and headed over to his place. She stood in his hallway hesitating before knocking. What if that woman was there? She didn't think she could handle seeing her with him again. She took a deep breath and knocked. "Yeah, who is it?" He called through the door. "Mulder it's me." "Scully what are you doing here?" "Can I come in?" "Oh yeah." He moved away from the door and waved her in. "What's going on Scully?" "Where are you going Mulder?" "It's not good to answer a question with a question Scully." He walked into the living room and plunked down on the sofa. "I did answer your question. I'm here to find out where you're going." "I need a break." "Mulder are you okay?" She was clearly concerned. "I'm fine Scully. Where's Gary? Why aren't you with him?" "I was worried when I got your message." She sidestepped his question. "No need to worry about me." He got up and walked into the kitchen. "Mulder are you going away with that woman who was here last week?" Now she was scared to hear the answer." "No Scully I'm not." She released a breath she didn't realize she was holding. "Oh." She looked down at the floor. "So how are things going with Gary?" "I'm not going to see him anymore." "I thought you two were getting along so well." She didn't see the little smile on his face. "He's just not the guy for me." Mulder's heart swelled. "Why not?" "There just wasn't any chemistry." She finally looked in his eyes. She hoped he saw the love in her eyes. "I'm sorry Scully." He moved to her and hugged her. She rested her head on his chest and tried to hold back the tears. Finally she pulled back and looked up at him. "Are you seeing that woman, what is her name?" "Scully, she's someone I knew from the Vineyard. We haven't seen each other in years. Her name is Jessica. We're not seeing each other." "Oh." She looked down. Mulder put his hand on her chin and pulled her head up to look at him. "I'm not seeing Jessica. I'm waiting for someone else." "Who?" She knew she sounded a little panicked. "She's the most wonderful woman I've ever met. She's smart and warm and beautiful." He whispered. "What are you waiting for?" She tried to pull out of his embrace. He wouldn't let her go. "I'm afraid of ruining what we already have." Scully just looked at him, trying to figure out whom he was talking about. She couldn't handle that he was in love with someone else. She took a deep breath before she spoke. "You should tell her Mulder. She would be the luckiest woman in the world to have you." With that said she pulled away and walked out the door. She drove around for hours. She was so upset. He was in love with someone else. He was waiting for someone else. Who was he waiting for? Oh god, if it was Diana Fowley she could never handle that. Finally she decided to go home, climb in a hot bubble bath and crawl into her bed. She unlocked the door and the tears started to fall again. When she flipped on the lights she was startled there was someone in her apartment. "Hi." Mulder said softly. "What are you doing here?" She said just as softly. "You left before we finished our conversation." He stepped toward her. "Mulder what else is there to say?" "You never asked her name." "I really don't want to know Mulder. I know I have no right to ask you anything anyway." "Ask me Scully." He put his hands on her arms and waited for her to speak. "Ask me Scully." He said again. His face was so close to hers. "Mulder..." She chocked out. Tears streaming down her face. "You know her very well." "Mulder please." "Scully, I love you." He squeezed her arms. "What..." She looked up at him shocked. "You Scully, Dana. I love you. I have for a very long time. I thought I would go out of my mind when that Gary guy showed up." "You love me?" "I can't believe you didn't know that." "I knew you cared. I hoped you did, I thought we were moving closer then I saw that woman in your apartment and I was sure you didn't." "I've loved you for so long. You have broken my heart more times than I can tell you." "I broke your heart?" "Many times. Whenever I try to get close to you and you pull away it breaks my heart. Every time you tell me you're fine when I know you're not it breaks my heart. Every time you smile that wonderful smile that I like to believe is mine at another man you break my heart. This past week with this Gary guy has been pure hell. I couldn't stand it, that's why I was taking a vacation." He held her close. "Oh Mulder. I thought I would go crazy when I saw that woman at your apartment. She's just your type. I thought I would die." "I'm sorry Scully." He kissed her softly. "What do you mean my type?" "Tall, brunette, long legs. That's your type not a short red head." She moved away from him and sat on the sofa with the saddest look on her face. "Scully that may have been my type a long time ago but that changed when you walked into my life." He sat beside her and took her hand. "Mulder I'm so happy to hear you say that." She threw her arms around his neck and kissed him hard. Mulder was laughing at her but soon was returning the kiss. He couldn't believe that he was actually kissing Scully and she was kissing him back. He lay down on the sofa and pulled her on top of him. They kissed for a while and Scully was lost in him but it kept nagging her that she had tricked Mulder. She had to tell him. "Mulder." She pulled away from him and he moaned at the loss of contact. "Mulder, I have to tell you something." She sat up. "Scully, you can tell me later." He pulled her back on top of him and kissed her again wrapping his arms tightly around her. "Mulder please. I have to tell you this before this goes any further." She jumped up from him. "Scully what is it? Don't you want this?" He couldn't hide his fear. "Mulder I want this more than you could possibly know. But I have to be honest with you." "Scully you know you can tell me anything and I'll understand." "Mulder I did something and I..." "What is it? You're starting to scare me. Just tell me." He was holding her in place afraid she would run away. "It's about Gary." She wasn't looking at him. "Gary? Did something happen? Did he hurt you?" "No, no Mulder it's nothing like that. It's what I did." "What did you do?" He had no idea what she was going to say. "I don't think I can look at you and tell you this." She turned around. She expected him to comment but he said nothing. She took a deep breath and began. "Mulder, Gary isn't who you think he is. He's..." "Scully, please look at me." He turned her around. "He's what?" "He's the husband of a friend of mine. His wife, my friend Kate cooked up this scheme to see if I could make you jealous. If you cared about me then you would be jealous. I went along with it Mulder. I was so upset when I saw that woman in your apartment and I had dinner at Kate's the next night. I was still upset and she came up with this. I went along with it. I'm so sorry. Please don't hate me. I'm so embarrassed." She tried to move away from him but he pulled her into his arms. "Scully, don't be embarrassed. I'm glad you did it. I wouldn't be here with you if you hadn't. I have to admit I'm surprised but..." "But what?" She sounded defensive. "Nothing. I don't care how we got here I'm just glad we're here. You certainly knew how to push my buttons." He grinned at her. "You're not angry with me?" She spoke softly. "No I'm not angry. I thought you knew how I feel about you. I'm sorry you felt it was necessary." "Mulder I wanted you to love me. Then I was sure you thought of me as just your partner maybe you loved me as a sister, but..." "Scully I am so in love with you and it has nothing to do with seeing you as a sister. I love you the way a man loves a woman, with lust in my heart." He waggled his eyebrows at her and smiled. "You forgive me?" "Oh yeah. I guess I needed a kick in the ass. You with another guy I definitely can't handle." He kissed her. "You are mine Scully for now and always, I'm never going to let you get away." "Mulder I'm not going anywhere." She kissed him back. "I love you with all my heart." "Scully I have to ask you something?" "What?" "This little jealousy scheme?" "Yeah?" "It doesn't sound like you. How did she ever talk you into it?" He was smiling. "Mulder I was scared; really scared." She hugged him tight. "Scared?" "When I saw you with that woman I was so upset. I thought I was going to lose you. That you had found someone else." "I'm sorry. I should have explained who Jess was that night. We had that silly fight and I guess I liked that you were upset when you saw her." "We are quite a pair aren't we?" She smiled up at him. "I love you Scully." The End?