From: scully@on-net.net (Nynaeve) Date: 7 Oct 1999 09:16:57 -0700 Subject: NEW: Where Your Road Leads (1/1) From: "Nynaeve" TITLE: Where Your Road Leads AUTHOR: Nynaeve E-MAIL: scully@on-net.net RATING: G CATEGORY: S KEYWORDS: MSR (implied/impending RST); humor? (I hope) SPOILERS: tiny ones for "Pusher" and "Alpha", I guess. SUMARY: Stuck in highway construction, Scully "falls" asleep. Mulder wakes her up. C'mon, it's short; it's fluffy; it's shippy. DISCLAIMER: Chris Carter... yadda, yadda, yadda ... 1013 ... blah, blah, blah. Bottom line: not mine. DEDICATION: A and J as always. And this could *not* have been written were it not for ODOT and their massive amounts of road work along Interstate 70. FEEDBACK: Yup. Love it. Keep it all in little folders, specifically marked for each story. Respond to all of it too. BTW: no one is in character here; I know that and for once I didn't even try! Where Your Road Leads Mulder swerved the car onto the left shoulder and craned his neck out the window in a vain attempt to see past the log jam of cars. He muttered under his breath and rapped his palms against the steering wheel. "Mulder, you're not going to be able to see anything. Why do you keep doing that?" Scully asked, a trace of irritation in her voice. "Don't you want to know what's up there, Scully?" he retorted. "Yes, but ..." she paused. "It won't change anything. We'll still be stuck behind that blue sedan with the dog sticking its head out the window and next to this truck hauling ... what *are* those?" Mulder glanced over. He responded absently, "Hydraulic lifts." He popped a sunflower seed into his mouth and husked it, spitting the shell out the open window. "Scully, the truth is up there, somewhere. I want to know where." Scully's only response was a tired sigh. Mulder's quest for the truth had led them many places. Scully somehow doubted it was just a few miles ahead on this portion of Interstate 70 through the state of Ohio. "Well, it's annoying," she said pointedly. "What is?" he asked. "When you do that ..." she waved her hand, indicating his repeated swerving onto the shoulder. They lapsed into silence. Scully stretched her legs out in front of her and her arms above her head. She shifted so she was facing the window and closed her eyes. The case had ended in a bizarre fashion - nothing new there. They had started chasing Mulder's suspect in D.C., with sightings along the interstate all the way into Michigan. Quite a road trip, all in all. Now they were stuck driving back to D.C. along one of the most torn up interstate highways in America. Scully was certain of that. She glanced over at the dash clock - 40 minutes had passed since traffic had ground to a halt. She leaned over and looked at the odometer. 6 miles. Mulder gave Scully a look and she realized she was definitely invading his personal space. "Sorry," she said sheepishly. "Not a problem," Mulder told her with a smirk. Scully sighed and rearranged herself in her seat again. She closed her eyes and let herself drift a bit. She listened to the sounds outside the car - engines running, radios playing, conversations from open windows drifted in. It could have been worse, Scully mused. It could have been hotter than blazes instead of pleasantly cool and fresh. If only they had an ice chest with food and beverages... The car ate up the miles. Well, picked at them with a rusty spoon was a bit more accurate. Scully sighed again and shifted again. "Y'okay?" Mulder asked, turning to look at her. "Yeah," she muttered. "I just hate orange signs." Mulder laughed. "I'd hate them if we'd even seen one! This might not even be construction." "Yeah, Mulder. Sure. Maybe the Reticulans have landed. In Ohio. On a Friday night in September." She closed her eyes again. Mulder kept grinning at her. He watched as she drifted into sleep. He envied Scully her ability to sleep in cars, in chairs, just about anywhere. He thought about a few of the times he had woken her up. He could still almost feel the softness of her cheek as his fingers brushed along her skin, waking her up while they waited for Modell to call. He could see in his mind waking her up with that magazine a few months ago. That had annoyed her and he regretted it. He hoped she stayed asleep long enough for him to make up for that moment. At last traffic began moving. The ten mile backup had taken an hour to get past. It proved to have been due to a quarter mile stretch where the department of transportation was replacing a bridge. Mulder shook his head slowly and snickered. He looked over at Scully again. Her mouth now hung open slightly. Mulder decided there was no way they were going to make it to D.C. tonight, so they might as well stop. Scully kept her eyes closed and let her mouth remain slack. Mulder thought she was asleep and she decided to let him keeping thinking that. She could tell from the motion of the car that he had decided to stop for the night, as they swung off the highway, down an exit ramp. Scully kept her eyes shut as Mulder pulled into a parking lot. She thought about the times she had really fallen asleep. She wondered how Mulder would wake her up this time. His fingers along the curve of her cheek? A soft word in her ear? As long as it wasn't with a rolled up magazine... He returned and drove the car around closer to their rooms. He killed the engine and sat quietly for a moment. She didn't stir. He watched her, thinking. She felt him watching her and suppressed a smile. She felt him lean over her, felt his breath against her hair. He looked at her, saw the small twitch at the corner of her mouth. She felt him getting closer. His lips brushed against hers, gentle at first, then a bit more firm. She started in surprise. He felt shock race through her. Before he could pull away, her hand snaked up, holding him closely as she responded to his overture. They kissed softly a moment longer. They were both grinning when they pulled apart. Mulder looked at her tenderly. Scully dropped her gaze to her lap, then gave him a sidelong look. "Scully?" "Yes?" "Don't ever fake it with me again." Mulder realized he'd never seen Scully blush quite that shade... END AUTHOR'S NOTES: I hope this provided a diversion for you, as it did for me. It is silly and fluffy, but it kept me occupied while sitting, sitting, and sitting in a ten mile long highway backup. I think the states are having a contest to see which one can have the most miles of highways under construction at once. Ohio is winning. Hands down. --------------------------- ONElist Sponsor ---------------------------- ??? 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