From: "David Hearne" Date: Fri, 22 Sep 2000 11:53:10 -0400 Subject: xfc: You and Me Against the World (1 of 1) Source: xfc TITLE: YOU AND ME AGAINST THE WORLD (1 of 1) AUTHOR: DAVID HEARNE CLASSIFICATION: Post-ep for "Squeeze" RATING: PG SPOILERS: Squeeze, Deep Throat Send feedback to ottercrk@sover.net Website is located at http://members.dencity.com/hearne AUTHOR'S NOTE: This is my next installment in my quixotic project to write post-eps for every episode. If I don't get an idea for something else, the next post-ep should be for "Rain King." XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX "Yes, but...all I'm asking...ma'am, it's just a medical examination...I know your client objects...well, yes, it is in his rights not to...look, I don't see what the problem is..." As she sipped at her coffee, Dana Scully watched Fox Mulder carry on his argument over the phone. It was an interesting spectacle. Her new partner was banging his head on a wall despite the wall's defiant tendency to remain standing. "I'm not...no, I'm not denying anybody's rights here but you should ask your client why he's so adamant about a simple medical procedure...well, if you don't know, I'll tell you why. Your client is not human...I'm not insulting him. He is literally not human..." Mulder blinked. "Hello? Hello?" He grunted before hanging up the phone. "Lawyers..." "What did you expect, Mulder?" Scully asked. "Tooms is perfectly within his rights not to subject himself to your scrutiny. Besides, he's already gotten a medical examination." She placed the folder which had been resting in her lap onto Mulder's desk. "Read it," she told him. "A doctor found nothing abnormal about him." "That's because he wasn't looking for the right things." "Or maybe there's nothing to find." Mulder's eyes widened. "How can you say that after seeing Tooms burst out of your air ducts? After getting..." Scully lifted a hand and Mulder fell silent. "I'm not saying that Tooms isn't what you say he is," she told him. "I am saying there can be a difference between what you know and what you can prove." "And your preference is for the latter?" "Isn't that why I was assigned here?" Mulder thought about that, then nodded. "Fair enough." Scully nodded back. Mulder looked at her sitting in front of his desk. She was poised yet relaxed at the same time. He smiled. "What?" Scully said. "This was our first monster together," Mulder said. He sat down in his chair and laid his feet on the desk. "Was it as good for you as it was for me?" Scully gave Mulder a smile that looked both amused and embarrassed. "Mulder, there's a lot that a person could say to that..." "Like the monster wasn't as big as you thought it would be?" Scully looked up at the ceiling. "Seriously, Scully, what do you think?" Scully turned her eyes back to Mulder. "Now you're being serious?" "Of course. You've been doing this work with me for a few months now. What do you think of it? And don't say that it's 'different.'" Scully said nothing for a few moments as she rubbed a thumb on her cup's rim. Then she said, "If I had to work with anybody but you in this division, I would have demanded a transfer by now." She took another sip of coffee while Mulder stared at her. He said, "That sounds like a compliment." "Of course it is." "Well, you've just said that you respect me but you don't necessarily respect the X-Files." Scully had to think over her reply. "I wonder if you belong here." "You mean, I should be chasing after serial killers instead of flying saucers." "Don't you ever have the same doubts?" Mulder twisted slightly in his chair. "Maybe. I guess. I've been told that I should be climbing the ladder instead of staying here in the basement." "I'm not talking about career advancement. Besides, you don't care about that." "Unlike Tom Colton?" Scully winced. "No. You're not Colton." "Tell me, was he always like that?" "Colton was...ambitious in the beginning. So was I. But Colton really cared about doing the right thing then. You don't get into this job without caring for the basic principle of justice." "Sounds like he lost sight of that." "He confused his own needs with his obligations." Scully looked at Mulder. "But, then, you're just the other side of the coin, aren't you?" Mulder's head jerked back a little. "What do you mean?" "You have your own personal needs. And maybe they can overpower..." She stopped herself. Mulder took a couple of breaths, then said in a quiet voice, "This isn't something I haven't considered, either, you know." "I didn't say that you haven't. If I thought you hadn't...well, I wouldn't be here." Mulder nodded. "Thanks for the trust." "After rescuing me from Tooms, I would say that you've earned it." "Just paying you back for bailing me out of that Air Force base." Mulder's smile returned. "I guess we've got a little tag team going here. Fox 'Spooky' Mulder and Dana 'The Skeptic' Scully." Scully gave him a little smile in return. "And who are our opponents, 'Spooky?'" "Monsters. Government conspirators. The Tom Coltons. And maybe even the whole world." Scully paused for a moment, then said, "I'm not wearing tights." "Curses." XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX