The
phone rang and she grabbed it without even looking over.
Mulder was upstairs anyway. "Scully."
"Dana? Did I really get you finally?" The woman's voice sounded familiar. "They certainly protect you there."
"Chris? Is that you?"
"It
is. I'm in town with Rachel and we want to
see you."
"Rachel's
here too?" Scully was caught up in
memories of times with these women. Good
memories, embarrassing memories, unclear memories.
"Yes. Her assignment is to track down Carol, so the four
of us can get together tonight. Do not tell
me you're too busy, Dana."
"I...I
don't - "
"You
do not have an autopsy tonight. We forbid
it."
"What
do you have in mind?" Scully spoke
cautiously, but she already knew she was going to do this.
She hadn't seen these women all together in years.
"Shots."
"Shots? I haven't done shots since . . . since the last
time I went out with you." She shook her
head at that vague memory.
"You
can do it Dana. Six thirty, the Blue Moon. Come on, don't let us down."
"The
Blue Moon, six thirty. But I have to work
some tomorrow, I'm not going to get as drunk as last time." She was smiling now and beginning to look forward
to the evening. She'd grown up a lot with
these women. None of them had lived away from
home when they'd met in college and they'd banded together as their own little family. It would be good to catch up on their lives.
"I've
got a beep Dana. That's probably Rachel. See you in a couple of hours."
"The
Blue Moon. I can't wait to see you." She hung up and looked for a moment at the far
wall, not really seeing the articles and pictures Mulder had posted there. A smile played around her lips. She didn't see Mulder enter the open door.
He
stood watching her. She hadn't realized he
had been outside the door. He hadn't meant to eavesdrop, but he'd never thought about
her drinking shots. He'd only seen her drink
wine and not much of that. Now she was
meeting some guy and promising not to get as drunk as last time. When
the hell was last time? Would she say
anything to him? She hadn't 'last time'.
"Mulder,
I didn't hear you come back. Did they have
the results?"
"What? Oh uh, no. I'll
have to check back later."
"Later. Uh, Mulder I need to leave on time tonight." She didn't look up when she said that, avoiding
looking at him.
"Oh,
plans?" He was holding his breath, would
she tell him?
"Yes. This stuff can wait until Monday, can't it?"
"Uh,
sure." She wasn't going to say anything. She had plans; plans to get drunk and she didn't
want him to know about it. Super. He felt his mood darken and he grew quiet,
pretending to work on the computer. Actually
he kept watching her, surreptiously. She was
excited about tonight, pleased. No reason she
shouldn't be. Damn it!
Shortly
she closed down her computer and rose. "I'm
at a good stopping point Mulder. I'm going
to go on home."
"Yeah,
okay. See you Monday." He watched her leave and felt his mood sink even
lower.
*****
He
was accomplishing nothing. His screen saver
had come up for the third time. He stabbed
the keys to sign off and slammed the desk drawer closed.
He might as well close up and go home as well. All he could do was visualize her, laughing, with
some man's arm around her, his hands on her, as she threw back her head downing the
alcohol.
He
let himself into his apartment and sighed as he hung his overcoat up. He was going to a lot of fun to be around tonight. Too bad he was the only one here. He toed off his shoes in the middle of the room
and trudged toward the kitchen. He opened
the refrigerator and looked inside but couldn't focus.
He was seeing her again, her eyes gleaming as she bit into a slice of lime.
He
slammed the refrigerator door shut, causing the supplies in the door to rattle. He wasn't hungry.
Instead he turned back to the table and sorted through the small stack of
mail he had tossed there when he came in. A
couple of bills, some junk, an ad for a new men's club.
Hell. He tossed everything but
the bills; it wasn't like it was anything new. Not
many personal letters made their way into his mail slot.
He
was being a real idiot about this. She had
plans, plans to get drunk with someone she obviously trusted enough to get drunk with. She wasn't a kid.
He sighed again and headed into the bedroom.
He
changed into jeans and a t-shirt, actually bothering to hang up his clothes rather than
drape them over the chair. He removed his
holster and gun, securing them in the top drawer of his dresser. While he was at it, he changed his sheets and
gathered up his laundry. Maybe that would
occupy him tonight.
He
carried the basket into the living room, but that was as far as he got. He dropped the laundry beside his table. He glanced at the table, then shook his head and
turned toward the computer.
He
logged on, the guys weren't on-line. He
checked a couple of chat rooms he had visited before but nothing caught his attention. When was he going to admit it, the only thing he
wanted to do was go over to the Blue Moon and see this guy.
He
refused to stand, surely even he wasn't that
stupid, was he? Well, maybe he was because
now that the thought was fully formed it was all he could think about. He sat there for a few more minutes before he
slammed his hand down on the desk and rose.
He
wanted to see this man. The Blue Moon was
always crowded, he could slip in, stand at the bar. She
wouldn't have to see him and if she was doing shots, she might not be able to see that far
anyway. He rolled his eyes, boy he really was
in a sweet mood tonight.
He
grabbed his leather jacket off the coat rack and snatched his keys from the table. He was a jackass but he was going to do this. He didn't bother to wait for the elevator, working
off energy by trotting down the stairs.
He
turned himself off on the drive over. Second
guessing himself wasn't going to help anyway. He'd
made his decision. Was it anyone he knew? He thought over the men at the Bureau. There were several men there that watched her
whenever she was around. None of them were
worthy of her. Well, to be technical neither
was he, but . . . shit. It wasn't anyone at
work. He would know, he just would. No this was someone from outside, someone one of
her friends had introduced to her.
She
was such an intelligent woman, but her taste in men sucked.
Jack, Ed Jerse, even Padgett, and of course at times she even seemed to
enjoy his company.
Well,
he was here. Did he do the wise thing - turn
around and go home, or the normal thing and make a fool of himself. At least the place was crowded, if this man
enthralled her he would be easy to overlook. Shit.
He
parked a couple of blocks from the bar and walked slowly to it, his feet dragging more the
closer he got. This was insane. If she caught him . . .
He
pushed opened the door, and made his way toward the bar.
He ordered a beer and turned to scan the room. He didn't spot her, but he couldn't see the whole
bar from where he stood. So now what, did he
wander around until he found her? That would
certainly be unobtrusive.
Had
she . . . had she already left with him? His
spirit sank even lower. He took a long swig
of beer from the bottle. He should probably
go on home before he made an even bigger fool of himself.
Instead he heard himself order another beer.
He didn't bother to look around, just sinking onto an empty seat and nursing
the beer.
*****
"I
can't believe we're doing this. I have not -
"
"Oh
come on Dana, don't tell us you never have fun anymore.
You kept up with us drink for drink in college."
"That
was a long time ago."
"Bull!" Chris laughed, "You quiet ones are always the
worst. Don't kid us. And don’t tell us that with all those men at
the Bureau you don't party with some of them."
Dana
rolled her eyes. Yeah, all those 'men' at the
Bureau. The only one she wanted to notice her
was so obsessed with his work it was never going to happen, and the ones that did notice
her - yuck. Now that was mature - no wonder
she didn't drink anymore.
"Stop
picking on Dana, Chris. Have you looked
around? Yeah, you can get picked up in DC,
but the guys here are more into power than women."
Rachel defended Dana. "I
live here too. I can go out, yeah, but
someone I care about - forget it. They are
all so full of themselves."
Dana
kept quiet, yes that have been her experience at one time.
To be honest she hadn't gone out on a 'date' date for too long. She hadn't realized how uninterested she was until
this minute. She didn't even look at other
men anymore. Other men? What man did she . . . oh shut up Dana, you know
exactly what man you want to look at.
This
was not good. Forget Mulder. You're out with old friends; you're not here to
pick up a man. You are here to catch up on
Chris and Rachel and Carol. She firmly shoved
Mulder from her mind. She thought about him
enough, hell she dreamed about - argh!
"Chris,
tell me about Nick." Dana leaned forward
to concentrate fully on her answer.
"Nick? Boy, we have been out of touch." Chris threw back another shot. "The boy didn't believe in monogamy. I'm not big on sharing."
The
others laughed and made rude comments at her understatement. Dana's thoughts slipped traitorously back to
Mulder. She couldn't testify in court that he
wasn't seeing anyone but she felt pretty sure of it.
And what did it matter?
"Details,
Chris. Did you injure him when you found out?"
Rachel was laughing now. Carol
leaned against Dana chuckling and awaiting the answer eagerly. Dana took the opportunity to throw back another
shot. She needed to get into the spirit of
the evening. She didn't have to be the
responsible one tonight.
They
continued to laugh, catching up with each other. "Dana,
it's your round." She shook her head,
rising to go to the bar. They would have to
wait ages for a waitress. When she returned,
Chris nudged her, "Boxers or briefs?"
"No
way! We are not kids. I'm not about to - "
"Dana,
you were always the best at this. We need
your expertise."
Carol
had tears running down her face. "You,”
Dana pulled Carol to her feet, "come with me. Let's
give them a chance to calm down."
They
got in line for the women's room. "I
can't believe those two. Does Frank know what
we do when we get together?"
Carol
grinned, "Are you kidding? Like he would
offer to baby-sit for this. We never see each
other, Dana, even living in the same city. Are
you seeing anyone?"
"Who
has time, Carol? I don't even think about it
any more."
"I
find that hard to believe. Every woman needs
a little male companionship occasionally."
Dana
shrugged; this wasn't a subject she felt like discussing.
She changed the subject to Carol's kids.
When they finally headed back to their table the room was even more crowded
and smoky.
"Dana!" Chris pulled her close to make herself heard. "The guy in jeans at the bar. Boxers or less?"
Dana
rolled her eyes, but Carol nodded. She looked
over that way; well it was obvious which man she was talking about. Dana's eyes widened, "Less."
"I
agree, and wow!"
The
man turned, as though feeling their eyes on him. Dana
forced her eyes up to his face, and froze. "Oh
my god." The other women looked at her
curiously and Carol touched her arm.
"Dana,
you okay?"
Mulder's
eyes were still locked on hers. There was no
mistaking he knew what she had been doing. He
moved toward her. There was nowhere to run.
"Scully."
"What
are you doing here?"
"Having
a beer." He waggled the bottle at her.
"Aren't
you going to introduce us?" Dana jumped
as Chris spoke.
"Uh,
Carol, Chris, and Rachel." She indicated
each of them in turn. "This is Fox
Mulder, my partner."
"Partn
- "
"This
is Fox?"
"Pull
up a chair." That from Chris. After a short hesitation, he did just that, much
to Dana's dismay.
She
closed her eyes. What the hell had she been
thinking? She looked down at the table and
threw back another shot. He said nothing,
just watching her. She didn't have a date;
she'd come here with friends, and . . . and -
"Hey
Fox, let's dance." Chris was pulling on
his arm now.
"I,
uh, I don't dance very much."
"It's
so crowded out there, no one will know." She
urged him to his feet and he trailed her out to the floor.
He was taken aback by her proximity, but there was nowhere to retreat.
Dana
watched them, torn between disbelief that Chris would do this, and simmering mortification
that he had caught her checking him out so appreciatively.
This whole night was a mistake.
It
didn't improve. Chris continued to come on to
Mulder and the other two seemed to be enjoying his company altogether too much. Scully began drinking more steadily. She wanted to leave, but it didn't seem to be an
option.
When
the music turned slow, Mulder turned to her. "Scully,
may I have this dance?"
She
looked at him as though he had lost his mind, but she wasn't really in any physical shape
to refuse when he helped her to her feet.
Once
on the floor and in his arms, she finally spoke to him, "What are you doing
here?"
"I
just came for a beer Scully. I hadn't planned
to stay."
"Then
why don't you leave?"
"Is
that what you want?" He was careful not
to hold her too close.
"I
don't care what you do. You and Chris seem to
be having a wonderful time. Knock yourself
out." She pulled away from him and he
had to reach out to keep her on her feet. That
seemed to anger her even more. What? Was he supposed to let her fall?
"Come
on." He led her back to the table and
watched as she took another drink.
It
wasn't long before the lights dimmed momentarily. "I
think they're throwing us out."
"Damn,
I was having a great time." Chris's hand
rested on his chest.
Dana
turned away.
"Do
you ladies have rides home?" Mulder rose
from the table.
"Well,
Rachel's staying with me at my hotel tonight and Carol lives close by. But Dana drove herself and lives in the opposite
direction."
"I'll
make sure Scully gets home okay. Let me get a
cab for you."
"I
can get myself home." Dana rose but had
to grab hold of the table to remain upright.
Mulder
took her arm despite her protest and escorted the women outside. He settled Chris, Rachel and Carol in a taxi after
they told each other goodnight, then turned Scully toward his own car.
"I
can get home, Mulder."
"Right." He didn't even slow down and since he had her arm,
she kept walking.
As
their taxi pulled away, Carol turned to Chris. "Okay,
what the hell was that all about?"
"Did
you see the way he looked at her? Did you
see! And after I went after him you saw how
she acted. No time or interest in meeting
anyone my ass. She's interested now and
pissed enough to maybe do something about it."
"She
may never speak to you again." Rachel
advised, slipping off her shoes and wiggled her toes.
"If
it works like I hope it will, she'll speak to me."
Chris smiled and settled in for the ride.
Mulder
sat her in his car and shut the door firmly. He
was shaking his head, what an incredibly bad night this had been. By the time he got in on his side, she was asleep
against the window. Oh yeah, she could have
gotten home alone. He would certainly have
allowed some strange cab driver to have custody of her like this. He reached across her and buckled her in, then
pulled out. He didn't even bother to think
about it. His apartment was closer and she
was in no shape to be alone.
When
he got to his place, she did rouse slightly, but not enough to walk, so he picked her up
and carried her inside. He took her straight
to his bedroom, and laid her carefully on the bed. He
slipped off her shoes and jacket. She didn't
look comfortable, and she probably couldn't get any angrier at him, so he carefully
unbuttoned her slacks and slipped them down her legs, followed by her blouse.
He
slipped one of his t-shirts over her and tucked her in.
She curled into his pillow and he retreated to the living room.
He
had drifted off himself to whatever was on the Sci-Fi channel when he heard her moving
around and then dash for the bathroom. He
followed her in there and held her head as she was sick.
He
handed her a wet cloth and while she wiped her face he found an extra toothbrush. Then he left her alone.
She
came out slowly, "What am I doing here?"
"Sleeping
it off. Go back to bed Scully."
She
seemed to think about it for an instant, but didn't bother to argue, just returned to his
room. He didn't dare even smile. Maybe she'd gotten rid of enough alcohol. But tomorrow morning was going to be painful. He reclined again and flipped off the TV.
*****
He
tapped on the door the next morning, carrying a mug of coffee and a glass of juice. "You awake?"
She
opened her eyes painfully. He sat the coffee
on the bedside table and pulled the bottle of aspirin out of his pocket. "I thought you might like these."
"Thanks." She levered herself up carefully, then glanced
down at her apparel. "What the
hell?"
"I
wanted you to be comfortable. Don't worry, I
was out there. You want to get up?"
"Yeah." He nodded and returned to the kitchen.
When
she joined him, dressed but not exactly at her best, she sank into a chair at his table. "What happened last night?"
"What
do you remember?"
"Meeting
my roommates, then you joined the party. Then
Chris kept giving you lap dances."
His
face colored at that. "Not
exactly."
"Close
enough. Did you get her number?"
"I
don't want it. You know how those places are,
women checking you out, treating you like a piece of meat."
Her
eyes widened as memory returned, then she dropped her face into her hands. At that he loosened up a little. "You do that often?"
"Mulder
. . . damn, I don't know what to say. I
haven't spent much time with those women in years. We
stay in touch, but . . . "
"Feeling
pretty bad aren't you?"
She
nodded her head carefully.
"Well,
your car's still at the bar. Why don't you
stretch out on the couch while I straighten up."
"I
should be getting home."
"Okay,
let me start my laundry and then I'll take you over there." He was watching her and beginning to feel some
real sympathy for her. "Put your feet
up. It's Saturday, you don't have to do
anything."
She
pushed herself up and walked wearily to the couch. He
fixed her an icepack and while she got comfortable, picked up the laundry basket he had
dropped in his living room the night before.
When
he returned she had curled up under the afghan he had used the night before and was sound
asleep again. Rather than wake her, he
cleaned up his bedroom, occasionally checking on her.
He
returned to the room when he saw her sit up. "Feeling
better?"
"Yeah,
a little. Mulder, thanks for taking me in
last night. I, uh, I was . . . "
"Yeah,
you were."
"Why
were you there last night Mulder? Don't tell
me you just went there to get a beer."
He
looked down for a moment. "No, that's
not why I was there. I heard you."
"What?" She was still hung over enough not to follow him
easily.
He
sighed, "In the office. I overheard you
talking to whoever called - Chris? I didn't know you were talking to your roommate. I thought . . . “ He sighed again, "I
thought you were talking to some guy you were going out to get drunk with. Someone you'd gotten drunk with before. I, oh hell, I wanted to see what he looked like,
who you were dating."
She
sat there, staring at him, her mouth slightly open.
"You
could say something."
"What?"
"That
I'm a damn fool, that I had no right to intrude on your personal time, that eavesdropping
is illegal."
"Okay. All of the above."
He
sat silent, waiting for a long moment. "Well? That's it?"
"Yes,
for now. You came into the bathroom last
night, to look after me, didn't you?"
He
nodded.
"How
do you feel about Chris?"
"I
don't have any feelings about her."
"It
didn't look like it last night." She was
watching him now.
"That
was all her, Scully. What about . . . "
"What?"
"Nevermind."
"Oh." She looked away, then back with a sigh. "Mulder, that was an old game. It doesn't mean anything. When we were in college, it was normal for the guys to . . . Chris just decided to start paying them back. It worked, men don't like it any more than women do - except for the exhibitionists on both sides of course."
"Do
you consider me an exhibitionist?"
"No! I . . . I'm sorry.
I didn't know it was you."
"If
you'd looked at my face . . . "
"Mulder,
please. Okay, I messed up, you messed up. Can we call it even? Can we go back to yesterday afternoon?"
"I
suppose that would be for the best."
"It
would Mulder. Believe me."
"How
are you feeling now?"
She
gave a slight smile, "I think I'm going to live."
"Good. Scully, no more shots unless I'm around,
okay?"
"I
think I can agree to that. Just here, where
it's safe." She relaxed back against the
leather.
His
eyes gleamed, safe here? And let's face it;
he was never going to forget the look on her face when she was playing her 'game' with
him. Gratifying. Maybe he could get her to do shots again . . .
-
Fin
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