Title: Unbreak My Heart - Displaced
Author: Melpomene
Email: melpomene1013yahoo.com
Rating: R
Spoilers: Season 3
Keywords: M/O, MSR, maybe S/O, Angst
Summary: What happens when you fall in
love with someone who doesn't love you back.
Author's Notes: I had such a good time writing
"How Will I Live" that I decided to try
something a little longer and more challenging.
I'm a shipper all the way, but there's just
something about Mulder or Scully being
jealous that I just love. Thanks to
Christie for all her support. Unbreak My Heart
is a series that will probably be 4 or 5 parts
long.
Part 1 - Displaced
"Scully? She's a good friend, but really--I
don't think of her like that."
Eavesdroppers hear nothing good of themselves.
She could hear her mother's words echoing in her
ears as she lay in bed, her face burning in
embarrassment. Mulder's voice had woken her from
a restless sleep and now she lay there helpless
to do anything but overhear her partner in the
next room with another woman.
It had been too hot in her hotel room, so Scully'd
left the sliding doors off the little balcony open
when she went to bed. Mulder probably had no idea
that she could hear every word he said to the
beautiful Agent Veronica Alain. Every terrible,
awful word.
"Are you sure, Fox? I mean, you two seem awfully
close."
"We've been through a lot, but--well--she's really
not my type."
"And what is your type, Fox?" Veronica asked in a
breathy voice.
"Tall, slender women. Women with long, long legs
and beautiful breasts," her partner answered.
His voice drifted off into the sound of kissing.
"Sexy women...like you. The thing is Scully's a
great person but she's just not sexy."
Scully pushed herself up in bed, one hand over her
mouth as her eyes swam with tears. She couldn't
stand a minute more, no matter how stiflingly hot
the room got. She padded across the room, barely
able to see beyond her tears.
The gasps and moans of lovemaking drifted in as
Scully reached the sliding doors and began to
close them.
"Oh Fox," Veronica groaned, sexily. "Harder,
baby, harder."
Scully slid the door closed with more force than
was necessary.
They had been called to a case in Newark, New
Jersey, with lots of other agents--some from the
local bureau office and a couple of others from
Washington. A serial killer case had some
paranormal aspects so Spooky Mulder and the
little woman's talents were required.
It didn't take long for Agent Veronica Alain to
gravitate toward Mulder. She'd blatently flirted,
and Mulder had flirted back. Agent Alain was new
to the Washington DC office, having recently
transferred from the Atlanta Field Office. She'd
heard, all about Fox Mulder and was just thrilled
to meet the legend.
It didn't surprise Scully that Mulder had cracked
the case after they'd only been there a week. It
was even more amazing considering how much of a
distraction Veronica was. Maybe if his whole mind
had been on the case, they could have wrapped it
up in a day instead of a week.
Mulder had taken Veronica to dinner that night. Oh,
he'd asked Scully if she wanted to come along for a
"end of the case" celebration, but it had been obvious
that he was only being polite. He'd actually looked
relieved when Scully had said she'd planned on
ordering room service and having an early night.
Veronica had smirked at her.
"Oh Fox, honey," Veronica said, in her syrupy
Southern accent. "I'm sure Agent Scully would
like to have an early night. A girl has to get
her beauty sleep after all."
It was pretty clear that as far as Veronica was
concerned, Scully could sleep for a hundred years
and still be a dumpy, pale-faced nothing. Sadly,
though he'd never say it to her face, it seemed
that Mulder agreed.
He'd been a good friend to Scully--she couldn't deny
it. He was polite, warm, funny and treated her as an
equal. Having worked so hard to be taken seriously
as an agent, she was incredibly grateful to have a
partner who respected her. But deep down, she
knew she'd give it all up in a heartbeat if he would
just see her as a woman.
She'd had a crush on him, almost from the very beginning.
One flash of that smile, one look into those tortured
eyes and Scully was a goner. She did her best to hide
it, but something must have given her away. Mulder
was gentle, but he made it clear that he didn't feel
the same way. He wouldn't even let her call him by his
first name. She noticed Veronica called him by his
first name.
Mulder was driven, obsessed with his work. He didn't
date a lot, but when he did, it was always the same
kind of woman: tall, leggy brunettes, with the
occasional tall, leggy blonde thrown in. Veronica
Alain was wasn't just his type--she was the epitome of
his type, and he'd waisted no time in getting her into
his bed.
Tears poured from Scully's eyes and sobs shook her body.
Mulder thought she was hideous--fat and dumpy and covered
with freckles. Ironically, she had put on weight
because she was unhappy over Mulder's lack of interest.
Days spent trailing behind a handsome, oblivious man
led to nights spent digging into a quart of Rocky Road
ice cream.
As her body ballooned up, she tried to cover it with
loose clothing. It broke her heart to watch Mulder
flirt with a willowy secretary or the gorgeous
fingerprint expert. He never tried to hide his
actions from her--any more than he would have from
a male partner.
It had been bad before her abduction, but since she
was returned, his inability to return her feelings
bothered her even more. Her body had been flabby
and she'd been bloated even more than normal from
whatever they did to her. She felt uglier than ever,
and her emotions were raw and painful.
Scully's pajamas stuck to her clammy skin as she tossed
and turned and tried not to hear what was going on
in the next room. Scully turned on the TV, hoping
to drown out any sounds of sex. Sweating in the hot
room, Scully cried herself to sleep.
The next morning, still exhausted from a night of
tossing and turning, Scully stood under the shower
spray for a long time. Unfortunately, even the
long hot shower didn't help her depression.
She put on the morning news as she dressed and tried
not to listen for sounds from the next room. Eventually,
the sound of running water could be heard through the
wall. Scully left the hotel room, closing the door
firmly as she pushed the image of Mulder and Veronica
making love in the shower out of her mind.
She sat in the hotel coffee shop picking at a plate
of french toast and drinking coffee. She probably
should have ordered the fruit cup.
"Good morning."
She startled, turning to see Mulder standing beside
her. His hair was damp from the shower, and he
smelled of soap.
"Good morning," she replied, turning back to her coffee.
She wondered if Veronica was still in his bed, still
smelling of sex and Mulder.
"I'm starved," he said, flagging down the waitress.
He flashed the woman a brilliant smile and ordered a
hideously fattening breakfast.
Scully was acting strangely, Mulder thought. She was
very quiet this morning. Not that Scully was much
of a morning person. She was usually a bit grumpy
until she had a couple of cups of coffee.
He'd left Veronica asleep in his room. She hadn't
woken up when he got up, or when he took a shower and
got dressed, even though he wasn't particularly
quiet. He had to admit, Veronica was beautiful even
at 6 A.M. after a wild night of sex.
And it was a wild, wild night. Veronica was insatiable.
He'd never had a sexual partner who excited him the
way Veronica did. He'd been drawn to her from the first
moment he saw her at the field office when he and
Scully arrived on the case.
It was as if Veronica had been created just for him--tall,
with mile long legs and a mane of long black hair. And
incredible breasts. He had a hard time keeping his
mind on the case. Scully had to call his attention back
to the evidence a couple of times, and she'd seemed
kind of annoyed. She'd acted funny when he asked her to
come to dinner with him and Veronica. Truth was, he was
glad she'd decided to eat dinner in her room--having her
there would have put a cramp in his style with Veronica.
It had been a little odd, making love to Veronica with
Scully in the next room. Mulder couldn't decide if it
would have been less strange with a male partner in
the next room. If Scully was a guy, he could joke
about getting lucky and they'd both probably laugh
about it. But you couldn't do that with a female
partner.
This morning, Scully seemed quieter than usual. She
sipped at her coffee and moved a piece of french toast
around in a puddle of syrup on her plate.
"What time does our flight leave?" he asked. He knew
the answer to the question, and he knew she knew he
knew the answer to the question, but he couldn't think
of anything else to break the silence.
"Two o'clock. We still have a debriefing before the
flight."
"Good," Mulder said, as the waitress brought his
pancakes, eggs and sausage. "I'm going to see if
Ronni wants to fly home with us."
"You two seemed to hit it off," she said, taking a
sip of her coffee. Something wasn't right, he
thought--her voice sounded odd.
"I guess we did," he replied. "Is something wrong,
Scully?"
"No," she said, a little too quickly to be convincing.
"I better finish packing before we go to the debriefing."
She stood up and left some money to cover her breakfast
and left.
Mulder finished his breakfast and returned to his room,
picking up a coffee-to-go for Veronica. He found Ronni
naked, just stepping out of the shower. Her wet hair
hung down, almost to her waist in dark curls. Mulder's
eyes opened a little wider when he realized in the
bright light of day that Ronni had no tan lines. Her
skin was bronzed from hairline to red-painted toes.
"Hey, baby," Ronni purred as she stalked over to him,
her hips swaying seductively. As she reached him, she
gripped the waistband of his pants and pulled him to
her.
Before he knew it, his clothes were off and he was
taking Ronni from behind. His hands gripping her
hips, he buried himself to the hilt in her. Ronni
arched her back, tossing her long hair as she came.
"OH GOD," he shouted as his own orgasm peeked. He
thought he heard a drawer slam in the next room, but
he wasn't sure if it was his imagination.
He and Ronni collapsed onto the bed, both breathing
hard. The sounds of movement and the TV drifted in
from the next room. Mulder wondered how much Scully
had heard of his and Ronni's lovemaking.
"You're going to wear me out," he said, brushing his
thumb across Veronica's nipple.
"If you're lucky," she replied, laughing. "I better
get back to my room and get dressed."
She slipped into her clothes, kissed him hard enough
to rattle his teeth and went to the door. "We're
going to be late if we don't get a move on. Meet
you downstairs in 15 minutes?"
"Sure," he answered.
He got dressed as quickly as he could, tossing items
into his suitcase as he moved around the room. He had
a funny feeling that Scully had been overhearing a
little more than he was comfortable with. Scully
was pretty much by the book. He wasn't sure how
she felt about hooking up with people out in the
field. He couldn't imagine why she'd have a problem
with it--Ronni was a fellow agent, and they hadn't
gotten together until after the case was wrapped up.
Mulder grabbed his suitcase and went next door to
Scully's room, figuring they'd check out before
the debriefing. He knocked on the door, but no
noise came from inside the room.
"Scully!" he called out. His greeting was met by
silence. More minutes spent knocking, waiting and
calling her name produced nothing. He checked his
watch, realizing he'd be late to the meeting if he
didn't hurry.
When he went to the front desk, he found out that
Scully had checked out a half hour ago. He frowned,
wondering why Scully hadn't waited for him. He went
out to find their rental car was gone.
Standing in the bright sunlight, he looked at the
spot he'd parked in last night, now empty. He
couldn't believe Scully had left him behind.
Mulder caught a ride to the meeting with Ronni.
"Your partner must be pretty upset to strand you,"
she said, as she eased her rental car into traffic.
"I'm sure she just didn't want to be late." He stared
out the window.
"I think she has a crush on you." Ronni laughed,
tossing her mane of black curls. "As if a dowdy little
thing like her would ever stand a chance with you."
"She's not dowdy," he countered. "She's...I just
don't think of her that way. It has nothing to do
with looks."
The debriefing meeting had already begun when they
arrived at the field office. Scully was on the
other side of the room, separated from him by a
dozen agents and police officers. She barely glanced
at he and Ronni when they entered the room.
The details of the case were gone over, each point
disected in an effort to understand the events. They
were all thanked for their efforts and finally
released.
"Scully," Mulder called out as he followed her out
into the hallway. "What happened back at the motel?"
She glanced down the hall at Ronni, who stood
reading the notices on a bulletin board. Scully
turned and looked up at him.
"What do you mean?" she asked innocently. "Nothing
happened."
"You left me there," he said.
"We must have gotten our wires crossed, Mulder. I
thought you were coming with Agent Alain."
Mulder felt himself blush at her innocent turn of phrase.
He certainly had been "coming" with Agent Alain.
And coming. And if he played his cards right, he'd
come some more soon. But right now, he was interested
in easing the tension between him and Scully.
"Yeah," he agreed. "We got our wires crossed. Are
you ready to leave?"
"Fox, honey," Ronni purred, coming up behind him.
"We better hurry if we're going to make our flight."
"See you at the airport," Scully said as she turned
and walked down the hall, her heels clicking loudly.
"You sure she isn't mad?" Ronni asked, ironically.
"She seems mad to me."
"She's not mad."
They drove to the airport and turned in Ronni's rental
car. Scully was already at the gate when they arrived.
"Hey Scully," he greeted his partner, who stood looking
out the big windows at the planes on the tarmac.
Ronni was hanging on his arm, her breast pressed into
his bicep. The gate personnel began to call passengers
for boarding, beginning with those with young children
or disabilities.
"Agent Scully, would you mind switching seats with me?"
Veronica asked, sweetly. "Fox and I wanted to sit
together."
Mulder couldn't believe Ronni had done that--he
certainly hadn't said anything about not wanting to
sit with Scully. In fact, he'd hoped to reconnect
with Scully on the trip home--to find out what was
bothering her.
"Ronni," he began, but he wasn't really sure how to
handle this mess.
"No problem, Agent Alain," Scully said as she offered
her seat assignment to Ronni. With a glowing smile,
Ronni exchanged tickets.
"Well, you're just the sweetest little thing, letting
Fox and me have some time together," Ronnie gushed,
fakely, her Southern accent in overdrive.
"Don't mention it," Scully replied.
"Oh Fox, they just called our row," Ronni said,
looking at her newly acquired ticket. "Come on,
darlin'"
Ronni pulled him through the door and down the
walkway to their seats. He watched as Scully
moved down the aisle, finding her seat on the
other side of the plane. He and Ronni's seats
were a few rows ahead of Scully's, so he wasn't
able to see her once they were both seated.
Once they were in the air, Ronni asked the flight
attendant for a blanket, which she spread over her
and Mulder's laps. She leaned close and whispered
into his ear, telling him all the things she was
going to do to him that night, in intricate detail.
He had a hard time thinking about Scully when Ronni
did that. Damn, he could barely remember his name
as Ronni nibbled on his ear and slid her hand up
his thigh under the blanket. He tried to be quiet,
but a moan escaped his lips.
Scully sat a few rows back, flipping through the
airline magazine and trying hard not to cry. He
seatmate, an older businessman, was already asleep,
his face turned toward the window. Scully bit her
lip as she heard Mulder's unmistakable moan. She
would know that sound anywhere, though the only
times she had heard it were when Mulder was hurt.
Somehow, she knew he wasn't hurting right now.
The sound of Veronica's rather false laugh sailed
back to Scully, reminding her again that the other
woman had what Scully so desperately wanted. Mulder.
Scully would give anything if she was the one
making Mulder moan, but that would never happen.
Mulder had completely shut her out. Damn it.
Scully had thought her relationship with Mulder
meant more to him than it apparently did now.
One look at Veronica's big breasts and he forgot
he had a partner.
The flight seemed to go on forever, but finally,
they landed and the usual standing and waiting for
the passengers ahead to move began. Scully waited
patiently for her turn to step into the aisle and
move forward.
By the time Scully disembarked, Mulder and Ronni
were far ahead of her. Scully had caught a ride to
the airport with Mulder, and had assumed he would
drive her home. She scanned the terminal, but
couldn't see him.
As she traveled down the escalator to street level,
she spotted Mulder and Ronni as they walked to the
parking lot doors. Mulder carried both his and
Ronni's bags and they seemed to be laughing at
something.
Scully followed them, her own suitcases heavy, the
handles cutting into her hands. She continued to
hope that Mulder would turn around and see her.
Toying with the idea of screeching out his name,
Scully decided Ronni would find that much too
amusing.
She finally broke through the double doors,
just in time to see Mulder and Ronni drive
away. Scully stood on the sidewalk and felt
hot tears trail down her face.
"You okay, lady?" the skycap asked, peering at
her.
"I'm fine," she said, sniffling, but the truth
was, she was as far from fine as she could get.
She'd lost Mulder.
To be continued in part 2....
Author: Melpomene
Email: melpomene1013yahoo.com
Rating: R
Spoilers: Season 3
Keywords: M/O, MSR, maybe S/O, Angst
Summary: What happens when you fall in
love with someone who doesn't love you back.
Author's Notes: I had such a good time writing
"How Will I Live" that I decided to try
something a little longer and more challenging.
I'm a shipper all the way, but there's just
something about Mulder or Scully being
jealous that I just love. Thanks to
Christie for all her support. Unbreak My Heart
is a series that will probably be 4 or 5 parts
long.
Part 1 - Displaced
"Scully? She's a good friend, but really--I
don't think of her like that."
Eavesdroppers hear nothing good of themselves.
She could hear her mother's words echoing in her
ears as she lay in bed, her face burning in
embarrassment. Mulder's voice had woken her from
a restless sleep and now she lay there helpless
to do anything but overhear her partner in the
next room with another woman.
It had been too hot in her hotel room, so Scully'd
left the sliding doors off the little balcony open
when she went to bed. Mulder probably had no idea
that she could hear every word he said to the
beautiful Agent Veronica Alain. Every terrible,
awful word.
"Are you sure, Fox? I mean, you two seem awfully
close."
"We've been through a lot, but--well--she's really
not my type."
"And what is your type, Fox?" Veronica asked in a
breathy voice.
"Tall, slender women. Women with long, long legs
and beautiful breasts," her partner answered.
His voice drifted off into the sound of kissing.
"Sexy women...like you. The thing is Scully's a
great person but she's just not sexy."
Scully pushed herself up in bed, one hand over her
mouth as her eyes swam with tears. She couldn't
stand a minute more, no matter how stiflingly hot
the room got. She padded across the room, barely
able to see beyond her tears.
The gasps and moans of lovemaking drifted in as
Scully reached the sliding doors and began to
close them.
"Oh Fox," Veronica groaned, sexily. "Harder,
baby, harder."
Scully slid the door closed with more force than
was necessary.
They had been called to a case in Newark, New
Jersey, with lots of other agents--some from the
local bureau office and a couple of others from
Washington. A serial killer case had some
paranormal aspects so Spooky Mulder and the
little woman's talents were required.
It didn't take long for Agent Veronica Alain to
gravitate toward Mulder. She'd blatently flirted,
and Mulder had flirted back. Agent Alain was new
to the Washington DC office, having recently
transferred from the Atlanta Field Office. She'd
heard, all about Fox Mulder and was just thrilled
to meet the legend.
It didn't surprise Scully that Mulder had cracked
the case after they'd only been there a week. It
was even more amazing considering how much of a
distraction Veronica was. Maybe if his whole mind
had been on the case, they could have wrapped it
up in a day instead of a week.
Mulder had taken Veronica to dinner that night. Oh,
he'd asked Scully if she wanted to come along for a
"end of the case" celebration, but it had been obvious
that he was only being polite. He'd actually looked
relieved when Scully had said she'd planned on
ordering room service and having an early night.
Veronica had smirked at her.
"Oh Fox, honey," Veronica said, in her syrupy
Southern accent. "I'm sure Agent Scully would
like to have an early night. A girl has to get
her beauty sleep after all."
It was pretty clear that as far as Veronica was
concerned, Scully could sleep for a hundred years
and still be a dumpy, pale-faced nothing. Sadly,
though he'd never say it to her face, it seemed
that Mulder agreed.
He'd been a good friend to Scully--she couldn't deny
it. He was polite, warm, funny and treated her as an
equal. Having worked so hard to be taken seriously
as an agent, she was incredibly grateful to have a
partner who respected her. But deep down, she
knew she'd give it all up in a heartbeat if he would
just see her as a woman.
She'd had a crush on him, almost from the very beginning.
One flash of that smile, one look into those tortured
eyes and Scully was a goner. She did her best to hide
it, but something must have given her away. Mulder
was gentle, but he made it clear that he didn't feel
the same way. He wouldn't even let her call him by his
first name. She noticed Veronica called him by his
first name.
Mulder was driven, obsessed with his work. He didn't
date a lot, but when he did, it was always the same
kind of woman: tall, leggy brunettes, with the
occasional tall, leggy blonde thrown in. Veronica
Alain was wasn't just his type--she was the epitome of
his type, and he'd waisted no time in getting her into
his bed.
Tears poured from Scully's eyes and sobs shook her body.
Mulder thought she was hideous--fat and dumpy and covered
with freckles. Ironically, she had put on weight
because she was unhappy over Mulder's lack of interest.
Days spent trailing behind a handsome, oblivious man
led to nights spent digging into a quart of Rocky Road
ice cream.
As her body ballooned up, she tried to cover it with
loose clothing. It broke her heart to watch Mulder
flirt with a willowy secretary or the gorgeous
fingerprint expert. He never tried to hide his
actions from her--any more than he would have from
a male partner.
It had been bad before her abduction, but since she
was returned, his inability to return her feelings
bothered her even more. Her body had been flabby
and she'd been bloated even more than normal from
whatever they did to her. She felt uglier than ever,
and her emotions were raw and painful.
Scully's pajamas stuck to her clammy skin as she tossed
and turned and tried not to hear what was going on
in the next room. Scully turned on the TV, hoping
to drown out any sounds of sex. Sweating in the hot
room, Scully cried herself to sleep.
The next morning, still exhausted from a night of
tossing and turning, Scully stood under the shower
spray for a long time. Unfortunately, even the
long hot shower didn't help her depression.
She put on the morning news as she dressed and tried
not to listen for sounds from the next room. Eventually,
the sound of running water could be heard through the
wall. Scully left the hotel room, closing the door
firmly as she pushed the image of Mulder and Veronica
making love in the shower out of her mind.
She sat in the hotel coffee shop picking at a plate
of french toast and drinking coffee. She probably
should have ordered the fruit cup.
"Good morning."
She startled, turning to see Mulder standing beside
her. His hair was damp from the shower, and he
smelled of soap.
"Good morning," she replied, turning back to her coffee.
She wondered if Veronica was still in his bed, still
smelling of sex and Mulder.
"I'm starved," he said, flagging down the waitress.
He flashed the woman a brilliant smile and ordered a
hideously fattening breakfast.
Scully was acting strangely, Mulder thought. She was
very quiet this morning. Not that Scully was much
of a morning person. She was usually a bit grumpy
until she had a couple of cups of coffee.
He'd left Veronica asleep in his room. She hadn't
woken up when he got up, or when he took a shower and
got dressed, even though he wasn't particularly
quiet. He had to admit, Veronica was beautiful even
at 6 A.M. after a wild night of sex.
And it was a wild, wild night. Veronica was insatiable.
He'd never had a sexual partner who excited him the
way Veronica did. He'd been drawn to her from the first
moment he saw her at the field office when he and
Scully arrived on the case.
It was as if Veronica had been created just for him--tall,
with mile long legs and a mane of long black hair. And
incredible breasts. He had a hard time keeping his
mind on the case. Scully had to call his attention back
to the evidence a couple of times, and she'd seemed
kind of annoyed. She'd acted funny when he asked her to
come to dinner with him and Veronica. Truth was, he was
glad she'd decided to eat dinner in her room--having her
there would have put a cramp in his style with Veronica.
It had been a little odd, making love to Veronica with
Scully in the next room. Mulder couldn't decide if it
would have been less strange with a male partner in
the next room. If Scully was a guy, he could joke
about getting lucky and they'd both probably laugh
about it. But you couldn't do that with a female
partner.
This morning, Scully seemed quieter than usual. She
sipped at her coffee and moved a piece of french toast
around in a puddle of syrup on her plate.
"What time does our flight leave?" he asked. He knew
the answer to the question, and he knew she knew he
knew the answer to the question, but he couldn't think
of anything else to break the silence.
"Two o'clock. We still have a debriefing before the
flight."
"Good," Mulder said, as the waitress brought his
pancakes, eggs and sausage. "I'm going to see if
Ronni wants to fly home with us."
"You two seemed to hit it off," she said, taking a
sip of her coffee. Something wasn't right, he
thought--her voice sounded odd.
"I guess we did," he replied. "Is something wrong,
Scully?"
"No," she said, a little too quickly to be convincing.
"I better finish packing before we go to the debriefing."
She stood up and left some money to cover her breakfast
and left.
Mulder finished his breakfast and returned to his room,
picking up a coffee-to-go for Veronica. He found Ronni
naked, just stepping out of the shower. Her wet hair
hung down, almost to her waist in dark curls. Mulder's
eyes opened a little wider when he realized in the
bright light of day that Ronni had no tan lines. Her
skin was bronzed from hairline to red-painted toes.
"Hey, baby," Ronni purred as she stalked over to him,
her hips swaying seductively. As she reached him, she
gripped the waistband of his pants and pulled him to
her.
Before he knew it, his clothes were off and he was
taking Ronni from behind. His hands gripping her
hips, he buried himself to the hilt in her. Ronni
arched her back, tossing her long hair as she came.
"OH GOD," he shouted as his own orgasm peeked. He
thought he heard a drawer slam in the next room, but
he wasn't sure if it was his imagination.
He and Ronni collapsed onto the bed, both breathing
hard. The sounds of movement and the TV drifted in
from the next room. Mulder wondered how much Scully
had heard of his and Ronni's lovemaking.
"You're going to wear me out," he said, brushing his
thumb across Veronica's nipple.
"If you're lucky," she replied, laughing. "I better
get back to my room and get dressed."
She slipped into her clothes, kissed him hard enough
to rattle his teeth and went to the door. "We're
going to be late if we don't get a move on. Meet
you downstairs in 15 minutes?"
"Sure," he answered.
He got dressed as quickly as he could, tossing items
into his suitcase as he moved around the room. He had
a funny feeling that Scully had been overhearing a
little more than he was comfortable with. Scully
was pretty much by the book. He wasn't sure how
she felt about hooking up with people out in the
field. He couldn't imagine why she'd have a problem
with it--Ronni was a fellow agent, and they hadn't
gotten together until after the case was wrapped up.
Mulder grabbed his suitcase and went next door to
Scully's room, figuring they'd check out before
the debriefing. He knocked on the door, but no
noise came from inside the room.
"Scully!" he called out. His greeting was met by
silence. More minutes spent knocking, waiting and
calling her name produced nothing. He checked his
watch, realizing he'd be late to the meeting if he
didn't hurry.
When he went to the front desk, he found out that
Scully had checked out a half hour ago. He frowned,
wondering why Scully hadn't waited for him. He went
out to find their rental car was gone.
Standing in the bright sunlight, he looked at the
spot he'd parked in last night, now empty. He
couldn't believe Scully had left him behind.
Mulder caught a ride to the meeting with Ronni.
"Your partner must be pretty upset to strand you,"
she said, as she eased her rental car into traffic.
"I'm sure she just didn't want to be late." He stared
out the window.
"I think she has a crush on you." Ronni laughed,
tossing her mane of black curls. "As if a dowdy little
thing like her would ever stand a chance with you."
"She's not dowdy," he countered. "She's...I just
don't think of her that way. It has nothing to do
with looks."
The debriefing meeting had already begun when they
arrived at the field office. Scully was on the
other side of the room, separated from him by a
dozen agents and police officers. She barely glanced
at he and Ronni when they entered the room.
The details of the case were gone over, each point
disected in an effort to understand the events. They
were all thanked for their efforts and finally
released.
"Scully," Mulder called out as he followed her out
into the hallway. "What happened back at the motel?"
She glanced down the hall at Ronni, who stood
reading the notices on a bulletin board. Scully
turned and looked up at him.
"What do you mean?" she asked innocently. "Nothing
happened."
"You left me there," he said.
"We must have gotten our wires crossed, Mulder. I
thought you were coming with Agent Alain."
Mulder felt himself blush at her innocent turn of phrase.
He certainly had been "coming" with Agent Alain.
And coming. And if he played his cards right, he'd
come some more soon. But right now, he was interested
in easing the tension between him and Scully.
"Yeah," he agreed. "We got our wires crossed. Are
you ready to leave?"
"Fox, honey," Ronni purred, coming up behind him.
"We better hurry if we're going to make our flight."
"See you at the airport," Scully said as she turned
and walked down the hall, her heels clicking loudly.
"You sure she isn't mad?" Ronni asked, ironically.
"She seems mad to me."
"She's not mad."
They drove to the airport and turned in Ronni's rental
car. Scully was already at the gate when they arrived.
"Hey Scully," he greeted his partner, who stood looking
out the big windows at the planes on the tarmac.
Ronni was hanging on his arm, her breast pressed into
his bicep. The gate personnel began to call passengers
for boarding, beginning with those with young children
or disabilities.
"Agent Scully, would you mind switching seats with me?"
Veronica asked, sweetly. "Fox and I wanted to sit
together."
Mulder couldn't believe Ronni had done that--he
certainly hadn't said anything about not wanting to
sit with Scully. In fact, he'd hoped to reconnect
with Scully on the trip home--to find out what was
bothering her.
"Ronni," he began, but he wasn't really sure how to
handle this mess.
"No problem, Agent Alain," Scully said as she offered
her seat assignment to Ronni. With a glowing smile,
Ronni exchanged tickets.
"Well, you're just the sweetest little thing, letting
Fox and me have some time together," Ronnie gushed,
fakely, her Southern accent in overdrive.
"Don't mention it," Scully replied.
"Oh Fox, they just called our row," Ronni said,
looking at her newly acquired ticket. "Come on,
darlin'"
Ronni pulled him through the door and down the
walkway to their seats. He watched as Scully
moved down the aisle, finding her seat on the
other side of the plane. He and Ronni's seats
were a few rows ahead of Scully's, so he wasn't
able to see her once they were both seated.
Once they were in the air, Ronni asked the flight
attendant for a blanket, which she spread over her
and Mulder's laps. She leaned close and whispered
into his ear, telling him all the things she was
going to do to him that night, in intricate detail.
He had a hard time thinking about Scully when Ronni
did that. Damn, he could barely remember his name
as Ronni nibbled on his ear and slid her hand up
his thigh under the blanket. He tried to be quiet,
but a moan escaped his lips.
Scully sat a few rows back, flipping through the
airline magazine and trying hard not to cry. He
seatmate, an older businessman, was already asleep,
his face turned toward the window. Scully bit her
lip as she heard Mulder's unmistakable moan. She
would know that sound anywhere, though the only
times she had heard it were when Mulder was hurt.
Somehow, she knew he wasn't hurting right now.
The sound of Veronica's rather false laugh sailed
back to Scully, reminding her again that the other
woman had what Scully so desperately wanted. Mulder.
Scully would give anything if she was the one
making Mulder moan, but that would never happen.
Mulder had completely shut her out. Damn it.
Scully had thought her relationship with Mulder
meant more to him than it apparently did now.
One look at Veronica's big breasts and he forgot
he had a partner.
The flight seemed to go on forever, but finally,
they landed and the usual standing and waiting for
the passengers ahead to move began. Scully waited
patiently for her turn to step into the aisle and
move forward.
By the time Scully disembarked, Mulder and Ronni
were far ahead of her. Scully had caught a ride to
the airport with Mulder, and had assumed he would
drive her home. She scanned the terminal, but
couldn't see him.
As she traveled down the escalator to street level,
she spotted Mulder and Ronni as they walked to the
parking lot doors. Mulder carried both his and
Ronni's bags and they seemed to be laughing at
something.
Scully followed them, her own suitcases heavy, the
handles cutting into her hands. She continued to
hope that Mulder would turn around and see her.
Toying with the idea of screeching out his name,
Scully decided Ronni would find that much too
amusing.
She finally broke through the double doors,
just in time to see Mulder and Ronni drive
away. Scully stood on the sidewalk and felt
hot tears trail down her face.
"You okay, lady?" the skycap asked, peering at
her.
"I'm fine," she said, sniffling, but the truth
was, she was as far from fine as she could get.
She'd lost Mulder.
To be continued in part 2....