Collector's Edition: Scully and the Green-Eyed Monster
Happy Belated Birthday to @cecilysass! Here's a fic collection fer yeh.
(**Note**: I have another list featuring more jealousy fics here.)
Loose chronological order below~
@lotsoforangesoutside/lots_of_oranges_outside's
Cutie (Ao3)
“The Dana Scully I know never gets jealous.”
“You’re right, I wasn’t jealous.”
Dana can hear her friend’s sarcastic nod through the phone lines.
Post-Fire Scully isn't as subtle as she'd like to think.
Too Early to Tell (Ao3)
“You guys finished the dishes already?” Scully sound surprised, glancing at the radio clock. “So she did convince you to let her help. I guess I owe her five bucks now.”
Mulder stares into her big blue eyes, not sure why they suddenly look a tiny bit upset.
Post-One Firewalker Scully is frustrated with Mulder and her sister.
Pioneer Club (Ao3)
“It’s nothing.” His smile is too smug for her liking. Scully bites her upper lip, a gesture she suspects is unlady-like. She doesn’t know how to phrase her question so she doesn’t sound nosy or… jealous.
Post-Bad Blood Mulder receives a postcard.
Caddyshack (Ao3)
“Only you’d think jealous women are cute, Mulder, other people think they’re scary.” she copies him in tone. “Now, do you wanna watch this, or what?”
Post-Je Souhaite Mulder and Scully discuss jealousy and gophers.
sospooky's Three Pipe Problem (Ao3)
“If you cared about him at all-”
She doesn’t know where she’s going with this, only that she knows she wants this woman out of his life as quickly as she came into it the second time around, with a stone-cold smile and a cassette tape.
Fire Scully is both protective of Mulder and jealous of Phoebe.
@agentwhalesong's (Ao3) Throughout The Years - Chapter 3
Before this case he had thought it was all in his head, that the way she responded to his flirting was just her way of joking, of telling him she was onto him, kind of a friendly reminder that she was out of his league (because honestly, she was). But now…
He had seen a side of her he had never seen before: she was jealous.
Syzygy Mulder realizes Scully's jokes are a form of flirting.
@baronessblixen/Baroness_Blixen's
A Bit On The Nose (Ao3)
“Do you need me to scoot over?”
“It’s fine,” she says, sitting on the edge of the bed with her back to him. She lies down, keeping to the edge, and as far away from Mulder as possible. She’s never once minded sharing space with him. They’ve even shared a bed before, once or twice. Today she’s too aware of his body and things unspoken. There’s too much between them. Except space.
Post-Syzygy Scully is forced to share a bed with her partner.
Her Name Was Bambi
"Bambi, Bambi, Bambi," Scully's nephew Matthew, sitting on the carpet in front of the TV, babbles excitedly, clapping his hands. Next to her, Mulder chuckles. She throws him a sideway glance, wondering if he's thinking about the same thing she is. She is not thinking about a cute, orphaned fawn. Not even close. No, she's thinking about a different Bambi.
Dr. Bambi Berenbaum.
Post-Millennium Mulder and Scully are roped into babysitting.
@amplifyme/wonderland/Lydia Bower's Unnamed
“Forgot my shaving kit,” he explained. And then he shook his head violently, droplets of water flying from his hair and splattering her, the bed, the wall, the nightstand, and everything else close by.
‘’Hey!” she cried and swatted at him. Mulder easily dodged her open hand and headed back for the bathroom.
“We used to have a dog that did that after we gave him a bath,” she called out as he disappeared into the steamy room. “Mom made him sleep in the garage.”
He poked his head around the door. “If that’s supposed to scare me, Scully, it won’t work. Your mom likes me.”
“She liked the dog too, Mulder.”
“Bet she never baked a peach pie for him,” he shot back.
Post-War of the Coprophages Scully is almost jealous.
Donna's
Holding Hands (Gossamer)
His ‘chickadee’, that’s what Frohike had called her. All three of the guys had been very uncomfortable talking to her about Diana. Why was that? What exactly constituted a ‘chickadee’ for Mulder? They were lovers, she’d supplied that for herself. At least they had been. Would they be again, tomorrow?
The End Scully licks her wounds in private.
Sleepless
They all watched as Langly ran the copies that Skinner had brought. Scully was really surprised at the amount of activity for a weekend. Of course the Bureau was a 24/7 organization but it looked like a regular workday Saturday morning. It was a little after 9 a.m. that Frohike spotted him.
"Look over there. Isn't that him with someone? Who - "
"Diana," Scully said flatly. She was frozen in place.
Skinner had been peering at the couple on the screen. Her movement caused him to look over at her. Her face was set, her manner glacial.
Pre-Biogenesis Scully finds a drugged Mulder in his basement.
@writingwell/RocketMan's (site) Wild Things (01)
Little chickadee.
Is that how the Lone Gunmen are going to explain me away to the next green agent that manages to wind up loving the most insensitive, the most beautiful man on earth?
Mulder, Scully, and their hardships (and honest conversations) through the years. (Sidenote: this is a long-ish fic series, but I didn't have the capacity to include every link.)
@alienbaby-babymama's
Day 26: “Why would I care?” (Ao3)
Just then, Mulder waltzes into the office on his cell phone. “Yeah, seven sounds great. I’ll meet you there. Talk soon.”
He sits at his desk with his feet up, lost in thought.
“What’s at seven?”
“Huh?”
“Rendezvous you just secured for seven?”
“Oh! Oh, that’s nothing. Just made plans to meet up with Diana to catch up on some things.”
Diana. Before she’s able to stop herself, she scoffs.
S6 Scully cries in an elevator.
Day 18: Pool Party (Ao3)
Working on the 6th floor, integrated with all of Kersh’s minions irritates her to no end. She’s just better at hiding it than her better half. Said better half, is sulking at his desk chewing on the end of a pencil. His chair squeaking while he swivels it to the right and left.
S6 Scully is not pleased with the bullpen secretaries.
Day 2: Cocktail (Ao3)
Scully takes it from his relenting grasp and pours its contents down the kitchen drain.
She then takes his hand and leads him into the bedroom.
S6 Mulder remembers Diana's order.
Day 31: “It’s not your fault”
“You got something going on with the delivery man I should know about?” A perfectly manicured eyebrow cocks high to her hairline.
“Not tonight. My dance card is full.” Mulder shrugs apathetically.
“Shame. Willing to make an exception?” Her hand starts to work on the buttons of her blazer right here in his hallway.
“Mulder? Who are you talking to?”
Behind a half dressed Fox Mulder is an equally undressed Dana Scully.
S6 Scully is there when Mulder shoos Diana out the door.
@xxsksxxx/xxSKSxx's Crossroads (Ao3)
“What’s really going on here, Scully?” I don’t think you’ve ever not remembered to bring me lunch when I was working through our lunch break.” Scully snorted, and Mulder snapped his mouth shut in irritation.
“Is this about Diana being here?” he growled and crossed his arms over his chest. “You can’t be serious!”
Pre-Two Fathers Scully and Mulder are frustrated with each other.
@msrafterdark's (Ao3)
Ficlets (Tumblr Prompt) - Chapter 85 and Chapter 89
Scully is not the jealous type. Protective yes, maybe even possessive. But her temperament only allows her to portray it in a subdued way, which is why their conversation at the Gunmen’s hurt so much. Her tumultuous feelings are palpable. Scully doesn’t understand his tangled relationship with Diana – however could she? Its not as though he’s explained it to her. And to make matters worse, to explain things to Scully, to reassure – and soothe her, really – he’d have no choice but to reveal the deep emotional feelings he’s had for her over last several years of their partnership.
Post-One Son Mulder must face his actions in order to help a heartsick Scully.
Erin M. Blair's (Ao3) Mistaken Moments
"I do trust you, Scully. Look, I have told you several months ago in a different hallway that - "
"I don't need to hear this again, Mulder. You already decided that you trust Diana Fowley more than me," said Scully. Her voice was cracking emotionally. There were unshed tears in her eyes, just waiting to fall. She was exhausted from talking with Mulder. She decided to be open and to remain strong. She needed to tell him the truth. "I feel like a fool, Mulder. I'm jealous of Diana Fowley. She shared a part of you that I never had. She calls you by your first name and you never let me call you Fox. I have to admit it bothers me."
Post-One Son Skinner sends his agents on vacation to work out their feelings.
Invisigoth421's Unexpected Bedfellows
"Yeah," he replied. "I was jealous. And I acted like a jerk."
"You act like a jerk quite frequently," Scully replied.
"You're being mean, Scully," he said, trying to look dejected, but Scully would have none of it.
"Think of the countless times you've ditched me," she said." Think of the countless times you've looked me in the eye and told me how wonderful Diana Fowley was. Why do you do it? Why do you do it, and then get jealous when I do the same thing?"
Scully wanted the truth. He could see it in her eyes.
"I always thought you found me annoying Scully," he replied. If she wanted the truth, she would get it.
"Not always," She replied "Sometimes, yes."
"I thought you just tolerated me, most of the time. So I figured it never mattered when I acted like a jerk. It wouldn't make any difference."
"Mulder, you weren't TRYING to make me jealous, with the whole Fowley thing, were you?" Scully asked.
Post-One Son Mulder and Scully wake in bed together, unable to remember what happened. (Bonus: Mulder jealousy.)
@spookyshipperfics/spooky_shipper's The Finer Things (Ao3)
Scully felt heat pooling in her chest. “This is our assignment, Agent Fowley. Our case.”
“And I never meant to imply it wasn’t,” Diana said, taking a step forward. “It’s just Fox and I have a history. We work better when we are alone without... distractions.”
Any mask of professionalism Diana attempted to wear turned transparent. Scully saw right through her. Now, they were just two women with a man between them. “I have no doubt your reasons for wanting to partner off with Mulder carry a personal angle,” Scully practically spat.
“Now you just sound jealous.”
“You’ve been trying to get him alone since you arrived.”
AU-- Post-One Son Mulder and Scully run into Diana while undercover on a train.
ML/ML_is_me’s (Ao3, Gossamer, DW, Invidiosa)
The Nature of the Beast
Recent events have sensitized him to Scully's moods. She is human, after all, and can also fall prey to human doubts and fears. Yet it seems beneath her to be jealous. Even mentioning the possibility to her is perilous. On the other hand, for them the lines between the personal and the professional blur more with each passing day. Before they got the X-Files back and things were going to hell all around them, he'd been dismissive of Scully's concerns. She'd turned out to be right, up to a point. He has yet to truly acknowledge that to her.
Will it always be this hard? Will Scully question any and all females who cross his path, and how will he be able to tell if it's a personal or professional concern?
Alpha Scully and Mulder are disappointed with their stalling relationship.
@lokisgame/Lokisgame's Unnamed
“So I’m not a tall, leggy blonde, so what” she said quietly, her lips closing around the straw for a second “you can find yourself one and ask her out to the movies next time, if you want”
“I don’t” he began but she shushed him reaching for some popcorn from the bag in his hands, eyes fixed on the screen.
Scully and Mulder and a movie.
Narida Law's Unscrupulous
She didn't need to walk anything off. She just had to keep those women at the requisition desk from ogling what was hers. Granted, it seemed that =every= female at FBI headquarters seemed to get all moony-eyed and twitterpated at the sight of her tall, well-dressed, impeccably groomed partner, but those women at requisitions were the worst. They never bothered to hide the fact that they were all over him like static cling on pantyhose.
It was sick. It was disgusting. And Scully, for one, would not stand for it.
Post-Amor Fati Scully is tired of other women ogling Mulder's hair.
@feejee-mermaid/feejee_mermaid's Turn and Face the Strange (Ao3)
Scully thought of Chastity and involuntarily bristled, then chastised herself for the juvenile feeling. She wasn’t sure she wanted to examine it very closely. The girl had shamelessly checked out her partner and Mulder had done a double take. She’d leveled him with a look, and he’d chuckled sheepishly, and that was that. But she worried about her reaction. She knew she had a possessive streak running below the surface, buried deep like a copper vein.
It tended to flare whenever he got appreciative glances from waitresses, rental car agents, flight attendants, or even the more overt come-ons from the Shelia Fontaines who seemed to inhabit every pocket of small town America. Wherever they went, women were undressing him with their eyes. Not that she could really blame them. She had eyes herself.
Rush Scully battles some ups and downs in Millennium's wake.
@wexleresque/hellsteeth's
the fbi basement bulletin board - Chapter 15 (Ao3)
Scully leans against the wall nearest the door and crosses her arms over her chest. She can't help the annoyed sigh that escapes her lips when the witness laughs airily and places her hand over Mulder's for a split second. She chooses to think that the feeling in her stomach is second hand embarrassment instead of jealousy. Which is probably being too generous to herself.
S7 Scully marks her turf.
AUs
Sukie Tawdry's The Way Things Are (1) and The Way Things Are (2)
Mulder had done as she'd asked, keeping his concern to himself, and in the process, keeping his distance. He spoke to her only when necessary and kept his comments work related. He made no move to carry her luggage and didn't turn around in the airport to see if she was following him. Head held high, she refused to ask for help, even when her head pounded and her legs felt like lead.
It was a pitched battle between the two of them--Mulder's studied unconcern, Scully's stubborn pride. Her independence proved almost impossible for her to maintain. Trips to the ladies room became longer and longer as she vomited up every morsel she consumed.
In the campaign to return to business as usual, Mulder seemed to find an ally in the lovely detective who had called them in on the case. Pam Clayton was tall and slim and completely professional. Scully would have hated her if she could muster up the energy.
AU-- Post-Miracle Man Scully and Mulder stumble into parenthood (and a slow-burn relationship.)
@sunflowerseedsandscience's Someday Your Child May Cry
Still, whether it’s irrational or not, she doesn’t quite feel equal to the task of striding into that room and breaking up their intimate moment. Calling Mulder from the car seems safer, for now, with the damned progesterone messing with her emotions, making her feel things she knows can’t be real.
Because she can’t be jealous. She just can’t.
AU-- The IVF arc spans Season 5, FTF, and Season 6: smack dab in the middle of the Diana Fowley's appearance.
He still has trouble getting the words out, all these months later; he swallows dryly.
Jenn jabs a thumb at the desk. “Medical records right there. So. Are you still trying to show off? Or do you really not want to live?” Mulder doesn't answer, his chest tight; Jenn shakes her head and adds, “I guess you are showing off. But it's not impressing anyone. I'd figure you'd at least want to live for that jealous partner of yours.”
“I said I wasn't going to make a wish for me,” he says determinedly, even if the guilt is building in his throat like bile.
AU-- S7 Scully is a bit jealous when she and her dying partner run into a genie.
TheAddict4Dramatics's Untitled Requiem Ficlet
She really thought that she was done crying in the bathroom over this woman. Why couldn’t she just stay dead? He was going to go, he was going to go with Diana and insist that she stayed put. She could hear his argument – they’re taking abductees, it’s not safe for you, I won’t risk it. She’d always hated the petty jealous side she knew she had, it was far from an envious or endearing quality. But this was so much more than the usual bubble of annoyance that bloomed in her chest whenever somebody else was sniffing around him. Diana had such a genuine claim on him; so much history and shared belief, it caused that bubble to morph into something much more solemn and final. Even after their relationship had changed so dramatically in the last few weeks. It turned out she was still insecure about what she meant to him.
Suddenly there was a loud banging on the door.
“Scully it’s me, let me in.” She looked at the door but made no move to unlock it. “I know you’re in there and I’m going to wait here until you let me in so just do it please.”
AU-- Requiem Scully is shaken by Diana's reappearance.
Malibusunset's Vita Nova (Terra Firma Series, Part 4)
Here we go. Here come the claws. He wouldn't smile. He wouldn't.
"I can't believe we left our children with her," she said, her voice climbing a few decibels.
"I don't think she's evil, Scully. Misguided and a little slutty maybe? But not dangerous. I don't think the children will need therapy. Not from that anyway."
"Just where does she get off seducing other women's husbands? I have half a mind to pay her a visit and have a little woman to woman chat with her."
Mulder chuckled now. At least the daggers weren't flying at him anymore. Don't mess with jealous Scully.
AU-- S9 Mulder fields inappropriate advances from a babysitter (and Scully's possessive anger afterward.)
Girlie_girl7 's A Day in the Life, 01
Mulder laughs while customers standing nearby just stare. He drops his voice and says, "You are jealous. I think that's sweet."
AU-- Mulder and Scully are living happily ever after with their children... and a few, harmless jealousy bumps along the way.
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
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Sit down with @anniexami & @msrtheatre0223 as they interview fan favorite @sunflowerseedsandscience aka Natalie. Then dive into some of her audio fics with links below.
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
Story: But Always Together
Author: sunflowerseedsandscience
Site Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10195835
Rating: G
Read by: AnnieXF
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
An Archive of Our Own, a project of the
Organization for Transformative Works
And a holiday fic...
19 or 41 for the trope prompts!
41. Overhearing they have feelings for you
The phone on Mulder’s desk rings barely five minutes after Scully
A story with the premise of Scully going undercover at a beauty pageant could become very absurd very quickly. But that doesn’t happen here. This fic is packed full of insight, smarts, humor, and heart. Plus Mulder can't help himself with all the flirting, and Scully joins in too, which is very amusing. Read it!
Title: She's Beauty, She's Grace
Author: sunflowerseedsandscience (@sunflowerseedsandscience)
Summary: I was asked to write a Miss Congeniality/The X-Files mash-up... so here goes nothing.
Length: 34,625 words
Classification: Crossover
Rating: Mature
Spoilers: Season 6, Tithonus
Favorite line: He’s smiling in a way that says, all too clearly, that he’s looking forward to it tremendously, and Scully just barely manages to resist giving him an impromptu shower with the orange juice that has just arrived.
Read the story!
Listen, I just wanted to make sure you knew that you and your XF reviews are responsible for bringing me back into fandom and thus setting me on a track that led to me regaining my confidence as a writer, writing three novels in as many years, and finally really and truly throwing my shoulder into trying to get published. So thank you for that and fuck you to anyone who ever makes you feel like you’re less than the wonderful person you are.
This is ALL you and I can’t take any of the credit, but I’m so flattered (and impressed). Thank you!!
I go to you for spot-on characterization and emotional depth that surpasses anything we ever got to see onscreen. Your writing gives us a tour through the insides of Mulder's and Scully's psyches like nobody else's can.
Anya is live and ready to show you everything. Watch her strip, dance, and perform exclusive shows just for you. Interact in real-time and make your fantasies come true.
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Extract from ‘Au Cafe Pequod’ by @sunflowerseedsandscience
This AU has become a beloved classic AU, taking our heroes and dropping them squarely into a tension-filled setting that piles on the angst as they both fight for justice during traumatic times.
You can read the entire story here.
The other big change is that now, when the cafe is empty at the end of the evening and Scully locks the front door, Mulder is no longer on the other side of it. Each night, she removes her apron and hangs it behind the counter, fixes a cup of coffee for herself, and joins him at his table. Some evenings they share a sandwich, and once or twice, they’ve enjoyed a glass or two of wine, when a bottle opened for a customer went unfinished and won’t keep much longer.
Every night, for hours, they talk.
Mulder has learned that Scully’s parents met in 1917, when William Scully’s ship was docked in Calais during the Great War. They had married less than three months later. Scully was born in 1919 in California, and not in France, and lived in America until she was eight years old.
“So you speak English as well, then?” Mulder asks her, and she nods.
“I don’t have much opportunity to use it these days, but yes,” she says.
“No, I wouldn’t imagine you would come across many English speakers in such a small town,” Mulder answers- in English. His accent is quite strong, but his grammar is perfect, and Scully is delighted.
“Where did you learn to speak it?” she asks.
“I attended Oxford University,” he says. “I very nearly stayed in England when I was finished, but my mother wanted me to come home.”
Mulder learns that Scully’s mother returned to France with her four children shortly after losing her husband to a heart complaint in 1927. Both of Scully’s brothers, one older and one younger, returned to America in 1938, where they promptly joined the navy, just like their father. Scully has an older sister, whose free-spirited lifestyle, Mulder gathers, is something of a scandal around the town. Scully has no idea where she is; the last postcard her sister sent was over a year ago, from India.
“What about you?” asks Scully. “Any brothers? Sisters?” Mulder studies his coffee intently.
“I had a sister,” he says. “Samantha. Four years younger.” He pokes his spoon around in his cup. “She died when she was fifteen, the same year I left for Oxford.” Scully’s face is full of gentle sympathy.
“I’m so sorry,” she says. She does not ask how Samantha died, nor does Mulder expect her to. He hasn’t known Scully long, but already he knows she is a private person, who respects others’ need for privacy as well, and she will not ask for more information than he wants to give. Part of him really does want to tell her the story… but not yet. He spends too much time dwelling on it already.
Her mind is a marvel to him.
In addition to being fluent in French, German, and English, she also speaks Spanish, and enough Dutch and Italian to get by. Her American primary school moved her up a grade, and her French school moved her up another. Though she was forced to leave university before completing her medical degree, she has continued learning on her own, in hopes of resuming formal studies after the war. She reads books to educate herself on all manner of subjects and seems to retain nearly everything she learns. Her brilliance astounds him.
“Why Cafe Pequod?” he asks one evening. “I mean, I know where the name comes from, but what’s the significance?” Scully smiles.
“It’s an homage to my father,” she explains. “‘Moby Dick’ was his favorite book. He read it to all of us when we were little. The cafe was owned by my mother’s uncle, originally, but he passed away the same year as my father. He was childless, so he left everything to my mother, and with my father gone, coming back here to take the place over seemed like an opportunity for a fresh start. She re-named the cafe, and my siblings and I made the sign for her.”
He spends every day coming up with new things to ask her that evening. He is hopelessly in love with the sound of her voice. Its sweet cadence is a balm to his wounded soul.
————
It’s two days before Christmas when he begins to notice the pies.
Most of Scully’s clientele, as a rule, consists of German officers and enlisted men these days. Times being what they are, not many of the townspeople have money to spare for eating in a restaurant. So when a local does come into the cafe, Mulder notices. And the few he’s seen today stand out particularly in his mind, because none of them have actually stayed to eat. In each case, a man has approached the counter, where Scully has addressed him by name, made some small talk, and then retreated into the kitchen, returning in short order with a pie, which she places into a white box. Each time, she has handed it to the customer with a flourish and a smiling, “Thank you for your order,” and the customer has left without another word.
It wouldn’t stick out in his mind so much, except that he hasn’t seen any money change hands.
The most logical assumption he’s been able to make has been that, with ingredients being as expensive as they are, Scully probably took payment when the orders were placed, so that she would be able to afford the extra flour and sugar that making the pies would require. He’s never seen anyone place an order, it’s true, but he reminds himself that he’s only here in the evenings.
Hauptmann Skinner stops by tonight, right before closing, and much to Mulder’s surprise, he takes a seat at Mulder’s table. Mulder starts to get up to salute his captain, but Skinner waves him back down brusquely.
“You must be single-handedly supporting this establishment at this point,” says Skinner. “How do you manage to spend your entire evening drinking coffee without being wide awake the rest of the night?”
“Who says I’m not?” says Mulder. “I don’t require much sleep. Never have.”
“You must have been a delight for your mother as an infant,” says Skinner.
“Oh, I think we can agree I’m a delight for anyone, at any time.” Mulder says wryly, and Skinner smirks. Across the room, Scully emerges from the kitchen and catches sight of Skinner at Mulder’s table. She smiles, backs into the kitchen, and returns a moment later with yet another pie, which she boxes up and carries over.
“Your order, Hauptmann Skinner,” she says, placing the box before him.
“Thank you, Miss Scully,” he says. “And please, call me Walther.” She smiles.
“Well then, Walther, I insist you call me Dana.” She glances up as the last customers stand and leave their table. The cafe is now empty, save the three of them. “Mulder and I were about to have something to eat, once I’ve locked up. Would you like to join us?” Mulder is startled at the invitation, and more than a little relieved when Skinner immediately declines it. He likes his captain well enough, but he likes his evenings alone with Scully more.
“That’s kind of you, but no,” says Skinner, pushing back his chair. “I wouldn’t want to intrude.” He stands, picking up the box containing his pie. “Goodnight, Dana. And Obersoldat Mulder, try not to break any noses tonight, all right?” Mulder grins.
“I’ll do my best, Sir,” he promises.
Scully follows Skinner to the door and locks it after him. She unties her apron, hangs it up, and sets about making their coffee. When she returns to the table, she carries a tray laden not only with their mugs, but with two slices of cherry pie, as well. “I had some left over,” she explains. “You’ll help me make sure it doesn’t go to waste, won’t you?” Mulder’s mouth is already watering as he accepts his slice.
“I will selflessly consume any and all leftover pie you find yourself burdened with,” he says, taking a large bite. The crust is buttery and flaky, and the filling, cherry preserves no doubt put up last spring, is the perfect balance of tart and sweet. “This is amazing. Did you make all these pies yourself?”
“No, my mother and I made them together,” says Scully. “She and I thought perhaps we could bring in a bit of extra money by selling them for Christmas. I took orders last week, and we spent last Sunday baking them.”
“It’s an excellent idea,” says Mulder. “I think I’ll need to find out what Skinner’s doing with his and see if he’s willing to share.” Scully laughs.
“Speaking of Christmas, and of my mother,” she says, “I’ve been instructed to invite you to join us for Christmas Dinner.” Mulder freezes, a forkful of pie halfway to his mouth.
“Your… your mother?” He swallows. A Frenchwoman, the widow of a man who fought Germany in one war, and mother to two boys who are fighting Germany in this one, inviting a German officer into her home? It doesn’t seem likely. “Why would she do that?”
“I’ve told her about you,” says Scully with a nonchalant shrug. “I told her all about your Lancelot impersonation, how you defended me even though it could have gotten you in trouble. She knows you were conscripted, she knows you don’t want to be here. And I mentioned that I was sorry you’d have to spend Christmas in the camp, since the cafe will be closed. I get the impression you don’t have many friends there.”
“What makes you think that?” It’s absolutely true- Skinner is the closest thing he has to a friend in the entire German army, perhaps in all of Germany- but he wants to know how she’s arrived at that conclusion.
“You wouldn’t be spending every night here with me, if you had friends in your unit to spend your off hours with.”
“Scully,” he says, “no matter how many friends I may or may not have in camp, I would still be spending every night here with you.” Now it’s Scully’s turn to freeze, her wide blue eyes fixed on him. A blush spreads across her cheeks as she smiles softly.
“So will you come?” she asks, and her voice is hopeful. “I can promise there will be more pie.” Mulder laughs.
