Universal Gate 5
Ch. 3 How Mom and Dad Got Together (I)
-Universes spitting time: Detour / Detour / Chinga
UNIVERSE DTI ,1997
âWait, youâre ditching me?â
Her words stop him dead in his tracks.
Mulder turns around and takes a good look at her. Sheâs still holding the little silver tray with cheese, crackers, and wine.
Itâs funny to see Scully with wine. He hasnât seen her with an alcoholic beverage for months because of the medications she was on. Mulder canât help but grin to see her with wine in her hand.
She can drink now, he thinks proudly of how far sheâs come after her illness. He will drink to that.
He always has this flooding pride when it comes to Scully. Always.
The last time he saw her with wine, it was when Eddie Van Blundht showed up at her doorstep, impersonating him; good thing he had made it in time. Whenever he thinks about that incident, Mulder wants to travel to Maryland and pay a little visit to that bastard at the Cumberland Reformatory. But that wouldnât do any good, would it? Itâs not like he could sign Eddie out just to beat him up again. Plus, heâs heard that Van Blundht gets beat up quite a lot over there, because even with the muscle relaxant, he can still do impressions of people pretty well, and prison inmates typically donât like being mocked, not even for comedy.
He nearly broke Eddieâs nose that night. If Scully hadnât stopped him, he might have kicked and beaten Eddie to a pulp. Scully was pleading for him to stop, because she fully understood the consequences if he had really whupped Eddieâs ass.
No wonder the Maryland PD thought it was a love triangle when they arrived at Scullyâs apartment.
Itâs strange how levelheaded Scully remained after nearly a whole bottle of red. Eddie claimed to have drunk only one glass of the wine, and when Scully blushed, Mulder knew there was some truth to that.
That junior-size bottle of white on the silver tray would do nothing at all for her.
Scully has picked up a piece of cheese and is nibbling on it; her right eyebrow is challenging him like a teenager, looking as if sheâs asking permission to borrow the car this weekend so she can go hang out with her friends at the mall.
âIâm not...â he quips, âIâm just going to check on the Asekoffs. You know where Iâm going; itâs not ditching if you know my destination.â
âMulder,â She sits down on his bed. âYou invited me to come over and hang.â
âYes, I did, thatâs why my door was unlocked. Stonecypher and Kinsley could barge in any minute while I was waiting for you to show up. I was afraid that theyâd come in and suggest a singing contest which would end with all of us singing âKumbayaâ together while holding hands.â
âWell, it took me a while to prepare these.â She glances at the plate of refreshments.
âIâd have gone to the vending machines.â He tosses his jacket on the mattress and walks over to her.
âI thought you were heading out?â
âWell.â He sits on the mattress and pats the spot next to him. âYou went to all this trouble already.â
Mulder recalls some months ago, when he was in the bargaining stage of his grief, that he had vowed he would do better. Of course, he had also bargained for a lot of other things, too. But as he thinks of the promise heâs made to himself, be a better Mulder is definitely something he can do.
And a Better Mulder would stay and drink and be ready to have a good time right now. A Better Mulder might even get a kiss by the end of the evening. A Better Mulder would remain gentlemanly and keep it chaste and sweet.
He is determined to be the Better Mulder, because whoever on the other side has certainly kept their promise. Scully is alive and well now; she is even able to drink wine now.
And if this doesnât call for a celebration, Mulder doesnât know what does.
âHere, Scully,â he picks up his wineglass carefully. âCheers.â
She stands up and gives him a good glance from head to toe.
âYou have two choices, Mulder.â She parks one of her arms on her hip, and Mulder is once again reminded of how much heâs longed to see Bossy Scully. How he loves this bossy, petite redhead who sometimes looks like she could fit in his pocket like Tinkerbell.
âOne, you go check on the Asekoffs and come back ASAP.â
His eyebrows do a surprised dance.
âTwo, I drive you to the Asekoffs, and on the way back, we can pick up something you like. Something bubbly.â
She knows that he doesnât care for wine.
âYou know what I like,â he grins. âAfter you, MâLady.â
The Better Mulder will always, always listen to Scully, bossy or otherwise.
UNIVERSE DET, 1997
âThat wasnât so bad.â
If he wasnât hurt, she would consider hurting him.
âYou a Three Dog Night fan?â
Scully lowers her head so that her nose is touching him. Having sung that song, that particular song, she suddenly feels very embarrassed. She wants to either crawl under a rock or hit Mulder with the said rock for making her sing.
A few moments pass by in silence between the agents, but the forest noises are very much present. Bugs chirping. Birds calling. Stomachs growling.
She should really begin packing energy bars in her coat pocket or something. This jacket comes with a lot of pockets for some reason.
âWhat about another one?â Mulder suggests.
âDonât push your luck, Mulder.â
âCâmon.â
He whines, and she doesnât have to see it to know that heâs pulling the puppy-dog eyes right now.
âI wanna sing too.â He snuggles closer to her. Mulder reminds her of a big dog. Like Leo the Golden Retriever her family had when she was seven. Archie the Mutt who was lost for two whole weeks and came home on his own. Queequeg the Pomeranian who was not big in size but a giant in personality.
Holding Mulder in her lap feels just like that. A big dog that you want to pet his head while cooing nonsense about what a good boy he is and feeling giddy.
âOne song.â Mulder promises. Pleads.
This man can always get her to give in to his way. Maybe sheâll make a New Yearâs resolution about that.
âFine.â
Scully is about to roll her eyes before remembering that he canât see her face in this position. She adjusts her grip on him, just a little, even though thereâs really no way for Mulder to fall off her lap.
Exuberantly, he jumps right in:
âHakuna Matata! What a wonderful phrase!â âHakuna Matata! Ainât no passing craze.â
Scully is dumbfounded for a second. A very short second. She knows this song. She knows this song because sheâs seen the Lion King. With Mulder. After he cluelessly gave her a snow globe with Simba and Nala inside when they came back from being a hundred years old on the Norwegian Sea.
âMmm?â
Mulder makes a small sound, checking in with her. She knows she has to sing this with him.
She begins, âIt means no worriesââ
Mulder joins in: ââfor the rest of your daaaaysâ
âItâs our problem-free phi-lo-so-phyâ
âHakuna Matata!â
She doesnât have to look to know Mulderâs grinning like an idiot now. Fox Mulder, the boy wonder, can sing even when he's in shock, how about that.
Feeling pretty enamored herself, Scully lowers her head again and rests it on him; their breathing has become one. Maybe their hearts are beating in sync, too.
UNIVERSE CA, 1998
She leans against the door of her motel room, not sure if she wants to hide her smile.
âWhat took you so long?â
Mulderâs mouth hangs openâhe did not expect that to be the first words out of her mouthâhe had expected annoyance, feigned annoyance, shock, and anger... mostly not-so-positive emotions, which was precisely why he waited so long to come up.
Itâs not that long, Mulder wants to say, but instead, he says, âWell, can I go in, or what?â
Scully steps aside and lets him, once again, become the plus-one of her vacation. No matter how mini this is, to her, it is still a vacation. A weekend getaway. One she tried but couldnât come up with the courage to invite Mulder, because she knows heâd taken too many vacation days for her already when she was dying and recovering from cancer...
Mulder marches in and sits directly on her bedâthe only bedâand takes a slow look around the room. She steps closer to the armchair by the table, suddenly feeling a little shy, though she doesnât know why. Mulderâs seen her in a bathrobe beforeâin fact, heâd seen her out of a bathrobe before heâd known her for 48 hoursâbut somehow, this feels different.
Mulderâs also been in her hotel room on every out-of-town case, slept in the same bed with her numerous times, held her in his arms, and kissed her a little too close to her lips to be considered friendly, but why the hell does it feel so...
Why is her heart pounding like sheâs nine years old and is about to give a presentation in front of her entire third-grade class?
âSo,â he begins, âhowâs your case? Whatâd I miss?â
âItâs not my case, Mulder.â
âYes, it is,â he says, like a seven-year-old arguing my dadâs better than your dad. âTell me one place youâve seen since you got here yesterday.â
â.âŚ..â
âWhat touristy thing did you do? Any local delicacy you have sampled?â Mulder says as he pumps his eyebrows, âDid you get me a souvenir?â
Scully opens her mouth, closes it, and opens it again.
Mulder smiles like the cat that just ate a canary.
âAs a matter of fact... Mulder,â she says his name like itâs still foreign to her tongue and not something sheâs said multiple times a day for nearly five years. âI did get you a souvenir, but Iâm not sure if I should give it to you now, seeing how youâve invited yourself to crash my vacation... Maybe I should just give your souvenir to Bill...â
His eyes grow wideâperhaps at the mention of her brother, perhaps at the prospect of losing his giftâand Scully laughs.
âAnd I did visit the harbor with Captain Bonsaint, where we sampled some local delicacies. He ordered thisââ
Mulder interrupts, âWhatâs on the itinerary for today, Dana?â
His use of her first name startles her a little, and she looks at his eyes, trying to read him, trying to see if sheâs reading him wrong.
If she doesnât know better, this is Fox Mulder, jealous.
âAre you here to help him solve the case?â
âNo,â he denies quickly, âIâm here to⌠vacation.â
âFor how long?â
âFor as long as youâre going to be here. Weâll see Maine! Iâve always wanted to see Maine!â Mulder feigns enthusiasm. âWhatâve we got?â
âMulder...â Now his moniker is said in the same, old, familiar tone. âIf youâre here to help Jack solve the case, or to even see the talking doll yourself, you can just say so. I wonât say youâre ruining my vacation.â
âRuining your vacationâŚâ He mumbles as he repeats her words, âNo, Scully. I want to do stupid touristy things with you. Really, I do. Weâll take a historical tour. See a magnificent lighthouse.â
She looks at him like heâs claiming the talking doll was stolen from the British Museum before it was taken from the gravesite of a medieval princess named Isabella.
âCâmon, Mulder. You can be honest. Isnât that why you came up here? To make my choices seem ridiculous?â
âWait, what exactly do you think I came up here to do?â
âYouâre jealous.â Scully asserts, âI go on vacation and stumble upon an X-File with a talking doll. And there you were, bored out of your mind and missing all the action in our basement?â
Mulder snickers. âNo.â
âNo what?â
âThatâs not why Iâm here.â
âThen tell me, Mulder, why are you here?â
She crosses her arms in front of her chest. She should really change out of her bathrobe. Itâs getting a little warm in here.
Scully knows Mulder is jealous, but, truth be told, she isnât very familiar with jealous Mulder. Jealous Mulder goes between whiny and pushy; heâs a kicked puppy or heâs an alpha dog pissing in a circle with her in the center of it. She hasnât figured out Jealous Mulder yet. She wonât be surprised if she never does.
Mulder sighs in frustration.
âJack. Vacation...â Mulder looks as if he isnât sure what he wants to say. âLook, Scully, history was my least favorite subject in school because it seemed so stupid that humanity never learns, so why study it? Humans have this inability to act before itâs too late, and I hate to jinx myself, butâŚâ
He pauses for a second. âFor fuckâs sake, heâs a captain, Scully! Youâre on vacation, and you met a captain, and his name is Jack? And I just...want to be here. With you.â
Scully smirks. She suddenly gets it.
âMulder, heâs not that kind of captain...â
He shrugs. Didnât matter, his body language argues.
âJust so you know...â She says good-humoredly, âBambiâs a boyâs name.â
Mulder looks at her, clearly confused. âWhyâre you telling me that?â
âCockroaches?â
âIn your hotel room?â
Mulderâs slightly panicking and looking on the walls around him.
âNever mind.â She shakes her head. For someone with an eidetic memory, Mulder certainly chooses what to remember and what to forget.
She stands up and goes to sit next to him on the bed. The mattress is very soft and sheâs nearly half sitting on his lap, but she doesnât care.
âI think Captain Bonsaint could really use our help.â She picks up his hand, and he responds to it immediately by squeezing it. âAnd since youâre here, we can have Bonsaint issue an official request to Skinner about us being consultants for a case here. Weâll solve the case, move back our flight, and actually have ourselves a little vacation in Maine?
He looks at her with eyes full of childlike hope, like heâs just been told that if he behaves, heâll get a remote-control car for Christmas. Scully sandwiches his hand with hers and smiles encouragingly at him.
âAnd since youâre crashing my vacation, I think you need to know that thereâs only one bed here, and itâs a very popular time to visit Maine.â
He grins and inches closer to her. Just when their noses are about to touch, the hotel phone starts ringing.
Mulder groans, and she giggles, trying to stand up.
âNope, not yet,â he says quickly, and presses his lips on hers for a chaste kiss. âYou donât know how long Iâve been wanting to do that.â
Scully snickers and returns a quick peck on his lips. âWhat took you so long?â
The kiss turns into something more. Captain Bonsaint will just have to call again later.
ââ
thanks for reading. tagging @today-in-fic, thanks.













