From: tierskmn@wfu.edu (marcia nanc tiersky) Newsgroups: alt.tv.x-files.creative Subject: Happy Halloween Date: 22 Oct 1995 20:04:54 GMT This is a story I wrote for EMXC. Now seems like a good time to post it. Standard Disclaimer applies here: These characters and all rights to them and the X-Files in general belong to Chris Carter and 10/13. There is no copywrite infringement intended in any way, shape, or form. Please forgive me. *****ROMANCE WARNING****** This story contains some. If you dislike the thought of our heroes getting together, this story is not for you. It's rated PG-13 (I guess) and takes place considerably after Fire. I'm always open for questions, comments, criticism, praise etc. Feel free to email me at Mtiersky@uga.cc.uga.edu or QLTiersky@aol.com. Enjoy! Happy Halloween by QLTiersky Mulder walked into the room and stopped short in surprise. He stared at Scully, dressed like a Southern Belle in a long hoop skirt, of all things. "Very nice," he commented drily. "Are you sure the skirt sticks out far enough." "Funny, Mulder," she answered, attempting to maneuver around the folds of material. "Remember, it wasn't my idea to go to the annual Halloween party." "Oh, right. Like it was mine. I must have forgotten when I dashed up to you and said 'Oh please, can we go to the FBI Halloween party?'" he observed sarcastically. She sighed. "Look, Skinner said we had to be there. Its just a few hours then I can get out of this monstrosity." "Want help?" he leered, wiggling his eyebrows like the gangster he was dressed as. She reached out to smack him but he caught her hand instead and gracefully twirled her, causing her to break out in surprised laughter. "Mulder, what are you doing?" she demanded, as he began to lead her in a dance. "The waltz," he responded, as if it were the most logical thing in the world to be dancing around their desks in their basement office, swirling carefully to avoid the file cabinets. "Mulder," she said in a warning voice, "come on, enough." He continued to lead her around merrily, causing her to grow flustered. "I mean it." He pouted and brought the dance to a dramatic end, dipping her carefully over his arm and holding her there. "Let me up!" Scully demanded, feeling a bit ridiculous. "The price for your freedom, one sweet kiss, milady," Mulder intoned teasingly. Scully could feel herself flush and for a moment thought before her logical side reasserted itself. She coughed to cover her confusion and repeated tensely, "I said let me up." Mulder seemed puzzled as he drew her back to a standing position. He looked like a puppy who had been scolded and didn't know why. "I was just teasing," he defended. Scully sighed indulgently. "I know you were, but.....but all this stalling is making us late." Mulder groaned at the thought of facing all the people at the party. "Maybe we could have our own Halloween party, right here," he suggested. "Skinner didn't actually say which FBI party we had to go to..." Scully hesitated, genuinely tempted, before giving in to the inevitable. "Presumably he will notice if we aren't there. Why did we bother getting these absurd costumes?" He tried to think of a good answer to that, glanced down at his own costume, and reluctantly agreed. At the party, Mulder stuck fairly close to Scully, as he didn't really enjoy interacting with many of the people there. He heard a few murmured "Spooky"s as he passed, but no one directly confronted him, which was a tremendous relief. Skinner wandered over to them and nodded his approval of their presence at a social event before inviting Scully to take a turn around the dance floor with him. As Mulder stood on the sidelines watching Skinner and Scully dance, he couldn't help but think back to their brief waltz in the office and how good it had felt to hold her in his arms. he told himself. He quickly scanned the room, noting the scarce female agents, all of whom were involved in conversations with a multitude of hormone-driven G-men who were praying to get lucky. Mulder winced at the thought of ever becoming that desperate. the voice inside his head whispered. He shook his head, to banish the thought, as Scully and Skinner returned. Skinner presented Scully to him with a flourish, "Your turn," he said, smiling for once. Mulder studied Skinner for a brief moment, "Sorry, Walter, you aren't my type." Scully couldn't quite muffle a giggle as Skinner rolled his eyes and walked away muttering something about needing a different job. Mulder smiled down at Scully, noticing that was flushed and happy and suddenly feeling an overwhelming pang of jealousy cut like a knife across his chest. "Have fun?" he asked cooly. She nodded enthusiastically. "He's a good dancer," she answered cheerfully. "Nothing compared to you of course," she added teasingly. "I should think not," Mulder parried quickly, "no challenge for him out there. I didn't see him circumvent a garbage can or a file cabinet once." Scully grinned and glanced briefly at her watch. "What say we get out of here?" she suggested conspiritorally. "He's seen us so he can't get angry for not attending, and I need to get out of this silly dress. How did Scarlett O'Hara manage?" "Something about slaves to help dress her I thought," he responded as he opened the door for her. "Pity you didn't have any. But if you're in the market for someone to help you get undressed...." he trailed off suggestively. Scully found herself blushing once again and hoped he would attribute it to the heat from exertion and not from the excitement that swept through her as she imagined such a scene. "I'll get by, thanks." "Well, OK. If you change your mind, you know who to call..." "Ghostbusters?" she rejoined, entering the ladies room to change into more normal clothes. Mulder couldn't help chuckling as he headed into the office to discreetly remove the remnants of his costume as well. Scully returned to find Mulder staring moodily off into space, telephone by his side. "Is something wrong?" she asked tentatively, startling him into jumping. "No," he smiled wanly. "Umm you have a phone message." She looked at him expectantly as he hesitated. "Bernard can't make it tonight. He says he'll try to come up next week." Scully nodded, disappointed. "Thanks for taking the message," she said with a sigh. "Hey you want to get dinner?" "What am I," he joked feebly, "An also-ran?" Scully took a second to understand the comment then shook her head in amusement. "What's the matter, Mulder, you jealous?" she asked in a teasing voice. "Jealous? Don't be ridiculous. Anyone with a name like Bernard has to be a total loser." Scully burst out laughing. "That's actually a reasonably accurate assumption, although I doubt my aunt intended her son to be a geek when she named him that." Mulder paused. "Your aunt?" he echoed. "He's your cousin?" relief echoed in his voice. She looked at him curiously. "Yeah, he lives in North Carolina and was planning on making a business trip to this area this weekend. I guess it must've been delayed." Mulder suddenly smiled extra warmly. "Did I hear you mention dinner?" he asked, gallantly offering Scully his arm. "Wherever Milady wishes." Scully considered his arm. "Hmmm does that mean its your turn to buy?" she asked hopefully. Mulder bit his lip in thought, then shrugged, "Sure, why not. McDonald's OK with you?" Scully burst into laughter as she hooked her arm through his. "I give in. I'll buy. Anything to avoid fast food. Eyucch." Smiling happily, Mulder escorted Scully out the door. They ended up at a small greek place, where Mulder was able to fulfill his daily fat and grease content with a plate of saganaki, while Scully happily explored stuffed grape leaves. Unbelievably, they managed to get through almost the entire meal without talking about work. Of course, it was a very quiet dinner, but this was still a major accomplishment as far as Scully was concerned. As they began to finish up, Mulder looked up at the clock and observed, "Hey its only 8. Want to rent a movie or something?" Scully chewed her lower lip, trying to decide if there was anything she was supposed to be doing that evening. Mulder interpreted her hesitation as reluctance and quickly sought a way out. "If you're tired or something, that's fine. I understand if you don't want to." She looked into his eyes, which were carefully shielding whatever he was feeling from her, and quickly decided. "Don't be silly," she responded. "A week of filling out paperwork isn't enough to tire me out, just bore me to tears. Renting a movie sounds fine to me." Mulder's quick smile lightened her heart, as well as quickening its rate. she thought. her rational mind warned. Scully quickly paid the bill, and they left. They ended up deciding on Misery, which neither had seen. As the credits rolled, Scully turned to Mulder with an evil glare. "Now I know why I hadn't seen this movie yet. That was horrifying!" "That's the point," he responded patiently. "That's why they call them horror films." Scully was not amused. "Did you know she was going to do that to his legs?" she demanded. Mulder didn't meet her eyes. "You did, didn't you? You knew and you pressured me into renting it anyway. I don't believe you." "Aw come on, Scully, why don't you just admit you enjoyed the film. It was suspenseful and interesting, and it didn't have any subtitles." Scully was instantly on the defensive, "there is nothing wrong with subtitles," she parried. "Just because a movie isn't originally in English doesn't mean it isn't good." "It doesn't mean its interesting either. Admit it, this is the most exciting movie you've seen this year." Scully shook her head defiantly. "Name one that was more exciting," he challenged. She frowned in thought, but finally had to concede that nothing immediately sprang to mind. "But that doesn't mean I liked it," she grumbled. Mulder smiled, knowing he'd won. Scully flicked on the radio while the tape finished rewinding. Mulder was on his feet in an instant, bowing courteously. "A dance, Milady?" he offered, laughter in his eyes. "I don't think..." she began, then stopped as she saw his disappointment at her impending refusal. "Oh, all right. But just one," she cautioned. He lit up and took her by the hand, guiding her around the apartment with the same ease he had waltzed her about the office earlier in the day. "Why is it that you never seem inclined to dance on a dance floor?" she asked with a laugh, making an effort to keep up with his graceful moves. He grinned sheepishly. "The truth?" she nodded eagerly. "I find it a lot harder to manipulate around other people who are also in motion than I do to interact with furniture and garbage cans." Scully had to laugh. He tried to look hurt but couldn't quite pull it off. "I don't believe that," she finally said. "I think you just don't like to dance in public." She couldn't help but think of the very private dance she had seen him and Kristin share so many months ago. Mulder noticed her mood darken slightly and swiftly spun her around, making her gasp. As the music drew to a close, she began to pull away. "Oh no," he said, laughter still bright in his eyes. "You still owe me a kiss from this afternoon." "I don't remember agreeing to any such deal," Scully responded, unable to look him in the eyes. He tilted her chin back so that she was forced to meet his gaze. "What are you so afraid of?" he whispered. "I'm not.." she started, but couldn't finish as she found herself lost in his hazel depths. her internal voice began again. her rational voice replied. she firmly told her rational voice, as she tilted her head up towards Mulder. He observed her hesitation and decided to risk it, figuring the worst she could do was slap him. He gently leaned down and pressed his lips to hers, encountering far less resistance than he had expected. Although the kiss lasted only a moment, it felt like an eternity to Scully, and she wanted it to go on forever. As they broke apart, she stared up at Mulder, uncertain of what to say. He sensed her confusion and gently released her and backed up a step, so as not to pressure her unnecessarily. She quickly realized the reason for his reaction and was suddenly overwhelmed by how considerate he really was. her rational voice was back again. it warned. Telling her voice to go to hell once and for all, Scully stepped forward, closing the gap between them, and twined her fingers through his hair. Mulder's eyes widened in disbelief as he observed the change in attitude that had come over Scully. Never one to question a miracle, Mulder silently encircled Scully with his arms and pulled her close. He leaned down to kiss her again and this time she met him halfway, kissing him back with an intensity that pleased and surprised him. They stayed that way for the space of several minutes, holding each other. Finally, Scully pulled back with a rueful smile. "Has anyone mentioned to you that you are way too tall?" she asked lightly. "Shall I kneel to make us the same height?" he offered drolly. "Hey now," she warned. "No short jokes or you're in big trouble, buddy." "Oh yeah? What will you do to me?" he asked eagerly. She couldn't help but laugh. "I'll have to think of something suitable. For now, perhaps we should relocate to the couch?" Mulder took her hands in his and looked at her with sincerity. "Dana, are you sure about this?" She brought one of his hands up to her mouth and kissed it gently. "More sure than I've ever been of anything else in my life." His smile seemed bright enough to light up the entire neighborhood. As led her to the couch he leaned over and whispered seductively in her ear. "Happy Halloween, my love." ****The End**** -- Marcia Tiersky University of Georgia *You may not be who you are.* --Dana Scully, Ice