From: "Jim & Carol Gritton" Subject: New: In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning II 1/1 Date sent: Wed, 5 Nov 1997 11:11:14 -0000 TITLE: In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning II 1/1 AUTHOR: Carol Gritton E-MAIL: jimcaz@dircon.co.uk DISCLAIMER: Fox Mulder, Dana Scully belong to Chris Carter, 1013 and Fox TV. They are used without permission, and no infringement of copyright is intended. RATING: G CLASSIFICATION: S SUMMARY: Continuation of "In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning." Mulder and Scully share a night time heart to heart. NOTE: "In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning" is available from the Gossamer archive, or direct from me at the above address. I did not intend for there to be such a big gap between parts, but unfortunately, these things happen! Comments welcome at the above address. In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning II 1/1 by Carol Gritton (jimcaz@dircon.co.uk) Scully closed the door behind Mulder, and followed him into the living room. "How long have you been sitting out there?" she asked, as he removed his leather jacket. He gave her one of his soppy, sheepish grins. "About an hour," he replied. "I saw your light on and figured it was safe to call you..." Scully rolled her eyes. "Come on, I'll make you a hot drink. How about some hot chocolate?" "Fine." He followed her out to the kitchen and sat at the table. A few minutes later, Scully placed a mug of steaming hot chocolate in front of him. "Thanks, Scully. You haven't got anything to eat, by any chance? A peanut butter sandwich will do." Scully felt her stomach lurch. How could he eat in the middle of the night? Mulder seemed to work on a different time scale to everyone else. And what a combination! Peanut butter and hot chocolate! Only Mulder, with his cast iron stomach, could get away with eating that. "So, what happened between you and Patty?" "Oh, you know, Scully... the usual. We wanted different things." Scully handed him the sandwich on a plate. "You mean she wanted commitment and you didn't." "How can I commit to someone, Scully? With my work, the hours, the amount of time we spend away from home... Those conditions are hardly conducive to forging a lasting relationship, are they?" He took a large bite out of the sandwich, then a swig from the hot chocolate. Scully felt decidedly sick. "You okay, Scully?" "I'm fine, Mulder. You were saying?" "What was I saying... oh yeah." Another chunk disappeared from the sandwich and was washed down with more hot chocolate. "I couldn't offer a stable home environment to a wife and kids... what?" He had seen Scully's arched eyebrow. "I never saw you as a father, Mulder," said Scully. "Why not? Don't you think I'd make a good father?" "I think you make a great father... I just can't see it happening because you are so driven, so consumed by your work. Everything takes second place to that." "So you don't think it would be a good idea to have lots of little Mulders running around?" He gave her a lopsided grin. "You'd have to find the right woman first." "Well, I haven't found her yet, that's for sure," sighed Mulder. "What is love, anyway, Scully? How do you know when you're `in love?' What does it feel like?" "Do you want the scientific explanation?" "I'll think I'll pass on that. Just give me the layman's version." He pushed away the empty plate, and drank the last of the hot chocolate. "Well, whenever you see the object of your desire, your heart beats faster, your stomach rolls, your pupils dilate... You want to be with that person all the time, you can't bear to be apart from them..." Mulder looked at her in fascination. Scully had a glazed look on her face, her eyes focusing somewhere off to his right. "... your skin flushes, your breath quickens..." "Scully... you okay? Scully?" Mulder's hand rested lightly on her wrist, his enquiry soft. She started a little at his touch, then quickly collected herself, but she couldn't meet his eyes, afraid of what he might see there. "I'm fine, Mulder." The stock in trade Scully answer. She slipped into her usual no nonsense Scully mode, pulling her robe tighter around her neck, to hide the pink flush that she felt creeping up it. "You were saying how it feels to be in love," Mulder reminded her. "That's about it, Mulder. It's all based on chemical reactions..." "Maybe I need one of those pheromone sprays that's supposed to make a man irresistible to women," he joked. Oh, you don't need that, Mulder, thought Scully. You have enough of that already, and it's all entirely natural. He really had no idea. "Patty must have found you irresistible - you were together long enough." "Six months - obviously not irresistible enough," sighed Mulder. "You know, I thought we were compatible... we liked the same things, I enjoyed her company..." "Did you love her?" "I guess I must have felt something for her for it to last for six months... I liked being with her, I was comfortable with her, I cared about her... I guess I loved her in my own way, but not in the way that I should love someone I wanted to spend the rest of my life with." "What about your devotion to the job? How did she feel about that?" Scully knew that this had been an area of conflict between them on more than one occasion. "I'll admit that there were times when she couldn't see why I had to fly off to the other side of the country for the flimsiest of reasons, but that's me, Scully. You know why I do it, you understand." "Not always, Mulder," replied Scully. "Okay, maybe not always," he shrugged, "but you know what drives me. How can I expect someone else to understand that?" "You can't, Mulder. That's why people often marry within the same profession." "So you think I'll find my ideal mate within the Bureau?" Mulder looked a little doubtful at that. "It's highly likely, Mulder. She would know the pressures you were under, she'd know about the hours, about flying off at a moment's notice to the other side of the country... What?" Scully caught Mulder's grin. "Are you volunteering for the job, Scully?" His soft hazel eyes held hers, his expression warm. Scully wasn't sure if he really expected an answer, and if he did, she had no idea what to say. "I'm sure there're plenty of women at work that would give anything to be seen on your arm," she said. Scully had heard enough gossip in the ladies room to know that that was true. "You forget, Scully - my reputation precedes me wherever I go. I think that half the time they only want a date with me to see if my `spookiness' extends to other areas, if you get my drift." He lapsed into silence, his expression sad. Scully reached across the table and covered his hand with hers. "I'm always here for you, Mulder, you know that." She gave him a warm smile. "Yeah, you are. You put up with all the shit that I throw at you, don't you?" "Someone has to. Someone has to put up with all the phone calls and visits at unearthly hours." "I'm not that bad, am I?" "You're sitting here, aren't you?" Scully smiled at him. Mulder's thumb stroked the inside of Scully's wrist thoughtfully. "You know, Scully... I think you're the only one that really understands me." "That sounds like the Mulder version of `my wife doesn't understand me.' I try to understand you, Mulder, but I'm not always successful." "You know me better than anyone else does." "Sometimes I feel I don't know you at all. Sometimes I think I've got you pegged, and then you do something that completely surprises me." "Predictable is boring, Scully," he grinned. "I thought you liked that element of uncertainty." "That's one thing I can say - life with you is never boring." "Why, thank you." Another smile. Mulder toyed with his empty mug. "So how's your love life, Scully?" "What love life, Mulder? There isn't much chance of one with you dragging me off here, there and everywhere at the drop of a hat." The words were said with wry amusement. "Scully... it never occurred to me... I'm sorry." "Do you hear me complaining, Mulder?" "No, but it makes me feel a little guilty." "Why?" "Well... coming here in the middle of the night and unloading my troubles on you. It was a bit insensitive..." As he thought about her comment, he wondered how he'd managed to find the time to have a relationship over the last six months. It suddenly struck him how selfish he was. Scully deserved a life, and she was never going to get one all the time he went haring off, expecting her to follow. Which she invariably did, and almost always without complaint. Mulder suddenly felt very lonely and unloved. "Do you think I could have a hug, Scully?" Scully rose and went around to his chair, wrapping her arms about him. His arms went around her waist, her cheek resting against his soft hair. Mulder inhaled that familiar Scully fragrance, and felt quite at home. Had he found what he was looking for? "I'm okay now," said Mulder, and she dropped her arms, moving away. Scully sat back down on her chair. "You know, Scully... this is nice. We should do it more often." "I'd like that, Mulder... on one condition." He raised his eyebrows. "That we do it at a more civilised hour." "Oh, Scully, I'm sorry. I'm keeping you from your bed." Mulder was so apologetic. She shrugged. "It's okay - I was having trouble sleeping anyway." "Oh? What was keeping you awake? Anything I should know about?" Mulder looked at her with interest. "No, Mulder." Scully felt her cheeks burning. "Anyway, that's why I got up - to make a hot drink. I thought it might help me to relax." "And then I came along with my broken heart and my tale of woe." "Something like that." "Well, I'll be going now. I'll let you get back to your bed." He gathered his jacket and slipped it on, then made his way to the door. "Thanks for the hot chocolate and sandwich." "You're welcome, Mulder." He was pensive for a moment, then, "Would you like to come out to dinner with me tomorrow night?" "Mulder, this had better not be one of your jokes..." Scully's tone and expression were dark. "I'm serious, Scully... I'd like to take you to dinner tomorrow night." "Oh..." Scully didn't know what to say. Then common sense overtook her. "I'd like that, Mulder. Thank you." Suddenly he reached out, and gathered her into his arms. The top of her head fitted neatly beneath his chin - it was as if she was made to measure, just for him. He just held her for a while, then dropped a soft kiss on her head. Below him, out of his sight, Scully smiled. The End