From: Beckyskids Date sent: Tue, 7 Apr 1998 21:39:02 EDT Subject: Kicked in the Ribs Hey everyone. I'm warning you now. This is my first story. The first one I've ever posted anyway. So, whether or not it is any good is up to everyone else. So, just in case it really stinks, I'm apologizing up front. I apologize to the readers. And I apologize to the archivists, because I don't know if this is going to post easily, or if I'll end up causing you wonderful people a lot of hassles. Disclaimer: Despite what my friends keep saying, no they are not mine. They belong first of all, in my humble opinion, to Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny, with Chris Carter coming in at a close second. Fox and 1013 Productions are last. Title: Kicked in the Ribs Author: Bridget E-mail: msathena@juno.com Rating: Category: V Spoilers: Young at Heart Keywords: Mulder/Scully friendship Summary: Thinking about a past case and momentous occasion makes Mulder realize the way his partnership has changed since he first met Scully. Here we go. Kicked in the Ribs (1/1) Mulder was thinking. At his desk. At work. At night. Nothing incredibly unusual. Problem was, it was Friday night. And he was alone. The agent sighed. He'd stayed overtime to catch up on some paperwork, but about twenty minutes after Scully had left the office, he leaned back in his chair, acknowledging defeat. Mulder was bored. Slowly, Mulder got to his feet. He stopped in front of the metal filing cabinets that surrounded the office. Occasionally, Mulder liked to go through old files, checking for anything he missed or just remembering. He opened the drawer in front of him. The first file that Mulder pulled out was from years before the X-files had been assigned to him. Just a musty old file that no one had bothered to clear out. Himself included. Mulder has looked at the file once, and seeing that it had no importance had shoved it back into the drawer. Of course, that was before Scully became his partner. She would have made him throw it away as soon as she learned its worth. Mulder smiled as he trashed the file. Next, was a case that he had worked on with Scully, less than a year after she had been assigned to the basement. Mulder's soft smile disappeared as he read through the old case. John Barnett. Barnett was an old enemy of Mulder's from the VCU. They had thought him dead, until notes began showing up at crime scenes. Notes that threatened Mulder's friends. Barnett had killed Reggie Purdue while he was on the phone with Mulder, forcing him to listen to his friend's dying breaths. Then he went after Scully. This is where Mulder stopped reading the file. He knew what had happened. Very well, in fact. Mulder sent his mind back, reliving the few minutes at the concert where Barnett had been apprehended. .He spun around instantly, every nerve in his body taut with tension. Scully had yelled, and Mulder had turned just in time to see Barnett gun her down less than ten feet away. Mulder's long legs carried him to her unconscious body quickly, reaching her second. Another agent was already there, checking her pulse. "Take care of her," Mulder had yelled, before running of in pursuit of the escaped suspect. During the 'final showdown' Mulder had shot Barnett, against the rules of the Bureau. Scully was taken to a hospital, with Mulder following in another car. At the hospital, Scully had found him in the operating room watching doctors attempt to save John Barnett's life. A lot of things had happened in the few days since Barnett had reentered his life, most of them unpleasant. Most of them being forced into the dark corner in his mind that blocked horrible memories from his everyday life. Looking back, however, Mulder remembered one thing clearly: When Scully had been asked how she felt, she had answered honestly. 'Like somebody kicked me in the ribs.' She had not said, 'I'm fine.' Not then. Mulder didn't know then what was different from other times he'd asked her the same question, and he didn't know now. He was just grateful it had happened. Mulder remembered thinking that maybe, finally, they would be friends. From the very first case, Mulder had trusted Scully. With his life, with his work. He didn't know why. Scully was just someone he instinctively trusted. It just happened. But before that night in the hospital, the two of them had never truly told eachother how they felt. They had given opinions, thoughts, theories, facts, but never, never feelings. They had always been partners. But from that day Mulder had truly felt that maybe they would be more. And they had been. Even now, five years after the event, Mulder didn't share his feelings, and Scully didn't share hers. However, Mulder knew that that small admission that day had been a breakthrough. It was when their special bond had truly started. Thinking about the way he had run off with her unconscious body lying in front of him, the only thing that saved her life being the kevlar beneath her jacket, Mulder flinched. He had run, choosing to chase a suspect than stay with her. At the time, it had been the natural thing to do. At the time, he didn't know Dana Scully enough to not trust her to anyone else's care. Now, though, Mulder knew he would have stayed with her; the suspect- the Bureau- be damned. If Mulder were put in that position again, Scully would come first. In fact, she had from that day on. Not until he received her okay did he leave her alone while on a case. When she was hurt, or halted in some way that suggested danger, Mulder was, too. They were partners, two working halves of whole. Scully never left him. She was usually the one who took care of him when he was hurt, not just simply holding his hand, helping him through the pain, which was all he could do for her. Scully was a doctor, she helped him through the pain, and helped end it. But Mulder knew that although it was all he could do, and as insufficient as it seemed to him, holding her hand helped her more than she would ever admit. Mulder always noticed her eyes grow a little bit brighter through her hurt when he was near, whether that hurt was physical or emotional. He knew for a fact that she did the same to him. The changes that had occurred since the first day they met were unbelievable. If someone had told him six years ago that someday he would come to care more about the spy sent from upstairs than his own life, he probably would have suggested a room with padded walls for the poor delusional soul. It had happened, though. That someday had come and past, leaving its own legacy. And it had started when, for the first time, Scully had admitted she wasn't 'fine', telling him the truth. He had felt he had been kicked in the ribs himself. Scully had made the first move that day five years ago, and it had opened up an entire world to Mulder. A world of trust, and respect, and appreciation, and friendship, and unembarrassment. Scully gave that to him, and he did his best to return the favor, even though it didn't always seem that way. Unconsciously, Mulder grinned at the wonderful changes in his partnership with Scully. The shrill sound of the telephone brought him back to the present. "Mulder.. Hey, Scully. I was just thinking about you." Suddenly thinking at his desk on a lonely Friday night didn't seem so lonely, after all. -------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------- -------- Just a quick note: When I started this, it was going to be MSR. (I'm the biggest shipper you'll find anywhere, believe me.) Somehow, though, it didn't turn out that way. So, how was it? Should I give up writing all together? Please send any and all feedback to msathena@juno.com I'll reply. Promise. :)