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BASEMENT
OFFICE
FBI HEADQUARTERS
DECEMBER 23rd, 2003
8:56am
Over the years Dana Scully had come to expect that anything could
encounter her as she passed through the door into the x-files
office - Mulder interviewing somebody, Mulder in a bad mood,
Mulder in a good mood, Mulder ready for her arrival with a cup of
steaming coffee that she would eagerly consume as they sorted
their workload for the day. Once or twice she had entered to find
Skinner in here, but it was always Mulder that kept her wondering
what would behold her each morning.
What she saw today as she stood in the open doorway wasn't
anything she had ever thought about seeing: her partner, tightly
wrapped in his black overcoat (scarf just as tightly wrapped
around his neck), standing on his desk pulling from the ceiling
tile the pencils he had thrown up there.
"Mulder, what the hell are you doing up there?" she
exclaimed, arching her brow and planting both hands firmly on her
hips.
The sudden sound of her voice - no matter how pleasant he found
it - surprised him and knocked Mulder off-kilter as his head
sharply turned to look down at her. A foot slipped on something
on the desk, and his arms frantically propelled to try and regain
balance. The instinctive action was all in vain, though, and
before Dana could move to break his fall the deep sound of his
impact with the floor came from the opposite side of the desk.
"*Mulder!*"
There was a guttural groan from him before he shakily got to his
feet - using the wooden surface for support whilst the other
rubbed the back of his head.
"Mulder, are you okay?" she queried with genuine
concern as she stepped up beside him.
"What the hell you doing sneaking up on a guy like
that?" Mulder replied - still tentatively rubbing his
injury. He let out a sigh and was ready to wait for her answer,
when his eyes suddenly fixed on her. "Scully, there's over
two feet of snow out there and the heating in this place isn't
exactly anything to boast about...How can you stand there in just
your suit?"
She gave a shrug and shot a glance at the small desk in the
corner of the room. "I was kinda anticipating a nice coffee
for my arrival... Pencils more important, I take it?"
His own brow sharply raised as he stared at her defensively.
"I've only just got here myself, and didn't even get a
chance to stop at my place so I'm wearing the same suit as
yesterday!"
"You left my apartment two hours earlier than me,
Mulder," she frowned, pinning him with her glare. "How
can you have only just got here?... Unless there's something
you're not telling m--"
"Hey! As I've already pointed out, there's over two feet out
there on the ground, and whilst you may not have had too much
trouble, everybody seemed to catch the same early worm as me and
left me stranded in grid-lock traffic!" A pause, a shrug,
and then, "Besides, I bought you a latte from that little
place down the block, but..." He paused and awkwardly looked
down at the frothy, hot liquid that covered the floor, the bottom
of his coat and the right leg of his pants, "...some manic
woman came bursting in and made me slip while I was trying to
re-stock on ammo!"
Feeling guilty for his fall and her wrong accusation, Scully
outstretched a hand to cup the back of his head (the tips of her
fingers gently running through his hair and over the growing bump
there). The office door was still wide open. and as they stared
into the depths of the other's soul, both knew that they were
taking a risk, but at the same time they knew it was one worth
taking.
"You can still drink it up," he leered - eyes twinkling
as he slightly leaned in to her. "It's not soaked in too
much..."
He waited for her to pull away or to playfully nudge him or -
more than anything else - to lecture him on how they were at work
and needed to be careful in case they were overheard, but instead
he actually saw the corners of her mouth lift into a mischievous
grin.
"Get through today and I'll help warm you up later,"
she whispered.
He leaned in even further, ready to press his cold lips against
her warm ones. With the door still open, though, that was when
they knew he'd crossed the invisible line they had had to draw in
their professional lives, and she stepped away - her hand
lingering a moment longer on his scalp before dropping down by
her side.
"So, what have you bought my mother for Christmas?"
Scully queried, clearing her suddenly dry throat. "More to
the point, what have you bought me?" She smiled at him
reassuringly to let him know it was okay as she noticed the
expression of guilt on his face - heck, she had come close to
reaching up and kissing him herself!
A sigh of relief escaped past his lips, but he didn't reply.
Another set of plans for him to join the Scully family's
Christmas gathering had been made, but as much as it made her
happy to have him there with her, and as well as he got on with
her mother, the whole idea made him cringe. Primarily because he
knew Bill was going to be there too.
"Mulder? Presents?"
"I got 'em...But you can wait til we're there to see."
Of course, she knew he was considering not going...Thinking up
some way that he could use to excuse himself from the gathering,
but she wasn't ready to let him get that far.
"What is it this time?" she slightly snapped.
"Huh?"
"I've been with you long enough, Fox Mulder, to know when
you're concocting an excuse in that brilliant but often stupid
brain of yours! Why don't you wanna come with me to Mom's?"
"I do...but... Well, I mean, other than Bil--"
"How many times do I have to tell you I don't care what Bill
thinks - I want you there and Mom wants you there and that's all
you need to worry about?"
"I'm a little dubious about driving in this weather after
the last time..."
The trip back from her mother's near the start of the year...The
station wagon across the icy road...Their overturned car...
Just thinking about it now made her shiver, but she had foreseen
his cause of panic and had made plans so that neither of them had
to drive.
Still he seemed to be thinking of excuses, though.
"And I just got word that they might have finally made some
headway reaching the bottom of the Money Pit, so it might be
worth following up those leads...D' you know, Scully, still
nobody knows who exactly might have started digging that? Maybe
if we solve it and they do reach the bottom we'll get a cut of
the treasure!"
"Nice try, Mulder," she smiled, shaking her head.
"But I'm sure the Money Pit can wait until after Christmas -
it's been hiding whatever secret may be down there long
enough...Another week or so isn't going to make much difference.
Besides, you don't need to worry about travel - Skinner offered
to drive us, and I think he's filled his vehicle with enough
emergency equipment for a whole army."
"Skinman?"
She hesitated slightly. "He offered and then Mom kind of
invited him to dinner so that he wouldn't have to be
alone..."
Yet another guttural groan from Mulder as he shakily lowered
himself into his chair. "Great, Big Bad Bill and our boss
there to ruin my fun... Can't we just stop at my apartment and
have some quiet time together? Or, better yet, at your
apartment?"
"Mulder, you spend so much time at my apartment your fish
probably think they don't have an owner! Come on, it'll be fun,
and we'll make time for ourselves away from the others," she
coaxed, stepping forward and reaching down for one of his hands.
"But the work, and..."
"You're not getting out of this, Mulder, so you might as
well give up while I'm still being nice to you. The work can
wait, and if the Assistant Director can take some time off, I
don't see why we can't!"
"You don't wanna go to the Bureau party instead?"
"No, I don't!"
That was the end of the argument, and the following day they were
packing things up to spend a long weekend at Margaret Scully's
house.
XxXxX
THURSDAY,
DECEMBER 25th, 2003
7:34am
To say the snow was barely passable would definitely have been an
understatement, and as Walter Skinner's car carefully made its
way down the back roads with its three-person cargo, minds kept
thinking about what they knew was packed in the trunk and how
much they hoped they wouldn't need to use any of it.
Scully sat in the passenger seat next to their boss, occasionally
glancing over her shoulder at Mulder - who sat in the back seat
clearly lost in his own thoughts. But nobody spoke for at least
three-quarters of the journey.
"Did you get any word about the Money Pit, Mulder?"
Dana suddenly piped up (unable to deal with the cold and awkward
silence any longer).
"Huh?" came her partner's stunted reply as he snapped
out of his reverie. "Oh, no...No, that one fell flat. J-Just
a load of hype to keep people interested, I guess." He shook
his head and she thought he was about to add more, but instead he
flashed her a smile and then turned to look out the fogged
window.
She couldn't figure out if it was the journey or the fact that
they were travelling with Skinner that was eating at him the
most. For that matter, she wasn't even sure which of the two was
eating at her...
"The Money Pit?" Skinner's deep voice chortled. "I
didn't realise your workload had been light enough for you to
chase that one up?"
"Far from," Dana mused. "Mulder was desperate for
an excuse to worm his way out of this excursion, and that was the
only one he managed to come up with."
"No ghosts?"
"Sir, as surprised as I was at how desperate Mulder was to
find an excuse, there's one thing I know he knows thanks to past
lessons painfully learnt: no ghost hunts at Christmas. I'll leave
it at that." Scully paused and cocked her head slightly to
the side. "I guess it could have been worse, though...it
could have been something involving the sighting of a real-life
Santa."
"Hey, I am here, you know!" Mulder exclaimed, perching
himself on the edge of his seat so that he could rest his arms
over the back of the ones in front of him. "Besides, we did
get a couple sightings come in, but I didn't think you'd be
interested!"
A loud burst of laughter exploded from the bald man driving the
car, and both agents turned their heads to stare at him with
curious gazes.
"I'm sorry," the A.D sniffed, sobering. "It was
just, listening to you two brought back some memories from my
childhood..."
"Sir?" This from both Mulder and Scully.
Skinner shifted uncomfortably - wondering how he had gotten
himself into this - and then reached out a hand to turn up the
car heater. "When I was a kid - 'bout eight or so - there
was this guy that lived at the end of my block, and...Well, he
was like the Candy Man - every kid was his friend. And every year
at Christmas he'd set up this special grotto right inside his
house with free entry...He even gave out free presents..."
"You do realise these days he'd be suspected as a paedophile
and locked up, don't you, sir?" Mulder interrupted, shooting
a brief glance at his partner.
"If you don't want to hear this story, I'll happily shut up
now," Skinner snapped.
"No, sir, carry on," Scully urged.
"Anyway, Cody Harris from next door started the rumour that
this guy was really Santa Claus, just hiding out undercover in
suburbia so that he didn't get found out. We all argued with him
about how full of shit he was - after all, everyone knew Santa
lives in the north with Elves! But, of course, the rumour spread
like wildfire throughout the school. Our parents swore that he
was just a man who'd inherited a lot of money from somewhere and
was kind enough to share his wealth... After a while, though,
they started to get a little suspicious of his intentions and
snooped around - stopped us from going near him." He cleared
his throat and ran his tongue over his bottom lip as he continued
to replay the memory is his mind. "Then, one day, he just
disappeared and was never seen again. We all blamed Cody and his
damn rumour, but it did make us all start to wonder as
well."
Dana gave a contemplative nod and Mulder settled against the back
of his seat once again as the dark silhouette of Maggie's house
came into view through the swirling curtain of falling snow.
"All that should really matter is what you believed,
sir," Scully sighed, a little distantly.
The car pulled up into the driveway, and Skinner let out a snort
as he reached to unfasten his seatbelt. "You know, the irony
is that I didn't know what I believed and still don't. I was one
of the kids that shouted Cody down - as far as I was concerned,
the old guy was like the uncle I'd never had...Yet, at the back
of my mind when I saw him at Christmas dressed up like Santa in
that grotto, it was just too realistic to not believe in."
"I've been saying the same about aliens and the paranormal
for years, and still everyone thinks I'm a crank," Mulder
grumbled, pulling their bags out of the vehicle.
Before Scully could reply with a dry retort, there was the sound
of a front door being opened and then her mother's voice joyfully
crying out, "You made it!"
"Cold, but safe and sound thanks to our chauffeur. Hey Mrs.
Scully," Mulder smiled as Maggie gave him a brief welcoming
hug.
"Hey, Mom," Scully also smiled, moving to embrace her
mother. "Are Bill and Tara here?"
"Hi, sweetie. Yes, they arrived late last night. Oh, I was
so worried that the Parkway had been closed off and you'd been
stranded."
"We took the back roads...They weren't pleasant, but
definitely the better route if what we heard on the radio is
anything to go by," Dana shrugged.
Maggie gave a nod and kissed her daughter's cheek before turning
to face the assistant director. "Mister Skinner, thank you
so much for safely delivering possibly the nicest percentage of
my family through this storm, and joining us for this Christmas
day!" she grinned, outstretching a hand to shake his and
then suddenly pulling him into a hug.
Mulder and Scully stood still and shared a playful glance as they
noticed the sudden blush that had colored their bosses cheeks
(though at the same time knowing that if they ever mentioned it
he'd immediately blame it on the freezing weather).
Skinner's feet awkwardly shifted in the snow as he glanced down
at the shorter woman and gently patted her back. "That's
okay, Mrs Scully. Thank *you* for inviting me here...I don't want
to be any trouble i--"
"Oh, nonsense! There's plenty of food and at least you can
help if another fight breaks out between Fox and Bill!"
"Make a cute couple, don't you think, Scully?" Mulder
breathed into his partner's ear.
She shivered at the feel of his warm breath against her skin and
then turned her head to stare at him. "Don't even think
about it, Mulder. My father was one bald man enough for my
mother, and I don't appreciate having the thought of our boss as
my father-in-law implanted into my brain," she frowned
sternly. Suddenly a smile broke out on her face and he saw the
thought of 'But they do look good' lift her features.
"Now, hurry up out of this weather," Maggie suddenly
exclaimed, brushing away the dusting of snow that had accumulated
on her head and shoulders as she stepped away from Skinner and
regarded the three of them, "before I have a family of
snow-people in my front yard!"
"Knowing Mulder he'd still find a way for me to sign off on
a 302 so he could investigate that!" Skinner cracked.
Mulder remained silent as he picked up his and Scully's bags and
they all entered the house.
XxXxX
After being blinded by the bright array of decorations and lights
that decked the rooms, 'Hi's and 'Merry Christmas!' greetings
were passed between Bill, Dana and Walter. The familiar hostile
air crashed down between Bill and Mulder, though, so after the
FBI agent had attempted a friendly 'Hey' only to be replied with
a non-committal grunt, he'd gently touched his partner's arm and
then moved out into the kitchen where Tara was keeping an eye on
the dinner.
Presents were handed out and eagerly unwrapped shortly after
that.
"An alarm clock, Mulder?" Scully queried, first looking
down at the box in her hands and then up at her partner with a
raised eyebrow.
"To replace the one I accidentally broke last week,"
came his innocent reply.
"Maybe if you didn't keep her out on stupid cases at all
hours she wouldn't need an alarm to get her up in the
morning," Bill snorted in disgust.
Mulder shifted uncomfortably on the couch and then looked down at
the sweaty hands that fidgeted in his lap. Why had he come here
again? Oh, yeah, Scully wanted him here. That was the only thing
keeping him here. Of course, if it made her happy he would
stay...He just hoped it all ended soon.
'I don't care what Bill thinks - I want you there and Mom wants
you there and that's all you need to worry about.'
He kept repeating her words over and over in his head as his eyes
slipped shut, so much so that he hardly heard her as she started
"It's wonderful, thank you, Mulder." It wasn't until he
felt the press of her lips on his cheek that he looked up.
Skinner watched Scully kiss Mulder and smiled - wondering how
much longer he could keep their secret until he cashed in on the
Bureau pool.
XxXxX
Dinner played host to just as many snide remarks aimed at
Mulder's tortured soul by the unstoppable Bill Junior during the
fun banter. Tara tried to keep a reign on her husband, and Scully
and Maggie kept a concerned eye on Mulder (Skinner remaining
silent when the fun talk stopped so that he didn't get stuck too
far out in the middle of the battleground) until the final blast
came during the group's sharing of Christmas childhood memories.
Mulder had been struggling to come up with a good memory when
Bill had snapped, "For God's sake, stop trying to make us
feel pity for you! If you can't join in, why don't you just shut
up and let us carry on?"
"*BILL*!" Tara, Maggie and Dana had all exclaimed at
the same time. Even Skinner felt the need to slam his cutlery
down onto the tabletop to express his anger.
Mulder sat quietly for a few seconds - letting the words sink in
and contemplating his next move - before clearing his throat and
raising to his feet. "Mrs. Scully...Tara...Thank you so much
both of you for that beautiful dinner - I think that was the best
turkey I've ever had!" he awkwardly smiled, not making eye
contact with anyone. "Would you please excuse me? With the
trip and sitting down here, my legs are in dire need of a
stretch. Plus, your a-million-times-more-beautiful daughter gave
me a head injury a couple days ago that still aches a little, so
I might go outside, if that's okay...?"
"Well, of course, Fox..." Maggie hesitated, shooting
her daughter a worried glance, "...but that's not really
necessary - we have pain killers in th--"
"No, really... Fresh air is the best thing," he
assured, stepping back. "Even the cold might help clear out
the cobwebs."
Mulder was just about to turn away when Scully's small hand
suddenly grabbed a hold on his arm. "You're not going
anywhere," she almost whispered. "You're part of this
family and have as much right to be here as Bill. I want you
here..." Dammit, she wasn't going to let her brother get to
her - wasn't going to let what he insisted doing to her partner
get to them - yet still she felt her voice hitch in her throat.
He stared down at her and slightly bent to place his lips against
her ear. "I'm okay - just creating an easy diversion for
that time away from the others you promised me on Tuesday. Finish
up and come out front when you're ready." He kissed her and
then slipped his arm from her grasp as he left the room.
"Interesting manners you have there," Skinner growled,
staring coldly at Bill. "I've heard about them, but always
thought they were just an exaggeration...until now."
"How could you say that, Bill?" Tara blurted.
"Oh, I know," Dana snapped, raising to her feet.
"I know too well. Every time you see him you have to see how
far you can push him, don't you?" Her eyes fixed on those of
her brother - the rage building within. "Every Christmas
you're determined to ruin for us! Is it because he was there to
help me instead of you through my difficult times? Was it
be--...Wait a minute, I'm having a flashback of asking these same
questions time and *time* again before. You say you care about
me, Bill, but what you don't understand is that every time you
take a swing and hurt Mulder you're hurting me too! Maybe you
should try to consider *that* next time!" With a final thump
of her fist on the table, she turned away and left the suddenly
silent room.
XxXxX
"You didn't have to defend me...I'm flattered - if not maybe
a little turned on - by the force with which you did it, but it
wasn't necessary."
He was standing out in the front yard with his back turned to her
and looking down at something on the ground when she stepped out
onto the porch.
Scully wrapped her coat tightly around her small frame and then
stepped out onto the snow that completely hid the steps leading
up to the porch. One thing she'd learnt to notice over the years
was when Mulder was hiding his feelings...But he didn't seem to
be doing that this time. She could actually hear contentment in
his voice. The raw anger still inside her begun to slowly fade.
"You heard?" she quizzed with a curious quirk of her
eyebrow.
"I think the whole block heard," came Mulder's chuckled
reply, but still he didn't turn to face her. "I was waiting
for them all to begin chanting 'Jerry! Jerry! Jerry!'...Maybe
even to see Bill come flying through the front window!"
"What you d--" Her voice cut off as she stepped up
beside him and looked down at what he had drawn into the snow
with the large tree branch he still clasped in his gloved hands.
It was essentially a love letter to her, and as she read it she
felt the tears begin to well in her eyes.
'Memories from the past? I may not have good ones from my childhood, but why would I need them when the best times I've had have been with you in the here and now? You've given me a reason to celebrate Christmas, to celebrate life, and no matter what happens or what Bill says, that is all I need to remember.'
"He...He shouldn't have
s-said what he did," Dana choked, looking up at him.
Slowly, he turned, dropped the branch and then tightly embraced
her in the warmth of his arms. He knew he took her for granted
sometimes, especially when he ditched her, but he also knew that
he would never be able to face the day when she wasn't there for
him to hold.
"I was considering Skinner's story earlier about the guy
they thought might be Santa, and I wondered if maybe Bill was the
Grinch," Mulder smiled against her hair. "But I don't
care what he says anymore, Scully...Maybe once, but as you said
the other day, all I should care about is the fact that you want
me here, and it is - I wanna be beside you every step of the way,
and to know doing that makes you happy is the most precious gift
to me." He paused and took a small step away so that he
could stare into her still-damp eyes. "You know the clock
wasn't the only gift I got you, don't you? In fact, I didn't have
any intentions of letting you use it." A mischievous grin
spread across his face as a hand reached into the pocket of his
overcoat.
"You're here by my side, that's the only gift I need,"
she told him, mirroring his own emotions. "I just wish
others would accept how special what we have i--" For the
second time within the last four minutes he managed to cut her
voice off as he held out a small velvet box. "Wh--"
"I didn't wanna give it to you in front of Bill - that
really would have been the start of World War Three...The clock
was just a decoy. But, anyway, the store clerk said that if you
don't like 'em you can get a replacement..."
Scully carefully opened the box and stared wide-eyed - mouth
slightly agape - at the beautiful diamond-studded, heart-shaped
earrings that lay inside. She wanted to say something -
*anything* - but the breath had been completely knocked out of
her, and all she could do instead was look up at him.
"Are they okay?" came his hesitant question.
"Mu...Mu..." She stopped trying to say his name and
opted instead to fling her arms around his neck and hold him,
shortly before reaching up onto tiptoe to press a kiss to his
lips.
"I'll take that as a yes!"
"They're beautiful!" she gasped, pulling away to stare
again at his present. "God, thank you so much...for
*everything*."
"Thank *you* for being mine. I love you."
Clasping the box in one hand, she reached out the other to grab a
hold on one of his. "I love you, too. Come on, let's go back
in before the snow traps us out here or they think we've been
abducted."
Mulder nodded and gave her hand a squeeze.
"And, when everone's gone to bed, I'll give you your
gift."
There was nothing he could say to that without ruining the
moment.
Then, as they moved toward the door he asked the question she was
surprised he hadn't pitched to her a lot earlier: "So, did
you believe Skinner's story? D' you think that old guy could have
been Santa? ...I mean, do you think Santa could be living
undercover, even maybe just a couple doors down?"
A brief pause before she nudged against him and simply sighed,
"Who cares?"
XxXxX
The front door shut behind them, but as Mulder's engraved words
in the snow filled up and the lingering sound of their voices
disappeared, the faint sound of ringing sleigh bells filtered the
air, and they were shortly followed by the deep chuckle of a
large man...
...And was that a shadow passing the moon or a trick of the
eye?...
XXXXXXXXXX
THE END
DISCLAIMER: As
much as it pains me to say this, I don't own any of these
characters - not a single one, dammit! The immortal CC, the not
so immortal Fox and 1013, and the irreplaceable DD and GA own
them (as well as a whole bunch of other people too numerous to
mention) I'm borrowing them without permission, but no copyright
infringement is intended so please don't sue!
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