TITLE: By the Reflecting Pool (1/1) 7/2/98

AUTHOR: BioGirl

E-MAIL: BioGirrl@netscape.net

CATEGORY: S,R

KEYWORDS: MSR

RATING: PG

SUMMARY: Continuation of the movie.

SPOILERS: FTF

ARCHIVE: Only with emailed permission.

DISCLAIMER: The main characters belong to Chris Carter and Company.




Mulder heard the familiar click of heals on concrete and looked up from the paper he had been cursing for the past ten minutes. "There's an interesting work of fiction on page 24. Mysteriously our names have been omitted. They're burying this thing, Scully. They're just going to dig a new hole and cover it up."

Scully looked down at the disdain etched in her partner's features. "I told OPR everything I know. What I experienced. The virus, how it's spread by the bees from pollen in transgenic crops."

He sighed. "You're wasting your time, Scully. They'll never believe you. Not unless your story can be programmed, categorized or easily referenced."

She raised her voice. "Well then I'll go over their heads."

He stood and glared down at her invading her personal space. "How many times have we been here before, Scully? Right here? So close to the truth? And now what we've seen and what we know to be right back at the beginning with nothing!"

Scully questioned him, her voice implying hurt. "This is different, Mulder."

His grimace tightened. "No it isn't! You were right to want to quit!! You were right to want to leave me. You should get as far away from me as you can!!" he shouted painfully. "I'm not going to watch you die, Scully because of some hollow, personal cause of mine! Go be a doctor. Go be a doctor while you still can." His plea ended in defeat.

Scully regarded her partner's words for a moment before speaking. "I can't. I won't. Mulder, I'll be a doctor, but my work is here with you. That virus that I was exposed to. Whatever it is, it has a cure. You held it in your hand. How many other lives can we save? If I quit now... They win."

Mulder couldn't help but want to believe her. His own words back at him. They gazed at each other for a moment longer than necessary. Their hands met and squeezed the other gently but firmly. Maybe things would be okay, he thought as they turned to head back by the reflecting pool.

"Want to grab lunch somewhere?" he asked as their hands dropped back to their sides.

"Sure. The usual place?" Scully asked glancing over at him.

Mulder smiled. "I was thinking of something more... well less usual."

Arching a curious eyebrow Scully pursed her lips, and then regretted doing so. They were still chapped from the frostbite. "Could you be anymore enigmatic, Mulder?"

He chuckled. "I just meant... you know, cloth napkins and tablecloths."

"As opposed to paper placemats and plastic flower centerpieces?" Scully countered, her lips curving into the beginnings of a smile. "What do I have to do in return for this very unMulderish activity?"

Mulder smiled sheepishly. "Nothing, Scully. I'm just glad to have you back in one piece."

Scully paused in her stride for a moment and raised a hand to Mulder's forehead to move the lock of hair there. "I could say the same about you, partner."

Mulder tried not to falter when her fingers brushed his skin. "Must have a thick skull," he managed pretending to clear his throat while silently damning whoever decided to crossbreed honey bees and African bees. At least I got to give her mouth-to-mouth, he thought with an ironic silent laugh. However seeing the woman you love dead isn't exactly arousing. He chewed on his full bottom lip when they began walking again. Her shoulder brushed against his arm and he nearly jumped out of his skin. Oh, just fuck it, Mulder thought boldly stopping them for the second time by taking hold of his partner's arm and moving to stand facing her.

"Mulder, what--"

Scully was silenced when he placed an index finger to her lips. She looked up into his eyes and had to swallow hard. The look in his suddenly dark orbs was unmistakable and one she'd seen before only a few days earlier in the hallway outside his apartment. And then he began to lean toward her. She went completely still. How many times had she envisioned this moment. Could it ever measure up to all the hype of her subconscious? When he was only mere centimeters from her lips, she felt his hands come up to caress the nape of her neck. She opened her mouth to speak and watched him with half close deyes. "M--"

"Just checking," he interrupted cracking a wide grin. She couldn't help it. She grinned too. "Don't worry," he added moving even closer, "I'll be gentle." The words came out barely audible and in a deep hushed voice she'd never heard Mulder use before. It made her breath catch in her throat. Their lips met. Mulder brushed his gently over her chapped ones as he moved his hands to cradle Scully's head between his palms. A distant part of his brain that was actually still capable of thought, he deemed to be his inner child was shouting at the top of it's voice, "I'M KISSING DANA KATHERINE SCULLY!!!"

And God was he kissing her. Scully felt for a moment that her knees might actually buckle and cause her to fall to the ground right there in the middle of the Mall for every businessman, woman and tourist to gawk at. And God help her, she didn't care if Louis Freeh, Janet Reno and the whole damn Congress was watching. This felt good. More than that, it felt RIGHT.

As Mulder pulled away, Scully did the one and only thing that in not doing so could have allowed things to return to the way things had been for the past six years: She moaned. And she moaned loudly, missing the feel of his mouth against hers. And then as if by their own volition, her hips arched forward hungrily. When she realized her vocal and physical profession of arousal she broke away and blushed bright red damning the curse of the fair-skinned redhead.

Mulder nearly lost what control he had left when he heard his professional little partner moan. And then, dear God, she ground her perfectly shaped hips into his crotch. The moment she realized this, she pulled away blushing beet red. After several moments to catch his breath and regrasp some of his composure, Mulder advanced on her and rested his forehead against Scully's.

She looked up at him trying to focus at such a close distance. "I hope you're not going to ask me to forget that, Scully," he said breathlessly, "because that's going to fuel many a fantasy until the day I die."

Scully swallowed. "Mulder, we can't do this."

Groaning, he pulled away this time and craned his head back in frustration. "Always the speaker of rationality, Agent Scully."

"I believe that's why I was assigned to the X-Files," she replied trying desperately to ignore the moisture that was causing her panties to stick to her thighs.

"And I made it my quest to make you believe."

"Exactly," Scully replied. She frowned. Exactly what? What the hell did that mean and why did she just confirm it? She felt a trap coming.

"Look, Mulder. It's not that I don't... that this wasn't...." She gestured between them with her arms.

He ignored her and invaded her space again, enough to cause her to lean back slightly to be able to look at him. He had a mischievous glimmer in his eyes that frightened and exhilarated her at the same time. "And as of this moment," Mulder continued unfazed, "I am making it my quest to make you believe one thing," he said holding up an index finger.

"W-what's t-hat?" Damn. He made me stutter, Scully cursed. She nearly had to cross her eyes, he was so close to her face again. And she did almost fall backwards when he moved in and kissed her again. It was a brief chaste kiss and he pulled back quickly giving her back her space.

Scully faltered backward almost tripping over her own feet. Stupid pumps.

Mulder smiled at her like it was the most obvious answer in the world and shrugged. "That I'm in love you," he said simply and shrugged. "You know it took me six years to finally say it. It wasn't as hard as I thought it would be." He turned toward the street again. "So, got a preference on a restaurant?" When Scully didn't reply he turned to look back. She was standing back a few paces where he had left her, gaping at him. "You trying to catch flies, Scully?"

She just glared at him unable to believe what he's just said. The "no going back" words. He out and out admitted that he loved her and dropped the gauntlet in her lap. "You... you l-love me?" she stammered.

He was still grinning. He couldn't help it. Mulder felt like a giant weight had been lifted from his shoulders. It was cliché, but it was the only way he could describe it. "Yeah. I. Love. You. Dana. Katherine. Scully. You mean it's not stamped across my forehead? Everyone else seems to have it figured right. Guess we're really dense."

Scully shook her head. "W-what about Skinner?"

"I don't love Skinner."

"Mulder! You know what I mean," she exclaimed. "Our work. TheX-Files..."

Mulder shrugged. "There's no rule about fellow agents fraternizing, Scully."

"There is among partners. It may not be in the handbook, but....Don't tell me you want to give up our partnership for--for...." She waved her hands in exasperation. He only chuckled, infuriating her more.

"Don't be silly, Scully, I don't want to give up our partnership for this--" he echoed her gesture. "I want to marry you."

She would have sworn her jaw just hit the pavement. "Excuse me?"

"I said I want to marry you. The rule that says partners cannot become romantically involved does not include married couples. Several couples have sued the Bureau and changed the rule so that they could stay together. So all we have to do is tie the knot without anyone finding out before the fact. And as a bonus, if they ever do shut us down again, they can't separate us across the country. And don't mention the Syndicate. I don't give a fuck what they think." The fact that all of this was completely spontaneous on his part was giving Mulder a rush. He wasn't sure why in the hell he hadn't thought about any of this before. However, Scully looked unconvinced, either by his sincerity or his explanation of the FBI's consorting policies.

"Jeez, Scully." He looked around at several tourists passing by on there way between the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument. "You are a hard woman to convince." He grinned. "Always the skeptic. Believe me on the rules. Section 35A. Paragraph 12. Line 5. See, photographic memory."

Scully looked around at the same people. "Mulder, you aren't actually serious about this. This is crazy."

"Crazy like a *fox*," he replied grinning even wider. "Oh, come on. Don't make me ruin another 500 dollar suit, Scully!" He sighed. Oh the hell with it, he thought. Go all the way. To the continued shock of Scully, Mulder knelt before her, took her hands in his and said, "Dana Katherine Scully, Special Agent, MD, you are water and air to me." Ooo that rhymed! "Without you I would cease to exist. You make me whole. You are my better half. You taught me to trust again. To live again. And to love again. If I had lost you I would have died inside. You are my reason for getting up in the morning. You are my faith to keep looking. YOU are my truth and the only woman I have ever and will ever love. If you have any decency in you, you will say 'yes' and keep me from making a fool of myself in front of a bunch of tourists. So, I'm literally on my knees, Scully. WILL YOU MARRY ME?"

Scully blinked for the first time in several minutes and was surprised to find tears set free. She smiled shakily. "Well, when you put it like that." For the first time that morning she truly smiled, a full teeth and all smile.

"Yes."

Mulder let out the breath he'd been holding and leapt to his feet capturing his demure partner in his arms and hugging her as if he intended to pull her body into his. When he let go, she was still smiling and tears were cascading down her cheeks. The small group of tourists clapped and cheered. Both blushing, Mulder and Scully took a bow in unison and then kissed.

"Casablanca," she said when they had parted.

"What?" Mulder asked utterly thrown off guard.

Scully grabbed him by the arm and pulled his head down so she could kiss him again. "That's where I want to have lunch," she brushing back her tears.

Mulder laughed. "Oh. Right. Okay." He took her hand and turned them back toward the street. He looked back over his shoulder. "Think anyone important saw us?"

Scully shrugged. "Guess we should get married ASAP just in case."

"Sounds like a plan," Mulder agreed.

"Mulder?"

"Hmm? And you can call me Fox now. Not that you couldn't before. I was just being an insensitive asshole. Yes, you were saying?"

Scully giggled. "Uh... *Fox*. That's going to take some getting used to."

"You've got the rest of our lives to get on first name basis, *Dana*."

"Yeah, I guess we do. Was this um proposal planned, Mu--Fox?" she asked arching an eyebrow quizzically.

"Of course not. I would have gotten my grandmother's engagement ring out my safe-deposit box this morning if it was planned."

"Well, you're very good at spontaneity."

"Thank you."

Scully leaned against his side and wrapped her arms around his. She couldn't remember the last time she had walked down the street arm-in-arm with a man. It made her feel alive again. And beautiful despite the rawness of her cheeks and lips from frostbite. "Fox?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you."

Mulder turned his head to gaze down at her. After kissing her on the crown of her head he replied, "I thought you might. I was betting on it, in fact."

They both laughed.




The End.