Title: Resolute (1/1)
Author: RocketMan >lebontrager@iname.com<
Disclaimer: Mulder and Scully belong to Chris Carter, a man I am actually
thanking God for. Talk about Thanksgiving--you didn't know it was over,
did you?
SPOILER:::::THE KISS!!!! and the rest of Season Seven just to be safe

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Resolute
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She was in the shower, wincing as soap again stung her neck, when the
thought came back to her. Or rather the memory and the feel.

Mulder's eyes were soft and dark, his hair the right length for her hand
to run over it, his lips coming closer to her. Then the touch of his mouth
to hers, light at first, then firm, like a claim and a brand and a
resolution that more might come. Could come. Would come.

She blinked and stepped out of the spray of hot water to steady herself
against the tiled wall. Her knees were weak and the pain in her neck
seemed far away and dimming even as she stood there. The shampoo ran down
into her eyes and she had to rinse it away, providing just enough of a
distraction for the image to vanish.

But the feeling was there. The heat and the flutter, the surprise and the
strange enjoyment of his kiss.

She had never expected such a thing. Not in a hospital, not when they
weren't in mortal danger. Not when. . .not when she had just given up.

He had always surprised her, always taken that extra step that went beyond
anything she expected.

Scully toed off the water and pushed back the shower curtain. She grabbed
a towel and dried off, stepping through the bathroom to her hallway, and
then to the bedroom. 

After that midnight encounter, Mulder had nudged her out of the waiting
room, and into the hallway, the kiss or the new year seemingly forgotten.
The doors they tried to exit through wouldn't open because the sensor
operating them were controlled by a little computer chip. Evidently, no
one had the forethought to expect the doors to malfunction, so that was
the only glitch regarding the Y2K panic.

Two hospital executives called the fire department, who then turned off
the alarms so that everyone could leave through the emergency exits.
Scully ended up driving them out of the parking lot and then to Mulder's
apartment. The confusion over the hospital doors masked the confusion of
their kiss. His kiss. Whomever's it was.

She had dropped him off with a smile, had even waited until his light had
come on, and then she had driven off. She just hadn't really been
thinking. It was a long time since she'd been in such a situation and she
had really actually forgotten that anything else was required.

By practically ignoring him in the car and then just dropping him off, had
she maimed something within this new bond?

Scully sighed and pulled on her pajamas, slightly annoyed at her own
questions. It made her stomach sick to think about all this, and for a
brief instant, she wished it hadn't happened.

Then the feeling of his lips on hers flowed over her like a wave and she
sighed, sinking down into her bed. She reached for the phone and called
him, her hand shaking slightly even though she kept chiding herself that
it was just Mulder.

When he answered the phone, she had to catch her breath because she'd been
holding it as she listened to the rings.

"Hey Mulder, it's me," she said softly, suddenly quiet and unsure.

"Hey, Scully. I was just about to watch one of these Lifetime movies. You
about to go to sleep?"

"Actually, yeah. But I. . .I wanted to see if you were okay."

"Yeah. My arm itches, but I'm doing okay."

She nodded into the phone, then silently shook her head at herself. She
was acting nervous and silly all for Mulder.

"Scully?"

"Yeah?"

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. Sorry, I was thinking."

"I knew I could smell something burning."

She rolled her eyes and buried herself further into the covers.

"Getting ready for bed?" he asked.

"Yeah."

"What are you wearing?"

Scully sighed. "It's good to know some things never change."

"And it's good that some things do," he added.

She paused, licking her lips and fingering the bedspread. Trust Mulder to
switch from teasing to serious within seconds.

"It is good," she said finally.

She could almost hear him grinning over the phone.

"Scully?"

"Yeah?"

"I liked seeing you smile at me."

She was silent, trying to figure out where this fit into place, where he
had pulled smiling from.

"Oh. Well. . ."

"Just telling you."

She bit her lip and pulled the covers up to her chin. Her head was resting
against the pillow and her eyes were getting heavy. It was already three
in the morning and she didn't know that Lifetime even broadcast this
early.

"Hey, Scully. You falling asleep on me?"

"Just about."

"It's late. Well, early. I'll tell you a story."

"No Mulder. . ."

"It'll make you fall asleep."

She felt ridiculous but sighed and agreed.

"Okay, close your eyes. Oh, and prop the phone up next to you so you don't
have to hold it."

She complied, snuggling into the covers and closing her eyes. She could
hear his voice coming over the line and it was almost like he was right
there whispering in her ear.

After ten minutes of something about monsters and a heroic prince saving a
frightened princess, she was ready to fall asleep.

"Mulder," she whispered. "The princess could kick his butt any time."

"Right. I'll tell her you think so. But, ah..."

"Good night Mulder."

"Don't hang up, Scully. Stay right here."

"I'm here," she replied, falling further and further from the bed, the
room, the lights. His voice was steady and constant, and then even it
began to fade.

At the other end, Mulder muted the television and let his eyes track the
black and white movements of the scenes on screen. He wasn't paying
attention though, because all his energy was focused on listening to her
breathe on the other end of the phone.

He closed his eyes finally and turned his back on the television to
listen. Her little soft sighs ended and then he heard only the regular in
and out of her breath against the receiver.

He was glad she had called, and strangely proud she had fallen asleep to
his voice.

He closed his own eyes and couldn't bring himself to end the call.
=-=-=-=

end
adios
RM

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Of making many books there is no end,
and much study is a weariness of the flesh.
--Ecclesiastes 12:12

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