Overweighted Chapter Six By RocketMan ===== Dedication: Okay, I got even more e-mail today and found that more people had written. So this is for Yolanda, Joseph Nichols, Melissa Rios, and all the people out there who teach sign language, especially Miss Doughty. ===== "He has driven me away and made me walk in darkness rather than light . . . He has made me dwell in darkness like those long dead . . . Though he brings grief, he will show compassion, so great is his unfailing love. For he does not willingly bring affliction or grief to the children of men." -- Lamentations 3: 2, 6, 32-33 ===== "Mulder, I want her to go to church with me." Scully twisted around in the couch, watching his form walk along the floor like a caged panther, rippling and moving and never staying still. "I don't see how she'll get anything out of it." Dana's stubborn chin stuck out and she glared at him. "I'll sign it to her." "Scully . . ." he chided softly, a veiled reminder that she wasn't good at signing yet, let alone could she attempt to follow an entire church service. "Mulder, please . . . it's important to me." "But . . . " His protest dwindled as he realized she would do it no matter what he said. "Fine." he murmured. "Whatever." Scully sighed as Mulder stalked out of the room, heading towards the extra bedroom that he had placed Helen in. She still couldn't beleive that she had moved in with Mulder, in his apartment no less. The main reason was that he had two rooms, both of which he didn't use. His bedroom he gave to her, and the extra one they cleaned his office supplies out of and let Helen have. The court had gone for their arrangement only after they had demonstrated their seriousness, which was all made up anyway. The judge had even gone so far as to ask when they'd be getting married. Nervously, they had said there was no set date. The judge had wanted to be invited. This made Scully almost panic. She couldn't marry Mulder . . . yet what opportunities were available if she lived with him? No one could know that they weren't together or else the court would take Helen away from them. She was stuck. She had to live with him . . . maybe even marry him. She sighed as he stepped into Helen's room, wishing that somehow, things might turn out okay for them. ~~~~~ Sunday morning, Mulder made them breakfast and said that he was coming too, just to translate more effectively than she could. It was partly a barb to get back at her, and partly a need to make sure they were all right and that Helen didn't feel stranded in a new place. Scully had dressed her in a light blue sundress with large print white flowers on it. Her hair was brushed back with a white barrette and she wore white sandals. Mulder had to admit she looked adorable. Her eyes were wide and brown and dark and they made a startling contrast against her blonde hair and blue dress. Scully was in beige and green and her eyes seemed to come alive with her dress and were magnified with the small amount of make-up she applied. Mulder didn't want to say anything that might make her uncomfortable, but he smiled and kissed her forehead before herding them all out the door. As they walked to St. James' Cathedral, Mulder held Helen in his arms so they could walk faster and Scully tucked her arm through his. They waited for the light to change and pretended they were a normal couple out walking. Helen buried her face in his shoulder and closed her eyes. ~~~~~ "She's asleep," Scully whispered to him. Mulder smiled and looked down at Helen's still form, her head pillowed in Scully's lap and framed by Scully's hands. Her breathing was slow and he reached over and caressed the side of her face before lookng back at Scully. "I'm sorry I gave you such a hard time. I had a bad experience with religion and it left a bitter taste. But if this is what shaped your life, then I want it for Helen too," he said. The priest was speaking on unconditional love and his soft voice was lulling the entire congregation to sleep, despite the efforts of the choir to pep things up a bit. Scully smiled and took his hand. "What do you mean by that?" "Well, if church made you the wonderful person you are, the great friend and beautiful mother you are now, then I want that for Helen." Scully's eyes grew gentle and she smiled sadly at him, trying to understand where his words fit into their new partnership. "Thanks, Mulder . . . that's sweet." "It's the truth." He slid closer to her and placed his arm on the back of the pew, encircling her shoulders and letting his hand come to rest on the back of her neck. She wished she could figure everything out, but his words and his actions and her heart were saying a million different things. She wearily let her head fall to his shoulder, acutely aware of every sensation riding through her. ~~~~~ She stood up slowly in the room, walking to the floor length mirror that Mulder had in his bedroom -- now hers -- and watched herself for a moment. Could Mulder want this? He might. Why else come to the conclusion that they had to live together in order to keep Helen? There could have been other solutions, surely. They could have worked things out like divorced parents did. She sighed and ran her hands down her pants to smooth out the invisible wrinkles. She bit her lip and looked at herself critically one last time before turning away. The thing about the room was that it smelled like Mulder. During the day, she had to strain to catch the scent of him, but at night, in the bed that once was his, she was engulfed by his aroma. It was buried in the sheets and stamped on the pillows. She liked falling alseep to his smell. It was almost like he was there, holding her. ~~~~~ Mulder waited until she was changing in his old bedroom before he slipped into the bathroom and slumped against the wall. It was the last private place in his apartment and he needed to be alone, desperately. The thing about the bathroom was, it smelled like Scully. Her shampoo and soap and body flavor were showered onto the tile and imprinted into the air of the bathroom. He could close his eyes and feel her right there with him. He wasn't sure what they were doing anymore. At first, it was his mad attempt to hold on to what was precious to him, mainly Scully and Helen. Now, there was something slowly simmering between them. Sitting there, he wanted to throw open his bedroom door and find her stretched out on his bed, perhaps writing something or just relaxing, and go up to her and take her in his arms and just kiss her. Kiss her until she killed him, or kissed him back. It was the scent of her that now drove him crazy, just as the sight of her going off to sleep in his bed made him nuts, and the sound of her sighing at night when she thought he couldn't hear, and the feel of her when she brushed by him, and his imagined taste of her. He rose and opened the door, intoxicated on his false bravado, then happened to meet her as she was coming out of his room. Standing there, eyes locked and hearts beating too fast, he couldn't move. She brought her hands to his chest and laid them there, waiting for something within him to break. His head tilted down and his lips brushed her forehead, equally dismaying her and thrilling her. Then his hands went to tangle in her hair and his lips were meeting hers and the only thing she could think was -- ~~~~~ end chapter adios RM