***DISCLAIMER***: All "X-Files" elements and references
in this story belong to Fox Broadcasting, Chris Carter,
and 1013 Productions, and I am making no money from it.
"She's Like the Wind" belongs to Patrick Swayze, et al.

ARCHIVING: Link only, please!

==========

Dirty Dancing
by shannono
shannono@iname.com


Story, Mulder/Scully Romance, Humor

Rated PG

Summary: Mulder loses a bet and has to indulge one of
Scully's guilty pleasures.

Comments/dedication: I have to give partial credit for this
idea to my sister, Erin, to whom this is dedicated. She was
telling me she had heard "She's Like the Wind" on the radio
and realized it fit Mulder, but she hadn't figured out how
to fit it into a story. Well, I told her I had already
started a story where they watch "Dirty Dancing," so I'd
use it in that. Here's the result!

==========

Dirty Dancing
by shannono


"All right, Mulder, time to pay up."

"Aww, do I hafta?"

"Don't try that little boy stuff on me this time, buster.
And no puppy dog looks, either. You lost, fair and square."

A sigh of defeat came through the phone, and Scully
grinned in triumph. Oh, yeah, she thought. I knew that
was a sucker bet. No *way* Mulder could go two full days
without using his cell phone for a personal call.

A week before, when Mulder had called her yet again from
his car for something non-work-related, Scully had offered
up the bet. Mulder had to go two days with no cell phone
calls, unless it was strictly business. Loser indulges
winner in dinner and a movie, winner's choice. He'd
lasted a day before he absentmindedly called Scully
from his car to ask if he'd left his gym bag in the
trunk of her car.

Oh, he'd tried to argue that it was work related, since
he'd left the bag there a few days earlier on the way
back from the airport after a case. But she insisted he
just as easily could have called from home, and he
finally relented.

Now, she was calling in the debt. It was a Saturday
afternoon, neither was busy, and no cases were looming.

So she plunged in. "Okay, Mulder, here's the deal. You
have to indulge me in a guilty pleasure ..."

"Ooh, is that a promise?" Mulder interrupted teasingly.

"No, it's a threat," Scully retorted. "Pay attention, you!
You have to pick up dinner and the movie, and you have to
sit through both without bringing up aliens, conspiracies,
or anything else related to work. And without complaining
or making fun of my choices."

Another sigh, then a muttered, "What have I gotten myself
into?" Scully suppressed a laugh, and then Mulder said,
"Okay, deal. So what am I buying?"

Scully's grin widened. "For dinner, I want one of those
great deli sandwiches from that place up in College Park
we ate in last month."

"College Park?" he interrupted. "That'll mean nearly a two-
hour drive to get all the way up there, then back over to
your place."

"Are you backing out?" she said, a threatening tone in
her voice.

Pause, then, "No, okay, and I guess you want the club with
everything, sour cream and onion chips, and a whole pickle."

"Right," she said. "I knew that photographic memory would
come in handy!"

A grunt or groan came from Mulder, followed closely by a
chuckle. "Anything else, m'lady?"

Scully smiled. "Yes. Popcorn, microwaveable. And Milk Duds."

"Okay, okay, is that it?"

"You still have the main course to go. Pick a video store,
and rent ... 'Dirty Dancing.'"

Dead silence.

"Mulder? You still there?"

"Uh ... yeah. Did you just say what I think you just said?"

Scully managed to keep from laughing out loud. "Yes, I said
'Dirty Dancing,'" she replied.

"You must be kidding."

"Nope. I said a guilty pleasure, and that movie certainly
fits the bill."

Another long pause, then, "Yeah, I guess it does." Yet
another sigh. "Okay, it's 4:30, so I should make it to
your place by 7."

"I'll be ready!"

==========

Scully's apartment
7:02 p.m.

A low pounding noise at the door sent Scully striding across
her living room floor toward the door. Pushing up on her
tiptoes, she peered through the peephole to see her partner
standing outside, his arms loaded down with bags. Apparently,
the pounding had been his attempt at knocking, using his foot.

A bemused smile crossed her face as she released the lock.
She swung the door wide, held it in her right hand, and
planted her other hand on her hip. "Five demerits, Agent
Mulder. You're late."

The puppy dog look. "Aww, Miss Scully, just a couple'a
minutes."

"Now what did I tell you about that?" she asked, wagging a
finger at him as she stepped back to allow him in. "Late
is late, Agent Mulder. And late you are."

He chuckled as he walked across the room toward the dining
room table. "And you expected any less from me, Agent
Scully?"

She answered his soft laugh with one of her own as shut the
door and followed him. "No, actually, I expected you to
take at least 10 or 15 minutes. I'm not finished brewing
the tea yet."

He raised one eyebrow as he set his packages on the table.
"Iced tea, Agent Scully?" he asked.

"Could be love," she shot back, laughter in her voice, and
she stepped into the kitchen.

Mulder grinned again as he started emptying bags. Food
first; he pulled out the two sandwiches, one small and one
large, along with two bags of chips and two pickles. He
placed the food in front of two chairs at one end of the
table, then extracted a stack of napkins and put them
between the food. The popcorn was next, with a large box
of Milk Duds to go with it.

Last came the movie itself. He'd stopped by a supermarket
for the snack food and discovered several racks of movies
near the registers. Impulsively, he'd hunted for the movie,
found it, and bought it.

Next time, we won't have to rent it, he thought, reaching
into the bag.

Just then, Scully poked her head around the corner, a sly
grin on her face. "Tea's ready, unless you'd prefer
something else," she said.

"Are you kidding?" Mulder said. "As far as I'm concerned,
that's the only real drink in the whole world!"

Scully laughed again. "And tea it is," she said, slipping
back into the kitchen. Seconds later, her voice drifted
in again. "Did you have any trouble finding the movie?"

Mulder looked down at the bag in his hand and pulled out
the plastic-wrapped box. "No, none," he answered, crossing
back into the living room and setting the movie on the
coffee table. "Got the popcorn and Milk Duds, too," he
added as he walked back to the table and sat down.

"Great," Scully said, coming out of the kitchen with two
large glasses of tea. Setting them in front of their food,
she pulled out her own chair and sat. "Let's eat; I'm
starved!"

They started unwrapping their sandwiches and opening their
bags of chips. Scully picked up half of her sandwich and
started inspecting it from all angles. "Umm, this looks
good," she said. "Now, if I can only remember how I ate
this thing without making a mess ..."

"Don't worry about it," Mulder said, holding half of his
own sandwich. "We've got a whole pile of napkins." He
lifted his eyebrows suggestively. "And if it still gets 
out of hand, we're just a few yards from your shower."

She laughed. "Oh, I'm not as worried about cleaning up as
I am about dropping some of this on the floor," she said.
"I don't want to waste any!"

"So dig in," Mulder said, and they did, eating their meals
mostly in silence, except for an occasional request to
pass a clean napkin.

Mulder finished first, thanks to his tendency to eat every
meal like he was on the run. Sighing contentedly, he smiled
and leaned back in his chair to watch Scully finish her meal.

After a few moments, she looked up to see him watching her
and blushed slightly, from annoyance or embarrassment, she
wasn't sure which. Swallowing, she said, "Hey, Mulder, if
you're just going to sit there, you *could* go make some
popcorn."

The smile widened into an evil grin. "Yes, ma'am," he
retorted, saluting smartly as he stood. He grabbed for the
box of popcorn, then marched smartly into the kitchen,
whistling "The Bridge on the River Kwai."

Scully suppressed a giggle at his silliness, then smiled
as she finished eating her sandwich. She could hear popping
sounds start as she rose and gathered their trash, then
walked into the kitchen and tossed it all in the garbage
can.

Mulder was leaning against the counter next to the
microwave, patiently waiting for either her or the popcorn;
she wasn't sure which. She crossed to the sink and washed
her hands, then jumped as she felt something poke her in
the side.

She whipped around, only to see Mulder still leaning
against the counter, a carefully arranged placid
expression on his face. He looked at her and said,
"Something wrong, Scully?"

The glare she sent back could have frozen fire. Mulder
clasped a hand to his chest. "Ooh, that hurts, Scully!"
She couldn't resist it and broke into a grin.

Mulder returned the smile, then pushed away from the
counter and said, "How 'bout you keep an eye on the
popcorn, and I'll go get the movie set up?"

"Sure thing," she said, reaching to open a cabinet. "I'll
get a bowl. Oh, and take our glasses into the living room,
too."

"Sure thing," he mocked teasingly, tilting his head, then
ducking and running as she grabbed a dishtowel and
threatened to flick him with it.

A few minutes later, Scully walked into the living room
to find Mulder planted at one end of the couch, the
lights turned down, and the TV and VCR ready to go. She
walked around the couch and sat at the opposite end,
placing the large bowl of popcorn between them on the
cushions. She curled her feet up underneath her, reached
for the box of Milk Duds that sat on the coffee table,
and said, "Roll it!"

Mulder obediently hit "play" on the remote, then
replaced it on the table and reached for a handful of
the popcorn as the movie started.

They sat in near silence for the duration, although both
kept stealing furtive glances at the opposite end of the
couch during some of the steamier scenes. Mulder
wondered if Scully could mambo, while Scully kept
picturing Mulder shirtless, in jeans as tight as those
Patrick Swayze's character wore during most of the film.

Near the end of the film, Mulder found himself listening
closely to the lyrics of one of the songs, a sweet love
ballad. He realized he could understand the feeling --
it was so much like how he felt about Scully:

>>She's like the wind through my trees
She rides the night next to me
She leads me to moonlight, only to burn me with the sun
She's taken my heart, and she doesn't know what she's done.

I feel her breath on my face, her body close to me
Can't look in her eyes, she out of my league
Just a fool to believe I have anything she needs
She's like the wind.

I look in the mirror, and all I see
Is a young old man, with only a dream
Am I just fooling myself, that she'll stop the pain
Living without her, I'd go insane.

I feel her breath on my face, her body close to me
Can't look in her eyes, she out of my league
Just a fool to believe I have anything she needs
She's like the wind.

Just a fool to believe, she's like the wind.<<

As the final scene faded out and the credits started
rolling, Scully sighed happily and climbed up from the
couch. She gathered up their glasses and the popcorn 
bowl as Mulder sat, unmoving, staring off at some 
indeterminate point in the distance.

Scully watched him for a long moment, then turned and
headed for the kitchen. "You know, Mulder, no little
grey men are going to appear in my apartment tonight,"
she threw back over her shoulder.

Her voice startled him out of his reverie and spurred
him to action. He unfolded himself from the sofa and
stepped over to her entertainment center, checking out
the rack of CDs sitting on one shelf. Nope ... nope ...
not there ... aha! he thought. He pulled out the case,
popped it open and extracted the CD, then slid it into
the player. Flipping the case over, he ran one long
finger down the track list ... number three, he thought,
punching the program keys for the song.

He looked up as Scully walked back in, wiping her hands
on a dishtowel. "Mulder, what are you doing?" she asked,
frowning.

Smiling softly, he hit "play," turned toward her, and
wordlessly held out a hand as the opening notes of the
song played. She didn't move, so he waved his hand
toward her and said, "C'mon, dance with me."

She smiled back, still a bit hesitant, but dropped the
towel on the end of the couch as she moved to take his
hand. He drew her in close, sliding his hand around her
waist as hers lifted to his shoulder, and they swayed
gently to the ballad. Mulder hummed softly into her ear,
then half-sang along with the second verse.

>>I look in the mirror, and all I see
Is a young old man, with only a dream
Am I just fooling myself, that she'll stop the pain
Living without her, I'd go insane.<<

"I would, you know," he said softly, startling her.

"Would what?" she asked, just as softly.

"Go insane without you," he answered, lifting his hand,
still holding hers, and running his forefinger down her
cheek. "I almost did, when you were gone. You keep me
sane."

She stared at him for a long moment, then smiled again.
"Sometimes you do need someone to, don't you?" she said
lightly.

"Not someone," he corrected. "Just you."

Scully's throat tightened at his serious tone and she
couldn't respond. She felt his arm tighten around her
waist, pulling her closer, and she didn't resist. She
laid her head on his chest, hearing his heartbeat against
her ear, and closed her eyes. She could feel his chin
resting on the top of her head, then his lips on her hair.

She knew she should pull away, but she couldn't do it.
This felt too good, too *right* to interrupt.

Finally, the song began to fade out, and Scully did start
to pull away. But Mulder stopped her before she got too
far, drawing her back a bit closer with the arm he still
held around her waist. Lifting his other hand, he brushed
back a lock of her hair, then slid the hand around to lift
her chin, forcing her to look at him. They stood that way 
for a long moment, and then he slowly lowered his head and
captured her lips with his.

The kiss was soft, gentle, almost hesitant. After six
years of denial, neither of them was yet sure they
should be giving in to their feelings. But they kissed
anyway, then drew back slightly, watching each other's
reactions.

Mulder broke away first, his breathing not quite steady.
"I ... I ... Scully, I think I'd better go." His eyes never
left hers. "While I still can," he added, quirking a
half-smile.

Slowly, she managed a small smile herself. "I think
that may be a good idea," she said shakily.

They stood facing each other for another minute, silently
agreeing to take this new relationship as slowly as they
could stand. Then he lifted his hand again to caress the
side of her face, and she closed her eyes as she leaned
into his palm, enjoying the feel of his skin on hers.

Her eyes popped open at a low groan from him, and she
again took a step back, recognizing the effect the small
touch had on him -- since it had the same effect on her.

To lighten the mood, she smiled again and said, "Next
time, Mulder, you get to pick the movie -- as long as
it's not anything like your private collection."

He returned the smile, and the tension between them
dissipated somewhat. "Aww, Miss Scully, you're no fun!"

She laughed as they moved toward the door. "Well,
someone's got to keep you sane, remember?"

He held his smile, but his eyes darkened, and he lifted
his hand to her hair again. "Only you, Scully," he said,
bending to place a light kiss on her forehead. "Only you."

And he was gone.

==========END==========