Author: Stephanie (Steph8873)
Title: The Concert

Category: MSR

Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: A little PMP, and some Milagro
Archive: Sure
Distribution: as long as my name and e-mail are on it
Disclaimer: Please! I don’t own these characters and I’m not making any money off them either.

Feedback: Absolutely! Xfiler58873@aol.com

Dedication: This is to all my friends at the Haven.

Mulder looked down at Scully as he helped her on with her coat in the lobby. “So, ah, Scully? Did you happen to see Skinner on your way to the bathroom and get that card from him? ‘Cause I was hoping…” “that you and I could get together and finish what we started that night” he finished in his mind.

“You were hoping what.” She raised and eyebrow at his words and made a point of making her question sound more like a statement.

“I was hoping that I could take you out to dinner…you know, make the FBI pay for our fun.” He smiled as he nudged her arm with his elbow.

Scully looked away and pretended to hunt for something in her purse. She knew he would be upset with what she had to say. “Mulder, I was just trying to get you to behave”

“Well” Mulder thought “You better start behaving, boy. Come on, Fox, be genuine with her. It’s the only way you’re ever going to get anywhere with this woman.” Mulder looked down and said, “Oh. So that means you’re not interested in going to dinner with me?” He looked up at her with just his eyes and his hair fell into his face. “Uh-oh” he thought, “She’s not saying anything. That can’t be good.” He ran his fingers through his hair and looked away, if only to hide the rejection that was welling up in his eyes.

She smiled at the boyish shyness that had suddenly taken over her partner. It reminded her of the one and only time they had danced together. Of all places, at a Cher concert. He couldn’t look her in the eye then and he was fascinated with his shoes now. “Why, Mulder,” she inquired while cocking another eyebrow, “are you asking me out?” She bit her bottom lip to keep from laughing. She knew him better than this. He couldn’t be interested in her as more than just a really good friend. She just wasn’t his type. He was into the tall gorgeous leggy types. She was none of those. She had to call his bluff. “Because if you are…” her stomach churned as she said those words. He was always the one for the sexual innuendos, but tonight she felt like being the flirty one. “…I might be able to help you with *anything* you needed”

Mulder swallowed and pretended that he wasn’t blushing. He had never really gotten an answer like this from his little Scully before. She normally would brush him off whenever he made one of his lewd comments. “I – uh- Scully?” Now he couldn’t hide his red cheeks.

Scully smiled and shifted her weight onto her other foot triumphantly. She had him. He was speechless, and that’s something to be said when one is dealing with Fox Mulder. “Well? Do you *need* anything?”

“I – um – well, I’m sure I could think of something *you* could do” He grinned an adolescent grin and moved his hand from the wall to rest inches above her shoulder.

“Mulder…” she was getting nervous. This time, he had called her bluff. She wasn’t ready to allow him to get this close to her. Not when she knew it was all a game. If it was truly how he felt, she would let him get as close as he wanted to. But this was ridiculous. Oh well, in for a dime, in for a dollar. She took a step closer so that her hips were almost touching his. She looked up at him and brushed that pesky hair out of his eyes. If he was crossing lines, so could she. Grinning herself, she stood and stared at the “cool exterior” that her partner so adamantly displayed. “Well, Fox, what did you have in mind?”

Upon hearing his first name, Mulder cracked. He couldn’t keep a straight face when his insides were telling him to grab this woman and kiss her. He blushed outright and took a step backwards. He had to put a little space between them. Even if it meant forgoing what could possibly happen if he stayed there. He couldn’t let that happen until it was the right time.

“Funny. I had something else in mind.” She smiled seductively as she turned to walk away and started when she felt his hand on her shoulder.

“Come on, Scully, you just took me off guard, that’s all. I wasn’t expecting that.” Mulder felt a wave of relief wash over him as he got his wits back. “I’m up for whatever. Just let me know.”

Scully sighed as she smoothed his hair out of his eyes again. “You know, you really need a haircut. If it were just a little shorter, it wouldn’t keep falling in your eyes.” She gave him a motherly look and smiled her normal Scully smile and then continued, “I mean, I know you want me, Mulder, but how do you expect to get me if you can’t see me? Braille?”

Mulder’s eyes lit up as he leaned against the wall. This type of banter was something he was used to with Scully. But he had to think fast. The ball was in his court and time was a wasting. He put his hand to his chest and replied “Why Miss Scully, I can’t believe that you would think I was putting the moves on my partner. What would the FBI say about that?” He grinned. He had her. She couldn’t escape this one.

Boy, did he have her with this one. “Come on, Dana, think” She couldn’t believe that he was pulling this on her. Maybe she should just come out and say how she felt. That she couldn’t live without him, that over the past 7 years she had grown to love him more than she thought was humanly possible. She swallowed hard and started to look up at him.

“Mulder, Scully, get over here right now” the unmistakable voice of A.D. Skinner boomed over the din in the lobby of the concert hall. “The Bureau van is ready and WAITING for you two so we can all go back to the office to pick up our cars!”

“Sorry sir” Mulder raised his voice so that Skinner could hear. “Scully had to use the restroom before we left, sir”

“Oh sure” Scully whispered to Mulder “Blame it all on me”

Mulder grinned and put his hand on her back to lead her through the crowd. Scully almost whimpered when she felt the warm, steady hand on the small of her back. Now that she thought about it, he did initiate quite a bit of physical contact with her. At least over the past few months he had

Mulder smiled to himself as he led Scully through the crowded room towards where Skinner was holding the door open for them. As they boarded the van, an idea started to form in Mulder’s head. It was a sure-fire way to find out how Scully felt without revealing his feelings for her

They rode in silence. Scully was happy for the change of pace. Sitting next to Mulder was always a challenge. It took all her will power to keep from touching him. As they pulled into to FBI headquarters, Mulder nudged her and whispered, “I need to talk to you. I’ll follow you to your car.”

Scully breathed heavily out of nerves rather than the light exercise as she walked to her car with Mulder only a few steps behind her. Once they had reached her car, Mulder leaned against the driver’s side door to keep Scully from entering. “Ok” Mulder took a deep breath and mustered all he had to continue. “Remember about a year ago we took that case about those killings where the heart was removed but there was no wound?”

“Yeah” Scully had no idea where he was going with this. She remembered the case probably better than he did. She was the one who was almost killed by that stranger.

“Well, remember when we were in the jail cell with what’s-his-face?” Mulder had thought about that time almost every day since it happened. That guy had said that Scully was already in love.

“Which time? And his name was Padgett” Scully couldn’t remember why the name rolled off her lips so easily.

“Whatever. The second time. I was about to beat him up for some reason or another and you stopped me.” Mulder looked at his feet and then he looked up at her and said in a slow, even tone, “You touched my arm” he placed his had on his left arm where she had touched him so long ago “And Padgett stared at you.”

“Mulder, I’m tired. I’m hungry. And all I want to do is go home and fix myself some dinner. So either get to the point quickly or it is going to have to wait until Monday. I’m not in the mood for your games.” She feigned disgust at him but in her heart she was scared. She was stalling. She knew what happened after she touched his arm. She knew what Padgett had said. That she was already in love. God, was Mulder really interested in her? Was he trying to get her to admit something? This came totally out of the blue. Did her little comments earlier that night lead up to this? Was this moment the culmination of seven years of flirting and sexual comments? She turned away to try to hide the faint blush rising in her cheeks.

“Scully, listen to me.” Mulder placed both hands gently on her arms and bent down to look into her eyes. “Padgett said that you were already in love. Now I am going to ask you about it. What did he mean by that?”

Scully opened her mouth to answer him, but no words came out. She couldn’t believe that after all this time he was finally calling her on this. She would give anything for a quick fix out of this situation. A great line, a sarcastic comment, hell, even Skinner walking up like he did last time would suffice. Anything. But nothing came. She closed her eyes and licked her lips. Unwanted tears began to slowly run down her cheeks. She couldn’t speak to him, she was too embarrassed. Her mind raced. She shuddered against the cold breeze that blew through the parking garage. He eyes still closed and his hands still on her arms, she did the only thing that she could think of. Scully leaned into his arms, and let him embrace her.

Mulder knew that he was acting like an ass asking her this question over a year after it happened. But at that point, he still had not admitted his own feelings for her. Now he had done the unforgivable. He had made his Scully cry. He stroked her hair as her tears ran down his coat. Her head was nestled so securely against his chest. He never wanted to let her go. They hardly ever embraced. There was an invisible line that was not to be crossed at the office. Even out on assignment, they kept their walls up. Mulder pushed at the wall but never had he taken a hammer to it. And now Scully had opened the gate.

“I’m sorry, Mulder. I just wasn’t expecting you to ask me that. Especially not tonight. A year ago I was relieved when you let the opportunity pass you by. I never wanted to admit how I – how I really feel.” She backed away from his protective arms but kept her hands around his waist. She looked at the ground unable to meet the gaze that she felt burning a hole in the top of her head. She sighed and raised her eyes. As she looked up at him she noticed a glint in his eyes that she had never seen before.

“Scully”

His voice was deep and yet very boyish as it squeaked at the end. “Scully, I didn’t want to upset you. I just,” He gazed deeper into her eyes as he spoke his next words, “I never really asked you about that day, and what it meant.”

“Mulder I – I wanted to let you know that I really do care about you.” Scully looked away and then quickly returned her eyes to his. The tears were now dripping from her chin. She quivered as Mulder reached out to wipe the tears from her cheeks. He held her face in his hands and nodded slowly to acknowledge the confession. She went back into his arms and stood on tip-toe to reach his ear with her lips. Quietly, she whispered. “I love you, Mulder.” “Oh my God, did I really just say that? Or think it? I think I said that out loud. You’re so stupid, Dana. You know that he doesn’t feel that way about you. It’s all just a game to him. See how many girls he can get and now he has you. Don’t you see what he’s doing to you? Making you fall for him just like he wanted you to? Is it too late to take that back?”

Mulder started. Had he really heard what he thought he just heard? Scully let that go too easily. She has to be screwing with your head. But what had Padgett said. He said that “Agent Scully is already in love”…with Mulder. That had to be it. She didn’t even have a boyfriend at that time, or for a long time now that he thought about it. Mulder took a deep breath and sighed. Then he realized that Scully was sobbing into his chest and that it had been almost a minute since she declared her love to him. He had to say it. Even if she really didn’t feel that way and was just telling him what she thought he wanted to hear. He reached up to touch her hair again and bent down to whisper to her. “I love you, too, Scully.” Those words had passed his lips more times than he could count. Mostly to his own face in the mirror in his bathroom. But this time they meant something. This time they would not come back void. He had said the words he had always wanted to say to the woman he always wanted to say them to. His head swam in what had just happened. They had actually said those three little words to each other. Finally. She had stopped sobbing and was now simply content to rest her head there. Mulder leaned down and kissed the top of her head. “I, um, Scully?”

She lifted her head up and looked at him for the first time since she laid bare her heart to Mulder. There were still tears and a look of uncertainty in her eyes. “Yes, Mulder?” It was all she could do to keep from turning her gaze.

“I, ah, I wanted to tell you that I’m really sorry that I didn’t tell you sooner. I guess, I just never thought that you felt the same way. I mean, why would someone as beautiful and perfect as you be interested in someone as quirky as me?” He looked deep into her eyes and began to allow tears to well up in his. “I just, I really want you to know that I believe in you. In your ideas, and how they kept me grounded throughout our life together. I mean, without you, the X-files probably would have been shut down for good long ago. And even if the X-files had been shut down, if I still had you, that wouldn’t have mattered to me. I-I need to know that you will never leave me. Because if you ever did… ”

“Mulder,” Scully shook her head as she reached up to touch his damp cheeks. “You are the reason I stayed with the X-files. If they had been shut down I would have followed you anywhere. I still will. God Mulder, why do you think I’m still here? Do you think I like working in a basement with no desk?” she smiled in spite of the conversation. “I love working with you because I love you. I love everything about you.” She pulled his head down until it rested against her own. As she ran her fingers through his hair she thought of all the times she almost lost him. Scully couldn’t remember how long she had loved this man. Had it been since the beginning? Or just recently? Regardless, she loved him, and now she knew that he loved her. As she tried to wrap her mind around that thought, she felt the soft touch of Mulder’s lips against hers. She groaned and pushed deeper into the kiss. Her hands moved from his hair to the back of his neck, pulling him closer. She opened her mouth and their tongues teased back and forth. This was right where she wanted to be. This was right where she was meant to be.

Mulder pulled back and broke the kiss. He had to look her in the eyes. As he did, he saw his woman search for answers. He smiled and put his hands on her face and rubbed her cheeks with his thumbs. Mulder swallowed hard, still able to taste Scully, and put his forehead back on hers. “Ok, Scully. That’s all I wanted to talk to you about. You can go home now.” He grinned and moved out of the way from her car door. His eyes searched hers and she smiled seductively at him. She grabbed his hand.

Scully smiled again as she led Mulder to the passenger side of her car and sat him down in the front seat, buckling him in securely. While she was fastening his seat belt, Mulder grabbed her waste and kissed her hard. Scully never made it home that night.