feedback: msnsc21[at]yahoo.com
Date: March 2, 2004
Title: Playbook
Author: ML
email: msnsc21@aol.com
Spoilers: Tooms
Disclaimer: Not mine. Not now, not ever. Sigh. But I
claim visiting privileges.
Even though he asked
her to come, Mulder doesn't expect
to see Scully until suddenly she's there, opening the
passenger door.
He's very grateful
for his partner's care. He's spent
so much time alone, he's still getting used to the idea
of someone sharing the burden. Even when she disagrees
with him, she backs him up, and he never expected to have
that on this detail.
The air in the car
is ripe with possibilities as they
discuss the case and Mulder's unorthodox methods. Scully's
heart goes out to her stubborn, driven partner. She can
see how tired he is. She can also see he won't give up.
She's been quoting
regulations at him so much the past
couple of days he's started quoting back chapter and verse.
She knows it annoys him, but she hopes some of it might sink
in. She fears for him, for his job of course but more
viscerally, for his safety.
She keeps trying to
maintain the balance between personal
and professional with Mulder, but she's come to care for her
partner in ways she is only vaguely conscious of. She won't
let herself think too much about this.
Nonetheless, his first
name slips off her lips as she tries to
reason with him. His reaction is immediate and quelling.
"Mulder," he corrects her, then more softly, "Mulder."
So he's aware of it
as well. He spins some lie about making
his parents call him Mulder, but she sees right through him.
She doesn't call him on it, though. He's right; better to
maintain professionalism. Maybe she also needs the barrier
of last names.
The next moment he
disarms her with his concern for her.
Despite his own disregard for the rules, he doesn't expect
her to go down with him. It doesn't matter. She's already
decided whose side she's on. It's high time she told him.
"I wouldn't put
myself on the line for anyone but you," she
says.
The atmosphere inside
the car has gone from ripe to charged.
As soon as the words leave her lips, she realizes that what
she's said could be interpreted in a variety of ways, not all
of them acceptable. From the look on Mulder's face, he realizes
this, too.
Oh, Scully, Mulder
thinks. Now you've gone and done it. How
can I get out of this and still maintain my cool exterior? Do
I even want to?
Scully sees Mulder's
expression soften and he starts to speak.
She's not sorry she said the words. Not yet, anyway. In a
moment she'll know for sure.
Is that panic he sees
on her face? Not Scully. He sees surprise
at hearing her own words, something resembling regret, and just
a spark of...something more before she gets hold of herself.
She manages not to touch his hand as she hands over his drink.
"If there's iced
tea in there, could be love," he says, giving
her a mock-sultry look. His lips hover over the straw, giving
her a chance to reply.
He's giving her a chance
to back down, she realizes. "Must be
fate, Mulder," she says gamely with a trace of real disappoint-
ment. "Root beer."
He makes his own little
gesture of regret. She knows he will know
the truth as soon as he tastes his drink.
Scully goes back to
her car to continue the stakeout alone as
Mulder drives away. He finishes his iced tea before he's a
block away.
They will both think
of this night from time to time. Not as a
missed opportunity, but as an acknowledgment, and as a promise
for the future.
end.