"Scully." Part of him is surprised that she's awake this early, but the rest of him knew it was her as soon as the phone rang.
He wonders if she's feeling sick again. For the past several weeks, she hasn't been sleeping well. He'd almost asked her not to go on this trip, but that wouldn't have been fair. It isn't his place and the trip is necessary.
"I can't sleep." She knows it's pathetic. He's a profiler. Milder knows her like Plan 9. There are a million things she could say over the phone but the one she can't gnaws at her stomach. She's not telling him she's awake to throw up.
"You were right. No one guessed Yeti when we had the frozen, mauled to pieces corpse. All boring, like airplane accident." She fakes being cheerful, admitting she's terrified will just take her to pieces on the phone.
"I guess it's your job to knock some sense into them, then. You were hopeless at first."
He sits up in bed and leans back against the headboard. While she's away, she's letting him stay at her place. If anyone asks, his apartment flooded. It's true, of course(some backup in the filter for the fishtank), but really he doesn't feel at home anywhere else nowadays.
"Is anything bothering you?"
The fishtank gurgles in the background as he waits for her answer. Her silence doesn't sit right with him, but he lets her take her time.
"I visited a friend at Memorial," she says softly. Biting her lip doesn't help, and she curls a little tighter into a ball.
"Rachel said I work too hard." That part's true. "The bloodwork was normal." That Scully redid herself in the lab at Quantico until fear closed hard into the bottom of her stomach. It was normal, just not the normal she was looking for.
She's deflecting. There's something she doesn't want to tell him. That isn't like Scully at all.
Slowly, things begin to fall into place. He shakes his head, thinking it can't possibly be. And yet it makes sense. If it's true, of course she won't tell him over the phone. And he doesn't want to find out that way. His mind is racing along with his heart, but it's not a bad feeling. But, he's probably jumping to conclusions.
Taking a deep breath, he continues normally.
"Guess that's what you get for all that paperwork you say is necessary.
"Is it your head again? Stomach? If it's your stomach, I'll try not to make you laugh. It'll be hard, though. I'm a funny guy, you know." He smiles as he's speaking, sure that she can hear it in his voice.
"Mulder, that's almost like admitting this is your fault. It took me two weeks to catch up while you were gone." Relieved he has changed the subject, she lies back on the bland carpeted floor near the door to her bathroom.
He's letting her sneak away without pressing for more serious answers. Guilt clenches her stomach making her new queasiness worse. It is her fault. She's the one who should Have known better and have remembered how detrimental antibiotics are to birth control. She wouldn't blame him for being angry but he won't be. That's almost as terrifying as the fact that some part of her is glad this happened. Chance gave them something they never would have dared.
"it's all right. I know your sense of humor can't be contained."
"Finally a woman who understands! I never though this day would come." He's trying to keep her mind busy. The silence from her end of the phone tells him he's failing.
"A Yeti is a good guess, actually. Primates are known to be vicious. I saw a documentary the other day on chimpanzee attacks in Florida. Did you know that they can literally tear a man to pieces? And these are our closest known relatives. It'd stand to reason that a Yeti might be even closer on the evolutionary tree. Reports claim that they're incredibly human-like. The violence could go along with the territory."
"It could have been a Stink Ape. Although they're typically found in Texas, Oklaholma, and Arkansas. I'm not sure about the freezing part. I'd probably leave it up to you."
It seems like years ago that he worked alone on the X Files. Now it's hard to imagine how he could have. Scully's weaseled her way into all aspects of his life. Things seem flat without her around.
Reaching over to the nightstand, he turns on the light. When he answered the phone, he hadn't been sure whether he would be up for a while, but now he is. He needs something to keep him awake, and Scully will appreciate the distraction too, so he turns on the television. He gets the feeling she isn't really calling to talk.
"Ancient Aliens or Edgar Cacey?" He asks, paging through the cable menu. "Ooh, got it. Plan 9, baby.
Plan 9 starts to run in the background and she's oddly comforted by it. Dragging herself up off the floor, Scully pauses, kneeling in the bathroom before she trusts herself to move. For some reason, it's worst before the dawn and she's too wound up to sleep through her nausea.
"Pretty," she gets to her feet and leans against the doorframe. "Cool and dry. It was sunny today. Leaves are starting to turn."
Grabbing the blanket from the bed, she curls up in a ball on the couch of her hotel room. "I'm thinking of getting a bigger apartment," she says after a long pause. There has to be a way to ease into it.
"I don't know. It's kinda cozy. There's always my place. I don't know if you'd want to give up this nice, comfy bed for a few extra square feet." He bounces up and down a bit for emphasis. "Buuuut, it's your apartment, your call."
Rather in vain, he tries not to hold his breath. For all intents and purposes, they're living together now. Now, though, he's all but suggested making it official.
He wonders if she's feeling sick again. For the past several weeks, she hasn't been sleeping well. He'd almost asked her not to go on this trip, but that wouldn't have been fair. It isn't his place and the trip is necessary.
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"You were right. No one guessed Yeti when we had the frozen, mauled to pieces corpse. All boring, like airplane accident." She fakes being cheerful, admitting she's terrified will just take her to pieces on the phone.
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He sits up in bed and leans back against the headboard. While she's away, she's letting him stay at her place. If anyone asks, his apartment flooded. It's true, of course(some backup in the filter for the fishtank), but really he doesn't feel at home anywhere else nowadays.
"Is anything bothering you?"
The fishtank gurgles in the background as he waits for her answer. Her silence doesn't sit right with him, but he lets her take her time.
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"I hope I've marginally improved," she teases, then has to swallow, hard.
Maybe a half-truth is better than a lie. "I'm still sick."
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"Did you see a doctor like we talked about?"
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"Rachel said I work too hard." That part's true. "The bloodwork was normal." That Scully redid herself in the lab at Quantico until fear closed hard into the bottom of her stomach. It was normal, just not the normal she was looking for.
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Slowly, things begin to fall into place. He shakes his head, thinking it can't possibly be. And yet it makes sense. If it's true, of course she won't tell him over the phone. And he doesn't want to find out that way. His mind is racing along with his heart, but it's not a bad feeling. But, he's probably jumping to conclusions.
Taking a deep breath, he continues normally.
"Guess that's what you get for all that paperwork you say is necessary.
"Is it your head again? Stomach? If it's your stomach, I'll try not to make you laugh. It'll be hard, though. I'm a funny guy, you know." He smiles as he's speaking, sure that she can hear it in his voice.
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He's letting her sneak away without pressing for more serious answers. Guilt clenches her stomach making her new queasiness worse. It is her fault. She's the one who should Have known better and have remembered how detrimental antibiotics are to birth control. She wouldn't blame him for being angry but he won't be. That's almost as terrifying as the fact that some part of her is glad this happened. Chance gave them something they never would have dared.
"it's all right. I know your sense of humor can't be contained."
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"A Yeti is a good guess, actually. Primates are known to be vicious. I saw a documentary the other day on chimpanzee attacks in Florida. Did you know that they can literally tear a man to pieces? And these are our closest known relatives. It'd stand to reason that a Yeti might be even closer on the evolutionary tree. Reports claim that they're incredibly human-like. The violence could go along with the territory."
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"I did wuss out and go with wolves, or a very angry bear. I still need work."
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"It could have been a Stink Ape. Although they're typically found in Texas, Oklaholma, and Arkansas. I'm not sure about the freezing part. I'd probably leave it up to you."
It seems like years ago that he worked alone on the X Files. Now it's hard to imagine how he could have. Scully's weaseled her way into all aspects of his life. Things seem flat without her around.
"I miss you."
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"My bed's huge and cold."
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Reaching over to the nightstand, he turns on the light. When he answered the phone, he hadn't been sure whether he would be up for a while, but now he is. He needs something to keep him awake, and Scully will appreciate the distraction too, so he turns on the television. He gets the feeling she isn't really calling to talk.
"Ancient Aliens or Edgar Cacey?" He asks, paging through the cable menu. "Ooh, got it. Plan 9, baby.
"What's the weather like out there?"
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"Pretty," she gets to her feet and leans against the doorframe. "Cool and dry. It was sunny today. Leaves are starting to turn."
Grabbing the blanket from the bed, she curls up in a ball on the couch of her hotel room. "I'm thinking of getting a bigger apartment," she says after a long pause. There has to be a way to ease into it.
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Rather in vain, he tries not to hold his breath. For all intents and purposes, they're living together now. Now, though, he's all but suggested making it official.
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"It's bad enough we barely get our own desks at work." She almost asks him but bites her lip.
"Mulder, I own the bed. It's something adults do, occasionally."
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