The Discovery
by Leigh Alexander
leigh_xf@geocities.com.au

First posted: June 19th, 1996

RATING: PG
CATEGORY: SRA
SPOILERS: None
KEYWORDS: Mulder/Scully romance
SUMMARY: A vignette exploring Mulder and Scully as lovers.

DISCLAIMERS:
1) Dana and Fox belong to Chris and Ten Thirteen Productions
and the other Fox. Absolutely *no* copyright infringement is
intended - I'm not doing this for money, I'm doing it for
love. I *love* these characters, I wouldn't want to hurt
them! :)
2) OK to archive, but if it's going anywhere other than
Gossamer, please drop me a line just so I can keep track.
3) Feel free to distribute and discuss this, as long as my
name and addy remain attached.

INTRO:

This is most definitely a romance piece. I wanted to explore
*my* ideas about how Mulder and Scully would behave if they
were to get involved in a relationship, so this piece assumes
that the pair have been together for a little while, but it
is not supposed to be a sequel to anything I've already
written.

This story was inspired - quite literally - by Kelli
Rocherolle's "Spell" series, which was one of the very first
bits of fanfic I read, and which has kept me fascinated
throughout all fourteen (so far) parts. It was when I was
reading that series that I came up with my own idea about -
well... what happens in this story (don't want to give
anything away!),  so I owe a huge thanks to Kelli. :)

At this point, I had originally meant to add a final comment
about this piece being for all of those who found my last
one, "After the Push" a little too depressing, but in the
meantime I churned out a silly little "Syzygy"-inspired piece
called "The Horny Beast", so I feel I must now offer this
story as an apology for of the absurdity of that piece, as
*well* as it being a peace offering for "After the Push"! :)

Warning: Happy ending ahead! ;) (No bad language, no
spoilers).

Thanks to Eve again for editing the first part of this story.
Enormous thanks to Kelsey for pulling through as usual with a
great editing job of the whole story, even though I didn't
give her all that much time... <g> And big thanks to all the
encouragement from those at M&S.

-------------------------------------------------------------
The Discovery
-------------------------------------------------------------

Scully's stomach grumbled loudly and insistently.

Mulder heard the sound and it pulled him out of the vague
state between sleep and wakefulness in which he hovered. His
eyes slowly opened, and he stared pensively at the ceiling
before turning onto his side and allowing his eyes to
lovingly caress the image before him.

Scully's hand was a few inches away from his head; her
fingers were lightly curled and her arm was bent at the
elbow. She lay on her back with her head facing him, while
her eyes remained firmly closed. She slept soundly despite
her evident hunger.

Mulder continued to watch her - he was loathe to wake her
just yet, given the paltry amount of sleep the pair had
shared so far that night. It was a hot night, and only a
cotton sheet covered them both. It was loosely draped across
her body, as if in some concession to modesty that he knew
she didn't feel. Not anymore. His eyes travelled knowingly
along the outline her body made through the sheet. He didn't
need to lift its gentle shield to see her naked body
underneath... he just needed to close his eyes, and every
dip, every curve, every freckle of his lover's body would
appear before him.

They had been sleeping together for about two months now, and
he had lost count of the nights they had spent together here
and at her apartment, and even at hotels across America. And
yet his desire for her was just as strong as it had been the
very first time.

Just then, Scully's stomach rumbled again. As if in reply,
his own stomach chose that moment to make its hunger known
with an equally loud growl. It was late - he looked over at
the clock: 11:21pm. They had come straight back to his
apartment from work, and fallen into bed; their sexual hunger
overriding any other hunger they may have had. But now that
one need had been satiated, it was time to satisfy the more
mundane one.

Mulder rolled over and picked up the phone by his bed. He
dialled the number automatically, and reeled off his order
and address with even less thought.

At the sound of his voice, Scully stirred. She fought the
inevitable awakening for as long as possible, enjoying the
warmth and comfort of the slumberous state in which she
wavered. After a few moments, she sensed something hovering
just near her face, and reluctantly she opened her eyes.
Mulder's face was a hair's breadth away from her own, and she
smiled tenderly at the sight.

"Hey, sleepyhead..." He murmured softly.

"Hey yourself, Spooky." She replied, the tiny smile which had
been gracing her features broadening into a grin.

He lifted his hand and delicately lifted a strand of hair off
her forehead, allowing his finger to trail down her cheek as
he spoke, "I've just ordered us a pizza, OK? It won't be here
for another ten minutes, so go back to sleep if you want."

She nodded and squeezed her eyes shut, curling herself up
into a tight, warm ball, wanting to savour the last vestiges
of sleep. The mattress rippled beneath her as Mulder started
to move off the bed. The movement stopped, but she could
still feel his presence even though her eyes were tightly
closed and he remained perfectly silent.

Mulder had paused before leaving the bed, and his gaze
remained fixated on her face. He still couldn't stop himself
from being amazed that their relationship had finally moved
to this next step. They had both known instinctively that
this would happen one day, and yet it had taken him by
complete surprise when she had answered his first tentative
kiss with a passion that had surpassed his wildest
imaginings.

And the only obstacle that they had both been wary of - their
work, and how this would affect it - had been an unnecessary
fear. They had managed to draw a distinct line between agents
Mulder and Scully at work, and lovers Fox and Dana at home.
Their work was so important to both of them - Mulder's search
for his sister had grown to encompass so much more - that
neither of them was willing to give that up or sacrifice it.
It was this dual commitment - both to their work and to each
other - that compelled the pair to put so much effort into
the relationship, into nurturing it, while still keeping it a
secret from the outside world. They hadn't even needed to
discuss it, knowing that it was essential that no one - not
Skinner, not Scully's mother, *no one* - find out about their
new partnership.

Mulder cast one last look at Scully, and then carefully slid
off the bed, trying to cause as little disruption as
possible. Once on the floor, he hunted around quickly for his
boxer shorts and when found, pulled them on in one sharp
movement. He headed towards the bathroom.

Scully heard the sound of the flushing toilet, and her eyes
fluttered open. She sighed - despite his best intentions,
Mulder could be as loud as an elephant when he was trying not
to disturb her. She slowly unravelled her body from its
furled position, and stretched her limbs, which were
exhausted after her and Mulder's activities in the last few
hours. She smiled at the memory and pulled herself into a
sitting position, allowing the sheet to fall about her
middle. She sat reflectively for a few minutes, giving her
body time to wake up fully while allowing her mind to dwell
on the last two months.

Although she knew, logically, that their time together as
platonic partners outweighed these last couple of months, she
could hardly remember a time when they weren't together.
Spiritually, they had been together since their very first
case together. She had never been one to believe in such
intangibles as fate or destiny, but when it came to her and
Mulder, she had just known. Had known that they would always
be together... And now that they had finally crossed the last
barrier to a completeness as partners, it just felt so right.

She looked over at the clock: 11:30pm. God she was hungry...
She had a vague recollection of Mulder saying something about
a pizza, but she wasn't sure if that was a real memory, or
just a dream. As if he had been following her thoughts,
Mulder chose that moment to step out of the bathroom.

He had expected her to still be sleeping when he emerged, so
he received a small shock, immediately accompanied by a
frisson of pleasure, to be greeted instead with the sight of
her sitting cross-legged on the bed. The sheet made no more
attempt to conceal her nakedness from him, and he found
himself lost for words as he stared at her with open wonder.
Her normally neatly styled hair was in disarray, and tumbled
about her face with a wildness that he had discovered had a
disturbingly arousing effect on him. Its fiery colour was
neatly offset by the fairness of her skin, and he had a
sudden urgent desire to place his lips on that cool, soft
surface. But he suppressed the urge, allowing himself to be
lost in contemplation, for a moment. He knew that according
to standards by which such things were usually judged, Dana
Scully would not be classified as a stunning beauty. Her
beauty was too distinctive, too individual for that. For him,
her beauty resonated out of every pore, every cell in her
body... She was beautiful because he loved her.

Scully's eyes, which had been glazed while she had been lost
in her own thoughts, suddenly swam back into focus, and she
saw Mulder standing just outside the bathroom door, looking
at her. With a lithe, sensual movement, she uncrossed her
legs and swung them gently over the bed, so that her feet
rested on the ground.

Mulder continued to watch her, lost in his contemplation,
until a knock at the door drew his attention back to the
outside world. He cast a quick glance at the door then,
turning his face back to Scully, said, "Must be the pizza."

She nodded and started to cast her eyes around the room,
until she finally spotted Mulder's shirt lying where it had
dropped. She picked it up hurriedly, and slid it on, stopping
only momentarily as she followed Mulder to the door to
quickly slip on her panties.

Mulder had whisked his wallet off his bedside table, and was
now burrowing through it to get some money. He spoke casually
over his shoulder to Scully, "I've only got ten dollars - do
you have any money on you?"

Scully halted, and cast about in her mind, trying to recall
where she had left her purse. Mulder was almost at the door
when she remembered that she had tossed it onto his couch a
few hours earlier. She walked rapidly into his living room
and plucked her purse off the couch. She pulled out a twenty,
and turned back towards Mulder, who was just about to open
the door.

Mulder glanced behind him as he reached for the door knob,
and saw Scully approaching him with a bill in her hand. He
turned back towards the door and pulled it open.

It was Skinner.

Before Mulder had time to react - before he could warn Scully
- she had come up behind him. Her view of the doorway was
obstructed by Mulder's frame, and she was blithely unaware of
her superior's presence, as she placed her hand lovingly on
his shoulder, and let it run loosely down his skin. It wasn't
until her hand was midway down his arm that she glanced at
the figure in the doorway - and froze. Her hand pulled away
from Mulder's forearm with a rapidity that would suggest
she'd been burned.

She felt an absurd desire to giggle at the sight of Skinner's
face, which had turned as red as Mulder's had turned white.
But she managed to suppress the hysterical reaction, and
stepped away from Mulder, as if to convince Skinner that what
he had seen wasn't how it looked.

Which was of course impossible. For a split second, utter
shock was displayed on their superior's normally impassive
face. And then it was gone. The only sign of his agitation
that he couldn't repress was the  almost involuntary
tightening of his jaw. His eyes coldly raked up and down the
pair and assessed the situation. He was literally struck dumb
as the image before him was processed by his brain. Here were
two of his agents - his *best* agents - standing before him
having obviously had sex within the last few hours. Even if
the scent of their recent lovemaking didn't still cling to
the pair, it would have stood out from their appearance
alone. For such clean-cut agents, they were looking decidedly
dishevelled, not to mention the fact that Mulder was wearing
only a pair of boxer shorts, and *Scully* - Skinner's eyes
glanced fleetingly at the smaller agent - Scully was attired
in nothing more than Mulder's half-buttoned shirt...

Skinner felt his voice return, although his lips barely
moved, as he looked from one to the other and said tersely,
"What the hell's going on here?"

Mulder and Scully exchanged guilty looks, feeling foolishly
like a pair of teenagers that had been caught necking at the
local lookout.

Mulder opened his mouth to speak, but he was cut off by
Skinner, who lifted his hand and shook his head.

"I don't want to hear it. Not here. Not now." He glared at
the couple before continuing, "The reason I came to see you,
Agent Mulder, was to give you this information about the case
you're currently working on - I've been trying to ring you,
but there's been no response to your cell phone..." He spoke
the words with as little emotion as possible, and then held
out a folder, which Mulder took without a word.

The official business now over, the three stood in the
doorway in silence. Skinner cleared his throat, and looked
from one set of eyes to the other. "I want to see you both in
my office at 9am Monday morning."

There was nothing more he could say. He glowered at them one
last time, and then turned, and stiffly walked down the
hallway.

Mulder pushed the door shut and closed his eyes. With an
angry sigh, he let his head drop forward, so that it rested
against the door. Scully stood exactly as she had been
before: her hand dangled loosely at her side, the forgotten
bill still clasped in her hand.

Mulder slowly opened his eyes, and turned his head in her
direction. She lifted her face and their eyes met,
understanding passing between them without a word.

            ********************

A little while later, they were in Mulder's living room. A
pizza lay in its box on the floor - uneaten; their hunger
having vanished as soon as they had closed the door behind
Skinner. Mulder was sitting on the couch, while Scully leaned
against his legs, relishing the moment of calm that had
descended on them, despite the stark reality that they were
now trying to deal with.

The pair were silent - a pensive and reflective silence that
was as much a part of their relationship as their often
volatile debates. They complemented each other perfectly, and
neither of them had been surprised with the ease with which
they had slipped into an intimate relationship.

Mulder's fingers played with Scully's hair. It was an almost
unconscious gesture, done with a natural ease and comfort
that further attested to their familiar closeness. He gently
lifted up handfuls of hair from her neck, allowing his
fingers to slide through the fine strands  with aching
delicacy. He repeated this motion with an obsessiveness that
gave Scully a small insight into the tortuous thoughts that
were no doubt raging in his mind.

And yet, she didn't want him to stop. The gesture was as much
a comfort for her as it was for him. The gentle feel of his
hands running through her hair soothed her more than any
words would have done. Somehow, the unconscious motion served
as an emblematic representation of their relationship: the
strength and comfort they drew from each other, the
unwavering trust they shared - it was all being expressed in
that single, unfaltering action.

Scully sighed slowly and leaned further back, gently pushing
Mulder's knees apart so that her back rested directly against
the couch, and his legs kept her warm on either side. She
eased her head sideways so that it lay against Mulder's left
leg. Mulder's hand concentrated on the part of her neck that
was now exposed. He ran his fingers along her neck, just
under her jawline, and again gathered together a handful of
hair, pulling his fingers through it and allowing it to
slither back in place.

She closed her eyes and softly moaned, "What are we going to
do Mulder?"

Her voice pierced through the fog that filled his mind, and
his hands ceased their repetitive motion as unconsciously as
they had begun it. He rested his fingers on her shoulders and
replied in a gravelly whisper, "I don't know Scully."

He tilted his head on the side so he could see her face, and
gauge her reaction. To his surprise, a small smile was
pulling at her lips, and she slowly shook her head at his
words.

"What? What's so funny?"

She turned her face towards him and the smile started to
fade. "It's just so absurd," she whispered softly.

Mulder frowned slightly, and she added, moving her body
around so that she was now facing him, "I mean... the fact
that we have to go around in secret, hiding what's going on
between us like a couple of teenagers. It's ridiculous,
Mulder--"

He started to reply, but she went on, deliberately cutting
him off.

"--but I know how important it is." She lifted herself onto
her knees, and rested her arms loosely along his thighs. "And
I don't regret anything."

Even though he hadn't voiced any fears, she felt him relax at
her words. She knew that his doubts were never far from the
surface, much more so than hers. For her, it had been the
long years *before* reaching this point that had been plagued
by doubts. Fear of the unknown, fear that her feelings for
him weren't reciprocated in any way, fear of the erosion of
their working relationship... But once they had crossed that
final barrier, all her worries, all her anxieties had left
her within the instant. Suddenly everything felt right.

For Mulder on the other hand, it had been the breach of this
final barrier that had only led to more fears. Scully had
known that he had an intensity within him that would often
border on obsessiveness. She had seen it displayed whenever
he chased after the eternally vanishing ghost of his sister,
and she had seen it in his dedication to his work and his
pursuit of the truth within the X-files. And now, this
passion had been transferred to their relationship, and while
she couldn't deny that it added vibrancy and life to their
partnership, it also intensified everything to the extreme:
not only the joys, but the pain and the fear also.

Mulder lifted his hand, and wove his fingers into her hair,
resting his palm against her cheekbone. He smiled at her
warmly and felt no need for words. He had always been able to
tell her how he felt without ever actually saying the words,
and he allowed his eyes to speak for him once more.

They rested like that for a few, intimate moments, before
Scully slowly rose to her feet and said, "Mulder, I should be
going now - it's late."

Mulder stood and lay his hand on her shoulder. "Don't go,
Scully - stay... stay with me tonight."

"Mulder, come on - you know the deal, I have to go."

When they had first become lovers, Mulder - in his typical
paranoid fashion - had decided that they had to assume they
their every move was under surveillance. Therefore, in order
to keep their relationship as much of a secret as possible,
they had agreed to be diligent in their appearance to the
outside world. That meant no suspicious dinner dates, no hand-
holding in public, and most definitely, no sleeping over...

Mulder knew that they had made the right choice. He had never
forgotten the time early on in their partnership when their
office, and his own apartment had been bugged, and he needed
no more reminders of just how easy it would be for that to
happen again. Since that time, he had been even more cautious
than before - if that was possible. Every week he did a
little "spring cleaning" of his apartment, meticulously
dismantling every single electronic device, checking for the
tiniest metal intruder.

Logically he knew that Scully was right - she did have to go
if they were going to maintain any semblance of
respectability. But his emotions had never been affected by
rational logic - especially not when it came to matters of
the heart, and he couldn't stop himself from pleading with
her once more.

"Come on Scully, it's not like any of that matters any more.
Now that Skinner's found out, it's only a matter of time
before the rest of them do."

The argument appealed to her on an emotional level, but
Scully hadn't gone to med. school for nothing, and she
ignored the clamouring feelings of need and desire, allowing
the more objective part of her brain to take over, "Mulder,
no. We can't give up that easily. We've fought too long and
too hard to get to this point - and I refuse to let it all
vanish because of one mistake.

"I'm going to go, Mulder, and we'll meet again on Monday
morning, when we will convince Skinner that the safety of two
of his agents depends on his discretion. He'll understand,
Mulder - he's been there for us before."

Her voice was firm, and Mulder knew there was no point
arguing with her. Deep down he knew she was right, and he
knew that her rationality and objectivity had always been,
and would continue to be, the perfect balance to his often
over-zealous passion. His hand dropped to his side, and he
nodded resignedly.

Scully quickly moved back to the bedroom, and started to get
dressed. She knew if she had stayed in there with him for a
minute longer, all her willpower would have eventually
drained away. The sheer force of her attraction to him would
often hit her with palpable energy, and she knew that her
resistance to the unique and almost terrifying hold he had
over her could only last so long before it cracked, as it had
done the first time he had ever kissed her.

She took her time getting dressed, shielding her desire with
layers of logic, as she added each garment to her body. It
was twenty minutes before she emerged from the bedroom,
feeling suddenly renewed, full of strength and in control.
Mulder sat morosely on the couch, but she didn't make a move
towards him, waiting for him to become aware of her presence.
Finally, without even lifting his eyes in her direction, he
lifted himself up from the sofa and walked once more to her
side. Scully had long ago ceased to analyse their primal
magnetic attraction that would constantly pull them together
- even before they became lovers. When they weren't at each
other's side, guiding, comforting, supporting, respecting,
loving, it felt as though a black hole had taken up residence
instead.

He started to open the door, but before he had even turned
the lock, she had placed her hand on his, and stopped his
movement. He looked at her, surprise subtly infusing the
expression with which he regarded her. At the vision of the
earnestness of her stare, his surprise drained away and was
replaced with an identical look of intensity, reflecting her
gaze back at her, and adding his own deeper significance.

Scully spoke. He could no longer tell if it was with her
lips, or her eyes, but the words reached him. They soared
through him to the very centre of his soul, where they took
root and filled him with beautiful warmth. He had heard the
words before, but now he finally knew what they meant. They
sounded new, unfamiliar and yet as old as time itself. And
for a split second he understood everything. All the
mysteries of life suddenly crystallised and shattered every
single perception he'd ever had.

And he replied, "I love you too, Scully."

He leaned down and kissed her. The union of their lips was
the union of innocence and knowledge, of desire and
attainment, of spirit and body. Together, nothing could
separate them.

~ THE END ~

-------------------------------------------------------------

Not having yet seen "Avatar" I didn't want to risk describing
a meeting with Skinner that might go against things that had
happened in that episode. Once I have seen it, I may be
inspired enough to do a sequel, but for the moment, I think
you should just take it as given that Scully's statement
about what they were going to say to Skinner, and his
response is what happened.

Was it too soppy?? Too stupid?? Please let me know what you
thought of my interpretation of Mulder and Scully in love, as
that was my main motivation for writing this piece.

Thanks for reading.

leigh_xf@geocities.com