Title: Lay so entwined Author: TeaL Talitha_1013@yahoo.co.nz Flames will be loaded into my flame thrower and fired straight back at ya *g* Keywords: M/S Friendship, UST. Rated: G Summary: Something that happens late at night leaves Scully wondering "Oops! Did I say that outloud???" ThanX to my Beta reader Amy. LAY SO ENTWINED By TeaL We didn't do this, didn't show up outside the other's front door at one a.m if we were unable to sleep. If Mulder couldn't sleep he went for a run or watched one of those videos that weren't his. If he was extremely bored he'd phone me but he *never* came over. I guess we both connected house calls in the middle of the night with a road trip. Either that or something very bad had happened. In our cases that something very bad turns out to be the death of a loved one more times than not. So earlier, when I'd been awoken by a persistent sound of knuckles connecting with wood, I'd assumed the worst. Now as I sit on my couch mentally kicking myself, I realise I was right to assume the worst... "Mulder? What's wrong?" Mulder stood on the other side of the threshold leaning heavily against the door frame. His eyes were closed and he looked like he hadn't slept all week. Pulling his head off it's hard pillow he slowly opened his eyes and looked down at me. I moved a little closer, worried that he was about to collapse. "Nothing," he said softly, "I just couldn't sleep." "Mulder, you look exhausted. What's wrong, why can't you sleep?" I sound worried, perhaps more then I need to be but he's my friend and when friends show up at your home late at night in the state Mulder's in, you have little choice. Laughing slightly, Mulder almost dragged himself past me into my darkened apartment and settled himself comfortably on my couch before continuing. He had a way of making things seem worse then they really are. Closing the door, I followed him but didn't sit beside him. Instead, I stood before him and this time I was looking down at him but there was no exhaustion emanating from my every pore, only frustration and worry. Though with these two things combined it wouldn't be long before it became exhaustion if he kept his silence up. "I need to move" he moaned softly, "I think it's my apartment, Scully." He paused to rub his tired, swollen eyes. "The last few nights I haven't been thinking about Samantha as much and I haven't been obsessing over work after hours like I used to. The things that usually keep me from sleep haven't really crossed my mind, yet I haven't had a decent night's sleep in three days." "Mulder, what's a 'decent night's sleep'?" I asked lightly. Mulder sighed, "More than the two hours I've been allowed recently" "You should see a doctor," I told him firmly, "You could get a prescription to help you sleep." "Or, I could move." "What is it about your apartment that's only now affecting you?" I asked skeptically. "I moved the fish tank a week ago. Bad Feng Shui?" he deadpanned. "Mulder," I said, a warning tone in my voice, "Go see a doctor and if that doesn't help then start thinking about other options." "You don't want me to move?" "I just don't want you to move and then discover it wasn't your apartment. You love that apartment Mulder." Mulder shrugged, "It's just walls, furniture and a fish tank." "But is your heart there?" "I don't know where my heart is." I shook my head sadly and disappeared into my bedroom. I returned a few moments later with a pillow and blankets. "This is temporary Mulder. Tonight only." I told him firmly, "Tomorrow I'm driving you to the nearest doctor, okay?" Mulder smiled a "Thanks" and I left him to settle on the couch. I didn't close my bedroom door; I left it open a little. Just enough to be able to hear if he was moving around or not. I heard the click of the Television set through the darkness and I silently prayed he'd find an infomercial so void of interest that he'd be lulled into a deep sleep. Now, I was the one unable to sleep and still worried about him. Hours had passed. I hadn't heard him switch the TV off, though I wondered if I had indeed fallen asleep briefly at some point. Four a.m had seemed to come around extremely fast. Quietly slipping out from under the warm blankets, I wrapped the thick robe around my body and padded out into the kitchen for a glass of warm milk. It never helped me sleep but I was running out of options; my tired sheep were no longer jumping over the fence but simply slamming into it and being knocked unconscious. One hour straight counting could do that, I guess. I just wished it had helped me. The TV was still on; muted, but on. The glow from the screen fell upon his sleeping features and he looked younger. He didn't look like the tired, tormented soul that had stumbled into my apartment mere hours earlier. Forgetting the milk, I knelt beside him and watched him sleep. I know, there's something creepy about watching a person sleep, but it was such a peaceful sensation I couldn't help it. I rested my head against the side of the couch mere inches from his chest and closed my eyes, lulled to sleep by his breathing. I don't know how I ended up on the couch but I was awoken from sleep by an arm circling my waist and pulling me closer into a wondrous warmth. Turning my head slightly I found myself looking into familiar eyes. I'd never seen these eyes shine so brightly with life before. Then I realised we weren't on the couch but in my bed and that brought on even more confusion. It passed quickly and the feeling of being in my bed in his arms felt like the most natural thing in the world. Mulder's face nuzzled into my hair and one of his hands gently caressed mine. His actions were new but it truly seemed like we would spend every night of our lives like this and I didn't know how I'd sleep without him tomorrow night. I didn't want this to end; the thought of returning to an empty bed from this night on was almost too much to bear. "Don’t worry Scully, I'll never let you go" he murmured, his breath tickling my neck. Mulder, the mind reader. I chuckled softly to myself and relaxed back into the warmth of his body behind me. "I love you, Mulder." "Scully?" his hand gripped my shoulder and shook me gently. "Hmmm?" I was shaken awake to find myself looking up into those same familiar eyes but this time they looked more than a little amused. Looking around I realised I was still half-sitting, half-lying on the floor beside the couch, my head still resting against the soft upholstery. "What are you doing down there on the floor?" he asked. "I... ", still half asleep, I couldn’t find a good excuse. Mulder smirked and hauled himself off the couch. "Thanks for the couch, Scully. I need to go home for a bit but if I can't sleep there tonight then tomorrow I'll see a doctor okay." I nodded and began to peel myself off the floor. My neck and back were going to pay for my late night impulse well into the day. Looking back once more before he exited he said, "Love you too." The door closed behind him and I stood stock-still as the dream came flooding back to me. I collapsed onto the couch and buried my head deep into my hands whimpering. "Oh my god...." THE END Feedback: Talitha_1013@yahoo.co.nz Author's Notes/Archiving: This has been sitting on a disk untitled and forgotten for over a year because I didn't like it. Since I've promised to finish all my WIPS I decided it was time I did something with this. Yea, title's stolen from a Sarah song but surely you've come to expect that from me *G* It's kind of pointless and didn't have much of a story but if you want to archive it just let me know where you're putting it. Blah blah yadda yadda legal stuff: Mulder, Scully, TXF.. Not mine, not mine, not mine. Http://www.angelfire.com/nm/Talitha/ Woohoo! Yea! Go Gillian! [Image]