TITLE: Priorities

AUTHOR: Eral C.

CATEGORY: MSR, Mulder *and* Scully angst-a double whammy ;)
Takes place midway through Vienen, after Mulder returns
from the oil rig, but before the final scene. I'm finally 
getting to grips with the whole ratings thing so this is 
rated G, nothing in here to scare your kids.

DISCLAIMER: Scully and Doggett still belong to Chris 
Carter, 1013 and FOX but I since Mulder was free, I took him. 
He's mine now ;)

SUMMARY: "My priorities have shifted, Mulder, they had to.
It doesn't seem like yours have changed one bit." 

COMMENTS: I was re-watching Vienen (there's no *way* anyone 
just back from the dead could look that fine, btw) and I
started thinking about Scully and how totally mad she was
going to be with Mulder when he finally got back. So, here
you have it...my take on yet another scene we didn't get to
see. It's a good thing people write missing scenes, isn't
it? ;)


FEEDBACK: Love it! eral_c@hotmail.com 
Along with all of my stories, this one now lives at
http://www.geocities.com/eral_c



Priorities by Eral C.



Scully's mad at me. Not just a little ticked, oh no, 
absolutely, totally, completely mad at me. I called her 
an hour ago to tell her I was about to leave and that 
I'd pick up some dinner on my way over. Her usual response 
generally sounds something like 'ok, see you soon' or 
contains a shameless beg for ice cream, but tonight it 
sounded a lot like 'whatever, just not pizza again'. Ok, 
so the words themselves were pretty harmless - so she 
doesn't feel like pizza - but the tone was unmistakeable. 
She's hopping mad and I've got a feeling I'm going to have 
a hard time squirming out of this one.

Well, here goes...as I let myself in I notice that everything 
is quiet, totally silent in fact, no tv, no radio, nothing.
I head for the kitchen and that's when I see her, her back 
is to me and she is scrubbing the sink with the enthusiasm
of a lunatic. She does this when she's mad, when there are 
no bodies to slice, no reports to type and she needs 
something to occupy her hands and take her mind of off 
whatever has caused her mood. Tonight I'm the cause and 
I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm afraid, *any* man would 
be.

I know she heard me come in but she's not acknowledging my
presence at all, she's doing nothing at all to calm my 
already frazzled nerves. I put the cartons of take out 
that I fear she may throw at me down on the table and I 
walk over to where she is still furiously assaulting the 
sink. Standing behind her, I put my hands on her shoulders 
and massage them gently as I lean down and kiss her cheek. 
She throws the sponge down and I swear the sink breathes 
a sigh of relief as she turns around, ducks under my arm 
and stalks out of the kitchen and away from me.

She doesn't go very far, just into the living room where 
she now stands, her hands on her hips, her back to me again. 
I finally figure out that I need to say something,

"Scully, I know you're mad at me but-"

"Mad at you, Mulder?! Why on earth would I be mad at you?! 
Maybe because when you dropped me at work the other day, 
not only did you have the nerve to kiss me goodbye but you 
then said, and I quote, 'I'm heading to my place to pack up 
some more stuff. I'll call you later'. So, forgive me for 
being a little shocked when I discover just a few hours 
later that you're not at home at all. No! You're on an 
oil rig. In the middle of nowhere. Against orders. 
Dealing with a virus probably alien in origin. "

She's not yelling but she's pretty damn close and she's 
throwing accusations at me in short, piercing sentences 
that feel like sharp objects and make me want to dive for 
cover. This must have been brewing since the moment she 
found out that I'd gone and what we have here is the result. 
I open my mouth in an attempt to respond but I never make 
it, she's not done.

"Mulder, what the *hell* where you thinking?!! Did you even 
think, for a second, *half* a second maybe?"

"Scully, if I'd told you I was planning to go, you would 
have been dragged into it too, I didn't want that."

"Don't even try that with me! Don't think you can play 
the 'I was trying to protect you' card. That's crap and 
you know it."

"Scully, calm down, this really can't be good for the baby."

"Like you'd even give a damn."

"What is *that* supposed to mean? What *is* this about, 
Scully?"

"You've only been home for a couple of weeks and then this 
happens. I think I'm going to lose you again and all you 
can say is 'when he gets old enough, tell the kid I went 
down swinging'. *That's* what this is about. My priorities 
have shifted, Mulder, they had to. It doesn't seem like 
yours have changed one bit. I thought I mattered to you, 
I thought this baby mattered to you. I guess not."

"Scully-"

Damn it!! She storms into the bedroom as fast as she can 
possibly go and slams the door, hard. I've really screwed 
up this time, not only did I run off on an unauthorised
case without telling her but I've also somehow managed to 
make her think I don't care about her or the baby. She's 
right though, it was nothing to do with protecting her, 
it was to do with my need to do something, to make a 
reasonable attempt to get to work, to resume some kind 
of normal behaviour. Who was I trying to kid? How do you 
die, come back and return to your old life like it was 
just an extended vacation?

I slump down onto the couch and lean back, eyes closed. I 
need to go in there and talk to her but she needs to calm 
down a little and I need to know what to say. No, I know what 
I want to say, I just need to get the words straight in my 
head because if I don't I'm going to take this from bad to 
worse in one badly formed sentence.

I stand up again and go back to the kitchen to fill the 
kettle. If I take her some tea, it'll be a start. Unless 
she throws it all over me of course, then we're right back 
where we started and then some. Well, I'll take my chances.

I knock lightly on the bedroom door but I don't wait for a 
reply before I push it open and peek inside. She is lying on 
the bed, on her side, again facing away from me. I put the 
tea down on top of the chest of drawers at the foot of the 
bed,

"Scully, you awake?"

"No."

Ok, she's not yelling which is good but she doesn't sound 
any happier than she did five minutes earlier when she *was* 
yelling, which is not good. Lying about being awake isn't a
great sign either.

"I made you some tea."

"Thanks."

A grudging thanks, but thanks none the less, I think I'm saved 
from a flying tea cup at least. I sit down on my side of the 
bed, behind where she is lying, and swing my legs up so that 
I'm lying right beside her. 

"You were right, Scully. My not telling you was nothing to 
do with trying to protect you, I know you don't need that 
from me. If anyone needs protecting, it's probably me. So I'm 
sorry for that."

She still doesn't turn around but she does speak, so quietly I 
can barely hear the question she asks me,

"Why then, Mulder? Why did you go?"

"I don't know if this is going to make sense but I needed to 
feel involved again, I didn't feel as though I had a purpose 
unless I was working, unless I had the x files. I know I 
shouldn't have gone, I know I flowted orders and opened up 
a whole big mess but I had to go."

I stop, waiting to see if my words have had any effect on 
her at all. Slowly, she turns over to face me and I can 
tell by her expression that she is trying to understand. 

"I was so worried, Mulder. When I couldn't get anyone to issue 
the evacuation order for that rig, I was so afraid that I'd 
lost you again. I couldn't believe that after everything we've 
gone through these past months, after getting you back under 
circumstances that I never could have imagined, *this* was how 
I was going to lose you for good."

Suddenly I see it. The absolute rage she was feeling tonight 
was sheer terror transformed into something tangible. She wasn't 
mad at me because I didn't tell her I was going or because I 
ignored instructions - hell, she's more than used to that. She 
was afraid, she was reliving the horror of the months that I 
was gone, the months that she had to prepare herself to raise 
a child alone. I need her to know that she never has to worry 
about that, that she and our child *do* matter, they are all 
that matter now. I reach over and take her hand, covering it 
with mine,

"Scully-"

"Mulder, I need you to be honest with me. If you can't handle 
all of this, if this - me and the baby - isn't what you want, 
you have to tell me, I have to know what I'm dealing with here." 

"I said I needed to go, I needed to feel as though I had a 
purpose?"

"Yes."

"That's what I'm trying to tell you. I went to that rig and I 
realised that I've done all I can, it's time for me to move on. 
I'm probably going to get fired tomorrow for this anyway and 
if that happens, I'll gladly hand the controls over to Agent 
Doggett. He's a good man, isn't he, Scully?"

She pulls me towards her and smiles before she kisses me 
lightly on the lips. I smile back at her, I know she thinks 
I'm jealous of Agent Doggett, I know she feels the need to 
reassure me but it's not necessary. I think I probably was 
jealous at first, fool that I am, but I see things more clearly 
now and I'm thankful that if she had to have a partner while 
I was gone, it was one of the good guys.

"Yes, Mulder. He's a good, honest man and, for reasons of his 
own, he's committed to the x files, he believes in the work 
you do."

"The work *we* do, Scully."

She is propped up on her elbow now and she has me pinned with 
those perfect blue eyes. She smiles again and I think I'm on 
the road to forgiveness at last.

"I'm sorry for what I said before."

She pauses but I sense she has more to say so I remain quiet. 
I was right, she continues,

"It was a horrible thing to say and I had no right."

"You had every right, Scully. I realised a lot of things 
while I was on that rig. One of those things was that I 
haven't given you much cause for happiness since I've been 
back, Scully, and I don't think I've even come close to 
indicating how much I want this, all of this. You, and that 
little boy - or girl - in there, *you* are what matter now. 
You are officially my two favourite little people."

She smacks me lightly on the arm and, although she suddenly 
looks very misty eyed, she blinds me with her smile, one of 
her huge smiles, the rare ones.

"What will you do, Mulder? For so long, the x files has been 
everything to you."

"*You* have been everything to me for a long time now, I 
guess my priorities changed at some point."

She lays her head back down onto the pillow but her eyes don't 
leave mine, not even for a second.

"You believe me, don't you, Scully?"

"Mulder, right now I think I'd believe you if you told me Elvis
was alive."

I lean forward and kiss the tip of her nose. Usually this makes 
her giggle and tonight is no exception, she sounds like a happy 
child. I climb off the bed and take her hand again,

"You stay here, I'll go heat that food up, you're looking way 
too skinny there, partner."

"You're funny, Mulder. Real funny."

I smile and head towards the kitchen, feeling for the first 
time since I've been back that everything may actually turn out 
okay, maybe even better than okay. I stop midway across the 
living room and call out to her, I can't help myself,

"Scully, guess what?"

"What, Mulder?"

"Elvis is still alive."

For a fraction of a second, there is silence, then I hear her 
sigh as she answers,

"I know."

Yeah, I think everything's going to be okay, I really do.


END.