Defying Gravity

Morning seeped into the room through the crack of the shades and curtains. With wide eyes Scully watched the light enter the room. Today was the day, the day they were going to go up to Parker's Point and hopefully solve this mess. Tonight Mulder wanted to go up and stand on the top of a hill, in the freezing autumn night and wait for aliens, and hope that this 'Gravity Man' would show up and that they would catch him. Unreal. This entire thing was just so unreal.

Unreal included the man lying beside her on the bed. She could hear the slow steady whisper of his breathing, and between the small gap between their bodies she could feel the heat him. Unreal. But she knew the pain when he left would be real. Very real.

So far she had managed to keep the depth of her emotional involvement from him, she still had her pride. She had wanted him for so long, and yet here they were all on the surface ike expose nerve endings.

For the past five years she had argued with him and countered his points only to learn that he was right all along. She had fought with him simply as an outlet to her feelings. As long as she was quarrelling with Mulder, she could ignore all the intense, warm, melting, hotter, more dangerous things.

"Mmmm...you're all tensed up."

The husky whisper in her ear tensed her even more as she felt Mulder roll over and close in on her. He slipped one arm over her and one underneath her, and she found herself wrapped in his long arms. He was so big, so warm, so hard, so smooth, so...sexy.

"Are you worrying, Dana?"

"A little." she admitted. Her voice was still husky from sleep. When a warm hand swallowed her breast and his fingers began toying with a susceptible nipple, speech became nearly impossible.

"Damn it, Dana. You feel so out-of-sight good to me. All soft and silky. I won't let anything happen to you."

This was too much to bear. She wrenched out of his arms and sat up glowering down at him. the sheet fell to her waist, but she ignored it.

"Damn it, Mulder, i swear you make me madder then anyone could possibly ever know!"

"What the hell did I do?!" He lay on his back and looked back up at her.

"I told you before I don't want anyone taking care of me! I can take care of myself and I don't need anyone else wanting to do it for me!"

He was frowning at her, but he was also thinking faster then he ever had. He wasn't sure how he managed to get her so mad in such a short time, but he had a feeling that it had to do more with what she was thinking about before he woke up.

Reaching up she smoothed a lock of her hair behind her ear and continued to glare back at him. He glowered back, but sure did not look intimidated. But then she thought with absurdity how could anyone be intimidated when she was practically shoving her breasts in his face?

"Sorry." she said.

< Sorry?!, Scully was apologizing? On her own? Without prompting? > That was when he spotted the dawning spark of humor in her eye. Well, her rage wasn't that believable when she was sitting there looking like centerfold of the month. But still they had to get this straight.

"I didn't mean that the way you evidently took it, Dana."

She nodded slowly as is already knowing the words her had spoken. "I'm just as capable of taking care of myself as the next person, male or female."

"I know that i've seen you in action G-woman," he said nudging her shoulder and trying to lift her mood "But it's just that you bring out all the protective instincts in me." He watched the play of emotions play over her face and it was as different as the deserts from the highlands of Scotland. Something was tearing at her. Something causing fear and pain and doubt, he cold think of only one possible cause; the gravity man.

"We'll get him Dana, I swear we will."

At eleven, just as Mulder and Scully were getting ready to leave Skinner called.

"The crowd is already gathering, when are you and Agent Mulder leaving?" he asked her

"Right now, as a matter of fact. Charles went on ahead. He may already be there."

"He is," she heard Skinner say with a touch of dryness. "Agent Allen called in his description."

Scully smiled at this her brother always stood out in a crowd and was never one to fade from memory, and she had told Mulder so one night when he had asked her "Really Dana can't your brother just wear jeans and a T-shirt."

"My brother, Mulder, has never been like everyone else. And don't put him down," she had said defensively. "He'd be a great help to the bureau on a couple of our cases."

"I know," he had said. "Belive me, I did a background on him. It's the only reason I'm letting him get involved in this."

Scully looked at him shocked into silence that Mulder had the gall to do a check on her brother, she opened her mouth to tell him this but closed it not wanting to instigate an argument. Scully hung up the phone and ran out to the car to the impatient Mulder, and then were on their way to Parker's Point to catch the Gravity Man.

Frozen ground crackled and popped beneath their feet as they crossed the cornrows toward the spot Charels had said this gathering would be.

"How many people do you suppose are up here?" she wondered aloud.

"Judging from the cars, a couple hundred, maybe a few more."

"It looks like something from Night of the Living Dead, zombies heading toward a central location where a human sacrifice would take place."

She was still talking when a man stopped mulder and said, "Live long, et cetera."

He swung around to the sound of a man's voice and almost pulled his gun when he saw who it was. It was Charels with green skin, pointed ears and a light blue velour shirt. He cracked up.

"Not a very flattering response." he remarked straight faced. "I thought I looked great. After all what should one wear to an alien reception?" He looked at Scully. "I'll be near."

All of a sudden someone from the south end of the hill shouted "Look!" and all eyes raised toward the sky.

Scully looked, blinked twice, above the horizon about thirty degrees were six very bright lights. Brighter then Venus by far, and moving in a steadily northern direction. It was impossible to tell if they were six individual lights or a single craft with a diameter about 10 yards in all directions. The formation was flying very tight and steady.

The light began to wink, one by one, in a clock wise pattern that gave a definite image of a spinning craft.

The hilltop was incredibly quiet as a hundred or more people stared to the sky in wide-eyed wonderment. Around them cameras flashed, whirred and clicked as people tried to capture of the seemingly unexplainable lights that they thought was the first recorded experience with another life-form.

"I wish I had my camera. It's fantastic. Do you think they'll land?" said Daniel appearing out of nowhere to Scully's elbow.

"I don't know." she said ignoring him for the moment to fix her eyes on the lights.

Daniel took his eyes from the sky and looked at her. "You want to stop them, don't you." Turning from her to the surrounding individuals and yelled "Look out! Look out! She's disturbing the gravity! She's destroying it completely! I told you it's not the aliens destroying the gravity. Agent Scully is stopping them! She doesn't believe!"

Before she could take in the words he was saying he grabbed her by the arm and pulled her against him and put another hand to her throat.

"Scully!" he yelled and instantly had his gun in his hands and pointed at Daniel.

From the angry frustrated lover to the Oxford educated Phycologist he turned to Daniel to persuade him to give himself in without hurting anyone.

"Let go of her Daniel." he said

"No...no..." Sounding wild and lost Daniel backed up a few steps and tightened his arm around Scully even more.

"Let her go, If you hurt her I'll have to kill you Daniel, but if yo let her go you can just walk away."

Daniel started babbling something about the gravity and how it didn't matter if he lived or died. Mulder didn't pay any attention to what he was saying, the muscles in his arms were tight as iron with his restraint and anger. He started to edge around Daniel taking advantage of his confusion and waited a little for the opportunity. His main concern was to get Scully away from him unharmed. Someone yelled something about Daniel being right and Mulder recognizing the voice of Charels, took the opening and fired a single shot at Daniel all along hoping that he wouldn't move.

The youth let out a howl of pain and let Scully go and she whirled around her gun drawn and fixed on Daniel. Daniel was on the ground clutching his arm in pain. Then they were surrounded by agents sporting guns and one took Daniel's arm and cuffed him while another read him his rights.

The eastern sky was just beginning to lighten. Dew covered everything making the world appear new and fresh. She stood at eh window and stared at the star studded sky. She could hardly believe all that had occurred during the last few hours. After the arrest they wee questioned by what seemed like dozens of agents and officers. Skinner had come to see if they were okay. Charels had been a comfort. Now she had to deal with this. Mulder would go and everything would return to normal. She walked down to the dining room with a heavy sigh. Mulder was nowhere in sight. She sat with her coffee and tried to think of a way to deal with the pain to come.

"It's been some adventure, Scully." he said as he walked in and sat in the chair next to her.

< Some adventure Scully? > The sudden piercing pain in her heart, the sinking sensation in her stomach. Some adventure. Now he would pack his stuff and walk out of her life just as suddenly as he had walked in. He would say "it's been fun but now things are going to go back to normal." Yeah, that's what he would say. And then she would kill him.

"Scully?"

"Yes?"

"We need to talk."

She didn't like the sound of this. He said these words then he seemed to get really quiet.

"When did you get tactful?" she demanded after a while.

"What makes you think I'm trying to be tactful?"

"The way you're glaring at the table like it's suppose to do the talking for you. you've always been able to tell me anything."

"Some things aren't easy to talk about."

"Well, then say it damn it!" she said growing impatient with him. If he was going to end it with her now get on with it and leave her to herself don't just sit there.

"Look, Scully--"

"Don't you *dare* call me Scully after all--after all--" Speech deserted her as pain overwhelmed her. Scully! How dare he call her that!

Realization of what he had been doing and how she was feeling unlocked some kind of floodgate. In an instant he was around the table, trying to console her.

"Dana...darlin'...sweetheart..." Mumbling every endearment her could think of, he took her and held her in his arms and held her close, raining kisses on her small frame and all over her face. How could he do this to her? he didn't mean for either of them to get hurt and now they were both dying inside because--because--

Because he wouldn't say what needed to be said. because he was a cheap, chicken-hearted, yellow-bellied emotional coward! "Damn it, Dana! I love you!"

She stopped at his words but did not look up at him as if not believing she heard what she had just heard.

"Dana. Dana, did you hear me? I love you! But damnit woman, if you don't answer me quick-- Do you hate me? Do you want me to get lost?"

"Oh god, Mulder, Mulder, I love you so much!"

Relief hit him full force as he held her close and mumbled a thank god into her hair. He swept her up in his arms and still holding eachother tight and carried her to the bed for the promise that she was for the rest of their lives together.

Yea! That's the end folks hope you like the story. Feedback is appreciated.