Rated G

Disclaimers: they aren’t mine, yadayadayada

What if . . . ?

She sat in the conference room as the SAC explained the case at hand. It felt strange to be sitting in on a case without Mulder, but his name had not been on the memo summoning her to this crowded conference room. Still, she wasn’t at all surprised to see him slip into the back of the room just as the lights were dimmed for a slide presentation.

As the slides were presented, just before the lights went back on, Mulder spoke up. He objected to the conclusions the SAC had presented, and began to give his opinion. The SAC stopped him, asking him to please step out of the room, as he was not to be involved in the case. Harsh words were exchanged, and just as it looked as if the SAC was going to call security, a striking older woman stood up on the other side of the room and spoke, defending Mulder’s conclusions. The room went silent, until the SAC introduced the woman as a former FBI agent, now working in the lay field. She had been called in as a consultant, as her work was in the field of the case at hand.

Mulder was obviously pleased to see the woman. His partner watched as he made his way over to her at the end of the meeting. They smiled at each other, and hugged. Still holding hands, they stood and talked until the SAC approached them. She couldn’t hear the conversation as they moved out into the hall, but the SAC was obviously not pleased. After a few minutes, the SAC left them alone and went down the hall.

She watched for a few minutes as they continued their conversation. The woman glanced over at her a few times, but Mulder was so wrapped up in the conversation that he didn’t even see her. Finally the woman stopped him and turned to her, holding out her hand as Mulder stumbled over the introduction.

She asked to speak with Mulder privately, and, taking his arm, moved him a few feet away down the hall. As she began to demand an explanation of who the woman was, Mulder’s cellphone rang. The woman watched as he spoke on the phone, and when he was done, he turned to the woman and asked her to ride with him to investigate another death in the case. Turning to his partner, he told her to meet them there in her own car. She couldn’t help but feel hurt as they turned away.

A few minutes later, riding in her car, her cellphone rang. It was Mulder, asking her to go on to the scene, as he had something else to attend to first. As she tried to ask him about the woman again, he hung up the phone. Tears blinded her, and she pulled off the road to regain her composure. She didn’t understand why she was feeling this way. Mulder had worked with other women during the time she had been his partner, and none of them had affected her. There was something about the way he looked at the woman, that suggested there was more there than met the eye. Looking around, she realized that she was near the office of Mulder’s friends, the Lone Gunmen.

After finally gaining entrance to the Gunmen’s office, she demanded to know what they knew about the woman. They were clearly uneasy, and would only tell her that the woman was someone from Mulder’s past. Byers wouldn’t even look her in the eye, and finally left the room. Frohike finally told her to leave it alone, that it wasn’t her business. Shocked, she fled from the building.

Sitting in the car, she reached for her cellphone. Instead of dialing, she stared at it for a few minutes, and then decided on a different course of action. She started the car, and turned it toward Mulder’s apartment.

As she suspected, Mulder’s car was parked in front of the building. She gathered up her courage, and went inside.

As she stood outside the door, she almost turned away. This was her Mulder, her partner, and the man she loved. Why would he be with this other woman? Who could she be?

Reaching for the doorknob, she turned it quietly. It was unlocked, and she stepped in. No one was in the living room, but she could hear voices coming from the bedroom. She was amazed to know that he would take the woman into that maze of paper and books.

Stepping quietly down the hall, she heard Mulder begin to say, "I finally understood what I had been doing to you, and was able to admit that I love . . ."

Bursting into the room, she confronted the couple. They were sitting on the bed facing each other, and Mulder was holding the woman’s hands. The woman started to jump up, but Mulder pulled her down.

She stared at her partner, as he demanded to know what she was doing. Harsh words were exchanged, until finally the woman stopped them.

"Agent Brown," she said, "I know exactly how you are feeling. What Agent Mulder and I once had is long over. I have no intention of coming between the two of you. This is just closure for us. Please accept my apology."

With that, Dr. Dana Scully picked up her handbag and walked out of the room, leaving Mulder and his partner/lover/friend to confront each other.