TITLE:  You Bet Your Life - An Elemental X-Files Story

AUTHOR:  This story was a collaboration of writers who met at the Haven.  With the exception of the last part, a different 
member wrote each chapter.  The chapter had to include 5 
elements supplied by other members (the first five sent in 
made the cut).

CATEGORY:  Humor, MSR

KEY WORDS:  UST

SUMMARY:  It all started with a simple bet - but with Mulder 
and Scully, nothing stays simple, and naturally, one thing 
leads to another.

DISCLAIMER: The X-Files, Fox Mulder, Dana Scully, et al belong to 1013 and Fox productions - we're only borrowing them.

VERY IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: Please let it be known that the
authors of this Round Robin met at the Haven for the FBI's
Most Unwanted. The Haven is the SOLE property of Amy. This
Round Robin is not supported, condoned, produced by her site,
nor is it a part of it. We would very much like to thank Amy
for all the hard work that goes into the Haven and makes it
such a special place to visit. The Round Robin was coordinated perfectly through Onelist.com

SPOILERS: If there are, they're really tiny

DISTRIBUTION: Ephemeral, Gossamer, Xemplary, yes. Others, 
please let us know where so we can ALL visit.

FEEDBACK: Any feedback is welcome and will be shared with our
entire group. You may send feedback to any of the authors and
we will happily forward it on.

 

Chapter 1 by CoryG  [email protected]

5 required elements:  inflatable furniture, chenille robe, 
Furby, Hemmingway, and VW Bug


The initial taps at her door soon turned to rapping and then 
to the beginning of pounding. "Scully, are you all right?" 

She could hear concern in his voice.

"Mulder, I'm fine, just give me a moment." Scully reached 
the door and blew a piece of copper colored hair out of her 
eyes as she unlocked the bolt and swung the door aside.

As Mulder smiled and walked passed her into her apartment, 
Scully moved to close the door, but as she closed it, she 
leaned into the door rather awkwardly, causing a loud 
"whump."

Mulder was at her side in a moment. "Scully? Sure you're 
okay?"

Scully shook her head a few times and looked up to smile at 
him wanly. "I just feel a little light headed." She turned 
to him as she made her way back over the couch. "I admit I 
was blowing up this inflatable chair a little too 
enthusiastically and I think I just was feeling the effects 
when I got the door." She plopped into her seat.

"Inflatable what?" Mulder asked with a smile.

"My godson sent me this inflatable chair and ottoman set for 
my birthday a few months ago, and I admit I tossed it in the 
closet. But my mom called the other day and said he was 
visiting for the summer vacation and she was going to bring 
him by the apartment, so I thought I'd better get it out."

"I'd certainly take my piece off before sitting into that 
thing. Liable to blow a hole in it!"

"I don't know. Guess it's some new teen fad or something."

Mulder grinned and then intensified his look, taking in her 
apparel. "Ah, Scully, are you sure you're feeling okay? Last 
time I looked, it was 85 degrees outside. And yet you look 
like you're ready for the next ice age in that thing."

Scully sighed. "This "thing" as you so aptly put it, is one 
of my favorites. My mother gave it to me for my 16th 
birthday." Scully pulled the blue chenille robe around her 
more snuggly and tightened the belt. "And, for your 
information, when you have your foot stuck in freezing cold
water all day, you get a little chilly."

Mulder suddenly looked concerned. "How is your foot, Scully? 
Feeling any better?"

"As long as I keep ice on it, the swelling should go down. 
Do me a favor, Mulder, and get me some more ice cubes. They 
should be frozen by now."

Mulder moved in to the kitchen and yelled to her from across 
the room. "I don't know, Scully, you might have to lay low 
off those heels for a few days."

Scully scowled. "Well, I have you to blame for this, you 
know. How the hell did you get the idea to join an FBI 
tournament? You usually are against these things. And 
bowling?"

Mulder returned and added the ice cubes to the pail in which 
Scully was soaking her foot. He looked up at her as he mixed 
the cubes around. "I know, but Athens in Violent Crimes was 
in charge of this and I had a score to settle with him."

"What kind of score?"

"Long story but it dates back to our Academy days, but 
suffice it to say that every time I see him and my, er his 
Jaguar in the parking lot......."

"This is about a car?" Scully asked incredulously. "I'm 
soaking my foot because of some old grudge about a car?"

"Oh, Scully, it's more than a car...." Mulder quickly 
changed the subject. "I never knew you were such a good 
bowler, Scully."

"Hmm." Scully looked down her nose at Mulder who was still 
crouched by her feet. "You're not so bad yourself."

Mulder looked up at her with a smile playing around his 
lips. He stood up, and moved over the chair across form her.

"The guys gave me a few lessons."

"The Gunmen taught you to bowl?"

"Well, let's say they gave me a few pointers. They actually 
wanted to watch, but they have been having a few, eh, 
electronic concerns over at their place that took priority."

Scully focused on Mulder as she made herself more 
comfortable on her couch. "Like what? Satellite down or 
something?"

"Well," Mulder smiled sheepishly, "actually, Frohicke was 
the cause of it. He brought home one of those Furby toys and 
was trying to rewire it so it could talk dirty to him or 
something. Unfortunately, while he was unsuccessful in 
changing Furby's vocabulary, Furby was successful in not 
only wiping out all the classified satellite downloads Byers 
had spent weeks on, but at the same time erased Langly's 
only copy of Jimi Hendrix doing "All Along the Watchtower" 
live."

"Oh no," Scully tried to suppress a giggle. "Somebody was 
talking dirty to Frohicke and I'm sure it wasn't Furby!"

Mulder laughed. Then he sobered and looked again at Scully's 
foot. "So, are you going to be okay? Nothing's broken, 
right?"

Scully shook her head. "No, only a sprain and a bruise. So 
long as I soak it today and then do warm soaks for the next 
few days, I should be all right."

"Great, then we're on for next Wednesday, right?" Mulder 
looked excited. "I just loved seeing Athens's face when we 
were announced the winners."

"Ah, 'But did thee feel the Earth move?'" Scully muttered 
sarcastically.

"Okay, Scully, I don't think that's quite what Hemmingway 
was getting at when he wrote that piece but, yeah, it 
trembled a bit for me that night."

"Mulder, why is this so important to you? It can't be for 
the prizes."

"Now, Scully, tell me you wouldn't love to have that Bright 
blue VW Bug car sitting pretty in your space out front here. 
Why, you could even see it from your window. A blast from 
the past, Scully." Mulder's eyes shone.

"Let me get this straight. If we win this bowling 
tournament, I get the car?"

"Well, okay, I get visiting rights, every other Friday 
night," Mulder replied.

"Okay, Mulder, I know you too well. What is the real reason 
we are in this tournament.....?"

/////////////////////////////

Chapter 2 by barb  [email protected]

5 required elements:  balloons, Levi's, vegemite sandwich, 
Mr. Pibb, and coconut bra.

 
When Mulder didn't answer her, Scully pinned her partner 
with her fiercest stare. "Come on, Mulder - out with it." 
She demanded. "Exactly why is this tournament so important?"

Mulder stood frozen, momentarily taken aback until he was 
able to come up with a reasonable answer to satisfy her 
curiosity. Remembering to turn on the "soulful puppy dog', 
he leaned down and whispered, "I just wanted us to have some 
fun, Scully." He cranked up the seductiveness in his tone. 
"You remember what having fun is, don't you G-woman?"

Scully's eyes widened as his warm breath tickled her ear and 
sent more goosebumps to join the ones she already had. 
Unable to hide the shiver that coursed through her, she felt 
her jaw drop. Actually, she could almost hear the splash 
that it made when it hit the bucket of ice that her foot was
soaking in.

Finally she found her voice. "Fun? Fun, Mulder? Does it look 
like I'm having fun here, Mulder?" For added effect she 
lifted her swollen, discolored foot up for his inspection.

The unexpected sight of her tiny, naked foot nearly took his 
breath away for reasons that he couldn't quite pin down. 
Quickly he turned away before he embarrassed himself and 
wandered aimlessly about the room, trying to find 
something...anything...he didn't know what...to keep him 
from answering Scully's question. He came to a stop in front 
of a large brown box that judging by the level of dirt and 
dust had obviously been in storage for quite some time.

"Hey Scully - where did this come from?" He called out, 
lifting the lid and poking through the contents. It looked 
like junk.

Scully sighed. "Just stuff, Mulder. My neighbor, Mr. Gibson 
brought it up for me so I could add some more things I found 
when I cleaned out my closet the other day. Now don't try 
and change the subject. I want to know why -"

She was cut off by a loud knock on the door. Mulder grinned.
(Saved. ) "I'll get it," he said sweetly, moving to the 
door.

Scully huffed. "I'm warning you, Mulder - I want an - "

Mulder waived her off as he pulled open the door and found 
himself facing a woman carrying the kind of tray you used to 
serve someone breakfast in bed. (Now there's an idea. ) Tiny 
butterfly mylar balloons were tied to one of the legs and 
floated above her head.

"Oh!" The woman seemed startled to see him. "I didn't 
realize Dana had company."

"Hello, Marianne!" Scully called out. "It's okay. Come on 
in."

"I'm Scully's partner, Fox Mulder. Can I help you with 
that?" He reached out and took the tray.

"Why thank you. It's nice to meet you. I'm Dana's next door 
neighbor, Marianne Gibson. When Ned told me about your 
injury, Dana, I thought that you might like a little lunch. 
The balloons are from Tina."

"Thank you, Marianne. That's so thoughtful of you." She 
scooted around so that Mulder could put the tray over her 
lap while keeping her foot in the ice bucket.

She and Mulder stared down at the contents of the tray. 
There was a sandwich. Mulder thought it was a sandwich. And 
a can of Mr. Pibb. Scully thanked Marianne again, as Mulder 
walked her to the door.

As soon as she was gone, he burst out laughing. "What -is-
that, Scully?"

"It's an authentic Australian Vegemite sandwich, thank you 
very much. She and her husband and daughter moved here three 
months ago from Sydney." Scully retorted.

"A Mr. Pibb?! I didn't know that they still made those 
things," he smirked as he stood and returned to the brown 
box.

Scully rolled her eyes. "Very funny. Now. Let's get back to 
the matter at hand. Quit poking around my things and start 
talking." She moved the tray to the coffee table. She'd eat 
later.

Mulder reached down and pulled something out. "Oh, I'm quite 
ready to talk. I want to talk about this." He turned around 
and held his hands out, displaying to Scully's complete and 
utter embarrassment - a coconut bra.

"Oh shit..." she breathed, mortified.

Mulder dangled the bra by its kelly green strap. "Let's talk 
- 'cause I know this has to be good," he tauunted her.

"Dammit, Mulder!" she seethed, her cheeks flaming. In fact, 
she was positive that her entire body was blushing, making 
her heavy chenille robe suddenly, uncomfortably hot. "Give 
me that!"

Mulder shook his head. "No way. Not until I get all the 
juicy details." He inspected the garment. "I can almost - 
almost picture you in it. I just never thought it was your 
style. Wouldn't Frohike die?" he smiled wickedly.

"All right, Mulder - knock it off." Scully exclaimed. "It 
was for a play. South Pacific. Okay. Are you happy? Now give 
it here."

"Only if you model it for me first," he stated, waggling his 
eyebrows and grinning lecherously.

"That does it!" Before Mulder could react, Scully had pushed 
herself up, intending to walk over there, take the damned 
bra and beat Mulder senseless with it. A plan that might 
have worked if she had remembered that her foot was in a 
bucket of ice.

When she tried to bear weight without taking her foot out of 
the bucket, it immediately tipped over, trapping her foot 
and sent her toppling to the ground. Her agonized cry of 
pain brought Mulder on the run and quickly bent down and 
scooped her up. Her robe had soaked up some of the spilt 
water and when he clutched her close he could feel the icy 
water soaking through his Levi's.

He gave an involuntary shudder. (Jesus, how did stand to 
keep her foot in that?) he thought briefly.

"Scully - are you all right?" He tried to look at her, but 
she had buried her face in his neck, holding him tightly. 
His heart broke when he felt her hot tears trickling down 
his shirt.

"Scully, I'm so sorry." He carried her to her bedroom and 
gently sat her down, catching his first glimpse of her face. 
All the pretty color of her previous blush had vanished, 
leaving her pale and shaking. "Maybe we should get you to 
the hospital." He moved to pick her back up, but she stopped
him.

"No, don't, Mulder. Please." She brushed away her tears and 
fought to regain her composure. "I'm okay. Really. Just let 
me catch my breath."


/////////////////////////// 
Chapter 3 by AmandaB  [email protected]

5 required elements:  Elton John CD -"Love Songs", pinky 
ring, Manx cat, beach and sunburn


Scully reclined on the bed, brushing her hair out of her 
eyes. Her skin was still pale, and tear tracks still marred 
her face. Mulder noticed that the chenille robe had gaped 
open a bit, and it took all of his willpower not to stare. 

All of his willpower.

He sat down beside her on the bed, and searched for 
something to say. It was his fault that she was in this 
predicament, but for the life of him he couldn't figure out 
how to make it up to her. He certainly wasn't going to tell 
her why they were in this tournament...well, at least not 
the whole reason. It was true that he had lost the last one 
he'd been in to Athens, but really, was it a crime to want 
to spend more time with your partner?

Why couldn't he just say that aloud?

"So, Scully. What do you want to do today? I know we can't 
go anywhere, but I'm here to entertain you." As he spoke his 
eyes wondered to her bedside table where an open CD case 
lay. He picked it up and looked at it while she spoke in 
answer to his question.

"You're here to entertain me? I hope this won't involve my 
other foot being hurt..."

Mulder looked up and grinned. "Come on, Scully. Don't you 
know that 'Sorry Seems to be the Hardest Word'? He held up 
her copy of Elton Johns, "Love Songs". 

Scully blushed yet again, and Mulder was delighted. He was a 
man who loved to tease, and it was hard to tease a blush out 
of Scully...Mulder decided to press his luck and go for a 
third blush. But how?

He hoped up from the bed and began to look around Scully's 
bedroom. "Uh-uh, Mulder. You are not going to poke around my 
bedroom, too..." Scully sounded chagrined, but Mulder had 
already struck gold.

"Look, Scully! A photo album." He sounded like a kid with a 
new toy. Scully groaned. He moved back over to the bed and 
sat beside her. He gestured to the album. "Can we look in 
it? Please?" Scully rolled her eyes, but opened the album to 
the first page. Mulder secretly grinned. There had to be 
some blush worthy material in the album somewhere.

On the first page there was a family picture. From the looks 
of the clothing and the ages in question, Mulder deduced the 
photo had been taken in the mid 1970's. Mr. and Mrs. Scully 
sat in the photo and their brood stood around them. Mulder 
made a face at seeing a smiling Bill Scully, but was amused 
to see Bill's Greg Brady shirt. Melissa stood behind her 
mother and next to Bill, and even then Mulder could see she
wore a crystal around her throat. Next to Melissa was a boy 
who Mulder assumed was the ever absent Charles Scully. He 
looked a great deal like Bill, and Mulder shuddered to think 
that Charles would act a great deal like Bill, too. Lastly, 
behind her father, with her hand on his shoulder was Scully. 
She was about 10 in the picture, and she was as cute as a 
button. Mulder didn't dare voice that opinion however; he'd 
already been shot once by his partner, thankyouverymuch.

"It's a nice photo, Scully. When was it taken?" Scully began 
to answer him on the date and the circumstances surrounding 
the picture, but Mulder was intently looking at his 
photographed partner's hand. "What is that on your finger, 
Scully? A ring? I didn't know you wore rings."

Scully looked at the picture closer and smiled. "It's a 
pinky ring, Mulder. It was the style of the moment." 

Mulder nodded. Scully kept up with style?

They went through the album, Scully reminiscing at first 
hesitantly, then with more enthusiasm as she got deeper into 
the album. Mulder experienced Scully family barbecues, 
trips, and birthdays.

One photo made him pause and look closer. "What is that, 
Scully?" he asked in surprise. Scully smiled at his 
reaction. "That was our cat, Miss Foxy."

"Cat? I mean, it looks like a cat, but-uh-where is it's 
tail?"

"Oh, come on, Mulder. Surely you've heard of a Manx cat!"

"Well, yeah. But, I've never actually seen one." Scully went 
on to the next picture, and Mulder smiled at her profile. 
She was so animated talking to him now; he loved to see her 
be so free. But, he'd yet to make her blush...

Scully turned the next page and before Mulder could see what 
was on it, flipped it quickly. Bingo! Mulder's mind yelled. 
This had to be the blush worthy material.

"What was on that page, Scully? I didn't quite see it."

"Nothing. Oh, look! This was Daddy's ship..."

"Wait. Scully. I didn't see what was on the page before." 
Mulder tried to pry the book from her hands. Scully was 
having none of that however, and held on tighter. Mulder 
poked her in the side and using the 3-second flinch in her 
hands, pried the book from her and flipped the page back.

"Mulder!" Scully yelled. But he was staring at the photo 
Scully had tried to hide.

In it a 16 year old Dana Scully stood on a beach. She wore a 
green bikini and a bright smile. Mulder noticed that her 
cheeks were a bit sunburned, but it did nothing to the 
beauty of the photo. Mulder turned to Scully and noticed 
with pleasure that her blush had returned.

Fox Mulder. Winner and still champion.

"Why wouldn't you let me see this, Scully? It's...pretty."

Scully blushed harder and grabbed her album back.

"That's enough of that, Mulder. And anyway," she said trying 
to regain her footing (he thinks I was-am-pretty?) weren't 
you just about to tell me why we are in the FBI tournament?" 
Scully smiled triumphantly.



////////////////////////////// 

Chapter 4 by CathyB  [email protected]

5 required elements:  seaweed, slinky, tequila, Classic 
version of movie -"Invasion of the Body Snatchers", and bree 
sharp song -"David Duchovny"




"Maybe I just like to be with you," said Mulder solemnly. 
"Maybe I like to spend time with you when we're not on a 
case." He paused, grinning. "And come on, you've gotta admit 
that a bowling tourney beats your average team building 
seminar. Bowling breaks down barriers that hours of 
conversation cannot"

"Oh really?" Scully intoned dryly. "Don't tell me you've 
convinced Skinner that this counts as team-building?"

"Let's just say I'm working on it. Among other things. 
Like...how we should spend our evening. What are you up 
for?"

(Among other things??) She'd let it drop. Even with the 
nuisance of her foot, and the embarrassment of Mulder poking 
through her private things, today had been nice. Who needed 
an X-File for drama when you had coconut bras and childhood 
photos? There was no need to spoil this warm feeling of
closeness with in-depth interrogation. Mulder would spill 
the beans when he was ready. "Something quiet, please. Let's 
just stay in."

"You've got it Scully. I'll handle everything."


She felt grungy.

Now that her foot wasn't ensconced in ice water, the 
chenille robe was uncomfortably clammy. It was amazing how 
babying an ankle could sap your strength. She may as well 
freshen up while Mulder was out "handling things". Scully 
padded across the carpet towards the bathroom. She took a
quick, cooling shower and traded her chenille for a pair of 
silky-cool satin jammies. Ahh, so much better.

How long was Mulder going to be? It made sense for her to 
finish her evening ritual now that she'd showered and 
scrubbed her face. It wasn't as if Mulder had never seen her 
masque before. Scraping her hair back into a ponytail, she 
smoothed on the seaweed-kelp mixture with a sigh. She could
almost feel the impurities being sucked away. She turned on 
the radio and settled into the couch. It was always hard to 
remain properly sedentary while her masque did its work. She 
managed to stay still for about 30 seconds this time before 
reaching into the treasures box that lay conveniently at her 
feet.

Oooh a slinky! She held it between her hands and let the 
coils slide from side to side. Now she needed something for 
it to climb. There were no stairs about but if she stacked 
her books together just so....

Satisfied with her handiwork, and the steady progress of the 
slinky, Scully realized she was swaying. More than swaying 
actually. She must be feeling better 'cause she was dancing 
to the tune on the radio. It was really quite infectious....


Mulder was satisfied with his handiwork. He balanced a pizza 
on one hand and slung the two plastic bags over his wrist so 
he could reach for Scully's key. "Hey Scully!" he said 
swinging open the door, "I've got movies and pizza and..."

"TEQUILA!" sang a most exuberant Scully.

Mulder blinked. "Uh, no. Actually I've a nice red wine but 
if you'd prefer..."

He couldn't help the quizzical, amused smile that sprang to 
his face. What the hell was she doing? She seemed to be 
frozen in some kinda Pee-wee Herman dance move. And he'd 
always been mightily fond of those satiny P.J.'s, but that 
green concoction on her face....

Scully straightened slowly. "Uh - just working out the 
kinks," she said making a beeline for the bathroom. "Make 
yourself comfortable. I'll be back in a minute."

Mulder was firmly ensconced on the couch, pizza in hand, 
when she returned. He'd spread his booty across the coffee 
table.

"So," she said brightly, snatching a napkin and a cheesy 
slice "what are we watching tonight?"

He gave her an intent look, thinking that she was pretty 
darn good at diverting the subject herself when necessary. 
"Oh it's a classic. I picked it out just for you. Invasion 
of the Body Snatchers."

"Just for me, huh? It's the original, I hope"

"But of course. Only the best for you Scully."

"Oh you're so smooth, Mulder" she said batting her eyelashes 
the tiniest bit.

It amazed her but she was prompted into song for the second 
time this night. The swelling in her ankle must've affected 
the blood flow to her brain as well - "So smooth and so 
smart he's abducted my heart. And I'm falling apart from the 
looks I've received from those eyes. I can't believe, well
you can say I'm naive, but he told me to belieeeeeeeve."

Mulder laughed and Scully was glad she had sung after all.

"What WAS that?" he said.

"It's a song Mulder."

"What song?"

"A damn catchy one...I can't remember the name though. It's 
named after some guy - Donald something? - Donald Luckovny?"

"I like it." Mulder said with a smile. "I'm just glad 
singing isn't part of our bet with Athens."

"Our BET!? Mulder, what bet?"





You Bet Your Life - An Elemental X-file (2 of 4)






Chapter 5 by Leanna a.k.a. LCShipper  [email protected]

5 required elements:  cows, Oxford Concise dictionary, cool 
whip, aloe vera and charm bracelet 


Mulder's face visibly paled as he stumbled for an answer.
"Um,...well...that is, ...uh..." He laughed nervously. He 
reached into the bag nearest to him and pulled out a large 
brown bottle. "Hey, look! I brought you that aloe vera juice 
you wanted me to pick up from the health food store...Lily 
of the Valley brand, too. Your favorite.." Scully just 
crossed her arms, waiting. He began again. "Well, you know 
Scully, it's funny, actually. You know how if we win the 
tournament, we...I mean...you get the car?"

Scully nodded slowly, becoming worried.

"Well, if for some reason we don't win, there's a little 
something we have to do for Athens."

"What would that be, Mulder?"

Mulder cleared his throat, and went on, wishing he hadn't 
taken the bet after all. There were millions of other ways 
to spend time with Scully, he had just thought she would go 
along if it was an FBI thing with a legitimate prize. 
"Athen's kid is turning one next month, and they're having a 
party with a barnyard theme. He just want's us to help out a 
bit."

Scully knew there was something more to it than this. "Help 
out in what way, Mulder?"

"As in entertaining some of the youngsters. You see, the 
funny thing is, that little Cory Athens has a thing for 
cows, and..."

Scully connected the dots slightly faster than he had 
expected "We have to dress up like COWS?!"

"Well, yes."

He ducked just in time to avoid being hit by Scully's 
paperback copy of the Oxford Concise Dictionary. Oh crap, he 
thought. She's really angry. When he looked back up at her 
though, she was smiling, and he regained a bit of hope when 
she began to laugh. He laughed along with her, hoping to 
change the subject.

"That's great, Mulder." She said, still laughing.

Mulder was shocked. "You don't...mind or anything?" he 
asked.

"Not at all! I just might enjoy wearing a cow suit.... as 
long as you realize who's going to be doing all the 
paperwork until little Cory turns two!" She then began 
laughing even harder. Mulder's face fell, but he wasn't 
angry in the least. At least she had agreed to go along with 
it. What was a year of paperwork, anyway?

"Ok, Scully, but remember, that's only if we lose..." 
Suddenly, Mulder looked worried again "Wait, you aren't 
going to try to lose now, are you?"

"I wouldn't dream of throwing away that car, partner." She 
said "But I'm not dressing up like Bessy the Milk Cow for 
nothing!"

"Deal." Mulder said, offering his hand. They shook on it, 
and Mulder opened the box of pizza while Scully popped the 
movie in.

"Hey Mulder, what if we win second place in the tournament?" 
Scully asked.

"Ok, ok, Scully, you can keep the...what was it...charm 
bracelet? But in that case, I only have to do 6 months worth 
of paperwork."

Scully just smiled. "Let's eat, Mulder. I trust you brought 
dessert as well?"

"Of course, Scully. How do strawberries and Cool Whip sound 
to you?"


////////////////////////////// 

Chapter 6 by NicoleJ  [email protected]

5 required elements:  tow truck, shirtless construction 
worker, pack of Morley's, magician's wand and exercise.


 
Scully wrinkled her nose in disgust as she wriggled her toes 
in the bowling shoes that were two sizes too big for her.

"God knows how much bacteria must be living in these shoes." 
she muttered.  She was not having a good time. Her foot 
still hadn't recovered from last week's effort in the 
bowling lanes, and to add insult to injury they were losing.

Mulder plunked himself down beside her and handed her a 
Coke.

"We can still win Scully..." he trailed off as she lifted 
her head and glared at him.

"How exactly can we win Mulder?" she asked sarcastically. 
"Are you intending to wave a magic wand over the score 
card?? I'm beginning to think that *two* years paperwork 
might - just might - make up for dressing up as a cow. And I 
was really beginning to get used to the idea of a new car." 
She sighed mournfully. The competitive side of her hated 
losing.

"We just need strikes. A few strikes in a row and we're back 
in the game. " He flexed his fingers and looked hopefully at 
her.

Despite herself she smiled. "Mulder, if *you* can get a few 
strikes in a row then not only can you have the car, but 
I'll....I'll clean your apartment dressed in nothing but a 
French maid's outfit"

"Ooh Scully, you've been peeking at my videos again." He 
paused to consider this. "Would the outfit include a g-
string?"

"Whatever you want Mulder - I've seen the way you've been 
bowling today and I don't think I'm in any danger"


Mulder crowed gleefully as he returned to Scully.

"So Scully - would that be red leather, or black silk? I'm 
partial to red leather, but I think black silk would suit 
you better." He grinned at her, unable to contain his 
delight at the two strikes he had just managed to fluke.

"Mulder, you still need to get another strike, so don't go 
counting your g-strings before they hatch. Apart from those 
two strikes you have been playing as badly as my 
grandmother, so don't hold your breath." She summoned up her 
most condescending confident look, but he didn't miss the 
little flicker of worry in her eyes. Leaning in close, he 
whispered, "Ah but Scully, prior to our little wager, I 
didn't have such an incentive to bowl so well."

She grimaced at him and then pointedly looked over his 
shoulder to watch Athens take his go.

There was no way in the world she was dressing up as a 
French Maid.



"Ok Mulder, no paperwork and I'll clean your apartment for 
you, but there is no way I am dressing up as a French Maid."

Mulder fished around in his pants pocket for the car keys.

"Scully" he admonished, "I would never have taken you to be 
the type of person to renege on a bet! Besides, if we win 
next week we can still win the tournament, so I may not have 
to do any paperwork anyway. No deal - you'll have to come up 
with something better than that."

They began walking to the car.

"OK - you get the car if we win, if we don't win I do your 
paperwork for a year AND dress up as a cow. I'll also clean 
your apartment for you. Deal?" she asked hopefully. She 
sighed when he just smiled and shook his head. Who would 
have thought he would actually get those strikes?? She knew 
that in reality he would not force her do the French Maid 
thing, but she also knew that he would never - never - let 
her live this down. Damn him.

As they rounded the corner to the car, they both stopped. 
Immediately Scully realized what had happened and started 
laughing. She pointed to the sign with the tow truck on it. 
"Tow away zone Mulder. Remember me pointing it out to you 
when we parked here? I don't want to say 'I told you so' 
but..." she snorted with laughter again. Revenge was sweet.

"Not funny Scully. Do you know how much this will cost me? 
Plus the cab fare home. Lucky I no longer have to employ a 
Maid." He shot her a grin, which widened considerably at the 
dark look that appeared on her face.

"Funny boy" she muttered. "Come on, it's not far - lets just 
walk. We can get some exercise and maybe with the money you 
save on the cab fare..." She raised an eyebrow at him.

Crossing the road they passed a late night construction 
site. Scully's eyes were immediately drawn to a rather 
gorgeous russet-haired construction worker. The muscles in 
his bare back rippled as he shoveled dirt. She nudged 
Mulder. "Tell you what Mulder - would you accept him in 
replacement of me? He has a rather nice body, red hair and 
looks like a more efficient physical laborer than me. I've 
seen your apartment and frankly I don't know if I have the 
strength to really do it justice."

Mulder looked over at him and pretended to consider Scully's 
proposal. The worker put his shovel down and pulled a packet 
of Morley's out of his back pocket. Mulder grimaced. "Thanks 
anyway Scully, but the smell of cigarette smoke wafting 
through my apartment is not my ideal room freshener. I have 
enough nightmares as it is. Besides, he's not my type. Too 
tall," he said pointedly looking down at Scully.

Scully ducked her head to hide the smile she had plastered 
over her face.


///////////////////////////////

Chapter 7 by Catriona The Truth Beacon  

[email protected]

5 required elements:  lipstick, fog, Twister (the game), 
flannel sheets, and 4-leaf clover


" Hey."

" And hello to you to G-woman."

Scully felt the smile tugging at her lips. If it had been a 
few weeks ago she would have cursed herself for being so 
damn girlie but the past few weeks had been something of a 
change. Take this Saturday afternoon for example. No longer 
were Saturday's spent at home watching repeats of Star Trek. 
This Saturday Fox Mulder her partner in alien hunting was 
coming over to spend the day with her. No more, " I'm 
bringing over some files," or " we really should work on 
this case" excuses anymore. Just, "Scully, it's ok if I come 
over this Saturday?"

" Hey Scully, can I come in?"

Scully suddenly realized she was still standing in the
doorway. " Oh, yeah sure. Make yourself at home."

Mulder strode in a pulled off his grey jumper to reveal a 
worn blue T-shirt. Scully immediately blinked to try and 
banish the thoughts that had been plaguing her mind.

Scully closed the door and turned to see Mulder sitting on 
the couch flicking through the T.V. channels. She walked 
over to where he was sitting and sat down. He pressed mute 
on the remote control and turned to stare at her. Instantly 
Scully felt a blush creeping up her cheeks. 

( Damn him. He knows rightly he's making me blush and
he gets some kick out of it, doesn't he? Fine. Two can
play at this. )

" Scully, what's the game plan for today?"

" I dunno, what did you have in mind?"

" Well, I was thinking that maybe you could do the French 
maid thing..." Mulder was cut of in mid sentence by a flying 
lipstick that hit him square in the stomach. " Ouch, you 
wound me Scully," he grinned. He turned over the lipstick to 
read the name, "Sweet-as-honey." He grinned and looked up at 
Scully, "you trying to tell me something sweetie?"

Scully sighed. She knew she wasn't going to win this 
argument. She looked out the window and saw that a fog was 
blowing in. She shivered; there was something uneasy about a 
fog, something mystical. Whatever it was, the fog, loss of 
common sense, or just curious, even Scully wasn't quite sure 
why she said what she said next, " You coming on to me 
Mulder?"

( Oh, the look on his face is priceless. Oh, I'd do all his 
paperwork and dress up as a cow every Friday for the rest of 
my life to see that look again. His face just dropped. No 
more macho body language, just o-my-god-what-did-she say 
body language. )

The part of Mulder's brain that controlled thought processes 
began to function again. He managed to remove the expression 
of god knows what on his face and replace it with one 
verging on normal. Feeling the blush creep us his cheeks he 
decided to up the stakes a little, " Hey, Scully," he said 
and stood up and began walking over to a cupboard, "Prepared 
to make good on that acute assumption?" He pulled open the 
door and reached into the depths of the dark cupboard and 
pulled out a twister board and a twister wheel.

" You game?"

Scully felt that shiver run down her spine again. The hair 
on the back of her neck stood up. She wasn't sure is she was 
afraid or just curious.

( Dammit Scully, what's there to be afraid off? You aren't 
afraid of him. No, I'm not. I'm afraid of myself )

" Yeah, I'll play."

She felt him looking deep into her blue eyes and she looked 
up and held his gaze. Now the real game was on. Suddenly 
even the thought of winning a car was banished to the 
distance. Mulder had laid out the board on the floor and sat
down beside it.

" You sure you want to do this Scully?"

Scully noted the anticipation in his voice. He was giving 
her a way out. Not in a million years did she want to take 
it. Her rational side seemed to have been lost in the fog.

"I'm sure."

"Ok, then. What's the bet?"

Scully licked her lips. She could hear the heart ricocheting 
of her ribs. " If I win," Scully paused for a moment, "you 
tell me what the bowling bet is all about and you if we win
the bowling, you make good on your comments." Scully closed 
her eyes. She could feel him studying her.

"Ok," he replied with a steadier voice than he felt, "and if 
I win, I get the car for the first month and if we win the 
bowling...." He paused and looked at her. Dragging his gaze 
away from her he looked around, "if we win the bowling, you 
let me take you out that night. No questions asked, and you 
let me pay for it."

Scully dared to open her eyes. He wasn't looking at her now. 
He suddenly wished he could hide under the flannel sheets 
sitting on a pile in the corner.

"You're on," she said levelly. 

"What are we waiting for then?"

Scully thought of the four-leaf clover in her drawer and 
suddenly even she longed to believe in superstition.

"Right hand blue."

Scully looked up. The ball was rolling.



////////////////////////////////////////////////

Chapter 8 by GS  [email protected]

5 required elements:  drunk 15y.o. boy, The Emmy's, shooting 
star, Valentine's Day and Shakespeare. 

For the life of her Scully couldn't figure out how she kept 
allowing Mulder to get her into these predicaments. First, a 
*bowling* tournament. Then a probable debut as a cow's head 
- it was most certainly not going to be her  job to bring up 
the rear so to speak. Then, as if that wasn't enough, she 
was committed to a French maid costumed cleaning stint, and 
now, now, here she was with her arms and legs stretched to 
the limit on a twister board attempting to maintain her 
balance while touching 4 different colors with her hands and 
feet. This was all made the more difficult by the 
distracting presence of her partner virtually wrapped around 
her attempting to reach the same colored circles. She hadn't 
been surrounded by Mulder this way in a long time, if ever, 
and never without a crisis. 

Honestly she hadn't done anything this fraught with peril 
since she was a drunken fifteen year old playing strip poker 
with an equally drunk fifteen year old boy named Sam. That 
evening had ended up with both of them clutching cold white 
porcelain as if it were a life-preserver while dressed only 
in their underwear. At least a Twister game wouldn't finish 
with her head in a toilet, but Mulder in his underwear had 
real potential. Dammit! She really had to stop thinking this 
way if she wanted to win this game, and make no mistake, she 
wanted to win. She had to know what had possessed Mulder to 
sign them up for this stupid bowling tournament.

Speaking of the devil, she suddenly felt Mulder's warm 
breath in her hear sending shivers down her spine. "Your 
turn to spin Scully."

"Mulder, how am I supposed to spin, I can't move with you 
draped around me."

Scully could feel Mulder smiling against her hair, "Move or 
lose Scully, you made the rule that we had to take turns 
spinning."

Carefully reaching out with her left hand Scully managed to 
spin, "Left foot red" Great she thought, she had to somehow 
move her left foot across the board while stretched to the 
limit without falling. However, before she could even 
attempt to make the necessary move, she felt Mulder 
attempting to slide his leg over to the red circle closest 
to her left foot while not losing his blanket coverage. 
Within seconds all went to hell in a hand basket and Scully 
and Mulder wound up in a tangle of arms and legs on the 
floor, with Mulder on top, of course. 

Looking down at her and grinning Mulder brushed a lock of 
hair out of Scully's eyes. "Oops"

"Oops doesn't begin to cover it Mulder, you lose."

This obviously hadn't occurred to Mulder, his hand suddenly 
stilled, "What?"

"You. Lose. You fell Mulder, that means you lose and you 
have to tell me why you were so insistent that we 
participate in this silly tournament."

Mulder looked uncomfortable and got up pulling Scully to her 
feet. 

He decided a distraction was in order. "Scully did I tell 
you that they set the final tournament match for this 
Saturday night?" 

It worked. "Saturday! Mulder how could they pick this 
Saturday! The Emmy's are on and I wanted to watch because 
that actress I really like from that sci-fi show has been 
nominated."

"Sorry Scully, but you can tape it." Mulder said trying to 
be supportive but relieved the diversion had worked. 

Scully sighed, then realized that she had been temporarily 
led astray. "Well, Mulder, to make it up to me you can live 
up to your end of the bargain and tell me what's behind your 
sudden interest in bowling. Come on, you lost, tell me what 
the real reason is." 

Looking Scully in the eye Mulder realized he had to tell 
her. But not here, not like this. "Okay Scully, but not 
here."

"Why not here?"

"Humor me Scully, please?"


Of course humoring Mulder always led to trouble, but that 
didn't alter the fact that Scully found herself in the car 
with Mulder taking her somewhere away from the city. As they 
drove further out she realized they were going towards the 
ballfield where Mulder had taught her to hit a ball.

"Mulder, where are we going?"

"It's a surprise."

"I hate surprises. Where are we going."

Mulder smiled, "Who knew you were such a spoilsport Scully? 
But since you're going to be that way, okay, we're going to 
the ballfield, there's supposed to be a meteor shower 
tonight, lots of shooting stars, and I thought we could 
easily watch the sky from there unobstructed, with less 
light pollution since there's no game and they won't have 
the lights on. Satisfied?"

Scully was surprised at Mulder's plans, but certainly not 
against them. Lying on the ground watching shooting stars 
with Mulder didn't seem like a bad idea at all. 

"Yes." She replied with a small smile and even decided to 
postpone further questioning as to his motives regarding the 
tournament until they had arrived.

In just a short while she and Mulder were stretched out in 
the outfield on a blanket from the trunk of Mulder's car 
pointing out shooting stars. Eventually, Scully decided she 
really wanted to know what Mulder was trying so hard not to 
tell her. She turned her head toward him and said softly, 
"Alright Mulder, 'fess up, what's behind the tournament."

Knowing his time had run out he glanced at her and then 
looked back at the sky, unable to resist one last stall. 
"It's really not that big of a deal Scully."

"Then why won't you just tell me?"

He sighed. "Okay, I just wanted to spend some time with you 
outside the office having fun, totally not related to our 
work. I wanted to see you smile and laugh. I wanted just 
once to be a source of joy in your life and not stress, 
sorrow or pain. I thought this tournament might be an 
opportunity to do that." He glanced at her then looked away 
quickly. "It was a stupid idea."

Scully felt overwhelmed with emotions. She reached over and 
put her hand on Mulder's cheek forcing him to look at her. 
"No, it wasn't stupid at all. But Mulder you have to know 
that you are a source of joy in my life. I'm sorry if I've 
let you believe otherwise. There is no one who brings more 
joy to my life, whether we're working, arguing, *bowling* or 
doing whatever."

Mulder felt the sincerity and emotion behind her words and 
relaxed, he rolled to his side facing her and reached out to 
brush her cheek. Then a grin spread over his face. He 
waggled his eyebrows, "Whatever, Scully? That covers a lot 
of territory." 

She smiled coyly, "Yes it does, doesn't it?"

His grin widened. "So, you're willing to accompany me to the 
Gunmen's annual Valentine's Day Conspiracy Party? You get to 
dress as your favorite conspirator?"

"Don't push it Mulder. But if you were thinking of upcoming 
events, how about the annual FBI Valentine's Day Ball?"

Mulder's eyes narrowed and his grin disappeared. "Ugh, 
forget the Ides of March, 'Beware the Fourteenth of 
February.'"

Scully's brows shot up, "I can't believe you, an Oxford 
graduate, just butchered William Shakespeare!"

"No foul was committed Scully, we faux Englishmen are 
allowed to butcher his plays just not his sonnets. Those are 
sacred."

She shook her head. "Et tu Brute. Alright no ball. Are you 
going to ditch me for my birthday too?"

Mulder opened his mouth to defend himself and did not get 
the opportunity. There was a great clap of thunder and the 
sky opened up. Clouds had rolled in unnoticed while they 
were talking. Within seconds they were soaked. They finally 
arrived at the car dripping and laughing.

Scully looked at Mulder as he fumbled with the car keys.

"I haven't been this wet since you decided we should fly 
into a hurricane in Florida. I certainly hope I don't have 
to save your life again."

Finally getting the car door open Mulder looked over at 
Scully, the rain running down her face. 

"Keep it up Scully and you'll be walking home. Besides you 
didn't save me, I figured it out myself because of the cat. 
Now get in the car woman, I'm freezing."

Scully arched an eyebrow but got in the car. A short, wet 
drive later they were back at Scully's on the couch, Scully 
in her pajamas and robe and Mulder in a T-shirt and 
sweatpants that he kept there for emergencies. They sat 
drinking hot tea in silence.

Eventually, Mulder looked over at Scully. He reached over 
and took her hand.

"So Scully, want to be my Valentine?"

  




  You Bet Your Life - An Elemental X-file (3 of 4)



Chapter 9 by Piper  [email protected]

5 required elements:  Pittsburgh Steelers, moisturizing 
cream, Jupiter, roller coaster, girly scream


Scully's breath caught in her throat, her gaze locking with 
Mulder's. She searched his eyes, trying to determine whether 
he was serious or not. But they gave nothing away. They held 
her gaze unwaveringly, patiently waiting for her response. 
Belatedly, Scully realized she would have to say something, 
anything, before the silence became uncomfortable.

Then the phone rang.

(Saved by the bell)

The cordless was on the end table next to Mulder, and Scully 
looked at him expectantly. But Mulder made no move to get 
the phone, his eyes holding the same intense look from 
moments before. The look unnerved her, and to avoid it, she 
leaned over him to pick up the phone. As soon as she lifted 
the phone from the cradle, Fox Mulder did something that 
shocked the hell out of her.

He put his hands on her waist.

Scully gasped, the phone never even reaching her ear. She 
twisted her upper body to face him, and her eyes locked with 
his. His eyes were a deep shade of gray, filled with warmth, 
love, fear, and desire. And they all took her breath away. 
Softly, never breaking eye contact, Mulder spoke.

"You didn't answer my question."

Electric tension flowed between them, Scully's body immobile 
in his tender grasp. If she lowered her body just an inch, 
she would be secure in his lap. And so help her, she wanted 
to be. She wanted to so badly. Just as her body was about to 
make contact with his, a tinny sound interrupted them.

"Dana?"

The sound came from the forgotten phone in Scully's hand, 
and a blush suffused her entire body as she realized what 
she had been about to do. Mulder's eyes filled with regret, 
but Scully did not see it because she had already released 
herself from his grasp and moved away from him, 
embarrassment causing her to turn her back towards him.

"Mom? I'm here. I accidentally dropped the phone."

"It's ok, honey. I was just calling to tell you that Trey's 
mom dropped him by this weekend since she had to leave town 
in an emergency. Since I'm going to church tomorrow and Trey 
really doesn't want to go, I was wondering if you could keep 
him tomorrow."

"Sure, Mom, no problem. He can hang out at my apartment with 
me. I'll rent a couple of movies for him and we can watch 
them together."

"Actually honey, he was kind of hinting about the local 
amusement park."

Scully groaned. "Mom, you know how much I hate roller 
coasters. Can't you change his mind?"

"Sorry sweetie, but I already promised him. He was so sad 
that his Mom had to leave him, and I didn't want to 
disappoint him more."

Scully bit back another groan and sighed. "That's fine, Mom. 
You did the right thing. Bring him by before you go to 
church tomorrow, ok? We'll go to the amusement park."

"Thanks, Dana. I knew I could count on you. Goodnight, 
sweetie. I love you."

"I love you too, Mom. Good night."

As Scully pressed the off button on the phone, the light 
went out in the room and the entire apartment was filled 
with darkness. Scully gasped and turned around quickly. And 
then she screamed.

"Whoa, Scully, calm down! It's just me! See?"

Mulder flipped the light back on again, dropping the 
flashlight in his hand on the table. Despite the gunk on his 
face, his smirk was obvious.

"Was that a girly scream, Agent Scully?"

"Mulder, what the hell do you think you're doing, wearing 
all that...that white goo on your face and shining a 
flashlight on it? What are you trying to look like, an alien 
from Mars or something?"

"Actually Scully, this white goo just happens to be the 
moisturizing cream I found in your bathroom, which I must 
add is a step up from the green stuff you had before. And I 
was actually trying to look like an alien from Jupiter, not 
Mars, thank you very much. AND you're avoiding the question. 
Was that a girly scream?"

Scully glared at Mulder. "I do not scream like a girl."

Mulder grinned. "Uh-huh, Scully. You just look like one."

That earned him the evil eye, and his grin widened. "So you 
scream like a girl and you're afraid of roller coasters. You 
just keep unfolding like a flower, Scully."

"Oh, so now you're eavesdropping on my conversations?"

"C'mon Scully, it was kind of hard *not* to hear you. 
Besides, what's this about an amusement park tomorrow? I 
thought we were going to watch the Steelers game at my 
place."

Scully sighed. "Remember my godson that I told you about? 
The one with the inflatable chair fetish? Well, he's staying 
with my Mom for the weekend and really wants to go to the 
amusement park. So she's going to bring him by in the 
morning and I'm going to take him. That's all."

"Oh." Mulder's face fell, and he backed away. "Well, I guess 
I should leave then. I mean, I know you need your sleep and 
all, since you'll probably have a long day tomorrow. I hope 
you have fun, Scully." He turned away, releasing a sorrowful 
sigh.

Scully caught his arm and turned him back to face her, a 
small smile tugging at her lips. "Mulder, if you want to go, 
you can just ask. You don't have to give me a pouty look and 
pretend to leave."

Mulder grabbed his chest dramatically. "Scully, you wound 
me. You think I was pretending?"

Scully grinned at him. "You really think I believe you would 
have left this apartment with all that gunk on your face?"

With that, she handed him a Kleenex, and he began wiping his 
face off. "So, do you want to go tomorrow?"

"And have the chance to hear you scream like a girl again? I 
wouldn't miss it for the world..."

Mulder ducked as the entire box of Kleenex came flying at 
his head, and he smirked at her. "I'll be here bright and 
early tomorrow morning, Scully. Till then, good night."

Scully followed him to the door, the light from the hallway 
illuminating both of their faces as he opened it. He stepped 
out into the hallway and turned towards her. Scully tilted 
her chin upward, prepared to ward off another one of his 
teasing remarks. But Mulder surprised her. He lowered his 
head and placed a gentle kiss on her forehead.

"Sweet dreams, Scully."


Conclusion by barb (alter ego) [email protected]

We took this story in so many wonderful directions that I was 
allowed to come back and finish it up to wrap everything 
together for closure.

5 required elements:  Nirvana t-shirt, confetti, having 
trouble finding a parking space, college professor and roller 
coaster

Mulder had arrived back at Scully's apartment Sunday morning 
in time to catch the pre-game football shows on Fox and CBS.  
While they waited for Trey, Scully relinquished the remote 
control and left him happily channel hopping while she 
straightened the apartment and did a load of towels.  Monday 
was a government holiday and she had no intention of 
spending it doing chores.

She paused.  So, what would she be doing tomorrow?  Mulder 
hadn't mentioned any plans, no cases were pending and the 
final round of the bowling tournament wasn't until Saturday.  
After folding the last towel, she gathered them up and 
headed to her linen closet.

"Say Mulder," she called out but got no farther, cut off by 
the doorbell.

"You want me to get that?"  Mulder called back.

"Would you please - I've just got to get these towels put up 
and I'll be right there.


Eleven-year old Trey blinked in surprise when confronted 
with this stranger at his godmother's door.

"You must be Trey," the tall stranger said with a smile and 
put out his hand.

Confused, Trey hesitantly reached out to take it, only 
slightly relieved that the man knew his name.  "Where's 
Dana?" he asked, trying to mask his discomfort.

"She'll be right out.  Come on in.  My name's Fox Mulder."  
He guided the bewildered boy over to the couch.  "So, do you 
like football?"

Trey nodded.  "My favorite team was Denver, but since 
Elway's gone and Terrell Davis is out for the season, I've 
been rooting for St. Louis."

"Stick with a winning team, huh?"  Mulder said with a grin.  
"What about Pittsburgh?"

Trey thought for a moment before answering.  "Well, Bettis 
is pretty cool, but their offense hasn't taken off like 
they'd planned yet.  Kordell Stewart is trying"

Mulder nodded.  "You've got a good eye," he said 
appreciatively.

Trey sat up a little straighter at the praise.  "Thanks."

"Hello, Trey," Scully said as she joined them. "I see you 
two have met."

"Trey and I were talking a little football."  Mulder stood 
up.  "Are we ready to go?"

Scully nodded and soon they were on the road.



"Are you an FBI agent like Dana?"  Trey asked from the back 
seat.

Mulder glanced back at him in the rear-view mirror.  "Yep," 
he answered.  "I'm Dana's partner."

Sitting next to him, Scully did a double take.  (Did he just 
call me Dana, without benefit of emotional upheaval 
present?)

Mulder glanced over at her with a wink and a smile.

In the back seat, Trey was suitably impressed.  "Wow!  This 
is so cool.  Do you have your badge with you, Mr. Mulder?"

Mulder winced and Scully bit back the giggle that threatened 
to escape.

"Just call me Mulder, Trey.  Everyone does."

"Oh - wow!  Okay.  Thanks," he gushed as he was hit by a 
violent case of hero-worship.  An FBI agent - and he got to 
call him by his last name - just his last name.

Scully thanked Mulder with a look.  Mulder received it loud 
and clear and winked again.

"So, Trey, I see you're wearing a Nirvana T-shirt.  Are you 
a fan?" he asked the boy.

"Oh, yeah.  I've got all their stuff.  Are you?"  he asked 
hopefully.

Mulder shook his head.  "Actually, I listen to some of the 
more classic rock.  Eric Clapton's earlier music and Jimi 
Hendrix to name a couple."

Trey nodded, wishing that he had another shirt to wear and 
vowing to research older rock and buy every Clapton CD out 
there.

After Mulder stopped for gas, he asked if Scully would drive 
the rest of the way.

"Okay, Mulder, what's up?"  she asked suspiciously.

"Nothing.  Trey and I wanted to talk some more," he replied 
casually and before Scully could protest, he and Trey were 
in the back seat.

As Scully circled the parking lot, looking for a space in 
that didn't require a twenty-minute walk, she listened with 
one ear, trying to hear what Mulder and Trey were whispering 
about.  Everytime she looked back, they were huddled 
together, laughing conspiratorially.  

"All right, you guys - what's going on back there?"  she 
called out, when her curiosity could no longer be denied.

"Just guy stuff, Dana," Mulder replied innocently.

"Yeah, Dana - guy stuff," Trey piped in on a cue from 
Mulder.

Scully blew out an exasperated breath.  Oh man, what was she 
in for?

It didn't take long for her to find out.  Mulder had 
elicited an unexpected girly scream from her last night and 
he had plotted with Trey to see how many more they could get 
today.

Considering the level of imagination and technology 
currently applied to roller coasters and the fact that she 
hadn't been on any amusement park rides in over ten years, 
she was completely unprepared -not- to scream.  And like a 
college professor with a new research project, Mulder tried 
every ride in the park.

Of course, seeing the pure joy on both Mulder's and Trey's 
faces had encouraged her to just let herself go and she 
played the girly part with enthusiastic abandon.  She did 
try to turn the table on Mulder by comparing one of the 
rides to his driving and thus causing her cries.

"Oh, ha ha, Agent Scully.  I'm sure that's it."  Mulder 
nudged Trey with a wink.  "Right, Trey?"

"Uh - oh - yeah - right Mulder."

Scully stared down at Trey with a smile.  Yep, he was gone - 
totally under Mulder's spell.  He could tell the boy just 
about anything at this point and it would be accepted as the 
gospel truth.

The drive home from the amusement park had found a special 
place in Mulder's heart and would live forever in his 
memory.

Trey had fallen asleep minutes after leaving the parking lot 
and Scully had not been far behind.

Obviously exhausted by the day's events, she had originally 
fallen asleep siting up and leaning her head against the 
window using her lightweight jacket as a pillow.

Looking over at her with obvious affection that he never 
showed her while she was awake, Mulder managed to shrug out 
of his own jacket, intending to cover her.  A sharp turn in 
the road, however, pulled Scully's limp form away from the 
window and Mulder was hard pressed to keep her from falling 
over as he kept the car steady. He pulled to the side of the 
road and gently eased Scully down until her head was nestled 
on his lap.  She stirred restlessly, unintelligible sounds 
came from the back of her throat and Mulder tenderly stroked 
her hair and shoulders, shushing her softly until she 
quieted back down.  Only when he was sure that she was again 
sleeping soundly, did he resume their drive, his heart 
racing wildly.  Thankful beyond words that she hadn't 
awakened, he marveled at the picture she presented, her 
profile softly lit by the dashboard lights.

(What was that song - "Paradise by the Dashboard Lights"? )

(Oh, yeah - that was a classic. )  He grinned.

Awestruck, his eyes were unable to stay on the road and he 
was beginning to think that he'd have to pull over again or 
risk killing them all while he gazed, yes, gazed at his 
partner.

His hand finally compromised with his eyes and with the 
gentlest of touches, he traced the fingers of his right hand 
ever so delicately across Scully's face.  Using his 
sensitive fingertips to "see" her face - the firm brow, the 
silky soft eyelashes, the tender skin of her eyelids, down 
her shapely nose to the small indentation above her lip.  He 
sighed as he felt for the first time, the tiny mole there, 
feeling her breath puff quietly on his exploring fingers.  
He moved to her full, sensual lips that had been featured so 
prominently in his dreams, trailing easily across the 
graceful curve of her jaw and her cheek.

Oh God - stop the presses - release the doves, throw the 
tickertape and confetti and shoot off the fireworks - Dana 
Scully was asleep in his lap!  A picture of perfect 
relaxation and contentment and Fox Mulder was almost crying 
tears of joy.


Mulder had decided to drive straight to Maggie's house and 
his prayers were further answered when Scully remained 
asleep as he eased himself out of the car.  He gathered Trey 
up and carried him to the front door, smiling at the look on 
Maggie's face.

"Out like a light," he whispered.

"I see that," she whispered back with a grin. "Where's 
Dana?"

"Also out like a light."

Maggie shook her head, laughing softly. "Well, come on and 
let's get this one to bed."

She led him to the guestroom and quickly turned back the 
covers.  Mulder lay the boy down and Maggie deftly removed 
his shoes, while he eased off the jeans.  He watched Maggie 
tuck him in, kissing him softly on the cheek, then motioned 
him to follow her out.

"Is Dana all right?" she asked at the front door.

"Just tired - one too many roller coasters and trying to 
keep up with an eleven-year old boy has got nothing on 
working for the government," he joked reassuringly.

Maggie nodded in understanding. "Well, you two better get 
home.  Don't you have to work tomorrow?"

Mulder shook his head.  "Government holiday."

"Good."  Maggie said.  "Well, thank you for helping Dana 
with Trey and please drive carefully."

"I will," he assured her, "I'll make sure Dana gets tucked 
in safely."

He froze.

(Oh shit!  Tell me I didn't just say that to Maggie Scully.  
Tell me I didn't just tell Dana's mom that I'd tuck her 
daughter in. ) He wanted to die.

But Maggie just smiled sweetly and patted his arm.  "I know 
you will, Fox.  I know you will."


They arrived at Mulder's apartment without incident.  Scully 
continued to sleep peacefully and he was eternally grateful.  
Taking her to his apartment without telling her had been a 
spur of the moment idea spawned by a plan he had hastily 
devised.  Maybe it wasn't the most thought-out plan, maybe 
there were enough holes to drive a herd of cattle through, 
but since Scully was still asleep, he figured he had a 
better than average chance of making it work.

Still and all, he had a pretty good idea what Scully's 
reaction would be if she woke up before he was ready.

Fate, however, smiled down on him for once and he was able 
to get her out of the car and up to his apartment.  It 
occurred to him that he had never held her in his arms quite 
like this.  Never cradled her sleeping body so close to his 
own, her head tucked securely under his chin, snuggling 
contentedly.

She had only been carried by him once before - in that 
frozen spaceship and of course, that was like comparing 
apples and oranges.

He maneuvered her into his bedroom and carefully laid her 
down.  Through it all, what finally caused her to awaken was 
when he removed her shoes.

Blinking sleepily, she tried to lift her head.  "Mulder - " 
she mumbled.  "What - ?"

"Ssh - it's okay, Scully.  You're in bed.  I'm just taking 
off your shoes,"  Mulder whispered  quietly and 
reassuringly.

"Oh - okay."  She sunk back on the pillow, but a second 
later was trying to rise back up.  "Trey -"

"He's been dropped off at your mom's house.  It's okay.  Go 
back to sleep."  He stroked her hair and Scully sighed 
happily.

"Good night, Mulder," she murmured, on the edge of sleep.

"Good night, Scully," Mulder responded, struggling not to 
laugh.  (Okay, so I didn't tell her whose bed - but hey, she 
didn't ask. )  He set her shoes by the side of the bed, then 
bent over to place a kiss on her temple.  Quietly he slipped 
out and shut the door behind him.

Not quite asleep yet, Scully realized that she was still 
wearing her jeans and awkwardly managed to slide them off 
without leaving the warmth of the covers.

(That's better, ) she thought hazily and went immediately 
back to sleep.


Lying on his couch, the TV on, the volume low, Mulder 
wondered if he really thought that he'd get any sleep at all 
with his partner sleeping in his bed.

Almost every fiber of his being wanted to get up off the 
damn couch, walk through that door and lie down on his bed.  
He wanted to pull her close to him and spoon like baby cats 
as he buried his face in her silky auburn hair.  Or maybe 
have her facing him, so that when she opened those crystal 
blue eyes, he could fall into their depths and never return.

He sighed and stayed exactly where he was.  He had to.  If 
he was going to sleep with Scully, he wanted her aware and 
he wanted to see the desire in her eyes - affirming her wish 
to have him there.

What he'd done tonight was very close to crossing the line.  
And even though he was quite ready to cross it, hell, leap 
the damn thing, he was not prepared to cross it alone.

So with thoughts of Scully dancing behind his closed eyes, 
he somehow succeeded in drifting off to sleep, a tiny smile 
touching his lips.

(Wait 'til Scully finds out what I have planned for 
tomorrow, ) was his last waking thought. 

  
Scully stretched lazily and luxuriously, rolling slowly onto 
her back.  It was sheer heaven to wake up on your own.  No 
cell phone ringing, no one pounding on your door, no 
jangling alarm clock.  She rolled back over to bury her face 
in the pillow.  Of course, it didn't hurt that her sleep had 
been filled with very unpartner-like dreams of Mulder.  They 
were so -real- it was almost frightening.  

She breathed deeply.  She recognized his unique scent and 
her body was still tingling as she relived his caresses and 
kisses.  A soft moan escaped her lips.  Dreams.  Always 
dreams.  What about dreams coming true for once?  Restlessly 
she tossed under the sheets, eyes remaining closed, not yet 
ready to abandon her fantasy dream world.  

(For instance, ) she thought, continuing to rail against the 
injustice, (why do I have to wake up alone in bed.  
Everything else is so perfect - a day off, no alarm clock, 
surrounded by visions of Mulder, so real I can smell him - )

Scully froze.  Time stood still as her thought processes 
took off with the speed of light, as did her breathing.  Her 
heart began pounding in her chest hard enough to make her 
ears hurt and her blood pumped at an alarming rate, roaring 
through her veins like wildfire.  Her memory struggled to 
piece it all together while her body seemed intent on losing 
control.

(Trey - roller coasters - Mulder!  Oh my God!  What had 
happened?  What in God's name had happened? )  She was in 
bed and had absolutely no recollection of getting there.  
Her hands reached down of their own volition and she moaned.  

(Oh God! )  Her jeans were gone!  (Please.  Please God, tell 
me - )

(Open your eyes, Dana. )

Scully tried desperately to ignore the command.  She somehow 
knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that things weren't going to 
get any better by doing that.

(Open your eyes. )

Her breath coming in short painful gasps, she finally 
obeyed.

(OhGodOhGodOhGod - )  

She felt lightheaded.

(Oh God - Mulder's room. )

(Oh God - his bed. )

She jerked her head over - alone.  She really was alone.  

(Oh God! )

Like a shot she was out of the bed - staring at it like it 
was going to reach out for her.  She struggled desperately 
to remember.  Why couldn't she remember?

The realization that she was standing in Mulder's room 
stunned her completely.  She swayed unsteadily on her feet, 
her knees threatening to buckle.

The silence was shattered by a knock on the door, sounding 
like a gunshot to her shattered nerves.  She wheeled around, 
her heart leaping into her throat.

"Scully?"  Mulder called softly.  "Are you awake?"

"Mulder?"  she squeaked, her voice a full octave higher than 
usual.

Mulder was grinning broadly as he pushed the door partially 
ajar and peeked in.  "Hey, Scully - " He stopped.  Anything 
he was going to say vanished without a trace.

They stared at each other.  Scully was still unable to put 
all the pieces together and was unbelievably confused.  
Mulder was in a state of instant arousal at the sight of his 
partner standing before him wearing only a t-shirt and 
socks. 

(Underwear - she's got her underwear on - right? )

Her sleep-tousled hair framed her face alluringly and her 
eyes were still puffy with sleep.  And she was the sexiest 
thing he'd ever seen in his life.

Scully found her voice first.  "Mulder!  What the hell is 
going on?"  She stared him down, blue eyes blazing and her 
hands on her hips.

Mulder was presently hiding his lower body behind the door, 
not trusting himself to keep control.  His voice too, 
threatened to betray him in this time of need.

"Uh - Scully - uh - I'll - uh - be right out her when you're 
- uh - ready."  He swallowed hard and backedd quickly out.  
He staggered backwards until he found the couch and 
collapsed bonelessly.

(Was she magnificent or what! )

He closed his eyes.  Scully was going to kill him and he 
hadn't even gotten to tell her of the plan.

Scully stared after him.  And then it hit her.  A ton of 
bricks crashed down upon her.

She didn't even have to look.

She knew.  Of course she knew.

Her jeans were on the floor.  Of course they were.  Where 
else would they be?

Groaning painfully, she sank to the bed, cradling her head 
in her hands.

(Oh God - now what should she do? )





  You Bet Your Life - An Elemental X-file (4 of 4)
This is the conclusion, written by barb (alter ego)



(All right Dana Katherine Scully - just get a hold of 
yourself right now.  This situation is much too easy to 
rationalize and you know it. )

Scully moaned.  Yes, it was too easy.  The -had- seen each 
other naked before.  Actually, when you came right down to 
it, she was probably up on him.

So why did this seem any worse?

(Because it was, ) she argued with herself.  (He saw me 
under duress - life or death situation.  Now everything had 
changed.  We've changed.  He - he told me I was pretty!  He 
asked me to be his Valentine!  He had his hands on my waist 
and I was ready to fall on his lap! )

Oh God.

Well, there was nothing to be done about it now.  It was 
over - done with - burned forever in her memory - but she 
couldn't stay in here forever.  Heaving a tortured sigh, she 
picked up her jeans and padded off to the bathroom.


Mulder flinched when he heard running water.  He knew he was 
about to face the music and he half expected Scully to come 
out with her gun aimed right for his head.  Then he breathed 
a silent sigh of relief.  She didn't have her gun with her - 
it was in her jacket and he'd dropped her jacket on the 
floor by the couch.  Quickly, he reached down and gathered 
it up.

"Mulder - what are you doing?"  Scully's voice was right at 
his ear.

He jumped guiltily.  "Nothing - I - I dropped your jacket 
last night and I just wanted to pick it up."

Scully moved to stand in front of him, arms crossed across 
her chest.  Mulder noted that she was fully dressed, but her 
hair had obviously been finger-brushed only and her face was 
scrubbed and clean.

"Last night," she said flatly.  "Let's talk about last 
night, shall we?"

Mulder shrugged.  "Not much to tell - you and Trey fell 
asleep in the car - I took him to your mom's house - then I 
brought you here."

"I slept through all of that?!"  Scully was stunned.

"What can I say - you must have been really tired."  Mulder 
said, trying to regain his footing in this fiasco.

"Really," Scully said drolly.  "Are you sure that you didn't 
drug me or something?"

"Oh - yeah - right.  That's it - I drugged you," Mulder said 
with a laugh.  "Come on, Scully, get real."

"Ok - fine.  I slept all the way over here," Scully 
conceded.  "Then what?"

"Then nothing. I carried you up here, and put you in my bed 
and I slept on the couch."  Mulder was hardly able to keep 
from laughing at the pure panic Scully was desperately 
trying to mask.  He reached out and took her hand.  Scully 
reluctantly allowed herself to be pulled over and sat down 
next to him on the couch.

"What are you so worried about?"  Mulder asked her.  
"Nothing happened.  You didn't drool on me, you didn't talk 
in your sleep, and as far as I can tell, you didn't 
sleepwalk either.  Trust me."

Scully dropped her eyes.  "I do, Mulder.  It's just that - 
it's just that I don't remember any of that.  And - and when 
I woke up -"  She paused to gather her courage then spoke 
quickly.  "And when I woke up, my jeans were on the floor."

Mulder finally gave in and laughed heartily.  "Well, I can 
promise you that -I- didn't take them off, although I do 
have to take responsibility for your shoes."

"Oh," Scully said in a small voice.  She was mortified and 
unable to look at him.

"Hey - " Mulder reached out to tip her chin.  Hesitantly she 
raised her eyes.  "You can trust me, Scully.  I would hope 
that you know that by now.  I'd never - ever take advantage 
of you," he said quietly and earnestly.

"I - I do trust you , Mulder," she whispered.  "I didn't 
mean to imply otherwise.  It's just very disconcerting to 
wake up in another person's bed with absolutely no 
recollection of how I got there."  

Now that she had met Mulder's gaze, she found herself unable 
to look away.

"I'm sorry, Scully," Mulder said, instantly contrite.  "I 
didn't think of it that way.  You kind of came around a 
couple of times. . . I should have said something.  I'm 
sorry."

He kept his fingertips on her chin as she shook her head 
slightly.

"No, it's okay.  I'm sorry I made such a big deal about it."

They both sat frozen - their eyes locked together.  Then 
slowly - ever so slowly - Mulder leaned over and placed a 
delicate kiss on his partner's lips.

Scully felt as though she had died and gone straight to 
heaven.  Her eyes slipped shut as she reveled in the feel of 
his lips on hers.  It was her dream.  Her dream come true. 
She wanted more.  She wanted it all.

Soon, all too soon, Mulder leaned back and released her 
chin.  Scully nearly moaned aloud at the loss of his touch.

"Friends again?" Mulder whispered, running a finger 
seductively down her cheek, delighting in the shiver that 
passed through her.

"Friends always," she replied breathlessly, her mind 
whirling at the feelings of desire flooding through her.

"Good."  Mulder smiled.  "You want some coffee?"

"Uh - yeah.  Coffee would be good."  Scully mentally 
scrambled to gather her wits about her.  What had almost 
just happened?  She was still reeling over the events of 
this most unusual morning.

As Mulder moved into the kitchen, Scully reached over and 
picked up her jacket, intending to hang it up in the closet.

She was completely unprepared for the sight before her.

"FOX WILLIAM MULDER!!!"



At the sound of the high pitched screech, Mulder 
understandably dropped the coffee cup on the cabinet 
splashing the hot liquid everywhere.

"Shit!" he cried out, jumping back to avoid being scalded.

His heart racing, he ran back into the living room and 
instantly stopped dead in his tracks.

"Uh- Scully - I can explain."

Scully looked at him incredulously.  "Oh really.  I think 
this is pretty self-explanatory, don't you?"

Mulder stared helplessly at the French Maid costume that she 
was brandishing before him like a matador's red cape.  (The 
best-laid plans . . . ) he thought disjointedly.

"The bet - it was for the bet."  

"You already had it!  Just when were you planning to tell-" 
she broke off as the realization sunk in.  "So, that's why 
I'm here.  So I can dress up in this thing and pay off the 
bet."  She glared at him in shock.

Mulder brushed his hand across his face.  He was sweating 
bullets.  No sooner had he put out one fire, when another 
sprang up and it was obvious that this one wasn't going to 
be extinguished without a battle.

"Scully, look, it wasn't like that at all.  Yes, I already 
had it.  I admit that I was going to tease you with it, but 
I didn't exactly plan for you to fall asleep in the car.  I 
honestly thought that you'd awaken just any minute - but you 
didn't and I left it in the closet.  It was a joke.  I 
didn't really expect you to wear it."

Scully slowly lowered her arm and dropped the costume.  
"What do you mean that you didn't really expect me to wear 
it?  You mean you're -expecting- me to welsh on our bet?  
You're just automatically assuming that I wouldn't fulfill 
the terms of out bet and you'd be able to hang that over 
me?"

Mulder's face fell.  (This was -not- good. )  He was in a 
no-win situation and he knew it.  "Scully, I'm sorry.  I 
didn't think of it like that."

"Yes you did," she countered.  "Well, let me tell you 
something, Fox Mulder.  I do -not- welsh on a bet.  I was 
not brought up that way."

"Scully, it's okay," Mulder tried to placate her.  "Really, 
I believe you - you'd wear it."

Scully searched his eyes and Mulder was unable to keep his 
gaze from flickering.  She narrowed her eyes.  He was -
daring- her.  He was standing there and -daring- her to put 
on that outfit.  She realized that he didn't think she'd do 
it.  Well, he -obviously- didn't know who he was dealing 
with.  She had never in her life backed down from a dare and 
she certainly was going to start with this one.

Okay, that's it.  War has officially been declared.  Fine.

She bent down and grabbed up the costume and headed for his 
bedroom.  Mulder stared after her, open-mouthed.

Suddenly, she turned back.  "Can I assume that we got here 
in my car?"

Stunned, he could only nod.  (Great.  She's going to walk 
out and I'll probably never see her again, ) he thought 
helplessly.

"Good," she stated.  "There's some shoe boxes in the trunk 
that I was going to take to be resoled.  Go down and get the 
blue box - it's the only blue box in there."

Mulder did a double take.  "What-?"

"Well, you don't expect me to wear tennis shoes with this 
thing do you?"  Scully declared.

"Uh - no - of course not."  Mulder beat a hasty retreat.  
(She's gonna do it - she's gonna put that dress on and she's 
going to clean my apartment dressed up like a French Maid!)  
He felt like singing for joy.


As soon as he was gone, Scully let her shoulders slump.  
(What have I done?  Oh dear God, what happens next? )

She glared at the sexy black and white number, complete with 
fishnet stockings.

She could not believe she had let herself be suckered into 
this.  Getting caught in your t-shirt and panties was one 
thing but this - this was insane.

Who would believe it - she, Dana Scully, was going to dress 
up and go around her partner's apartment, cleaning it, 
straightening drawers. . . 

Yes!  That's it!

Instantly she ran to the bedroom to change.  Fox Mulder was 
about to have the tables turned and Scully was learning that 
whoever laughs last, truly laughs best.

Well, before this was over, she intended to laugh her ass 
off, but good.


It didn't occur to Mulder to check the shoebox until he was 
already in the elevator, as he was still trying to 
comprehend the fact that Scully was in his bedroom.  Not 
only was she in his bedroom, she was currently slipping into 
a French Maid costume.  Would wonders never cease?  Frilly 
mini-skirt, white, low-cut blouse and those fishnet 
stockings.  

Oh, man, he had to be careful or he was going to have to 
make himself scarce and miss the show, or at the very least 
pop into a very cold shower.

Suddenly, he remembered the shoebox.  He decided to check 
out which ones she'd chosen.  Hoo boy, he was in trouble 
now.  He was holding THE shoes.  Actually, he was holding 
Scully's sexiest pair of shoes; shoes that never failed to 
drive him to distraction those precious few times that she 
wore them.  To the casual observer, they probably didn't 
appear out of the ordinary, but on his petite partner, with 
her shapely legs; they had to be the sexiest pair of pumps 
ever.  

The first time he'd seen her wear them was at the OPR after 
the bombing in Dallas.  He'd been a little too distracted to 
appreciate the view at the time, but his eidetic memory 
allowed him to view the sight time and again.  The last time 
had been the day she'd received the Milagro charm from 
Padgett.  Ok, so the conditions hadn't been so hot then, but 
he could focus on Scully in those sexy, high-heeled (the 
highest she ever wore around him) and he was more than 
happy.

Deciding he'd wasted enough time fantasizing when he could 
have the real thing, he hurried in to his apartment.  Scully 
was waiting for him and Mulder just stood there, gaping, the 
shoebox hanging limply in his hands.

Scully, for her part, let him get his fill.  She'd done the 
best she could without fresh make-up and borrowed Mulder's 
brush to tame her hair.  It was far from her best effort, 
but obviously Mulder didn't see it that way.  Inordinately 
pleased at his reaction, she slowly stepped forward and 
without a word, took the box from him.  She purposefully 
made her movements seductive as she pulled the shoes out and 
rather than stepping into them, held on to the doorjamb and 
bent first one leg up then the other to slip them on.

Mulder's eyes widened as the short black skirt rode higher 
on her thigh.  Neither said a word as she walked over to the 
kitchen, swinging her hips subtly and provocatively and 
picked up a dishrag.  A dip and a turn and she was on her 
way to his bedroom.  She felt Mulder's eyes on her, boring 
into her and though her, like a physical touch.

She stopped suddenly and turned to peek over her shoulder.  
"I think I'll start on your drawers, Mulder," she purred in 
her sultriest voice.

Mulder gulped and watched her disappear.  His brain seemed 
to have turned to mush, a victim of pure overload, as his 
memory replayed Scully's performance.  He was in serious 
trouble and he knew it.

"Why Mulder, a whole drawer of underwear," came Scully's 
voice from the bedroom.  "You know it would really help if 
you organized them a little better.  Oooh - look at the 
little green ones.  Are you sure that they still fit?  They 
look a little small, don't you think?"

Mulder groaned painfully, bending over at his waist.  Not 
good - oh - this was so - not good.  He felt weak.

"Oooh, Mulder.  I really, really like these black silk 
ones," Scully called gleefully.  "Aaaawww, how cute.  You've 
got little flannel ones, too."

Mulder was dying.  Each comment from Scully drove the knife 
in just a little farther.  "Scully, please," he whispered.  
"Please- you're killing me here."

She definitely seemed to have heard.  "Why Fox Mulder - how 
come you never wear this sexy little Speedo for me?  You 
know red's my favorite color," she said in her best Southern 
Belle voice.

Mulder was on the floor, curled into the fetal position that 
wasn't protecting him in the least from his partner's 
antics.

Scully had managed to sneak a peek and it was enough to 
convince her that she had the upper hand.  She was not going 
to show any mercy here.  Mulder was going to pay and pay 
dearly.

"I think I'll start on your closet next.  If it's anything 
like your desk at work, I'm sure it needs help."

That got Mulder up and moving.  No way.  Uh-huh.  Dana 
Scully was NOT going through his closet.  Not in this 
lifetime, or the next.  No way.

Like a shot, he was on his feet and running into his bedroom 
as if his life depended on it.  Well, his pride and dignity 
at least were in mortal danger as far as he could see.

Scully heard him coming and turned to face him, hands on her 
hips and a devilish smile on her face.

Mulder barreled into the room like a linebacker with his 
sights on a juicy quarterback to sack.  He showed no signs 
of stopping and Scully realized it a fraction of a second 
too late. She tried to side step him and let him go past her 
but he reached out with one arm and snagged her around the 
waist.  Scully's high heels and Mulder's crazed speed proved 
to be their undoing.  They went down in a tangle of arms and 
legs, rolled twice and crashed into the nightstand.  When 
the lamp came tumbling down on his head, Mulder cried out - 
hands reaching up.  Dazed by the blow, his exploring fingers 
found a knot but thankfully no blood.

Feeling movement under him, he rolled over and found his 
partner curled over her knees, shoulders shaking.  

(No - please, ) Mulder thought desperately. (Please - let 
her be okay. ) "Scully?"

A muffled cry escaped her lips and Mulder paled.  "Scully - 
what is it? Are you hurt?"  That little voice in his head 
continued to plead for her to be all right as his hands ran 
over her head and body, looking for injuries.

At last, Scully raised her head.  Tears were streaming down 
her cheeks.  It took Mulder a full ten seconds to realize 
that she was laughing.  When she was able to take a breath, 
the laughter poured out of her - uncontrollably.  

Mulder was stunned.  "Uh - Scully?"

The obvious confusion on his face sent Scully off again.  
Gales of laughter rang throughout the room as her arms 
clutched her stomach.  Each time he thought she was going to 
stop, she'd look at him and the giggles was take over.

(Oh God, ) she thought hysterically, (I've got to stop. )  
It was getting painful, but she was utterly helpless to get 
control.  She caught sight of the knot on Mulder's forehead 
and reached out to probe the injury.  "Are you okay?" she 
managed to get out between giggles, her face still wet with 
tears.

Mulder rolled his eyes.  "I'm fine, Scully."

(Oh - that did it, ) Scully thought, as the laughter took 
over again.

Mulder huffed loudly and without another word, scooped her 
up and deposited her on his bed.  He went to the kitchen and 
got a glass of water, which he then made Scully drink.

In between hiccups and coughs, Scully got the water down and 
managed to stop the laughter.  "I'm sorry, Mulder," she said 
panting slightly, "I don't know what came over me."

Mulder just shook his head.  "Are you sure you're all 
right?" 

"I - I think so," Scully replied.  "But my wrist is a little 
sore.  I think I fell on it awkwardly."  She held up her 
left wrist, which was already swelling.

"Is it broken?" Mulder asked, his face positively stricken.

"No, no," Scully reassured him.  She moved it, wincing 
slightly.  "Really, it's not.  I've broken it before and I 
do remember what that felt like.  Besides, I didn't fall 
hard enough to do any real damage."  She could see that she 
hadn't exactly convinced him.  "I promise.  A little motrin 
and an ace wrap and I'm as good as new."

Mulder allowed himself to be placated - for now.  "Ok.  
Well, why don't you change clothes and I'll get you home."

"But I'm not anywhere near finished cleaning your 
apartment." Scully said wickedly.

"Yes, you are."  Mulder informed her.  "You fulfilled the 
bet as far as I'm concerned.  I say the matter is over and 
done with."

"Okay, Mulder."  Scully grinned smugly.

"Before you get too satisfied there, don't forget the 
bowling tournament Saturday.  We lose and it's a kid's 
birthday in a cow suit," Mulder said, watching her face 
fall.

"Oh yeah."  Scully muttered.


Scully convinced Mulder that she was okay to drive herself 
home and invited him to come over later for dinner.  "I've 
really got to get these errands done since next weekend will 
be taken with the tournament."  

Mulder agreed since he had chores of his own to do.  "Okay, 
I'll see you tonight.  Are you sure you're all right?"  He 
eyed her wrist suspiciously.

Scully impulsively leaned over and kissed his cheek.  "I'm 
fine.  I'll check in on you in two hours."

Mulder was confused. "Why two hours?"

She pointed to the knot on his forehead.  "Head injury 
precautions," she teased.

Mulder laughed and escorted her to the door. "Be careful."

"Always," she called and was gone.


Mulder arrived at Scully's apartment with two large grocery 
bags in hand.  Scully greeted him warmly and relieved him of 
one of the bags.  "Did you find everything?" she asked as 
she peeked in the bag.

"I think so," Mulder answered, following her into the 
kitchen.  "Hey, you shouldn't be carrying that stuff.  What 
about your wrist?"

"I'm not carrying it with that hand, Mulder." Scully lifted 
her left wrist, currently wrapped securely in an elastic ace 
bandage for his inspection. "Now, let's get this stuff ready 
- I'm starved."

Scully had cleared of the coffee table and they set up for a 
picnic with all the fixings.

"What's on TV?" Mulder asked, reaching for the remote.

"Not so fast, G-man," Scully said with a laugh as she 
grabbed up the remote. "We're watching my tape of the Emmy's 
that you made me miss.  So, make yourself a sandwich and get 
comfortable."

Mulder was tempted to whine a bit, but how could he complain 
about spending an evening with his partner and being off-
duty to boot.

Later, he would reflect that he really had had a great time.  
The Emmy show had been fun - starting with critiquing the 
outfits the stars wore and who came with whom.  They tried 
to see who could guess the winner of each category, and were 
disappointed that their favorite actress didn't win for best 
lead in a drama and were crushed that their favorite show 
had been snubbed for best drama, and the lead actor and 
director, too, had been left out.

"Goes to show you that those Emmy voters don't have a clue," 
Mulder groused.

Scully agreed whole-heartedly as she made some popcorn to 
finish the evening.  They agreed to end the evening early 
since it was back to work in the morning.

For the rest of the week, Scully found herself obsessing 
over the upcoming tournament.  This was it.  It was all on 
the line now.  If they lost, she'd find herself sharing a 
cow costume with her partner.  Suddenly, that sounded like 
more than she could handle what with all the changes their 
relationship had gone through recently.  That cow suit could 
conceivably push it faster than she was ready to go.  And if 
they did end up in that costume, did she really want to be 
in front?  Mulder bent behind her, his hands on her, the 
positioning too close for comfort.  Could he be trusted to 
behave?  And did she really want him to?

And would it be any better if she was in back - his behind 
in her face?  Would she behave?

It was too much.  She couldn't concentrate.  Of course, it 
didn't help that Mulder wanted to practice every night after 
work, dragging her with him when all she wanted to do was to 
forget the whole thing.

By the time Saturday afternoon rolled around, Scully was a 
nervous wreck.  She had practiced hard all week, but 
couldn't dispel her fears.

Mulder noticed something was wrong.  She spent way too much 
time before each shot and he'd learn a valuable truth that 
applied to many things in sports (passing, and putting for 
example).  "Thinking long - thinking wrong."  Scully was 
wound so tightly and trying desperately to hide it.  He 
tried to joke her out of it but they fell on deaf ears.  He 
pleaded with her to relax, but realized quickly that 
desperate measures were called for.


"What's this?"  Scully asked suspiciously.

"What does it look like?" Mulder countered.

"It looks like a couple of cherries in a plastic cup."

"Bingo!" he exclaimed.  "Now hurry up and eat 'em."

"Excuse me?" Scully stared at him like he'd sprouted 
antennae.

"Come on, hurry up." Mulder pushed her.  "They're not gonna 
bite you back, just eat them."

Scully reluctantly did as she was told and popped the 2 
cherries in her mouth.  Almost instantly her eyes grew wide.  
"God Mulder!" she gasped, her throat on fire.

Before she could say another word or even attempt to spit 
them out, he put a diet coke to her lips and urged her to 
drink.

Gratefully, Scully took the can and gulped greedily.  "Were 
those cherries soaked in rum?" she hissed when she could 
talk again.

"Overproof, actually.  They're cherry bombs," he explained 
with a grin. "It'll help you relax."

"Are you trying to get me drunk?" she asked fiercely.

"Not drunk," Mulder shushed her, looking around.  "It'll 
just take the edge off.  Now calm down."

Scully huffed.  No time to argue since she was up.  Well, 
she had to admit that she had gotten a slight buzz.  Maybe 
it -would- help.

Well, it didn't help them win the first game, but Scully had 
gotten enough confidence with her improved play that she was 
able to relax even more and they won the second game easily.

Now it was down to this, the last game.  She knew she should 
have been more worried than she was, but those cherry bombs 
had really done the trick.  She had to agree that it helped 
that at this point she really wouldn't mind if she -did- 
share a cow suit with Mulder.  She didn't tell him so.  Not 
yet, anyway.

(Whatever it takes, ) Mulder thought as he swept Scully into 
his arms in a joyous victory dance.  Scully laughed and held 
on tightly as she was swung around, not caring who was 
watching.

They graciously accepted congratulations from Athens, and 
hurried off to complete the necessary paperwork to claim the 
car.

"Very big of you not to tease Athens about the charm 
bracelet," Scully told him.

"Yeah, well, I did tell him good luck in finding someone to 
wear that costume," Mulder replied happily.

"Oh, I don't know, Mulder, I was kind of looking forward to 
sharing that suit with you."

Mulder's mouth fell open.  (Must be the cherry bombs - must 
be. )  "You're kidding, right?"

"Maybe - maybe not," she said coyly, her voice sending 
shivers up and down his spine.

"You wouldn't." Mulder dared.

"You bet your life I would," Scully said with a laugh as she 
led them to their new blue Beetle.


The End


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