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�Yes, I remember. I also remember that we already covered the name thing,� Mulder said. I could hear a smile in his voice. That was good. So many times calling someone in the middle of the night, especially when you barely know them or don�t know them at all, will put you in their bad books for the rest of eternity.
�Right,� I said, smiling weakly. �Sorry. Anyway, Mulder, Commander Rabb and I have been assigned to protect the Navy�s interests in the case that you and Agent Scully are working.�
�I�m aware of that, and I�m also aware of the fact that you didn�t call me at three in the morning to tell me that we�re going to be working on a case in a somewhat parallel fashion.�
I smiled. �You�re right. I actually called with a potential lead that�s not exactly in keeping with what most investigators would run with.�
�I�m not most investigators,� Mulder said. I could practically hear him salavating at the thought of there being a supernatural edge to an otherwise sickening case of the human condition at it�s very worst. �Tell me what you�ve got. Wait, no, we should do this in person, not over the phone,� he said, almost to himself. Then, to me again, he said, �Where are you now? On the base?�
Cringing, I sighed. �No, I�m not on the base right now. Um... how well do you know the area?�
�I�ve got a map,� Mulder offered.
�Okay. There�s a coffee shop not far from where I am right now. We can meet there,� I said. I didn�t want to wake Harm and explaining to Mulder about our relationship might not be so tough but there was no way I was telling anyone without Harm�s full agreement. I gave Mulder directions and we agreed to meet there in half an hour. After we hung up I took a quick shower, got dressed in the dress I had worn earlier topped with Harm�s shirt that was both practical and comforting. I wrote out a note for Harm to let him know where I was going and I tenderly kissed him goodbye before grabbing my purse and the key to the room and heading out.
When Mulder arrived I had already finished a cup of tea and was about to order another one. He ordered a coffee before joining me at the booth in the back of the coffee shop that I had taken because it was far enough away from the counter that the clearly exhausted waitress wouldn�t listen to our conversation. It was bad enough if they listened in on a murder investigation in the middle of the day, but in the middle of the night it�s more likely that they�ll call the cops on a couple of potential murderers rather than assume that we�re investigating the crime.