TITLE:  Everything But
AUTHOR: Henle Girl
E-MAIL:  Henle_Girl@hotmail.com
DISTRIBUTION:  Just ask first, I'll probably say yes.

RATING: PG
CATEGORIES: Story
KEYWORDS: Mulder/Scully UST
SPOILERS:

SUMMARY:  A Girl's Night Out brings a surprising revelation to 
Scully about her feelings for Mulder.

Disclaimer:  The characters don't belong to me.  I'm just 
borrowing them for my own therapeutic purposes.  They will be 
returned relatively unharmed to Chris Carter, or whoever wants to 
borrow them next, when I'm done.

Author Notes:  Visit me!  http://www.geocities.com/nm122974

Everything But
by Henle Girl

Since joining the X-Files, Dana Scully has noticed a distinct 
down turn in her social life.  She never dates anymore.  Friends 
she used to talk to on a regular basis have probably forgotten 
her number.  Even her family has a hard time pinning her down 
these days.  Her work has become her life.  And as an extension, 
so has Mulder.  But somehow he helps with the loneliness.

However, from time to time, she misses her old friendships.  So 
when a few of her college friends called for a girls night out, 
she couldn't refuse.  They were actually a pretty wild bunch back 
in the day, partying every weekend for the whole weekend, all the 
while managing to be conscious, if not a little hung over, Monday 
morning for their classes.  But those days are over, as evidenced 
by the sedate group of women now lounging in the living room of 
Dana Scully's Georgetown apartment.

"What's happened to us?" Scully asks, yawning into the back of 
her hand.  "We used to be able to hang all night."

"We've gotten old," one friend, a petite blonde with a subtle 
southern accent, answers with a slightly drunken smile.  "Our 
bodies require more fuel than beer and tequila."

"Speak for yourself, Mindy," another woman chimes in.  "I'm not 
old.  I'm in my prime."

"Of course you are, Ellie," Mindy says.  "You're a cop.  Dana's 
FBI.  The two of you have to stay in peak condition.  I'm just . 
. . a house wife."

"No, you're extremely lucky.  You've got a great home.  A great 
husband and great kids," Scully reminds her.  "That's no small 
accomplishment."

"Definitely not," yet another friend adds.  "I've seen plenty of 
women in my practice who haven't been able to bounce back after a 
child the way you have.  And you've done it five times!"

"Don't remind me, Acara," Mindy says, rolling her eyes.  All the 
women break out in a fit of laughter at the sentiment.  They're 
laughing so hard, they don't hear the knock at the door or notice 
its subsequent opening.  

"Well, hello there," Acara says in her thick Jamaican accent when 
she finally notices that they have company.  Very good looking 
male company.  "Are you the entertainment for the evening?  Dana, 
I didn't know you hired a stripper!"

"Excuse me?"  A very surprised Fox Mulder stands at the door, 
taking in the scene before him.  

"Mulder, what are you doing here?" Scully asks when she finally 
looks up and sees him.  

"Mulder?  This is the infamous Mulder?" Mindy asks, her eyebrows 
lifting almost up into her hairline.

"I'm infamous?" he asks with a grin.

"What are you doing here?" Scully asks again, ignoring his 
previous comment and leer.  "I told you I was hanging out with my 
friends."

"No, you said you were *going out* with your friends," he 
clarifies.  "I didn't think you'd be here."

"Okay.  But that still doesn't tell me what you're doing here.  
In *my* apartment.  When you thought I wasn't going to be here."

"Dry cleaning."  He holds up the bag of clothes in his hand.  "I 
picked up yours when I got mine today.  I just figured I'd drop 
by and hang it in your closet for you."

"Awww.  How sweet," Mindy gushes.  

"Thank you, Miss . . ." Mulder asks, holding out his hand to the 
woman.  

"Barrington.  Mindy Barrington," the woman tells him, giggles 
taking over when Mulder presses the back of her hand to his lips 
briefly.

"Pleased to meet you, Miss Barrington," he says, flashing his 
most charming smile.  "I assume you're a friend of Dana's."

"That's *Mrs* Barrington," Scully corrects Mulder, not at all 
pleased by his blatant flirting.  "And yes, she is an old friend 
of mine.  An old *married* friend of mine," she clarifies, in 
case he missed it the first time.

"Yeah.  I think I got it," he says, smiling at Scully's reactions 
to his teasing.  He knows just which buttons to push with her.  
He decides to push some more of them, just for fun.  Turning to 
the next woman, he turns on the charm again.  "And who is this?"

"I'm Gabriella Martinez.  But everyone calls me Ellie."  She 
gives Mulder her hand, hoping for the same treatment as Mindy.  
She's not disappointed.  He presses a kiss to her hand as well.

"Nice meeting you too, Miss Martinez."

"It's *Mrs* as well," Ellie says almost regretfully.

"Another one taken," Mulder frowns.  "Are all your friends 
married, Scully?"

"I'm not," Acara says, practically pushing the other two women 
out of the way to introduce herself.  "Dr. Acara Lake."

"That's a lovely name, Dr. Lake.  And a truly enchanting accent.  
Where are you from?"

"Jamaica.  I came to the states for college," she explains.

"Well we here in the good old US of A are lucky for your 
presence," he smiles, taking her hand to his lips as well.

"And we here in this apartment are certainly lucky for yours," 
Mindy says, making Scully roll her eyes and sigh in frustration.

"Okay, Mulder, now that you've met everyone, I think you should 
be going," Scully frowns, letting Mulder know just how displeased 
she is with his interruption.

"Nonsense, Dana.  We were winding down anyway," Ellie says.  "Why 
don't we help you clean up and then leave the two of you to enjoy 
the rest of this evening."

"Please, ladies.  Don't leave on account of me," Mulder pleads, 
shooting them his best puppy dog face.

"No, we should be going," Mindy agrees with Ellie.  

"Okay, then.  I'll just go hang this up and then I'll take out 
whatever trash you all have accumulated and walk you ladies to 
your cars," he offers before heading towards the bedroom.  They 
wait until he's out of sight before they start talking about him.

"Did you hear him?  He wants to walk us to our cars," Mindy says 
dreamily.

"Yeah, I'm sorry about that," Scully apologizes.  "But he's so 
overprotective.  He always does stuff like this.  You're a cop, 
Ellie.  Just tell him you can take care of yourself." 

"Please, I may be a cop, but if a man like that wants to walk me 
to my car to 'protect me', far be it for me to stop him," she 
laughs.

"What was that?" he asks when he steps from the bedroom.

"Nothing, Mulder," Scully says a little too quickly in an attempt 
to cover up.  "What took you so long?"

"I had to go to the bathroom.  Don't worry, I put the seat back 
down," he adds when she gives him the eyebrow.

"Good boy," she smiles, shoving a couple of bags of trash in his 
arms and pushing him out the door.

"Gorgeous, sweet and so well trained," Mindy sighs.  "He really 
is a catch, Dana.  You're lucky you have him."

"It's not what you think," she says, giving them the standard 
line about them just being partners and friends.

"Give me a break, Dana," Ellie says.  "You've talked about 
nothing but that man all night."

"No I haven't," she tries to deny.  But one look at her friends 
faces let her know that she isn't convincing anyone.  "Really?  I 
talked about him that much?"

"Don't get me wrong, Day.  Looking at the man, I can now see why 
you can't get him off your mind," Mindy tells her.  "If I wasn't 
a married woman . . . "

"You'd what?" Scully challenges.  But Mindy's response is cut off 
by a sound that chills the blood in Scully's veins.

"Did you hear that?" Acara asks.

"Gunshots," Ellie confirms, searching the living room for her 
purse.  When she finds it, she grabs her gun and follows an 
already armed Scully out the front door.

They run first to where they know Mulder to be, out back by the 
dumpsters.  They hear a scuffle and some grunts and know they're 
in the right place.

"Mulder?" Scully calls out, praying that he can answer her.  
Hoping with everything in her that he's okay.

"Here, Scully," he gasps, trying to catch his breath.  "There are 
three of them.  Two of them are down and I'm about to cuff the 
third.  They tried to mug me."

The women run to him and help with the situation.  Ellie reads 
the men their rights and calls for back up while Scully moves to 
take care of Mulder.

"Where were you shot?" she asks, her shaking hands searching his 
body for, and finally finding a wound.

"It's not too bad," he tries to assure her when he notices her 
hands.  

"Looks like the bullet went right through," she agrees.  "I can 
patch this up."

"Why don't you let me," Acara says, scaring Scully with her 
sudden appearance.  "I grabbed your medical bag and came down, 
just in case it was needed."

"It's okay, Scully," he promises, taking her unsteady hands in 
his own.  "I'm okay.  Go see if Ellie has everything under 
control."

She can only nod, too afraid that if she says anything, she'll 
burst into tears.  She stands to leave and Acara gets to work.

"She's just scared," he tries to explain for her.  "I end up 
getting hurt a lot.  And it scares her when something happens to 
me."

"Because she cares so much for you.  As much as you care for 
her," Acara says, noticing that he's not denying the feelings 
like Scully did earlier.

"She's my everything," he confesses.  "But I hate doing this to 
her.  She's been to too many emergency rooms with me during the 
course of our partnership."

"She'll be fine," Acara says as she finishes bandaging him.  They 
both look up to see Scully staring intently at their deep 
conversation before she scowls and turns away.

Mulder notices the action and stands to follow, giving Acara a 
silent apology for leaving so abruptly.

"Go to her," the beautiful Jamaican smiles.  "She just needs to 
know you're okay."

Flashing her a matching smile, he carefully shrugs back into his 
shirt, not bothering with the buttons.

"Scully," he calls as he reaches her, not wanting to startle her.  
He lifts his good arm to lightly touch her back, surprised when 
she recoils from the contact.  "Scully, it's just me.  What's the 
matter with you?"

'Okay, open mouth - insert foot.  Obviously the wrong thing to 
say,' Mulder thinks to himself as she suddenly spins around, the 
glare in her eyes seemingly burning a hole in him.

"What's the matter with *me*?  Mulder, what's the matter with 
you?" she shrieks.  "You almost died.  Don't you get that?"

"I get it, Scully," he says gently, trying to calm the woman.  "I 
really do.  But I'm fine.  And thanks to your friend, I'm all 
patched up."

"I'm sure there are other ways she'd prefer you express your 
thanks."  Scully pulls away from Mulder, crossing her arms in 
front of her chest in a gesture warning him to back away.  "You 
two certainly seemed to be hitting it off.  I should have given 
you her number years ago."

"Is that why you're so upset?" he asks, realization finally 
sinking in.  "You think I'm interested in her?"

"Why wouldn't you be, Mulder?  Most men are.  She's gorgeous, 
smart, exotic and just about the nicest person I've ever met.  I 
can't compete with that," she sighs in resignation.  "I never 
could."

"Who says you have to?  You're so much more to me than any of 
that, Scully.  She's a great doctor and I appreciate what she did 
for me.  But she's not my doctor.  She's not you, Scully.  You're 
the only doctor for me."

She looks up into his smiling eyes and can see the teasing there.  
But looking deeper, she can see that he's also very serious.  She 
gives him a smile in return before stepping shyly into his arms, 
sighing when they close around her.  Only a slight grunt coming 
from Mulder reminds her of the pain that move must have caused 
him.

"Mulder, your arm," she says as she reluctantly pulls out of his 
embrace.  "I'm not letting you go home after being shot.  You 
need to go upstairs and get into bed right now.  In the *guest* 
bedroom," she adds after seeing the suggestive leer he gives to 
her.

"The thrill really is gone," he sighs with a pretend little pout. 

After insuring he gets safely into the building, Scully goes back 
to where her friends are standing, trying to decipher the looks 
they're giving her.  Finally, she decides to just ask.

"What?"

"You, Dana Scully, are hopeless," Ellie starts.

"How am I hopeless?"

"You're hopelessly in love with that man," Mindy giggles.

"Don't deny it," Acara jumps in.  "I noticed the 'signal' you 
sent off when I was working on your man's arm."

"Mulder is not my man, Acara," Scully denies, but it even sounds 
unconvincing to her own ears.  "And what do you mean by 'signal'?  
What signal was I sending off?"

"The 'back off, he's mine' signal," Mindy giggles again. 

"Okay, maybe you're right," she relents.

"Girl, I know I am.  You looked like you were ready to pull every 
braid out of my head and shove them down my throat," Acara says, 
causing them all to laugh.

"I'm sorry, Acara," Scully apologizes.  "It's just . . ."

"I understand.  You were marking your territory.  But you didn't 
have to worry about me.  That man only has eyes for you.  Not 
that I wasn't tempted, though.  Those eyes.  That smile," Acara 
sighs dreamily.  "I just don't know how you've kept your hands 
off of him for all these years."

Scully just shrugs.  Because that's a question she's also been 
asking herself for years.  

"You two are practically married, Day.  But he's better than most 
husbands.  You've already got him trained to bring your dry 
cleaning.  Plus you've managed to get him to not only take out 
the garbage without asking, but to also put down the toilet seat 
in the bathroom.  I say it's time for you to, um . . . reward his 
good behavior with the only aspect of marriage you two are 
missing," Ellie says, giving Scully a wicked little grin.  "I'm 
sure you can find something black and slinky . . . "

"Ellie!" Scully interrupts her, her cheeks flaming red in 
embarrassment.  

"Okay, okay," her friend laughs.  "But seriously.  An event like 
tonight should tell you something.  He might not be around 
forever.  And whatever it is that's holding you back won't seem 
so important after he's gone.  So why are you letting it stop you 
now?"

They leave her speechless, promising to get together again soon.  
But their words stick around long after they are gone, haunting 
her mind.  What *is* she waiting for?  What if he had died 
tonight without ever knowing how she felt?  

Her friends are right.  She's been with Mulder for so long and 
they know each other so well.  They really are like a married 
couple.  They do everything like they're married.  Everything 
but, that is.  It's that 'but' that has her so terrified.  Can 
she allow herself to be that intimate with him?  That used to be 
the only thing to consider.  But now, a question she's never 
asked herself makes it's way into her brain in a voice sounding 
suspiciously like Ellie's.  Can she risk the chance of never 
knowing what's it's like to be intimate with him?  The answer is 
a resounding no.  Now all she has to do is figure out what to do 
about it.

She takes the long way back upstairs, giving herself time to 
think about what to do.  She could just walk in, confess her 
love, and hope for the best.  But that might scare him away.  Her 
approach will have to be gentle and subtle.  Nothing that will 
spook him.  That won't be so hard.  She can do subtle.  With that 
decision made, she takes a deep breath and walks into her 
apartment . . . only to find Mulder sprawled across her couch 
fast asleep.

A smile comes to her face as her heart swells.  She loves this 
man so much.  How could she have ever denied that?  She runs her 
fingers though his hair and presses a kiss to his forehead.  

"One day very soon, you're going to know just what you mean to 
me, Fox Mulder," she whispers to him as she slips into her 
bedroom.  For now they may just be a couple that does everything 
but, but all that's about to change.  She's not going to hold 
back any longer.  She's not going to have any regrets.  This is 
going to be fun.  Mulder's not going to know what hit him.  
Another smile comes to her face at that thought and follows her 
as she drifts into a peaceful sleep.

The end . . . or maybe the beginning?