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

RATING: PG
CATEGORIES: Story/Romance
KEYWORDS: Mulder/Scully Romance

SUMMARY:  Phase one of Scully's plan to show Mulder how she 
really feels.  Sequel to Everything But.

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 II:  Forcing Evolution
by Henle Girl

Chapter 1

With an exaggerated yawn and stretch, Dana Scully rises from her 
seat at the little table in the corner of her partner's hotel 
room.  The case they're currently working on is all but solved.  
There's nothing left to do but write their final report, which 
Scully decides they can do once they get back home.

"Mulder, I'm going to get ready for bed," she says with another 
yawn.  "I'm wiped out."

"Yeah, me too," he agrees.  "We can finish this report later."

"Just what I was thinking."  She smiles, something she's been 
trying to do more of.   Ever since that visit from her friends 
last month, Scully has come to the conclusion that trying to deny 
the feelings she has for her partner has only caused her trouble.  
She's decided to let him know how she feels - subtly, of course.  
It wouldn't do her any good to scare him away.

So she's been trying to drop hints to him, letting him know her 
true feelings for him - that she loves him.  She's tried smiling 
more, touching him more, and even responding to his constant 
joking and innuendo.  All to no avail.  She's starting to wonder 
if Mulder's investigative skills need to be sharpened.  Either 
that or she needs to step up her flirting assault.  With a mental 
shrug she decides the latter is the way to go.  

She briefly looks up and sees his attention is elsewhere.  She 
acts now while he's looking away.  One quick flick of her wrist 
has the papers of the folder in her hand strewn all over the 
floor.

"I can't believe I just did that," she gasps with mock disgust, 
trying to hide the smile begging to break free when Mulder rushes 
to her aid in picking up all the papers she just 'accidentally' 
dropped.

"Let me help you, Scully," he says, averting his eyes when a 
well-timed leg crossing flashes him a chunk of her thigh.  This 
time she can't conceal the tiny, triumphant grin at the slight 
reddening of his cheeks.  She's also taken to wearing shorter 
skirts with slits in the sides to aid in her mission to capture 
Mulder's attention.  At least that effort appears to be working.

"I guess I get clumsy when I'm overly tired," she explains.

"No problem.  You just go to bed," he practically stutters, 
desperately trying to avoid her newly exposed, eye level skin.  
"I'll take care of this mess."

"Thanks, Mulder," she says, affectionately ruffling his hair 
before disappearing through the connecting door.  Finally 
something appears to be affecting him, she thinks with a sigh.  
It's time to take this a little further.  She quickly showers and 
throws on an old t-shirt of his that she uses as a night shirt.  
Moving back to the connecting door, she takes a deep breath for 
courage before crossing the threshold.  It's time to commence 
phase two of her plan.

* * * * * * * * * *

Mulder remains on the floor, panting like a pet puppy.  As far as 
he's concerned, he may as well be a puppy, with all the drooling 
over the smallest flash of Scully skin.  It took everything in 
him not to grab her leg and rub his cheek against its baby 
softness.  He can't help it, though.  She's usually much more 
careful of what she allows him to see - physically and 
emotionally.

Her thigh isn't the only thing she's been exposing.  Lately, 
she's been more open with her feelings and emotions.  She's been 
smiling more at him and laughing at his jokes more.  She's been 
touching him more, that little thing with his hair just now being 
a prime example.  He doesn't know what's prompted this 
flirtatious new attitude of hers, but he's not complaining.  
He'll take anything he can get.

He's known for a long time how he feels about her - that he's in 
love with her.  But she's never given him any indication that she 
feels the same way.  Lately, however, he's starting to wonder.  
Maybe, just maybe, she can be persuaded to give a romantic 
relationship with him a chance.

The sound of her shower coming on next door shakes him from his 
stupor.  He quickly finishes retrieving the papers from the floor 
and puts them all back into the folder on the table.  He goes to 
take his own shower before settling on the bed for the night in 
just his boxers.  Using the remote control, he turns on the 
television, flipping through the stations to find something to 
watch.  He's more than a little bit surprised when he sees her 
step back into his room.

"What are you watching?" she asks him nonchalantly, casually 
climbing into the bed next to him.  He tries not to let the shock 
show on his face, forcing his open mouth to close.

"Nothing's really on," he manages to say, wanting very badly to 
ask her why she's in his bed.  Instead, he turns back towards the 
TV and starts flipping through the channels again.

"Ooh, stop here," she says when he gets to the movie channel, 
putting her hand on top of his on the remote.  "I love this 
movie."

"Die Hard?"

"Mmhmm.  It's one of my favorites," she confirms.

"You don't really strike me as the action flick type, Scully," he 
teases, gently easing his hand away from hers.  His heart was 
already pounding in his chest.  He didn't need her touch to risk 
spontaneously combusting.

"Mulder, I grew up with two brothers and I now tote a gun for a 
living," she smirks.  "My liking Die Hard should hardly surprise 
you.  It was my guilty pleasure in med school.  I think I must 
have seen it five or six times at the movies.  It probably 
contributed to my decision to become a law enforcement agent."

"And all this time I thought it was your stubborn defiance of 
authority figures," he laughs.

"Well, I'm sure that had a little something to do with it.  But 
Bruce Willis helped too.  My friends and I thought he was so 
sexy."

"Those same friends I met last month?"

"The very same," she confirms.  "We had a movie night every week 
and that movie was one we always ended up watching."

He just nods his head, letting it all sink in.  This is what he 
was talking about her being more open.  A month ago, she would 
have never told him a story like this, let alone from the comfort 
of his bed.  But lately she seems to be letting him in more.  
Letting him get a glimpse at what's inside.

When the movie ends, he expects her to get up and leave.  But a 
glance down at her lets him see that she has fallen asleep.  He 
can't help but smile at how cute she looks, her mouth slightly 
open allowing an adorable little snore to escape.  With a quiet 
laugh, he shakes his head.  He has it bad for her if he can sit 
here and think her snoring is cute.

Despite common sense telling him to wake her up and send her to 
her own room, he shuts off the television and settles next to 
her.  Almost instantly she snuggles closer, hiking her leg up 
over his.  This is a mistake, his mind warns him.  But he can't 
seem to bring himself to care.  It feels too good to be with her 
like this.  He'll worry about the consequences when they wake up.

* * * * * * * * * *

She breathes a sigh of relief when he turns off the TV.  It's not 
like she's avoiding him.  She's the one who got into bed with 
him.  But she is avoiding his possible questions.  At least for 
the time being.  She isn't ready to account for her actions just 
yet.  Not until she's more sure the outcome will be what she 
wants.

As confused as she knows her actions are making him, she knows 
exactly what she's doing.  She knows exactly what she wants.  She 
wants it all.  She wants the 'everything but' her friends were 
talking about.  Over the years, her relationship with Mulder has 
changed in many ways.  At first they were just colleagues.  Then 
they became friends.  But somehow in the middle of everything, 
she fell in love with him.  He became her everything.  And now 
she wants to give him her everything.  This is her way of 
offering herself to him, of making their relationship go to 
another level.  She may be forcing evolution a bit, but she's 
confident it'll all be worth it in the end.  Without another 
thought, she sighs contently and snuggles closer, quickly falling 
asleep for real.

* * * * * * * * * *

Too soon for his liking, an irritating buzz disturbs his slumber.  
With an aggravated groan, he tries to reach and hit the offending 
alarm clock next to the bed but notices he can't move.  A smile 
spreads across his face when he realizes what has him trapped.  A 
small, warm body is sprawled across his chest, preventing him 
from reaching the clock.

"Scully," he whispers, wanting to wake her gently.  "It's time to 
get up."

"Five more minutes, Mom," she mumbles incoherently before she 
fully awakens, becoming more aware of her surroundings.

"Morning, Sunshine," he smiles, watching her face register the 
sleeping arrangements.  To his surprise, she doesn't seem upset.  
In fact, she returns his smile, adding a lazy stretch.

"Morning, Mulder.  I guess I forgot to remind you to set the 
alarm for later.  We didn't need to get up so early.  Our flight 
doesn't leave until later this afternoon.  We can go back to 
sleep," she 
practically purrs, waking Mulder in more ways than one.

It takes him a few moments to recover from the shock of a very 
willing Scully snuggling languidly with him in bed.  And when he 
finally gets his confused brain into gear to deliver his usual 
lewd comment, he discovers that she's already fallen back asleep.

Confused does not even begin to cover what he's feeling.  He 
can't figure out what's going on in her head.  But the question 
is, does he really care?  Does it really matter why she's with 
him like this?  Not really.  All he cares about is that for some 
reason, she found him worthy to share a bed with.  Maybe in the 
future she'll decide to share even more with him, but for now 
that doesn't matter.  All that matters is that she's there with 
him.  Because she wants to be.  And that's all he needs to know.


Chapter 2

The trip home seemed to take forever.  As the hour grew later and 
later, Mulder and Scully became more and more tired.  After too 
many hours to count, they finally arrive at his apartment, the 
closer of the two to the airport.

"I can't believe how late it is," Mulder says as he opens the 
door to his apartment.  He holds it for Scully and then slams it 
shut after she enters.  "Thanks for the ride home."

"It's no problem.  But unfortunately we have more work to do.  
Skinner's expecting the report in the morning," she reminds him.

"Scully," he whines.  "Can't we do it tomorrow?"

"Sorry, partner.  We need to get it done."  The pout on his face 
just about kills her.  He can be so adorable at times.  "How 
about this as incentive?  We finish the report tonight, e-mail it 
to Skinner, and spend the rest of the weekend having fun."

"Ooh, what kind of fun?"  He asks, waggling his eyebrows at her.

"Let's finish the report so that we can find out," she tells him, 
trying to use her most seductive voice.  She laughs at the look 
on his face.  She can tell he still isn't used to her being so 
playful and responding to his innuendo.

"You're a wicked, wicked woman, Agent Scully," he laughs with 
her, taking his bag into the bedroom.  He doesn't notice when she 
does the same with her own overnight bag.

"Mulder, I want to wash up and get some of the airplane grime off 
of me before we get started.  How about you order us something to 
eat?" she suggests.  

What she really wants is to send him to the grocery store to make 
sure they have something for breakfast in the morning.  She 
wasn't kidding about spending the entire weekend with him.  But, 
she doesn't think he realizes that.  And coming right out to say 
it might scare him.  She's resolved to take this thing with him 
slow and she's not going back on her promise.  Phases one and two 
seemed to have been a success, but she thinks they're ready for 
more.  It won't hurt to speed things up a little, she thinks to 
herself, a smile growing on her face.  Let phase three begin.

* * * * * * * * * *

In a slight moment of panic, Mulder almost refuses her request to 
use his bathroom.  He was in a rush when they left to go out of 
town, so he has no idea what stage of filth his facilities have 
sunk to.  

"Uh, I think there may be things growing in there by now, 
Scully," he says sheepishly, embarrassed by his lack of cleaning 
skills.  He makes a vow to himself to do better.

"That's okay, Mulder.  If it's that bad, then chances are good 
that the tub and tile cleaner I bought when I helped you clean 
for your inspection is still in there," she grins.  "I'll be 
fine.  You go ahead and order the food."

He nods, about to leave the room to give her some privacy when 
something from out of his top ten fantasies happens.  It's 
fantasy number four, the one he's affectionately titled 'The 
Striptease'.  He can't keep his mouth from falling wide open when 
she drops her pants and rips off her shirt before walking into 
the bathroom.  Okay so maybe it wasn't so much a striptease as it 
was her preparing to wash up.  But it's more of her than he ever 
dreamed he'd ever see.

The water starts and stops and he's still standing in the same 
spot with a dazed look on his face when she comes out, a large 
towel wrapped around her body.

"Did you order the food already, Mulder?" she asks, seemingly not 
noticing his stupor.  She walks over to her overnight bag and 
digs out some underwear and nightclothes.  Looks like another 
sleepover, he thinks to himself with what would be glee if only 
he could get his mind past the fact that she's standing in his 
room in nothing but a towel.  

"I uh . . . uh . . . didn't know what you wanted," he finally 
sputters, trying to come up with a plausible excuse for him to 
still be standing there.  "Pizza or Chinese?  Either is fine with 
me."

"Are you sure you're okay, Mulder?" she asks, concern lacing her 
voice.  She walks over to him and presses a damp hand on his 
forehead to check for a fever.  "You seem kind of flustered and 
distracted.  Why don't you go wash up and let me worry about the 
food."

He practically runs into the bathroom, splashing cold water on 
his face.  What he really needs is to jump into a cold shower 
after the show Scully just gave him.  Her joining him in bed the 
previous night was one thing.  But seeing a near naked Scully is 
something else entirely, though just as pleasurable.  

"Get a grip," he tells his mirror image.  It's ridiculous to 
react this way every time she touches him or comes near him.  
He's just going to have to calm down and go along with this new 
attitude she's seemed to have adopted.  Either that, or he can 
ask her what's up.  The problem with that option, however, is the 
risk of her becoming self conscious about it and stopping.  
That's the last 
thing he wants.  

After calming down a little, he decides that this change isn't a 
bad thing.  A little surprising, but not a bad thing.  He's just 
going to enjoy the extra attention and affection she seems so 
suddenly eager to give him.  

* * * * * * * * * *

After dinner is eaten and the report completed, Mulder looks as 
if he's about to turn on the TV.  That's not what Scully wants.  
She needs to figure out a way of getting him into the bedroom.  

"Finally done," she yawns.  "I'm exhausted.  I think I'm going to 
hit the sack.  You coming?"

"With you?" he squeaks out, surprised by her request.  

"Well, we both won't fit on the couch, Silly," she says with a 
laugh.  She reaches for the remote with one hand to set it on the 
table and grabs him with the other hand, pulling him behind her 
to the bedroom.

If she had eyes on the back of her head, she's sure she'd be able 
to see the confusion on his face.  On the one hand, he must be 
wondering why now?  He's probably dying to ask her what she's up 
to.  But on the other hand, she thinks he's just going to go with 
it, too afraid to question it for fear she may change her mind.  
And in all honesty, he may be right.  If she had to explain her 
actions to anyone other than herself, she probably wouldn't have 
the courage to admit she's trying to slowly seduce him and just 
give up on the whole thing.

She deposits him on his side of the bed, and after dropping a 
tiny kiss to his forehead, climbs into the other side and gets 
under the covers.

"Good night, Mulder," she says, closing her eyes to avoid seeing 
the shell shocked look in his.  She thinks she hears him mumble 
good night to her before getting in the bed.  He finally settles 
down and she mimics their position from the previous night, her 
head on his shoulder, her legs twined with his.  It takes a 
while, but they both eventually fall into a deep, relaxed 
slumber.


Chapter 3

The next day, Mulder finds himself in much the same situation - 
Scully acting way more affectionate than usual and him enjoying 
every bit of her attentions.  He even stopped being shocked 
whenever she kissed his forehead or cheek.  Or when she grabbed 
and held onto his hand while walking through the museum.  He just 
relished the affection.

"Mulder."

"Hmmm?" 

"I asked if you were ready for lunch," she smiles, knowing she 
caught him in a daydream state.  

"Sorry, Scully.  I guess I spaced out for a minute.  Lunch sounds 
good."

"I'll go find a spot for us to sit.  Why don't you grab us 
something from that hot dog vendor on the corner?" she suggests.

He sighs contently when she presses a kiss to his cheek and finds 
himself grinning like an idiot, watching her walk away.  He 
finally remembers his task and sets about completing it, finding 
the vendor almost immediately.

"What can I do for you, Sir?"

"A grilled chicken sandwich on wheat, if you have it, a footlong 
with everything on it, and two bottles of iced tea," he orders 
succinctly, so used to eating out with Scully.  "Oh, and if it 
isn't any trouble, could you make a little corner of that hot dog 
with just ketchup and relish?"

"The little lady likes to nibble off of your meal, huh?" the 
vendor asks knowingly, a gentle smile on his kind face.  "How 
long you two been married?"

"Oh, we're not married," Mulder corrects the man.  "We just work 
together."

"You're kidding, right?" the man laughs, stopping suddenly when 
he sees the serious look on Mulder's face.  "You're not kidding.  
That's surprising.  You two act like every other married couple 
I've seen around here."

"We get that a lot.  She's my best friend."  

"And . . ."

"And what?"

"And you love her," the man says simply, wrapping up the chicken 
sandwich before moving on to make the hot dog.

"Of course I do.  I told you, she's my best . . ."

"No, I mean that you're in love with her.  You've got 'married 
man' written all over your forehead.  I don't think I've seen you 
so much as glance at another woman the whole time you two have 
been here."

"I'm that obvious, huh?" Mulder blushes.  "Do you think she can 
tell?"

"If she can't, then it's only because she's blinded by her own 
love for you."  With one last smile, the man gives Mulder the 
rest of his food before sending him on his way.

Mulder walks over to the spot Scully picked out for them, 
distributing the food to its proper owner without really thinking 
about what he's doing.  He's too distracted with what the hot dog 
vendor had to say to him.  Does he really look like a married 
man?  Does he really act like a married man?  He's known he's 
loved her for a long time.  That part is no question.  And he 
doesn't look at other women because he only has eyes for Scully.   
He hasn't been attracted to another woman since he's met her.  He 
always makes part of his lunch the way she likes it because he 
knows she'll want to eat some of it, even though she would never 
order it for herself.

Maybe the hot dog vendor is right.  Maybe everyone over the years 
who made the same assumption is right.  Maybe he does act like a 
married man.  He must admit that he sometimes thinks of himself 
as Scully's husband.  But could it be that's she's finally 
starting to think of herself as his wife?

"Earth to Mulder!"

He sees her hand waving in his face and assumes she's been trying 
to get his attention again.  

"Sorry.  I think I spaced out again," he confesses.

"What's on your mind, Mulder?  You look . . . puzzled."

He takes a bite out of his hot dog and contemplates her question, 
wondering what to say to her.  

"Just thinking," he finally says with a sigh.  "About what the 
hot dog vendor said to me."

"What did he say?"  Her voice is wary, unsure of what Mulder is 
about to tell her.  But he can also see her defenses up, ready to 
go and kick the guy's butt if he had said anything insulting or 
offensive.

"Nothing bad, Scully," Mulder smiles, touched by her gesture to 
want to defend his honor.  "At least, not in my opinion.  He just 
thought that we were married.  Said that I looked like a married 
man.  I was just wondering to myself if he was right."

"Oh," Scully says quietly, suddenly finding her lunch to be the 
most fascinating thing she's ever seen.  "And what conclusions 
have you come up with?"

"That I feel like your husband.  And I just realized that for the 
past few days, 
you've been acting like my wife."

"And does that bother you?"  She shyly peeks up through her 
lashes at him and his insides all turn into goo.  How he's ever 
resisted her for the past seven years, he'll never know.  It's 
all he can do to keep from pulling her across this table now that 
he realizes there's a good chance she would allow it.

"To be perfectly honest, Scully, yes it does bother me."

"Oh," she says again, her eyes dropping back to the table to 
prevent him from seeing her tears.  But he has no intention of 
making her cry today.

"It bothers me because . . . "  He rises from his seat in a 
moment of inspiration and goes to kneel down beside her.  "We 
skipped over all the good parts."

He takes her hands in his own and looks up into her face, her 
eyes still wet with tears, but also now filling with curiosity.  

"I never got to kneel before you and ask you to do me the honor 
of marrying me.  I never got to stand at the end of an aisle 
while you came to me, covered head to toe in some white, puffy, 
lacy number your mother spent a fortune on."

That garners a giggle out of her.  He considers that a good sign 
and continues.

"I never got to vow my heart and soul to you, promising to love 
you for all of eternity.  But you want to know what bothers me 
the most, Scully?"

She can only nod, too choked up to say anything.  He just smiles 
lovingly at her and lifts his hands to cup her face.

"What bothers me the most is that I never got to kiss my bride."  
He pulls her face down to meet his in a sweet, tender kiss.  He 
expects her to stop him any minute now, them being in public and 
all.  But to his pleasant surprise, she wraps her tiny hands 
around his neck, pulling him even closer and deepening the kiss.  
In an instant, the kiss turns passionate, robbing them both of 
their breath and senses.  Fueled only by his body's need for 
oxygen, he pulls away from her, resting his forehead against 
hers.  

"Yeah, I can see how missing out on that would upset you," she 
jokes, lifting her bottle of tea and running it across her 
fevered brow.  "But I don't need the rest of it, Mulder.  The big 
proposal.  The fancy wedding.  I just need you."  She runs her 
finger across his bottom lip and can't help stealing another 
kiss.

"Well, Scully.  We are downtown.  We can be to City Hall in less 
than ten minutes," he suggests jokingly.  But he'd eagerly agree 
to a quick ceremony in front of a justice of the peace if she 
took him up on his offer. 

"Five, if we run," she giggles.

His eyes pop open in shock.  She agreed, but it sounded 
suspiciously like a joke.   But he wonders if she realizes he's 
serious about the whole thing.  He has to ask to be sure.

"I wasn't kidding, Scully.  I love you.  I really want to be your 
husband."

She just smiles and kisses him again, wiping away a few stray 
tears from both of their faces.

"I know," she whispers.  "And I really want to be your wife.  I 
love you too, Mulder." 

He gasps, making her realize it's the first time she's said it.

"Say it again," he says with a grin so adorable, she finds it 
impossible to resist.

"I love you.  I love you.  I love you."  She punctuates each with 
a kiss, leaving him breathless, yet panting for more.

"Again," he begs.

"Mulder, I could tell you over and over.  Which, by the way, I 
plan on doing everyday for the rest of our lives."  She can 
practically hear the suggestive remark he's about to give, so she 
cuts him off before he gets the chance.  "Or, I could drag you 
down to City Hall, marry you, and then proceed to *show* you.  
Over and over and over."

Her voice is barely a whisper now, but her words go off like a 
bull horn in his head.  

"Over and over, huh?" he squeaks out when her lips wrap around 
his ear lobe and start sucking. 

"Mmm hmm.  You know, there's something else we missed out on.  
More than the wedding and the reception and the kissing."

"Oh yeah?  What's that?"

With a look on her face he can only describe as raw hunger, he 
can only whimper, knowing that whatever she says will leave him 
with putty for legs.  He's pleased to know he's not mistaken.

"The honeymoon."

She grins at the feral growl he releases, rising from her seat 
and starts walking, not even looking behind her.  She knows he'll 
follow, he realizes.  She trusts him to be behind her in this 
like he trusts her to back him up at work.   That's the nature of 
their partnership.  Things aren't really changing.  They're just 
getting better.

The end.