From: Eyegypt <eyegypt@aol.com>
Date: 11 Aug 1998 01:40:25 GMT
Subject: REPOST: Class Project I (1/2) PreX,MSR by Carolina

1013 and Fox - please don't sue me.  I'm just borrowing Mulder and Scully and
Ma and Pa Scully for this story- no $$ will be made from this

Title: Class Project (1/2)
Author: Carolina (Eyegypt@aol.com)
Category:  S, R (MSR, that is) 
Rating: PG-13 (language, adult situations)
Summary: Mulder and Scully develop their relationship at the FBI Academy at
Quantico. 
Spoilers: Young at Heart, Grotesque 

**Alternate Universe Note: Let's pretend that Scully and Mulder are around the
same age and were in the same class at Quantico.  Also, remember that Mulder
has yet to discover that his sister was taken by Little "Gray" Men - so no
aliens and conspiracies.  I've also decided to call Scully - Dana.  And Dana is
the Dana of the beginning of season one: young, innocent, laughs and smiles -
not the hard, `I've been screwed over by the gov't' Dana of season 5.  Not that
there is anything wrong with either Dana Scully

THANKS TO DEB FOR PROOFING

__________________________________________________________________________

Quantico
Tuesday, August 1988

"Okay.  Listen up.  As part of your final exam I'm going to pair everyone up by
randomly drawing the names out of a hat.  Each team will be assigned a case
which they will have 72 hours to come up with as much of a profile as they can,
or if you're lucky, solve it.  Each case is different, so there will be no
working between teams. All right, let's get started."  The instructor reached
for the tattered FBI baseball cap he kept on his desk and began placing the
folded pieces of paper in it - one for each student.

Dana sat in the second row and prayed she'd be paired with one of the better
students.  She was already in the top 10% of the class; so, she didn't need
someone pulling her down.  

"Mixon and . . . Jones."  The instructor handed a packet to Jones and went back
to the hat.

"Mulder and  . . ."

Even though he was brilliant, Dana really hoped her name wouldn't be picked. 
He was weird.  Spooky Mulder.  That was all she needed.

" . . . Scully."

God, what did I ever do to you? Dana silently asked, as the instructor brought
her the packet, since Mulder was seated in the back corner.

"Good luck with Spooky," Michaels said.

The other students began to laugh and Dana just balled up her fist in
frustration.  Mulder remained silent.

After everyone was paired up, the teacher dismissed class so they could get
started.  Dana bent over to put her stuff in her backpack when she saw a pair
of Nike hiking boots.  Slowly, she looked up to find Mulder looking down at
her. 

He grinned slowly. "Want to go to the common area to come up with a game plan?"

"Sure."  She wasn't going to enjoy this.  Maybe, if she was lucky, he would use
his `spooky' powers to solve the case in a couple of hours.  Yeah right.

"You want anything to drink?" he asked as they sat down.

"No thank you."  She opened the packet where she found two copies of the case
file. Handing one over to Mulder, she started to read hers.

"Wait."  He placed his hand on top of hers.

"What?"

"I just thought we could get to know each other before we dove into this."

"This isn't a date, Mulder; it's a class assignment."

"Yes I know; and part of the assignment is to see how well we can work with
others, in a team.  And I think there is no better way to be a more productive
team than to know each other on a personal level."

She threw him a look.  "Sure. Fine. What do you want to know?"

"Religion?"

"Catholic."

Has a lot of faith in something.  "Siblings?"

"One sister, older.  Two brothers, one older, one younger."

Knows how to negotiate.  "When was your last relationship?"

"I don't see why you need . . ."

He cut her off with his hand: "It's important information.  When I'm done you
can ask me anything you want to know."

"College."

Avoided that like the plague.  Must have ended badly. "Where'd you go?"

"University of Maryland."

"Degree?"

"Undergrad was in physics and in medical school I specialized in forensics
which brought me here."  Was he finished yet?

And she's Catholic.  Interesting.  "Finally, favorite color?"

"Red."

People, who like red tend to be tigers in bed, are easily aroused and enjoy sex
in every way imaginable. "Hot."

"What?"

"I can't see red; so, I just associate things that are hot with red." Nice
recovery.

"You're red/green color blind?"

"Yep."

"And they let you into the FBI?"

"I guess my other spooky skills won them over," he responded with a smirk.

Dana shifted uncomfortably in her seat.  She could never understand how people
could let themselves be made fun of and make fun of themselves in return.  

"Your turn.  Ask away."

"Umm.  Where'd you go to school?"

"Oxford.  Doctorate in psychology."

Smarty pants. "I assume you'll want to work in Behavioral Science Department?"

"I hope to. In school I discovered the ability to be able to get inside the
heads of others, especially those that are troubled.  I thought I would put my
curse to good use."

"Curse?"

"Would you like being able to think like a madman?"

She shook her head and then really looked at him.  His lower lip and nose were
big.  He was nerdy looking, but at the same time extremely sexy.  Why hadn't
she noticed before?  Most of the other females in her class did, and tried to
land a date with him.  She wondered if any ever succeeded?  One way to find
out.

"When was your last date?"

He paused for a second and looked almost sad.  "In England."

"Sorry."  She didn't say it in a way that meant sorry you haven't had a date in
a long time, but sorry it ended badly.

"Not your fault," he answered.

"Where are you from?  Originally."

"Martha's Vineyard."

Rich kid.  "How old are you?"

"26.  I turn 27 October 13th.  You?"

"25, turn 26 in February.  And I thought I was the one asking the questions,"
she teased.

"Pardon me, please continue."

"Lucky number?"

"Two."

Believes in monogamy.  "Okay, I'm done.  Ready to get started?"

"Sure.  How `bout we both read over this and get back together for dinner off
site?"

She hesitated and he noticed.

"It's not like that; I don't have some alternative motive.  I just thought it
would be good to get away from this hell hole of a dorm."

"Okay.  8 o'clock?"

He checked his watch: 2:45.  "Fine.  What room are you in?"

"3B."

"Okay.  I'll be there at eight."  He got his case file and headed off to the
library.  Dana Scully seemed genuine; unlike the other ladder climbing,
back-stabbers he called classmates.  She was attractive, but in an odd way; not
the drop-dead model type.  Simple, with shoulder length, light brown hair -
lighter than his - and pale skin with freckles.  You would think she was
younger than she was, but the no nonsense attitude she gave off, told you
otherwise.  He also knew she could fire a gun with great precision.  She ranked
above him in that department.  


8:00 pm

She opened her door to find Mulder no longer in the standard issue blue polo
FBI T-shirt they were required to wear, but a tight gray T-shirt that showed of
his muscular chest and arms.  The black jeans didn't hurt his appearance
either.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Sure." She grabbed her bookbag and they left.

She was wearing a white tanktop with wide straps that showed off her sculpted
arms, blue jeans and black loafers with no socks.  Her hair was pulled up into
a loose ponytail.

"Where's your roommate?"  Mulder asked.

"Oh.  I don't have one anymore.  She dropped out after a month."

"You're lucky.  I can't stand mine.

"Oh yeah.  Who is it?"

"Michaels."

No others words need to be spoken.  He was a class A asshole.


Jeffery's Bar and Grill

They spent a couple hours eating, drinking and discussing the case.  Dana was
amazed at how easy it was to talk to him.  He listened to her thoughts on the
case then added in his.  She agreed to take the notes because Mulder's brain
worked faster than his hand.  It was a bizarre case: women with blonde shoulder
length hair were all strangled with a lamp cord then displayed in a horrific
manner.  Since the case was made up, they were given a list of suspects, crime
scene details and coroners reports.  Dana made sense of the medical data, while
Mulder worked on a profile of the killer.  Around midnight, Mulder looked up to
see Michaels walking in with a tall, black hared woman on his arm.  And he was
walking right toward them.  Dana was busily writing notes, so she didn't notice
until Mulder nudged her foot under the table.

"What?"

"Michaels."

"What?" she asked confused.

Too late.  "Well, look who's here."  Michaels stated.

"Hello Michaels." Mulder responded.

"Working on your case I presume.  Can't see any other reason for you to be out
with Dana here."

She wasn't sure who was just insulted.  Mulder just glared.

"Good Luck."  With that, Michael and his date left to take a seat at the bar.

"Asshole," Mulder murmured under his breath.  "Sorry about that.  Think they'll
assign him to Juneau?"

"If we're lucky," Dana smiled back.  

"How about we take a break.  Can you shoot pool?"

"Sure."

"Well, then, let's play."  He grabbed her hand and dragged her off to an open
table.  

************

"What are you a hustler?"  Mulder asked after losing his forth game to her.

She laughed.  "No.  I just grew up on Navy bases.  Lots of pool tables and it's
a mathematical game."

"Navy brat?"

"Yep.  My father just retired last year."

They talked more about their families and themselves; their case was long
forgotten.  Suddenly, the overhead lights of the bar came on and Dana glanced
down at her watch: 2:30.  

"Oh my God.  I have to get up at six and run the course."

"I'm sorry I kept you out late," Mulder apologized as they made their was to
his car.

"It's not your fault.  I didn't realize how late it was getting."

"Yeah, well, I think we've made a lot of progress."

"That we did."


Class 
Wednesday
48 hours left

The teacher let them use the class time to work on their case.  Since it was a
nice day, they decided to work outside.

"Okay, I've narrowed down the list of suspects to John Russell Allen, Eric
Porri and Raymond Fuller."

"Well, I was reading over the medical report and after some research on it, the
marks the lamp left on their neck indicate a right handed man."

Mulder shuffled through his suspect files.  "If that's the case, we've just
narrowed the list to Eric and John.  Ray is left handed."  

"So tell me what makes Eric and John the killer?"

Mulder rattled off his reasoning. "This would be a whole lot easier if I could
actually talk to these two guys.  Then I would know."

They finished up early that night due to exhaustion of their late night last
night.  They were still stuck between Eric and John; but after hearing about
others in their class, they were well ahead.


3:00 am

Dana was awakened by something, but she wasn't sure what.  Then she heard the
knock on her door.  She got out of her bed and padded over the door.  

"Dana, it's me.  Open your door."

Mulder.  She let him in.  "Mulder, it's 3 am . . ."

"I've got it.  I know who killed all those girls."

"Who?"

"John Russell Allen."  He looked so happy to finally solve the puzzle.

"What makes you think that?"

He went into a long tirade on why John was the killer.  Dana had to agree.

"Congratulations, Mulder."

"Well, I couldn't have done it without you."

Yes you could, Dana thought.

"Who would have thought Spooky Mulder and the Ice Queen could work together to
solve the murders."

Mulder kept rambling on about what a great team they made and how much they had
accomplished in such a short time that he didn't notice that Dana's head was
bent forward so that she was looking at her feet.

"What do you think?"  Mulder asked.  When Dana didn't respond he slowly lifted
her face with his finger.  He noticed by the faint light on her nightstand that
she was crying.  She jerked her face back from his finger.

"Dana, what's wrong?"

"Nothing.  I'm fine.  Just tired."

Sorry excuse.  He scanned the room for a box of tissues.  Finding none, he went
into her bathroom to get some toilet paper, replaying everything he had said
and done to find out what made her cry.  Then it hit him.  Fuck.  She didn't
know.  Real smooth, Mulder, he thought to himself.  He walked back to her and
handed her the tissue, which she silently accepted.

"You know I don't think that.  Do you think I'm spooky?"

"No."

He smiled.  "You going to be okay?"

"Yeah.  I mean, it's not the first time I've been called something along those
lines.  I just thought it would be different here."

He gently guided her until they were both sitting on her bed.  "You're
extremely smart, strong and beautiful.  You take everything you do seriously
and always try your best.  People are intimidated by you; therefore, they just
assume certain things about you without getting to know you."

"Have you always been stereotyped as . . . odd?"

"Well, ever since my sister, I've always been kind of a recluse, which people
thought was odd.  So, I guess the answers is yes."

"I don't know why, but I've always kept my feeling to myself  - hidden.  That's
one of the main reasons my last boyfriend broke up with me."  

She looked very defeated sitting on her bed with her shoulders slumped over. 
Mulder nudged her knee with his to get her to look up at him.  "Hey.  Look at
it this way.  Would you want to actually associate with someone like Michaels?"

She smiled slightly, "No."

"Well, since we're pretty much done do you want to go out tomorrow night?  You
know, to unwind.  Dinner?  Movie? I might even let you kick my ass again at
pool."

She laughed at his last statement then grew serious: "You don't have to."

"I know I don't, but I had fun with you the other night.  Spooky as that might
seem," he joked.

"Why do you let them do that?"

"Do what?"

"Make fun of you."

"Because I know I'm better than them as a person and they're just jealous that
I can kick their ass when it comes to crime solving," he winked at her.  "Now
you haven't answered my question.  You up for tomorrow night?"

"Sure."  Why not?  Make all the other women here green with envy, Dana thought
to herself.  She led him over to her door.

"You on the range tomorrow morning?"  Mulder asked.

"Yeah."

"Yeah, well be sure not to stand too close to me.  You'll make me look bad with
your great aim."

She smiled at him like a Cheshire cat.  He reached down with his thumb to wipe
away the remains of a smeared tear from her cheek.  Surprisingly, she didn't
flinch away.  He let it linger there a little longer than usual.  He looked as
if he was about to lean down and kiss her, but then he dropped his hand and
walked out of her room.


Thursday
24 hours left

Mulder and Scully spent the class time and the better part of the afternoon
writing up their report. Their awareness of each other grew with each innocent
touch or glance.  When they finished, they agreed to go out at 6:30.  Dana went
back to her room and took a nap; she had a feeling it was going to be a late
night.


6:30 pm

Mulder watched Dana's calf muscle flex as he got into his car.  Running that
hellish course for several months had really done its work on her legs, Mulder
thought.  She had on an A-line small floral print skirt that hit her at mid
thigh and a white short-sleeved white blouse.  He had on a white button down
shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows and khaki pants.  They drove
into Arlington where they ate at a small Italian restaurant.  After a bottle of
wine and delicious pasta, Mulder drove them over to the Mall where he took Dana
to a small bench overlooking the Potomac.

"Thanks again for dinner."

He took her hand in his and softly rubbed his thumb over the back of it. 
"You're welcome."

"They offered me a teaching position at Quantico in forensics.  I'd also
perform any needed autopsies.  Of course, I have to graduate."

"That won't be a problem; you're in the top of the class.  You going to take
it?"  Mulder prayed she would.  He had been in talks with SAC Patterson in the
VCU to work with him.  The VCU was mainly split between time at headquarters in
Washington and Quantico.

"I think so; other than that I would be at the mercy of the FBI to assign me to
a city. Who knows where I could end up?  I love it here in this area; my
parents are here."

"Well I think you should.  It's doing what you like best: slicing and dicing."
He softly squeezed her hand.

"Yeah.  How's the VCU thing going?"  She turned her body so she was looking at
Mulder's profile. 

He also turned to look at her. "Pretty good.  I'm meeting with Patterson for
lunch right before our class."

"Good.  You'd be a real asset to that unit."

"I hope so, I hope so."

They both sat in silence looking at each other illuminated by the light from a
near by lamppost.  A rumble of a plane taking off from National broke the
spell.  

"You want to grab some coffee?" Mulder asked.
  
"I don't think I could put anything else in my stomach right now.  Can we just
sit here a little while longer?"

"Sure.  Can you believe that we graduate in less than a week?"

"No.  It's been a grueling six months.  August 31st can't come soon enough."

"Tell me about it.  I will say this though: I have never been in better shape. 
After that one guy had a heart attack in the first week, I was in fear for my
life.  Why'd your roommate drop out?"

"She was scoring poorly on her criminal law class tests."  Dana was getting
tired of the small talk.  She just wanted to sit in silence with him.  Then as
if he read her mind, he took his hand away from hers and wrapped his arm around
her shoulders pulling her against his chest.  They sat for several minutes
watching the river and the occasional plane.  Finally, she felt Mulder's chest
against her cheek began to vibrate.  She looked up to find him laughing.

"What's so funny?"

"Us."

She gave him a questioning glance.

"If someone told me that I would be sitting here with you, I'd never believe
it.  Much less, that we would be working on our final project together."

"Speak for yourself," she teased.  "I was praying that I wouldn't get matched
up with you."

"I think I should be insulted," he mocked hurt

"Can you find it in your heart to forgive me?"

He wrapped both his arms around her waist and pulled her into his lap, "I guess
so."

She smiled back at him and placed her hands on his chest.  He slowly moved his
head until their lips met followed by their tongues.  They kissed each other
for quite sometime and then Dana rested her head back on his shoulder.  He
softly rubbed her back.  She was so tiny in his arms, which was surprising
because she had such a great presence around him.  I think I'm falling in love
with her and I've only known her for three days, he thought.  It was like the
old black and white movies where the characters fall in love in a matter of
hours.   Telling her this would only send her screaming; so, he figured he
would just enjoy the moment.

They kissed some more and then went to get coffee.  While drinking, they talked
more about their past.  Earlier, Mulder had mentioned that his sister had
disappeared when he was very young, but Dana didn't press the issue back then. 
So when Mulder started talking about the impact it had on his family life, Dana
began to grow more curious.

"So they were never able to find any clues to why or how she was taken?"

"Nope," he timidly responded.

She reached out and took his hand in hers.  "I'm so sorry.  Do you think about
her a lot?"

"Yeah.  I've recently been having these dreams . . . nightmares really."

"What are they about?"

"I don't know.  Just flashes of images and my sister calling out for me to help
her."

She squeezed his hand. "God, Mulder, I'm so sorry."

"It's okay.  I've been thinking about talking to someone about them.  They
started when I was in grad school, but have gotten worse since Quantico."

"Jesus.  Mulder, that's almost five years!"

"Yeah."

"How often do you have these nightmares?"

"They kind of come in waves.  Lately, they haven't been so bad."

"That's good, but I think it's a good idea that you talk to someone."

He smiled and answered, "I am."

When they got back to Quantico at 11:30, they had to walk through the common
area to get their rooms.  Mulder had just told her an extremely funny joke,
which caused her to double over with laughter.  And her laughter alone caused
Mulder to start laughing.  When they were done they looked up to see several of
their classmates staring at them.  Dana quickly regained her composure.

"Sorry," Mulder apologized, while dragging Dana toward their rooms.

Michaels, who was working in the area, commented after they left: "Looks like
Spooky's trying to melt the Ice Queen."  Then he wagged his eyebrows in a
suggestive manner.  This got a laugh.

"It's late and we have to run that damn course again in the morning.  You want
to try to met in the morning after our run?"

"I can't. I'm assisting on an autopsy before class. I'll bring the report with
me.  Okay?"

"Okay."

 "Thanks for dinner.  I had a great time," she blushed.

"Goodnight Dana."  He kissed her and left for his room.

 2:20 am

She got up to open her door.  She was going to have to say something to Mulder
about these late night visits. When she opened the door, Mulder was there as
she expected, but the tear tracks on his face and the haunted look in his eyes
made all thoughts of censure vanish.  She took his wrist and gently pulled him
into her room.  After closing her door, she took Mulder into her arms where he
continued to cry.

"What happened?"

"I had . . . had another nightmare.  It . . . it was so real Dana.  So real."

"Shhh. It's okay now.  It was just a bad, bad dream." She softly rubbed his
back and led him over to her bed.  "I really need to get some tissue if we are
going to be crying all the time."

They both smiled sadly at her attempt at humor.  

"You want to tell me about it?"

"I don't remember any images, just the feelings.  Feeling helpless and scared
shitless and my sister's voice screaming throughout it all."

She held him tighter, tucking his head under her chin and running her hand
through his hair.  She felt his arms snake further around her waist. 

"I feel like my sister is trying to tell me something . . . I don't know. 
Maybe just the stress of her being taken is finally taken its toll on me."

"That's probably it.  You said yourself during coffee that you were so busy
dealing with your parents falling apart and then being shipped off to boarding
school then to England that you never really had a chance to grieve for her."

He nodded in her chest and hiccuped.  "Thank God Michaels is out pulling an all
nighter on his case."

"Are there a lot of people still working on it?"  She loved the feel of him in
her arms; she didn't want him to leave.

"Yeah.  Just between you and me, I think we're the only group to solve ours, so
far."

"Really!?"

He brought his head up so that it was level with hers. "I told you we make a
great team."

She just smiled.  After a moment of silence, Mulder sat up. "I should let you
get back to sleep."

"Oh.  Okay."  She tried not to sound too disappointed.  "I guess I'll see you
in class."

Nodding in return, he leaned over and kissed her.  "Thanks."

"Any time."

They both grinned and leaned in for another kiss followed by another and
another.  Before Dana knew it, Mulder was lying on top of her in her bed and
they were kissing each other wildly.   As he began to kiss his way down her
neck, she tangled her hands in his hair.  She squirmed beneath him so that she
could wrap her legs around his waist.  When he reached the neckline of her
nightshirt, he lifted his head so that it hovered above hers.

"As much as I want you, I don't think we should rush into this."  He hoped she
would understand.  She seemed like someone who didn't take having sex lightly.

Smiling at him, she replied, "You're right."  Yet, her mind screamed, `He wants
me!'  

They slowly untangled limbs and Mulder climbed off her.  "See you tomorrow," he
whispered.

"Goodnight, Mulder."


End of Class Project part 1/2

Class Project 2/2


Class
Friday
0 Hours Left

She walked into class and took her seat.  Mulder had yet to arrive.  Michaels,
who was seated behind her, was bragging to the person next to him on how they
solved their case last night . . . blah, blah, blah.  Finally, Mulder walked in
and sat down next to Dana.

"How'd lunch go?" she asked.

"Good.  Patterson wants me to work with him," he responded with a shy grin.

"Mulder, that's wonderful.  I'm happy for you."  She leaned over and hugged
him.  

Just then the student who sat next to Dana came in, so Mulder had to take his
usual seat in the back of the room.  At the start of class, the instructor
collected everyone's reports promising them back by next week.  He then went on
to discuss the individual final exam that was scheduled for the following
Wednesday.  Dana could feel Mulder's eyes on her; therefore, she went to
scratch the back of her neck so she could look behind her.  Yep, he was staring
at her.  He smiled and winked; Dana blushed as she spun back around.  Get a
grip Dana, she chastised herself, you're not in 7th grade math, you're at the
friggin FBI.

After class, Mulder waited for Dana to pack up her things.  "How'd your autopsy
go?"

"As exciting as ever," she joked.

"You going to take the job here at Quantico?" he asked while crossing his
fingers behind his back.

"Yeah.  I think so."

"That's great.  See, now we'll be able to see each other."  Shit, that sounded
too eager, Mulder berated himself.

She looked up at him and smiled, "I know."

After agreeing to meet that evening for dinner, they went to work on homework
for their other classes, each anticipating what was to come.


The Chart House
Georgetown, MD

"Do you have a place to live after you graduate?" Mulder asked while the sipped
on their coffee.

"Actually, I have an apartment here in Georgetown.  I've been there since my
residency at Georgetown Medical.  What about you?"

"I've been looking at these apartments in Old Town, Alexandria."

"That'd be nice; I love that area."

They finished their coffee, paid the bill and left.

"What would you like to do now?"

"I don't know.  You want to rent a movie?  We can go to my place and watch it."
 Dana recommended.

"Sure."  

They ended up watching Wall Street and drinking wine while curled up together
on her couch.  When the credits began to roll, Dana got up to take their
glasses to the sink.  As she was washing them out, she felt Mulder walk up
behind her and wrap his arms around her waist.  He began to place small kisses
on her neck.  She sighed and leaned back into him.  Turning in his arms to face
him, they passionately kissed and things only got more worked up from there. 
With his shirt soon gone, he finally pulled her sundress over her head leaving
her in nothing but her underwear.

"What happened to not rushing into this?" she teased as she worked at his belt.
 She looked up and saw his fully dilated pupils showing his desire for her.
"Screw rushing," she concluded aloud as she worked at his zipper.

He crushed her small frame to him. "I'd rather screw you."

She laughed as he bent down to kiss her.  Some how they got from her kitchen to
her bedroom and now he was softly and slowly running his hands from her
shoulder blades to her lower back, as she lay spent in his arms.

"Would it scare you if I told you I think I'm falling in love with you?"

She lifted her head off his chest to look him in the eyes, "No.  For some
strange reason that doesn't scare me at all.  It might be because I feel the
same way."

He smiled and rolled her back beneath him.


Saturday Morning

He watched the steady rise and fall of her back as she lay on her stomach
beside him.  Then he heard what sounded like her front door opening, so he woke
Dana up.

"Dana, do you have a roommate?"

"No.  Why?" she responded groggily.

"Because someone just came in your apartment," he whispered.

"Shit.  My mom.  She's been watering my plants since I've been at Quantico!" 
She shot up in bed.  "Shit.  Our clothes are in the kitchen.  Stay here."  She
jumped up and grabbed some clothes from her dresser.  Mulder sank back into her
bed. Shit was right - what a first impression he was going to make.

Dana ran out into her living area to find her mother peering down at the
scattered clothes.

"Mom!"

She stood there with her hands on her hips.  I'm 25, I'm 25, Dana kept telling
herself.

"I didn't know you were seeing anyone?" she questioned.

"Yeah. I uh . . . didn't want to say anything because I uh . . . didn't know
how serious it was."

"It looks pretty serious to me," her mother said motioning to the pile of
clothes with her eyes.  "How long have you been seeing each other?"

"A couple months.  He's . . . uh from the academy."  The answer of less than a
week wouldn't win any points with her mother.

"What's his name?"

"Mulder.  Fox Mulder."

"Fox?"

"Uh huh."

"And I take it he's still in your room?"

"Uh huh." She really wished her mother would take her hands of her hips.

"Well, I want to meet him."

"Now?!"  Shit, shit, shit.

"Yes."

"Okay."  She maneuvered around her mother, quickly picked up their clothing and
ran back to her room.

Her mother was upset, but her daughter was old enough and smart enough not to
do anything stupid.  She had always hoped Dana would have waited till marriage,
but whom was she kidding, she didn't either.  Then again, her first and only
had been Dana's father.  Thank God he wasn't here now.  Plus, she secretly
enjoyed watching her level headed, mature daughter squirm.

Dana ran back into the bedroom and closed the door.  Mulder sat up in bed
noticing their clothes in her arms.

"What happened?"

"My mom.  She wants to met you."

"Now?!"

Dana nodded.  "I'm so sorry.  I'm so embarrassed."

Mulder climbed out of bed and extracted his clothes from her arms.  "It's
okay."  He kissed her cheek and got dressed.  Time to turn on the Mulder charm
full force.

Right before they walked back out to face her mother, Dana grabbed his arm. 
"One more thing, we've been dating for a couple months."

He smiled, "Better answer than a couple days."

Her mother was sitting on the couch.  

"Mrs. Scully, I'm Fox Mulder."  He extended his hand out which she shook.

"What kind of name is Fox?" she asked.

"I've been asking my parents that same question for years."

That got a little smile out of her.  Dana sat down in one chair as Mulder took
a seat in another.

"So, how long have you been dating Dana?"

"It will be four months this Tuesday."

Dana was impressed with that answer, acting like he remembered the anniversary
of their first date.  Her mother only nodded.  

Mulder continued, "We meet in class at Quantico."

"So you graduate next Saturday with Dana?"

"Yes ma'am."

"And are your parents coming down?"

"No ma'am.  My mother is down South for the summer and my father is . . .
busy."

"Well, I know Dana's father would like to meet you. So will you have dinner
with the three of us after graduation?"

"I'd love to. If that's okay with Dana?" 

"Fine," Dana responded meekly. And he thought no one could intimidate her.

"All right then.  Well, since you're already here I can assume you can water
your own plants.  I'll let you two be now."  Mrs. Scully rose off the couch and
headed for the door.

Dana got up to open it for her.

"I won't tell your father about this because you're old enough to make the
right decision."  Mrs. Scully told her daughter.  "Just tell me you . . . you
were . . . safe."

Dana nodded. "Of course."

"Good.  He seems very nice, cute too, but he still has to sit through a meal
with your father," she whispered with a sly grin on her face.

Dana looked defeated, "Yeah."  With that, her mother briefly hugged her, kissed
her on the cheek and left.

After closing the door, she leaned her forehead on the doorframe. "If I was
drunk, I'd be sober now."  She turned around to find Mulder still in his chair.
 "I'm sorry.  Not exactly what you bargained for, huh?"

Getting up, he walked over and took her in his arms.  Talking into her hair, he
said, "Your father, is he a big man?"

She giggled.  "He's about your height.   My mom's not going to tell him about
this."

Mulder sighed.  "I like your mom.  I mean, she seemed to handle this pretty
well, I guess."

"Yeah.  So did you. If it had been me with your mom, I'd have been crying and
begging for forgiveness."

"What can I say?  Parents love me.  Especially moms."  He squeezed her briefly
before moving away.  "Hungry?"

"I think I've had my stomach scared out of me.  God!  Listen to me, I'm 25 and
I can't have sex without getting caught by my mother.  She is the only person
who can make me act like I'm 12 in a heartbeat.  I feel like I've disappointed
the hell out of her."

"Ah, Catholicism."

"Don't I know it.  I'm going to take a shower then I'll go watch you eat. 
Okay?"  She began to make her way to the bathroom.

"Need any help?" he called out after her.

She stopped and turned to face him.  "Well, there is this certain spot I can't
seem to reach.  Think you can get it for me?"

He walked towards her. "I might."

Her guilt was long forgotten.


Wednesday	

After spending the entire weekend together, Mulder and Dana decided to play it
low key at the Academy until after graduation.  Now they were sitting in the
class that brought them together.  They had taken their individual final on
Tuesday and were waiting to get their group project back.

"Out of the eleven groups, six listed a guilty party and only two groups were
right.  Now, if you were wrong, that doesn't mean you failed."  He picked up
the stack of case files.  "Jenkins and Parker - congratulations.  Well done." 
He handed them their case.

Dana could feel her heart beating faster.  Please let us be the other group,
she prayed.

"And Mulder and Scully.  Great job, you two.  You made excellent work of all
the data given."

She couldn't help but smile as the instructor handed her the case.  They
received a perfect score.  The teacher went on to hand out all the other cases.
 When he was done, Michaels spoke up, "Are we free to argue for our answer?"

"Sure, but you won't win."

Dana smiled inwardly, `Yeah you just try and get that grade changed, asshole.' 
After class she went back to her room and a few moments later Mulder walked in.
 He closed the door and she immediately flung herself into his arms.  "I can't
believe we got a perfect score."  She began places kisses all over his face.

"You sure you don't want to be my partner in VCU?" he joked.

She shook her head and then buried it between his neck and shoulder.  

"Well, I wouldn't want anybody else doing my autopsies."

They stood in each other's arms enjoying the warmth and security of one
another.  


Saturday, August 31st

"Special Agent Dana Katherine Scully."

Dana stood up and went to receive her badge.  As she turned to go back to her
seat she was blinded by her mother's camera.  

"Now for the award for the student at the top of the class.  This year's
student has accepted a position under Special Agent in Charge Patterson in the
Violent Crimes Unit.  Special Agent Fox William Mulder, if you please come
forward to receive your award."

The room broke out into applause.  Though this wasn't really a shocker with any
of the students.  He made be weird, but he had brains.  Mulder accepted his
award, thanked his instructors and turned also to be greeted by Mrs. Scully's
camera.

"Congratulations Special Agent Dana Scully," Mulder told her at the reception
following graduation.  He leaned over and placed a small kiss on her cheek.

"Congratulations to you too, Mr. Top of the Class," she winked.

"Whatever, you're in the top 10% of the class and since there were only 22 in
our class you're pretty much second."

"Yeah, at least I was second to you and your photographic memory."

Mulder was about to retort, but her parents came walking up.  Her father was a
bulky man impressive in his dress blue Naval uniform.  

"Dad," Dana hugged her father.  "I want you to meet Fox Mulder.  Mulder this is
my father, William Scully."

"Bill," he shook Mulder's hand.  "Nice to meet you."

"Same here sir."

"Now Dana tells me you liked to be called by your last name."

"Yes sir.  I'm sure you can see why."

Mr. Scully smiled and nodded.  

"Fox, I'll have Dana give you the picture I took of you to give to your mother
since she couldn't make it."

"Its Mulder, Mom, not Fox." She went to take a sip of her wine.

"I think I get to be on a first name basis with Fox here.  Don't you?" 

Dana choked on her wine and instantly began coughing due to her mother's
statement.  She looked over to find her mother smiling smugly at her.  Mulder
instantly started patting her back.

"You okay, honey?" Mulder asked in a faked concerned voice.

She watched a grin play on his face, too.  Was everyone against her?  At least
her father remained clueless.


The Ritz Carlton Restaurant
Washington, DC

"Now did I hear the speaker correctly; you're going to be working in the
Violent Crimes Section?"  Bill asked Mulder.

"Yes, my forte seems to be in profiling serial killers."

"Well, fortunate for us that Dana's forte is medicine.  I don't think Dana
could handle the unsightly nature of some of the murders that go on in this day
and age."

"I'm sure I could handle it just fine, Dad."  Dana responded.  She knew where
this was going.

"I just thought that you would contribute more in the medical profession,
that's all."

"This is what I want to do.  Could you just be proud for me? Please?"

"We are, sweetheart," her mother replied.  Her father just took a sip of his
scotch.  Mulder discreetly took Dana'a hand in his under the tablecloth and
entwined their fingers

The rest of dinner went rather well.  It was mostly small talk and getting to
know Mulder.  After desert, Mulder and Dana decided to go to a local bar on The
Hill. 

"I'm sorry about that little battle with my father," she apologized as that sat
at the bar.

"It's okay, he just worries about you.  That's all."

"Well, I just wish they'd let me live my life the way I want to."

"At least they care.  I wish mine would."

"I'm sorry." She squeezed his hand.  "Look at us moping, we should be happy
were out of there."

"You're right.  Let's go back to your place and really celebrate," he leered.

Her laughter came to an end when she saw Michaels walk in the bar with the same
tall black haired woman from before.  "We can't get away from him!"

"Ignore him."

Later on, Dana excused herself to use the bathroom.  A second later he came
face to face with Michaels, who looked like he had had one to many.  "So
Mulder, looks like you melted the Ice Queen."

"Her name is Dana." He turned back to his beer hoping he would just go away.

"Yeah.  But I still don't see what the hell she sees in you, Spooky."

"Fuck off Michaels."  He would not let this punk get a rise out of him.

"Speaking of which, I bet she's pretty hot in bed. I mean once you get through
that layer of ice."

He grabbed the collar of Michaels' shirt and pulled him towards him, "Listen,
you worthless piece of shit, don't ever talk about her like that again or
else."  He released his hold.  Michaels straightened his shirt.

"Or else what, Spooky?" He hit Mulder's shoulder to get his attention. "Or else
what?"  This time he spun Mulder he was met by Mulder's fist.  Of course,
Michaels struck back and then the fight began.  It didn't last very long
because a) the bartenders broke it up and b) Dana came out of the bathroom. 
After Mulder stopped, Dana gathered her stuff and they went back to her
apartment.  The ride was silent and he knew he was just about to get chewed
out.  When they got to her place, she went straight to her freezer to get some
ice for his eye.  He sat on the couch and she handed him the ice pack.  The
silence continued.

"Aren't you going to say anything?" he asked.

"What do you want me to say?"

"My hero," he joked.

"I don't need you to be a hero, Mulder.  I don't need you to protect me from
some guy who pushes all `your' buttons."

He nodded.  "I understand Dana, but he's had it coming from day one."

"I like to think you are a mature adult, Mulder, and that you don't need to use
your fist to settle an argument."

"He was drunk, Scully.  Rationalizing with him wasn't going to help."

"Well, you had had a couple of drinks, too.  Just try and promise me you won't
do something like that again."

"He insulted you."

"I don't care."

"Fine. I promise. I really am sorry I ruined the evening."

"It's okay.  Let's just go to sleep; I'm exhausted."


Monday, September 8th

Mulder cooked dinner for Dana at his apartment after their first official day
at the FBI.  He placed a salad in front of Dana and took a seat across from her
with his.  

"How was work, dear?" he teased.

"Weird.  I felt like I was just in the same place my students were."

"You were."

"I know; so, I'm afraid they won't take me seriously," she admitted while
stabbing at her lettuce.

"Just give them that `don't fuck with me look' and you'll have no problems."

She mouthed the words `ha ha' and spoke, "Other than that, I had a couple of
autopsies.  How did things go on your first day?"

"They wasted no time and have thrown me into the middle of this case they're
working on."

"What is it?"

"An armed robber.  He's been hitting several jewelry stores; so, they want me
to come up with a profile based on the current evidence they have.  I spent all
day watching surveillance videos and talking to witnesses."

"When do they want the profile?"

"Tomorrow," he answered with a lopsided grin. "But I pretty much know what I'm
going to say."

"Well then, you'll be able to do it."

"I guess.  They are assigning me a partner tomorrow, too."

"Big day."

"Yep."

The oven dinged signaling that their meal was ready.  They ate and talked more
about their first day.  Afterwards, Dana went to gather her belongings to
leave.

"You're leaving?"  Mulder asked.

"Well, yeah.   You need to work on that profile tonight anyway."

"Stay."

"I don't want to be in your way."  She wanted to stay, but his work was
important.

"You won't.  You can help me."

"How can I help you?"  She really wanted to know.

"There might be something here I might miss."

She doubted it, but she agreed to help him anyway.  Who could refuse him?  She
ended up falling asleep on his couch sometime around 2:00 and was later
awakened by Mulder placing light kisses on her face.

"It worked, I broke the spell and have awakened Beauty," he replied when he saw
her eyes open.

She put her hand on his cheek. "What time is it?"

"5:15."

"Did you sleep?"

He slowly shook his head and she sighed in frustration. 

"But I think I've made a lot of headway."

"I'm sure you'll `wow' them with your skills."

"Do I `wow' you with my skills?" he asked suggestively.

"And what skills would those be, Agent `Fox' Mulder?" she bantered back.

"Here," he crawled on top for her, "let me show you."  He kissed her long and
hard.  "And don't call me Fox," he teased when they had come up for air. "Only
your mom can call me that."  They laughed and made slow love before work.


THE END

- Yes this changes the course of the X-files - will he even discover them or be
too busy with Dana (wink, wink)?  

FEEDBACK:  EYEGYPT@aol.com