From: jchew82@hotmail.com   
      
   Title: Forever and Always   
   Author: Twilight   
   E-Mail: jchew82@hotmail.com   
   Distribution: Anywhere just let me know   
   Rating:  R   
   Categories: Story Romance   
   Keywords: Mulder/Scully romance   
   Spoilers: Never Again   
   Summary:  After the events of 'Never Again' Agent Scully   
   decides she really needs to get a life.   
   Disclaimer: The characters in this story are the property   
   of Chris Carter and Fox. No copyright infringement   
   intended. No infringement on the songs either.   
   Feedback: Yes please, compliments and complaints welcome or   
   just plain chit chat.   
      
   ~x~   
      
   Forever and Always   
   By Twilight   
      
   Washington DC   
   Basement Office   
   Friday, 19:42pm   
      
   It had been a stressful week for the two occupants of the   
   FBI basement office. Temperatures had been high and fuses   
   had been short.   
      
   It was hard to believe that it had only been a little over   
   a week since Agent Mulder had received a call from the ER   
   doctor at Philadelphia Memorial Hospital to inform him that   
   his partner, Agent Scully, had been admitted after being   
   attacked and drugged. The call had brought an abrupt end to   
   his enforced vacation.   
      
   Fox Mulder had been relieved to see his partner alive and   
   safe even though she had looked worse then he had ever seen   
   her. He had been informed by the doctors that the drugs in   
   her system were of a trace amount that had entered her   
   blood stream as an ergot alkaloid in her new tattoos ink.   
   His mind had reeled at that thought 'Doctor Scully got a   
   tattoo? What might it have been? And why?' He was aware   
   that people typically got tattoos to symbolize a specific   
   event, or mark a time of sorrow or depression, even just to   
   mark the moment. 'What prompted her?'   
      
   He had been informed that the drug would leave her feeling   
   groggy and dazed for a short time but that she should   
   consider herself lucky as her attacker, Ed Jerse was a   
   suspect in an on going investigation involving the   
   disappearance of a young woman from his apartment block. Ed   
   Jerse was presently being treated down the hall from Agent   
   Scully with severe burns, with a guard on his door. Agent   
   Scully had specified when admitted that she would not be   
   pressing charges 'Why?' Mulder had wondered.   
      
   As soon as Dana Scully had been coherent enough to process   
   what was going on she had been furious that the ER doctor   
   had seen fit to call Mulder, even though he was listed as   
   her next of kin.   
      
   In seeing her reaction Mulder had realized that her mood   
   had not lightened any since their last conversation.   
   Thankful that her fury was not directed at him, he choose   
   to stick to the shadows staying only long enough to see   
   that his partner was out of danger before returning to   
   Washington.   
      
   She didn't want him there so he deduced that he did not   
   need to be there. He found it troubling that she had   
   remained in her bad mood. He had seen her go through this   
   before but they had previously argued things out and   
   cleared things up in a matter of hours. 'Why is this time   
   so different?' he mused.   
      
   The two agents had been working for the better part of the   
   day in a comfortable silence, breaking it only to make   
   insignificant chit chat, well, insignificant to most but to   
   Agent Fox Mulder the fact that they were beginning to talk   
   again in a normal civilized way was a huge breakthrough.   
      
   The phone rang breaking the small offices silence. Mulder   
   looked to the clock and hesitated, it was getting late and   
   passed time that they should have both left for the   
   evening. Mulder wondered briefly whether to ignore the call   
   but deciding it might be something important, he picked up   
   the receiver.   
      
   "Mulder." Mulder stated as a greeting into the phone.   
      
   "Agent Mulder? ..I was going to leave you a voice mail."   
   Assistant Director Skinner's voice sang clear through the   
   handset.   
      
   "Well no need, I'm here...What can I do for you Sir?"   
   Mulder asked.   
      
   Scully's curiosity was peaked and she indicated for Mulder   
   to press the loud speaker button, Mulder obliged causing   
   Skinner's voice to ring out through the small office.   
      
   "I was wondering if you could help me with a... recurring   
   dream I have been having?" Skinner asked timidly.   
      
   "A dream?" Mulder questioned, unsure of his superiors   
   request.   
      
   "A dream." Skinner confirmed in a dead panned voice. "You   
   are, correct me if I am wrong, the Oxford Educated   
   Psychologist?"   
      
   "You are correct." Mulder replied arching his brow, he was   
   somewhat unaccustomed to hearing himself referred to as a   
   psychologist.   
      
   "And you were able to help me with the still unexplained   
   Succubus phenomenon." Skinner added. Scully rolled her eyes   
   as she grabbed her bag and headed for the door without a   
   word. She had never been completely convinced by the   
   succubus theory.   
      
   Mulder felt a lump form in his throat at her departure.   
   'Today had been better' he thought to himself 'So why no   
   goodbye?' Mulder slowly became aware that Skinner was   
   revealing his innermost thoughts to a completely oblivious   
   psychologist, namely himself.   
      
   "Sir?" Mulder interrupted "It might be more advisable for   
   you to write down everything that you can recollect from   
   your dream and let me have a copy so I can thoroughly look   
   into this for you."   
      
   "Okay Mulder..." Skinner hesitated having noted a change in   
   Mulder's tone "Is everything okay?" He asked concerned.   
      
   "Fine, Sir." Mulder replied, realizing he need to say   
   something to lighten the mode he jested "I just always   
   thought there could be something more between the two of   
   us, you know?... Hearing your dream, though...wow." Mulder   
   was smiling and it was evident in his voice along with his   
   sarcasm.   
      
   "Very funny, Mulder!" Skinner exclaimed. Mulder was the   
   best profiler and psychologist he knew but the man could be   
   an ass at times, he was at a loose as to how Dana Scully   
   put up with him.   
      
   "Sorry Sir." Mulder said before adding seriously "Get me   
   those details and I will see what I can come up with. You   
   know, dreams are fascinating things, they often answer   
   questions that our conscious minds haven't even posed. They   
   can be very insightful. Plus, I could do with brushing up   
   on my psychoanalyst skills." Mulder paused briefly then   
   added "For a psychologist sometimes I have real trouble   
   understanding 'certain' people."   
      
   Skinner smirked "You wouldn't be referring to a certain   
   Agent Scully would you, Mulder?"   
      
   Mulder smiled broadly, their boss never missed a beat.   
   "Ah... Just get me those details okay Sir?"   
      
   "Will do, Agent Mulder" Skinner replied. It was reassuring   
   to him that Dana Scully could punch Mulder's buttons as   
   easily as Mulder could press theirs. "Oh and Mulder...Thank   
   you"   
      
   "A pleasure, Sir" Mulder hung up the phone without any   
   further ado knowing that it couldn't do any harm to do a   
   favour for the Assistant Director.   
      
   He leaned back in his chair and ruffled his hair   
   unconsciously before removing his glasses to pinch the   
   bridge of his noise in a characteristic sign of   
   frustration. He let out a loud sigh before replacing his   
   glasses and trying to return his attention to the file in   
   hand.   
      
   Finally after ten minutes he gave in to his subconscious   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)