From: bellydancergirl7@aol.com   
      
   All notes disclosed in chapter one.   
      
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   "Charlie, for the last time, I'm not getting you tickets to the    
   games. He'll get the wrong opinion of me."   
      
   *Well, he'll need to learn sometime*   
      
   "Charlie!" she warned.   
      
   *Well, at least tell me if you've met Derek Jeter*   
      
   Dana looked around her. "Actually, he's less than twenty feet away    
   from me right now." There was silence on the other end. "Charlie?"   
      
   *What about Alex Rodriguez?*   
      
   "Yep, same distance."   
      
   *You're in the dug-out, aren't you?*   
      
   Dana resisted the urge to smile even though he couldn't see    
   her. "Yep, I'm watching the game from here today. Cassie's with a    
   friend for the day."   
      
   *Dana, come on. You've got to get me tickets*   
      
   "No, Charlie. You've got to buy `em like everybody else. Maybe when    
   he meets the family, I'll talk to him about it."   
      
   *Why until then?*   
      
   "Because Charlie, you need to calm down your love of the game because    
   you're the reason he isn't meeting the family anytime soon."   
      
   *I'm not the only one!*   
      
   "No, but you're the main reason."   
      
   *I'm gonna have to wait until next season, aren't I?*   
      
   "Yep."   
      
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   "So are you just the girlfriend being nice or do you actually like    
   the game?" Derek Jeter asked her when Mulder went up to bat. All of    
   the guys were extremely nice to her, making her feel a part of the    
   baseball family they had going. She liked it; she didn't feel so out    
   of place like she thought she would.   
      
   "Both. I'm definitely learning to appreciate the game," she admitted.   
      
   "That's good then. It usually means you're the real deal."   
      
   "Trust me, I'm the real deal. I'm not after his money or after fame.    
   My brother's after that more than I am."   
      
   "Baseball fan?" he guessed.   
      
   "Huge."   
      
   "Well, it's a popular sport. Someone in every family is bound to like    
   it," he told her.   
      
   "You know, I've never thought of it that way."   
      
   Derek smiled. Why did all baseball players have such gorgeous    
   smiles? "Just ignore him the next time he asks for tickets or    
   autographs," he advised.   
      
   She looked stunned. "How did you…?"   
      
   "I'm up to bat." And he was gone. She looked back at the game. Mulder    
   was on second but she could see his legs itching off of it. He was    
   going to steal.   
      
   She heard a loud crack after she saw Mulder running for third from    
   home plate. She cheered him on with the rest of the stadium. Why had    
   she never liked baseball before? It was exhilarating!   
      
   She saw the ball bounce in the outfield, players scrambling to pick    
   it up. She could see Derek stopping at second just in time before    
   Mulder slid into home plate. She couldn't keep the smile off her face    
   when he stepped in the dug out. His coach patted him on the back, but    
   he never took his eyes off the game.   
      
   Her arms made their way around his neck, hugging him close to    
   her. "Why is watching you do that such a turn on every time?" she    
   murmured in his ear, her lips brushing against the lobe.   
      
   "Is that a promise of tonight?" She could hear his smile in that    
   pleasant tone.   
      
   "Maybe," she promised, already planning.   
      
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   "Would you get out here? We only have a few hours."   
      
   "It's gonna take that long?" Dana whined. "Why that long?"   
      
   Mulder smiled slyly. "Because I want to milk it for all it's worth."    
   She only sighed. "All right, do you have your bat?"   
      
   She held up the Louisville slugger he'd given her. "Okay, I'm going    
   to help you swing and Tony is going to be in charge of the machine. I    
   was going top let him pitch but I figured you didn't want to be    
   injured."   
      
   "I heard that!" Tony yelled.   
      
   "You were supposed to!" Mulder yelled back. He returned his focus to    
   Dana. "So come here."   
      
   She stepped up to the plate, the bat limp at her side.   
      
   "Try to look more enthusiastic," he suggested. She threw a smile his    
   way, albeit a fake one. "Good enough."   
      
   He pulled her into his arms, her back pressed firmly against his    
   chest. He moved the bat to the front of them, her hands automatically    
   moving to the middle.   
      
   "Now this I like," she told him, wiggling against him just for fun.   
      
   "Don't distract me or Tony's gonna get a show," he growled in her    
   ear. "Now, you want your feet shoulder length apart with your weight    
   on your back leg. When you connect with the ball, you want to throw    
   your weight forward into the hit. Got that?"   
      
   "Throw your weight. Got it."   
      
   He motioned for Tony to start. "You want to keep your eye on the    
   ball, but also on the pitcher's hands." They connected with the ball    
   on his last words. The ball flew to the left. A few more went by,    
   each getting farther and higher than the last. When they managed to    
   his one clear into the stands, she finally understood why he played    
   the game.   
      
   "Like baseball yet?" he asked at her awed expression.   
      
   "Like it? I think I love it," she corrected. He only laughed and    
   signaled Tony to start again.   
      
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   "It's pretty peaceful out here at night," Dana noticed later as they    
   walked the bases together.   
      
   "I know. I love it when we have practice or games at night. It's    
   beautiful."   
      
   "I'm beginning to understand the appeal of baseball," she    
   confessed. "What's it feel like when you get a home run?"   
      
   "You did it earlier; you should know."   
      
   "Yeah, but you do it with thousands of fans. I did it with two people    
   in the vicinity," she pointed out.   
      
   "True. It's an exhilarating rush when you hit the ball into the    
   stands, or, on occasion, outside the park. You feel like you finally    
   match up to every great player before your time. You feel like you    
   can do something no one else can."   
      
   She looked up at him lovingly. "Sounds like you really enjoy it," she    
   said softly.   
      
   "I do. I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world." He gazed up    
   thoughtfully one last time before pulling her over to the pitcher's    
   mound.   
      
   His fingers laced together with hers, pulling her body close. She    
   smiled sweetly at him. It made it easier to ask her…   
      
   "Move in with me."   
      
   She stood speechless for a moment, her mouth gapping open. Were they    
   ready for this? Was she ready for this?   
      
   "What?" she finally said. A little persuasion never hurt.   
      
   "Move in with me. It's been four months and I've never felt this    
   before with anybody. I love you so much. I love Cassie like she's my    
   own. I *feel* like she's mine. I hate that I only get to see you for    
   such small amounts of time some days. I feel like I hardly ever get    
   to spend time with Cassie."   
      
   "But Mulder," she interrupted. "You spend a lot of time with Cassie."   
      
   He relented. "Maybe. Maybe I'm just greedy for time. All I know is    
   that I want to live with you, to spend every living hour with you. I    
   don't feel right if I'm not with you. And please tell me I didn't    
   just freak you out."   
      
   She shook her head. "No, you're not scaring me."   
      
   "Well, it's caring me that you haven't said much during this."   
      
   "I… I'm thinking about it."   
      
   "Really?"   
      
   "Yeah, persuade me some more."   
      
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)