From: cybill@pacbell.net   
      
   XXX   
   Dana Scully's Apartment   
      
   The door lock turns and the door swings open. Dana   
   shuffles through the door, takes off her jacket and   
   hangs it over the dining chair. "Danes, the pizza's   
   cold." She turns to me. Her appearance is ruffled and   
   the collar of her shirt is bent down exposing a large   
   purplish blue area on her neck. "You have a hickey on   
   your neck!" I practically scream.   
      
   She grabs her collar and tries to hide it.   
      
   "Oh, no you don't. You have a big, fat hickey on your   
   neck! Might I assume that was given to you by one   
   Foxy Mulder?"   
      
   She smiles wide. I run over, pull her into my arms   
   and hug her fiercely.   
      
   "I'm so glad! What happened? I want to know   
   everything … do not leave any details out, especially   
   the sexy parts!"   
      
   "Oh Amy, I don't know what to think, do, or even   
   say," she says somewhat miserably.   
      
   "You slept with him?" I say surprised.   
      
   "No. I did not sleep with him."   
      
   "Then how did you get the love bite?" I'm confused.   
      
   "We got stuck in the elevator at work and one thing   
   just led to another."   
      
   I push at her chest. "Get out!" I say, emphasizing it   
   like Elaine does on Seinfeld. "You made out at work?"   
   She nods. "In the elevator?" Another nod. "Holy shit,   
   Danes. I didn't think you had it in you."   
      
   "Me either. I don't know what came over me." She sits   
   down in the chair and removes her heels. "One minute   
   I'm standing there making nice after a very   
   uncomfortable day with him."   
      
   I move my hands in a 'hurry up and tell me what I   
   want to hear' motion.   
      
   "The next moment, the elevator comes to a halt and I   
   was in his arms. We chatted for a minute and he had   
   me up against the wall in seconds."   
      
   I smile wide, showing her how pleased I am with her   
   actions. "That is soooooo hot, Danes. I can't believe   
   it. For you, that's so out of character. Then again,   
   if I had a foxy partner like Mulder, I'd let him take   
   me anywhere … anytime." She looks at me crossly.   
   "Don't get me wrong, I'm not after your man, but he   
   is gorgeous."   
      
   "I can't disagree with you there. But …."   
      
   "But what? Oh no, you're going to over-analyze this   
   aren't you?" Her face scrunches up into a grimace.   
   "No, Danes. What you did was perfectly acceptable."   
   Her eyebrow reaches to the sky. "Okay, maybe not   
   perfectly acceptable for work, but it was definitely   
   an acceptable thing to do with him. Didn't it feel   
   right?"   
      
   "God, yes, Amy."   
      
   "See, so what's the problem? Let me guess, you didn't   
   talk about it." Her head goes into her hands. "Well,   
   how did you leave each other?"   
      
   "He said we were going to talk about it and I agreed   
   with him."   
      
   "So why didn't you just go somewhere and talk about   
   it? You know you could have gone. I would have just   
   figured you were working late."   
      
   "He had to go clean up …," she points down to her   
   lap, "you know."   
      
   "Ohhhhhhhh yeah, I can see how that would be   
   uncomfortable. So, are you going to talk to him and   
   be honest with him?"   
      
   "I don't know, I really don't know. I'm afraid to   
   change our relationship, but I'm also afraid of not   
   changing it. Does that make sense?"   
      
   "It makes perfect sense. That's kind of where Russ   
   and I are, too."   
      
   She nods in sympathy.   
      
   We talk some more and she promises that she will   
   eventually talk to him. Then I went over the   
   conversation I had with Russ by phone before she came   
   home. We both laughed over how similar our situations   
   were and how funny life and love are, and then   
   retired to our rooms for bed.   
      
   XXX   
   Thump, thump, thump   
      
   Oh crap! I look over at the clock. It reads 9:07 p.m.   
   It's probably Mulder. He seemed adamant about our   
   talking "later" after the elevator scene. I hang up   
   my blazer and venture out into the living room.   
      
   Thump, thump, thump   
      
   All right, all right already. I open the door without   
   looking through the peephole and am surprised to see   
   Russ, hand raised about to knock again.   
      
   "Russ. Hi."   
      
   "Dana, sorry it's so late. I just couldn't wait to   
   talk to Amy. I hope you don't mind me stopping by. I   
   need to talk to her."   
      
   I check him over from head to toe as he enters. He   
   looks ... well, he looks like a man who hasn't been   
   getting a lot of sleep. With my own resident   
   insomniac, I know what a sleep-deprived man looks   
   like more than I care to admit. Poor guy. It looks as   
   if he's taking the tension between him and Amy harder   
   than he was actually confiding to her in their phone   
   conversations.   
      
   "It's not late. I'll get Amy."   
      
   He nods and sways from foot to foot with his head   
   bowed down a bit. Familiar Mulder pose. Maybe it's   
   something men do when they're about to broach an   
   uncomfortable situation. I smile at him and head to   
   Amy's room. I knock a couple times.   
      
   "It's open, Danes." I enter and shut the door softly   
   behind me, not wanting to put Russ on edge any more   
   than he already is. "What's up?"   
      
   "Amy, Russ is here and he's waiting to talk to you in   
   the living room."   
      
   Her facial expressions show that she's surprised and   
   then registers a hint of trepidation.   
      
   "Do you want to talk to him, or do you want me to   
   tell him to call you tomorrow?"   
      
   She stands up and cinches her robe tightly around her   
   body. "No, he drove a couple hours to see me, the   
   least I can do is find out why." She nods her head   
   affirmatively as if she's talking herself into   
   something. She opens the door and walks towards the   
   living room.   
      
   Russ turns the moment she appears and a huge smile   
   breaks on his face. He rushes over to her and swings   
   her into a tight hug, lifting her off her feet a bit.   
   She returns the embrace and he slides her back to her   
   feet. That's my exit. I quick-step it to my bedroom,   
   leaving the door open a crack. I shouldn't eavesdrop   
   but I want to make sure she's okay if they start   
   fighting again. I'm also feeling rather nosey and not   
   the least bit guilty about it. She's been in my   
   business with Mulder for the last few days so we'll   
   be even. I take up a seat close to the door, leaning   
   my head towards the opening.   
      
   "I've missed you," he says with a rough tone.   
      
   "I've missed you too," she responds.   
      
   "Amy, I'm … oh hell, Amy, I'm sorry."   
      
   "I'm sorry too," she says weakly.   
      
   "These past few days have been horrible. I don't like   
   fighting with you." I can hear her sniffling. She   
   must be crying. He better not hurt her. "This time   
   away is nothing like when you've been gone on   
   business or for a book signing. I just," he sniffs   
   this time. He's getting choked up, I can hear it in   
   his voice. "I just, I've realized something."   
      
   "What Russ? What did you realize?" she somewhat   
   pleads with him.   
      
   "That I just can't be without you." She sobs loudly.   
   "I do want to commit to you. Hell Amy, I'll even   
   marry you if you'd have me. Just, just don't leave   
   me…."   
      
   If I didn't know these two so well I'd think he was   
   pathetic but I know this is the first time in the   
   years they've been together that something has almost   
   broken them up.   
      
   "I won't leave you, Russ." Amy whispers so softly I   
   can barely hear her.   
      
   "I'm sorry, Baby. I'm so sorry for being such a … a   
   loser. I didn't realize what I had until you left and   
   came to stay with Dana."   
      
   "Oh, Russ." I heard her get up quickly and land on   
      
   [continued in next message]   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)