TITLE: Pink, Green and Gold
AUTHOR: Marlen
RATED: G
CATEGORY: Pre-ep, Vignette
KEYWORDS: MSR, S POV, M POV
SPOILER: Pre-Arcadia
ARCHIVE: Sure, just drop a note so I can visit. 
DISCLAIMER: All characters not mine to take.  Not a dime to be 
made from it either.  Please pay in form of feedback.  
SUMMARY: Mulder and Scully's thoughts before heading to The 
Falls at Arcadia. 
AUTHORS NOTE: at the end.
 



Pink, Green and Gold
by Marlen

~~~~~~

I'm packing when I hear a distinctive knock on the door.

"Come in, Mulder."

I hear his voice echo through the apartment as the door opens 
and closes.

"Now Scully, what if it weren't me on the other side of the 
door?  What if it were a stranger getting ready to attack you?"

"Mulder, don't be ridiculous. I knew it was yo--" As I come out 
of my room and approach the living room, I'm drowning in a sea 
of pink.

Mulder in a pink-collared shirt and sweater, to be precise.

I don't think I've ever seen that before.

Must be an X-File.

I smile, sizing him up.  Very nice, even in pink.  Not a lot of 
men can pull it off and still look manly, but Mulder sure does. 

"Let's get crackin', Scully."

What a way to ruin a muse, Mulder.

"Laura."

He checks me out as well.  I look at the embroidered sweater I'm 
wearing.  I doubt he has the same reaction to my choice of 
clothing as I did to his.  "I'm almost done packing.  I'll be 
just a moment."  Mulder nods and sits down, drumming his fingers 
on the arm of the couch.  As I go back to my room to finish up, 
I wonder if he knows he's doing it or if it's purely a 
subconscious act on his part.

In the six years I've been on the X-Files, I've seen some of the 
most improbable things occur beyond nature, but this ... this I 
could never have predicted -- Mulder and I posing as a married 
couple to investigate the mysterious disappearance of a couple 
in a community known as The Falls at Arcadia.

So, what's bothering me?  This case?  Not the case per se, the 
fact that we have to live, for the most part, as a married 
couple. Our relationship has never been something easily defined 
in the traditional sense of the term.  We started off as 
partners and became the best of friends.  Our trust unwavering 
amidst the toughest of struggles, but now we're hovering near a 
turning point into something ... more.  

Not yet a couple, but not what we once were.

I may not know exactly where this relationship is headed, but I 
do know that we're not ready for this, even if it is only 
"pretending."  But by the way he looked at me just a moment ago, 
I get the feeling Mulder's going to enjoy this.  He'll 
definitely play the part of a husband and try to touch me in 
ways most couples do naturally, use that boyish grin to charm 
his way with the neighbors and of course, there's that voice -- 
deep, scratchy, and sinfully seductive. 

I wonder if he knows what he does to me when he does that?  How 
am I ever going to survive all that time with him?

We're going to have to solve this case fast.

Just in case, I ought to take some protection with me.  I go 
into the bathroom and search the cabinets until I find it.

Yes.  I think this will do the trick.

I put the green night cream in my bag and smile confidently.  No 
man in his right mind would want to do anything when a woman is 
wearing *that* to bed.

Then again, Mulder isn't just any man.


======


I wonder what's taking Scully so long? I stop drumming my 
fingers on the couch and dive them into my pocket to pull out a 
small velvet box.  

I open it and take out the plain gold band, placing it on my 
finger.  I can't help but wonder what Scully's reaction would be 
if I asked her to marry me.

I know we're nowhere near ready to go down that road, but I 
can't help but imagine a "someday" with Scully.  I'd like to 
think that's where we are headed anyway.  I smile to myself.  I 
always thought about what was going on in the here and now.  
There was no point in considering the future ... until Scully 
came into my life and changed it forever. 

She's kept me sane and stayed by me throughout the roughest of 
times. 

My thoughts come back to the present when I realize she's in the 
room.  I look up and follow her vision to the small box in my 
hands.  I return my gaze in her direction to find a questioning 
look on her face.

I stand and grin at her confusion. "Since we have to play the 
part, might as well have the accessories to boot."  I hand her 
the box with her ring and bow.  "My lady."

Her eyes go wide when she finally sees the ring.  "Mulder, it's 
... it's beautiful.  The FBI sprang for this?"

"You bet, Baby, but don't lose it, because we have to give them 
back."  I wave my hand with the matching ring on it.

Is that a slight smile I see on Scully's face? So, she likes it 
when I call her Baby. I think this case is going to be a lot of 
fun. 


~end~

Feedback is a very good thing.<g>  crmv@aol.com

AUTHORS NOTE: This story is just one part of a larger 
collaboration with several authors from the IWTB mailing list 
titled, "Oooh Baby" in honor of Char Chaffin's Birthday (led by 
garrull).  Currently, you can read the whole thing on Ephemeral. 

8/8/02