Date: Fri, 24 Jul 1998 16:00:38 -0700 From: "Heather D. Behl" Subject: A Memory Shared by Two (1/1) Heath Title - A Memory Shared by Two (1/1) Author - Heather D. Behl, "Heath" E-Mail address - hbehl@pacific.net.sg Rating - PG for language Category - VR Spoilers - none Keywords - Pre-XF MSR, Mulder/Scully UST Summary - Mulder finds solace in a newfound friend after his relationship with Phoebe has failed...Is it fate? Feedback - PLEASE!!!! *grin* or Archive - Wherever, just keep my name & email attached, please! Note - I wrote this very late at night. That's my excuse. =) Disclaimer - You know it, three of these aren't mine, you guess which ones, you can also guess who they belong to. No copyright infringement intended, no profits being made. The poem isn't mine either, and it's used sans permission. "XIII" by Emily Dickinson, just so you know... ---------------------------------------------------- ***A Memory Shared by Two*** ---------------------------------------------------- "Heart, we will forget him! You and I, to-night! You may forget the warmth he gave, I will forget the light. when you have done, pray tell me, That I my thoughts may dim; Haste! lest while you're lagging, I may remember him!" -Emily Dickinson, "XIII" ---------------------------------------------------- Scully and Mulder were going over some case files in his apartment one afternoon when a knock sounded at the door. Their heads snapped up in unison. "Who is it?" called Mulder. "An old friend," a lively British male voice replied, muffled by the thick wooden door. Mulder hesitantly opened the door. A tall man with curly blond hair and dimples was standing there. "Peter!" Mulder exclaimed in surprise. The two men exchanged back-thumping hugs. "Good to see you! It's been so long!" "Too long," Peter replied in his lively accent. He turned and saw Scully for the first time. She looked familiar, but he couldn't place where he'd seen her before. She stared at him, trying to place him, too...but that was impossible, she had only been to the UK once, and the chance of running into this man while she was there was slim. Still, she couldn't shake the feeling. Besides, she remembered very little from that trip for some reason... "Always the redheads for you, Mulder, yeah?" Peter said, winking at Scully. She raised an eyebrow in disgust. Mulder flushed. "This is Agent Dana Scully, my *partner*. Professionally. Scully, this clown is Peter Woodsworth, an old friend from Oxford." Peter grinned at Mulder. "Hahaha, remember the *last* American redheads we met, Mulder?" he winked again. "Oh, my gosh, I'd forgotten completely about that." Mulder flushed even more deeply. "Um, Peter, I don't mean to be rude but I'm kinda in the middle of work here...I'm free later tonight, though, how about if you come back then?" Peter shrugged. "That's perfect for me. Gotta run a few errands, visit a few people. I'll call around 11." Mulder grinned, genuinely happy to see his friend again. "See ya then, Peter." He closed the door behind Peter, and turned to see Scully giving him an amused look. "Always the redheads?" she questioned, teasing. He sighed. "Well, one of them saved me from Phoebe's misery. Long before I joined the FBI. God, what was her name..." He gasped with surprise as he dug up the long-since buried memory. "Oh my God," he swore. Scully looked up at him. "What is it?" "Listen to this, Scully..." His memory began to grow clearer, and he began to speak. ***Fox Mulder and his friend Peter were walking down the sidewalk, laughing, when suddenly Peter stopped Mulder. "Do you see what I see, Mulder?" Mulder rolled his eyes. "Let me guess: a hot chick." "Right over there." Peter motioned with his hand to two redheads across the street. Mulder glanced at them as the two girls entered a café. "Whaddya think, Mulder?" Mulder squinted and shook his head. "Look, Peter, I told you, I need time..." "You need to forget her! She was a bitch," Peter said. "Listen, not all pretty girls are as bad as Phoebe. Let's at least go talk to them..." Mulder sighed and shrugged, giving in despite the fact that he knew what Peter's "just go talk to them" always led to. "Whatever." They crossed the busy road and pushed their way into the café. One of the girls was sitting alone at a stool; Peter zeroed in on her. Mulder watched his eager friend walk away, and then wandered over to the jukebox. He sighed as he flipped through the albums. Every song title reminded him of Phoebe... "Excuse me." The accent was American. Mulder whirled around. A petite redhead was standing behind him. "Oh, sorry, did you want to use this?" he said apologetically, stepping to the side. "Thanks," she said, slipping some coins into the slot and making some selections. "You American?" she asked, without looking up. "Yeah," he said. "I'm attending school here." She looked up, eyebrows raised, impressed. "Oxford? Cambridge?" "Oxford," he replied. "How about you?" "Oh, I'm just here with my sister. We're on vacation." She motioned to the girl on the stool across the room; Peter was practically all over her. Mulder looked into the petite girl's eyes. They were sky blue... His eye fell to the smattering of freckles across her finely chiselled nose and her high cheeks. Her hair was swept off her face in a ponytail, and she had a beauty mark between her nose and her full lips. She was pretty cute, he decided. Definitely prettier than the empty-headed-model-wannabe Phoebe type. He must have sighed, because she said suddenly, "Are you okay?" He shook his head, putting his hand to the bridge of his nose. "Yeah...just a bit down, that's all." "Had your heart broken?" she asked sympathetically. He looked up in surprise. She shrugged. "I can just tell." She motioned to a booth. "Wanna talk about it?" she asked, smiling slightly. He couldn't help but smile back. "So," she said, clearing her throat, sounding a bit nervous, as if she wasn't used to this. "What was her name?" The man shook his head. "That's not important. She was a bitch." She nodded. "The tall, leggy model type, right?" He looked at her, surprised. "How did you know?" "They're all like that. Except my sister. Well, okay, so I'm biased, given my body type and all..." She smiled. He smiled, chuckling. "Hey, give yourself more credit. You're gorgeous." The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them. He flushed immediately, but couldn't help looking up at her to see her reaction. She looked shocked, open-mouthed. She was used to her sister getting all the attention, he supposed, as the older one was the more...voluptuous. He didn't like that. He liked her. Then she smiled slowly, and his heart danced.*** Mulder stopped for a moment. Scully was paling. "Oh my God, Mulder..." she said, fixing her sky blue eyes on his hazel ones as he continued. "Oh, God, I had tried to forget... To block it out...That was...Sam was....you?" ***"You know..." she said softly, "I don't even know your name." He was suddenly awkward; he wasn't too proud of either of his names at the time, since his disagreement with his father the night before over the phone. He had wanted Mulder to come home for the next holiday; Mulder had refused, and one thing had led to another... It always lead to Samantha. "Um...Sam," he said, aiming for a fairly normal- sounding name. "Call me Dana," she told him. "Dana," he repeated, holding out a hand. "Pleased to meet you." "Same to you." They talked for about an hour, when Peter and Dana's sister came over, inviting "Sam" and Dana for a walk to the park. After the introductions, Peter leaned over to Mulder. "Sam?" he whispered incredulously. Mulder shrugged. They strolled down the sidewalk in the dark, Her sister and Peter leading, arms around each other. Mulder and Dana looked at each other and smiled. They arrived at the park, and Peter and Dana's sister slipped off into the shadows. Dana sat beside Mulder, watching the moonlight reflect off the water of the pond. "I leave tomorrow," she said suddenly, fixing her blue eyes on him. "My sister and I, I mean." Mulder looked at Dana sadly. "But I just barely met you." She smiled, too, sadly. "Dana," he whispered hoarsely, "do you believe in fate?" She hesitated, and then smiled. "Yes." He smiled, too. And leaned closer. Their lips touched, and any thoughts of Phoebe were driven from his mind. Her lips were even softer than they had looked, and the kiss slowly deepened. Her mouth slipped open slightly and his tongue entered, and she moaned, leaning closer and gently caressing his tongue with her own. His hands settled on her shoulders and he gently brought her forward until their chests were touching. He pulled his mouth away from hers, gazing into her eyes, their breaths coming in rapid puffs of air. Then he pulled her in until her cheek rested against his shoulder, and held her tightly. Her arms wrapped around his body as she returned the embrace. He couldn't explain it, but he had an incredible urge to take care of this woman, to protect her. To hold her in his arms forever. Even the feel of her cheek against his clothed shoulder was sending him into an indescribable warmth. He had never felt these tender feelings growing inside him before. He sat up and pulled her so that she sat in-between his legs, her back to him. She sighed as she leaned back into his embrace, settling her warm cheek against his. He held her tightly as the two of them gazed up at the stars. And that is how Peter and Dana's sister found them three hours later, the two talking in hushed voices. "Sam" was chuckling softly at something Dana had said as the other two walked up, looking slightly dishevelled. Dana raised her eyebrow at her sister, but she knew her sister well enough to know that nothing *too* wild had happened. "I think we have to go now, Dana," Dana's sister said sadly. She turned back to Peter, although she addressed Dana and Sam next. "We'll give you guys a moment alone." The two wandered off for a minute. Mulder and Dana stood up, turning to face each other. Wordlessly, Mulder pulled her into his arms and kissed the top of her head. "Goodbye, Dana," he whispered into her hair. "Goodbye, Sam," she whispered back, looking up. They shared a long, passionate kiss. Then Dana broke the embrace as her sister called her. "Fate," she whispered softly as she backed towards her sister, hesitating. "Fate," he whispered back, wanting to believe that they could meet again. Then she turned and was gone.*** As he finished recounting the story, Mulder looked at Scully. She was still slightly pale. "Does this change anything?" she asked, voice strangely dry. She thought of her love for him that she had carefully hidden for so long. She had known her feelings for him had deep roots, but she had had no idea that they reached back that many years... Mulder was having similar thoughts. He stared into her eyes, the sky blue ones he had fallen in love with twice in his lifetime. "No," he whispered, smiling. "It doesn't change a thing." She mirrored his smile, and slowly reached over to take his hand. --------------------THE END----------------------- Feedback....puh-lease? Don't make me beg. =) No flames, please, I'm just a humble, innocent college student...*puppy-dog face* ------<-@ -------<-@ ------<-@ ------<-@ ------<-@ Heather D. Behl http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Hollow/5300/ Last update July 24, 1997