Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Before being assigned to the X-Files, Scully used to see her best friend, Ellen, every week or and so and they would talk on the phone almost every day. In the last three years, though, she and Ellen had begun drifting apart. It was due mostly to Scully’s erratic work schedule. She was traveling all the time so it was hard to make plans and actually keep them. The lack of contact wasn’t entirely Scully’s fault, though. Ellen had gotten divorced and launched her own graphic design business while also raising her son so she didn’t have much free time, either.

Ellen had really wanted to be there for Dana after her abduction. Having lost her mother to breast cancer, Ellen had horrible anxiety about hospitals and couldn’t step foot in one without breaking down. She had come and cooked for Scully once she was released from the hospital after her abduction and Dana had appreciated having the company. Ellen had come over three times a week for a month, but once Scully went back to work she didn’t see her again for six months. She would call Ellen and get her voicemail or vice versa and they would play phone tag for weeks. Of course, Scully was so determined to throw herself into work to prove to Mulder how “fine” she was that she would often forget to call her friend back at all.

Ellen had made the last move by leaving a voicemail and Scully had been meaning to call her back for at least two weeks. She wasn’t avoiding her friend on purpose. There had been cases in North Carolina and Michigan back to back that distracted her and she still had a ton of paperwork to do for both. Scully had come into the office early to work on that very thing when Ellen called again

“It’s so early. I thought I would have to leave a voicemail. Why are you there so early?” Ellen asked her.

“I’m just behind on paperwork. I’ve been busy with back-to-back cases.”

“With that cute partner of yours, right Day?” Ellen liked to tease her about Mulder.

“Come on, I asked you to stop saying this stuff. It’s annoying. We are both very professional.” Even as she said it, Scully could feel herself blushing and she fought back a smile that she knew Ellen could sense through the phone.

“He’s not…how many times do I have to tell you it’s not like that. We just work together.”

“He certainly has some unprofessional feelings for you. I saw it when I met him at your place last year.” Once while Ellen was over during Scully’s convalescence, Mulder had dropped by unannounced just to check on her. He had made a habit of doing that for no particular reason. Scully knew it was related to his feelings of guilt over her abduction so she never said a word about it.

That particular day, he had dropped by to bring her the newest issue of The Lone Gunmen. She had never read it before but there was an article about the government reportedly testing technology to track cell phones. What a ridiculous notion given current technology.

Ellen had come out of the kitchen just in time to see Mulder give her a half hug and kiss her on the forehead. When he saw she already had company, the three of them chatted briefly, but then he left right away claiming he had somewhere to be.

Scully tangled her fingers in the phone cord as she tried to contain her exasperation. “Ellen, he doesn’t see me like that. Mulder’s not attracted to me at all. He’s totally obsessed with his work. He barely knows I’m a woman.”

Scully had to pull the phone away from her ear because Ellen laughed so loud. When the cackling ceased and it was safe to bring the handset back to her ear, Ellen added “but you wish he did.”

Sometimes Scully really hated how well Ellen knew her. “Well, yeah. I wouldn’t mind if he saw me as a woman once in a while. I am human and yes, he is a very attractive guy. You have no idea.”

Wanting to change the subject, Scully told her friend “We should get lunch next week. Saturday?”

“That sounds good. Jeff has Trent for the weekend.”

Scully felt a bit sad she wouldn’t be able to see her godson, but it would be good to catch up and have an adult conversation not about work. “It will be great to see you, but I haven’t seen my godson in ages. The Smithsonian Folklife Festival is in a few weeks. How about the three of us go?”

“That sounds great. We didn’t get to go last year and Trent was so disappointed. I had to hear about it for a week,” Ellen told her.

Scully checked her watch. It had gotten late. “Ellen, I need to get to work. I’ll call you tonight to firm up the details.” She said goodbye and hung up.

She looked up and was startled to see Mulder standing in the doorway, absolutely motionless.

Oh no.

“H-how long have you been standing there?” she stammered.

He scrutinized her for a long moment and gave her a smile that was more smirk than anything else.

“Long enough.”

Well, this was awkward. Mulder walked over to where she was perched on top of her desk and leaned in close to her to reach a file. He could have just walked around to the other side to grab it, but then Scully wouldn’t have gotten the shiver she got from his close proximity. The fact that he was wearing her favorite cologne that day didn’t help matters.

He took his time retreating making sure to brush his arm along her side and bringing his head to hers.

“You know,” he said in a whisper, with his mouth to her ear, “I absolutely notice you. You’re smart and sexy. The whole package. You’re the perfect woman for anyone, but me. I’m too obsessed with my work.” He paused, stood up, and shook his head . “Ask anyone,” he added bitterly as he stepped away.

With that, he went to sit at his desk as if nothing was amiss and he casually opened the file. “Ready for some fun and exciting paperwork?”

Scully sat there stunned for a moment wondering to herself which one of them he was lying to more.

Chapter Text

Scully was sitting on her couch, ostensibly watching tv, but really hadn’t paid any attention to what was on the screen. It was a romantic comedy. Or maybe it was a historical drama. She squinted and tried to focus on the television before giving up and switching it off.

She was distracted. It was a Friday night several months after that conversation in the office. Things had been weird ever since. Mulder didn’t seem to know how to act around her and she wasn’t sure what to do.

As they were leaving the office today, he had asked her if she wanted to get a drink at a local Fed hangout. It was something they used to do pretty frequently, but not as of late. She had said no before taking a moment to think it over. Alcohol could cloud her common sense. She had to be smart. It was really easy to fall into the trap of mixing her professional and personal life. It never ended well for her.

So she had told him no even though she really would have enjoyed spending more time with him off the clock. Contrary to what Mulder’s often self-deprecating jokes implied, she really did enjoy his company. Being around him was always fun even when he was being frustrating.

She was just thinking of relaxing in a bubble bath with the latest issue of JAMA when the phone rang.

“Hello?” she said, only half paying attention. Where had she left the August issue?

“Hi Dana, this isn’t a bad time, is it?” Ellen asked.

“No, I wasn’t doing anything important,” Dana told her friend as she walked over to her desk to find a highlighter. She had a ritual of going through the journal and highlighting interesting studies.

“Are you busy tomorrow?”

Scully stopped stopped searching her very crowded desk and tried to focus. “I don’t think so. Why? Do you need a babysitter?”

Ellen laughed, but scully knew her friend well enough to detect a tinge of hurt. “Come on. You know that isn’t the only reason I call you.”.

Without waiting for Dana to respond, she continued, “So Trent won four tickets to tomorrow’s Orioles game in a school raffle. He invited his friend Mark, but Mark’s mother said he could only go if he brought his little brother, Jacob. I wasn’t thrilled about wrangling three kids by myself, but figured I could manage.”

Scully waited for her friend to get to the point.
“Anyway, it seems both Mark and Jacob have come down with the chicken pox.”

Scully remembered her own miserable experience contracting it as a child at the same time as her sister, Melissa. They both had been itchy, uncomfortable and very vocal about it. She felt for the kids’ mother.

Ellen continued, “So, now I have two extra tickets. I was wondering if you wanted to come?”

Scully hadn’t been to a ball game in years and, since she wasn’t working, she didn’t want to pass up a chance to spend time with her friend and godson.

“Sure, that sounds fun. What are you doing with the fourth ticket? Is Trent inviting another friend? I really don’t mind helping with the kid duty.” She meant it. She loved Trent and kids in general. Other people’s kids.

Ellen paused for a moment. “Actually, I was thinking we could invite your partner. Didn’t you tell me he was a big baseball fan?”

“Ellen…”

“What? It is silly to let the ticket go to waste. I’m doing you a favor, Dana.”

Scully couldn’t help but smile. She could see exactly what her friend was doing. She would humor her for now.

“Okay, okay. I’ll call him and see if he wants to go.”

She hung up with Ellen and dialed Mulder’s number before she could second guess herself.

He answered before the phone had even finished ringing once.

“Hello?” He sounded...hopeful?

“Mulder, it's me. Did I get you at a bad time?”

“You could never call me at a bad time, Scully.” They both knew that wasn’t true.

“Anyway,” he continued, “In theory, I’m cleaning out the clutter in here, but really I’m sitting on the couch reading old issues of Sports Illustrated. Did you know the University of Miami Football team had a record breaking 29 game winning streak in 1992?”

She had a feeling that wasn’t the only thing he was reading.

Suddenly a visual popped into her head of Mulder, sprawled out his couch. Completely naked, he had one of those magazines open to a centerfold while he stroked his cock with both hands. He had a gorgeous cock. It was fully erect and she could see precum leaking from the tip and he roughly stroked it. Oddly, he was staring off into space and not at the magazine in front of him. He cupped his balls with one hand and groaned. Scully shifted, rubbing her legs together.

“...Scully? Are you there?”

With a start she blinked and was back to reality. Where had that come from?

“Yeah, sorry. I dropped the phone.” She hoped her voice didn’t betray her.

“So Ellen and I are taking Trent to the Orioles game tomorrow. We have an extra ticket. Would you like to come with us? He’s a really well-behaved kid.”

Mulder was quiet long enough that Scully started second guessing her invitation..

How could she let him know it wasn’t a big deal if he wasn’t interested without making things even more awkward between them?

Before she could further consider the situation, he responded.

“Sure, sounds like fun. I think Mike Mussina is pitching. I was going to watch the game on tv, but I’ll never pass up a chance to head out to the ballpark. Also, I like kids. Don’t you know that by now?”

Scully squirmed. She did know that. It was just she hadn’t had much opportunity to see Mulder interact with children but on the occasions he had, he always seemed to get on well with them.

She decided the safest thing was to just ignore that part of the conversation completely. “Ellen is driving. We are leaving around 5:00pm. We could pick you up on the way?”

“Sounds good,” he told her before saying good-bye. She hung onto the phone long after he had hung up wondering just what she had gotten herself into.

Chapter Text

Ellen was rather adamant about being on time so they pulled up at Mulder’s apartment building 15 minutes early. Scully was surprised to see him waiting out front already. He was wearing a black t-shirt and jeans and she pretended not to notice how good he looked.

He got in the backseat of the car and Scully tried to awkwardly make introductions from the passenger seat.

“Mulder, this is my friend Ellen and my godson, Trent.”

Mulder looked over at the boy. “Hey there.” Facing forward again he reminded Scully, “Ellen and I already met. At your place last year. Remember?”

Of course she knew that, Ellen certainly reminded her of it enough, but it had just slipped her mind at that moment. It was the jeans. Definitely the jeans. They were distracting her.

Facing Trent again, Mulder made small talk as Ellen pulled onto George Washington Memorial Parkway.

“I hear you’re a big Orioles fan. Who is your favorite player?”

“Cal Ripken! He’s the greatest player ever. Did you know on September 6th, 1995 he broke Lou Gehrig's 56-year-old record for most games played in a row? 2,130 games! OnJune 14, when the team played the Kansas City Royals, Ripken broke the world record of 2,216th games.
And today is his birthday!”

Mulder just smiled and let him talk, which Trent did the entire drive to Baltimore. Scully turned around in her seat a few times to see if Mulder needed rescuing, but he always looked engaged in whatever Trent was saying. Of course Mulder really did love baseball.

Once they got to Camden Yards and parked, they headed into the stadium. Ellen held Trent’s hand and they lead the way. Scully and Mulder walked behind them side by side and for a moment, she really thought he was going to take her hand, but he kept both of his at his sides.

As they walked down Eutaw Street toward the entrance, Trent got even more excited, “I’m going to see Cal hit a homerun and I’m going to catch a ball!” he yelled.

“Trent, tone it down. We are right next to you.” Ellen reminded him.

“Ellen let him have regular soda at dinner, since it was a special occasion, and I think it has gone to his head,” Scully told Mulder and belatedly wondered if she should have invited Mulder to dine with them.

He didn’t seem to see it as a slight so she shrugged it off. “What’s the occasion?” he asked.

She grinned. “Didn’t you listen in the car? Cal Ripken’s birthday.”

Their seats weren’t great; in right field, underneath the facade of the B&O warehouse, but Trent didn’t seem to care. Scully wasn’t much for baseball, but it was an exciting game and Mulder and Trent seemed very entertained. Somehow the boys wound up sitting next to each other with Scully and Ellen on either side,

After the first inning was over, Scully leaned over and quietly offered to switch seats. “You sure you want to sit next to that ball of energy for three more hours?”

Mulder looked offended. “I wish you would stop doing that. I’m fine.”

She felt like she had missed something. “Doing what?”

“Thinking I can’t handle myself around kids. That I need a rescue. I told you before that I like kids.”

After a pause he added “And they like me. I’m the fun one.” Well, she could be fun too and it was on the tip of her tongue to say so, but really it wasn’t worth even continuing this conversation over something so silly. Ellen and Trent were going to notice, if they kept up the bickering.

“I’m sorry, you’re right. You and Trent are obviously both having a great time.” She smiled at him and after a long moment he smiled back.

In the third inning, Cal Ripken was up at bat. Scully looked at Trent and was worried he wasn’t breathing. “He’s going to hit a homerun,” he told them all with the excitement and confidence only a child who had yet to be let down by a hero could have.

Ripken didn’t even manage to get a hit. The pitcher didn’t seem to know what to do with him and threw four balls. As the player jogged toward first base, Trent did his best to not let his disappointment show. “He can still score!”

The next player up had a base hit and Trent cheered quite possibly louder than anyone in the stadium as Ripken ran for second, only to be tagged out in a double play. Trent was rather despondent.

“Sweetie, he can’t hit a home run every single game. No player is that good,” Ellen pointed out.

Mulder patted him on the shoulder. “He’ll have another shot at bat later.” He noticed the player walking toward home plate. “Rafael is up.”

That got Trent’s attention and he perked up. Rafael Palmeiro swung at the first pitch and missed. Then another strike. On the third pitch the ball connected with the bat with a thunderous crack and they watched it sail into the air in their direction. There was a mad scramble as everyone around them realized they had a shot at catching a home run ball. Ellen and Dana watched bemused as both Mulder and Trent jumped out of their seats. The ball bounced off the aisle. Mulder made a dive for it. “Seems kind of silly, he’s not even that big of a fan. He likes the Yankees,” she told Ellen. That got them a few dirty looks from the people around them still in their seats.

Mulder, stood up and waved the ball in the air, victorious, Trent pretended he wasn’t crushed and sat back down in his seat. “That’s cool that you got a ball.”

Mulder slid back in next to him and handed the ball to the boy, “This is yours. A memento for this special occasion.”

“Really?! For me?! You don’t want it?” Trent was ridiculously happy and Dana noticed Ellen looking at both her son and Mulder thoughtfully.

“Yes, you. We all know who the biggest Orioles fan here is and it’s not me,”

Trent surprised everyone, but Mulder most of all, when he leaned over and gave Mulder a hug, He made eye contact over the boy’s back with Ellen and while he saw gratitude, he also felt like he was being examined by his partner’s best friend.

Once Trent disentangled himself Mulder tried to refocus on the game, but could sense Scully staring at him.

He looked over at her.

“Thank you,” she told him, truly touched.

He shrugged. “It wasn’t a big deal. It cheered him up.”

Scully looked over at Trent who was paying them no attention as he showed off his ball to his mother and several other onlookers.

“No really, I know it means a lot to him. Today means a lot. He’s been down since the divorce. Jeff hardly spends any time with him and Ellen is always busy with work. He doesn’t get to have a ton of fun these days.”

Mulder gave her a small, sad smile. “Believe me, I can certainly relate.”

As Mulder refocused on the game, Scully grabbed his hand and weaved their fingers together. Mulder didn’t want to acknowledge it lest he jinx it so he said nothing. They held hands for the next hour. They both noticed Trent and Ellen paying more attention to them than the game several times and pretended not to notice. Even a child Trent’s age could see the obvious that neither Mulder or Scully was willing to admit to themselves. That this was the beginning of forever.