Ok ok ok...Do...64. “What happened back there?” and 88. "I’m better, now that you’re here.”
Here you go! Sorry if you see any weird formatting happening. Tagging @today-in-fic
Set post-Abduction Arc. Scully’s first day back at the office. Mulder POV.
Underserving
Anticipation. The one word that relatively summed up Mulder’s current feeling as he drummed his left fingers against the side of his left thigh waiting for the elevator doors to close. The elevator’s descent to the basement felt so slow. Had it always been this slow? Scully’s back today from her four-month absence— reinstated to be his partner again after a slew of medical clearances, psych evals, and requalifications. He had tried in vain to stop her from returning, but he couldn’t deny her anything less than finding out the truth of what happened to her anymore than she could stop him from his quest to find Samantha. The elevator pinged interrupting Mulder’s thoughts as it opened with a faint rumble. He stepped out and made his way to the office fiddling for his keys in his pant pocket. As he rounded the corner, he noticed a sliver of light coming from the office, its door ajar. Mulder couldn’t help but smile as he crossed the threshold seeing Scully sitting behind the desk reading a case file surrounded by all the UFO clippings and Sasquatch sightings he accumulated on his cork board. It felt surreal as he took in the bland fluorescent lighting that contrasted with Scully’s vibrant titian hair and her burgundy colored suit. She looked up from the case file and smiled a tight smile.
“Good morning, Scully. Welcome back!”
“Good morning. It feels good to be back,” she sighed. She looked back at the case file in hand before leaving it open and placing it on the desk.
“How are you feeling?” Mulder took off his trench coat and hung it next to hers on the coat rack beside the door.
“I’m better, now that you’re here,” she replied, “to answer some questions for me about the case you covered while I was gone.” She tapped her fingers on the open file on the desk. “I couldn’t help but feel that your report seemed incomplete.” Shit, Mulder thought as he busied himself at the slide projector, fiddling with the carousel to pull out the slides he forgot to place away last Friday. He hummed noncommittally.
“Care to tell me what happened back there? What really happened?” Her tone wasn’t accusatory, more curious than anything else.He looked over at Scully meeting the same trusting, open gaze she gave him all those months ago in a candlelit motel room. His throat suddenly felt constricted and dry as he forced himself to swallow before answering.
“Um, it’s all there, Scully.” He scratched an itch on his left brow with his thumb as he took a few steps to the lightbox situated across the desk to assemble more slide prints.
“Really? So Kristen Kilar, the prime suspect, age unknown, supposedly identified herself as a vampire and somehow found herself running with a vigilante group who also viewed themselves as vampires stealing blood from blood banks?”
“It sounds like crap when you say it,” Mulder chuckled despite her interrogation. Shit, he missed her. The weight of his guilt for not reaching her in time lessened slightly as he watched Scully be the naysayer as she arched her right eyebrow clearly not amused.
“How did you come to find out that she lured you away from her home? Why were you in her home in the first place?” Mulder didn’t respond as he turned back to the light box focusing on the slide prints in front of him.
“She needed protection. I wrote that in the report.”
“So, you did, but you could’ve requested help from the LAPD and asked them to send over a couple of their folks to watch over her.”
“Kristen didn’t want the local authorities involved. She trusted me enough to accept my personal assistance.”
“Oh.” Mulder looked up from the light box and caught the moment when Scully realized what had occurred off the record. Her gaze faltered after a few seconds when she returned her attention to the case file. She continued coolly, “Aside from breaching the FBI ethical code of conduct, I’m glad your recklessness didn’t cost your life.” She got up from the chair to return the file in the fire king. Another beat of silence passed as Mulder studied her profile while she seemed to be lost in thought. She returned his gaze.
“I’m sorry,” she sighed.
“What are you sorry about?” Mulder let out a huff, confused.
“For not being there when you needed a partner out in the field.” Scully closed the fire king drawer. “This means you can’t ditch me during our investigations, Mulder.” He remained silent worrying his bottom lip. He couldn’t make any promises; he would risk his life tenfold to ensure her safety. Mulder turned off the lightbox with a scattering of slide prints atop the box.
“C’mon, Scully, let’s blow this joint and grab us some decent coffee, the non-sludge variety.” She gave him a look that could either mean “You’re incorrigible” or “You’re hopeless” as she approached the coat rack the same time he did. He helped Scully into her coat. She peered over her shoulder, her blue eyes boring into his hazel ones.
“Mulder, I hope you know that Kristen’s death wasn’t your fault. She and her posse were a group of sick and twisted individuals.” A small, sad smile crossed his face as he gave her a reassuring squeeze at the juncture of her neck and shoulders. He didn’t deserve Scully as a partner let alone a friend.
“Know what you want to order at the coffee shop across the street?” Mulder asked when they were heading towards the elevator.
“I have something in mind,” she answered with a huge grin that made his heart swell, skipping a beat. An empathic No. He most certainly did not deserve her at all.