~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mulder's face was buried in his hands when she came in. He looked up at her, his eyes pleading with hers.

"Stay," was all he said.

"Mulder, its only temporary. Quantico needs me to teach. It's only for a short while," Scully said, going to her desk. She had barely even used the desk; it was still new. She opened up the drawers, making sure she had packed everything.

"Four months is not short in my time, Scully," he said. "Maybe it is for you."

"That's the maximum time, Mulder. It's only about three months," she said. "Look, I promise that it'll go fast. I never would have agreed to this if I didn't know for sure."

"I need you with me, Scully," he said, his voice low. He was fighting to keep from raising his voice in desperation. He stood up and went to her, standing before her with sad eyes.

"Mulder...please...don't make this into a big, dramatic good-bye. It's not even a good-bye! It's a...'see you later' deal. I'll be back before you know it," she said, taking his hand. His expression didn't change. It was the same expression that he had used when she had came to say she was going to resign from the FBI.

But this was different. She was going to go to Oklahoma for three months to help an old college friend teach autopsy-performance at a new division Quantico was trying to set up. It hurt her to go, but it was a temporary arrangement and she wanted to help out a friend in need. Besides, she knew she'd be back. But why did it still hurt, even with that knowledge?

She closed her eyes and pressed her lips together tightly to keep from crying. She reached up, putting her hand on the back of his neck, and pulled his head down to her shoulder. She hugged him tightly, feeling his arms come around her equally as tight. They held each other for a long time, neither one wanting to be the first to let go.

"If I hold you like this, you can't go anywhere," Mulder said, his voice holding a slight hint of suggestion.

"I can go," she said, squeezing him. "But don't let go just yet."

"I'm going to miss you so much," he whispered. "Who am I going to be able to run my psychotic, unorthodox theories by when you're not around?"

"Agent Fowley?" she suggested.

"No way. She's too quick to agree with me," he said, holding her a little closer. Scully decided to let Mulder pull away when he was ready to. And she knew there was still something he was waiting to hear.

"I'll miss you, too," she murmured. "More than you know now." Mulder released her and looked into her eyes. He took her hand and kissed it gently, then leaned to her and kissed her cheek, nose, then brushed his full lips across hers.

"Write me," he said softly.

"I will."

"Call me."

"Okay."

"E-mail me."

"I promise I will. Every day."

"Send me lots of money on a weekly basis."

"Now you're pushin' it."

"It was worth a shot," he said with a shrug.

"I'll send my love, instead, okay?"

"Better than money," he said, kissing her forehead. "Hey, I have something for you." He went to his desk and opened the top drawer, pulling out a small wrapped box. He came back to her and handed it to her.

"Mulder...you didn't have to."

"I wanted to. As cliche as that sounds..." he said, trailing off as she unwrapped the box. It was covered in velvet. She knew it was jewelry, right then. She opened the box and she felt her eyes fill with tears. Inside was a small pair of diamond stud earrings.

"Oh...Mulder...you didn't have to do this. I can't possibly accept these from you-" she started.

"I don't care what you say, Scully. I'm not taking them back," he interrupted. "Please, put them on."

With fingers trembling with emotion, Scully extracted the studs and pulled the backs off. Carefully, slowly, she put them on. Mulder smiled and pushed her hair back away from her ears and admired her face.

"Perfect," Mulder whispered. His thumbs started caressing her skin gently, and she closed her eyes. A tear escaped the pool gathering in her right eye and tumbled down her face.

" I...I have to go," Scully said suddenly, pulling away. Mulder looked surprised and hurt. "I'll call you." She went to the box sitting on her desk and picked it up. She went to the door then turned to look at him. "Thank you for the gift. I...good-bye, Mulder," she said, then turned and went out the door, leaving Mulder to wonder what he had done wrong.

End (1/12)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Title: Three Months (2/12)
Author: Abby M Huot
For status and disclaimer, see part 1.

Scully hurried to her car and opened the door, dumping the box into the passenger seat. She got in the car and slammed the door shut. A moment passed, and a shaky breath left her.

"Oh, God," she whispered. What just happened? Why had she run?

She cupped her hand over her mouth and squeezed her eyes shut, a lump growing in her throat. She finally opened her eyes again, her tears threatening to fall. With a wet sniffle, she took a deep breath and started the car, then pulled out of her parking space. As she drove home, she wondered when anyone had had such an affect on her. Ten years ago, she thought the hardest good-bye she would ever know was leaving her family to go to college. Now this.

She fought her sobs but only became more frustrated because she didn't know why she was crying in the first place. The first thing to figure out: why did she go? She didn't know why....well, that's what she told herself. She knew she was afraid. She wanted her and Mulder's relationship to go to the next level to some degree, but at the same time she didn't want change. She didn't want to lose what she and her partner had, and she certainly didn't want to lose Mulder.

Mulder.

God, what must he be thinking now? He was probably hurt or crying or something equally as awful. The very idea of Mulder sitting at his desk, crying, was enough to make her start weeping again. She looked in her rear-view mirror and through watery eyes looked at her reflection. The sun made the diamonds in her ears glitter with a blinding shine. Her tears seemed to make her eyes gleam in the same way. She held her breath to make herself stop gasping and finally she was beginning to settle down. She concentrated on the burning in her lungs instead of the burn that had spread across her heart just minutes before.

As she pulled up to her apartment, she had gathered herself and was feeling much better. She tossed everything back into the box that fell out before climbing out of her car and heading up to her apartment. She pushed her door open and stepped inside.

It didn't even feel like home anymore. All her clothes and paraphernalia were packed into boxes and sitting in her living room. She was glad it wasn't a permanant move, or her furniture would be gone and everything she owned would be packed up.

She set her box on top of the box containing her computer and went to her answering machine. The red light was blinking on it. It didn't take a psychic to know who the message was from. She hit the "PLAY" button and waited.

*Beep*

"Hi, Dana, it's Mom. I just wanted to check up on you before you go. Good luck, honey, and be sure to call, all right? Love you. *click*"

Scully felt her heart sink. Mulder hadn't called. Why hadn't he called yet?! Maybe he just didn't care....No, that wasn't true, she knew that. Still...she had to wonder. She hit the button on her machine again. Yup, only Mom had called.

"Mulder...." she whispered. "God...."

She threw herself down onto the couch and covered her eyes with the back of her hand. She hated this. She hated it.

"I hate this, dammit," she said aloud, to clarify to herself just how irritating this entire situation was. She was about to leave for a few months, and she and Mulder didn't even have all the loose ends tied yet.

"Dammit."

She decided she didn't want to get up, so she stayed there, sprawled out, and fell asleep.

End (2/12)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Title: Three Months (3/12)
Author: Abby M Huot
For status and disclaimer, see part 1.

Scully watched her boxes get loaded onto the moving truck. She was going to leave within the next few hours for the airport, and she wanted her things to get to the apartment she had rented as soon as possible. Mulder still hadn't called and she needed to leave in a few minutes. She felt restless.

'What am I doing? I can call him myself,' she thought. She picked up her cell phone and dialed Mulder's home number. It rang once. Twice. Three times.

Shit.

She hung up before the answering machine went off. Quickly, she dialed his cell-phone number.

No answer.

Where was he?

She looked at her watch. It was time to go. She'd just have to call him or e-mail him when her plane landed. She pulled on her coat and picked up her briefcase. She looked back at her home one last time, memorizing it's feel. It was something else she could look forward to when she got back.

She drove to the airport in silence, absorbing the surroundings. The walk through the airport was eery and quiet. She was used to Mulder's monotone constantly rumbling in her ears as she strolled with him through the crowded D.C airport. She didn't remember getting her ticket or walking through the bustling terminals. It just wasn't the same without her partner.

Scully looked up at the gate numbers and saw the same number on her ticket.

Flight 501 to Oklahoma City

She slowly walked to the open gate.

"Not so fast," a familiar voice said behind her. She whirled around to see Mulder standing before her, a single yellow rose in hand.

"Mulder..." she said, fighting tears as she moved to wrap her arms around him tightly.

"I'm sorry, Scully. For whatever I did."

"No...it wasn't you. It was me. I don't know what happened."

"Are you okay now?"

"I'm fine," she said, pulling back. "Couldn't be better."

"You better get going," he said softly, gently rubbing the back of her hand.

"Yeah, I know. I can't afford to miss my flight."

They looked at each other for a long time. At the same time, they leaned to one another and kissed each other's cheek.

"Good-bye,"she said.

"Bye, Scully. Good luck," he said. She took his hand and squeezed it and took the rose from his other hand. She turned and walked down the movable hallway to her plane.

"Don't forget me," he whispered as she disappeared around the corner.

End (3/12)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Title: Three Months (4/12)
Author: Abby M Huot
For status and disclaimer, see part 1.

Mulder was on his couch, flat on his back. He felt better about Scully leaving, but he still hated the idea. He had considered making her stay somehow, but doing that was impossible. He couldn't 'make' her do anything she didn't want to. He knew far too well that she was more than capable of kicking his ass if he went too far.

He had wanted to say more to her at the airport. Oh, so much more. But time was limited and flying by, and each second that burned up within that short period of time was long gone before he knew it. More needed to be said. And done. But it wasn't just time that stopped him. It was himself. It was his common sense.

Above all, it was fear.

The fear of not knowing what would happen. Fear of everything. Not of Scully, but of her reaction. What if he was to tell her? Would he come off as stupid? Cheesy? Sentimental? The thought of sounding like that made him shudder. For a man with an extensive vocabulary, it was odd not being able to find the right word to describe what he felt. It wasn't just love, it was...something else. Maybe even an unrequited love, but there was just something about simply describing it as 'love' that just didn't click.

Frustrated, he gave up on the quest for the right adjective, and started to think more about other things. He knew that from now until Scully came home he'd be asking himself "what if?" It was going to drive him to a new level of self-consciousness, questioning, and imagination. Imagination was by far the biggest problem. It took him to so many different scenarios it was difficult to tell the difference between fanstasy and reality with some thoughts. Some were practically fantasies, daydreams of Scully throwing herself into Mulder's arms, confessing her love, as she wrapped her arms around her neck and kissed him passionately. Mulder frowned. That didn't sound like Scully at all. This time, it was indeed, only a fantasy. Unsatisfied, he went to the next idea.

Now came a new thought; a nightmare. He saw himself finally telling her his feelings for her and she crushed him with a look of digust on her face and walked out the door without even an "I'm sorry, Mulder. I just don't feel the same way."

It was a common dream that haunted him. Though he had 999,999 wonderful, hope-fullfilling dreams, it took but one bad thought to wash them all away. So he kept his feelings hidden. And there they would stay, locked up in his heart, until the time came when he would have to tell her. Whenever that time rolled around...

*********************************************************************************************************************

"Dana!" squealed Susan when she saw Scully.

"Susan! Hi!" she cried, going to her friend and hugging her.

"How was the flight?" Susan asked.

"Long...too long," she replied, as Susan took her briefcase.

"Where'd you get the flower?" Susan asked.

"It's from a friend of mine."

"A friend? Would this be a MALE friend?" Susan said in a teasing voice as they walked down the busy airport hallway.

"Suzie Henderson, don't start," Scully warned.

"Fine, don't tell me now. You can tell me ALL about him on our way home," Susan said. "Actually, as long as you're here, I intend to hear you spill your guts about everything. I've only seen you once since we went to graduated from med school!"

"Fine, I'll spill. But you're doing it too. You know that I'm not good at that, and I'm not going solo on that."

"I know, I know! Let's just go, this airport traffic jam is enough to make me crazy. No one walks! It's like being in school again; no one ever moves faster than a slow crawl," Suzie said. Scully smiled at the cheefullness of her old college buddy. It had been so long since she heard a woman's chatter that she could relate to. Maybe she'd be able to get through this after all.

End (4/12)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Title: Three Months (4/12)
Author: Abby M Huot
For status and disclaimer, see part 1.

The sun was bright and warm in Oklahoma today. As Susan and Scully sped down the highway in Susan's new black Intrigue, Scully stared out the window, the sound of her friend's bubbly chatter sounding miles away now. It may have been warm outside, but in Scully's heart it was a bit cold. She couldn't stop thinking of Mulder. The grip on the stem of the flower in her hand tightened and she lightly traced the delicate curves and the edges of the yellow petals.

"Dana? Did you hear me?" Susan's voice suddenly sounded painfully loud.

"Wha-? I'm sorry, Suzie. I kind of tuned out there for a minute. What did you say?" Scully asked.

"When did you send your things to my apartment?" Susan asked.

"This morning."

"Why so late? Its gonna take forever for you to get what you need."

"I guess I was just busy. Who knows? I'll be okay; it's only a few days."

"Guess so," Susan said with a shrug. "So, who's this MALE friend of yours?"

"He's my partner, Suzie. Fox Mulder." Scully squirmed uncomfortably, seeing the insinuating look her colleague was giving her. "Don't give me that look!"

"What look?" Suzie said innocently.

"You KNOW what look!"

"Well...I'm sorry, I just think its odd that a partner would give you a rose," Susan said. "Wait a minute, did you say Fox Mulder? THE Fox Mulder?"

"Yes, I work with Mulder. Don't call him 'Spooky' around me or you'll regret it," Scully said defensively, feeling an upcoming Mulderjoke.

"Okay, I won't say a thing. Its just...geez you're the LAST person I would pair up with him, from what I've heard," Susan said.

"What else have you heard about him, exactly?" Scully asked, feeling her cheeks redden with fury.

"Just that he's kind of nuts. He's got a screw loose, and he's really dark. That's what people say, at least."

"Then those people are half-witted. Don't listen to them. Ever. Mulder isn't crazy. He's just...open minded. He's not as dark as you would think. He's very sensitive, and he's very trustworthy."

"Soooo...then I guess you're really close to him."

" Yes. Don't bash him. You knock on him, you knock on me. That's just how it works."

"Kay, I believe you, don't worry. I won't say another word, Dana." Susan said, as she pulled over next to the sidewalk. "Here we are. Home sweet home."

Scully looked up at the small apartment complex. It was only six stories high and looked fairly new. Trees lined the sunny sidewalk, and there were a few people strolling up and down the warm cement. Susan had grabbed Scully's suitcase and they went inside, and into Susan's apartment. It was small, but it seemed very home-like and peaceful.

"I took the liberty to pick up your keys from the landlord today," Susan said, jingling the keys she had picked up from off the countertop. "You're incredibly lucky that the neighbors went out of the States for a year. You get to live in there, and it's fully furnished and everything. You get to live right across the hall from me. Cool, huh?"

"Yeah, that's great!" Scully said. She looked around the room. White walls, wooden floors, and light blue carpeting. "Damn!" she said suddenly. "I left my briefcase in the car, I'll be right back."

"Hey, I'll come with you. You need to moral support."

"Uh, right."

They went down the brown-carpeted stairs and back outside again. Scully went to the car and opened the back passenger door and grabbed her briefcase off the seat. As they headed up, there was the sound of a large truck behind them. Scully turned to look at it, hoping it would somehow be her things, then realized there wasn't a delivery service that fast anywhere. As they were about to go up the steps, a voice called from behind them, "Are either you Dana Scully?"

They both turned around to see a man in a uniform holding a delivery sheet.

"I'm Dana Scully," Scully said.

"We've got a couple boxes full of things for you here."

"You're kidding!" Scully said, surprised. "That was fast."

"Well, it wouldn't have been this fast normally, but I'm friends with some guys who know you," the man replied. "One of them called me and insisted that I get this to you as soon as possible."

"Who?" Scully asked.

"Got a note for you. It's taped to one of the boxes."

"Well, thanks. We'll help you bring those up," she replied, her curiosity growing. After a few minutes, her things were sitting on the empty floor of her new apartment. Scully pulled off the envelope taped to the box containing her computer and opened it, pulling out a note.

Agent Scully,
Mulder asked us to get this to you as soon as possible. Be sure to let us know how you're doing.

Best of luck,
Byers, Langly, and Frohike.

Scully smiled and re-folded the envelope, sticking it in her pocket.

"Who did you this favor?" Susan asked.

"Just some friends. More male friends."

"Dana, Dana, Dana. You're just hot stuff in D.C, aren't you?"

"Oh, yeah. Well, there's a guy named Frohike that would really like you. You can have him. I think that I can give him up."

"What the hell kind of name is Frohike?"

"Nevermind, Suzie. I'm going to unpack, 'kay?"

"All right, see you later. Let me know if you need help."

******************************************************************************************************************

After two hours of unpacking and organizing, her temporary home was set up. She flipped on her computer and went to her e-mail program with an eagerness rising in her chest.

To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]
Subject: It's me

Well, after a day of traveling, I'm tired and ready to go. My old college buddy, Susan Henderson, picked me up at the airport and helped me settle in. I finally got all my things arranged in a way that's almost similar fashion as it is at home.

The apartment itself is nice and small. One bedroom, a kitchen, two bathrooms. The floors in the kitchen and in the entryway are hardwood, and the living room and bedroom have cream carpet and pretty much everything is light-colored. I'm afraid to eat anything because of the risk of spilling an staining the carpet or the furniture.

I already am missing being home, but I think as soon as I get used to it, I'll be fine. But that doesn't mean that I forgot about home. Or you. Thank you, Mulder, for the gifts. The rose you bought is in the kitchen, sitting in a crystal vase I found. It really is beautiful. The earrings...there's nothing else I can say. They're beautiful. Thank you.

Please contact TLG for me and thank them for sending my things over so quickly. I had been planning to stay with Susan until my boxes came, but they came in, much to my surprise. Actually, thank YOU for asking that they send it. I really appreciate it. I don't know how you do it, Mulder. But I don't think it would be nearly as impressive if I knew. I'm exhausted, so I'm going to bed.

Good-night, Mulder.
- Scully -

Scully smiled and re-read her note, then sent it. She clicked off her computer, and headed to the bedroom.

End (5/12)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Title: Three Months (6/12)
Author: Abby M Huot
For status and disclaimer, see part 1.

Mulder pushed open his door and sauntered inside. It was late, nearly midnight, and the apartment was pitch black. He felt around on the wall for the lightswitch and flipped it on. His lights suddenly seemed painfully bright. He had gone for a jog, trying to relieve some stress and vent out some feelings. It had been one day and it felt like a year already. Wiping away some sweat from his brow, he sat at his computer and turned it on. He clicked on his e-mail and saw he had gotten something from Scully. Eagerly, he opened it and read it. When he was done reading through her musings, he replied to the message.

To: [email protected]
From: [email protected]

Well, "Dr.D," it sounds like everything's running smoothly so far. I just spent the day in the office (a QUIET office) trying to file. Notice the word "trying." The office is already going to hell and it hasn't even been 24 hours. What am I supposed to do? How did you keep everything organized? I think I'll start my OWN filing system: stacks of paper and plastic garbage bags filled with evidence. All the work we're...well, I'm assigned to is all crap anyways. It should all go right in the garbage can as it is.

Sounds like you've got a nice little shack to live in. At least you've got a friend over there. Being in a new city by yourself would be a horrible situation to be in. So, who's this Susan friend of yours? Anybody I know? Probably not, but I could lie.

I went for a run tonight. It's strange how many people are out and about at eleven PM. You'd be surprised by the range of people you see, too. I saw a guy wearing a grunge band shirt, a long black skirt, go-go boots, and a trench coat. He was a walking work of art. I must admit, though, I was envious of his go-go boots. They don't make any in my size. But, I pulled a few muscles in my legs that I never knew existed. I'd ask you to identify them, but for obvious reasons, you can't exactly do that now.

As for the earrings...Scully, you don't have to thank me. It was the only thing that I could find that would be appropriate. I just wanted to give you something that was special. Judging by your response, I guess I picked the right thing. When you ran out...I was just scared. And I knew I didn't want you to leave that way. I'm glad I caught up with you at the airport.

I'm going to go unconscious if I don't get some sleep. G'night.

-Mulder

*****************************************************************************************************************************

Scully awoke with a start and went to the kitchen in search of caffiene and sugar. It was nearly ten, and she was starving. She loaded a few scoops into the coffee maker and turned it on. She sat down at the table and stared at the flower before her. She reached for it and pulled it out of the vase. Gently, she brought it to her nose and inhaled its sweet aroma. The petals were soft against the skin of her face, and she closed her eyes. She rolled the side of the rose across her lips, feeling the silkiness of the petals. She carefully set it back in the vase and stared at it again. Her trance was broken by Susan knocking on the door.

"Dana?"

"Hang on, I'm coming," Scully called. She hurried to the door and unlocked it. Susan stood with a smile on her face and a tray of breakfast food.

"Made you breakfast," she annouced, walking past her.

"Thanks, Suzie."

"Sure. No problem," she said, bringing it to the kitchen table. Scully sat down and watched Susan go around the kitchen, gathering utensils and a cup. Her blond ponytail swung with each movement, and she finally came to sit down next to Scully, handing her the things she got. Susan's green eyes looked young and fully rested as she watched Scully eat. "Good?"

"It's great. Good pancakes," Scully said with a mouthful of food.

"It's a secret recipe. Water and pancake mix from Cub Foods," Susan said in a whisper. Scully smiled. "So, what are you doing today?"

"Ummm...I assumed we're going to work."

"Today? Really?" Susan said, disappointed.

"Why? Aren't you?"

"Well...I guess that I just was hoping you'd want to get used to the new environment."

"The sooner I start work the better. I need to keep busy," Scully said, taking a sip of her orange juice. Susan sighed.

"Oh, okay. I'll take you there."

"Thank you, Suzie, I appreciate it."

"I forgot what a busy bee you are. I'll go get changed. See you in about a half an hour?" Suzie asked, getting up.

"All right."

"Kay, see you later," Suzie said as she went to the door. Scully looked down at her empty plate and got up, heading to the bathroom. Her temptation to check her mail was overwhelming, but she was on a schedule, so she quickly went in the bathroom and showered. She got ready as fast as she could, trying to beat her schedule. With five minutes to spare, she turned on her computer and found a message from Mulder in her inbox. She scanned over it quickly and replied:

Mulder,
Off to my first day teaching here. It's been a long time since I got a new start. I'll write later.
-Scully-

She sent it just as Suzie knocked on the door. The door opened and Suzie poked her head in. "Ready?"

"Yeah," Scully said, looking back at her computer. "I'm ready."

End (6/12) ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~