Title: Entitlements



Author: Andrea



Rating: R, NC-17 -- I never know.



Category: MSR, fluff, Mulder POV



Disclaimer: Mulder and Scully belong to CC and Fox. The

MSR belongs to the fic writers.



Notes: Thanks to Aly and Dan for beta reading.



Archiving: I'd be honoured, but I'd also like

to know.



Spoilers: Never Again, loosely, but assumes all things and

Requiem have not occurred.



Feedback: Yes, please! ardywyn@hotmail.com



WARNING!!! If you thought Scully was out of character in Never

Again, stop reading now.



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



I checked my watch again; quarter after nine and no sign of

Scully yet. It was so unlike her to be late. I considered calling

her, but I knew she was probably still mad at me.



After she'd stormed out of here last night I tried to call her

to apologize. I'd completely forgotten she had plans. She'd

specifically told me she would be leaving early Wednesday because

it was her mother's birthday. I should've written it down. I'd

wanted the autopsy results on that John Doe A.S.A.P. and the

medical examiner in Alexandria was going to be out of town today.

So it either had to be last night, or wait until Friday.



Dr. Danabie never released bodies to us and always insisted on

being present at all of "his" autopsies. I hated dealing with

the man; that's most likely why I forgot about Scully's dinner

plans.



I'd called Mrs. Scully to apologize and she was very gracious,

saying they had rescheduled the meal to the weekend. I doubted

Scully would be as gracious this morning. She faxed me the

autopsy results at about 8 last night. It had turned out to be

a straight forward murder. The connection I thought had existed

between this victim and several others that had turned up over

the past couple of years wasn't there. This man's internal organs

showed no signs of decay beyond that of the rest of his body,

like the other victims had. His body had just been displayed in

a very similar way.



That was going to end up making matters worse. I had made Scully

miss her mother's birthday dinner for nothing. After I'd read the

autopsy report I tried to call her, but her cell phone was turned

off. Knowing it would be about an hour until she got home, I'd

left the office with the intention of talking to her when I got

home. I'd finally stopped trying around midnight, assuming she

had either turned her ringer off or was screening her calls.



I'd almost resolved to try her again when I heard her heels

clicking down the hall.



"Thank God," I sighed; I'd been starting to worry.



When she appeared in the office doorway, I could tell something

was wrong. Most people wouldn't likely notice, but she was a

dimmer copy of her usual self.



"I'm sorry I'm late," her voice was quieter then normal as well.



"That's okay," I waved the incident off. With my record, I was

in no position to throw stones.



"I assumed you'd want to go over that autopsy report." Her back

was to me as she hung up her coat; she still hadn't looked me in

the eye.



"I wanted to apologize about that, Scully, it was a waste of

time. It's not related to the others."



"You had no way of knowing that," she finally looked at me. She

seemed to be squinting a bit and her eyes looked bloodshot. I

was guessing she hadn't slept well and had a headache.



"Would you like a cup of coffee, Scully? I could make some," I

nodded toward the other room. We'd recently acquired our own

coffee pot.



"That would be nice. Thank you, Mulder," her face softened.



While I made the coffee Scully told me about the post-mortem and

how pretentious Dr. Danabie had been. The man apparently got

under her skin as much as he did mine.



"He's so damn territorial," she shook her head. "You'd think I'd

gone in and peed in the corners of his autopsy bay."



I had to laugh at that image. "Can you imagine the look on his

face?" I chuckled as I handed the coffee to her.



"I thought about it, Mulder, believe me," she smiled and took a

 sip of her coffee.



"So what did you do afterwards last night, Scully? I tried to

call, but your phone was turned off." I realized I'd screwed up

again when I saw all the light drain out of her face.



"Mulder, it's bad enough that you want to control what I do when

I'm here, but you certainly aren't entitled to know what I do

with my own time." She set her cup down on the desk and stood

up.



"I'm sorry, I didn't mean--"



"I have an appointment at Quantico," she grabbed her coat off the

rack. "It might surprise you to know that there are people who

actually want to listen to what I have to say."



"I said I was sorry, Scully, -- I forgot."



"It was my mother's sixtieth birthday, Mulder. Thanks to you, she

got to celebrate by having dinner alone." She was thrusting her

arms into the sleeves of her coat.



"Scully, I had no idea."



"Would it have mattered?" She snatched her gloves out of her

pocket and stormed out of the office again, slamming the door

behind her.



"Yes, it would have mattered," I told the door with a sigh.



I thought we'd made it past what had happened last night, but

Scully was still angry. She'd made that infinitely clear. I felt

bad about her mother's birthday. I was thinking about what I

could do to make it up to both of them when something on the

floor caught my eye. It was a small slip of bright yellow paper;

it must have fallen out of Scully's pocket when she took out her

gloves.



Thinking it might be something she'd need, I went to pick it up.

The writing on it was pre-printed and my jaw just about hit the

floor when I read it -- "Aftercare for your new piercing". She

wouldn't have! My reserved partner? Just because I pissed her

off? Yeah, I guess she might. But what would she have pierced?

Her hair would've hidden new holes in her ears, but the paper

was from 'Jake's Tattoos and Body Mods'. You don't go to a place

like that to have your ears pierced. There was nothing on her

eyebrow, nose or lip, but she would've chosen something she could

conceal. Nipple, I wondered, putting a hand to my own. That would

hurt a lot and it didn't seem very Scully. Bellybutton, however,

seemed like something she might consider. But according to

Scully, I wasn't entitled to know. That was something I had to

change.



Scully's car was on the street in front of her building when I

pulled up at 8 o'clock that night. I hoped she would let me in;

I had some serious bridge-mending to do.



By the look on her face when she opened the door, I'd say she

was surprised to see me. When I handed her the two dozen red

roses, her eyes widened even further.



"I wanted you to know that I meant it when I said I was sorry,

Scully," I answered the question in her eyes.



"I'm sorry too, Mulder. I shouldn't have flown off the handle

this morning. I know you were asking as a friend, not as senior

agent."



"I was worried --" I began, but the phone rang, interrupting me.



Scully hurried to the phone, flowers still in hand. "My mother,"

she nodded toward the call-display. "Hi, Mom," she answered.



I had a fairly good idea why Mrs. Scully was calling and from the

look that appeared on her daughter's face, I gathered I was

right.



"5 dozen?" Scully looked at me in shock.



"60," I shrugged with a smile.



Her mouth hung open in amazement as she listened to her mother

again.



"You got my mother a string of pearls!?"



"I thought she'd like them," I shrugged again.



"Yes, he's here, hang on a sec." Before she handed the phone to

me, Scully shook her head in disbelief. "You never cease to amaze

me, Mulder. I'm going to put these in some water, I'll be right

back."



"Hello Mrs. Scully," I watched Scully as she walked to the

kitchen.



"Fox, what possessed you to be this extravagant? There was really

no need."



"I ruined your birthday; I wanted to apologize. Dana even told me

she had plans, but I got so caught up in my work that I forgot."



"You already called to apologize, Fox. That was more than

enough."



"I felt worse when I found out it was a significant birthday and

you had to have dinner alone."



"Personally, I didn't want to have a big celebration. That was

Dana's idea. I see no reason to commemorate my sixtieth birthday,

I don't feel 60," she chuckled.



"You don't look 60 either," I assured her.



"Well, thank you Fox, you are very sweet. The roses and the

pearls are lovely, but I hate to think of you wasting your money

on me."



"I'd hardly call it a waste, Mrs. Scully. My parents left me with 

all this money -- what good will it do me if I can't spend it on

the people who are important to me? It makes me feel a bit better

to know you liked what I picked out."



"They are both beautiful gifts. Thank you again, Fox. I'd be honored

if you would join Dana and me for dinner on Saturday."



Scully had returned with the roses arranged in a vase.



"I'll leave that decision up to her; here she is. Good-bye, Mrs.

Scully."



"Good-bye, Fox."



After Scully had set the vase down on the sofa table I handed her

the phone. She put her hand over the mouthpiece.



"Take off your coat, sit down," she nodded toward the couch.



I hung my coat in the wardrobe by the front door while Scully

finished talking to her mother.



"I have, Mom, and I will. I'll see you Saturday." She hung up the

phone and smiled at me. "You have her wrapped around your little

finger."



How I wished that was true of Scully. "I wanted you both to know

I am truly sorry." I was still standing by the couch.



"I know, Mulder and I've forgiven you. I know you didn't do it

intentionally. I'm sorry I lost my temper. Sometimes it really

annoys me when I think you're taking advantage of your seniority.

I tend to think of us as equals." She had plunked herself down

on the couch as she spoke. "Aren't you going to sit?" she looked

up at me expectantly.



Nodding, I sat down, but I couldn't look at her. Suddenly I was

terrified that I might have lost the courage to ask her what I

had intended.



"Was there something else you wanted to talk about?" She must

have picked up on my hesitancy.



"Yeah," I decided on the spot that it was now or never. "It was

what you said about your personal life."



"I'm sorry, Mulder; that was anger talking. I know you were

asking as a friend and you were worried about me."



"It's not only that, Scully," I plunged ahead. "It's what you

said about being entitled."



"I'm not following you," she furrowed her brow.



"I want to be entitled." It was out in the open now, and I had

no idea how she would react.



"You are, Mulder. Last night I went out, drank too much and then

did something impulsive. It's my foolish little way of rebelling

when I feel like I'm no longer in control," she didn't look proud

of herself.



"I wasn't strictly referring to last night," I told her, causing

her brow to furrow again. "For a long time now, Scully, I have

wanted to be entitled to things that I'm not entitled to...yet."



"What did you want to be entitled to?" she looked hopelessly

confused.



"To know where you are, to be jealous when other men look at you,

to tell you how beautiful you are, to take you into my arms and

kiss you, to share your bed--"



Her eyes grew wider and her jaw dropped further with each item

I added to the list.



"I love you, Scully and I hope that you love me. If you *did*

love me, would I be entitled to those things?"



She nodded; her eyes still wide. "As long as I'm entitled to the

same things."



"Of course," I responded immediately. "But you don't need to be

jealous of other men looking at me."



"Shut up and kiss me," she laughed.



"So now you think you're entitled to talk to me like that?" I

grinned as I leaned toward her.



"Damn right," she breathed as she weaved her fingers into my

hair.



As soon as my lips touched hers, I knew I was where I'd always

been fated to be. Nothing had ever felt so right. Scully melted

into my arms as our kiss deepened. My hand was about to drift

down to her breast, when I remembered that I still didn't know

what she'd had pierced. I didn't want to put my hand somewhere

that might hurt her.



"Um, Scully?" I asked, reluctantly pulling out of the kiss.



"Mmm hmm?" she followed me back, kissing me on the chin.



"Does this mean I'm entitled to know what you had pierced?"



"How do you know I have a new piercing?" she straightened up

quickly.



Reaching into my jacket pocket, I pulled out the slip of paper.

"You dropped this."



"Oh," she took the slip of paper and looked at it. "Of course

you are, you would have found out soon enough anyway. It was

my --"



"Hang on, let me see if I can figure it out. I've been thinking

about it all day," I stopped her.



"Okay," she laughed.



"Well, it's someplace you can hide, obviously," I began.



"Obviously," she agreed.



"I doubt it's your nipple; I can't picture you doing that."



"Nope, not my nipple," she grinned.



"So it must be your bellybutton," I announced with certainty.



"Nope," her grin widened.



"Not your bellybutton? What's left, unless you --" I couldn't

believe Scully would have done what I was thinking.



"What, Mulder? Unless I what?" she was trying not to laugh.



"Did you have your --" I paused while I tried to figure out how

to phrase it, but I couldn't think of any other way. "Did you

have your clit pierced?"



"Of course not, Mulder. No one pierces their clitoris, not

intentionally. It's the hood of the clitoris that gets pierced,

she rolled her eyes at me.



"Well, that's what I meant, Scully. Is that what you had

pierced?"



"Yup, does that bother you?" She must have been responding to

the look of shock on my face.



"No, not at all," I assured her quickly. "It seems a little on

the wild side for you, that's all."



"I was feeling a little wild," she admitted. "I ended up in a

tattoo parlor last night, but after my last tattoo, I decided

against another one. Besides, tattoos really hurt."



"And getting your clit pierced didn't?" I asked in amazement.



"The hood, Mulder," she corrected me again. "And no, not that

much. Anyway, I was mostly looking at the pictures of the

artist's work and when I was done he pulled another book out

from under the counter."



"Pictures of people's piercings?"



"Yeah, most of them didn't appeal to me, but the hood piercings

for some reason -- I don't know -- I liked the way they looked."

Her admission made her cheeks grow faintly pink.



"Can I -- would you mind -- can I see it?" I sputtered.



"Sure," she stood up and started to undo her jeans.



As she was pushing them over her hips something occurred to me.

"A guy did this?"



"Yes, Mulder, but the process was very clinical; latex gloves,

autoclaved instruments and an exam table in a private room. It

wasn't erotic -- sort of like having a Pap test. You wouldn't be

jealous of my gynecologist, would you?" She was now slipping off

her panties.



I hadn't realized my jealousy would be so apparent. "I guess

not," I admitted grudgingly.



"This, however, I definitely find erotic," she informed me.

Her voice had grown deeper, reflecting her emotions.



Things had certainly changed for us in the last 24 hours. Last

night Scully wouldn't even speak to me and tonight she was

stripping off to show me her piercing. To top it off, she was

confessing that she found the act arousing.



"You and me both, Scully," I chuckled; my own voice reflecting

how much I was enjoying the sudden change in our relationship.



When she sat down she leaned against the back of the couch and

pulled her knees up. There it was; a silver-colored ring shining

around the glistening pinkness of her clit. A little ball hung

in front, falling just beyond the opening in her hood.



I hadn't realized my hand was moving until Scully yelped, "Don't

touch it, Mulder."



"Sorry," I pulled my hand back.



"It's still tender -- mostly from the clamp, I think," she was

peering down at herself.



"Clamp?" I repeated in disbelief.



"Yes, he had to clamp the hood to pull it out and then he used a

needle which went through the holes in the jaws of the clamp. But

he had to keep removing the clamp and repositioning it so he

wouldn't go through a blood vessel," she recounted matter-of-

factly.



"Ouch," I couldn't help squirming.



"I'd had a few drinks," she chuckled. "But now I'm a bit swollen

and it stings a bit; a lot less then I thought it would though."



"When will I be able to touch?" I shifted around, trying to find

a position that was comfortable for my now throbbing cock.



"No sex for two weeks, Mulder," she told me apologetically.



"Two weeks?" I whimpered.



"I didn't think it would be an issue when I had it done," she

pointed out.



"Two weeks?" I moaned and tried to adjust my myself again.



"I'm sure I'll be able to think of something to ease your

discomfort," she lowered her voice suggestively.



My breathing increased rapidly as I realized how beautiful

being entitled to Scully's love was going to be.



end



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