There's A Way
Chapter 4
It had only been minutes since I'd made arrangements with Skinner to come back to work and already I was feeling a little guilty. But as soon as the elevator doors opened onto that basement hallway, I knew I'd made the right decision. It had been almost three months since I'd been down here, but the smell made memories come flooding back to me.
I had to smile to myself at the most prominent of these memories. I could smell Mulder; not just his cologne, it was more than that. Every time I smelled it the same thing happened; my pulse quickened and I flushed slightly. All those years I'd been secretly in love with Mulder. Stealing looks at him when I thought he wasn't looking, drifting off into little fantasies. Those flights of fancy hadn't ended up being too far from our current life.
That thought made my stomach flip-flop. Sometimes I still couldn't believe what had happened. But the feelings that I'd had for Mulder then were nothing compared to how I felt about him now. I never thought I'd love Mulder more than I had when I'd kept my feelings hidden. My love had seemed so pure and intense to me, but in fact, it was little more than a crush. Love was what Mulder and I had now, not the solitary longing that seemed to be so many lifetimes ago.
I'd been thinking all of this as I stood just outside of the elevator. As I began to walk slowly back to the office I knew in an instant that I needed to come back to work. I loved being at home with the kids, but I loved my work as well. Mulder rarely spoke about work at home; it had been a tacit agreement between us. For the first time I was starting to miss talking to him about cases. Working half days was the perfect solution for me. I could get back into the investigative work that I loved so much and still have the afternoons with the kids. Of course, they'd be asleep for part of it, but being there when they woke up meant so much. And there was some retro-housewife part of me that really enjoyed being there when Mulder got home from work.
When I got to the office door I found it slightly ajar, so it made no noise when I pushed it open. I was surprised to find the office empty. I'd decided that Mulder and Andrew must be out on a case and was heading toward the door when I heard a slight rustling noise coming from the back room. Peaking around the corner, I spotted Andrew sitting amidst some cartons, using one as a chair, a pile of magazines on his lap.
"Good morning," I greeted him.
"Agent Scully," he stood up quickly, spilling the stack of magazines onto the floor. "I mean Mrs. Mulder, I mean Dana."
I tried to suppress my smile as I watched his face and neck grow red.
"Mulder asked me to sort through these boxes. I was trying to figure out what case these magazines were related to," he nodded toward the scattered copies of Celebrity Skin and Hanky Panky.
"Those are from Mulder's private collection," I tried not to laugh. "I didn't realize that he'd boxed them up though."
"His private collection?" Andrew sounded surprised. "And you knew about it?"
"Sure," I shrugged. "His collection used to be far more extensive, but I told him that I wouldn't allow pornography in a house with children."
"But other than that you don't have a problem with it?"
"Like what?"
"Don't you think it's demeaning to women?"
"With the money that these women are earning, I'd hardly call it demeaning. There are always exceptions, but no one forces them to make movies or have their picture taken. If they can make money off of the male predilection for voyeurism, more power to them."
"Wow," Andrew laughed. "Leigh would kill me if I brought something like this home."
"Leigh?"
"My girlfriend," he clarified.
"Oh, I didn't realize you had a girlfriend. Where does she live?" I assumed they'd gone to separate schools or she was still in school.
"Um, we live together."
"Oh, I had no idea." I wondered right away if Mulder did.
As if on cue, I heard him walk into the office.
"Hey!" he smiled, joining us in the back room. "How'd it go?" he slipped his arm around my waist and gave me a squeeze.
"Well..." I hesitated.
"What?" Mulder looked surprised.
"Skinner isn't willing to let me work part-time."
"It isn't up to him," Mulder began angrily. "The Bureau has policies about this kind of thing. He can't overrule that."
"Apparently there is also a policy regarding pay for work performed."
"Is he saying that he doesn't think you'll actually put in the required number of hours?" Mulder was indignant.
"No, he was talking about the work I did from home."
"Huh?" Both Mulder and Andrew looked perplexed.
"Skinner said he'd only agree to let me come back if I was paid for all of my work," I finally broke into a smile.
"Scully!" Mulder protested my teasing. "I thought you were serious."
"Me too," Andrew's eyes were wide. "Skinner scares me."
"Skinner?" Mulder laughed.
"He's a teddy bear," I chuckled.
Andrew just stared at us in disbelief.
"I see you found my magazines," Mulder nodded toward the floor. "I forgot they were here. I meant to give them to Frohike. Do you want them, Andrew?"
"Me? My girlfriend would kill me," he laughed.
"She needs to loosen up a bit," Mulder chuckled.
"Mmm," Andrew replied non-committally.
Sensing a bit of tension, I changed the subject. "Well, I should get going. I have to drop some clothes off at the dry cleaner's before I pick Jordan up." It was a white lie. I had plenty of time to run my errands.
"I'll walk you out," Mulder kissed the top of my head, making Andrew flush a little. "Be right back."
I waited until we were on our way up the stairs and out of earshot before I began to talk to Mulder.
"Did you know that Andrew had a girlfriend?"
"He might have mentioned it, I wasn't paying a lot of attention," he looked contrite. "Why?"
"I wish we'd invited her to the barbecue, that's all," I squeezed his hand.
"I didn't think of that, Scully. I'm not even sure if I knew whether or not he had a girlfriend when I invited him. I'm bad at those kind of things."
"That's all right, we know now."
"So when are you starting back to work?" Mulder changed the subject.
"Monday," I smiled.
"And you're okay with that?" Mulder must have been remembering the conversation we'd had early in our marriage when I'd told him that I felt societal pressure about returning to work.
"I am," I smiled up at him. "I miss work and working with you."
"Don't you see me enough?"
"I think we saw each other more before we were married," I laughed. "We were joined at the hip, Mulder, don't you remember? The only thing we hadn't done is have sex."
"That I remember, all too well," he pulled me into a hug. We had reached my car and were standing beside it, embracing.
"I think working part-time will give me the best of both worlds."
"You want to have your cake and eat it too," he grinned.
"I do," I grinned back.
"I want you to do whatever makes you happy," his voice was gentle as he gazed down at me. "I've missed having you at work too, but I don't want you to come back to please me."
"I didn't realize you missed me that much," I cocked my head.
"I do," he tightened his hold on me. "At first I thought I missed you because of how much I used to think about us when we were in the office, but soon I realized how incredibly well we work together. I've worked with enough partners to know."
For some reason his words sent a flush through me. I'd been worried that our marriage would put a strain on our working relationship, and although the truth was yet to be seen, I had the feeling that our partnership was going to be stronger than ever.
"Did you ditch them all of the time too?"
"Nope, only you -- well, I ditched Krycek a couple of times too. You because I was trying to protect you and Krycek because, well because he was Krycek."
"I suppose that isn't going to change, is it?"
"Nope," he pursed his lips. "Krycek will always be Krycek."
"You know what I meant," I smacked him on the ass.
"Ooo, a little slap and tickle, Scully? I didn't know you liked that kind of thing," he bent and began to kiss my neck.
"Mulder, you're avoiding my question."
"Me?" He moved his lips from my neck to my mouth.
I opened my mouth to him as our kiss deepened. When I felt his hands caressing my ass I knew we'd gone too far.
"Good morning, agents," I heard a familiar voice rumble.
My cheeks were flaming as I returned the greeting to AD Kersh. Mulder appeared to take great delight in the fact that we'd been caught kissing.
"Why him of all people?" I sighed when he disappeared into the building.
"We weren't doing anything wrong," Mulder pointed out. We both knew the policy -- no consorting on Bureau time or on the Bureau's dime.
"We're teetering on the brink, Mulder. If someone wanted to push the issue, I've been working all along."
"He doesn't know that."
"Holly knows that. Payroll knows that. Skinner knows that. It won't take long before everyone knows."
"Payroll knows?" Mulder looked surprised.
"Skinner had them cut me a check for all of the time I put in," I explained.
"Still Scully, I don't think it will be an issue. I don't think we're 'hot' right now. Well, people are asking a lot of questions about our marriage and the kids, but I don't think anyone is campaigning to shut down the X-Files right now."
"People are asking about our marriage?"
"Yeah and a few guys even asked how you were in bed."
"What?" I stiffened. "Who? What did you say?"
"What do you think I said? I said you were the best piece of ash I'd ever had," he winked at me.
"Mulder..."
"I dealt with it, Scully," his tone was terse.
"You didn't hit anyone, did you?"
"No."
"Did you threaten to?"
"I threatened a lot worse than that." I could feel his muscles twitching under his shirt.
"I'm sure it was just a couple of jerks with nothing better to do with their time," I tried to console him.
"Yeah, I know," he relaxed a bit. "Most people have been really cool about it, asking to see pictures of the kids."
"To be on the safe side, Mulder, I think we should refrain from any contact at work."
"I used to touch you all the time," he reminded me.
"True," I nodded, "but I think a 'hands off' policy would be best. Why give anyone ammunition?"
"Fine," he sighed. "So much for my desk fantasy."
"Maybe there's another fantasy I could help you with," I lowered my voice, hoping to cheer him up.
"Now that you mention it..."
"Yes..."
"I'd like to watch you in the shower," he leaned to whisper in my ear.
"Just watch me?"
"Well, it might lead to other things." Since we were still holding each other I could feel his arousal beginning to grow. "Would that be okay?"
"Mmm," I tried to give him my best bedroom eyes. "I'm rather fond of other things," I pressed my hips against him and felt his erection surge. No matter how many times he told me that he loved me, I was still amazed that I could have this effect on him. If we hadn't been in a parking garage I would have taken care of that erection for him.
"How much time do you have?" he asked me breathlessly, pulling away from me.
"I have an hour and half until I have to pick up Jordan," I informed him after checking my watch. "Why?"
Mulder pulled out his cell phone dialed it quickly. "Yeah, it's Mulder. Look, if anyone asks for me, I'm taking an early lunch." There was a brief pause before he nodded and said good-bye.
"What are you doing?"
"We are going somewhere private," he took the car keys out of my hand.
"Okay," I said quietly as I looked up at him. The darkness of his eyes revealed his lust. I must have pushed him a little too far.
"Get in," I'd been so lost in thought, I hadn't noticed that he'd opened the door for me.
"You're right, Scully," Mulder was talking as he pulled out of the parking spot. "No touching at work. It's different when I know I can have you."
I nodded, but remained silent. Mulder's level of arousal had created a definite throb between my legs.
"Is something wrong?" We'd pulled out of the underground parking and Mulder turned to look at me with his brow furrowed.
"No."
"You're awfully quiet. You aren't mad, are you?"
"Quite the contrary, Mulder. Sometimes your passion overwhelms me."
"Is that a good thing?"
"Yes, Mulder," I chuckled. "That's a good thing."
"Okay," he took a long breath. "It's just that sometimes I make it sound like you don't have a choice, but you know that I'd never do anything you didn't want to do."
"I know that, Mulder. You've never asked me to do anything I wasn't more than happy to do," I grinned slyly at him.
"Have I mentioned recently that I love you?" he breathed.
Before I could answer, I looked up and realized where Mulder was taking us. "The Watergate? How much will this cost?"
"Who cares?" he shrugged as he pulled up to the front doors.
A valet opened my door and I stepped out feeling very conspicuous. I thought everyone must know why we were here. Soon Mulder's hand was on my back, propelling me forward; my car was moving off toward the parking lot. Once at the desk of the brightly-lit lobby, Mulder asked for a room.
"Do you have a reservation?" The front desk clerk inquired.
"No, is that a problem?" Mulder sounded undaunted.
"I think we have some rooms, but check-in time isn't until noon," she informed us cheerfully.
"We can't have a room now?" I could hear agitation in his voice.
"You'd have to pay for two nights," her smile seemed to be plastered on her face.
"Whatever," Mulder handed her his credit card.
After hurriedly filling out the paperwork, Mulder took the keycard and we headed toward the elevator. As soon as Mulder pressed the button for the eleventh floor and the doors had closed behind us, his mouth was on top of mine.
"Mulder," I broke out of the kiss. "There are cameras in here."
"So? We're married."
I couldn't argue with that, so I stood on my tiptoes to resume our kiss. I was just beginning to enjoy the feeling of Mulder's hands on my ass when the doors opened again. We found our room quickly. The door had barely closed behind us before we were tugging at each other's clothes. When I had Mulder's pants around his ankles, I sank to my knees in front of him, my shirt and bra already on the floor.
Mulder groaned loudly when I pulled his cock out of boxers. Knowing what he liked, I began to slowly run my tongue along his shaft. Before I took him into my mouth, I kissed him tenderly. He was moaning steadily. Since I couldn't even come close to taking all of him into my mouth, I used my hand in concert with my mouth to have contact with more of him. I was letting my tongue and lips run lightly over his hot flesh, teasing him really, when he suddenly pulled away.
"I'm very close," he explained.
"That's okay," I smiled and took him into my mouth again.
"Scully!" He pulled away again. "I want to make love to you."
"Mulder, I'd rather do this -- for two reasons."
"What reasons?"
"Well, I was thinking about doing this back in the parking garage," I confessed.
"You were?" his eyes were round with amazement.
I nodded, grinning.
"And your other reason?"
"It isn't nearly as sexy," I warned him.
"That's okay, spill."
"I'm not prepared to have a shower and I don't want to take a whore's bath before I go to pick up Jordan."
From the look on his face, I gathered that Mulder didn't understand what I was trying to say.
"I don't have deodorant, make-up, a hairbrush or clean underwear," I tried to make it clear.
"You're right, that isn't very sexy," he chuckled. "But you have a point."
"So we agree?" I leaned toward him.
"Not completely," he dodged my mouth.
"What?"
"Come over to the bed."
"Why?" I was confused.
"What's good for the gander..."
"We might not have time," I hesitated.
"We'll have time," he contradicted. "I know how to push your buttons," he winked at me.
Groaning at his joke, I walked over to the bed. After he'd helped me remove the rest of my clothes I lay down on the bed. I was surprised when Mulder lay down beside me. After kissing me softly, he moved his lips to my breast. While he nipped and tugged at my nipple his hand slipped between my legs. As soon as his fingers began to caress my sex, my hips were off the bed.
I was already very wet, allowing his fingers to slip into me easily. As he gently rubbed my g-spot he used the same rhythm on my clitoris with his thumb. He was right, we *were* going to have time. We'd done this before, but we hadn't been in a hurry and I wished we weren't now. It felt exquisite; his mouth on my breast; his fingers inside of me and his thumb stroking the current center of my existence. My orgasm swelled quickly. When Mulder felt me tense, he pressed his fingers into my g-spot firmly and held his thumb on my clit. Clenching my legs around his hand, I arched my back. I could feel my clit pulsing against his thumb and my vaginal walls contracting around his fingers. Mulder made a contented little humming noise that vibrated through my nipple.
It took a couple of minutes before I recovered from the body fatigue that accompanied my orgasm. When I opened my eyes Mulder was sporting a cocky grin.
"See?"
"I thought you meant oral," I defended myself.
"That takes too long. Your orgasms seem better when I use my hand, anyway."
It was true. Maybe I was wired differently than most women, but my most powerful orgasms happened when Mulder used his hand on me. Like most men, his best orgasms were from blowjobs. I shifted my position on the bed to pick up where I'd left off. Mulder was still hot and hard. It thrilled me that he was turned on by making me come. If we'd had time I would have been more leisurely, bringing him to the brink several times before finally taking him over the edge, but we were all about speed. In no time at all his body tensed and I felt his cock throb in my hand and mouth. I would never tire of the taste of him or how he shuddered and called my name when he came.
As I had, he lay quietly for a few moments before he opened his eyes. "That was the best 400 dollars I've ever spent."
"And you won't breathe a word of it to anyone," I arched an eyebrow at him in warning as I crawled up the bed toward him.
"I wouldn't dream of it," he grinned.
"I'm sorry to say, sweetie," I kissed him lightly on the lips. "I have to go."
"Sweetie?"
"Sorry, I'll stick to poopyhead, but I still have to go," I got off the bed and began to pick up my clothes.
"Sweetie might grow on me," he chuckled as he watched me dress.
"Are you staying here?" He was still naked on the bed.
"Nope, I was momentarily distracted," he smirked, climbed off the bed and began to dress quickly. "I'll wait until the valet brings the car around and then I'll catch a cab."
I left Mulder standing in front of the Watergate and hurried to the dry cleaner's. I was terrified that I was going to be late picking up Jordan, but I made it to the school with five minutes to spare. I sat in the car, caught my breath and calmed myself down. When I'd collected myself I climbed out of the car to wait for Jordan.
The children began to trickle out slowly, greeted by moms, dads, grandparents and babysitters, but Jordan wasn't among them. I was about to go into the school to see what was holding him up when he appeared with his teacher. Jordan looked very upset.
"We had a problem this morning," Miss Chisolm informed me solemnly.
Tanya Chisolm was a young African-American woman and Jordan loved her dearly. He talked about her constantly; it was as if every word she uttered had been handed down from God.
"What happened?" I was worried that Jordan had been hurt.
"Jordan got into a dispute with another child over a toy, and when I asked him to give the toy back, Jordan refused," Miss Chisolm explained. "He spent the last hour in the time-out chair because he would not apologize."
When I turned to look at Jordan, his eyes were downcast and his ears were bright red.
"Thank you," I gave her a tight smile. "I'll talk to him."
"See you tomorrow, Jordan," Miss Chisolm smiled at him.
"Bye," he answered in a small voice.
I said nothing to Jordan as I buckled him into his booster seat. It wasn't until I started the car and pulled away from the school that I finally broke the tense silence.
"Well?"
"I had the truck first. Dane took it away from me," his anger was apparent.
"I believe you, Jordan, but that wasn't the problem," I kept my voice calm.
"Yes, it was. Why should I say I'm sorry when I didn't do anything wrong?"
"Because your teacher asked you to."
Jordan remained silent.
"It doesn't matter who was right or wrong, Jordan. You didn't do what Miss Chisolm told you to do. That's why you were punished."
"But I told her that I had it first," he was fighting back tears.
"You should have given the toy to Dane and then quietly gone to Miss Chisolm and told her what happened." I tried to reason with him.
"But I had the truck first," he repeated.
"Was that truck special enough to be worth all of this trouble?"
There was no reply from the back seat.
"I bet if you'd given it back to Dane he would have forgotten about it in five minutes and then you could have played with it again."
The silence from the back seat was deafening.
"Instead you spent the last hour of school in the time-out chair and your dad and I are going to have to punish you."
"You are?" His voice quivered.
"You can't behave like that at school, Jordan and expect nothing else to happen."
"What kind of punishment?" his voice had grown small again.
"I'll have to talk to your dad when he gets home. We'll let you know after supper."
Lunch was very quiet. My mother knew something was wrong, but I could tell she was waiting until the kids were sleeping before she asked. Once they were in bed, we settled onto the couch and I explained what had happened.
"I'm glad he's got a little spunk," my mother smiled when I'd finished.
"Yes, but he has to learn to obey his teacher even when he doesn't want to."
As I spoke I heard a creaking sound on the stairs. From the living room I could see Jordan creeping down the stairs.
"What are you doing, Jordan?"
"I can't sleep."
"Why not?" I got up and walked to the foot of the staircase.
"I'm scared," he whispered.
"Of what?"
"That I won't be allowed to go back to school." Two large tears stood in his eyes.
"Because of what happened today?" I couldn't help laughing.
He nodded making the tears run down his cheeks.
"I still want to talk to Mulder about this, Jordan, but I was thinking that you wouldn't be allowed to watch Rugrats for the rest of the week." I climbed the stairs and pulled him into a hug. "We won't take you out of school."
"Okay," he took a shaky breath.
"Do you understand why you are being punished?" I asked as I carried him back to his room.
"Because I didn't give the truck back," he nodded.
"It is mostly because you didn't obey Miss Chisolm. You have to learn to do what she says without arguing. That rule is there to keep you safe."
"It is?" he looked puzzled as I set him down on his bed.
"Yes, she has to protect you when you are there and she can't do that if you won't do what you're told."
"Like in the fire drill?" he asked as he lay down.
"Exactly," I smiled.
"I'm sorry, mommy," his eyes filled with sorrow.
"It's not me you have to apologize to. You have to tell Miss Chisolm and Dane that you're sorry."
"Dane, too?"
"Yes, honey, Dane, too," I leaned over and gave him a kiss.
"And you aren't mad at me anymore?"
"I was never mad at you, Jordan. I was concerned that you weren't following the rules, but I think you understand now," I tucked the covers in around his shoulders.
"I do. I have to do what the teacher says, even if she's wrong."
I had to bite back my laughter. "Like I said, the best thing you could have done was to give the toy back and then tell Miss Chisolm what happened. If you'd done that, she would have thought you were a very grown-up boy. She can't see every little thing that goes on in the classroom. All she saw was two boys fighting over a toy and one little boy making a big fuss about it. What would you have thought?"
"That I was acting like a baby," he sighed and nodded.
"And don't be surprised if Dane doesn't try to get the same reaction out of you again," I warned him.
"He won't," Jordan's voice was firm.
"Good. Now close your eyes and try to get some sleep," I smiled and headed toward the door.
"Do I still have to miss Rugrats?"
"I'm afraid so, Jordan."
"Stupid truck," I heard him mutter as I closed the door.
I had hoped to wait to talk to Mulder about Jordan's punishment, but I hadn't realized he'd be so worried about it. I hated having to make him miss his favorite show, especially since I was sure he understood what he'd done wrong. But I couldn't set the precedent of going back on my word -- that was a slippery slope that I had to avoid. As I walked back downstairs I felt like a weight had been lifted off of my shoulders. This was the first real obstacle we'd encountered with Jordan and it already seemed to be resolved.
end chapter 4