Chapter 21
6 a.m.
When the alarm woke me, I had to ease my way out from underneath a Scully blanket to get out of the bed. Neither the radio nor the way I jostled her around had managed to wake her up. Instead, she wrapped her arms around my pillow and sighed contentedly.
Every molecule in my body wanted to climb back into the bed. I wanted to reclaim my rightful spot in her arms. A luckier pillow has never and will never exist. I sighed, not so contentedly, knowing I didn't have time to indulge myself.
Thinking about being snuggled up to Scully's warm body, with her soft breasts pressing up against me, only made me feel better for a couple of seconds. Then I realized that those thoughts were having an affect on me. Unfortunately it was an affect I didn't have time to take advantage of. Our day had begun and there was little time to waste.
I'd made my way to the kitchen and began to make breakfast. I'd tried to be quiet, knowing that Brent was asleep in the living room, but he wandered into the kitchen just as the water for Scully's tea began to boil.
"Morning," he mumbled as he took a seat at the table.
"Sorry, Brent," I grimaced. "I was trying to be quiet."
"I need to get going soon anyway," he yawned.
"Want some breakfast first?"
"Coffee would be good," he squinted at me.
"Couch that bad?" I chuckled.
"Uh -- the couch was fine," he looked down at his hands briefly before looking up at me again. "Can I ask you something?"
"Sure," I was surprised by the hesitancy in his tone.
"I mean, it's really none of my business, but four months ago you and I had several discussions about you marrying your partner..." he was looking at his hands again.
"Yeah," I nodded, not sure where he was going.
"We talked at length about the issues surrounding a marriage of convenience," he reminded me.
"Has someone challenged our marriage again?" I spun around from filling up the coffee pot.
"No, no," he shook his head vigorously. "Four months ago I never came directly out and asked you if it was a marriage of convenience because I didn't want to know. But after last night, it's obvious that's no longer an issue."
"Yeah, it's a real marriage," I smiled. "But what about last night made you realize?" I couldn't think of anything we'd done.
"Well," he looked at his hands again. "You really need to do something about that headboard. I'm surprised the kids can sleep through it -- I couldn't," he looked up with a grin on his face.
"You're kidding," I think my mouth was hanging open. "That loud?"
"Oh yeah," he raised his eyebrows. "It's no wonder Andrew was so excited about finding a place of his own," he shook his head.
"Really?" I couldn't believe it was that bad.
"Really," he nodded again.
"Sorry," I couldn't think of anything else to say.
"Hey, don't be sorry, I'm happy for you. I'm glad everything worked out. To be honest, I'm a little jealous," he sounded quite serious.
"Of?" I poured the water into the coffee maker.
"Christ, Mulder, I'm single and I can't remember the last time I rocked the bed like that," he smiled wryly.
"Yeah?" I leaned back against the counter. "As I recall the single life, the only time the bed rocked was when I remembered to flip the mattress." I didn't bother to tell him that I'd usually slept on the couch or the business about the waterbed.
"You?" he chortled. "I would've thought you'd have to fight them off."
I just shrugged and turned to put two slices of whole wheat bread in the toaster.
"So how long were you in love with her?" I could hear the grin in his voice.
"As long as I can remember," I admitted as I retrieved her favorite tea cup.
"Why did you seem so unsure about asking her to marry you, then?"
"Because I thought she didn't feel the same way," I explained as I poured the tea.
"Oh, and when you asked her to marry you, she said yes and you realized that she loved you," he thought he understood.
"Not exactly," I chuckled.
"No?"
"No, she thought I was asking her to marry her just because of the kids -- so the Barnes wouldn't get them," I tried to clarify.
"So when then?"
"It's complicated," I sighed as I buttered Scully's toast.
"The Social Worker was convinced," Brent sounded confused again.
"Because Jordan told her that he saw us making love," I chuckled.
"So he saw you after you'd straightened it all out," he nodded.
"Nope, that was before. We'd consummated the marriage because we didn't want to have to lie," I reached for a cup for Brent's coffee.
"And he walked in the night you decided to consummate? That's a big coincidence -- although the way you rock the bed..."
"No, we started having sex regularly after the first time. I thought Scully was obliging me, and she thought I was just enjoying the sex," I couldn't believe I was telling him this.
"Hell, I wish someone would oblige me," he snorted. "So when did you finally clue in?"
"Look, if Scully ever finds out that I'm telling you this --"
"My lips are sealed -- attorney/client privilege," he grinned.
"Okay," I sighed. "I was about to do something for her," I raised my eyebrows to make him understand.
"Yeah..."
"And she said I shouldn't feel obliged and I said I thought she was obliging me..."
"Aww," he laughed.
"I swear, Brent, if you breathe a word of this --"
"A word of what?"
Scully's voice made me freeze. I was supposed to be bringing her breakfast upstairs.
"I thought I was bringing you breakfast in bed," I stalled.
"I thought I'd come downstairs today," she smiled. "Breathe a word of what?"
"I told Brent about the baby," I prayed that Brent would play along.
Scully's eyebrows flew up, but she said nothing.
"I know you wanted to keep it quiet for a while, but --" I paused because I was having trouble thinking of a convincing lie. Beads of sweat were starting to form on my forehead. I couldn't look Scully in the eyes.
"He wanted to ask me about changing the wills. It's more complicated now with adopted children and natural children, and the Prescott's money and Mulder's inheritance. It will take me a while to sort it out," Brent's tone was apologetic.
"I hadn't thought of that," Scully's voice was muted.
"It won't go any further, Dana, I promise," he smiled at her as I tried not to sigh in relief. "And I'm happy you know that I know, this way I can officially congratulate both of you."
"Thanks, Brent," Scully smiled. "We're very happy."
"More than you know," I smiled gratefully at Brent. "Here's your breakfast, Scully," I put her tea and toast on the table.
"Will it be that much more complicated?" she continued talking to Brent when she sat down.
I left him to deal with it while I poured his coffee. A bigger man would have helped him out, but he had insisted on knowing all of the gory details.
"I know that you don't want to think about this, but if anything should happen to you and Mulder, we have to make sure that Jordan and Megan get the money they were entitled to," he explained.
"But we've named my brother and sister-in-law as guardians. I trust them," Scully took a sip of her tea.
"It's still better to have everything in writing. What happens if your brother can't take all three kids for some reason? What happens if the Barnes try to get a hold of Jordan and Megan again? I think we should set up a trust for them. I'll set it up so it can only be used for school or they can have when they're 25. I'll also put a stipulation about the benefit and betterment of the children," Scully was nodding as Brent spoke. "Someone will have to administer the trust, usually your lawyer, and an application could be made for monies from the trust if the children were in need."
I quietly thanked God for lawyers. No one else would have been able to lie so convincingly. Much to my relief, the rest of the morning passed smoothly, although every time I looked at Andrew I couldn't help wondering if we really had scared him off. When Brent was ready to leave I walked him to the front door. Luckily, Scully was still upstairs getting ready for work.
"Thanks for covering my ass," I kept my voice low as he tied his shoes.
"God, if you hadn't spilled the beans about the baby, we would have been up the creek," he laughed.
"But you really are going to draw up those papers, aren't you?"
"Yeah, it really is a good idea," he assured me. "But my covering your ass fee isn't any cheaper."
Once Brent left I had to hurry to get ready, but we still managed to get to the office in time. We had a meeting with Skinner first thing and he always seemed to get annoyed if we were late. I was hoping the meeting would be fairly short. We'd done what Skinner had wanted -- saved some brass ass. I hadn't seen Andrew's report since he'd finished it off last night, but he seemed anxious to present it.
"So?" Skinner looked at me when we'd all taken our seats. "You've wrapped up the case already? I know they've heard from Ms. Burke upstairs, and she was very pleased with your work."
"Thank you, sir," I smiled, mostly because Scully gave me an 'I told you so wink'.
"Is the report not ready?" Skinner must have noticed that I hadn't been carrying anything.
"Actually, I wrote the report, sir," Andrew piped up. "It's right here," he opened his leather satchel and pulled out a stack of papers the size of the DC phonebook. That was the end of my quick meeting.
Skinner's eyes widened when Andrew passed him what would be known thereafter in the halls of the Bureau as 'The Report'. He glanced at me as if he hoped I might have a shorter report hidden somewhere. I could only give him a helpless smile.
Andrew's report began in England with the Druidic festivals absorbed by the Christian church. By the time the Mayflower landed at Plymouth Rock my eyelids were beginning to droop. Skinner, to my amazement, seemed to be having no trouble staying alert. Every time I looked at him, his eyes were open and he was nodding. Of course, every time happened to be when Scully kicked my foot to stop me from dozing off.
I must have managed to fall asleep with my eyes open, because the next thing I knew Andrew was recounting the recent revival of Witchcraft in America. The time he spent going over the details of our actual case amounted to about ten minutes, which was probably more time than I would have given it.
"Well, Agent Guernsey," Skinner leaned back in his chair. "Your report was...thorough."
"Thank you, sir," Andrew beamed.
"Although," Skinner fanned the pages of the report. "In future I don't think you need to spend as much time on the background."
"Oh," Andrew cast a worried glance at me.
"The background was good," Skinner continued, "But not a lot of it was directly related to the case. Do you see what I mean?"
"I think so, sir," Andrew's cheeks were flushed.
"If you want a good example to go by, you have an expert close at hand," Skinner's tone was almost fatherly. I prepared myself for the upcoming pat on the back. "Agent Scully writes very thorough yet concise reports."
"Agent Scully?" my head snapped up. I'd always thought my reports edged Scully's -- marginally.
"Well, your reports tend to vary with your interest in the case, Agent Mulder," Skinner didn't pull any punches. "Agent Scully puts in a consistent effort, regardless of her feelings about the case."
I glanced at Scully, but she wasn't looking at me. Apparently there was something very interesting on her shoe. I could tell by her face she was trying not to laugh.
"Agent Scully did offer her help," Andrew told Skinner. "But I wanted to try on my own."
"Understandable," Skinner nodded. "And the final part of your report, the part that dealt strictly with the case, is what I'll be expecting in the future."
"If you had a problem with my reports, why didn't you say so?" I interjected.
Scully's head jerked up and she stared at me, aghast. Andrew dropped his head so fast, I think I heard his chin hit his chest. I didn't regret my words. If Skinner hadn't wanted to discuss it, he shouldn't have brought it up.
"Your reports are fine, Mulder," Skinner sighed. "I just wouldn't use them as a training aid."
"Mmm," I grunted noncommittally.
"Just like I wouldn't send him your way if I wanted him to learn the finer points of diplomacy," Skinner looked at me over his glasses.
"So when would you send him to me?" I was starting to get annoyed.
"Oh, I don't know, Mulder, maybe for pissing off local law enforcement 101, or maybe how to push the limits with your superiors and still manage to keep your job," Skinner's tone remained even despite what he was saying. "Do you really need me to stroke your ego? You're one of, if not the best investigators in the bureau. You make connections no one else sees. Agent Guernsey will be lucky if he can pick up a fraction of that talent. Unfortunately for the rest of us, Mulder, it's not something you can teach."
After that there wasn't much left to say. Skinner had managed to compliment me and make me feel like a heel all in the same breath, but I'd deserved it. I knew Scully thought I'd been an idiot. It was easy to tell from the look she gave me in the elevator on the way back to the office. I didn't say anything. For once in my life I decided it would be best to keep my mouth shut.
The meeting lasted so long that Scully had to leave to pick up Jordan almost as soon as it was over. I spent the afternoon regretting my display in Skinner's office. Andrew spent the afternoon reading Scully's case reports. I did spend some time thinking about what Brent had told me that morning, but I didn't have time to look into what he'd said until the kids were asleep.
I couldn't believe I hadn't noticed it before. The headboard had made a rather significant dent in the wall. After pulling the bed back about a foot, I found bits of plaster all over the rug. Keeping the bed away from the wall would stop the noise, but I couldn't help wondering if there was another problem with the bed itself. Taking the bed by the frame, I tried moving it. It swayed a little, making a squeaking noise.
"What are you doing, Mulder?" A voice whispered in my ear. It was almost like my conscience, but it was Scully's voice. I tried not to betray my cool exterior, but I think she saw me jump.
"Jesus, Scully," I breathed when my heart left my throat.
"Sorry, Mulder," her eyes were wide. "I thought you would have heard me come in." I could tell she was trying to suppress a smile.
"Umm, I noticed this dent in the wall," I pointed to it. "I was just trying to figure out what caused it."
"Uh, Mulder," she was biting her lip. "I think we made that dent."
"Yeah, Scully," I nodded. "I got that. I meant beyond that."
"Maybe when you guys put the bed back together, you didn't tighten it enough," she suggested with a shrug.
"I was thinking the same thing," I sighed. "Help me with the mattress?"
Once the mattress and box spring were on the floor, I began to investigate the rails.
"Would you like me to get the toolbox?" Scully offered.
"We have a toolbox?" I looked at her in surprise.
"I'll be right back," she rolled her eyes.
When Scully
brought the toolbox back, I opened it up and peered into it. "Was I right? Is it just loose?" she asked looking past me at the bed.
"Yeah, I think so," I gnawed on my lip and continued to stare at the various tools.
"So do you need a screwdriver or a wrench?" she asked moving past me to inspect the bed more closely.
"I'm not sure," I scratched my head.
"Mulder!" she sounded exasperated. "The rails hook into the headboard. You can't tighten them with a tool."
"I guess that's why I couldn't find the right one."
"So what now?" she had her hands on her hips.
"We could put a pillow behind the headboard," I suggested.
"Mulder, I think we've worn the joint loose. It's only going to get worse, until they separate completely," she shook her head. "A pillow will just save the wall."
"We could get a futon," I shrugged.
"Yeah, and in 7 months you'll need a crane to get me out of bed," she reminded me.
"Okay," I gnawed on my lip some more. "Why don't I pop over to Lowe's and see what I can find?"
"Mulder..." Scully sounded a little skeptical.
"What?" I tried not to sound too defensive.
"Do you even have the faintest clue about what to look for?"
"C'mon Scully, I think I know my way around a hardware store."
She just stood there, arms akimbo, head tilted to the side, lips pursed and eyebrows arching toward her hairline.
"Okay, so I'll ask for help."
It took me an hour and three calls home to get what I needed.
"Yes, Mulder, we have a drill."
"The rails are an inch and a half thick. The legs of the headboard are thicker."
"No, Mulder, we don't have any one inch wood screws."
When I got home Scully was sitting in the living room, reading. She didn't say anything. She simply looked over her reading glasses at me. I held up the bag to show her.
"Angle brackets," I informed her.
"Do you want some help?"
I decided to swallow my pride and be honest. "Yeah, because when the guy told me to drill pilot holes first, I nodded like I knew what he was talking about."
"You drill small pilot holes for the screws first," she began to explain as she put her book down and stood up. "If you tried to just start the screw without a pilot hole, you might split the wood."
"But how will the screw hold if there's already a hole there?" I followed Scully into the kitchen. "Won't it just pull out again?"
"No," she shook her as she grabbed a pencil out of the jar by the phone. "It's just a small hole, smaller than the screw. It acts as a guide and like I said, it'll prevent the wood from splitting."
"Oh," I followed her out of the kitchen. "Can I ask you another question, Scully?"
"Sure," she nodded as we started up the stairs.
"How do you know all this stuff?"
Scully chuckled. "My mother."
"Your mother?" I repeated in amazement.
"My mother did most of the 'fixing' when I was growing up, Mulder," Scully explained as we walked into the shambles of our room. "And the base houses certainly needed a lot of fixing," she chuckled. "I guess she could have waited for my dad to come home, but then he would have spent all his time repairing things instead of spending time with us. She made sure that Missy and I learned how to handle tools. She learned mostly by trial and error and by using the base libraries. She didn't want us to be in the same position."
"I don't remember either of my parents fixing anything," I thought back. "Maybe you should be doing this."
"We can both do it," she knelt by the bed. "Let's start by marking the drill holes."
Scully showed me how to use a pencil and the bracket to mark our drill holes then quickly drill the pilot hole with a very small bit. The screws went in easily, but I could feel them grabbing as they sank in.
We were just finishing off the last bracket when we heard Andrew on the stairs. He'd gone out after supper to do some shopping for his new place. Since he hadn't tried to recover anything from his apartment with Leigh, he needed everything.
"Hey," I called as he walked past our room.
"Oh, hi," he stopped short, hovering just outside the door.
"So any luck?" I wondered since he was empty handed.
"Too much luck," he grinned. "I have a new best friend. I went to one store and bought all of my furniture. Bedroom, living room, kitchen -- I'm having it all delivered."
"I'll bet you have a new best friend," Scully chuckled. "What about linens?"
"That's next," he sighed. " And I'll need dishes too. Next weekend, I guess, tomorrow morning I'm flying home."
"You are?" Scully was surprised.
"I told you, didn't I? he looked at me. "Last week when my Grandmother called."
It was starting to sound familiar.
"I probably should have reminded you," he winced. "This week has been a little crazy."
"It's hardly a problem," Scully waved him off. "Is it a special occasion?"
"Yeah," he smiled. "My grandfather's 80th birthday."
"That's great. Have a wonderful time," Scully beamed.
"Do you need a ride to the airport?" I offered.
"Thanks, but no. I don't get in until late Sunday, so I'd rather have my car there," he explained.
"Have a great time with your family, Andrew. I think you deserve a rest," Scully chuckled.
"Thanks," Andrew laughed with her. "I should get to bed." He widened his eyes. "My plane leaves early."
"Okay," Scully picked up the last screw. "We're almost done here. We don't want to keep you up."
"Uh -- okay," Andrew stammered. "Goodnight," his face started to flush.
"Yeah, 'night," I pretended to be focused on our work.
"Goodnight," Scully called after him, but I could tell she was looking at me.
I wasn't deterred. I was determined to finish our project.
"Mulder?"
"Hmm," I made sure the final two screws were secure.
"What made you decide to fix the bed?"
"I told you. I noticed the dent in the wall," I reminded her offhandedly. I tried jiggling the frame again and it didn't budge.
"You happened to walk into the bedroom after supper and you happened to notice the dent in the wall behind the headboard?" her voice was dry.
"Well," I hesitated. "I actually noticed last night."
"While we were making love?" she lowered her voice.
"Yeah -- are you up to helping me with the box spring?"
"Sure," she bent to help me. "You noticed last night and didn't say anything?"
"What did you want me to do?" I grunted as we lifted the box spring. "Stop and tell you the headboard was banging against the wall?"
"Yes," she hissed. "Especially when we have someone sleeping on the sofa," she straightened up at her own words. "Mulder..."
"Yeah?" I moved over to pick up the mattress.
"What were you and Brent talking about this morning?" she grabbed the other side of the mattress.
"We told you...about a trust fund for Jordan and Megan," I tried to keep my voice cool.
"Oh, I see," her voice was tight from the effort of lifting the mattress. "Last night you notice our headboard is banging against the wall and this morning, without even mentioning it to me, you suddenly decide Jordan and Megan need a trust fund."
"Umm..." I took a deep breath. "I guess I should have talked to you about it first. Sorry."
"Mulder, I want the truth," she looked at me across the bed. "You should know better than to lie to me."
"Lie?" I straightened the mattress.
"Mulder."
"Scully," I whined, feeling the beads of sweat starting to form on my forehead again.
"What wasn't Brent supposed to breathe a word of?" Her eyes had become steely.
"He was asking about our marriage," I hoped she would drop it.
"Our marriage?" She looked puzzled. "What about it?"
"Well, he was the one who warned us about the *very* personal questions," I reminded her.
"What did he want to know?" Her eyes were wide.
"Well, even though I never came right out and said it and he never asked, he thought it was a marriage of convenience," I explained.
"He asked you about that this morning?" She still looked a little confused.
"Yeah," I nodded.
"Why wouldn't you want to tell me that?"
"Well, it's a little personal," I shrugged.
"Wait a second," she stopped straightening the comforter. "That still doesn't explain what you didn't want Brent to breathe a word of. Exactly what did you tell him?"
"Well," I hesitated again.
"Now, Mulder!"
The beads of sweat were starting to run into my eyes. I was dead meat either way.
"I tried to explain how you didn't know how I felt, but I'd loved you forever. And how you thought I was marrying you just for the kids..." I tried to appeal to her romantic side.
"And?" she wasn't buying it.
"Well, it was hard to explain. I ended up telling him the whole story," I almost whispered.
"Define whole story, Mulder."
"Well," I backed away from the bed a step.
"Define whole story, Mulder," she repeated loudly.
"Well, he knows about consummating the marriage and about when Jordan walked in on us and when we finally discovered that we really did love each other," the truth spilled out of my mouth.
I felt like my supper was about to follow.
end chapter 21