By jeri
jeri@kronerxf.net
 

WEBSITE: http://www.themajestic3.com/jeri.htm
Date: Thu, 27 Sep 2001 17:49:41 -0400
RATING: PG
CATEGORY: SA
KEYWORDS: D-POV, SDF
SPOILERS: S8 to TINH
ARCHIVE: Ephemeral/Gossamer - yes
         KTF/Enigmatic Dr. - yes
         Legacy/Touchstone - yes
         SWLD/XFMU - yes
         Others - with permission
STARTED: September 16, 2001
FINISHED: September 27, 2001

SUMMARY: It's time to move on.

TIMELINE: Takes place in the three-month gap during
DeadAlive.

**DISCLAIMER: Los hombres y la senorita no son de mi. Son
de Chris Carter. No, I don't know why I wrote that in
Spanish.

^*^*^

Two weeks after she buried her partner, her friend, and now
she's being asked to do this.

I could see in Skinner's eyes just how much he hated to ask
this of her. I could see in her eyes just how much she
hated to have to accept it.

I hope my eyes showed the same reluctance, and not the
little bit of joy I felt at the prospect of getting to know
her better over the next three days.

We're driving to one of the FBI's semi-annual partner
communication seminars. Since it now appears that I'm not
going anywhere soon, the upper levels have flagged us as a
set who needs to go and learn to communicate.

Honestly, I think this will be good for us. She hasn't said
much the last couple of weeks, even before we found Mulder
dead. Not since the incident at the Army hospital, when I
discovered she was pregnant.

There are so many questions I'm dying to ask her, and not
just the obvious ones like "who's the father?" (I actually
have a pretty good idea about that one.)

No, I mean questions like "Do you have family around to
help you out?" and "When's your due date?" Simple things,
ones that don't require extra personal knowledge to
understand the answers.

Though I get the feeling getting any answers from Agent
Scully is going to be like pulling teeth from a crocodile.
And I'm definitely no Steve Irwin.

The back seat is occupied by two agents from the
Philadelphia office; we picked them up as we drove to the
Poconos. Agent Luthin is keeping as far away from her
partner as she can; Agent McFly, on the other hand, is
trying gain Scully's attention. This Taurus is filled with
tension, and I'm really not enjoying it.

"How long have you and Agent Doggett been partners, Agent
Scully?" asks the male Philadelphian.

Her reply is without enthusiasm. "Four months."

Has it really only been four months? God, it seems like
forever...

"You've been with the Bureau a lot longer than that,
haven't you?" he asks, incorrectly assuming that she wants
to talk to him.

Agent Luthin makes a little "huff" of annoyance. "Rob, shut
up."

"What? It's just a question. I remember hearing your name a
few years back, Agent Scully. Have you had many partners
over the years?"

"Rob, I'm sure we'll..."

Scully interrupts Agent Luthin. "I've had only one partner
since I began field work in '92. Fox Mulder."

Well. That certainly broke the tension. Now everyone feels
guilty, even me, though I didn't say anything. I should
have though.

The last twenty minutes pass in complete silence.

^*^*^

Day Two. The wine and cheese was rough last night, since
Scully couldn't drink the wine and people kept bugging her
about it. I finally suggested to her that she get some
cranberry juice so people would stop asking. I think she
was a little bit thankful for my suggestion.

Today is going to be interesting. The itinerary says we're
going to start by seeing how much we already know about our
partners. When we get to the giant meeting room, we're each
handed two sheets filled with questions, one to fill out
about ourselves and one to put in what we think our partner
would say.

It starts of simple, basic dossier info: full name, date of
birth, place of birth, family, higher education. All things
I can probably answer correctly.

Then it gets a little deeper. 'Why did you join the FBI?'
'Which of your siblings are you closest to?' 'If you had to
leave the FBI, what career would you pursue?'

I don't know if I could answer them all about myself, let
alone my tight-lipped partner.

We're given a full half-hour to fill out the sheets, though
I'm done rather quickly as I realize I know absolutely
nothing about my partner. It's a good thing we're here
then, huh?

We exchange papers and begin checking them over. I'm
surprised how much of the trivial stuff she got right,
since I know we've never discussed things like our favorite
flavor of slushie. (Cherry, by the way: simple, not weird,
and doesn't turn your tongue and lips goofy colors.) I
wonder if I did better than I think I did.

I hear a little snort of a laugh come from my partner; just
how wrong did I get that question? I want to ask, but we're
not allowed to talk yet.

"Okay everyone. Tell your partners how they did."

Well then. Moment of truth.

Scully doesn't look like she's all too eager to start
things off, so I take matters into my own hands.

"Well, Agent Scully, you didn't do half bad. Either you've
surveyed everyone I've ever known, or you're an amateur
psychologist."

Her eyes narrow. "I did work with one for eight years. I'm
sure some things have rubbed off on me."

I bow my head, conceding my lapse in judgment. "Sorry. Um,
I'd say you got a B minus. But not for lack of trying."

"So what did I get wrong?" she asks, sounding surprisingly
curious. She seems to have forgiven me for my faux pas, as
well.

I try to make my voice sound as upbeat as possible. "Well,
you didn't know that my favorite sport was NASCAR. I'm not
really into football."

She shrugs. "I guess I don't think of NASCAR as a sport."

Is that a teasing glint in her eye? Well, plug me in and
call me shocked.

"Most women don't," I counter. "I guess it's too manly for
them to understand."

I get an eye-roll for my efforts. My day is made.

I'm not a stupid man. My partner is a very pretty, very
smart woman...and very not up for grabs. It's going to take
her a long time to get over Mulder's death, especially once
the baby's born. (Like I said, I'm not a stupid man; I can
add 1 and 1 and get 3, if you know what I mean.)

But that doesn't stop me from wanting her to like me, if
only a little bit, as a partner.

^*^*^

The final day dawns clear and cool. I meet Scully outside
her cottage; she's sitting on the porch with Agent Luthin,
both drinking coffee. Well, I guess Scully's drinking decaf
tea.

"Morning Agents," I greet.

"Morning Doggett," Scully says with, by gosh, a smile!
Luthin, mouth full of pastry, nods her own response.

"What's on the schedule today?"

Scully glances at the piece of paper in her lap. "Um...just
two things. A Trust Fall and the closing speeches."

Luthin's eyes light up. "A Trust Fall? Those are fun...I
wonder if both partners will have to do it, because if so,
it'll be interesting when it's Rob's turn..."

What the...?

Before I have a chance to vocalize my confusion, the
airhorn blasts, telling us to get our butts to the meeting
room, post haste.

As we walk into the room, I begin to get a little worried.
There's a table set up with one of those gym mats
underneath it. Mats...'trust fall'...oh damn...

"Okay, Agents! Welcome to our final day, and our final
task. This one requires no baring of souls, no revealing of
embarrassing situations, not even any talking. In fact,
it's best if you *don't* talk."

Leader Bob looks around, trying to gauge our reactions.
"What we've got to do today...is to *trust* our partners.
Today is to make sure you've got each other's
backs...literally."

The crowd murmurs, and I being to put the pieces together.

Leader Bob points to the table and mat. "This is the Trust
Fall. One partner gets up on the table and turns their back
on the group. The other partner stands behind them on the
mat. When the first partner feels ready, you fall
backwards, into the arms of your waiting partner.

"Since you can't talk, there's no way to be sure that the
catching partner is ready and paying attention. And there's
no way to know when the falling partner is going to fall.
That's why this requires trust. Once you've completed it
successfully, switch places and do it again. Any
questions?"

Luthin's hand shoots into the air. "What about male-female
partners? Are the women expected to catch the men?"

I have to smile. I trust Scully implicitly; I know she'd
catch me without any problems. But...I don't think she
should be put in that position, not when she's pregnant.
Hell, she shouldn't be falling off a table, either!

I turn to her, planning on telling her that we should run
out and skip this one, but the look in her eye tells me
she's not going anywhere.

"...get a friend or two if you think you need to. And since
you asked, you and Agent McFly can go first!"

Our carpool pals venture to the front of the group, and
McFly helps his partner up onto the table, then takes his
position. His arms are ready, and without any warning,
Luthin falls back and lands ever so gracefully in her
partner's arms.

They switch places, and once McFly's back is turned, Luthin
waves Scully over. I think briefly about stopping her, but
there's really no point. My partner is one determined
woman.

They successfully catch McFly, who took a little longer to
take the plunge. He looked a little surprised to see Scully
there with him. He and Luthin walk back to the group, but
Scully just climbs up on the table.

Damn. Guess that means we're next.

I hurry out to the mat, ready to catch her. I see her look
up at the ceiling for a moment. She takes a deep
breath...and drops. I catch her easily; her feet don't even
touch the ground. She smiles, though briefly, then nods. I
put her down.

My turn. I get up on the table, resisting the urge to look
back and see if she's asking for help. I hope she is...

I count to thirteen, just to be different, then let myself
go. I feel one pair of strong arms wrap around my
torso...but no one grabs my feet. Standing up quickly, I
whirl around and see Scully standing there, that same small
smile on her face. There's no one else there.

"Thanks," I say with a grin.

"No problem...partner."

Mission accomplished.

THE END

^*^*^

4 out of 5 doctors say expressing your enjoyment
of a fanfic to its author increases your life
expectancy 23-23.8 years. The other doctor was
killed by Cancerman before we could ask him.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
jeri's basement
http://www.themajestic3.com/jeri.htm