By bellefleur
bellefleur1013@yahoo.com
 

DATE: Thu, 3 Feb 2005
DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT: sure
RATING: PG-13
CLASSIFICATION: V
KEYWORDS: MSR
SPOILERS: none
DISCLAIMER: Not mine; they belong to CC, FOX, etc.
SUMMARY: On the eve of Mulder and Scully's wedding, Skinner
jumps to the bride's defense when he thinks the groom is
engaging in some inappropriate activity.
 

* * * * *

Skinner lay in bed mindlessly flipping channels on the TV.
It was almost midnight, and there was nothing on.  He kept
the volume muted out of courtesy for the other guests
because of the late hour.  He knew he should be getting to
sleep, but for some reason he was feeling restless.  He
just couldn't stop thinking about the events that had led
him to this moment.

Just a few weeks ago, his two most notorious agents had
announced to him that they were finally going to tie the
knot.  The news itself didn't surprise him.  Actually, he
had been expecting it for some time and often wondered if
they had already done the deed and were keeping it a
secret.  However, what did surprise him was the request
they then made: they asked him to give away the bride at
the ceremony.

He had been quite taken aback by this, and he knew it must
have been written all over his face.  Over the years, he
had become more of an ally to these two, but he knew how
wary they were about trusting anyone but each other and
figured that they considered his loyalty to be unreliable.
Even if they respected him as an ally, he didn't expect
they would also consider him a friend.  Although they knew
him better than did any of his colleagues or agents, he had
always maintained a distance from them, even when they had
risked themselves for him beyond the call of duty.

Thus, he was rendered speechless when he learned that the
two agents considered him not merely a friend, but someone
close enough to be given the honor of a family member.  All
he could finally think to say was that he'd think about it
and hastily ushered them out the door.

The fact was, he felt unworthy of such an honor and was a
little embarrassed by that.  But it was true that he
probably had a better understanding of their relationship
than anyone else, even their own families, and in that
sense he had a unique appreciation for this union.
Usually, he wouldn't approve of partners marrying one
another, but Mulder and Scully were an exception to almost
every rule.  Other partners hadn't experienced as many
threats or losses as these two, nor did they have the same
loyalty or devotion.  Although he knew Scully deserved
better than Mulder, considering some of the things he had
put her through, no better companion could be found for
this man who was once such a lone wolf.  Despite the kind
of work they did and what most people thought of it, they
made an incredible team and deserved all the happiness they
could give each other.

And so, Skinner had accepted their invitation, which is why
he was now lying on a hotel bed in Virginia riddled with
these thoughts.

The couple had opted for a simple and private ceremony at a
historical hotel in the countryside.  Rooms had been
reserved here for the small wedding party, which basically
consisted of himself, the bride and groom, and a few of
Scully's relatives.

He had felt like an outsider that evening at the rehearsal,
as though he had no right to be a part of something so
personal to Scully's family.  But Maggie Scully, bless the
woman, had stayed by his side and put him at ease, telling
him how much this meant to her daughter to have him here
since her own father couldn't walk her down the aisle.

Later, when the women had escorted the bride away with them
for the remainder of the evening, he and Mulder had spent
some abbreviated bonding time together as a poor substitute
for a bachelor party.  Skinner had been amused to hear that
Maggie insisted on the bride and groom having separate
rooms for the night, so he gave Mulder a fatherly pat on
the back in consolation when the younger man decided to
turn in early in preparation for the big day.  He himself
then returned to his own room and had been sitting here
channel surfing ever since.

On this eve of the wedding, it was difficult not to think
back to the night before his own ceremony over two decades
ago.  As a young man, he had bought into the dogma of every
husband-to-be and enjoyed his last chance at freedom with a
boisterous bachelor party, arranged by his best man.  The
evening had started with a couple of strippers and a lot of
booze, and ended with him drunk and in bed with one of the
women.

He never told Sharon about what happened that night, but so
many times he came to wonder if part of the problem in
their marriage was that he had violated her trust before
they even took their vows.  At the strangest moments, the
guilt would overcome him, the memory mocking him with the
image of that anonymous woman's smile as she hovered above
him.  Even now, he could hear her laughter echoing through
his head, as though he were reliving that fateful night.

Then the laughter became louder, and he realized that it
was actually coming through the wall next door.  Only, this
time it tapered off into a groan.  Eliciting an internal
groan from the unwitting eavesdropper.

This was not what he needed tonight.  It was hard enough on
him not being able to sleep because of his overactive
thoughts.  He didn't need the neighbors keeping him awake
with a sound show that only reminded him of how long it had
been since a woman had made noises like that for him.

Unbidden, images of this woman on the other side of the
wall materialized in his head.  Just a few hours before, as
he was approaching his room from the stairwell, Skinner had
seen her leave the room adjacent to his and walk the
opposite direction down the hallway.  She was a brunette of
medium height, well-dressed, with her hair pulled up into
curls on top of her head, and she was attractive enough to
make him turn and watch her walk away.  She had been on her
way out somewhere, probably on a date--which apparently
wasn't over yet.

Another laugh.  No, a giggle, really.  Followed by another
moan, then a very loud and impassioned cry: "Fox!"

Skinner froze.  He couldn't possibly have heard what he
thought he heard.  He was willing to give the man in
question the benefit of the doubt, but how many men named
Fox could there be in the hotel that night?

And then he heard the owner of that name call out loudly,
"Oh yeah, baby, just like that!"

There was no longer any doubt in Skinner's mind.  He knew
that voice, and he was livid.  Fox Mulder was about to
marry the woman of his dreams--hell, the woman of any man's
dreams--and here he was with someone else.  Skinner knew
that if Mulder went through with this, it would be the
biggest mistake of his life.  But more than that, he
refused to let him hurt Scully in this way.

Pausing only long enough to pull his pants on and grab the
room key, Skinner bolted out of his room to the door next
to his and banged loudly.

At first, there was no response.

He banged again.  "Mulder, I know you're in there.  It's
Skinner.  Open up."

After another pause, Mulder opened the door just wide
enough to stand in the doorway, blocking the rest of the
room from view.  He was wearing a hotel robe and was in the
process of tying it closed.

"I'm kind of busy here.  Can't this wait until morning?"

"No, it can't.  What the hell do you think you're doing,
Mulder?  You're getting married tomorrow, to a beautiful
and amazing woman.  If you respect her as much as I hope
you do, then you can't do this to her."

Mulder looked a bit puzzled.  "I think you're being a
little old-fashioned about this, and frankly sir, I don't
think this is any of your business.  Just because we asked
you to walk the bride down the aisle doesn't mean you have
the right to play the indignant father-in-law.  Now, if you
don't mind...."  He tried to shut the door, but Skinner
threw up his hand to block the way.

The A.D. was now even more angry because of Mulder's
callous attitude.  "I do mind.  I'm not going to let you
mess this up, not by doing something this asinine just as
some final assertion of bachelorhood."

"What's going on?"  Mulder looked behind him, beyond
Skinner's line of sight, to acknowledge the owner of the
female voice.  Their unwelcome guest braced himself to
confront the woman's wrath at the invasion of her privacy.
But, his argument was with Mulder, and he would willingly
leave the woman in peace if Mulder would abandon his tryst
and follow him elsewhere to continue their disagreement.

Then the door opened further and the woman came into view.

There, next to her fiance, stood Dana Scully, also wearing
a hotel robe that she was tying tightly around her waist.

And at that moment Walter Skinner realized his mistake and
turned beet red.

As both agents stood there awaiting an explanation, he
stuttered out his embarrassed response.  "I'm sorry.  I had
no idea this was your room.  I'm next door, and I--I
thought this room belonged to another woman, and I thought
I heard her in here, then I heard Mulder, and I--I came to
stop him from making a horrible mistake."

Mulder was both hurt and incredulous.  "You think I would
do that to Scully?"  His arm instinctively went around her
shoulders to pull her defensively to his side.

Skinner knew there was no easy way to get out of this.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to imply....  It wouldn't be the
first time that a man had done something foolish on the
night before his wedding."  Mulder was about to reply, but
Skinner continued before he could get a word out.  "I
apologize for bothering you both.  I think I could use a
drink.  I'm going to head down to the bar for a while."

With a glance at Mulder to punctuate his intention to stay
out of earshot and allow them their privacy, he turned and
fled down the hallway, leaving his two puzzled agents
standing there in his wake.

* * *

An hour later, Mulder wandered into the hotel bar and found
his boss sitting alone nursing a beer.  Signaling to the
bartender to bring him a pint as well, he settled on the
stool next to Skinner and waited for his drink to be
served.  The two men then sat there in silence, tending to
their libations.

Mulder finally spoke first.  "Did you really think I'd do
something like that to Scully?"

Skinner sighed heavily.  "I can't apologize enough for my
assumption.  I know how much you love her, and you're the
last man that I'd assume would do that, but--all I was
thinking at the time was that I couldn't let anyone hurt
her like that."

There was another pause as they let these words and their
implications settle between them.

"I guess it wasn't too far off base.  The old Fox Mulder
would've done something stupid like that.  But not now--not
to her."

"Mulder...."  Skinner paused, as though searching for the
right words.  "You said that walking her down the aisle
doesn't give me the right to play the father-in-law, but I
don't think you would've asked me if you didn't already
trust me to have her best interests in mind.  If you were
any other man, I'd give you a speech about what I'll do to
you if you ever cause her sorrow, but I know that if that
ever happened, you'd be the first one to do damage to
yourself.  So, instead, I'll ask you to promise that if you
ever hurt her, you won't try to kill yourself.  Stand up
and take whatever punishment she gives you, but don't hurt
yourself.  You know that will only cause her more pain, and
God knows she's suffered enough personal losses.  If you do
kill yourself, so help me God, I'll track you down in
whatever afterlife you're hiding in and kick your ass."

Mulder smiled at this last part.  "I guess you know me
better than Bill.  He just gave me the routine, 'Hurt-her-
and-I'll-kill-you-myself-you-sorry-son-of-a-bitch' speech."

Skinner chuckled at this, and they both returned to their
beers, consumed by their own thoughts.

Mulder finally articulated the question that he had been
mulling over.  "Why did you assume that wasn't Scully?"

"I saw another woman coming out of that room earlier, so I
thought she was staying there.  Besides, I had heard that
Scully was sharing a room with her mother somewhere on the
first floor, and I thought you were staying with her nephew
or something."

"You're right.  But Scully's cousin helped us out by giving
us her room, and she swapped places with Scully after her
mother fell asleep."  Mulder turned toward his boss with a
confused look.  "But if you recognized my voice, I don't
understand why didn't you recognize hers."

Skinner was uncomfortable about answering this, and he
wasn't even sure if it was a question expecting a response,
but he gave one.  "I heard giggling, and she called you,
'Fox.'  I guess it just didn't sound like the reserved
special agent that I'm used to."

Mulder smiled.  "She only calls me that when she's tipsy.
I think the ladies had a bit too much to drink at the
bachelorette party."

Skinner was a little embarrassed by this revelation and
stared down into his empty mug to hide the reddish tinge
overtaking his face.  And then he realized something, which
he spoke aloud.  "I'd never heard her laugh before."  He
turned and looked at his agent.  "You make her happy,
Mulder.  You make her laugh.  Spend every day of the rest
of your life doing just that."

"That's exactly what I plan to do."

With a nod of acknowledgment, Skinner stretched and slid
down from his barstool.  "C'mon, Mulder.  You've got a big
day tomorrow and we could both use our sleep."

Mulder finished off his beer with one swig, and after
settling the bill, the two men headed out of the bar.
Tomorrow might be a life-changing day for the soon-to-be-
husband, but it was tonight that had changed Skinner.  He
found that he had a new respect for Mulder, as a man much
better than himself--a man who did not fear the loss of his
freedom but embraced it, and who already lived out the
commitment he was yet to make legal, but which obviously he
had made with his heart and soul long ago.  And he realized
that maybe this was the man that Dana Scully deserved after
all.
 

THE END

*****

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