The Wedding from Hell 

By Xenith
xenitha@yahoo.com


Disclaimer: The X-files belong to Chris Carter and 1013 Productions,
not me. I'm only borrowing the characters for now. I'll put them back
when I'm done.

Rating: Variable---R for now, but probably NC-17 later :)

Category: SA

Keywords: MSR, Muldertorture, Scullytorture, Bad wedding planners

Spoilers: Thru 6th season, without Biogenesis

Archive: Sure! Spooky's yes!

Feedback: Love it! Love it!

E-Mail address: xenitha@yahoo.com

Discussion List: Yes!!! Yes!!!

Summary: Mulder and Scully get married and discover just how dangerous
a wedding can be.

Author's Note: This takes place in the Abattoir universe, but follows
the Chicken Soup series (Just A Cold, Chicken Soup, Misery Loves
Company, etc through TBishop's "Brass Bed". Read Brass Bed before this
one so you catch the full flavor of the story!)


Scully looked down at the top of Mulder's head. He just knelt there,
staring right back up. Mournfully. She had been avoiding this decision
all day, unwilling to believe that he could be serious. No, it was
more than that. She wanted him to be absolutely sure that he really
wanted this, and she wanted that confidence for herself.

When he had proposed last night, at the height of his orgasm, her
first impulse had been to laugh and not take him seriously. Of course,
she'd had other things on her mind at the time. Her lips quirked just
a bit. Last night was...something. For a wonder, that brass bed was
still standing.

And Mulder's admittedly funny attempts to propose all day had been
entertaining but hardly serious. Maggie had been amazingly patient
with them both, convalescing from chicken pox under her motherly eye.
She had seemed amused by Mulder's attempts to force an answer from her
daughter.

But as the day progressed, and Mulder obsessively continued to press
her for an answer, the reality had slowly dawned on Scully. He really
was serious. He really meant it. He wanted to marry her, Dana Scully.

All this jelled as she looked down at the ring he had just placed on
her trembling hand, held between his equally trembling palms. She met
his pleading eyes and began a slow smile. She could see his knees
beginning to quiver with fatigue and nervousness. She gently removed
her hand from his and folded her arms across her chest.

"Oh, I don't know Mulder. There would have to be some negotiation
about custody of the television remote."

"Scully, you're killing me here! I'm on my knees, and boy do they
hurt...." Mulder met her eyes and sighed. "Okay, you get the remote,
but I get custody during basketball season. Fair enough?"

"Well......and then there's the matter of the toilet seat. I really
get tired of lowering it after you've been...." Scully found herself
the victim of a sudden and unplanned bear hug.

"So, how about it, Agent Scully?" Mulder whispered into her hair.

Scully nodded. "Yes, Mulder, I will marry you. Are you really sure you
want to do this?" She looked up at him doubtfully, but Mulder had
already grabbed her left hand and was kissing it, where the ring was.
It was loose, but she closed her fingers around it, then held him
close. "God, Mulder I love you," she whispered into his ear.

"Well, it's about time," Maggie said as she came forward to admire the
ring. "I think you put Fox through more than enough torture, Dana.
It's about time you accepted!" Maggie turned to Mulder and hugged him.
"Welcome to the family, son."

Mulder returned the hug, grinning from ear to ear. Maggie stepped
away, smiling. "So, when are you going to set the date? You need to
call Father McCue, you know, for the pre-Cana classes."

"Pre-what?" Mulder looked bewildered.

"Pre-Cana. You have to go through classes before you can be married in
the Church," Scully said absently, admiring her ring. Then she looked
up and saw that Mulder had blanched.

"I do want to be married in the Church, you know," Scully said,
suddenly worried. "You don't have to convert or anything....Mulder,
are you okay with this?"

Mulder jerked out of his reverie. "Yeah, I'm okay. Scully, I'd marry
you in a hangar filled with flying Elvises. You set it up. I'll go."
He gave her his best `panic face', then grinned. "Don't worry. After
mutants, alien colonists, clones and vampires, how hard can it be?"

"I'm getting married. I can't believe it, I'm marrying Mulder...."
Scully could hear herself muttering under her breath, and she couldn't
seem to shake the broad grin on her face. And the ring was so
beautiful. She loved sapphires. She moved back into Mulder's embrace
and decided to relieve him of any lingering doubts about whether she
really wanted to marry him.

When they broke up the clinch, Maggie had gone to the phone and was
telling Tara the news. As she planted tiny kisses along Mulder's
hairline, Scully wondered idly whether Bill would break furniture when
he found out, then realized that she just didn't give a damn what he
thought. Mulder had such fascinating lips. And they're all mine! she
thought gleefully, moving back toward them.

Mulder pulled her into his lap and she began admiring the ring.

"So, Scully, do you want to run off to Las Vegas and do this in
style?"

"Oh no, Mulder, not the Elvis impersonator!" Her look of horror must
have transmitted itself to Mulder because he started laughing.

"Okay, no Elvis impersonator. St. Patrick's on some fine Saturday with
Father McCue officiating...."

"Mrs. Fox Mulder....feels funny."

"Sounds funny. Does that mean that I can't call you Scully any more?"
Mulder began nuzzling her neck and Scully could feel the warmth of his
breath against her skin.

"Mulder, you can call me anything you want to, as long as you keep
doing that...mmmmm. So, am I allowed to call you Fox now, since we've
been lovers for months and I'm marrying you?"

"Nope. I'm Mulder. Nobody says my name quite like you
do...Mmmmmuldddder. I like it. Better than Fox. You wouldn't believe
the fun people made of my name when I was a kid....and the obscenities
you can make out of it." Mulder worked his way over to her earlobe and
began gently sucking at it.

"Ohhhh, I can imagine. Okay....mmmmmMulddder it is......And you can
call me Scully. Mulder, would it bother you if I didn't change my
name?" Mulder abruptly stopped nibbling and turned her to face him.

She gave him a worried look, hoping he wouldn't take it wrong. To her
relief he was smiling. "Well, I can't really call *you* Mulder, can
I?" Mulder grinned. "Although I've never really had a chance to call
you Dana much. I know how much your professional identity means to
you. I'm not so much of a chauvinist that you have to do that." He
leaned back in the chair, pulling her with him.

Scully could feel herself relaxing against him. His body was nice and
warm in this rather chilly house. She held her hand out and wiggled
her finger to make the stones catch the light.

Mulder held her hand and admired the ring with her, then enclosed it
in his larger one, planting a kiss on each knuckle, until, by unspoken
consent they disentangled themselves from each other (and the chair)
and went upstairs to celebrate.


TWO WEEKS LATER

"Scully, you look fine, now come on." Mulder held open Scully's car
door while she anxiously gave her makeup one last look. He impatiently
glanced around the Hoover Building parking lot. "Skinner wants us in
his office in five minutes."

"You're sure I don't look pocky any more?"

"Positive. In fact, you're beautiful, Agent Scully." Scully moved
ahead and Mulder gently guided her along the hallway, his hand in its
familiar place in the small of her back.

The remainder of their stay with Maggie Scully had been uneventful,
although Maggie had made a comment about wanting to paint the guest
bedroom after they left.

"I hadn't realized how much that room needed painting. Why there's a
scrape mark as big as my hand behind that brass bed, and I swear the
drywall is dented...." Maggie hid her smile behind her coffee cup as
both Dana and Mulder flushed guiltily.

And that reminded him. "Scully, you never answered my question."
Mulder followed Scully into the empty elevator at the Hoover building
and punched the button for the executive level.

"What question? I already said I'd marry you."

"Not that one, the other one. Was I as good as Break-the-bed Ted?"

Scully stifled a giggle. "Mulder, you were and are a hundred times
better than Ted could ever hope to be. There, does that satisfy your
male ego?"

Mulder's response was to grab Scully and give her a passionate kiss,
deepening it until they were both breathless. They roused, startled
from the embrace by the sound of applause.

Scully peered out through the open elevator door at the crowd of
agents from the bullpen, grinning and clapping, and she blushed
furiously.

"How long has that door been open?" she muttered under her breath.

"Long enough," Mulder answered. "Well, they have to know some time,
and there's nothing to be ashamed of. Just smile and flash them the
ring."

Fighting her embarrassment, Scully gave the group a defiant smile and
held up her left hand, wiggling the ring finger. To her surprise, the
applause started up again, accompanied by whoops and shouts of
congratulation.

She and Mulder were both grinning as they approached the doorway to
Skinner's office. Kim stood there smiling.

"I wondered what all the noise was about. I'm so happy for you both,
congratulations!"

Mulder grinned and moved ahead into Skinner's office while Scully
showed Kim the ring. The inner office door was open and Skinner stood
next to his desk, trying unsuccessfully to look stern.

"Well, Agent, I understand that some congratulations are in order."
Skinner motioned Mulder to take a seat. "I'll leave the door open so
that Agent Scully can join us when she's ready."

"Thank you sir." Mulder sat and felt suddenly apprehensive. He and
Scully knew that the Bureau didn't have any formal rules against
agents dating or marrying. But there were good, honest reasons not to
allow husbands and wives to team together as field agents.

"Agent Mulder, I know that you're concerned about the effect your news
might have on your partnership with Agent Scully. Since you two called
me the other day, I've been considering whether I believe it will have
any effect on your ability to function as a team."

"Sir, shouldn't Scully be here to hear this too?" Damn, if he's going
to break us up Scully should be here. I couldn't stand to tell her
that we'll be separated, not now.

"No, actually I'm glad that Agent Scully is otherwise occupied. This
allows me to talk with you privately. I have no plans to break up a
successful team. You two have worked together for 7 years now and have
a phenomenal solve rate." Mulder began to relax and leaned back in his
chair. "However.." Skinner raised his hand. "I want to be sure that
you understand, Agent Mulder, that being married has its
responsibilities."

"What do you mean? Like taking out the garbage?" Mulder grinned. "You
aren't going to explain the birds and the bees are you?"

"No, what I mean to say is that if you're making a commitment to that
woman out there, you have a responsibility not to put yourself into
stupid, life-threatening situations for the sake of your own curiosity
or need to know."

Skinner glared at Mulder and leaned forward. "Do you know how lucky
you are? You and Scully have a relationship most of us only dream of,
but she's been through hell, chasing after you. I can't tell you how
many hospital rooms I've met her in, waiting for some doctor to
pronounce on whether you'd live or die. By marrying this woman you owe
her a responsibility to avoid bringing extra pain into her life. And
by God, if you go around taking stupid chances you'll answer to me.
The prospect of comforting your bereaved partner was hard enough, but
I am *not* going to comfort a grieving widow! Do I make myself clear?"

Mulder now found himself guiltily slumping back into his chair, just
as Scully arrived. She took one look at his posture and sighed.

"Is it that last expense report, sir? Honestly, we couldn't find those
receipts."

Mulder just shook his head mutely. Skinner smoothly gestured her into
a chair. "No, nothing like that Agent. I was just congratulating Agent
Mulder on your engagement. And I'd also like to express my best wishes
to you too. I'm looking forward to supervising the first husband-wife
team in this division."

Scully lost her look of worry and began to feel more confident. Out of
the corner of her eye she could see Mulder slowly looking less tense,
but he occasionally shot Skinner uncomfortable glances.

After the meeting Scully stopped Mulder in the corridor outside the
basement office.

"Okay, give. What was it he said to you?"

Mulder hemmed and hawed. "He...uh...congratulated us and...uh...wanted
to talk about our partnership."

"But he just said that he wouldn't reassign us, we're staying together
aren't we?" Scully flashed him such a worried look that Mulder
gathered her into his arms and held her close.

"Of course. We're still working together like always. He was just
warning me that as a married man I need to stop taking dumb chances."
Mulder moved back and met her eyes; she was smiling.

"I've been saying that for years. It looks like you finally listened."

"Yeah, well, it isn't every day your boss threatens you with grave
bodily harm if you disobey."

"Then see to it that you listen to him!" She opened the office door
and he followed her in.

"It *is* good to be home again," Mulder looked around the room with
satisfaction. "So, shall we get it on?" He grinned and pulled a file
off the stack, handing it to Scully. She smiled back and took it over
to her desk.

TWO MONTHS LATER


"Mom, I look like a pregnant chandelier!" Scully eyed her reflection
from the mirrored podium. The dress, which had looked so beautiful on
the hangar, had expanded into a crinolined horror. She vainly tried to
subdue the lacy puffs that projected out from her waist.

"I look like Scarlett O'Hara on steroids!" she wailed.

Maggie tried to hide a smile, without success. "I think you look
sweet, honey. It's a lovely dress, but maybe a bit flouncy for you.
How about this other one?"

The stark satin sheath soon joined the crinolined wonder on the chair,
rapidly followed by the white-lace-over-satin-with-bows, the organza
and dotted swiss, the white satin suit (I don't want to look like I'm
at work, mom!), the ivory gown with bustle (Just put a `wide-load'
sign on my butt!) and the bias-cut silk that left nothing to the
imagination. "Mom, you can see my *nipples* through this thing!"
Scully whispered in horror.

By the end of the day they had hit five stores and lost count of the
number of white dresses tried on and rejected. Maggie had begun to
worry: Dana was beginning to mutter about eloping to Vegas and Elvis
impersonators. "At least then I can where whatever I damn well want, "
Maggie had heard Dana say under her breath.

"Honey, why don't we rest a while and think about this. You don't have
to buy off the rack, you know. Your father and I put aside money so
that you girls could have the nice weddings we never had. You could
have a dress made, just for you."

"Mom, I don't want you spending your savings on something like
this...." Scully started but her mother interrupted.

"Dana, you and Fox have loved each other for so long and been through
so much that I want this wedding to be perfect. You deserve that. The
money's there, and that's why we saved it. I'd like you to have the
dress you want. There were times when I honestly didn't think I'd see
this day..." Maggie couldn't go on, but Scully knew what she was
thinking, about the cancer and Melissa.

"Okay, Mom. Let's get some more bridal magazines and have something
made. Something perfect."


The Wedding from Hell--part 2

"All right, Mulder. I've talked with Father McCue and we're set for
the weekend after next." Scully placed two pamphlets on Mulder's desk.

He set aside the casefile he was reviewing and picked them up. "Set
for what?" He opened the first pamphlet and began to scan it.

"Catholic Engagement Encounter. This is how Father McCue recommends we
satisfy the Pre-Cana requirement." At Mulder's blank look she added,
"So we can get married."

"Oh. Do we have to go away for a weekend? Can't we just buy a book or
something?" Mulder leered and stretched out an arm, snagging her by
the waist. "How `bout the Joy of Sex?" He reeled her in and began
nuzzling behind her ear.

"No, Mulder, we can't buy a book. We have to go to class and prove
that we have what it takes to be married. Father McCue will be
there..ahhhhmmmm...he says we'll have a new couple facilitating;
they're supposed to be very good. They're from California. This is our
chance to learn about our relationship...mmmm...communication...a
little lower...ahhhh..improve our intimacy skills...yeah, that's
right..." Scully leaned back . His lips had moved steadily down from
her chin into her cleavage, finally releasing a breast from her bra.
Mmmmm...yeah. Gotta wear more of these v-necked sweaters.

"Any more intimacy skills and we'll be doin' it on the desk...."
Mulder murmured into her skin. "Not that I wouldn't like to try it..."

"No...we have to keep our minds on business, or Skinner won't believe
we can work together as a couple." Scully regretfully kissed the crown
of Mulder's head, then gently pulled away from his caress.

Mulder sighed and picked up the pamphlet again. "So, where is this
held? Wait a minute, it's at a monastery? Scully, we can't *do* this."

"What's wrong?" Scully rearranged her clothing and craned her neck to
read the pamphlet he held.

"They house the men and women separately! We can't even share a room!"

Trying to control her giggle Scully eyed Mulder's panicky expression.
"Mulder, this is the Catholic Church. We aren't married, so they're
assuming we're...uh..virgins. Or at least they're pretending we aren't
doing what they damn well know we are."

"And at every opportunity...." Mulder grinned at Scully's flush.
"Okay, I guess I can do this. But if they try to make us construct a
tower of office furniture, I'm leaving."


Engagement Encounter Weekend

St. Joseph's Monastery

Mulder eyed the huge banner over the doorway with distaste. "Welcome
Engaged Couples" it read.

"Scully, are you sure we shouldn't follow up on the Sullivan case? I
mean, leprechauns in America, you don't see that every day...." His
voice trailed off as he caught a glimpse of her set expression. Oh.
Okay. Well, he considered, I've faced hordes of man-eating aliens for
her, carried her for a mile across Antarctic tundra, even attended a
Scully family dinner with Bill present. All for her. I can do this.

"I'm sorry, Scully. You know how these things get me. I'm here. I'm
committed."

Scully's face softened. "I wouldn't ask this of you, Mulder, but we
have to do this so that we can get married. I'm glad that you agreed."

"I can do this. But I still can't believe they won't let us share a
room. We might as well be in summer camp!"

Scully grinned and, in a lightening lunge, grabbed him by the ears and
pulled him forward for a deep, long, satisfying kiss. When he could
breathe again Mulder laughed.

"Not that I'm complaining, you understand, but what was that for?"

"Just reminding you of why we're doing this. And don't forget, it's
two nights without sex for me too. This will be something to carry you
forward until Sunday. And I have something special planned for
Sunday..."

"Oh?" Mulder's eyes gleamed. Scully, his ice-queen had turned out to
be wonderfully imaginative and inventive in bed. Sunday, huh? Well,
the faster they started, the faster it would all be over....

"Besides, " Scully went on. "My priest says that adversity is good for
the soul. A little enforced celibacy will be good for you." She
grinned and slipped out of the car.

Mulder followed her to the trunk and hauled out their bags. They
walked through the entrance..'Abandon hope, all ye who enter here..'
Mulder silently intoned to himself, and led the way to the sign-up
desk.

A couple who must have been the leaders stood behind the table,
chatting with the people signing in. Mulder couldn't control his grin.

"Hey, Scully! Do you suppose there's any truth to the old adage that
long-married couples start to look alike?"

"Mulder that's just a super..." Scully stopped and choked off a laugh.
The couple both wore that indefinable California look: blonde, tanned,
wearing matching pink polo shirts and khaki pants. They looked like
they'd walked out of the pages of the same L.L. Bean catalog.

"I bet they even have the same underwear, although he probably has
less lace on his bra..." Mulder hissed and Scully punched his arm.

"Mulder, shut u...Hello.." She found herself shaking hands with the
male part of the ensemble as they reached the head of the line.

"Hello, welcome to Catholic Engaged Encounter. I'm Gordon Simmons and
this is my lovely wife Leila. We'll be the group leaders. And you
are..?"

"I'm Dana Scully and this is my par...uh..my fiancee Fox Mulder."

Mulder reached out his and gave Simmons a firm handshake whose grip
left Simmons surreptitiously rubbing his hand.

"Glad to meet you, Gordon, Leila.." Mulder's smirk was a little bit
worrying to Scully. He only wore that look when he'd already
classified and dumped the person he was talking to. Oh, Mulder..

"Play nice..." She elbowed him again and turned a bright smile on
Gordon.

"I'm sorry, what was that?" Gordon asked.

"Uh, I said, it's nice to be here..." She could feel Mulder snickering
quietly and silently resolved to give him a stern talking-to as soon
as she could get him alone.

"I'm glad you're looking forward to the experience. Fox, Dana, I think
you'll find that it deepens the appreciation you have for each other.
Here are your name-tags." Gordon handed them adhesive labels and
Scully noted that Mulder's said "Fox".

"Oh, he doesn't like to be called `Fox', just `Mulder'." Scully
explained. Gordon raised an eyebrow and quickly penned another label,
handing it to Mulder.

"So, is it really true that Scully and I can't share a room?" Mulder
asked plaintively as he picked up his overnight duffel again.

"Scu...? Oh, you mean Dana? Yes, we house the men and women
separately. The Church insists. Since there aren't any other couples
in just yet, why don't I walk you to the men's quarters. Leila can
show Dana her room."

Gordon led the way down a long hallway to a series of small rooms,
each with two beds. "Here, you'll be staying here. So, I know you like
to be called by your last name. Does Dana go by her last name as well?
Do you normally call her by her last name?" Gordon looked at Mulder a
bit strangely.

"Oh yeah, we call each other by our last names all the time. We work
together, and it's easier that way." Now for some fun. "Besides, she
insists on..uh..punishing me if I call her by her first name. At least
I can't if I've been bad."

"Uh, right....We'll be meeting as a group for dinner at 6:00 p.m. The
bathroom is down the hall, and the lounge is up the hallway, turn
left. Um..I'll see you later...uh..Mulder."

Nobody said he couldn't have a little fun with the Californians....

Dinner was a strange meal. The other 27 couples had arrived and Scully
found that she and Mulder had been assigned to the same table with the
Simmons couple. But Gordon Simmons kept flashing her the strangest
looks. She gave Mulder a suspicious glance, but he just returned it
with an innocent look and went back to his meal.

After the meal was over, Gordon led them into the lounge and handed
around notebooks.

"These are your notebooks. You will be doing some relationship-based
writing assignments and will trade responses with your partner so that
you can discuss your feelings and attitudes about such things as
spirituality, children, sex and love."

Then Gordon passed out some photocopied sheets. "Here is your first
writing assignment. We'll discuss that after the group introductions."

Sitting them all in a circle on the floor, Gordon began. "I'm going to
introduce myself, telling you how my wife and I met and the thing I
love most about her. She'll introduce herself, telling how I proposed
to her and what she loves most about me."

Oh no, Scully brought her hand to her mouth. I can't tell about
that...Mulder and I in a brass bed, the feel of him on top of me,
pumping away inside me, his cry at the moment of climax...the dent in
the wall...she snuck a sideways glance at him to see an evil grin on
his face. If I don't, he *will*, I know it. Shit. And in the Church
you're not supposed to be having sex before marriage. Hell, I'm not a
teenager, I'm in my thirties! Of course I'm having pre-marital sex.
Shit. Shit.

She sat apprehensively as the other couples introduced themselves.
Most of the first meetings were at work, on a blind date. The
proposals were over dinner, on a date, just understood over time.

Then it was Mulder's turn.

"We met in the basement of the J. Edgar Hoover Building when she was
assigned to be my partner. And the thing I love most about her...."
Mulder paused, his eyes going soft. "Of the many things I love about
her, the best is her intrinsic honesty and her commitment to the
truth."

Oh shit, shit, shit. My turn.

"Ummmm, Mulder proposed to me while we were making love (I'm blushing,
I can feel my face heating..damn!)" She could hear a low appreciative
murmur and laugh filter around the room. "And the thing I love most
about him is his basic integrity, his belief in truth and his
willingness to sacrifice himself to find it."

She felt Mulder's left hand reach for hers and she held it close while
his right arm reached around her shoulders and squeezed.

She could see a few raised eyebrows at their comments. The other
couples had had more mundane loves: she makes me laugh, he supports my
career goals. Are we so very different? she wondered. I feel like we
live in a different world. Maybe we do. We've done too much, faced
things that would make these other people run out of the room
screaming in terror.

After the introductions, Gordon discussed the first homework
assignment with them.

"I want you to think about these questions, and write about it, but do
it alone. Away from your partner. Frame your answer as fully as you
can and put it into your notebook. You have the rest of the evening to
work on it and we'll discuss it tomorrow."

Scully looked down at the paper in her hand. Oh no. Mulder the atheist
will have fun with the first one...and the second one...Oh no. The
questions read:

1) When I look at my spouse to be, do I see him/her as a real gift
from God?

2) Is there anyone who would have any objection to our getting
married? Why?


Part 3

After the group broke up, Scully fell into step with Mulder. It was
getting late, after 9:00 p.m., and she had to do her `homework' but
somehow she didn't want to let him go. She could tell that he felt the
same.

"I guess I should go," she said nervously.

"I wish you didn't have to," Mulder said seriously. "It's funny, but
since we've been sleeping together, I haven't had any nightmares. Not
about Samantha....or other things."

Scully could guess what those `other things' were. Mulder was
recovering well from his abuse at the hands of Kurt Willard, but there
were still deep emotional scars. She reached out and clasped his hand,
then pulled him close.

"I don't want to leave you. Not for a second," she whispered into his
chest. "Do you think they'd throw us out if we went and slept together
in the car?"

Mulder laughed, she could feel the sound deep in his chest. "They'd
probably excommunicate you and forbid me from ever seeing you again.
Nope, we have to follow the rules or we don't get the little piece of
paper that says we can get married. I'll be okay." He pulled back and
she looked deep into his still anxious eyes. "No, really, I'll be all
right," he insisted, then kissed her and waved as he walked towards
the men's side of the building.

Scully debated blowing off the entire weekend and getting him the hell
out of here. No. Mulder still had his pride and if he said he'd be
okay, she had to accept that. But that wasn't going to stop her from
worrying about him.

Mulder's Room

His room mate had already arrived and was seated at one of the two
desks, busily writing in his notebook. He looked up at Mulder's
entrance. He was about six feet tall, with Slavic features and built
like a Sumo wrestler. Mulder blinked. Why did he always get the
strange ones?

"Oh, hi! I guess you're my room mate for the weekend. I'm Xochi, but
my friends call me Joe. I'm workin' on my assignment..."

"Hi, I'm Mulder. I don't remember seeing you at the group meeting."
Mulder pulled up the other chair and sat down.

"That's because I wasn't there. Erin, my fiancée, got here early but I
had to work late tonight. She gave me the notebook and stuff. Man,
isn't this just the biggest pile of crap you've ever seen?" Joe held
up the notebook. "First, I'm not Catholic, I'm an atheist. Second, who
the hell cares whether somebody approves of our marriage? I mean,
whose business is it, anyway?"

Mulder smiled. Maybe this room mate would work out after all. "Yeah, I
know. But my fiancée is Catholic and she wants this really bad. So,
I'll do it for her. I guess that's what counts. So..." Mulder grinned
impishly. "Not that I'm trying to cheat or anything, but what did you
put for question number 2?"

Scully's Room

Scully had introduced herself to her new room mate, to her surprise
another redhead.

"Yeah, I think they've got a matched set," Tracy laughed. "So, I was
really impressed with your honesty in the group meeting. I could never
have told them that!"

"Well, I didn't have much choice. After Mulder expounded on my
honesty, I couldn't very well lie about it. He was basically daring me
to tell the truth, so I took him up on it." She could feel herself
blushing again, and bent over to take off her shoes hoping the act
would hide her face.

"Oh, well..that's men for you. You just got one with a sense of humor.
Paul is like that, always playing practical jokes. I've almost got him
out of the habit. Mind you, I've threatened to pull my gun on him a
time or two when he really pissed me off..." Tracy stopped when she
saw Dana go still. "Hey, it's okay. I'm only joking. I'm a cop, so I
carry in the line of duty but I've never shot anybody."

Scully was interested. "Really? I'm an FBI agent, so's my fiancée.
Where do you work?"

The rest of the evening was spent in girl talk, although, Scully
reflected later that she probably shouldn't consider a discussion of
the relative merits of service weapons and the difficulty of getting
kevlar vests that *fit* really girl talk.

Finally they both decided that it was time to start writing. Scully
knew that she'd been putting it off. Okay, first question. That was
easy, mostly. Mulder was a gift from God, usually. But she knew that
she'd be half a person without him. She remembered an e-mail she'd
sent him not so long ago--"When you're cut, I bleed." That about
summed it up.

And there'd been a lot of bleeding, internal and external. The wonder
of it was that it had only strengthened their already strong
friendship. Maybe it was because they'd had to fight so hard for each
other. Losing him now would be like losing a limb...or an eye.

She sat in thought, meditating about the last year and all the horror
it had contained. But they were past that. Time for the happy ending
now. Okay, now for question number 2.

Oh my. Bill. How to explain Bill? Okay, Bill disapproves of the
marriage. Say why? Tell the group about the X Files, the alien
colonists, the consortium, black oil, her abduction and cancer.....If
they think Mulder and I are strange now, they'll think we're psychotic
after I explain all this.

Make it short. "My brother Bill disapproves of the marriage because he
dislikes Mulder and considers our jobs at the FBI as being too
dangerous. Marrying Mulder keeps me invested in a dangerous job."

And it does. Wherever he goes, I go too. Whether he wants me along for
the ride or not. I hope he's okay tonight. He's right, since we've
been sleeping together so regularly, I can't recall any nightmares. He
used to wake up screaming....

It isn't the sex that made him complain about the living situation.
He's scared. Damn. I didn't take him seriously, and he couldn't tell
me what was really bothering him. I wonder how many times I've shut
him down like that?

Scully began to put her shoes back on. "Tracy, I might be back pretty
late and I have my key. So don't be surprised if I come in..."

"Just before morning? Hey, I'm planning to sneak out to bunk with
Paul, he's got a single. So if you two want the room tonight, I'm fine
with that."

Scully smiled. "I feel like I'm in college, trying to evade the
housemother. I'll take you up on that....I'll be back in about 20
minutes then."

Mulder's room

Mulder focused on the paper in front of him. Gift from God? Sure,
Scully was a gift. She was a whole Tiffany showroom, but God? He shook
his head. God didn't enter into his worldview much. Too much pain over
time, too much evil out there to believe in a loving deity. No, Scully
was incredible but God hadn't given her to him. He'd fought for her,
suffered for her, damn near died for her sake. And she was worth every
tear.

I'm not writing that. Not if I have to read this in front of those
simpering refugees from a commune.

Okay, move on to number 2. Bill. Shit. What to write about good old
brother Bill, who hates my guts and would shoot me where I stand
except he knows that Scully would drop him first. Got to write
something. Explanation...?

He finally scribbled onto the paper: "Scully's brother Bill doesn't
like me. He thinks I endanger her by being her partner, that I don't
protect her enough. I don't, and I should."

He was finishing the last sentence when he heard a tap on the door.
Joe opened it, and there was Scully, her eyes anxiously searching the
room for Mulder.

"Hi," she said breathlessly. "I came to see how you were doing."

"I'm fine. This is Joe, my room mate." Mulder waved toward Joe, who
nodded then sat back down to his own notebook.

Scully wandered over to Mulder's desk and scanned what he'd written
about Bill, then snorted. "You can't protect me any more than you are.
But what you put is pretty much what I said as well. And it's Bill's
tough luck that I'm staying just where I am." She leaned against
Mulder's chair and began running the fingers of one hand through his
hair. He'd been letting it grow (at her insistence) and it was just
the right length to twine her fingers through.

"Mulder, I have a proposition."

"Oh really, Agent Scully? And what would that be?" Mulder leaned back
and gave her his best leer.

"My room mate informs me that she'll be sneaking out to share quarters
with her fiancée, leaving the room to me. Would you care to completely
torpedo the house rules about consorting with the opposite sex with
me?"

"Oh my, Agent Scully! You are talking about breaking the *rules*
here!" Mulder's eyes lit. "This is the best offer I've had all day."

"You'll have to get up early and come back here so that it looks like
you slept here." Scully moved forward and wrapped both arms around the
still-seated Mulder's chest, resting her chin on his shoulder. "How
`bout it?"

"Can we go now?"

Giggling like teenagers they snuck back to Scully's now-empty room. It
was then that Scully realized...twin beds. The room had twin beds. Oh
no.

"Mulder, I..." she shook her head and began laughing. "Okay, we'll try
it, but if you get your elbow in my eye again you sleep on the floor!"

"Fair enough. And this is a metal bed, Scully. Do you suppose it's as
sturdy as, say, brass?"

All conversation ceased after Mulder was `thwapped!' in the face with
a pillow. And at Scully's insistence, they were careful to keep the
noise down so that the neighbors wouldn't hear.

Mulder woke in the gray dawn. A quick look at his watch showed that it
was 5:00 a.m. Probably time to get moving. He didn't want to move. He
liked it right here, just fine. He always slept better when Scully was
there. Somehow, she chased the nightmares away. Or when he had one,
she was there, and she understood. Hell, she had nightmares of her
own. He was glad she'd suggested this.

This twin bed seemed larger than the one in Scully's old bedroom. Or
maybe it was just because they were both over the chicken pox now, no
more itchy skin. Anyway, he'd slept with her in his arms, pressed
close enough to feel her heart beat, hear her breathing.

How many years had he craved that? Too many. But he was a patient man
and had determined early on that he'd wait for her to decide she was
ready for a relationship. Of course, he had Walter and Sharon Skinner
to thank as well. The story of their failed marriage, and especially
their wedding pictures, had finally jarred something loose in Scully.
It had made her decide that she needed him *now*, and wasn't going to
waste any more time.

He sighed and felt her snuggle closer, then tightened his arms around
her. She was his now, and it would take an army of aliens to keep him
away. Oh well, time to go back to his room and the pretense of
chastity.

Mulder carefully climbed out of bed, tucking the blankets back around
Scully, then quickly put his clothes on. Yup, maybe the twin bed
wasn't a sleeping bag, but two naked bodies do keep you toasty warm of
a night. He kissed her gently on the forehead, then padded out to his
room.

To Mulder's great amusement, he wasn't the only night time traveler.
He could see the shadows of men and women moving quietly from room to
room, women filtering back to the women's side and men going back to
the men's quarters. He nodded companionably to the guy in the room
next door as he unlocked the door and went in.

He decided that he was too keyed up to sleep, so he did the next best
thing and put on his running clothes and went for a run.

The air was crisp and cool, just right for a jog. Man, he didn't know
how he was going to survive this weekend thing. It was bad enough
having to pretend that they were sleeping in separate room, but those
questions!

I was right. Scully and I don't talk much. We kind of communicate
telepathically. There's so much about her I don't know. She's quiet,
reserved, hates showing her feelings unless she's comforting somebody
else. Her compassion is the one soft emotion she doesn't hide.

And me? Mr.-takes-7-years-to-manage-a-marriage-proposal....Well, it's
a good thing I can stand rejection. It took multiple tries just to get
an answer. She loves me, but does she really want to marry me? Is that
what all her hesitation was about? Maybe I joked about it too much.
Maybe I joke too much, period. She can't tell when I'm being serious.
Oh, she knows how I feel about the big things: aliens, the X Files,
life and death. But the little stuff? We've never really discussed it.

We've never really talked because we're scared, scared that we'll
secretly discover something that will ruin what we have. Some deep,
dark secret. Well, she knows all of mine, or has met them.

Mulder checked his watch. Time to go back and face the Californians.

Title: The Wedding from Hell (4 of ?)

Breakfast was nauseatingly healthy. Mulder picked at his whole-wheat
toast (chosen over a serving of Wheatena) and longed for some real
butter to spread on it, not that tofu-soy crap they were serving. No
eggs (cholesterol, y'know) or meat (the weekend is vegetarian). He
pushed the scrambled tofu around his plate and thought longingly of
the sunflower seeds he'd packed in his duffel. Even the coffee was
decaffeinated.

Scully, sitting brightly next to him, was clearly enjoying her yogurt
(with bee pollen). That made him feel even more sour, although she'd
graciously offered to share. After his first growl, she'd shut up,
wisely realizing that it was the caffeine deprivation talking.

"Well, everybody, I hope you all slept well. We have a busy day
planned." Gordon was wearing an aquamarine polo shirt today. Leila
(his lovely wife) had a matching Indian cotton dress

"We're going to start with your notebooks. We'll meet as a group and
discuss the answers everybody came up with, then talk about issues of
family and friends and how they will fit into your new relationship as
a married couple. Then we'll have some more exercises for you to do."

Simmons led them all back to the lounge and Mulder took his place next
to Scully on the rag rug. She was wearing his favorite white tee shirt
with cashmere sweater and looked luscious. He had been less inspired,
and had donned an old FBI academy sweatshirt, faded and comfortable.
And a good thing, too. This room was cold!

Simmons was talking...oh, he was having people read the answers to
question number 1. Question 1. Oh shit! Mulder had forgotten to write
anything. Sure, he'd thought about it but hadn't put anything down
because of the "God" thing. Whoops. Fake it.

"And you, Mulder..what did you say?"

"Um, in my view Scully is a true gift in my life. But I don't
attribute her presence to God; I don't believe in God. We've worked
very hard to remain partners, and I consider myself lucky to be
marrying her."

"And you, Dana, what do you think about that?"

"About what?" Scully looked puzzled. "I'm glad he sees me as a special
person in his life."

"No, the fact that he's an atheist. You are obviously not, since you
plan to be married in the Church. Has it ever occurred to you that
someday you may find his lack of faith a problem?"

Scully smiled. "Mulder doesn't lack faith; he just doesn't put the
same labels on his faith that I do on mine. We believe in the same
things, we just use different terms for them."

Way to go Scully! I mentally chalked up one for the home team.

"How about you, Mulder? Does the fact that Dana is religious bother
you?"

"It didn't until I found out I had to do this weekend," Mulder smiled,
more than half serious. "Scully's always had her own faith and it
works for her. Why should I question her beliefs when she's been
willing to live with mine?"

Simmons was smiling. Must have answered right. Whoop, next question.

"And what about children? How do you plan to raise them? As Catholics
or as atheists?"

Whoa, there....stop right there. He could see Scully cringe just a
bit. Simmons couldn't know about Scully's past, or her infertility.
But it still enraged him to have this prick asking things like this in
a public place. He grabbed Scully's hand and could feel her trembling,
with rage or emotion he couldn't tell.

"Any children we may ever have will be loved, cherished and taught
values. Their religious belief is between my wife and myself," Mulder
forced the words out grimly. "If my wife wants to raise children with
a Catholic belief, I'll go along with it because I know it's important
to her."

"Fair enough. Now, Dana, how did you answer the first question?"

Mulder was still feeling outraged but squelched it. This was all part
of the program, make the participants think and question their values
systems. Basic psych.

"I do consider Mulder a gift from God. Sometimes more than others."
There was an appreciative laugh at that. "But his presence has meant
so much to me during the difficult times of my life, that I don't
think I could do without him now." Scully's eyes were shining as she
met his glance. Mulder squeezed her hand and smiled back.

Simmons moved on, mercifully, to the next couple and Mulder had time
to think. Children. Would they have any? Would it be safe to have
them? Knowing what he did about the future, he wondered. And if old
CGB Spender ever threatened a child of his..nothing and nobody would
stop him from killing that bastard. They'd wanted Samantha, and they'd
kept her. Could the same thing happen to a child of his? Save that
problem for the future.

"Hey, Scully, what say we sneak out and see if there's a good burger
joint nearby?" Mulder whispered into her ear. Scully just frowned and
shook her head. Damn. Stuck here in karmic hell. Oh, Simmons had
finished with the group thing and everybody was standing
up...for...a...ohmigod, no! Not a group hug.....

Mulder found himself in a circle with Scully to his right and a
strange man to his left in a massive group hug, while Simmons spoke
some inspirational words about unity and love which left Mulder cold.
Oh god, please let there not be a wine and cheese reception after...

Scully caught his look of horror and stifled a snort. Mulder was
clearly experiencing flashbacks to the last training session they
hadn't made it to. Well, this was his comeuppance, and no escape.

Simmons began handing around sheets of paper with more questions.
Great.

Mulder looked at his and his eyes widened. It read "I feel angry when
my partner _____________".

"Okay everybody, please look over the question and answer it as fully
as you can. You and your partner will be discussing your answers
together, but I'll be wandering around facilitating things. It's
important to learn how to air your grievances, to fight fair when you
disagree. That's what this little exercise is supposed to promote."

Scully was already sitting down and had begun writing. Mulder craned
his neck and tried to read it, but she just looked up and covered the
writing with her hand. Damn. Okay, two can play at this...Mulder sat
down and pondered the question.

Mulder had just finished his answer when Simmons got around to them.

"Well, Mulder, why don't we start with you? I'd like you to read and
explain your answer. Dana, please listen without interruption. You'll
have your opportunity to respond to Mulder's statement. The important
thing is to really listen to what is being said. So, Mulder, how did
you answer the question?"

Mulder gulped and shuffled his paper. "I don't think I really want...I
mean, Scully never makes me mad..."

"Mulder, that isn't the question. It isn't whether she makes you mad,
but what actions she takes make you *feel* angry. There's a
difference."

"All right." Deep breath. "Uh...Do I have to do this?"

"Just read it, Mulder," Scully said flatly.

"Uhhh...well, I feel angry when Scully doesn't believe me. I mean,
when I get a case and give her my take on it, she often dismisses what
I have to say without really listening to my reasoning..."

Scully opened her mouth to interrupt, but was stopped by Simmons'
raised hand. "Okay Mulder, can you give us an example?"

"Well...for example, we had to go to Chaney Texas, to investigate
these mysterious murders. *I* knew it was vampires from the moment I
got the case, but Scully kept ignoring the evidence, even after I was
attacked and almost killed by one. She didn't start believing me until
she was locked in a car with one." Mulder looked up defiantly. "And I
still say he had buck teeth. And then, there was Antarctica...."

Simmons looked a little pale. "Uh..okay. Dana, do you have a
response?"

"Yes. I do." Scully was pale but focused. "Mulder, I saw no evidence
of vampires until the pizza guy got up and walked out of that morgue.
Up to that point, it just looked like a string of murders to me; and
you had to admit he was wearing fake fangs when he attacked you."

Mulder shook his head. "Well, what about Antarctica? You saw those
aliens, they were attacking us while we were climbing out of that
giant space craft. Heck, even when we were up onto the ice sheet, it
flew over! You saw it; you had to! And you still don't believe it was
real."

"Mulder, I've said before that I believe that *you* saw those things.
Me, I was semi-conscious the whole time and my memories are very
confused. I *know* that I would have died there if you hadn't come
after me. But I do know that you saved me, and that's
enough....Mulder, I may not always agree with your opinions but I do
respect and trust your judgment. But I am a scientist and I have to be
true to my training. I wouldn't be a useful partner to you if I
didn't." She shot him a look imploring his understanding. Mulder
smiled and shook his head.

"I know, Scully. I just get frustrated sometimes. But I'm grateful for
your insight. You keep me honest."

Simmons pulled his handkerchief from his pants pocket and swabbed his
forehead. "Dana...uh...why don't you go ahead."

Scully looked down at her paper, suddenly shy. "Well...Mulder, it was
hard to decide what to write about, but the thing that makes me feel
angry is when you ditch me and go off to investigate things without me
there to back you up. A few years ago when you went chasing off to
Dead Horse, Alaska after that shape-shifting bounty hunter, I almost
didn't find you in time. Skinner had to beat up your informant just to
get your whereabouts. And by the time I got there you were almost dead
from that retrovirus."

She looked away from the paper and stared into Mulder's eyes. "Mulder,
I was the *only* one who knew how to treat you. They were killing you
there, in the emergency room. If I hadn't gotten there when I did, you
would be dead now. "

"But Scully, that was years ago..I haven't ditched you recently..."

"Yes. You have. Two words, Mulder: Bermuda Triangle. You damn near
died looking for that ghost ship; you were half dead when we pulled
you out of the water. If we hadn't pulled strings with the Navy, we
wouldn't have located you. And you didn't leave me so much as a note
to let me know you were gone. Do you know how that made me feel? Do
you?" Scully could feel herself clouding up. "Mulder, when you needed
me the most, I wasn't *there*. I'm supposed to guard your back, but I
can't defend you if you leave me behind. I can't stand the thought
that you might be hurt or killed while I'm miles away, searching for
you. Mulder.." She took a deep trembling breath. "When Kurt Willard
had you, I wasn't *there*. I was miles away. I wasn't *there*. And I
should have been."

"Scully..." Mulder leaned forward and took her in his arms. "Scully, I
didn't ditch you then...."

"No, I ditched you, " Scully murmured into his chest. "I know, we
talked about it and I know you wanted me to get away. I know it wasn't
my fault. It wasn't. But I wasn't there when you needed me, Mulder.
And I can't be unless you let me be there."

"Well, I guess that goes for me, too, Scully. You need to let me be
there for you, too. I know how hard it's all been for you. I want to
hold you when you're scared, that's what I'm there for. I want to
guard your back just as much as you want to guard mine. Partners?"

Scully nodded, snuffling. "Yeah. Partners. Always."

Simmons looked relieved. "Well, I see that you two are communicating
well together. You...certainly seem to have an exciting life...um...I
think I'll go help that couple over there.." Simmons got up quickly
and scurried across the room to another couple.

"So, what do you think got to him? The shape-shifting bounty hunter or
the vampires?" Mulder murmured into her ear.

"I think it was the alien space craft in Antarctica. But at least you
didn't bring up colonization and genetic experimentation." Scully
snuggled closer.

"Naw...he would never have believed that!"

Title: The Wedding from Hell (5 of ?)

They worked through more questions that afternoon, but neither Simmons
or his wife made any attempt to `help' them with their discussions.

Mulder had to grin. He could see Simmons casting anxious glances in
their direction all day. He'd look at them, then turn away when Mulder
caught his eye.

Dinner was uneventful. Okay, dinner was flavorless, a vegetarian chili
without enough chili in it. Mulder stoically munched his way through
it, reminding himself that this was fuel...And the wine from the local
Dominican vineyards...well, he'd had better salad dressing. Okay,
enough griping, he thought to himself...at least Scully seems content.

"Everyone, your attention please," Simmons tapped on his water glass.
"I'd like to introduce the weekend's spiritual director, Father McCue.
And emergency prevented his joining us sooner. He will be speaking to
us after dinner and will celebrate a mass later tonight in honor of
the weekend. Any and all are invited to attend."

Mass. Wondered when they'd get around to that....Mulder pondered to
himself. Scully doesn't understand my affinity for aliens; well I
don't get her fondness for angels. Still thinking, Mulder followed
Scully and the rest of the group into the lounge, and took their
accustomed seats on the floor. Father McCue placed himself in front of
the group and began to speak.

Mulder found his mind wandering. All the love and unity stuff was
inspiring, he supposed. Oh yeah, the Biblical stuff...meaning of
marriage...Of course he was planning on cleaving to his wife and
forsaking all others...in fact he hoped to do some cleaving tonight if
possible. Not a problem. He and Scully were a team, and they'd
suffered too much to risk it for anything.

Mulder's hand crept forward and gently clasped his Scully's. She
turned a radiant smile on him, then focused on Father McCue again. She
was looking sad tonight....Oh.. McCue was talking about birth control
and the Church's opposition to it. Stupid Church.

"Scully, you okay?" Mulder whispered into her ear.

She nodded, but still looked sad. "I wish we had to worry about things
like that..." She turned back to McCue, then looked down, trying to
hide her emotions. Mulder wasn't fooled.

He snuggled in closer and draped an arm around her shoulders. "We'll
have kids, just you wait. We'll manage. Little Sculders running
through the house....with green eyes and red hair."

"And medium sized noses?" Scully whispered back. Mulder fingered his
proboscis and nodded.

"Okay. I have faith in you. If you say we'll do it, we will. Somehow."

Mulder held her tighter, conscious that she'd just given him a gift.
She believed him. Even though parenthood would be vastly difficult,
expensive, maybe impossible, she believed him. He could feel himself
smiling and he planted a kiss on top of her hair.

McCue finished his talk and came over to meet Dana and her new
fiancée.

"Mulder, is it? I can't tell you how glad I am to meet you at last.
Dana has spoken about you so much." Father McCue held his hand out and
cordially shook Mulder's. "I hope that I can persuade you go come to
mass tonight. I plan to bless all the couples. And you two
especially."

"Father, Mulder isn't Catholic. I don't think..."

"No, Scully. I'd be happy to attend. I'll be there," Mulder said
gravely.

Scully was speechless. By the time she could stop staring at Mulder,
Father McCue had gone on to greeting another couple.

"I've never seen you in a church, barring weddings and funerals. What
gives?"

Mulder paused to gather his words. "Scully, you're going to mass
tonight with me or without me. Am I right?" Scully nodded, and he
continued. "So, you aren't going alone. I'll be there too. Beside you,
just as you have always been beside me in my beliefs, whether you
shared them or not. How can I do any less?"

Mass was more inspiring that Mulder had expected. Father McCue seemed
to go out of his way to draw everyone in and, when he wandered through
the crowd scattering holy water, he smiled especially broadly at
Mulder and Dana. Mulder felt a vague sense that the blessing had
taken, then shook himself. This was silly...wasn't it?

Before dismissing the group for the evening, Simmons had another set
of questions for them to meditate on quietly in their rooms. As the
couples split up, Mulder grabbed Scully's arm.

"Tonight?" he asked anxiously.

She nodded and grinned. "Tracy is meeting Paul at midnight. Stop by
then. I'll be waiting." They exchanged a quick kiss and parted at the
hallway entrance.

Scully followed Tracy into the room. Tracy flopped down onto her bunk
and stretched out.

"I will be so glad when this weekend is over and I don't have to sneak
around to see my own fiancée. God, I'm horny."

Scully giggled a little as she took her shoes off and sat in the desk
chair. Tracy had amazed her with her earthy down-to-earth attitude and
language. "Well, it's only one more night. And you're sharing his room
tonight anyway."

Tracy shook her head. "It's not the same. You can't make noise, you're
sneaking around.. I'm a grown woman, not a teenage girl with a
virginity to protect. This is ridiculous." Tracy scowled at the
ceiling, then began a slow grin.

"I've decided what I'm going to give Paul for my wedding gift to him,
though."

Scully put down her pen. The questions could wait, and she rarely had
a chance for real `girl-talk' in her busy life. "So, what are you
giving him?"

"Well, I thought about all the things I could buy for him, but y'know
it wasn't right. He can buy himself anything he really wants, and I
wanted it to be a gift that only I could give him."

She gave Dana an evil grin. "Then I realized what I could get him.
He's been after me to videotape us making love, and I've been
refusing. He says I'm prudish, and I say I've got a big butt. But I
thought about it and I think that's what he's going to get. I have a
new video-camera and an imagination. Oh, and a Victoria's Secret
catalog. He won't know what hit him." She rolled over and cupped her
chin in her hands. "So Dana, what do you think? Am I crazy?"

Scully found herself blushing. Damned pale skin... The idea
was...interesting. Very interesting. "No, I don't think you're crazy,
but what if somebody gets hold of the video?"

Tracy waved her hand dismissively. "Then they see a hot couple having
really hot sex. And besides, we'll be married! It's not like it's a
sin or anything. And he does look good on camera. I don't mind
watching him in action."

Scully could feel her skin temperature rising. Oh yes, Mulder did look
good on camera, didn't he...oh my yes. "Um, I think it's a very
original idea. He's sure to appreciate it." She went back to her
homework assignment and tried to answer the next set of searching
questions, but the image of she and Mulder making love under a video
camera kept intruding. No, this was sick...too many weird
memories...but it was the first time they'd had sex. Good sex, too.
But how would Mulder take something like that?

Later----1:00 a.m.

Scully's room

Aaaaahhhhh Scully, we ought to go on these weekends more
often....Mulder tried to keep his voice down after the best sex of his
life. Scully had been....passionate wasn't the right word, Aroused?
Yes but more than that. Incredible. Uninhibited. Imaginative. He
vaguely wondered if he'd be able to walk in the morning after a blow
job like that.....and he didn't really care. Tonight she hadn't
allowed him to touch her, but devoted every moment to his pleasure and
he was pretty sure he was going to pass out soon. And die with a
smile.

"So, Mulder...what do you think? You aren't saying much..." He could
hear the mischief in Scully's whisper.

"I'm trying to muster the...uhhmmm....energy to tell you
that...ohhhh...anything you ever want is yours..."

She let his penis fall from her mouth and caressed his balls, her
gentle squeeze making Mulder jump. "Oh, I already have that..." She
began mouthing her way up his penis, making him shiver, then moved to
his belly and up his chest. "I've been wanting to ask you...how are
you about all this? I mean, the sex..is it okay? Any nightmares or
flashbacks or anything?"

Mulder looked down at her lovingly. "No, no nightmares lately. I'm
looking forward to a honeymoon with the sexiest woman alive."

Scully laughed a bit. "My room mate Tracy, the cop, told me what she
plans to get her fiancée for a wedding gift. She's going to make a
honeymoon video with him; she says he's been wanting it for a long
time and thinks it'll shock him silly."

"Nothing wrong with some home-made erotica," Mulder grinned. "You'd be
a natural. Now if you had just let me have that digital camera in
Arcadia, we might have some home movies by now...."

Oh Mulder, she smiled to herself, I still have that video camera....

"So you still wish we'd made that film, huh?" Scully eyed him closely,
looking for any remaining memory of that warehouse and another
videotape.

"Oh yeah, Scully...you are so sexy when you snap on that latex...It
was all I could do not to throw you onto that carpet and do the naked
pretzel right there in suburbia."

"I'll tell you a secret, Mulder. I was ready to drop you to that
carpet and consummate the `marriage' then and there. But...I wasn't
sure of you yet. Wasn't sure of myself...I'm glad we've passed that
milestone."

"Me too." Mulder held her closer as she continued her exploration of
his body. Wow, if church retreats did this to his Scully, they needed
to go more often!

Breakfast

Mulder was tired. Very very tired. But content. He'd made it to his
room just before the breakfast bell. Quickly rushing through a shower,
shave and clothing, he took his place next to Scully and glumly eyed
his bowl of Wheatena. Oh well, last time I have to eat it.

"Mulder...Mulder.." Scully was gesturing at him.

"Huh? What is it?" He whispered back.

"Your shirt, button the collar of your polo shirt....quick!" Scully
sounded like she was fighting giggles. Mulder looked down and found a
bright red hickey strategically placed in the middle of his chest,
just below his throat.

He turned to Scully and grinned. "Now why would I want to hide that?
Just marks me as yours, doesn't it?" He left the collar open and
grinned his way through the morning. Scully blushed but took it all in
stride, even when Father McCue noticed it and smiled.

Sunday, 3 :30 p.m.

Mulder slammed the trunk and walked back to where Scully was deep in
conversation with her room mate, Tracy.

"Thanks for your address! I'll be sure to send you an invitation to
the wedding. And thanks for the suggestions...Oh, Mulder, this is
Tracy, she was my room mate."

Mulder looked from one petite redhead to the other and grinned. "For a
moment, I thought Scully had cloned herself. Glad to meet you. So
you're the lady who gave up her room for us."

"Oh, it was no hardship. Paul was getting lonely. Dana, give me a call
when you find your dress! I'm dying to see it. Oh...looks like Paul is
ready to go. I'll see you around." She caught Scully's eye and her
grin broadened. "Don't do anything I wouldn't do!"

Mulder couldn't understand why Scully was blushing so hard as they
walked back to the car. Too much sun, probably.

7 Days later

Mulder slid into the red leatherette booth. Tony's was famous for its
triple garlic pizza. Scully never wanted to eat here, said it made her
stomach turn, so he usually went here with the guys. Oh, there they
were.

"Hey! How ya doin?" Mulder called as they came over.

"So, it's the soon-to-be-married guy!" Frohike grinned and sat down,
followed by Langly, whose only comment was, "Pitiful, when another one
goes down."

Byers just looked at Mulder wistfully.

"So, I'm here. We gonna order some pizza?" Mulder looked around at the
Gunmen. They returned expectant grins.

"What? Is my shirt stained or something?"

Frohike grinned even more broadly. "Mulder, we just wanted to take you
to lunch, congratulate you on your marriage to the lovely Agent Scully
and tell you what your wedding gift will be."

"Why, guys...I'm touched. What is it? Lifetime subscriptions to TLG?"

"Thought of that, decided not to," said Langly.

"No, we thought of something more useful, we hope," said Byers. "We
want to cater the wedding. I mean, we'll hire the caterers, book the
room and pay for it. No...we insist."

"But guys, that's expensive! Even cake and champagne runs pretty
high," Mulder shook his head. "I should know, I've been pricing them."

"Well, we have some money set aside and we'd like to give you guys
something special," Byers insisted.

"Besides, we got a deal on the caterers. These guys aren't too
expensive and they have a hall we can rent. And their food is just
great!" Frohike smacked his lips. "Their gazpacho is to die for."

"Well, I think I need to check this out with Scully. She'll want to
know about the menu, the cake, stuff like that."

"Bro, we've got you funded for a sit down dinner for 50 with band. You
just tell Scully to see these guys and they'll take care of
everything." Frohike grinned and dug into his pocket.

Mulder took the card Frohike offered, then his eyes narrowed. "You
came by this money honestly, didn't you?"

Three sets of innocent eyes stared right back. "Of course we did,"
said Byers. "We've been investing in the stock market and
our...um..research has paid off."

Mulder just shook his head and put the card away. Better not to ask
about some things. He decided to apply himself to his triple-garlic
pizza.

That Evening

"Phew! Mulder, what have you been eating? Dead cats?" Scully wrinkled
her nose as she pulled away from Mulder's kiss. "Or have you been
eating at Tony's again?"

"Yes to the second. So the breath mints didn't work, huh? Say Scully,
the guys want to give us a great wedding gift: they want to throw the
reception for us." Mulder pulled out the business card and showed her.
Scully looked doubtful at first, but she had to admit that she was
grateful for the offer. She had some financial news for Mulder.

"Um..Mulder, I think I will take them up on the reception thing. I
found the dress I want today. Or rather, I found the design I like.
It's a beautiful dress, heavy white crepe and I know it'll look
wonderful. I'm having it made and it's even over Mom's budget...."

Mulder smiled. "How much, Scully?"

"Three thousand, five hundred eighty-seven dollars and...um..forty-two
cents."

Mulder raised his eyebrows. "And forty-two cents, huh?" Scully nodded.

"Mulder, all the other dresses made me look like a giant pin-cushion.
With beads. This one...well, it's the dress I always dreamed of..."
Scully smiled a little shyly.

"Well, then you have to get it. We just won't take that trip to Oregon
like we planned."

"I think we can manage that. Between our savings and Mom's
contribution, we can handle the wedding costs, the rings,
photographer, the dress and the trip, thanks to the guys' wedding
gift. Bless their hearts."

Scully was silent and snuggled next to Mulder on the couch, nose still
wrinkling at the garlic scent. Then a thought occurred to her.
"Mulder, they didn't get Tony's to cater..."


XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO

Dana Katherine Scully *and* Fox William Mulder


Request the Pleasure of Your Company

At the Celebration of Their Love

As They are Joined in Holy Matrimony

Saturday, December 18, 1999 at four o'clock p.m.

at St. Patrick's Church, District of Columbia.


**Reception to follow**

Please R.S.V.P. to DScully@xenith.freeservers.com

XOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXOXO


Title: The Wedding from Hell (6 of ?)

"God....mmmmmmm...Scully....,this is so incredible! I have never, in
my entire life experienced anything like this! Scully, you never cease
to amaze me!" Mulder gave a blissful sigh and looked lovingly into her
eyes as he popped the last morsel of chocolate Bavarian cake with
allspice and ginger into his mouth, then pushed his empty plate away
and leaned back against his chair.

Scully, a slower eater, just giggled and applied herself to her tiny
sliver of chocolate Bavarian cake. She and Mulder had already inhaled
a dinner of boneless lamb in rosemary and garlic with shiitake
mushrooms served with crispy potato cakes (with herbed fromage blanc),
winter asparagus and pumpkin gratin served in tiny individual
ramekins. She'd sampled the wedding cake (lemon cream with raspberry
curd) on her earlier visit. Looking at Mulder's orgasmic facial
expression, she assumed that he agreed with her about the menu for the
wedding reception. "Mulder, I'm glad you're happy with my choices. But
you should praise the cook, not me. I just went with his suggestions."

Mulder shook his head and took a sip of wine. "I just can't believe
that Frohike and the guys found this place. I half expected rubber
chicken and equally rubbery green beans on my plate, not decadent
gourmet food." Mulder gestured around the tiny restaurant in which
they sat. "This restaurant may be small now, but in five years people
will be fighting for reservations!"

"Yeah, Albert only just graduated from the Culinary Academy two years
ago, so he's still making a name for himself. I, for one, hope to be
kept on his favored customer list. He just started the catering part
of the business last year; fortunately he has some cousins who help
him out pretty regularly and don't need to be paid much. Lowers the
overhead." Dana picked up a morsel of cake, popped it into her mouth,
then licked her fingers. Wow, this chocolate was good. She was glad
she'd opted for both the lemon wedding cake and side desserts as well.
But she'd better watch her portions or she'd never fit into her
wedding dress---not to mention the *special* lingerie she was bringing
for the honeymoon.

"Well, I picked up the rings," Mulder said, a little nervously.
"Um...they're a little different than we discussed."

"What do you mean, different? We agreed on plain gold bands." Scully
fixed him with a suspicious look.

Mulder fished into his pocket and pulled out two ring boxes and opened
the first at random. A man's ring lay nestled inside, made of white
and yellow gold, scored with a pattern....of "X"s. The woman's ring he
produced next was more delicate, but repeated the pattern.

"Mulder. No. Absolutely not! I will NOT wear the X Files on my finger
for the next forty years!" Scully didn't know whether to laugh or cry.
She'd sent him out to pick out some wedding rings, and he'd returned
with the equivalent of a handful of magic beans.

Mulder gave her an imploring look. "C'mon, Scully. I *like* these
rings. They sort of symbolize our partnership, our life together. You
*have* to admit that the X Files have been at the middle of every
significant happening..."

"You mean every significant *injury* we've ever dealt with.." Scully
interrupted. Mulder pleadingly held out the ring and Scully took it,
inspecting it more closely. Mulder's ring had been engraved per her
instructions: "I believe in you", while the woman's ring had Mulder's
inscription "My one in five billion." She sighed. Well, they weren't
as bad as she'd thought. They were heavy gold, nice rings really. And
since they'd been engraved, she thought they were stuck with them.

"Okay, Mulder. But if you ever tell me you've bought some magic beans,
I'm leaving you!"

Mulder just grinned and silently took the rings back, returning them
to their boxes. "So, how did the wedding shower go?"

Scully blushed. She was still embarrassed about the shower that Holly
at work had managed to pull off. She and Kim, Skinner's secretary, had
secretly gathered all the female agents in the building, as well as
most of the secretaries and administrative assistants and thrown a
blow-out surprise shower for her the day before. Mulder had quietly
grinned and left the room, commenting "There's too much estrogen in
the room for me! I'm outta here."

"It was great. Say...you didn't know about this, did you?" She gave
Mulder an accusing glance.

"Well, they did ask a few questions about your clothing size, color
preferences, things like that....And I *had* happened to chance a look
at the Victoria's Secret catalog hidden in your desk..." Mulder gave
her an evil grin. "As far as I'm concerned, I benefit from the gifts
as much as you do!"

Scully had no choice but to grin back. "Okay, but five lace teddies
has to be a record. And I won't even discuss the scented massage oils
and the uh gift certificate for Susie's Sensual Shoppe. There wasn't a
single piece of Tupperware in the bunch." She sipped her wine. "And
your bachelor party, does it have to be the night before the wedding?
I swear, if you lurch down that aisle or have any bruises or marks on
you, I'll kill you myself!"

"We have to do it the Friday before. Skinner's out of town for two
weeks before the wedding and I want him there to keep the guys'
enthusiasm within bounds. They were talking about hiring a stripper
and I don't think they believed me when I said I wasn't interested in
watching some silicon bimbo dance for me."

"Oh? Should we be investigating hormonal problems in you, Mulder?"
Scully's eyes narrowed. Mulder's interest in, uh, adult entertainment
was of long duration.

"Oh, nothing wrong with my hormones, but why settle for a fake when
I've got the real thing waiting at home?" Mulder gave her his bedroom
smile and Scully shivered. Maybe it was time to go home, spend a
not-so-quiet evening together.

Mulder met her gaze and nodded. She smiled back, understanding, and
they gathered their things to leave. Before exiting, they found Albert
at the doorway.

"Albert, that was the best meal I've ever had in my life!" Mulder said
fervently. "I think we've chosen the right menu for the reception."

Albert grinned. "I'm glad you liked it. I always appreciate it when
people enjoy my cooking. Okay, we'll decorate the hall and have
everything ready for you on the 18th. May you two be as happy as
couple as Elise and I!"

"Thanks, I think we will," Mulder gave Scully a tender look before
grabbing her hand and leading her out to the parking lot.


Wedding Rehearsal Dinner

Blackie's House of Beef


Dana picked at her salad. The rehearsal had gone well enough, she
supposed. Her dress wasn't ready yet, so she'd worn an old evening
gown. Mulder had looked great (no surprise there), and Bill looked
wonderful even if he had spent the evening glowering.

She was glad that they'd chosen conservative bridesmaid dresses.
Ellen, her maid of honor with Tara as a bridesmaid had both agreed
that forest green gowns were reasonably attractive. Whoever designs
bridesmaid gowns must hate women, she mused. Certainly, most of the
dresses they'd seen looked like they belonged on failed prom dates.

Now the guys were looking good. Frohike was Mulder's best man with
Byers as an usher. Langly had flatly refused to be part of the wedding
party if it meant he had to "wear a monkey suit, man!" So he would
just be a guest. And of course, Bill was giving her away.

The flowers had been ordered, red and white roses to go with the
general holiday theme of the wedding. Music was Mulder's job. Scully
fervently hoped he'd told the truth when he swore that there'd be
absolutely no Elvis compositions in the ceremony. She knew he'd been
tempted.

Her reverie was interrupted by the sound of raised voices. Oh no, not
Bill again. He'd in a temper throughout the meal, and the wine with
dinner hadn't mellowed him. His belligerent voice could be heard over
Tara's attempts to shush him.

"He's a prick! He's a jinx and he's gonna get her killed! You mark my
words, unless she gets far, far away from that sorry-ass bastard we'll
be attending her funeral. Give her away, that's just what I'm
doing---leading her to her doom!"

Bill affixed contemptuous eyes on Mulder, who sat rigid in his chair,
clearly wishing with his whole heart that Bill would just go away.
Suddenly, Dana was mad, and frustrated and fed up. Bill had been
making these noises for years and nothing would ever satisfy him. Why
should Mulder, her future *husband* be subjected to this? She got up.

"Bill, I think we need to talk. Outside." She led him past the doorway
and into the lobby of the hotel next door. "Okay, say your piece. This
is your last chance, because then I am going to marry Mulder and *you*
are going to shut up. For good!"

"Damn, it Dana!" Bill swore under his breath. "If you marry that
asshole, he'll get you killed. I've tried to make this work, tried to
grit my teeth and just get through this, but I can't. I just can't
hand my little sister over to the man who's going to endanger her at
every opportunity!"

Dana could feel her own teeth clench. "Bill, *nothing* that has
happened to me was Mulder's fault. *Everything* that I have
experienced was the result of my own choices in life. Mulder loves me
and would willingly die for me. And, as it happens, I feel exactly the
same about him. There *is* no other man on this planet for me except
him. I am going to marry him next week and nothing you or anybody else
can say will change my mind." Her eyes narrowed. "You tried to talk
Mulder out of it, didn't you? He looked depressed this morning but
wouldn't say why.... You tried to persuade him to drop this."

Bill looked shamefacedly at the floor. "Yeah, I called him this
morning at the office. I knew you were going for a dress fitting
because Tara went too. I gave him all my reasons, and he agreed that
you are in danger fairly often. But he wouldn't give you up, or the
idea of marrying you, even though he admitted that in all likelihood
you or he will die in the line of duty, the way things are going."
Bill grimaced. "He said you were a grown woman and made your own
decisions."

"You're damned right, I do! And I am going to marry Mulder if I have
to draw my weapon and force him to that altar!"

At the expression on Bill's face, she gave a sad laugh. "No, it isn't
that. I'm not pregnant. God, I wish I were, then maybe I'd get less
friction about this. This is my decision, Bill. He's my man, and I
want him."

Bill gave her an entreating look, then shook his head at her frown.
"Well, then I can't be a party to it. I can't give you away and hand
you over to the man who's going to see you killed or maimed. I'll be
at the wedding, but I can't give you away. I'm going to wait in the
car. Tell Tara, would you?" Dana watched Bill walk swiftly out to the
parking lot. She sat down on one of the couches in the lobby and
pondered.

Well, at least he hadn't written her out of the family. She supposed
that this was the best compromise under the circumstances. Mulder
would only have to see Bill at a distance, at family gatherings.
Everybody else liked him, Mom, Charlie, Tara and especially her little
nephew Matthew. What a father Mulder would make.

Charlie wasn't coming to the wedding, was stationed in Germany and
couldn't get leave and his family lived there with him. She supposed
that Mom could give her away, but she knew Maggie was shy in big
crowds. She'd hate it. Of course, there was somebody else she could
ask.

She returned to the restaurant and quietly pulled Mulder aside,
explaining the problem.

Mulder's face took on his stubborn look, lower lip firmly pushed out.
"So he just ditched you, huh? So much for the overprotective big
brother."

Dana shook her head. "No, I guess it's more accurate to say that I
fired him. I couldn't see him treating you disrespectfully, and won't
tolerate it any more, brother or not. I think I have another candidate
for the honor, if he'll do it." She smiled. "We're meeting with him
tomorrow."

Monday, December 6, 1999

Office of Walter S. Skinner

"Good morning, agents. I hope you brought your expense reports with
you." Skinner noted how relaxed and happy both agents seemed lately.
Good. The last year had been hellish on them both and he was grateful
that they'd finally connected. "How are the wedding plans going?"

"Oh, they're going just fine, sir," Scully said shyly. "Actually, we
wanted to discuss some of those plans with you if you don't mind."

Skinner smiled. "I've got the leave approvals on my desk. Don't worry,
you'll have a real vacation this time, not just another sick leave."

"Oh, it isn't that." Scully found herself hemming and hawing a bit.
Mulder remained silent, damn it. He was letting her handle this. Okay,
well it was her brother and her problem after all.

"You know that my brother Bill was originally going to give me away at
the wedding? Well, as it turns out, he can't do it. And we...*I*...was
wondering whether I could ask you to give the bride away." Scully
looked at a Skinner suddenly gone still.

Then Skinner broke into a big grin. "Of course I'll give the bride
away. I'd be honored. But what about your other brother?"

Scully shook her head. "Out of the country and can't get leave. And my
mom would hate walking me up the aisle. She'd do it, but she gets
stage fright. We appreciate your agreeing to do this."

"No, Dana, the pleasure is all mine," Skinner said cordially. "I've
been waiting for you two to get together for seven years and now I'm
glad to be the one to walk you up the aisle." He gave them a concerned
look. "I'm leaving town tonight for that conference and I won't be
back until the Thursday before the wedding. Will that cause problems?"

"We'll coordinate everything through Kim. And we can make last minute
changes on Thursday and Friday," Scully said reassuringly. Skinner
nodded.

"All right, then, back to your expenses. Mulder, didn't you ever study
arithmetic in school? I can't believe the figures you've arrived at
here....."

December 18, 1999

3:00 a.m.

Scully heard the rattling of the key in her door and threw off the
afghan, running over to open it.

She opened the door to a sorry sight. Fox Mulder stood there, reeking
of booze, cigarettes and other things she didn't want to name,
supported by an equally blasted Walter Skinner.

"C'n we come in?" asked Mulder blearily.

Scully was speechless as she opened the door and the two men stumbled
in. Mulder collapsed on the couch while Skinner found an armchair.
Scully just stood there, arms folded across her chest, eyeing both men
sternly.

"I take it the bachelor party went well?" She asked crisply.

"Oh yeah...was great, wasnnn't sir?"

Skinner propped open an eyelid. "Yeah...real good pardd..par...party.
Don' worry...no strippers...nothin' wild. Jus' drinkin'. And bad
jokes..."

Mulder nodded. "Good booze, baaad jokes."

Scully tried unsuccessfully to bite back her smile. "And just how many
bars did you hit?"

Skinner beamed at her jovially. "Five? or wazzit six? Mulder, you got
the mem'ry. H'many wazzit? Mulder?"

He didn't get an answer. Mulder was already fast asleep on the couch.
Scully covered him gently with the afghan and then led Skinner to the
guest bedroom, where she poured him into the bed, only stopping to
help him off with his shoes.

"Agent Scully...?" Skinner said as Scully went to close the door.

"Yes sir?"

"Jus' want you t'know, I was always on y'r side, you `n Mulder's.
Din't always have choices, but always on y'r side. I'm glad y'r
getting married."

Scully smiled. "Thank you sir." Then she closed the door.


The Wedding From Hell, Part 7

December 18, 1999

Noon

"C'mon Mulder, time to get up.." Scully tugged at the sodden lump that
was her intended. She paused bemusedly. This time tomorrow, he'd be
her husband. She'd be Mrs. Fox Mulder (what the heck, she wouldn't use
the name Scully *all* the time..). Husband. Wow. She fought down the
silly grin and knew she had to be strong, disciplined. Had to get
Mulder to the church on time.

"Mulder..wake up!" She tried to shake him, then heard Skinner's
unsteady footstep behind her. He looked about as bad as Mulder did,
but with an evil gleam in his eye.

"Let me try, Agent Scully," he suggested. "Agent Mulder, report to my
office in five minutes with all your expense reports for the past five
months! Your shoddy paperwork is ridiculous!" He barked, then stood
back as Mulder erupted from the couch and stood shivering before them.

"Huh? Wha...I'll get `em, where are they? Huh?" He stopped when he saw
that both Skinner and his fiancée were laughing. "Hey, that's not
fair..." He grabbed his head and sighed. "Oh, my head..."

"But it worked," Scully said placidly. "There is coffee in the kitche
as well as aspirin, antacids and any other painkillers I could
scrounge. The toast is just about done."

Skinner was still grinning as he led the way to the table. Mulder
stumbled after, giving his boss envious looks at his apparently
unaffected state. Skinner sat quietly down and applied himself to his
coffee and toast. Mulder sipped his coffee and helped himself to the
aspirin. Hopefully he'd feel human soon. It was his wedding
day...wow...suddenly he felt better. And even more so when a pair of
cool hands felt his forehead, then kissed him.

"No fever, just hangover. And I thought I had trouble holding my
liquor." Scully smiled, including them both in her beam. "I'm heading
over to the church now. Tara took the dress over, and the hairdresser
will be working on me and the bridesmaids. Mulder, your tux is in the
closet fresh from the cleaners and so are your black shoes. I laid out
black silk socks on your bed..."

Mulder reached back and grabbed her around the waist. "Woman, I've
been dressing myself for over 30 years, I think I can manage this..."

"Well, from here on in you've become *my* responsibility, so just make
sure your socks match!" She disengaged herself, then planted a deep,
passionate kiss on Mulder's lips. "Until we meet at the altar..." she
breathed.

"Oh yeah..." Mulder breathed back and watched her go.

"You're a lucky man. I hope you know that," Skinner said quietly.

Mulder nodded. "I know."

3:00 p.m.

Mulder found himself standing at the entrance to St. Patrick's church,
tugging at his cufflinks. Skinner stood placidly beside him, watching
Mulder out of the corner of his eye.

"They'll be here. Don't worry."

Mulder smiled nervously. "It wouldn't matter, except Frohike has the
rings. If he loses those, Scully will kill me." He looked around.
"Think I'll go check on her."

Skinner grinned. "It's bad luck for the groom to see the bride before
the wedding."

"Shit, if it weren't for bad luck I wouldn't have any luck at all!"
Mulder called over his shoulder as he headed for the room where the
women were dressing. He could hear the sounds of feminine laughter as
he tapped at the door.

He was met by Tara Scully, dressed in a flowing gown of deep green.

"Tara, can I see Scully?" Mulder affixed his best puppy-dog pleading
expression on his face.

"Don't you know it's bad luck to see the bride before..." Mulder
pushed open the door and found Scully seated before a mirror, her hair
done and finishing her makeup.

"Hi, gorgeous," he said as she got up and turned to face him. He
almost passed out. She stood in a floor length gown of some sparkly,
semi-translucent fabric in a champagne color that flowed with her
every movement. And the neckline....oh my...it plunged and plunged...

"Hi Mulder," Scully said softly. "Do you like the dress?"

Mulder closed his gaping jaw and tried to pry his eyes away from her
breasts, which the dress covered--almost. "Um....oh yeah, I love the
dress...Oh yeah..." He had *never* expected his prim, businesslike
Scully to ever look like this. Even naked she'd never looked this
beautiful. Then he realized. "Hey, it's not white."

"No, Mulder it isn't. I tried on about twenty dresses before I
realized that the reason I hated them was because they looked like
`wedding' dresses: stiff, ruffly ugly confections. I hated looking
like a human pincushion. I decided against the white dress with veil.
So Mom and I found a seamstress to make what *I* wanted. And why
should I wear white? I'm hardly a virgin, and I'm not a sixteen year
old bride. I'm a grown woman."

Mulder grinned appreciatively as she spun in a circle, making the
beads sparkle. "Oh, you're a grown woman all right. I'm just glad
you're spoken for, otherwise I'd have to ask you to save me a dance at
the reception."

She slinked over to him and snuggled up very close. "Oh Mulder, I'm
saving much more than a dance for you tonight..." she whispered in his
ear. He could feel himself beginning to sweat in his tux.

"I think I know why they don't let the groom see the bride before the
wedding. They're afraid they'll ravish her before she gets to the
altar!" Mulder tugged at his collar while Scully giggled. He allowed
himself to be shoo'd from the room and returned to the front of the
church.

Maggie Scully had just arrived, driving Teena Mulder from her hotel.

"Mom! How are you feeling?" Mulder beamed as he helped her from the
car.

"Oh, I'm just fine Fox. My, you look wonderful today," Teena smiled
wistfully. "It just doesn't seem that long ago you were just a child.
Now you're getting married. Did Dana like your grandmother's ring?"

"She loved it. It hasn't left her finger since I put it on her, except
for the occasional autopsy." Mulder stopped at Teena's grimace. Oh
yeah, Mom was sensitive. Noting Mulder's expression, Maggie tactfully
took Teena's arm.

"Why don't we check on the girls? They can probably use some help
dressing."

Teena nodded and allowed herself to be led away.

A battered VW van pulled up and disgorged Frohike and Byers, both
resplendent in tuxes matching Mulder. Langly parked the van and
returned to the group

"Hey man, you're lookin' good!" Mulder called as Langly approached.
Langly, too had made an effort, wearing neatly pressed black cords
with matching tuxedo t-shirt. Langly just grinned and adjusted his
glasses.

Mulder and the groomsmen wandered into the church and got a good look
at the decorations for the first time. Mulder stopped, stunned. There
were flowers, of course: the red and white roses he and Scully had
chosen, and the church was wreathed in evergreen for Christmas. But
the Scullys and the Gunmen, he supposed, had also decorated the church
with light. Tiny votive candles, hundreds of them, were perched all
over the tall, ornately carved altar, lighting up the niches and
bringing the front of the church into a golden glow. The altar itself
was ablaze with more of the points of light.

"Did you guys do this?" Mulder breathed in awe.

"Yup. We got together with Tara and Maggie earlier today. Had to send
you two off right," Frohike grinned. "I've got fire extinguishers in
the corners, just in case."

Mulder just grinned back and admired the church, greeting the guests
as they filtered in. Finally, Langly went in and took his seat while
Byers and Frohike helped to seat the guests. Mulder backed into a far
corner of the church and stood, fidgeting nervously.

"Sorry you didn't bring your weapon?" Skinner asked dryly.

"I've faced down liver-eating mutants, vampires and things I can't
even describe but I've never been this scared....." Mulder looked
around palely. "I wish they'd let me hang out with her until the
wedding starts. At least then I'd know she isn't going to cut and run
at the last minute like any sane person."

Skinner grinned. "Agent Mulder, Dana Scully gave up any pretense at
sanity years ago when she elected to remain your partner. Don't worry,
I'll get her to the altar safely."

The musicians had arrived, a classical quartet, and began playing soft
music. More guests filtered in. Mulder got more nervous.

"I wish Scully hadn't picked Pachelbel's Canon in D for this
wedding...it was originally written for a funeral, you know, " Mulder
muttered distractedly. Then he saw Father McCue and two altarboys,
ready to process in.

"Hello, son. I'll see you two at the altar," said Father McCue and
winked. The first altar boy took a better grip on the large cross he
carried, and at McCue's nod, started the procession in.

Both mothers appeared at the doorway.

"It's time, Fox," Maggie smiled. Teena approached Mulder and kissed
him.

"Congratulations, my darling boy. I hope you'll be very happy."

Mulder gave them both a quavering smile and made his way to the front
of the church. In the distance he could see the bustle at the rear as
Frohike paired with Maggie and Byers escorted Teena in.

When both mothers were seated, Frohike joined Mulder up at the front
of the church, while Byers took a seat.

"Courage, man. You can do this," Frohike whispered. Mulder nodded, his
eyes focused on the entrance.

The soft classical music faded away to be replaced by a passage from
Beethoven, Pathetique, 2nd movement he thought. First Ellen, in a
green velvet dress carrying red and white roses with more roses in her
hair, then Tara dressed the same, walked slowly into the church.

He found himself craning his neck, seeing only a glimpse of golden
light in the entryway. The music changed to a trumpet solo, it's
triumphant call ringing through the church as his Scully came up the
aisle. She glowed with golden light, the tiny votives catching the
sparkles on her dress. She wore no jewelry, not even her cross. She
didn't need any. And she had no veil. Her only ornament was another
bouquet of red and white roses, tied with gold and green ribbons. She
was simply herself, completely and honestly his Scully, coming to him
in a cloud of light. He couldn't think of anything more fitting.

The trumpet solo ended and Skinner grinned at Scully as he placed her
hand in Mulder's. Scully stood on tiptoe and gave a surprised Skinner
a quick kiss.

"Thank you, Sir. For everything."

"My pleasure, Agent." A beaming Skinner backed away and sat down next
to Maggie.

Mulder gave Scully a long appreciative look, which she returned with
interest. Then they followed the priest to the altar.

A few rows back, Langly elbowed Byers. "Hey man, what's wrong? You're
supposed to be *happy* for them."

Byers sniffled a little. "I *am* happy...and a little jealous."

The service passed Mulder in a golden blur. He was intensely conscious
of Scully next to him; he could swear she was glowing. He certainly
felt like he was. Oh, what? Oh yeah, the vows. He cleared his throat
and addressed himself to Scully using the words that they had chosen:

"I, Fox William Mulder, promise to be your lover, companion and
friend,

Your partner throughout our lives,

Your ally in conflict,

Your greatest fan and your toughest adversary,

Your comrade in adventure,

Your student and your teacher,

Your consolation in disappointment,

Your accomplice in mischief,

Your strength in your need and

Vulnerable to you in my own.

And most of all, your friend in our shared search for truth.

I take you to be my wife and promise to be true to you in good times
and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honor you
all the days of my life."

He could see tears trembling on her lashes as he slipped the ring on
her finger. He could hear the quaver in her voice as she repeated back
the words he'd just said to her, promising to be his partner, his
support and all the things she already was and now would be for the
rest of their lives. Her fingers trembled as she pushed the ring with
the X's onto his finger.

He could never remember the rest of the mass, just the feel of her
fingers in his and the smooth gold of the ring. He thought that they
sang the Ave Maria, when Scully went to lay her bouquet at the statue
of the Virgin Mary and said a prayer. He breathed a quick prayer then,
too, hoping that the God Scully believed in would protect her and take
care of them both.

Then, they were in a receiving line, laughing and being congratulated.
Scully was teased more than once about her dress, but she just said
proudly, "My husband likes it, and if it's okay with him, it's okay
with me!"

The photographer grabbed them and forced them through the formal
portrait ordeal. But Mulder didn't mind, he couldn't wipe the
shit-eating grin off his face and figured it couldn't hurt.

By the time they got to the reception, the party was going full blast.
Frohike had helped him find a band with a guy who sang Elvis songs.
When Scully got a look at the singer's sideburns, she frowned a little
then shrugged. Mulder decided he liked the shrug. It made her shimmer
all over.

The dinner was as delicious as the one they'd sampled and the guests
were raving over the lamb, the table decorations (tiny boxes of
truffles in red and gold boxes sitting on

They cut the cake, a two tier lemon creme with raspberry filling, and
delicately fed it to each other (avoiding a food fight by
prearrangement). Scully successfully disposed of her wedding bouquet
(Tracy caught it), and Mulder gingerly relieved her of her garter
while she giggled. Frohike grabbed it in mid-air.

"Oh no, does that mean I'm going to see that thing on his rearview
mirror for the next ten years?" Scully asked doubtfully as Frohike did
a victory dance, twirling the garter around his finger.

"Probably. I think you made his day," Mulder smiled, then felt Scully
tug his arm. She held her finger to her lips and pulled him into a
neighboring banquet room, currently unused.

She pulled him over by the windows. "Mulder, I just wanted to tell you
that I love you, now, away from all the chaos." She planted her hands
on either side of his face and leaned in for a kiss.

They both raised their heads when they heard whistles and cheers from
behind them. The wedding party had followed them.

"Come on, the honeymoon can't start yet! You haven't danced!" yelled
Frohike, still carrying the garter. Mulder and Scully laughed and ran
back into the main room, holding hands.

"You're right, we have to dance. Wife, may I have this dance?" Mulder
held out his arms and Scully walked into them, holding him close. The
singer, who looked suspiciously like Elvis, began to sing:

"Wise men say, only fools rush in, but I can't help falling in love
with you...."

Scully gave Mulder a long, suspicious glance. "I knew Elvis would be
in there somewhere. But I love the thought."

"Of course," Mulder just grinned back and they continued their dance.

Other couples filtered onto the dance floor and soon the room was full
of dancers. Frohike approached Skinner, standing wistfully on the
sidelines.

"Hey, Skinner, would you like to join us in a private toast? I brought
some of the good stuff." Frohike held out a small silver flask.
Skinner grinned.

"I'd be honored," he replied and followed Frohike back to a small
storeroom.

Byers and Langly were already waiting, gleefully sipping at a
confiscated bottle of champagne. Skinner picked it up and read the
label. "Vouve Cliquotte! Where did you find this?"

"Mulder gave it to us. Said his mom had bought them a case as a
wedding gift and he wanted to share the wealth." Langly grabbed an
empty champagne flute and poured Skinner a glassful.

Reaching back to put the bottle down, Langly lost his balance and fell
back hard against some wooden packing crates stacked against the wall.
Fumbling for his balance, he hung onto the top crate, putting his full
weight against it. The pile of crates wobbled and fell over, breaking
with a crash.

Skinner and the gunmen stood back, silently watching a deadly pile of
handguns, ammunition, sub-machine guns and assault rifles pour from
the cases.

Title: The Wedding from Hell (8 of ?)

The Wedding From Hell Webpage is at:
http://xenith.freeservers.com//weddingfromhell.html

Skinner and the Gunmen just stared at the gleaming pile of weaponry
for a moment, then Skinner knelt down and began to examine the guns.

He lifted a gun. "This is a Colt M16A2. High powered sub-machine gun,
it can easily pierce level 11 kevlar. This is a military weapon. And
this is a Benelli M1, 12-gauge shotgun."

Byers had knelt beside him and was looking over a handgun. "This is a
Beretta, isn't it?"

Skinner nodded. "All these are weapons of choice for terrorists,
high-powered and high quality. I assume that the rest of these cases
have the same contents. There must be ten cases here...hundreds of
weapons." Skinner frowned bleakly. "I thought one of the waiters
looked familiar and I just figured out where I've seen him before." He
got up, dusting the knees of his trousers. "I'm going to get Mulder."

"Are you sure you want to tell him? I mean, it's his wedding day."
Frohike cast a worried glance at the guns and then at Skinner.

"He wouldn't thank me for keeping him in the dark. I'll get him."

Skinner returned in a few minutes with a laughing Mulder. "Sir, I
don't understand what all the secrecy is abou...." He saw the burst
crates and the pile of weapons on the floor and fell silent in
mid-stream.

"Do you know anything about this, Agent Mulder?" Skinner asked
quietly.

Mulder shook his head, stunned. "No sir. We just rented the hall.
What's going on?"

"The waiter at my table looked familiar and I just remembered where I
saw him. I opened a file three days ago in the Domestic Terrorism
unit. Derek Brown is a known member of a terrorist militia group
called the Sons of America. It's been suspected for some time that
they've been stockpiling weapons and shipping them to their various
group centers. After Waco we've kept a low profile on the
investigation, but I think this will blow the case wide open." Skinner
sighed. "I'm sorry to interrupt your reception, Agent Mulder..."

Mulder tore his eyes away from the guns. "That's okay, sir. Should we
cancel our plane tickets?"

"Oh no. This doesn't involve your division at all; you two go ahead.
But I need to alert Agents Simonds and Richardson." He stopped. "Did
you hear that?"

The music and noise from the main room had died down and a single
man's voice could be heard shouting. "Don't anybody move or I'll mow
you down!"

"Damn," said Mulder. "He must have seen you come out to get me and
figured out we found the guns." His face grew pale. "Scully's in
there!"

"Hold it. Sudden movement might compel him to fire." Skinner eased
open the store room door slightly. "He's on the far side of the room.
Looks like all ten of the waiters are involved. They're armed and
scattered around the room. Damn! The hall is stuffed with
law-enforcement out there, unarmed, and we can't do a thing!"

Mulder bent down and retrieved a Beretta, loading it. "We can arm
ourselves and hope to have a chance of using it." He loaded a second
one and stuffed it into his cummerbund, then joined Skinner at the
door. He could hear the Gunmen nervously arming themselves as well.

"Oh no..." A furious Albert, still in chef's hat and apron was
stomping out of the kitchen toward Brown. "Derek, I hired you because
you're my cousin and Aunt Nita said you needed the work! How could you
do this? We're family!"

Brown stared coldly at Albert. "The Sons are my family. You'd better
get out of the way or, cousin or not, I'll shoot you where you stand."

"You wouldn't! We grew up together. Please Derek.." Albert walked
slowly toward Brown, who raised his gun. Albert gave a yell and ran
for Brown, wrestling him to the floor.

"Now!" hissed Skinner and the men slipped out of the store room,
scattering into the far corners of the hall. Mulder found Scully
huddled behind an upended table, watching three FBI agents trying to
take down one of the waiters.

"Are you okay?" she asked tensely.

"I'm fine." Mulder pulled the second Beretta out and held it out to
her. "So, how do you like your reception?"

Scully calmly eyed her husband. "Mulder, today I'm a bride, the
happiest day of my life, the day I've looked forward to since I was a
little girl. I spent two hours having my hair done, got a pedicure, a
manicure and spent over $3000 for this dress. This is my goddamned
day, so shut the fuck up Mulder and hand me the stupid gun!" She
grabbed the Beretta and pointed it over the table just as a bullet
came whizzing over their heads. The two agents had subdued the one
terrorist, but there were nine still free and armed.

"My mom. Is she still here? How about your mom and Tara?" Mulder asked
anxiously between shots.

"They left about twenty minutes ago. Mom drove Tara and Teena back to
the hotel, thank God. Bill's still here, somewhere."

"Bill? What the Hell is he doing here?" Mulder squeezed off another
shot and noted that one waiter was taking out the Christmas tree. He
could see all the little white porcelain doves exploding into puffs of
dust, like skeet.

"He came to apologize. Said he was unreasonable and that I was
competent to make my own choices. He came to the wedding, " Aim and
fire. Aim again. "He stood at the back. He also said he met a man who
claimed to be an old family friend, extended his best wishes to us."

"Oh? Who?" Mulder squeezed off a shot and scanned the room. Two more
waiters down, four more actively firing. Where were the other three?

"Bill said he was older, wrinkled, wearing a gray trenchcoat. And
smelled strongly of cigarettes. Bill said he was watching the ceremony
really closely, looking kind of sad." Aim, fire, duck. Oh, Tracy got
one of the Berettas. Damn, she's good--winged one of the waiters.

"I can't blame him for being sad. He was never invited. Talk about
evil fairies and their gifts...."

"What was that, Mulder?" click-click-click "Damn. I'm out of ammo. Do
you have any more?"

"No. It's all back in the storage room. Here, take my gun and cover
me. I'll go back and get more. Hey, there's Bill. I think he has the
same idea. Cover us."

Mulder gave the gun to Scully and scuttled over to the storage room
door, meeting Bill Scully there and running in after him.

"More ammo?" Mulder asked breathlessly.

"Yeah. I was over in the corner with some agents that got pinned down.
We're about out." Bill ran to the corner and began scooping up
ammunition. Mulder joined him, stuffing pockets.

"Well, I'm glad you came to the wedding after all. It made Scully
happy."

"I did it for her. Not for you. I still think you're a prick, and this
reception is just one more thing she's had to face because of you, so
don't think I'm doing you any favors." Bill ran back to the door,
followed by Mulder.

"You're never going to understand this, Bill, but I really don't care
what you think. I only care about my wife's well-being, and she cares
about you. God knows why."

Bill turned to reply to Mulder, then found himself pushed back against
the door, falling over backwards and landing on Mulder. Derek Brown
ran into the room, gun drawn, then slammed the door behind him.

He trained his gun on the two men. "Okay, empty your pockets and
nobody has to get hurt."

Reception Hall

Scully wondered dimly what had become of Mulder. Her count was up to
eight waiters either injured or subdued. If the agents were low on
arms and ammo, the waiters hadn't started with much either. Once the
fighting got down to chair-legs and fragments of the Christmas tree,
the battle was more even. She had remained crouched behind her table,
forgotten by most of the room, Mulder's gun now empty. Mulder. It was
taking him an awfully long time...

She heard a banging sound and men wearing kevlar vests poured into the
room. Waiter number nine was quickly subdued. She got up and
cautiously surveyed the room. Where was number 10? And what the Hell
had happened, anyway?

She saw the door to the storeroom open and was overjoyed to see Mulder
framed in the doorway. Skinner hurriedly ran over to him and as they
began speaking, she could see the black muzzle of a gun pointed at
Mulder's head. He'd found waiter number 10.

She hurried over and found herself in a crowd of D.C. SWAT team
members. "No, I'm an FBI agent. Sorry, I don't have my badge. Yes, I'm
the bride...please let me through. They have my partner hostage..."

The door was closed and Skinner was huddled with the SWAT team leader.
They both looked worried. "Agent Scully. I'm sorry to have to tell you
that Derek Brown is holding Agent Mulder and your brother Bill hostage
in there. He wants safe conduct out and money or he's threatening to
kill them."

A team member handed her a kevlar vest and she struggled into it,
slipping it absently over her dress. "Mulder knows that we don't deal
with terrorists..." she said, her voice low.

"We're trying to figure out a way to get them free of there. The room
is small, without even a ventilation duct, so teargas is iffy...."

Scully listened to them plan, but for the first time in a crisis she
felt frozen. Mulder was in there... Her husband was in there....This
was the reason she'd always been shy of commitment. She'd always been
terrified of loving somebody, then abruptly losing them.....


Store Room

When the gunfire had died down, Brown had had Mulder look outside and
report on the melee. "You've lost. All your guys are either shot or
arrested and the local SWAT team is pouring in. The FBI won't be far
behind. You've lost. Why don't you just give it up without any more
bloodshed?"

"I can't do that. I'm sworn to die before I betray the cause. And I'll
take you two with me if I need to." Brown spat and held the gun
steady. Bill and Mulder waited quietly, watching the gun in Derek
Brown's hands, as he held it without a quiver.

"You, Mister Newlywed--you go to the door. Tell `em I'll exchange you
for my freedom and $10,000 cash. Any tricks and your bride is a widow
before the day is out."

Mulder had delivered the message to an anxious Skinner. They both knew
the size of the weapons stockpile in the crates. There was no doubt
that Brown could make good his threat.

"Skinner--" Mulder looked over his shoulder, then back at his boss.
"If I don't get out of this, will you tell Scully..." he said softly,
then fumbled for words. Skinner nodded. "I'll tell her if I have to,
but I don't think it'll be necessary, Agent." The gun pressed more
firmly against Mulder's temple and he was forced back into the room.

Brown locked the door behind him and propped a chair against it, then
forced the men to the far side of the storage room, away from the open
cases.

"This doesn't have to end badly, "Mulder said softly. "You decide what
happens here, and nobody has to get hurt. You're outnumbered. At least
if you give up now, the Sons of America haven't lost another
soldier..."

"I said, I'm ready to die for the cause...."

"I know that. But wouldn't it be better to live for it? You don't do
the cause much good shot down by cops...." Brown was starting to look
doubtful. Good. "At least alive you can continue to work for the
cause. I know how very much you believe in it..." Mulder kept up a
soothing litany, hoping either to talk their captor down or to buy
time for the teams outside to find a way to rescue them. He could feel
Bill quivering with impatience, unhappy at the enforced stillness.

Mulder kept throwing cautionary looks Bill's way. He could sense that
Bill wanted to explode, just stop the talk and take control back.
Can't focus on Bill. Got to focus on Derek, he's the one with the gun.
Hope Bill has enough good sense not to...damn!

Derek's attention was focused so entirely on Mulder that he didn't see
Bill edging away from Mulder, taking himself out of direct view. A
sudden noise from outside the room startled Derek, and Bill chose that
moment to dive for him.

Bill hit him at the waist, throwing him over. Mulder cursed Bill
silently but was a split-second behind him, pinning him while Bill
wrestled the gun away from Derek. Bill sat on his captive and began
happily tying the man's wrists in front of his body with the tie from
the man's tux.

Mulder opened the door. "It's okay, our guy is down," he called to the
assembled firepower.

A kevlar clad Scully ran and gave him a flying hug. "Damn it, Mulder!
Don't *do* things like that! You frightened me." She snuggled into his
collarbone as Mulder held her close.

"Yeah, well it took a little help from his brother-in-law to get this
guy, sis." Bill got up, leaving Derek on the floor and sauntered
toward Scully. Mulder turned, ready to give him a wise-ass response
and saw Derek diving for his weapon. Bill must have put it down when
he was tying Derek.

"Bill!" As Mulder lunged forward he could see Derek grab the gun in
his tied hands and aim it point blank at Bill's back. "No!!" Mulder
pushed Bill out of the way and heard a tremendous noise.

Blood. There was blood everywhere. The world was covered with it. He
was on the floor, he guessed dimly. Somebody was yelling, and he could
feel hands on him, tugging at his collar and his tie. He blinked and
saw Scully hovering overhead, bloody streaks on her face, her hands
crimson red, her vest streaked with it.

"Scully....you're hurt..." he whispered.

"No, I'm not. Lie still." She grabbed the hem of her $3000 dress and
yanked. A long strip of fabric came loose, scattering tiny beads to
land and float in the blood. He could dimly see it flowing, pulsing
away from his body. She bunched the rag into a ball and pressed it
against his neck, hard.

"Ow! What...?"

"You got shot. It hit an artery..shit..." It wasn't like Scully to
swear, then he saw what she was swearing at. More blood, pulsing in
time to his heartbeat. A terrified looking Skinner ran up and dug for
a handkerchief.

"Here, Scully, use this." Skinner handed her the white cotton
handkerchief. Scully looked at the wad of fabric in her hand, red and
sodden. She shuddered and grabbed the cloth offered, pushing it down
onto the wound. She looked up at Skinner as she spoke urgently. "Go
find a towel, or a tablecloth or something...And get the paramedics.
NOW!"

"Scully...." Her eyes returned to Mulder's face. "Scully, I want you
to know that this has been the best day of my life. I love you..."
Mulder could feel himself getting cold. He could vaguely see Skinner
pulling off his jacket, Scully tucking it around him. Too bad he was
going to ruin it; Skinner'd never get his deposit back.

Everything sounded so far away. Cold. It was so cold.

"No...Mulder...no, not like this. You can't go like this." Scully's
hands were trembling where she pressed against the wound. The cloth
was red and soaking again. She looked around vainly for another cloth
to use and tore another strip off her dress, adding it to the
compress. "Mulder, you can't go yet. You have to hold on. Don't you
dare give up like this! Mulder? Mulder can you hear me?" Anguish in
her voice...."Damn it, where are the paramedics?!!"

Title: The Wedding from Hell (9 of 9)

When Mulder had appeared at the storeroom door, announcing that the
last terrorist had been subdued, Scully was waiting. At the first
sight of Mulder, whole and uninjured, she had run full speed and
thrown herself into his arms. Safe. He was safe. Then she heard Bill,
bragging as usual, and pulled her head away from Mulder's chest.

She saw the terrorist stretch his bound hands for the gun just in
reach, grab it, aim it for Bill. She felt Mulder yell, then pull
abruptly away from her to dive for Bill. "Mulder...no!" was on her
lips, but it was too late.

Bill pushed out of the way, Mulder took the bullet in the neck. She
saw blood fountain out of him as he collapsed to the floor. She
sprinted towards him and heard a shot, Skinner's gun, she thought. The
terrorist went down and stayed down.

She threw herself to her knees next to her husband. Mulder's eyes were
opening as he struggled to sit up.

"Lie still. No I'm not hurt," she told him sharply, watching the blood
pump out of him in time to his heartbeat. Artery. If it was the
carotid, Mulder was dead as he lay there. Please God, let it be the
jugular; lower pressure, there'd be a chance of saving him.

Without regret she ripped a hunk of fabric from her gold dress and
made a compress for Mulder's wound. He'd stopped arguing, getting
paler. She could see the sweat beading his face, skin felt clammy
under the hot blood flooding her hands.

He was trying to say good bye. Damn it, Mulder, don't you say goodbye
to me yet! We've barely started. We never had a chance to really
start. Not today. Not now. We've never had a chance! Mulder's eyes
flutter closed and he falls into silence. Wrap Skinner's jacket around
Mulder, try to keep the shock down. Grasp at straws.

He's dying....Keep pressing the wound, try to stop the blood. He's
dying...he's really going to leave me this time and I can't stop
it.....

Add another strip of fabric to Skinner's handkerchief and her original
dress fragment. Press, hold..pray. Breathe, Mulder, breathe.

Mulder's eyes opened again and he just looked up at her, that deep
look that meant he was studying her, learning her soul. He smiled a
little and they closed again. She bent forward and put her lips to his
ear. "Mulder, if you die on me I will never forgive you. Got that?
Please, please just hold on for me..."

Skinner appeared with a stack of dish towels and silently handed them
to her. She took two, folded them and jammed them on top of the wound.

"Where are the goddamned paramedics?" she gritted, here eyes never
leaving Mulder's face.

"On their way. There was a backup on the freeway, traffic accident,
and they had to go around it. How is he?"

Dana tried to control her voice; keep it professional and cool. "He's
suffering from hypervolumic shock; he's lost a lot of blood, and
quickly. Unless we get him to a hospital soon, very soon...." her
voice trailed off and she pressed harder. Skinner disappeared and she
could hear him shouting in the background that any paramedics who
showed up were to go to the back room, immediately!

The paramedics arrived, at last! and took over. Dana shucked off the
kevlar vest and followed the gurney our of the hall. She saw that her
hands were red with drying blood and absently wiped them on her dress.
While they were loading Mulder, she sadly noticed the white Mustang,
parked forlornly in front of the hall, still decorated with crepe
paper roses and a `just married' sign.


Skinner came up to her. "Dana, I'll meet you at the hospital. Don't
worry about the car, I'll see to it." Scully nodded and got into the
ambulance. She saw a second ambulance arrive, for the other wounded
she supposed. The other wounded at her wedding reception.

Skinner watched the ambulance leave and went back into the room. He
found Byers, Frohike and Langly standing together talking solemnly.

"How is he?" Byers asked.

"Still alive, and on his way to the hospital. Agent Scully's with him.
I was wondering if you could arrange to have the Mustang towed
somewhere safe? I don't think Scully will want to deal with it today."

Frohike nodded. "I have the spare key and I can get into Mulder's
garage. Not a problem."

"Good. Byers, would you go to the hotel and inform Mrs. Scully and
Mrs. Mulder of the...er...occurrences here today? Maybe bring them to
the hospital? I think that Agent Scully will need the support."

"Of course. They're at the Plaza? I'll go get them."

"How about me?" Langly asked.

"You might try praying."

Skinner bleakly eyed the pool of blood drying on the storeroom floor
and went to check on the other wounded.


In the ambulance the paramedics continued to work on Mulder. Dana
silently watched and listened, knowing better than to interfere. First
one, then a second large bore IV was hooked up, trying frantically to
replace the fluids Mulder had lost. His blood pressure had fallen to
80 over 40 and was dropping, pulse was in the 140's and thready. Even
though he was on oxygen, she helplessly watched him start to choke and
gasp for air. He had never regained consciousness.

Georgetown Hospital. Thank God. She followed the gurney into the ER,
where she was gently but firmly pried away. They saw the blood all
over her; was she hurt? No, I'm not hurt. I'm fine. It isn't my blood.
The nurse wanted to know about next of kin, was she a relative?

"Yes, I'm his par...I'm his wife," Dana faltered and fell silent,
lightly caressing the rings on her left hand, now encrusted with
blood. The nurse gave her an understanding nod and sat her down with a
cup of coffee and the admittance forms.

Then she went to wait in the waiting room. That was where Maggie and
Byers found her, a small figure in a stained and crumpled dress,
huddled in a chair. As they approached they could see her absently
twisting the rings on her left hand while she stared expressionlessly
into space.

"Honey? How are you?" Maggie sat down next to her and enfolded her in
a hug.

"Mom? Oh Mom, he was dying..." After a long silence, Scully whispered
into mother's embrace. "I couldn't do anything. I was there this time,
and there was still nothing I could do..."

"Honey, there's always something you can do. You can pray. You're
doing that, aren't you?"

Dana nodded dumbly, while her mother stroked her hair.

Maggie loo