Well, this is just a short story that was inspired by "Quagmire." It's a sort of continuation thrown in with a wee bit of Dean's latest writing challenge, sort of. Anyway, it's rated PG, and is sort of a relationship story. You decide whether or not you think it is romantic. All comments, flames etc. can be sent to macspooky@erols.com. All the usual disclaimers still apply, you know the ones about Xfiles belonging to CC, 1013, etc. etc. etc. "An Ending Some of Us Might Like to See" by Macspooky macspooky@erols.com Mulder stared out through the mist at the water for a long moment. He knew it was childish, but he couldn't quite contain his disappointment at not having found Big Blue. In his heart, he still felt it was out there, as mysterious and elusive as the truth, but now that he had shot the huge alligator that had been the cause of all the deaths, he would have to return to Washington. He would no longer have an excuse to stay and hunt monsters. Finally, reluctantly, he followed his partner from the banks of the lake up to the patrol car that was waiting to take them back to their lodgings. They had been forced to share a small two bedroom cabin not far from the intrepid now deceased monster photographer. Normally he wouldn't have minded, but, he realized suddenly, he was very angry at her. It had been a long night on that rock, a long night in which she had lashed out at him and told him right to his face that his quest in life was pointless. No matter what other inanities they might have discussed, those were the words that he recalled the most, and they had hurt. He thought he had a partner who would always be by his side, and now she had finally admitted that she thought the whole thing was stupid. When he reached the patrol car he did not hold the door for her as he normally might have, nor did he touch her. Instead, he climbed directly into the front seat next to the highway patrolman and left her to sit in the back alone. They rode in silence until the officer let them out in front of the main lodge, now closed, and with a polite "good night" they emerged into the cool night air. There in the light that radiated from the fixture above the porch, Mulder realized something. His partner was crying. Silent tears were running down her face. He had only seen her weep twice before, once after the Pfaster case, when she had finally broken down and wept in his arms, and again after her beloved sister had died. Both times she had hated herself for the loss of self control. Something inside him melted. "Hey, Scully," he said trying to cheer her up, "Don't worry. I'll be the one to tell Skinner that we lost the $500 boat deposit because you didn't know how to drive...." She spun around and glared at him her fists clenched. He thought he had never seen such anger in her before. It was frightening in its intensity. "I hate you, Fox Mulder. I hate you. I loved QueegQueg and he's dead. He was my only friend. He ate with me and he slept with me and he was always there for me after I got home from a long day of chasing stupid monsters with my partner." She turned and ran toward the cottage and he followed grabbing her arm roughly. "Hey," he said angrily, "that's not fair. I didn't tell you to bring the stupid mutt did I?" "You're a cruel insensitive boor," she shouted in reply. "I follow you everywhere. It doesn't matter how ludicrous or how dangerous. You call and I run. And you....you don't even have the decency to sound like you mean it when you say you're sorry my dog died. Well, I loved that dog, Mulder. Unlike you, I need something to love and hold and trust. Chasing monsters isn't enough anymore." She jerked away from him and ran... Mulder felt as though someone had punched him in the stomach hard as the realization of what she had said sunk in, that and the realization that she was right. She was always there for him even when she thought him totally insane. She never asked for any thanks. And he, as usual, he had become so wrapped up in his case, in his hunt, that he hadn't even been able to manage a little sympathy for her loss of a loyal friend. Head bowed, he continued to head back toward the cabin. When he arrived, he heard a funny squealing sound. Scully crying? No, it was different than that. He shone his flashlight around and there in the grass lay a lump of reddish brown fur. He went over to it. It was Queegqueg. He was filthy and wet, badly injured with a huge gash running length of his body, but he was still breathing. The little animal lifted his head weakly and looked at the man who disliked him so much with sad brown eyes. "Scully," he screamed, "Dana....Dana please....It's Queegqueg......Dana...." He stood and shouted for the longest time. "What the hell do you want, Mulder?" she demanded running up behind him her gun drawn. "It's Queegqueg...." he pointed. "Oh, God...." Dana bent down over the animal. He was so badly injured....had lost a lot of blood. "Come on, Scully," said Fox. "We need to find a vet." "He's not going to make it," she said sadly. "Scully, there is always hope. Come on." "I need to put him down...." she seemed dazed and almost in shock as though her angry outburst had drained her. "Scully, we need to get him to a vet. There is always hope...." he snapped. "Come on. Come on, Scully. Help me here." Gently he gathered the injured animal up in his arms. "Can you drive, Scully? I'll hold Queegqueg and you drive. They will know a vet at the police station." "I....I'll try...yeah...." She was beginning to come out of her stupor. They raced to their rental car with the dying dog. They sat in the all night animal clinic on cold sterile benches. He got up and left her for a moment returning with two cups of coffee. "Thanks," she managed as he handed her one. "Sure....I hope he's okay, Scully." She nodded numbly. "I never should have let myself love him, Mulder, never. Everything I love seems to die or...." "Or what?" "Nothing..." "You must have been trying to say something," he said gently. "To die or, I don't know....doesn't love me back..." She was saved the need to elaborate by the entrance of the elderly vet who had taken Queegqueg from Mulder's arms. "Well, young lady," he said quietly, "look's like a pretty lucky dog to me. It took a lot of stitches, and he's lost quite a bit of blood, but I'm hopeful that he will pull through. Now I'm going to need to keep him for a day or so to watch for infection....." "Oh, Fox....." she burst out, her face lighting in a radiant smile, forgetting herself totally. For an instant that smile lit his soul and he didn't care that she had called him Fox. He forgot the hurtful things she had said to him that night on the rock about his quest. Then, remembering herself suddenly and blushing, she turned to the doctor. "Thank you, Dr. Perkins. Keep him as long as you need, but I am an MD, so if he needs any injections or anything, I can handle that." "That may shorten the length of his stay. You look like you could use a nap....you too, Sir." "Not to mention a shower," muttered Mulder. "Go on now. My staff will take good care of Queegqueg." He let her have the shower first, and couldn't help but notice how pretty she looked when she came out dressed in her chaste pajamas and flannel robe drying her wavy hair with a towel. "I'm gonna hit the sack for a few hours, Mulder," she said softly. "Thanks...." "For what?" "For giving me hope....at the end...." She smiled, "Take your shower, Ahab. You smell like Swamp Thing." She gave him another brief smile and went into her small bedroom. He knew he had been forgiven, and that he had forgiven her. He had his partner back at least for now. His best friend would still be at his side. They slept for a good part of the day and of course, the first thing Scully did upon waking was to call about Queequeg. The vet said that he was doing much better and would hopefully be released by the next day. Relieved, she told her partner she was hungry. "Okay....we'll eat, but I want to call Skinner and get it over with. Gotta tell him my partner doesn't know how to drive." He gave her a boyish grin and she tossed one of the old couch cushions at him which he caught easily. "Yeah, you sure told him alright...." chuckled Dana when Mulder finally hung up the phone. She had heard the shouting across the room. Skinner was not happy about the boat. Skinner was not happy that they were staying over in Georgia, although he couldn't do much about that since they both had plenty of leave time coming. Skinner was not happy that Mulder had gone on yet another monster chase. Skinner was not happy. Fox hadn't helped a lot when he had informed his superior that you couldn't argue with results. Skinner had hung up on him. The two agents spent the rest of the day and a good part of the night completing the paper work on the case. "Well, Mulder," said Dana stifling a yawn, "the vet will release Queequeg tomorrow. We have a whole day with nothing to do." She had hoped the dog would be released, but the vet had wanted to keep him one extra night. She saw his eyes light up. "Oh, no..." she said quickly. "No I am not going monster hunting with you today. No monsters. No boats. I am going down to that little beach and I'm going to sit in the sun and relax with a book. That's final." "Okay," he said a wee bit disappointed. He viewed a free day as the golden opportunity to search for Big Blue some more even if he did have to do it on a stupid tour boat and pay for it himself. Who knew? Maybe it would make an appearance....unlikely, but strange things did happen. Off he went leaving Dana to her own devices. She smiled after him. Sometimes he really was a child! By the time he returned, he was starving. He found Scully in the cabin. She had gotten some Chinese take out and was setting it out on plates. "Fancy," he grinned...."real paper plates." "Find any monsters, Mulder?" she smiled. She had kind of missed him. It would have been nice to take a swim together. "Only in the form of overweight obnoxious tourists from New York City," he replied reaching into the refrigerator. "Hey, you bought beer. Cool." He popped the top and took a long slug of the ice cold brew. "So, what's in the bag?" she inquired. "T-shirt...you know, Big Blue and all of that." "Tacky, tacky, Mulder," "Like my ties......" he grinned at her wickedly. "Got one of those too. He pulled out an awful tie with a picture of a dinosaur on it." Scully merely sighed and said nothing. Having dumped the paper plates, she turned to her partner and said, "It's a beautiful evening, Mulder. Let's go for a walk." "Wanna jog?" "Nope. Wanna walk.....just kind of pretend I have a life....relax...you know..." "Okay...." He touched the tip if her nose. "Sun burn. Curse of the redhead." "Don't even say it, Mulder...." "What?" "That that's why you like brunettes....let's go." She slipped into her jacket, picked up her bag and took a blanket. They found a beautiful path along the lake shore and walked quietly. Dana found herself wishing that he would take her hand. It wasn't that there was anyone around. It would just be nice for people to see her with such a handsome man and think about what a lovely couple they made if there were. She felt very lonely. Fox walked along side of her wishing that he could take her hand. It would be so nice to be able to express how he felt about her sometimes. He wondered where that thought came from. He was her partner and he wasn't supposed to feel the things that he felt sometimes. Finally they found a lovely clearing. Dana laid out the blanket and sat facing the quiet cove. "Came prepared," she smiled. She took a bottle of white wine out of her bag and two plastic glasses. "Prepared for what?" "To watch for monsters and pretend I have a life." "So, tell me Scully, what kind of kid were you?" he asked after he had finished his first glass of wine. "You first. What kind of kid were you?" "I don't know. Hyperactive....never sitting still, always into something....you know....a boy....Drove my parents....." He stopped. He didn't want to talk about it. "Doesn't sound like you've changed much..." She smiled. She understood his reluctance. "Me...I was a real tomboy. Always had to keep up with my brothers. I guess I was mom's despair. She'd dress Melissa and me in pretty little dresses. Missy would sit demurely and play with her dolls and me, well, I'd be gone five minutes and come back spattered in mud with my knees all bleeding and scraped." "But they loved you...." "Yeah....but my mom still despairs of me sometimes." "How come?" "I'm still trying to keep up with the boys and getting my dresses dirty and my knees scraped." They exchanged a smile. He touched the tip of her nose again and they each drank another glass of wine silently. "What about boys, Scully? Did you like boys? When you got older I mean?" "Mulder, I was always the class brain. Guys don't like girls who can outdo them at sports and math. If I liked boys, it wouldn't have made a darn bit of difference. Now Melissa, she liked boys. Boys liked her. She was pretty and funny and outgoing and a C student." Dana got up and walked to the lake shore. She didn't like to talk about her lonely adolescence. It was now twilight and a mist seemed to be rising. It would probably rain again. Still, the water looked lovely in the reflected sunset. Her partner joined her, standing close but not touching. Suddenly after a long moment of silence, there was a ripple in the water. It seemed to make a large circle and then from the mist a shape appeared. Dana saw it first. In a quick motion she put an arm around Mulder's waist and pointed..."Look...there...." The animal was huge, with a large hump of a back, and a long slender neck. For a brief instant, it turned to look at them revealing a face that was delicate for a creature its size, almost pretty....and then it was gone resubmerging itself beneath the water. "My God, Mulder, did you see that? We've go to notify the authorities......we've got to....." She was so excited she could barely contain herself. "Shh...shh...." he said softly. He slipped his arm around her waist and tightened it to calm the tension he felt rising in h er. They held each other staring out at the water. "No one would believe us. We've been drinking and they already think I'm a fool." "But...." she knew Mulder was being logical, totally unlike Mulder, but this was incredible....."don't you want...I mean....." "The fact that I've seen it is enough. The fact that you've seen it makes it perfect," he told her quietly. Turning toward her, arm still around her waist, he gazed down into her blue eyes for an instant and liked what he saw. Gently, he tucked a lock of hair behind her ears. "Let's just let it be our monster, okay?" Reluctantly he broke away from the embrace. "Okay," she conceded a shiver running through her, a delayed reaction to his touch. She retreated to the blanket and sat trying to keep herself composed. It had been a beautiful moment standing there with him, her arms around him, showing him his monster. She wished it could have lasted forever, but nothing ever did. She would have to treasure the memory. A moment later he rejoined her. They each took their third glass of wine. The bottle was empty. Suddenly she laughed, and he thought it was a beautiful sound. She did it so seldom, even less so since Melissa had died. "What?" he demanded smiling. "Come on, Scully, share your thoughts." "You know, I guess I'm a lucky woman." "In what way?" "Well, some women have men in their lives who bring them flowers and candy and diamond rings.....me....I have a man in my life who brings me monsters. There is something special about that, Fox." She looked out over the water her face curved in a slight smile. Somewhat taken aback, he studied her. It was the second time she had called him Fox almost as though she were unaware of having done it. It seemed so natural too at that moment. He didn't have the heart to tell her not to. He didn't want to tell her not to. It was tempting to push her away again as he had that night when they had been staking out Tooms, but it wouldn't have been fair. She had been through too much, followed him into hell and back. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small white paper bag. "I....uh....I kind of got you a souvenir only I chickened out of giving it to you cause I thought you might kill me," he said. She turned to face him. "That temptation was last night, Mulder. The mood has passed. After we found Queegqueg I decided to let you live." He chuckled. "Anyway," he opened the small bag and pulled out a gold colored ring and taking her hand, he slipped it on her finger. She looked down at it and studied it for a moment. She never wore rings as a rule. This one was tiny and gold, in the shape of a dinosaur....a child's ring....totally tacky....and she didn't know what to say. "It's supposed to be gold plated but it will probably turn your finger green..." he said stupidly. "Probably," she replied. "Yeah.....it was a stupid souvenir I guess....Shoulda got you a tee shirt...." He turned away embarrassed. "Fox, it's the most beautiful ring I ever saw." She gazed at his profile. After a long moment had passed, she reached up and kissed his cheek every so gently. "Well, I guess we better go back," he sighed. He had liked that kiss far too much. It made him start to think about other things they could be doing in that cove on the blanket, things that would really make the night perfect....yeah....finding his monster and making love to Scully.....perfection... "I guess you are right," she sighed hiding her disappointment. She had had visions of lying on that blanket, him showering her with kisses. "I want to get Queegqueg early and head home." Epilogue Several days later back in Washington. "Scully got a ring." "Agent Scully never wears rings...." "Well, she's wearing one now....." "Did you hear? Agent Scully has a ring?" "What sort of ring?" "I don't know, but I heard it was a big one, a real monster in fact." "Yeah, someone told me at least one carat...." "I heard closer to two." "So, he finally did it huh?" "Well, I don't know if he finally did it, but she did get a ring." "Congratulations...." "Thanks," said Mulder racing down the hall not paying the least bit of attention. "Finally....success...." said someone else. "Right," he replied hoping not to miss the elevator. Scully most have blabbed about Big Blue. He leapt in at the last moment. "Congratulations, Spooky," said someone in the car as it went down. He heard the snicker. He'd really have to talk to Scully about telling them about the monster. "Congratulations, Dana. It's about time." "Thanks," said Dana running late and racing for the office. "You're crazy Agent Scully, but congrats....." "Uh...yeah right....." she said quickly ducking into the elevator. She was really pissed at Mulder. He must have blabbed about seeing Big Blue. All these people were smiling at her...smirking...and congratulating her. Sheesh...she could do without the sarcasm. She was going to let him have it. Big Blue was supposed to be their monster. She walked into the office and opened her mouth to lace into Mulder but he was already on the phone. He was holding it away from his ear. "Uh...yes Sir.....right away, Sir. We'll be right up, Sir." Skinner heard them arguing as they approached his office. "You didn't have to tell them, Mulder. You've made me the laughing stock of the office...." "I didn't tell them. You told them. Now they really think we're crazy...." "Come in," called Skinner. They sat down as far away from each other as they could get. "Okay, why didn't you make an official report...." he said glaring at his two agents. "Because it's none of anybodies goddam business," snapped Mulder. "And what do you have to say about it, Scully? You normally try to abide by the rules, sort of...." he inquired sarcastically. "I agree with Mulder, Sir...." "Come here, Agent Scully." She got up and approached his desk. This was it. They were going to be dismissed for insanity for sure. "Hold out your hand, Agent Scully. Your left hand." She did so wondering if he was going to smack her with the ruler sitting on his desk like the nun's in Catholic school had done to her brothers when she was a kid. Skinner looked. Skinner looked taken aback. Skinner blinked. "Mulder, you have to be kidding?" he said. "I knew you were weird but....this is ridiculous." "What do you mean?" demanded Mulder. "I mean, I was expecting, judging by the rumors that I had heard, that the so called monster ring was at least a one carat diamond. A dinosaur ring, Mulder? A dinosaur ring that is turning her finger green?" "What?" shrieked Dana. "Rumors....what rumors?" "You did get engaged didn't you?" "Mulder, I'm going to kill you." Scully turned toward her partner forgetting that the AD was there. "In fact, I should've done it in Georgia while I had the chance." "Hey, you didn't have to wear the stupid thing to work...." When Skinner saw them last, 5'2" Dana Scully was chasing her 6'1" partner down the hall beating him with her purse. "Scully....listen to reason....Scully it isn't my fault...Scully....." "I guess the rumors were false...." chuckled Skinner, glad that he wouldn't have to deal with splitting up his best pair of agents. "I wouldn't be too sure of that, Sir," said his secretary with a wink. "With those two, you never can tell....." The End.