Title: Wedding Band
Author: MissAnnThropic
E-Mail: miss_annthropic@yahoo.com
Spoilers: Arcadia
Summary: A lingering souvenir from the Falls at Arcadia assignment.
Disclaimer: I own nasing! Really, I don't. All you see here (that you recognize, anyway) is the creation of someone else. I take no credit.



Agent Dana Scully took a deep breath, glad to be home and away from her partner.

It wasn't something she thought very often, but did now and then. Mulder could be suffocating at times, and not ever because he meant to be... just simply the nature of his character. His passion for what he did could suffocate, as could his enthusiasm at what seemed most inappropriate times, and his quirky way of grating on a lot of people's nerves. Being his partner, Scully got the added bonus of knowing the protective Mulder, who could suffocate with the best of them with his good intentions. Not to mention his thousand and one little personal quirks and habits that she typically ignored.

But that had been impossible to do in San Diego at the Falls at Arcadia.

She had been forced to share a home with him, share a social life with him, and share a bathroom with him for five days, and Scully had been more than ready to be back at her own place after the case was over.

She was ready for some breathing room.

Scully set down her bags near the door on the floor. She could tidy them up later she thought with comparative ease, stopping herself just enough to wonder with dread if Mulder's messy habits had managed to rub off on her after only a few days living with him.

She decided not to think about it and head into the kitchen for some tea instead.

As she pulled out her tea bags and put the water on the stove to boil, she discovered herself actually feeling a little isolated. She'd never felt like this in her own home before. She felt kind of... well, lonely.

She had no idea she could miss Mulder after only seeing him a few minutes ago.

Scully shook the thought off with a quick shrug. She must just miss having someone else in the house, like it was when she was a little girl. She's sure that's just what it was... she'd been so used to a full household as a child that she quickly picked back up the idiosyncrasies and rhythms of living with someone else there too.

Because she couldn't possibly actually MISS Mulder, he just dropped her off ten minutes ago, and she'd spent five days with him almost constantly.

She had just gotten used to the old way of living, she told herself. It was the only thing that made any sense.

By the time she'd almost convinced herself of that the water was boiling. Scully added the tea bags lowered the burner temperature, going to her cabinet and pulling out a mug.

As she did so, her attention was drawn to the ring on her left ring finger.

Scully paused a moment, staring blankly a moment at the wedding ring she had been wearing while on assignment to complete the under-cover marriage story.

Scully put down her cup, looking down at her hand as she studied the ring on her finger and leaned back against the counter.

It was certainly not the way she'd ever expected to get a wedding ring on her finger, that was for sure. She was actually kind of surprised she was still wearing it... she'd just stop noticing it for the most part during the third day and the fifth was a pretty messy and fast day of arranging all the closing details at San Diego. What surprised her was that it hadn't occurred to her to take it off during the ride home. Hell, the fact she hadn't even NOTICED it on the ride home was really sending her brain on a rollercoaster of questioning.

Scully sighed, thinking that she should probably return it to the bureau in the morning, even though she didn't have to be in the office that day.

Skinner, seeming to understand that so much forced time together might warrant some time apart, had given Mulder and Scully both three days off after the case. He justified it as making sure they both had time to readjust their personal space parameters so the work didn't suffer because their partnership situation was brushed to the side or put on hold.

Scully had been looking forward to some time by herself after living with a man for even just five days. Mulder was no better than her brothers had been, and even having had two brothers hadn't helped her feel any less exasperated at Mulder's living habits. Scully was just looking forward to the certain knowledge that her toilet seat was down and sneakers off the bed.

But she figured she should return the ring to the bureau as soon as possible. They had issued it to her for the case and probably wanted it back. Scully had never asked where it came from, and she still didn't want to know. It was pointless to wonder... it was just a ring.

Still, she felt an odd sort of reluctance to take it off.

She pushed that aside too as she slipped the ring off her finger and set it on the counter top and reclaimed her cup, moving to the stove to pour herself a mug of hot tea.



****



Scully returned the ring the next morning, then without another thought had left to do some shopping that she had postponed when the case came up.

Fridge stocked once again and cupboards seeming less bare, Scully spent her own three-day weekend relaxing, getting some reading of accumulated medical journals in, talking to her mother, and just kicking back.



****



Scully came in Thursday morning feeling much better. She had gotten plenty of rest, and about the morning of the second day that really weird feeling of actually missing having Mulder around had gone away. Things were back to normal and she felt ready for whatever harebrained scheme he'd gotten them into this time.

Mulder greeted her when she walked in the door, "Hey, Scully, how was the mini-vacation?"

"Refreshing... you?"

Mulder smirked, "Spent a lot of it at the Lone Gunmen's office... did you know that there's been recent studies showing that..."

"Mulder," Scully interrupted before he could get lost on one of his Gunmen talks.

Mulder paused, seemed a little confused, then caught the look and remembered what he'd just been about to do. He smiled faintly, that teasingly hurt but mischievous look in his eye, and got quiet.

Scully cocked her head, "You play any basketball on your break?"

Mulder looked up, blinked, then said hesitantly, "Yeaah... how'd you know? You been following me, Scully?" The gleam in Mulder's eye told her he wouldn't be at all indignant if she had... maybe more on the side of amused.

Scully shook her head, smiling faintly at the notion that Mulder would think she had nothing better to do with her time than follow him around on his, "No... you just... look like you've been playing."

Mulder was genuinely confused now, "Well, I HAVE showered since then, Scully, so I'm not sure how you can say I LOOK..."

Scully sighed heavily, wishing now she hadn't said anything... she never wanted to have to explain this. "Mulder... you just generally look a lot more... mellow if you've been doing something active. I just guessed basketball... your running works, too, though."

Mulder dared a quirky smirk, "Well, yeah... I did, quite a bit, in fact. Couple of pick-up games at the gym and a few one-on-ones with Agent Randen from profiling. He's decent, but he ain't got game." Mulder's eyes took on a completely new look of mischief, directed squarely at Scully.

Scully nodded hesitantly, knowing something was coming. It took her only a moment to figure out what Mulder was waiting for and she gently recoiled from his gaze.

Mulder eyed her playfully, "Come on... say it."

Scully shot him a kind but exasperated look, "Mulder... I am NOT saying it."

"Come on, Scully... you started it."

Scully grumbled lightheartedly under her breath, then turned to him in resignation and said with a gentle smirk, "Okay, Mulder... you got game."

Mulder actually smiled... the rare smile Scully only saw when she truly managed to tickle his strange sense of humor.

"You know, I never did get that samwhich."

Scully glowered teasingly, "Don't push your luck, Agent Mulder."

Mulder's dazzling smile faded, but his mouth remained congenial as he nodded a 'yeah, yeah, I know', then grew slightly more serious as he looked about his desktop. "Actually," he said in his work-tone, "I found something I though we might want to look into while I was kicking around."

Scully was not the least surprised Mulder had managed to drag some work home with him on his leave.

Mulder withdrew a file, "UFO sightings..." Mulder stood with the file, intending to move over toward Scully.

Scully moved to him instead, his side of the office being better lit than her dark corner.

Scully stood at Mulder's side and looked over at the file in his hands as he spoke, "These reports actually date back to the mid and late 1860's, African American Union soldiers during the Civil War having said that they saw their 'guiding light' in the war for freedom come to life to give them the courage to bring victory to their slave families in the South. Here, a salvaged piece of a news report shows that..."

As Mulder spoke, he shifted the file from his left hand to his right, bringing up the left to reach into the file and shift through and find the mentioned paper.

Scully waited casually for him to finish his story... but she froze when he reached into the file.

Mulder was still wearing his wedding ring.

Scully was so befuddled and flabbergasted, at first, she didn't know what to do. She was stunned, shocked more like it. She wasn't sure she knew what to think about Mulder still wearing the ring... especially since she remembered feeling odd about her own false wedding ring, but soon enough she regained her composure.

Flatly, she stated and half accused, "Mulder."

Mulder stopped, looking quickly at her. He knew her tones and pitches, and that voice was for when he did something wrong that he was very aware of. Only this time, he looked at her as if he really didn't know what he'd done.

Scully looked up at him, a little upset and clearly expectant. It was surprising to her how much Mulder simply wearing a ring had thrown her for a loop.

But the look in his eyes was purely confusion. He really didn't know what she was talking about.

Scully frowned, not sure what to make of that, then became confused herself as she asked, "What are you doing with that?"

Mulder blinked, brows knitting, then looked down into the file.

Scully shook her head, "No... Mulder... your hand."

Mulder looked down at his hand, starting to feel a little defensive about Scully obviously nagging at him for nothing. He had to look at his own hand a few seconds before it registered.

"Oh..." Mulder mumbled, acknowledging the ring but making no move to take it off.

Scully was quiet a moment, surprised and curious that Mulder hadn't at first known she meant the ring, then asked, "Have you been wearing that this whole time?"

Mulder seemed to blank out, then shrugged, "I guess I have... you know, I didn't even notice it."

Scully looked at him, perplexed (because she could tell by his tone he was being honest), "You've played basketball and showered with that on and didn't notice it?"

Mulder set down the file, thinking, then almost seemed to blush faintly. "Scully... you're not going to believe this... but I think... I think I took it off to shower... and put it right back on when I got out."

Scully's brows jerked up at her partner.

Mulder smiled, a little bashful at the admission, then perched on the edge of his desk, "But honestly, it didn't even register. I didn't really THINK that I was wearing it until you pointed it out just now."

Scully had to smile. She wasn't sure why, but something in the mental image of Mulder taking off and putting on jewelry around showers and not noticing was funny. "Mulder... hasn't the bureau come after you looking for that? I turned mine in the next day and they seemed relieved to have it back."

Mulder's face fell and a faint darkness seeped into his eyes. Scully flinched internally, wondering what she had done.

Mulder shook his head, looking down at his adorned hand, "They won't be coming to look for this."

Scully frowned her question at him, but said nothing.

Mulder sighed faintly, almost in a different tenor of vocalization, then muttered gently, "It's mine... was mine... I didn't get it from the bureau, anyway."

Scully was sure her mouth probably dropped open, but fairly quickly she thought to close it before Mulder had a chance to look up at her.

When he did, there was something very pained but clear in Mulder's eyes. He didn't want her to ask about it. It was obviously still something very raw with him, and though it was a sudden mystery about her partner she was dying to learn, she knew it could wait. He'd tell her in his own time... and if he didn't, honestly, it wasn't her business.

Scully nodded gently to show she understood, and the relief that washed Mulder's face when Scully didn't question him was almost palpable.

Mulder looked back down at the ring, now running his thumb over it absently. He sighed one of the strangest, saddest sighs she'd ever heard her partner make... and she wasn't sure why, or what to make of it.

Mulder looked back up at her, "Sorry if I freaked you out, Scully," and he gave a valiant effort at a reassuring smile.

Scully smiled back kindly, shaking her head, "It takes a lot to 'freak me out', Mulder, but I have to admit... you got pretty close with that one."

Mulder smirked, looking down at his hands as Scully moved back to situate herself in her area of the office.

Mulder hesitantly spoke to her, "Scully..."

Scully looked back at Mulder. He was still perched on the edge of his desk, hands clasped together before him. He looked up to meet her eyes, his voice tentative as he asked, "Would it freak you out if I didn't take it off just yet?"

Scully wasn't sure why he was asking her permission... but the theory that flitted through the back of her mind when he did was too dangerous for her to linger on. She pushed it away and discovered that the image of Mulder wearing a wedding ring was... oddly comforting. It was at least nice to imagine he had the calm in him to be able to make that kind of commitment and slow down to be something of a normal person.

Scully was surprised even more that she would for some reason feel kind of honored at his request... as if anyone had said anything about it having ANYTHING to do with her.

But it must have... because he was asking her.

Scully shook her head faintly, "No... Mulder, it wouldn't 'freak me out'."

He smiled faintly at her... barely a smile, but behind it she could read the very real 'thank you'.

Mulder stood, returning to pick up the file and commenting lightly, "It's weird how natural this gets to feeling on you after a while."

'No, Mulder,' Scully thought, 'the weird thing is that I know exactly what you mean.'



END