Madam Zoopa

Author: Philey

E-Mail: phileyxback@yahoo.com

Rating: PG, very, very mild curses.

Category: UST

Spoilers: After Season 5, Fight the future and A.H. After Hallway

Disclaimer: They’re not mine. They’re not mine. They’re not mine. They’re not mine. Happy now, Fox?

Credits: I would like to thank everyone who took the time to write to me and tell me what they felt about A.H. After Hallway. I hope I have improved this time round. Special thanks to Dana and Barbara for proofreading and beta reading.

Intro: This fanfic follows A.H. After Hallway. In A.H., Mulder sort of made Scully play a game of Spin the bottle. Scully had to kiss Mulder. Mulder got REALLY aroused and yelled at Scully. Scully was hurt and mad so she kept her distance and dated her Mum’s doctor. It was Mulder’s turn to be hurt. He got drunk. During their final confrontation (if you could call it that), Mulder confesses that she is very attractive. They make up and dance. Finally, Skinner joins in the office pool, betting for the romance between his agents.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

45 days A.H.

8.11 pm

Sunshine Motel, Mayfield

‘I should have just listened to her’, he grimaced at the thought of facing his partner. ‘She was right, she was right all along.’ His photographic memory replayed their conversation…

"You are travelling to a distant world today," Madam Zoopa peered harder into her little bowl of water in front of her. "Trouble!"

Mulder rolled his eyes. ‘Yeah, D.C. and Skinner.’ That’s easy to predict, he expected the worst this time. Scully had already warned him to keep his mouth shut and let her do all the talking. So he was wrong about the cat. He thought that the cat was a reincarnation of Elvis. ‘So I was wrong, so fire me!’

"The next 12 hours are dark. I see a lot of confusion and danger."

‘Yeah, I’ll have to listen to Scully nag all the way in the plane to D.C.’ He groaned silently. ‘Then she’ll make me write the damned field report. Of course, she’d want to see it first before I pass it to Kim. She’d probably yell at me at some parts of it and whack my head with her rolled up newspaper that she was holding so tightly when I ditched her at the airport.’

"But through it all something pure reveals itself. You and your mate will reach a new level. More intimate. A beginning."

Mulder frowned.

Madam Zoopa caught it. Her eyes narrowed at him. "You’re not married?"

"Nope." ‘Aha, she’s a fake, I knew it as soon as I saw the room. Ugh, what furniture. Scully would probably faint.’

"You have a girlfriend?"

"Nope." ‘Scully was right, this Madam Zoopa is another nut. I just hate it when she’s right. I’ll just blame it on the Lone Gunmen. After all they were the ones that recommended her.’

Madam Zoopa looked so bitterly disappointed and confused that Mulder almost felt sorry for her. She peered even harder into the water. Mulder swore he saw the water simmering from the intense stare that it received.

"Burning hair and drowning eyes," she muttered.

‘Red hair, blue eyes? Scully?’

Madam Zoopa looked up. "You trust her, she’s the only one you trust."

‘Scully.’

She saw the look of recognition on Mulder’s face and smiled triumphantly. "Maybe, even love?"

He colored slightly with her tease.

Madam Zoopa looked pleased with herself. "If things are just the way you like them, do not start your journey yet. Wait for the sunlight. A new morn signals a new future," she paused. "She is intelligent, pure, loving and loyal. A difficult combination. A lethal one for a man such as you. A man who doesn’t trust easily."

Mulder held his breath.

"But a combination like that is hard to find. And once you lose it, you’ll never find another."

Mulder looked her in the eye. Suddenly, she didn’t seem like a nut anymore. He should have known Byers had more sense than to send him on a wild goose chase on the Bureau’s time…

Mulder’s thought flew back to the present as a soaking wet Scully stepped into the motel room. She glared at him. He smiled weakly, an attempt to cheer her up.

"Mulder," she growled. "Don’t even try."

‘She’s starting,’ he held a moan.

"Firstly, you insist we take a connecting flight because you want to check out the **infamous** Madam Zoopa, then you dumped me at the airport leaving me to check for our missing luggage, which by the way are still missing. Not only did you not show up in time for the connecting flight, you refused to stop for gas on the way to the Mayfield airport. "

"Hey, you wanted the first flight to DC we could find. We could have waited for the next flight. But, **you** insisted…."

"Mulder the next flight from that airport is two days later!"

"Well, I hear they have really good haunted houses around here that really could need some checking out."

Scully glared at him. He instinctively stepped back, knowing very well by now her degree of looks. And right now that look could turn him into a pillar of salt if he were a step nearer. ‘Okay, so he made a bad call on the gas thing. How was he to know that no one ever uses that road and they had to walk four miles to Mayfield town? How was he to know that it would rain? How was he to know that this particular motel had only one room left?’

"We could look for another motel?" he suggested, suddenly not relishing the idea of being caught up in the same room with this angry redhead no matter how promising it sounded in Madam Zoopa’s reading.

"And go out in that rain? No way Mulder, you’re stuck with me. But if you want my opinion, it serves you right. I’m not exactly good company at the moment. I need food!" she grumbled and took off her dripping trench coat.

Mulder turned away to give her privacy. Her silk blouse was way too revealing when it was wet. It might give him ideas. Certainly not ideas he should be having now in the midst of her temper. Besides it was too cold for a cold shower. He went into the bathroom to search for some clean towels or robes that they could use to dry off. All he could find was a one small towel and a set of blue pajamas. He peered into the living room to check if Scully was decent. She was trying to untangle her hair from her rubber hair band. The rain made it difficult. She cursed as it hurt.

Mulder braved himself and walked over. "Here, let me do that." He tossed the towel and pajamas on the bed.

Before she could protest, he already began working on the knot. She sighed and let him.

"There."

"Thanks," she muttered ungraciously. She turned to see what he had found. She knew why he disappeared into the bathroom.

"You want the top or bottom?" He grinned, trying for some humor.

"Mulder, I can’t take the bottom half," she rolled her eyes as if he was stupid.

"Why not, I wouldn’t mind," he leered.

Scully ignored him, grabbed the towel and the top part of the pajamas and headed for the bathroom.

Mulder sighed. ‘I’ll have to feed her or she’s gonna give me nightmares.’ He locked the door behind him and stepped into the rain.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

9.42 pm

When she finished, Dana looked at herself in the mirror. She tugged the pajama down again. It was no use. Mulder would have a great view of her legs no matter what she tried. ‘Oh well, it’s not like he’s never seen them before.’ She recalled him dressing her in his clothes in Antarctica. He practically saw every part of her. Of course he didn’t dare mention the incident. He knew her well enough not to.

The moment she stepped out of the bathroom, she smelled it. Chinese food! Her stomach growled. A very drenched Mulder was unpacking a box of "Chicken Noodle".

"Mulder, you got only one box?" she whined.

"Oh good, you’re ……done" She watched his eyes linger on her legs for a few seconds before he turned his attention back to the box of noodles. "It’s for you. I traded my trench coat for someone else’s dinner. The receptionist sure drives a hard bargain. Finish it. I munched on a Mar’s bar so I’m okay." He picked up the bottom half of the pajamas and hurried to the bathroom.

Dana melted. ‘God, he can be really sweet when he wants to.’ She knew that coat cost him a fortune. And no silly innuendoes about the legs either. "Hey Mulder," she called. He turned. "I picked up a bag of sunflower seeds for you at the airport. I noticed you were running low on the last flight." She offered a small smile, a sign of a truce.

He smiled back at her. "I knew there was a reason why I didn’t trade for a less pain-in-the-ass partner last year."

He ducked into the bathroom as a pillow flew in the direction of his head. She missed. Oh well, she attacked the box of noodles. It tasted heavenly. In her condition at the moment, anything would taste good. ‘Well maybe not anything,’ she thought about the stuff that grows in Mulder’s refrigerator. She soon settled herself in bed with her noodles, the sheets covering her naked legs.

She wondered if she should let Mulder sleep in the bed with her. He usually took the couch or chair if they had to share the same room. ‘But it was freezing tonight and all Mulder would have on was a pajama bottom. Lord…..’ her mind flashed back to a vivid dream she had about Mulder a few nights ago. It certainly wasn’t partnerly. ‘Great and all she had on was…. Dana, stop it! The darn kiss, it ruined everything.’ Since then, she was having more dreams about him. ‘Well, you were the one that started this! That settles it,’ she decided. ‘He sleeps on the chair.’ She was not gonna trust her common sense with him so close and half-naked.

She glanced over the room to assess the chair. It sure didn’t look comfortable. If he slept there he'd probably pull a muscle and be grouchy for the rest of the day. And he is definitely not easy to be around with when that happens.

The sound of the rain grew noisier. Dana shivered slightly at the sudden rush of wind that blew from beneath the door. ‘He would freeze to death, Dana!’ She protested to herself. ‘All right, all right, he can sleep on the bed. Just as long as you behave, Dana Katherine Scully.’

Mulder sighed contently as the hot water washed away the traces of soap. One thing about his partner, she was always considerate. Whether it was getting him his daily medication of sunflower seeds or making sure she doesn’t use up all the hot water, she constantly thought his welfare. Most importantly, she wasn’t mad at him anymore.

His mind flashed the image he had stored earlier for later use. Her legs…… ‘Mulder, remember what happened the last time you got turned on by Scully.’ He shook his head violently. He never wanted to go through that hell again. ‘Maybe she’ll let me sleep on the bed. No Mulder, bad boy! Bad, bad boy! Don’t even go there.’ After watching an episode of Ally McBeal, he had begun trying John Cage’s therapy. It actually worked. "CSM, CSM, CSM," he muttered under his breath as Scully’s legs left his mind.

When he finished, he looked at himself in the mirror. He tugged his pajama higher, above his waist. He looked like a dork! He pulled it down again. He picked up the small towel he used to dry himself. Washed and dried his face with it. It smelt of Scully. A hint of her perfume and her distinct fresh scent that he loved. He suddenly realized that Scully had used the same towel to dry herself. He groaned, now how the hell did it always come back to his fantasies? No matter how hard he tried to control his train of thought, it just kept drifting to the fact he wanted her. It was the kiss, the cursed kiss! He sighed. ‘I’d better not sleep on the bed.’ "CSM," he muttered again.

When he emerged, she was already half asleep. He took a few seconds to watch his partner, all bundled up safely under those covers. Her slightly damp hair was mussed up after her desperate attempt to dry it with that tiny towel in the bathroom. Her copper red strands glistened under the room light. He licked his lips. ‘The chair, definitely the chair.’

"CSM."

"Mulder, it’s too cold for you to sleep in that chair," she mumbled. "Come to bed. I promise I won’t ravish you."

He caught himself before he got too excited and misinterpreted her words. ‘Think CSM. She’s not coming on to you, he told himself. It **was** too cold. The damned heater must be down.’ He took one look at the chair and decided he would rather take a chance with his self-control than face a really unpleasant backache the next day. Plus, it was her turn to drive tomorrow and nothing’s worse than an added 45 minutes in the car when she does. She’s an impossibly careful driver and patient too.

He switched the light off and slipped under the covers, his back facing hers. He watched the darkness and listened to her breathing. She wasn’t asleep yet, at least not fully. "Scully?" he whispered.

"Hmmmm……"

"What on earth did you see in Jack Willis?" He found himself wanting to know.

"I was young," she whispered back, more awake now at his personal query.

"What attracted you to him?"

"He believed in me. In those days, I needed someone like that."

Mulder bit his lip. He wished he knew her then. He wished he were her instructor. ‘Maybe then….. Mulder!’ "Was he good in bed?" he changed the subject.

"Mulder!?!"

"Well, was he?"

Dana frowned, she couldn’t remember. It was too long ago. She couldn’t even remember when was the last time she had sex.

"Fast and furious or slow and steady?" Mulder punned.

"Mulder I know in the academy we were taught to learn everything about our partners, but this is definitely not what they had in mind."

"Just trying to get to know you better, Scully."

"Why not ask me questions like what I did last weekend?"

"That’s easy, you either read the medical journals that seem to spawn in our shared Bureau mailbox or you were finishing up the report that you procrastinated last Friday."

Dana frowned. ‘I have a **pathetic** life.’ "You’re right Mulder, my answers to those questions would probably put you to sleep. Fast and furious."

"Oooo Scully, I had no idea. I thought you were the slow and steady type."

"I am," she hesitated. "Jack wasn’t."

Mulder stiffened.

‘Now why did you go tell him that for, Dana?’ She could feel his reaction from across the bed. Being protective as usual, the man obviously treated her like a child.

‘Grow up Mulder, she’s not a ten-year-old.’ "You know Scully, I could be slow and steady if I wanted to."

Dana smiled, grateful that Mulder respected her enough not to pursue the matter. She returned the banter. "I doubt it Mulder. Statistics show that men who frequent porn materials are impatient. In fact 85% of them suffer from premature ejaculation during sex."

‘Is she coming on to me?’ "Scully, I keep telling you. Those aren’t my videos!"

"Sorry, I still don’t buy that Skinner actually hides it in our office to throw off suspicion. Although that theory is probably more believable than some you try to pull off on me."

"Ouch!" Mulder grinned. "Just to set the record straight Scully, I have perfect timing." He almost gave into the temptation to ask her if she wanted to try an experiment between them. "What turns you on, Scully?"

She thought of all the slight shivers she felt when he guided her out of the room or into the car or wherever. She grinned mischievously and impulsively replied, "The small of my back." She smiled contently when she heard a sharp intake of breath.

‘CSM, CSM, CSM.’ "Scully, did you know that in some countries backrubs are considered as porn and punishable by law?"

Scully ignored his question. "Mulder, what turns you on?"

‘Damn, she had to stick to the subject.’ "Sexy, intelligent, scientific conversations with sexy, intelligent, scientific women."

‘Bambi, Diana and White. No, White was just a slut.’ "I suppose you get a lot of that on cable, huh?" She teased instead.

"When they actually utter real words, yeah," he grinned, slightly relieved they were on a safer topic, his hobby. "My turn, do you like hairy chests?"

Dana almost groaned, trust Mulder to ask such a question. "Define hairy Mulder, after the wolf-boy you visited, you might have a different perspective than mine."

"Tom Cruise or Tom Selleck?"

She frowned. Her mind was getting blurry, a sign that she needed sleep. She had to shut Mulder up or he’ll never stop, he never sleeps. "Neither."

"Pierce Brosnan?"

Dana yawned. "Yours Mulder. Now, get some sleep."

"Scully! You’re doing this on purpose, aren’t you?" ‘CSM. CSM. CSM.’

"Hey, you asked the question. Now, sleep! I mean it Mulder. Not a peep out of you." She snuggled deeper into her pillow and waited for sleep to come.

He sighed. Sleep, she said. It wasn’t easy being the only insomniac in the room. He made himself comfortable to prepare to hear Scully’s breathing for the night.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

2.22 am

Mulder jumped in surprise. He scrambled out of bed. "What the hell…..?"

Dana awoke when she felt the bed move violently. She automatically reached for her gun. "Mulder?"

"It’s okay, Scully. I just felt something." He switched on the light. "Something cold. On my back." He turned to his partner but looked away almost immediately.

Dana lowered her gun and shook herself slightly, an attempt to wake herself from the remnants of sleep. She saw that Mulder was not facing her and wondered why. She looked down at herself and realized that three of her pajama buttons were unbuttoned. She cursed silently, buttoned them and retreated under the covers. "Mulder, I’m decent."

‘CSM.’ He drew in a deep breath and turned. ‘CSM.’ He walked back to the bed, his eyes darting up and down, half relieved, half disappointed that Scully was indeed decent. "Scully, you’re sleeping in the middle of the bed," he noticed.

She blushed slightly. "I was cold and you were warm. I didn’t think you’d mind."

Something clicked in his head. He laughed. Dana frowned. "What?"

Mulder leaned over towards her. Very gently he held her face.

Dana stopped breathing.

"Scully?" He looked intently into her blue eyes.

‘God, his eyes are so beautiful.’ She frowned willing the voice in her head to pipe down, just in case he could hear it. "Hmmmm….?"

His finger slowly traced her jaw-line, her cheek and then her nose, where he grinned irritatingly from ear to ear. "Your nose. That was the cold thing that woke me."

She took a minute to register his words. When realization dawned, she bit her lip to fight a smile. But to no avail because one wink from Mulder sent them both rolling on the bed in laughter.

When she sobered, "I’m sorry Mulder."

"If you wanted to cuddle up with me, why didn’t you just say so, Scully? Far be it from me to abandon a damsel in distress."

She frowned at him.

"Seriously, it’s freezing. Come on, this time I’m ready for your nose." He settled into bed and held out his arms slightly. When she hesitated, he mimicked her, "I promise I won’t ravish you?"

She scowled playfully but joined him under the covers, trying her best to ignore the warning bells in her head go off when their bare skins touched and hoping he hadn’t noticed her trembling. He did but mistook the reaction, he thought she was cold. So he drew her deeper in his embrace leaving her no choice but to rest her head against his chest. Her cold nose tickled. But it didn’t make him laugh, he suppressed a groan.

She could hear his heartbeat. She smiled, it was three times the normal rate. ‘Good,’ she wasn’t the only one. She relaxed, nuzzling against him gently as if finding a more comfortable spot on his chest. Mulder bit his lip. He didn’t know how much more of this torture he could take before he snapped. He sighed in relief when she stopped moving, satisfied with her pillow, near his heart.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

4.22 am

He thought he was in a dream. Three armed men in uniforms had burst into their motel room. Mulder grabbed the gun beside him.

"He’s got a gun,"one of them yelled and unhooked the safety on his automatic. "She has one too!"

"Put it down!" another shouted at them.

"Put down your guns and no one will get hurt!" the third growled again when Dana and Mulder disobeyed the first order.

Dana peered through the semi-darkness, "Mulder, don’t shoot! They’re cops!" She lowered her gun.

Mulder was about to lower his too when a shot from across the motel hallway took the first officer in the shoulder. He fell in shock.

"Caine’s hit! Get down!"

"Shit! Fonze didn’t manage to get to the other room on time!"

The shooter from the opposite room kept shooting blindly towards the motel room entrance. "We need to get Caine out of the way."

Mulder and Dana took cover behind the bed, both still confused with the situation. They watched as the other two officers covered each other to save Caine.

"We gotta help them," Mulder whispered to Scully.

"Mulder, they don’t know we’re on their side yet. They could shoot you."

"Oh come on, Scully." He ignored her and moved towards the end of the bed. He was just about to dart across to the other side of the room when one of the officers shot at him. The bullet missed and bored into the bed post. "Son of a …," Mulder sweared, his eyes wide open. He caught Scully’s I-told-you-so-look and frowned. He hated it when she was right.

"Stay where you are!" Officer Spencer Hardy warned. "Back up is coming soon, so I’d advise you not to try anything funny."

‘Where are they?’ Hardy tapped his finger impatiently on his automatic. He looked at Caine. The poor kid just turned 25, fresh out of the academy. His first hit. He exchanged a look with Thomas Gibson. The bastard from the other room had stopped shooting.

"I think he’s out of ammo," Hardy mouthed.

"I’ll take care of these two, you go," Gibson mouthed back.

"Hey officer!" Mulder called.

"Mulder, what are you doing?" Scully hissed, poking him with her gun.

"Making friends." He nudged her back.

"What?" Hardy replied, his eyes darting between Gibson who was heading cautiously towards the door and the bed.

"My name is Fox Mulder. I’m with the FBI."

Gibson snorted. "What, the FEDs having a tough time picking up girls nowadays? Had to bang a hooker?"

Mulder suppressed a laugh and glanced at his partner. Dana scowled. ‘Now you’re in trouble buster, you got Scully mad.’

"Officer, I’m **Special** **Agent** Dana Scully. I’m with the Beruau too."

"Sure you are, honey. How much do you charge to be Cher?"

Mulder was biting his lip to keep himself from laughing now. Scully probably had one of her glares of death on, and he didn’t want her to set it on him.

"Listen, I’m a doctor. I think your friend needs medical attention. Let me take a look at him."

"Look lady, you can be whatever you want but you ain’t going nowhere. Just sit your pretty ass behind that bed and stay there!" Gibson growled. ‘What was taking Hardy so long?’

Mulder caught Scully’s eye and they made a silent pact. After five years, they somehow could read each other thoughts at times like this. "Hey, if we throw our guns over, you promise not to shoot at us anymore? Then, we can get this all straightened out."

Gibson frowned. ‘It’s been too long. Hardy didn’t make it. But I didn’t hear anything.’

"Hey, you’re still there?" Mulder called again.

A shot in the next room made them all jump. Gibson stopped breathing. Seconds seemed like eternity when he finally saw Hardy at the doorway. His face told him that the piece of garbage in room 301 was dead. Gibson took a deep breath to calm his nerves. His confidence returning as the sounds of sirens signaled the arrival of his back up.

"Okay, you two. There’s no where to go now. Throw your guns over the bed, put your hands on your heads and get up!" Hardy took command, giving his partner a chance to recover.

Mulder and Dana did as they were told. Hardy grabbed Mulder and pushed him roughly against the wall and cuffed him. Gibson approached Dana, his eyes lingered too long at her legs. Scully ignored the urge to kick him in the shin. She even controlled a scowl. ‘I can handle this in a dignified way,’ she resolved. "There’s been a mistake. I’m a doctor. Your friend needs help." She waited for him to say something. When he didn’t, she tried to walk past him towards Caine. Gibson grabbed her arm. His iron grip hurt but she refused to give him the satisfaction of hearing her moan.

"You are not doing anything. Haven’t you and your pimps done enough? If anything happens to that kid, I shall personally see to it that you spend the rest you prostituting life in hell!"

Mulder happened to turn at that moment to see Gibson shaking Scully hard. He lunged at him, despite the cuffs and Hardy’s restraining hand. "Don’t touch her, you asshole!"

Gibson saw him coming. He used the butt of his automatic and connected with Mulder’s jaw. Mulder crumbled.

"Mulder!" Dana tried to help him but Gibson still held her arm. She glared at him. "You are in very big trouble officer," her voice on the edge of cracking. Her fists clenched tightly, turning white.

Gibson almost let her go at that point. Her eyes were blazing blue, her whole countenance radiated with such fury that it scared him. He willed himself to not back down. "Let’s go," he muttered to his partner.

Dana glanced only once at Mulder, making sure that he was all right then walked out of the room. Hardy helped Mulder up. He saw the protectiveness of the lady towards this man, that sure don’t look like something a hooker would do for her client. He wondered if Gibson had really made a mistake this time.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

5.52 am

FBI Headquarters DC

Skinner leaned back in his chair. Almost dawn, that stupid report took him the whole night to finish. Just another boring bomb scare. He preferred reading reports from his two favorite paranoid agents. At least it provided material for his bed-time-telling stories for Mike, his nephew. Sighing at the prospect of another day with his ‘entertaining’ subordinates out of town, he reached for his TV’s remote control. He flipped through the channels unenthusiastically. He stopped at the morning news, his eyes grew wide. ‘Mulder in pajamas? Arrested?’ His mouth dropped when he saw Mulder’s partner also in cuffs, in the other half of the pajamas. What the hell is going on? He unmuted the sound.

"…….. vice arrested 22 men and women who are believed to be involved in one of the biggest prostitution rings in this region. Sergeant Mel Collins of the Mayfield precinct….."

Skinner reached for the phone and dialed for the switchboard operator. "Get me a Sergeant Mel Collins from Mayfield precinct, Police Department."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

8.17 am

Mayfield Police Department

"Scully."

"Mulder." She tugged again at the blue cotton top as she stepped into the police department’s main hall. She was attracting more attention than she desired. Her partner distracted her thoughts. He was still cuffed.

"Are you okay?" he asked, looking her over.

"I’m fine, Mulder."

A Registered and Trademarked Scully answer, he ignored the urge to grin. Then, he saw the bruise on her arm and had to concentrate on ignoring the urge to kill the SOB that shook her so violently in the motel room. However he kept his temper in check knowing that Scully would die of embarrassment if he started raving like a madman on how she was treated.

Dana caught his reaction to the bruise and smiled when he calmed himself down with a few deep breaths. ‘Oh, how she loved him.’ She lifted her right hand to gently touch his slightly swollen jaw.

"Nothing’s broken."

"I know but it’s gonna hurt for a while." She demonstrated by adding a little pressure in her touch.

He winced and groaned, "Scully, why is it that you have to go prove everything?"

Dana stifled a laugh. "Sorry, Mulder," wishing she could kiss it better instead of just apologizing.

Sergeant Mel Collins watched the two agents with a frown. ‘They didn’t look like partners, more like lovers. They even shared a pajama!’ He shook his head in disgust. With agents like this, he secretly worried about the future of the country. He walked over to them.

"Agent Mulder? Agent Scully?"

Mulder jumped a little as if suddenly realizing that they were in public. Scully’s just too damn distracting. Similarly Dana took a few seconds to regain her composure. They turned to face the Sargent almost simultaneously.

"I’m Sergeant Mel Collins. I’m charge here." He held out his hand.

Mulder tried to take it forgetting about the cuffs. "Err.. Sergeant, do you mind?"

"Oh of course not, here." The moment he released them, Mulder walked towards the coat rack, his movements watched closely by the curious sergeant and his partner. He selected a large long trench coat and headed back to the twosome. Dana blushed slightly as he slipped it over her shoulders.

"Now Sergeant, you were going to apologize…." Mulder trailed off.

The officer cleared his throat, cursing Gibson silently for leaving him with this mess to clear up. "We’re sorry for the inconvenience, agents. It was a mistake. Somehow you were caught in between a vice bust. The room that you were accommodating was one of the usual rooms that Slade’s pimps use. The funny thing was the desk clerk confirmed that they were in room 302, I don’t understand how he got it wrong"

Dana saw her partner arch an eyebrow, she stepped forward. "I don’t think the desk clerk got it wrong, did he Mulder?" she looked questioning at him.

And he thought he was the only one with the photographic memory. She remembered him reading his horoscope out loud early in the week. Even numbers are definitely not his lucky numbers this week.

"Mulder?" she waited.

He groaned softly. She took it as a reluctant no and watched as her partner dejectedly headed for the 'waiting' bench and slumped down on it. She resisted a smile. "He switched the rooms," she explained simply unwilling to go into details, still watching him.

Sergeant Collins eyes brightened, ‘they won’t be able to sue.’ He glanced at Agent Mulder. His head bobbed around as if taking in every detail of the Mayfield precinct while his partner gazed at him. Years of experience told him that the look the lady agent gave her other half was one of deep affection. The kind that builds up after years of saving each other’s butts. ‘They weren’t lovers…. yet.’

"Are we free to leave now?" she asked matter-of-factly, getting back his attention.

"Yes, of course. You and your partner just need to sign a few papers first."

She hesitated for a while. "Sergeant, do you know any place where we could get some clothes around here? We lost our baggage at the airport."

‘So that explains the pajamas.’ He grinned, "There’s a second hand clothes store a few blocks down. It’s the only one open at this time."

"Thank you."

"I apologize again for the trouble, Agent Scully."

Dana nodded at him. She then turned to join her partner on the bench. "They still need us to sign some papers."

"Madam Zoopa was right," Mulder muttured.

"What do you mean she was right? All she predicted was a great in-flight movie. At least that’s what you told me." She glared at him.

Damn, me and my big mouth. "Scully, I lied about her predictions." He wondered how much he should tell her.

"So you’re telling me that she predicted that we were going to miss the flight, run out of gas, walk four miles and finally get busted for vice?"

"Not in so many words."

"Why didn’t you tell me?"

"Because you were in such a crappy mood, I didn’t want to make it worse. Not that you would believe her."

"No, but I’d probably take the hint and make you fill the gas tank with my gun to your head." She sighed. "I might as well hear this. What exactly did she say, Mulder?"

He coughed slightly and put on his best imitation of Madam Zoopa "The next 12 hours are dark. I see a lot of confusion and danger."

"That’s it?"

"More or less." ‘Nah, she wouldn’t want to hear about the intimacy part.’

"Mulder! You fell for that? It’s the oldest trick in the book!"

"But, it’s true. Our last 12 hours was hell."

"Her prediction was so general. You could lose a dollar within that 12 hours and still claim that she’s technically right."

"Scully, you believe in prophets of the bible, the gift of telling the future, seeing the future. We have seen several cases ourselves. Namely Clyde Buckman, remember him?"

Dana frowned a little, that dear old man somehow got to her. He still did.

Mulder continued, "Man has always been inclined to worry about the future. We want to know what will happen in our lives."

"But why, why tamper with fate Mulder? Why read horoscopes and the stars? To take precautions? To switch to odd-numbered rooms at a motel?"

He ignored her sarcasm. "Why do good things happen to good people? Religion has no satisfying answer to that question. Neither does the horoscope. No matter what man refers to as a guide in their lives, be it Christianity or the Daily Times’ astrology section, misfortune still burdens them. We’re just naturally curious. We’re stupid in that way."

He waited for her to say something. When she didn’t, he glanced at her. "Scully?"

"Uh? Sorry, I just can’t believe you just put God and Madam Zoopa on the same level of comparison. I suppose you wouldn’t be interested in joining mum and my brother’s family in a housewarming on Saturday. Bill finally got a house off the base. Just a few miles off the DC border. Father McCue will be there to bless the house.

"I’d love to come. Bill won’t be there right?"

"It’s his house!"

"Oh in that case, I’ll think about it."

"Mulder, I honestly think that you two are old enough to stand each other for at least a few hours in the same room."

"I don’t know, Scully. You may have the ‘Death Glare’ but your brother has the ‘Freeze Glare’." He shuddered to prove his point.

Dana rolled her eyes. The events of the night seemed to start taking it’s toll, she yawned.

"Why don’t you sleep awhile. I’ll wake you when they’re ready."

"Okay." She leaned back but just couldn’t get comfortable. "Mulder, lean back."

"Why?"

"Please?"

Mulder did as he was told. Dana leaned her head against his shoulder. ‘Definitely more comfortable,’ she smiled to herself.

"Scully?"

"Hmmm?"

"You’re not gonna make this a habit, are you? Sleeping all over me?"

"Don’t worry Mulder. I told you, I’ll restrain myself from ravishing you."

"Yeah, but who’s gonna restrain me?"

She didn’t reply him, pretending to be already asleep. Mulder sighed and turned his attention back to the room. He frowned as the caught sight of the woman responsible for their freedom. She must be the one because she was the only one typing …… very, very slowly. ‘NO! I don’t believe it,’ she threw the half typed paper away and started on a new one. ‘At this rate, we’ll never get out of here.’

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

9.24 am

‘They’re still here?’ Sergeant Collins frowned. He walked over to his clerk Bunny’s fingers were roving over the keyboard, searching for the letter ‘t’. Then, ‘h’ ‘e’. ‘r’. ‘i’. ‘n’. ‘e’……

"Bunny, don’t tell me you’re still struggling with those release papers?"

"There were just too many mistakes on the first copies I typed," she whined.

"Okay, okay. As soon as you finish you call that nice pair over there and get them to sign it, understand?"

"Uh-uh."

"Good." He sighed as returned to his office.

‘Now where was I? Her last name.’ Bunny studied the keyboard again. She frantically searched for the letter ‘M’. ‘u’. ‘l’. ‘d’. ‘e’. ‘r’. Done, finally! "Mr. And Mrs. Mulder?" she squealed across the room.

Dana jumped. "Did someone just call you?"

"I think someone just called **us**," he motioned his head towards the very young clerk who was waving her hands wildly at them.

Mulder and Dana walked towards Bunny’s desk. They both glanced at her name tag and then at each other, willing themselves not to laugh.

"Mr. and Mrs. Mulder, please sign here and here." She proudly placed the freshly typed release papers in front of them. "Now, you must sign your full names, Fox William Mulder and Dana Katherine Mulder, if you don’t I can’t give you back your stuff, understand?"

Dana blushed at the sound of her name so intimately related to Mulder’s. "There’s been a mistake. We’re not married. My name is Dana Katherine Scully?"

Mulder smiled, his mind was busy repeating Scully’s married name. He liked the sound of it very much.

Bunny’s face dropped. Her eyes watered in frustration. She spent the whole hour slogging to type this out perfectly. ‘There’s a mistake?’ Mulder woke up from his daydream to salvage the situation before a storm broke out. "Scully, could I talk to you for a sec?"

She moved with him a few steps away from Bunny’s desk. "Just sign the papers."

"Mulder, that’s not my name. It would be against the law."

"Scully do you honestly want to wait another…" he looked at his watch. " …. 58 minutes for her to type it out again?"

She stood her ground, unwilling to go against her principles. Mulder groaned. "I’ll wait outside. If you’re not there in 2 minutes, I’ve going to look for some clothes on my own. And don’t blame me if I pick out the wrong bra size for you." He stepped back to the desk and signed his release paper, much to the delight of Bunny. He gathered his wallet, badge and gun and left his partner.

A minute later, he looked up to see Scully walk out of the Mayfield precinct. He resisted a grin.

"We need clothes Mulder. There’s a secondhand clothes shop somewhere, it’s still too early to look for a mall."

"Lead the way, Scully." He waited for her to move before he took to her side. They walked about a hundred meters when Mulder gave in to his curiosity. "So what did you sign?"

She hesitated. "Dana Katherine Mulder," she mumbled.

"Nice." He mentally resolved to call Madam Zoopa for another appointment.

Dana frowned. ‘Now, what exactly did he mean by that?’ She didn’t ask though, she didn’t dare. They walked in silence.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

End of Madam Zoopa

So what did you think? I know those who read AH were expecting a Crash-Boom-Bang-Finale. But I figured if CC could prolong the inevitable, I could play the same game. Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha(evil laugh)... phileyxback@yahoo.com