From: "starbuck22" TITLE: Fletcher 2: Rollercoaster AUTHOR: Dana Starbuck FEEDBACK: dks_starbuck@yahoo.com DISTRIBUTION: Archive only to ScullySlash Homepage CROSSPOSTING: None please! KEYWORDS: Slash, Scully/Other romance, Mulder/Other Friendship, Silence Of The Lambs Crossover (sort of) SPOILERS: Minor all the way up to the end of Season Five. RATING: NC17 for sex and language SUMMARY: Scully's relationship with Fletcher continues DISCLAIMER: The X-Files characters and situations are the creations and property of Chris Carter, 1013 Productions and the Fox Broadcasting and have been used without permission. SOTL characters are the property of Thomas Harris and have been used without permission. No copyright infringement is intended and no money shall be made with this piece of fiction. All the others belong to the author. MUSIC DISCLAIMERS: The following songs (briefly) have been used without permission: "Turn Me Loose", "I Need a Lover", "Just A Gigolo", "Goodbye Stranger", "I'm a Girl Watcher", "Hello, I Love You", "Stay With Me", "The Wanderer", "Shameless" THANK YOU: Special thanks to Rad and Eeyore for beta-reading. And a _really_ big thank you to my 'separated at birth cyberbro' deejay for his editing, ideas and friendship. <> Friday, November 6, 1998 9:15 PM PST Seattle-Tacoma Airport Fletcher looked up at the monitor displaying all of the departures. She hooked the strap of her bag over her shoulder and stood in line. She shifted the bag on her shoulder. "Can I help you?" a perky voice interrupted Fletcher's thoughts. Fletcher looked up and to see a statuesque blonde woman standing behind the counter. She had a perky smile to match the voice. Fletcher sighed. "Yes, thanks. I need to get on the next flight available to Washington, D.C." "All flights in and out tonight are cancelled or delayed by the fog." "Are they expecting it to lift any time soon?" "Hopefully by dawn." "When's the first flight in the morning?" Fletcher asked, handing the agent her no longer valid ticket. "Which airport?" "Dulles." The agent checked her computer terminal. "I've got a 6:00 flight through Denver. The connecting flight should put you in to Dulles about 3:45." She looked at her watch. Her calm demeanor belied her irritation. "Book me a seat on it, please." "Certainly. May I see some identification, please?" Fletcher took out her FBI badge and flashed it. The woman gawked at it for a moment, but she quickly recovered her composure. "Thank you." "Can you upgrade my seat to first-class on both flights?" "Let me check." She scanned her computer. "I can get you a window seat to Denver, then an aisle seat the rest of the way." "Fine, thanks." "I'll pay for the upgrade separately," Fletcher said, handing the agent her credit card. She finished the paperwork, then handed Fletcher her new ticket. "All set. Thank you." "Thank _you_," Fletcher said. "Let's just hope the fog lifts." She stuffed the ticket into the inner pocket of her trench coat and walked away in search of a place to sit down. She looked at her watch. Saturday, November 6, 1998 5:15 AM PST Fletcher shut off her laptop and stretched. She looked out the window and saw the rain reflecting off the lights. Any other time, the downpour would have been depressing, but the rain had knocked down the fog, causing a flurry of departure announcements. Fletcher's fellow strandees were yawning and stretching. Some of them were starting to mill around the gate entrance. Even a middle seat in Tourist would be more comfortable than the homicidally-designed plastic chairs they'd tried to sleep in. Fletcher looked at her watch and grabbed her cell phone. The phone rang once, twice. "Scully," she said, trying to suppress a yawn. Fletcher closed her eyes and smiled. "Good morning, sleepyhead. It's me." "Where _are_ you?" "Stuck and sleepless in Seattle. All the flights were fogged in last night. The fog's finally lifted and I'm on the 6:00 AM flight out. I should be landing about 3:45." She stretched her legs out in front of her. "Listen, I need a favor from you." "What?" "Can you go out to the house and meet Marva and Karrin?" "Sure, but I don't have a key or the new security code." "I'll call the company and have someone meet you there. They'll let you in and instruct you on the procedures." "Okay. What time do I need to be there?" "Noon okay for you? Karrin and Marva are coming over about 1:00." "I'll be there." "Thanks." She yawned once. "I was going to fix spaghetti. Just take out one of the containers in the freezer. I'll make it when I get there. You may have to pick up some salad fixings. I know they're bringing cheese and crackers and who knows what else." "I'll take care of it." "Thanks," Fletcher said, reaching up under her glasses to rub her eyes. "Did you get any sleep last night?" "In these chairs? Not fucking likely." "Oh, Fletcher..." "The night wasn't a total loss. I used the time to get my reports all caught up. Now I won't have to worry about them over the weekend." "I'll sleep on my flight." "You sound wiped out." "I'm exhausted." Fletcher thought. "Try not to get overtired, Fletcher." "Yes, doctor," Fletcher said, smiling. "I miss you," Scully said after a short silence. "I miss you, too, Red." She looked over both shoulders to see if anyone was sitting near her. Even though no one was, she hunched over and lowered her voice. "I've missed waking up next to you, missed falling asleep with you, and I've especially missed keeping you up at night." "I kept hoping you'd be here when I woke up." There was no mistaking the longing in Scully's voice. Fletcher grinned. "I had every intention of crawling into bed with you..." She looked at her watch. "...just about now, as a matter of fact." "It's been really hard being apart this week. The days - and nights - have just dragged for me." "I know, and it's not going to get any better," she sighed. "Sometimes, I really hate my job. I don't mind traveling when I'm on an actual case, but this hopping from city to city for pep talks is the pits." Scully thought. "Try to get some sleep on the plane." "Yeah, I will." She looked up and saw the gate agents. "Gotta go, Red. They're getting ready to begin boarding and I still have to call the security company." Saturday, 1:10 PM EST Fletcher's house Following the instructions the security company had given her, Scully opened the gate for Marva and Karrin. She waited until they had parked in the driveway before going outside to greet them. A woman with short blond hair got out from driver's side of the dark blue Saab. Scully thought as she saw how short the woman was. Marva came out the passenger side with a smile and a warm wave. "Dr. Frankenstein, I presume." Scully rolled her eyes, thinking about Frohike. "Hi, Marva." "Fletcher slaving over a hot stove?" she asked, reaching into the back seat. "Not unless there's a kitchen in the airplane. She got fogged in last night in Seattle," Scully explained, taking the grocery bag from Marva. "She's somewhere in the air between Denver and D.C. right now." Marva thought. "Tough break for her. When will she be here?" "Around 5:00 or so." Marva slung the strap of her bag over her shoulder, then put her arm around the blonde. "Dana, I'd like you to meet my partner, Karrin Gundersson. Karrin, this is Dana Scully." Scully shifted the grocery bag to her left arm and stuck out her right hand. "Pleased to meet you." "How do you do?" Karrin said, shaking her hand. Karrin was blonde haired and blue-eyed and looked like she'd just stepped off a farm in the Midwest. She was wearing jeans and an oversized sweatshirt with "DUKE" emblazoned across the front. Scully thought as she led the way into the house. Scully set the grocery bag down on the counter and asked, "Have you had lunch yet?" "We had a late breakfast, but _I_ could use a snack," Marva smiled. Scully nodded. "Any preference?" "Whatever goes well with Fletcher's wine collection." "I'll put the bags in the guest room," Karrin said, taking Marva's bag off her shoulder. "Don't start without me." Marva's grin got even wider. "Never." Karrin took the bags upstairs while Marva went down to Fletcher's wine cellar. Scully thought searching through several cabinets before she located the wineglasses. She had made up a plate of cheese and crackers when Karrin came into the kitchen, about the same time Marva returned with two bottles of wine, one white, one red, both dusty. "Fletcher has the best wine," Karrin commented. "Do you know if she's still making the trip to Europe to get some of her wine?" she asked, sitting down at the kitchen table. "I didn't know she did," Scully answered. "I don't believe she's gone in the last couple of years," Marva replied. "She'd better go soon. Her supply is getting low." "If you'd stop opening a bottle every time you came over..." Karrin playfully scolded Marva. "We don't come over all that often. Just a few times a year." "And every time Fletcher comes over, she brings at least two bottles." "So we like good wine," Marva rationalized, sitting down beside Karrin and picking up a piece of cheese. Scully smiled, listening to the two of them. She sat down opposite Marva. "Have you known Fletcher long?" Scully asked, sipping her wine. "Years," Marva laughed. "We go _way_ back." "How did you meet her?" Scully asked, curious to hear Marva's version. "Fletcher was working a case and someone, I never did find out who, pointed her in my direction. She needed a crash course in makeup and costumes." "When was that?" "Oh, gosh, how many years ago was it?" Marva thought for a few moments. "It was before Fletcher went overseas." "When did Fletcher go overseas?" "She was called up on active duty for the Gulf War. I guess we met the spring before that - 1990." Marva smiled. "She was something else back then," she added, refilling everyone's glass. "What do you mean?" "Ever seen Fletcher interview someone?" "No, we've never worked together. Not yet, anyway," she added. "It's an experience," Marva laughed. "She must be very good at her job. She kept me off balance the whole time. And those eyes of hers. You can't lie to her, not that I was trying to." "How'd you become friends?" "She spent the whole day interviewing me, even bought me lunch. The next day she came back around closing time." "What happened?" "Well, I asked her if she had any more questions, and she said 'Just one'." "What was it?" Scully asked, curious. "'Would you like to have dinner with me?'" Marva grinned. "Smooth. I'll give her that. It was the last thing I expected from her. I mean, I thought she was a lesbian from the first moment we met, but I didn't think she knew I was. Then again, I'm sure _my_ sexual orientation wouldn't have mattered to Fletcher," Marva laughed. "Did you have dinner with her?" "Yes." Marva saw the unasked question on Scully's face. "And yes, we did sleep together. We were involved for a few months, but it just didn't work for us. She had the most insane schedule, and I needed someone I could count on back then. I'm also a firm believer in monogamy, and Fletcher, well, Fletcher wasn't quite ready to settle down with just one woman." Marva took a sip from her glass. "Besides, there was a lot of darkness to Fletcher then. She was far too moody for my liking. We decided we'd be better off friends than lovers." "Was that before or after she was involved with Clarice Starling?" "Before." Marva looked over the top of her glass at Scully. "You know about Clarice?" "A little. I know she and Fletcher were involved and I'm guessing that the parting wasn't altogether amicable." "You're a very good guesser," Marva said dryly. "How long were they together?" Scully asked Marva. "Two, maybe two and half years." "Did you know Clarice?" "We both did. Fletcher got together with her about the same time Karrin and I did. We socialized on occasions," Marva said casually, but she was still unable to hide the look on her face that bordered on animosity. "Now, honey, it wasn't that bad," Karrin said lightly, her hand on Marva's arm. "I think you were just a little jealous that Fletcher became involved with Clarice and she hadn't with you." "Maybe, but I just always had problems seeing the two of them together. They weren't really right for each other." She took a drink from her glass. "Maybe it was all physical," she muttered to no one in particular. "Maybe they just had great sex." "I liked her," Karrin said. "Granted, she was a little too intense, a little too serious at times, but she was a decent, kind person. Intelligent with a very dry sense of humor..." "She had a sense of humor?" Marva interrupted. Karrin ignored Marva's comment. "She and Fletcher obviously cared about one another. They just ended up being not very compatible." "What happened?" "They had a falling out," Karrin said, her eyes warning Marva to keep quiet. "I think you'd be better off asking Fletcher the whole story." "She's not very talkative when it comes to Clarice." "She'll tell you when she's ready." Marva topped their glasses off once again, then got up from the table to get more cheese and crackers. "How did you meet?" Karrin asked Scully, changing the topic. "Fletcher never did tell us." "I went for drinks after work with my partner. He introduced us." "Who's your partner?" Marva asked, setting the plate on the table. "One of Fletcher's old friends from ISU - Fox Mulder." "Fox Mulder's your partner? I should've known that," Marva said, rolling her eyes in mild self-disgust. "I knew the Halloween costume was for him. I just never put it together." "You know him?" Scully was surprised. "Oh, I've known him almost as long as I've known Fletcher. You can't know one without knowing the other. The two of them are as close as brothers." Marva sat back down. "Enough about him. When did you meet Fletcher?" "A couple of months ago." "And it was love at first sight, huh?" Marva teased. "Hardly," Scully replied, her cheeks pink. "I'm afraid I didn't make a very good first impression." She looked down at her glass, her embarrassment over her actions that night still all too acute in her mind. "Why do you say that?" "I drank on an empty stomach and ended up too drunk to drive." "Did Fletcher drive you home?" Marva asked, knowing how Fletcher operated. "Yes." Scully looked up. "Why?" Marva smiled at Scully. It took her a few moments, but Scully finally realized the implications in Marva's look. "Oh, she didn't stay," Scully explained. "Nothing happened." "Nothing?" Marva raised her eyebrows in surprise. "I find _that_ hard to believe." "Really. Nothing _happened_ between us for quite some time." "Fletcher must be slipping," Karrin laughed. "Why do you say that? I was so drunk that I got sick. Besides, Mulder's my partner, my friend. Fletcher would've respected that." "Don't get me wrong, Dana," Marva explained. "I love Fletcher. She's one of my best friends, but I _know_ her. I also know that most of the time _none_ of that matters to her." "I keep hearing all these hints about Fletcher's reputation and so far, I've seen no evidence of it with me," Scully said almost defensively. "She was always very, um, very 'well-behaved' with me." "Can I ask you a question, Dana?" "Sure," she responded warily. "How long did you know Fletcher before she made a move on you?" "She didn't." "Excuse me? Didn't what?" "She never made the first move. I did, and it was only after we'd known each other for a month or so." Marva marveled. Karrin opened the second bottle of wine and poured them each another glass of wine. She shook her head. Scully nodded her thanks to Karrin. "How did you two meet, if you don't mind my asking. I'm just a little curious. I can't see your work bringing you together," Scully said with a smile. "Well, it did, sort of," Karrin said, a big smile on her face. "My sister and my niece were visiting from Baltimore when my niece had a severe asthma attack. I had to drive them to the hospital. Karrin was the doctor who treated Felicia." "I was doing my ER residency at the time. It wasn't until I completed it that I decided that I really wanted to be in pediatrics," Karrin explained. "I didn't notice Karrin at first. I was more concerned with my niece. It wasn't until the crisis passed that I happened to notice how attractive she was and how good she'd been with us." She smiled at Karrin and took her hand. "Little did I know how multi-talented she was," Marva laughed. "While I treated her niece, I was also sort of checking Marva out. It wasn't something I normally did. I don't think I'd ever even looked twice at a patient or a family member of a patient before or since." "How'd you get together?" "Well, I made a point of personally thanking Karrin before we left the hospital." "And she asked me if there was anything she could do to thank me." "She surprised the heck out of me when she said there was." "I told her she could by having dinner with me." "What is it that makes these women I don't even know ask me to dinner? Do I look that easy?" Marva said, a wide smile on her face. "It's one of your best features, hon," Karrin said. Her smile wasn't wide, but it was sly. "Smartass." Marva squeezed Karrin's hand and kissed her cheek. "How long have you been together?" Scully asked. "We just had our seventh anniversary in September." The smile on their faces said it all. Scully couldn't help but smile at the warmth and love that Marva and Karrin had for one another. Scully suddenly thought. "Can I ask you a question?" Scully asked. "Sure," replied Marva, noticing the slightly nervous tone in Scully's voice. "How do your families feel about your relationship?" There was no missing the dark cloud that passed over Karrin's face. Scully thought. "I'll put it this way," Karrin answered. "Marva, out of all the major holidays since we've been together, how many times have I gone home?" "Of the ten you didn't have to work on, one." "My supposedly liberal family turned out to be just awful," Karrin said, disgusted. "I don't know what angers them more, the fact that I chose to stay here in D.C., that I'm involved with a woman, or that I'm involved with a black." She finished off her glass of wine. "Was Marva the first woman you were involved with?" Scully asked, surprised that she'd even asked such a personal question. "No, but she was the first my family knew about for sure. I brought her home with me for Thanksgiving the first year we were together." "It didn't go over very well," Marva added. "They were very civil, very polite to me, but it was clear they were less than thrilled to have me there." "Which is why we - I - haven't been home since." "Do you have any contact with them?" Scully asked, beginning to wonder how her own family would handle her relationship with Fletcher. "Christmas cards, birthday cards. That's about it. My younger sister calls on occasion. She's even stayed with us when she's been in town on business, without my parents' knowledge of course." "Anna's a gem," Marva said. "I like her a lot. She's always been very supportive of us." "How many brothers and sisters do you have?" Scully asked. "Two older brothers, one older sister and one younger sister." "How about your family?" Scully asked Marva. "They love Karrin. We don't just go to visit my family on holidays. We probably visit someone in my family once a month. It helps that they all live in and around D.C. or Baltimore." Marva looked carefully at Scully. "Does your family know, Dana?" "About Fletcher?" "Yes." "No, they don't." "How do you feel about another personal question, Dana?" Marva said gently. "Okay, I guess," Scully replied, trying not to sound nervous. "Is Fletcher the first woman you've ever been involved with?" "Yes," Scully answered, her cheeks growing warm. "I thought so." "How could you tell?" "Call it woman's intuition," Marva smiled. "Are you planning on telling your family?" "I hadn't really thought about it, until now. I have a feeling that they might be more inclined to act like Karrin's family than your family. I had a _very_ Catholic upbringing." "Well, it might go over a little easier if they meet Fletcher first as your friend, and not as your lover," Karrin suggested. Scully thought. She took a large swallow from her glass. "Enough of this serious talk," Marva said, interrupting Scully's thoughts. "I've got an idea." "Oh, no, watch out, Dana," Karrin warned. "Nothing bad," Marva said, a mock frown on her face. "I was going to suggest we make up some nachos and frozen margaritas. Let's get this party moving." "Should we?" "Why not? You two get the ingredients together and I'll go put some music on - and no requests. I'm playing DJ tonight." "Better make a _big_ plate of nachos," Karrin said as she took out the blender and the tequila. "We'll need something to soak up Marva's Margarita's from Hell," she added. The house was soon full of music. Karrin grinned. Scully opened the refrigerator and rummaged through the drawers and shelves before taking out several bags of cheese. She held up a jar that appeared to be salsa. It was marked 'Slap my ass and call me Sally.' "Do you think this is salsa?" she asked Karrin. "Oooh, goody. Fletcher's got some left. Do you like hot food?" "Yes, why?" "This stuff is dynamite. It'll bring you to your knees." "Bring _who_ to their knees?" Marva asked returning to the room. "We don't know Dana well enough to be talking dirty in front of her," she cracked. "Check this out," Karrin said, tossing the jar to Marva. "Oh, this is great. I didn't know she had any left." "She's been holding out on us. It hasn't even been opened." "Maybe we shouldn't," Scully said. "Bullshit. Everything in the refrigerator or liquor cabinet is fair game when we're here. Well, almost everything," Marva added, opening up the liquor cabinet. "Let's see what Fletcher's got before I decide which recipe to fix." She moved a few bottles around then took out a bottle of lime juice and orange liqueur. "This should work. Dana, would you fill the blender about half full with ice? Thanks." Scully opened the freezer door and began to put ice into the blender. She noticed a small compartment in the freezer. she thought as she opened it. Three bottles were lying on their sides. Karrin looked over Scully's shoulder. "Fletcher's vodka," she explained. "She's always got three bottles of Stoli in the freezer. She's very particular about her vodka - likes it very cold. It's the only thing we _don't_ touch." End Chapter 1 of ?