TITLE: Already in Love AUTHOR: Erin M. Blair E-MAIL: eblair@sonic.net CLASSIFICATION/CATEGORY: SRA--Story, Romance, Angst. CONTENT: Mulder/Scully Romance. RATING: PG. DISTRIBUTION/ARCHIVE STATEMENT: OK to Gossamer, Xemplary, Ephemeral, The Cutting Room Floor, After the Fact. All others, please ask me first. SPOILERS: Milagro. DATE: August 10, 2003 - first draft. August 25, 2003 - final draft. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: Thanks to Jen for beta reading. DISCLAIMER: Mulder and Scully belong to Chris Carter. SUMMARY: Who's the lucky man who captured Scully's heart? ------------------------------------ ALREADY IN LOVE Written by: Erin M. Blair ------------------------------------ "Agent Scully is already in love," said Philip Padgett as he left the jail cell. Mulder gazed at Scully, looking perplexed, wondering who was the lucky man. He was lost in thought. Mulder gazed into Scully's clear blue eyes and he wondered what Philip Padgett meant. Mulder thought to himself, *Am I the lucky one?* He hoped that he was, but wasn't certain. He wanted Scully so much. He fell in love with her when she knocked on his door. There were no words spoken between the two FBI agents until Mulder spoke up. "Who's the lucky man, Scully?" "Who do you think it is, Mulder?" Mulder watched Scully's lips lift up in a warm smile. He saw her arms reaching out to him in an embrace, ignoring the fact that other people were watching them. "Am I the one, Scully?" Scully nodded. "I wanted to hold back my feelings for you, Mulder." "Why?" "I don't know. I was never much into admitting personal feelings. I was scared of what could happen to us. With our job, you never know what could happen. I just have this feeling something bad will happen." "But that's crazy, Scully." "I know, Mulder. I wanted so much to tell you how much I love you, but these feelings...." Scully let her voice trail off and then she sighed. "I just have a bad feeling, Mulder. What if we admit our feelings and then something bad happens? What happens if I get abducted again and I never get found? What happens if you get abducted? I don't know what I'd do if I lost you, Mulder." "I know. I'm worried about the same thing, Scully, but we have to be strong. I don't know what I'd do if I lost you, Scully. You know I love you. I said it before but you thought I was drugged," said Mulder. "We're stronger because of the stuff that has happened to us. We can survive anything together.I love you so much. I want us to be together as partners in every sense of the word." "Every sense of the word," Scully repeated. She sighed. "Are you scared about these visions?" "No, I'm not. We can't control what happens to us, Scully. You know that and I know that. It's just life. However, I want to be the one to love you and to feel you." Mulder saw Scully's expression soften, reflecting what he had said. He watched her stand on tiptoe to reach his face. Her lips found his. The kiss felt warm and sweet, and Mulder knew he would remember it for the rest of his life. "Mulder, I love you. You have always been the one I'm in love with," said Scully. "No matter what happens, Scully, we will survive anything that comes our way." *** Mulder and Scully's love for each other would always give them the strength to fight anything that came their way. Nothing would tear them apart because their love was too stong. Not even a psychic surgeon. *** Mulder found Scully laying on the ground and he noticed that her shirt had blood stains on it. He feared that Scully had died but then her azure colored eyes opened. Mulder noticed Scully's arms reaching for the mysterious attacker. This was before her mind could register that it was him. "Scully, it's me, Mulder." Mulder watched Scully's face lined with tears as he took her in his arms. He stroked her red hair with his hands and then he kissed her forehead. "I will never let anyone hurt you again, Scully. You mean the world to me. I love you so much." "I already knew you love me, Mulder," said Scully. She was already calmed down. Mulder looked at her, wondering how he could help her. He decided to get her to talk before she bottled everything inside. "Do you want to talk about it?" Scully nodded. "Yes." "What happened?" "I noticed the psychic killer in your doorway. I was trying to get you but you were already after Padgett. Then this guy grabbed me and tried to rip out my heart. I thought I was dead, Mulder." "Oh, my God, Scully. I'm so sorry you had to go through this. I wish I didn't go after him." "Don't be sorry, Mulder. You were only doing your job. I don't fault you for that." "I almost lost you tonight. I can't let that happen again. I have to do something -- " "Mulder, don't worry about it. I'm fine. I'm OK. You have got to trust me on this. You have my trust and my soul. Don't forget how much I love you." They sat down on the couch. Mulder put his left arm around Scully. He was glad she was all right, that she wasn't dead. For a minute there, she looked as though she was dead. He thought all hope was lost until Scully awakened. Now, as he looked at her, relief flowed through his veins, knowing that her life was restored by Padgett's burning of his book. For a couple of minutes, they sat in a shared silence. They were lost in thought over what had transpired during the past few weeks. Their discovery of love had changed them a bit as they realized how much they meant to each other. Philip Padgett, wherever he was, brought Mulder and Scully together. For that, they would always be grateful to him...for he pointed out the obvious to Mulder and Scully: "Agent Scully is already in love." End of Story Feedback: Yes, I love feedback. Send to: eblair@sonic.net Author's Notes: This story was written after I saw the episode, "Milagro." The idea came when I heared Philip Padgett's character utter the following phrase, "Agent Scully is already in love." I thought that it would be a good basis to explore the idea of who (duh?!) she's in love with.