Title: Spender's Surprise Author: Erin M. Blair E-Mail: eblair@sonic.net Classification: SRA--Story, Romance, Angst Content: Spender/Other Romance. MSR-implied. Spoiler: The End. The Beginning. X-Files Movie Rating: PG. Archive: OK to Gossamer and Xemplary. Others: ask me first. Disclaimer: Jeffrey Spender isn't mine because Chris Carter owns him, but David Mulder and Melanie Alomar both belong to me. Summary: What will Spender do when his old girlfriend/partner shows up and wants to resume the partnership? How will this affect his new partnership with Diana Fowley? -------------------------------------- SPENDER'S SURPRISE Written by: Erin M. Blair -------------------------------------- "Agent Spender?" I looked up from the stack of X-Files on my desk, most of which I had disregarded. It was Skinner's secretary, Kimberly, and I didn't want to see her. Not like this. I had enough problems dealing with my new partner, Diana Fowley, who I hated so much. OK. Maybe I don't hate her that much; I have to admit that I'm starting to like her. Why was I assigned to this boring assignment? "Yeah?" She handed me a letter. "This arrived for you." I mumbled a quick "thanks," and I watched her leave the room. Quickly, I ripped open the envelope, and I pulled out the letter. It was on white stationary. It had a certain smell to it, and I recognized the scent of strawberries. I looked at the curvy handwriting, and I knew right away who it was from. It was from Melanie Alomar. That name brings so many memories. She was the first real love of my life, and it was a surprise to hear from her again. When I watched her airplane take off at the airport for Salt Lake City, I'd thought that I would never see her again. Here's what Melanie said: \Dearest Jeff, \ \I know that we left on bad terms. I can't \imagine how hard it was on you when I left \for Salt Lake City. I know how much you \loved me, but I wanted to \have a good career at the FBI. I wanted to \go, Jeff. \ \That was last year. \ \I want to return to the D.C. area and to \you. I want to be your partner again, if \you'll still have me, in every sense of the \word. I'll be transferring to the D.C. \office. I have already made arrangements \to stay with my sister, Celina. You remember \her, Jeff? I introduced you to her at \my birthday party a few years ago. \ \Call me at 555-1221. \ \Melanie. I didn't know if I should laugh, cry, or scream. Melanie and I had a wonderful partnership. Hell, we were lovers. Then she dropped a bombshell on me: she's leaving for Salt Lake City. Apparently, it was the same position that Dana Scully had been offered and turned down, but my Melanie took it. I was devastated. When I saw Dana Scully walking down the corrider towards her desk, I thought she was Melanie. They both look so much alike with red hair and blue eyes. I thought I was falling for her on the rebound, but when I saw the love she has for Mulder, I decided to step away. I knew I couldn't win. Now, Melanie's coming back and wants to be with me. With me. What will I tell Diana Fowley? That I want to be with Melanie? It's an enormous decision. How do you tell a current partner that a former partner wants to return to be at my side? Knock. Knock. "Come in!" "What's wrong?" I looked up to see David Mulder walking in to sit down at a chair beside my desk. I sighed. "We've been friends ever since I saw you mope about losing Dana Scully, right?" David recently transferred to the J. Edgar Hoover Building from the San Francisco Field Office. When he first arrived, he met Dana Scully. After he discovered that she had only eyes for his cousin, he had downed several shots of vodka at Casey's Bar. That's where I met him. After awhile, we exchanged stories about his cousin. "Right." I'm sure that he saw my anxiety. "What's wrong? You look as though you saw a ghost." "Not a ghost, David. I thought that you weren't as big on the paranormal as your cousin." "I'm not. I don't believe in aliens. I think that it's a joke." "Uh huh." Someday, he's going to believe in that stuff. I just know it. I wouldn't admit to anyone, not even David, but I'm starting to believe in the possibility of alien life. I'm nowhere near a believer like Fox Mulder, though. "Well? Who's the letter from?" "Melanie." "Who's Melanie?" I'd never told him about her. Actually, I had no real reason to tell him about how she broke my heart. "Melanie Rose Alomar was my partner until she left for Salt Lake City, Utah. She was offered a position in forensics which would, ultimately, help her career in the FBI. It was the same position that Dana Scully--" "I know who she is. My cousin's lover and partner. Go on." "It was the same position that Dana was offered, but she turned it down because of the recent events." I sighed, as I fingered the white stationary. "She was my partner in every sense of the word, and I loved her so much. I was hoping for it to be more..." "You were going to marry her," David remarked, with a look of understanding. "Yes, I was. I was going to propose to her that night," I whispered. "Then she dropped her surprise. I felt like dying. Why did she have to leave me, David? I loved her so much. I thought she knew that." "I'm sure she did love you in her own way. She probably felt she had to leave because of the pressure the FBI put on her. Since they didn't get Dana, they went after Melanie." I nodded. "I guess that they don't like it when they don't get their way." "Love's a risk," David said, with a sigh. He looked at me in a meaningful way. "Jeff, what are you gonna do about Melanie?" "I don't know. Call her, I guess. It's just that I don't know how I feel towards her." "You'll find out soon enough, Jeff. I'll talk to you later," David said as he got up and walked towards the door. I watched him close the door behind him, and I dialed Melanie's number. "Hello?" A low, female voice answered my "hello" with "Melanie." "Hey Alomar, it's me." "Hi Spender. Long time, no see. I take it you read my letter." We called each other by our last names as a tribute to Mulder and Scully. We thought that it was funny. "Yes, I did." "Well?" I looked down at the floor, and I gave a long sigh. "Spender?" "Look, Melanie, it's been a long time." "I know that, Jeff." "I--uh--I already have a partner. Diana Fowley." "Jeff, I know that. I also heard that you hate her. I felt bad when I left you. I shouldn't have done that and I realized that it was a big mistake." She paused. "I regretted it. It did nothing for my FBI career, that's for sure." She regretted leaving me. Good. Should I accept her as my partner now? Or what? "Melanie, I'm not in Violent Crimes Unit anymore." "I know that," Melanie said. "You do?" "Yes," she replied. "You're in the X-Files now. I want to be assigned to it." "I don't know if they'll let you or not, Alomar. There are two agents that are very, very interested in getting it back." "I know who they are. You don't have to tell me. Let me guess: Fox Mulder and Dana Scully." I sighed. "Yes." "I want to see you. Meet me." "Where?" "The Lincoln Memorial in an hour." "See you in an hour," I murmured, as I put down the receiver. *What am I going to do?* I asked myself. I heard a voice calling my name, and I turned around. It was Diana standing in the doorway. "How long have you been listening?" "Who's Melanie?" "My ex-partner," I said simply. She didn't need to know the details. "What do you want, Diana?" "I don't like her." "Who? Dana Scully?" "I hate her too, but I'm beginning to hate Melanie Alomar more. She's taking you away from me." I looked into Diana's brown eyes, and I couldn't understand why she's jealous of Melanie. They'd never met! "No, she's not. She wants to talk about why she left me in the first place. This has nothing to do with you." "Yes, it does." "No, it doesn't. Look, Diana, we have a very good working relationship. Let's keep it that way." I paused, as I was carefully picking up the right words. "Melanie was my lover as well as my partner. I can't abandon my past, and I know that you still love Mulder in your own way. Please understand. I have to go." Diana nodded. "If you have to go, then I won't stand in your way." I gave her a quick hug. "Thanks, Diana." I left her to take care of some of the paperwork that Skinner wanted us to do, and hurried towards my car to head over the Lincoln Memorial. I spotted an auburn haired woman sitting at the park bench, and I decided to approach her. I tapped her gently on the shoulders. "Melanie?" She turned around, and gave me a bright smile which sent an undeniable wave of passion through my body. Seeing her there brought back so many warm memories of our love and partnership. As she watched me, I struggled to find the words to greet her. "Melanie, you look beautiful!" "You look great yourself," Melanie said, as her smile deepened and she gave me a once over. "Thanks for meeting with me. I thought that you wouldn't come." "I still care about you, Melanie. What happened to us was horrible." "I know. I miss you so much. I didn't want to leave you, but I had no choice." "No choice?" "They told me that you'd be in trouble if I didn't accept. I didn't want to see you hurt. I love you too much for that to happen. I had to leave you and I hope that you'll forgive me." "You had no choice, Melanie? You could have said no." "I couldn't. They...told me that you'd be hurt if I didn't accept." "Who's they?" "Them." Melanie looked away from me, and when she faced me again, I saw the tears flowing down her cheeks. "I didn't want to leave you, but I had to. I wanted you safe from harm, and that's why I accepted. Now, I'm back. I'm not going anywhere." I didn't know what to do or say, but I know that she still loved me. I pulled her close to me, and I could felt her warm body against mine. I stroked her silky auburn hair gently, and then, I kissed her on her red lips. "I love you, Melanie. I'm not going anywhere either. I'm yours if you'll still have me." "I'll have you," Melanie murmured, as she nestled in my arms. "I'll have you." The End Author's Notes on "Spender's Surprise": I know that I'm a well known Mulder and Scully MSR and MSM author, but I wanted to write a story featuring Jeffrey Spender. As a writer, I wanted to use Jeffrey in a way that I'd never done so. I used to hate him so much, but in light of the recent episodes, I grew to like the ferret. =) As for Diana, I wanted Jeff to hate her as much I still do. The character of Melanie Alomar has been used several times in several stories that I'd written privately. In the other stories, she's a ballerina. However, in this story, I modified her to be a FBI agent. I also used the character of David Mulder, who's Mulder's lookalike cousin, from the story, "Someone Else." This story is somewhat related to "Someone Else" but you really don't have to read it to understand the story. It'll be great if you did, but I can understand if you don't. =) Although this is purely a Spender/Other romance, I threw in some hints of a Mulder/Scully Romance going on. I hope that you'll enjoy this story as I had writing it. If you want more tales of Spender and his new partner/lover, Melanie Alomar, please let me know. =) Special Thanks/Inspirations: To Chris Owens: For bringing life for Jeffrey Spender. To David Duchovny: For breathing life into Mulder, and giving me the inspiration for creating David Mulder. To Gillian Anderson: For being the inspiration for the creation of Melanie Rose Alomar, and for bringing life to Dana Scully. To Drovar: For giving me the inspiration to create a story starring Spender and featuring David Mulder. If it weren't for your story, "My Name's Not Fox", I doubt that this story would have seen the light of day. Thank you for creating Spenderfic Mailing List. To Laurie B.: For beta reading this story, and thank you for giving me suggestions. For additional beta reading, I would like to thank Jo Moore from Church of X Mailing List as well as Jade from Folie_A_Duex so I can polish the story before putting it out. I would also like to thank Kristy B. for taking her time to help me with this story. To Church of X, SEFAMSRN, ANXFOBSESSION, and ANTI-FOWLEY: For being the best supporters any girl has ever had. You're great! =) Finally, I'd like to thank everyone who has read my stories over this first year. Without you, I wouldn't have continued to write these stories. Feedback: Positive, thoughtful, constructive criticism only. Send to: eblair@sonic.net