BACCARAT PIECE: WALLFLOWER

By Sean Spencer

seans13@hotmail.com

CATEGORY: VRH

RATING: PG

KEYWORDS: Skinner/Mulder Slash

SPOILERS: none

SUMMARY: Scully rescues Mulder (and Skinner) again!

DISCLAIMER: Walter Skinner, Dana Scully and Fox Mulder are the properties of Chris Carter, 1013 Productions and Fox Television. No copyright infringement is intended or implied in this work of fiction.

Thanks to Kristina!

........................

It was already dark outside. Special Agent Dana Katherine Scully could see the waning light from the small windows of the basement office. She glanced at the clock on the wall. It was already five thirty.

"Come on, Mulder, let's go," she said.

Mulder, her partner, glanced up from his desk. When he wore his glasses, he was like a dutiful student and when he was really concentrated on his work, he sometimes looked like a good looking nerd.

"In a minute, Scully," Mulder muttered.

Scully wondered what he was working on. He had been at his computer console for more than an hour, although there were other papers on his desk, which he would normally have if he were reconstructing a case. As far as Scully knew, the paperwork from last week's case was now on Skinner's desk. She just submitted it yesterday.

Scully also knew that Mulder wasn't on the internet. But he sure was intent on what he was doing. She blew out a big sigh, as silently as she could and watched her bangs ruffle from her breath. Then she checked her desk. It was all clear of useless things. Her desk was spotless. It sure felt nice to have a desk free of any trace of work on a Friday night. It gave her obsessive-compulsive self a feeling of satisfaction that pervaded right through the weekend.

Then Scully got out her list of things to do. She verified that all her gifts had been bought and wrapped, the dry cleaning had been picked up by John her husband, the VCR she sent out to be repaired would be ready by tomorrow, and all the ingredients for her blitz of cookie baking tomorrow was all set. Most of the Christmas cookies were going to be sent to the orphanage. She had been baking Christmas cookies for orphanages since high school except when she was in her fourth year of med school and her schedule was too crazy. At first, it was just a school project, the spirit of charity inculcated by the good nuns from St. Bridget's; but it had become a tradition with her since that time.

When she finally finished with her list checking, Scully looked at her watch. More than a minute had passed, and Mulder still didn't look like he was in the process of shutting down his computer.

Finally, she had enough of waiting and stood up. She sneaked up behind her engrossed partner and fumed.

"You mean to tell me I've been waiting for you to finish playing solitaire!" Scully cried, breaking the tranquil silence that pervaded the basement office since an hour ago.

Mulder gave a guilty start.

"All right," he said hastily, clicking his mouse to begin the shutdown process. The moment the appropriate buttons were pushed, Mulder's world turned black as he realized that Scully had indignantly thrown his coat over his head.

Scully was already in her coat when Mulder pulled off his coat from his head and followed her out into the hallway. He switched off the lights in the office and locked the door as Scully tapped her little foot in its perfect 1 1/2 inch heel.

They didn't talk much on the way to her car. It was in the basement parking lot, not far from their basement office. Scully wasn't mad anymore by the time she got into her car and started the engine. She glanced over at Mulder, who still had that gloomy look on his face.

"Come on, it's going to be fun," she said, trying to sound cheerful.

"Those things are never fun," Mulder muttered and kept silent the rest of the way. The gloom still pervaded the car despite the cheery music from Scully's car radio.

It was ten minutes to the hotel. It wasn't the best one in DC. The hotel was second-rate with a lot of pretensions. Second-rate hotels were big with the government types; it was easy on the budget, somewhat pleasing to the eye despite being poor on service.

It took a while for Scully to get a parking space. The preponderance of Tauruses testified to the number of Bureau people in the vicinity.

...............

Assistant Director Walter Skinner sighed with relief the moment he saw Mulder and Scully enter the function room. In one of the rare times that Skinner used his leverage as Mulder's lover in a Bureau matter, he had forced Mulder to attend tonight's event despite the younger man's protestations.

Bureau Christmas parties, or to be more politically correct, Holiday parties, were social affairs. It was supposedly a voluntary event. But in all government institutions, these happenings were actually times when one's attendance can make or break careful office maneuverings. Asking for Budget increases for a division can be made easier if the Director or the Deputy Director can remember people within a division.

It was time that the X-files received a Budget commensurate to their high solve rate. Skinner made it clear to Mulder that his attendance as the X-files supervisor was crucial tonight. The results were rewarded in February when the budget meetings would begin anew and the different AD's would slug it out with each other.

Skinner watched as Scully met some of the lab people she seemed to be friendly with. The AD pursed his lips in irritation. The Labs were out in full force and it was no wonder that they never received a budget cut since way back when. Scully talked animatedly with the others and Skinner wondered who was the redheaded lab rat who literally seemed to fawn over Mulder's partner. Ah, yes, that was Agent Pendrell. Now Skinner remembered him.

The large function room had a strict hierarchy, as if a line was drawn between the field people and underlings and Bureau management. Of course, the line was nebulous and by the time the night ended, the line would be gone altogether. But right now, just as the cocktails were starting, the line was almost like a huge white stripe down the room, as if it were Pepe Le Pew's mark on his back.

Skinner was listening half-heartedly to an associate. In reality, he was watching Mulder standing miserably in the underlings' side of the room. The agent never did do well in large social gatherings.

Mulder had a morose eye trained on Scully but was reluctant to join her. She already had the networking abilities of a future Bureau Director; Skinner always believed she would go far.

The AD surreptitiously kept an eye on his lover. He felt for Mulder, who looked more and more like some wallflower at the junior-senior prom. It was about time for Mulder to interact more smoothly with other Bureau personnel on a social level. Although it pained him to do so, Skinner forced himself to pay attention to the one talking on his right. He then walked a few steps and found someone more interesting to talk to. Then the AD walked to the table and ate a few canapes.

Just as expected, he eventually found Mulder at his elbow. The AD acted like he was ignoring him at first and then looked up from the table.

"Good evening, sir."

"Agent Mulder," Skinner nodded. There were other people scarfing at the table and they had to do their usual "let's pretend we don't know each other that well" routine. "What are your plans for this Christmas?"

"Sir, I have plane tickets to Telluride. I'm taking Agent Graf with me. We're going skiing."

Skinner almost blew out the drink through his nose. Susan Graf was the latest Bureau bombshell, very well endowed. Whenever she was in the Hoover, quite a lot of junior agents followed her around like she was a bitch in heat. Mulder said everything with a straight face and even managed to gulp down several pieces of food as he watched the AD's bald head turn an interesting shade of red.

"Are you telling me that you'll be staying in the same hotel room with her?"

"Not while we're skiing, sir," Mulder answered. Then the table eventually cleared and they were left alone. "Walter, let's leave this dump. It's boring as hell and..."

"You promised to stay until the whole thing is over," Skinner muttered through clenched teeth. " It'll be enough for the next two years. And start saying hello to the right people."

Then in a louder voice, Skinner said, "Yes, I do believe that skiing in a hotel room wouldn't work."

They parted ways again with Skinner shaking his head ruefully. The party was starting to warm up and pretty soon, for some strange reason, a karaoke area was set up and some of the Bureau personnel gathered around it. The brave ones started first and as the hilarity became infectious, the drunken ones had a go at it. The sounds of off-key Christmas carols reverberated through the large hall.

The previously mentioned Graf had her turn as well and everyone listened with rapt attention. Skinner didn't know if everyone in that corner of the hall was listening or simply looking. She had a particularly revealing dress today with a very short skirt. She was one of the few people who took pains in changing their outfit to evening wear, unlike most of the men and women who simply wore their Bureau clothes.

Skinner had enough of the cocktails and sipped his scotch. He saw that Scully was now having a lively discussion with the Director himself. Good. She was doing it right, unlike Mulder who was staring at the karaoke bunch with a jaded eye. The agent had a drink in his hand, but Skinner could see it was only punch. In fact, Mulder was one of the few drinking the punch. Most of the people had graduated to the real drinks by this time.

...................

Scully finally took pity on her partner and approached him. As expected, he was miserable and was drowning his sorrows in punch, of all things. He talked with a few of the other lab people and, as usual, the secretaries were all over him. But he avoided the VCS like the plague. They always gave him a hard time, whether at work or at an event like this.

He said he didn't mind, but Scully knew better. They teased him mercilessly. Sometimes, he could dish out the taunts as well, but Scully knew that their barbs hurt him sometimes. Mulder would get all quiet and sullen when the teasing got to be too much and they never knew when to stop.

"Hi, Mulder," Scully said from behind him. He turned around and smiled.

"Hello, Scully," Mulder answered. "Have you tried the food yet?"

"No, but I'm sure you have," Scully walked over to the table. "Which ones are good?"

Mulder was reliable in scouting out which of the food was good. He pointed out the vegetable dip and the shrimp canapes and told her to stay away from the rest. Then he walked over to the punch bowl again and ladled another cup for himself.

"Scully, why don't you take a go at singing?" Mulder needled her. "Graf shouldn't just be the one in the spotlight. You should give the guys the opportunity to look up YOUR skirt."

"No, thanks, Mulder, on both counts," Scully said dryly. "You wouldn't want me to sing anymore than I would want to listen to your singing voice. And Graf needs all the ogling she can get."

She left him when she saw David Yalof, whom she hadn't seen since Quantico. She waved at him and they fell back to talking of the good times. Then he introduced her to the others in the room who were just a session behind them in Quantico. Scully didn't know how long she was with them. All she knew was that when she looked back at Mulder, he was over at the karaoke group and was busy with the machine, adjusting the equalizer as Graf continued to sing.

After another bout of socializing with old friends, Scully checked the singing group again and was startled to find Mulder and Skinner fiddling with the machine this time. She could have been mistaken, but she distinctively spied the two laughing between themselves and Mulder even slapped Skinner on the back. Scully's alarm bells went off. She looked over at the karaoke group and to her relief, they were still preoccupied with Graf's singing "I Saw Daddy Kissing Santa Claus" with a bump and grind routine.

She saw Skinner with a drink in his hand and Mulder still with that silly, overdecorated punch glass and put two and two together. Although most, if not all of the people, would conclude that the sudden jocularity between AD Skinner and Agent Mulder might be due to their drinks and the Christmas season. But it wouldn't do if their inhibitions were to take a nosedive and they fell over each other right here in the middle of a Bureau affair.

Although both of them were big boys and should be able to handle their liquor, Mulder could be more unpredictable because Scully knew that her partner rarely, if at all, drank alcohol. Her instincts were right when she saw Mulder starting for the stage.

"Excuse me," Scully said to David Yalof. She hurried to Mulder and managed to get hold of his arm.

"Mulder, I think you're drunk," Scully hissed at him.

"Scully, I just want to sing to W-walter," Mulder slurred at her. He was definitely drunk. "I want to sing "Love Me Tender" for him."

He was holding up a tape and Scully saw it was entitled "Elvis Presley's Karaoke". Sheesh. He was now drunk and feeling romantic at the same time.

"No, Mulder," Scully said. "You definitely don't want to do that. I think you've had enough."

"I haven't had enough," Mulder groused, trying to pull away his arm from Scully's grip. Although her hand was small, it was like a vise. "Everyone tells me I should learn to enjoy myself in these shitty parties..."

"I think I know of a better place to sing this," Scully tried some psychology. "You can play the tape in my car and you can sing to Walter there. Remember, I told you, your singing voice isn't for everyone."

The look of uncertainty crossed his face, as if he were lucid for a moment. In the meantime, as he debated on whether he was going to follow Scully's suggestion, his partner steered him to the door leading outside the banquet hall and found him a seat in the lobby.

"You stay here, Mulder," Scully said. "Stay."

She shook her head as she went back to the party. She couldn't believe her eyes when she saw that Skinner was now walking up the small stage. The look on his eyes belied his drunken state as well.

"Sir," Scully went over to him and grabbed his arm. "I think something's come up that needs your attention."

"What?" Skinner's face screwed up in irritation. But to her relief, the AD's sense of duty pervaded even in his present state. Scully doubted if she could haul him out of the hall the same way she had done with Mulder.

Both of them found Mulder crashed on the couch. Skinner hurried over to him and startled Scully when he easily put a hand on the agent's cheek.

"Honey, you okay?" Skinner slurred at him. Scully looked hastily around and saw that the lobby was devoid of Bureau people or else someone would notice their AD being unusually affectionate with a subordinate, a male subordinate at that. Scully could tell others that it was just Skinner's Christmas spirit and charity but she doubted that anyone would buy that.

"Come on, sir," Scully had a bright idea. She could lure them both to the car. "Mulder's not well and we have to take him home."

"What?" Skinner's intense piercing eyes were somewhat dulled by the alcohol. Scully repeated herself and the AD nodded.

They managed to stagger to her car. Fortunately, Skinner was still sober enough to take most of Mulder's weight. Scully sighed as she put the two in the back seat. She still couldn't believe that anyone could get drunk on punch! Likewise, she couldn't believe that Skinner would let that happen to himself. Was Mulder some sort of corrupting influence on the by-the-book AD?

Once she entered the driver's side, she was further startled when she heard the two murmuring to each other. No telling what they would do so Scully childproofed the doors of her car. She never thought that she would be chauffering her partner and his lover like she was some cab driver while they were whispering sweet nothings into each other's ears. She shook her head and turned on the radio to drown out their amorous talk.

"Hey, Mulder, cut that out," Scully said when she spied the rear view mirror and saw that Mulder was kissing Skinner on the mouth. She didn't want them to be embarrassed in the morning if they remembered the compromising position they were in tonight.

The two paid her no heed and Scully was getting embarrassed even when she didn't have anything to be embarrassed about. Then she had a bright idea.

"Mulder...hey, Mulder, do you have that Elvis tape?" Scully asked. He couldn't sing and kiss at the same time. Her partner's alcohol fogged mind suddenly remembered his previous intent at the party. The cassette tape was tossed over to the front seat. Scully popped it into her car radio. After a few false starts, she found the right spot.

"Mulder, you're on."

Scully shook her head again as Mulder started singing. The slightly off-key rendition of "Love Me Tender" by Special Agent Fox Mulder filled the Taurus as Scully hurried to Crystal City to drop off the two delinquents.

..................

Skinner woke as the bright morning light hit his eyes. Mulder was moaning beside him.

"Walter...the punch, it was spiked."

"Of course it was spiked! The only reason you have punch at a party is to have fun with it."

"I'm not having fun now." Another moan.

"Walter?"

"What?"

"I was singing in a car, singing an Elvis song. I was singing to you. Did I really do that?"

"Yes, you did," Skinner sighed. He curled up into a ball and hoped he wouldn't throw up.

"Walter?"

"What?"

"Whose car was it?"

END OF BACCARAT PIECE: WALLFLOWER

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"A beacon in the night."

Mulder in reference to Skinner

Nisei

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