The color scheme changed slightly because of the title. So sue me.

A bit of pure romantic, silly fluff. Maybe a bit of mind candy. 

Disclaimers: All disclaimers disclaimed. 
(Is there an author who's not sick of writing these?)

Summary: Scully gets a new tattoo!

Rating: PG-13, maybe R for some adult humor and language

Blue Tattoo by Tamani R. Green

	Scully went to her mother's for brunch one Sunday after Mass. 
Scully had been attending more and more of late. Not because of anything
particularly troubling, but rather because of personal convictions. The
women had sat down to have good jaw over omelets when Maggie brought up 
the subject Scully had wanted to avoid the most.
	" Well, Dana, how is Fox?"
	" Mom, you know he prefers to be called Mulder."
	" It's not his given name. Besides, what's wrong with his first name?"
	" Nothing. He just doesn't like it."
	" You didn't answer my question."
	" He's doing alright I guess. Outside of work, we haven't spoken much
lately."
	" Why not?"
	" I don't know. I just needed some time away, I suppose."
	" Ah."
	" 'Ah?' What's that supposed to mean?"
	" It's just that when your father was around for long stretches of time,
I'd like to have some time away from him, too."
	" Mom, we are nothing like you and Dad. We're not even dating, let alone
married."
	" But the real question is when?"
	" When what?"
	" When will you two stop this silly nonsense and get on with things."
	" 'Get on with things?!' " Scully had gotten up from the table and began
clearing away the dishes.
	" Yes, dear. You know, it wouldn't hurt to give him a leg over."
	" Mo-om! A leg over?!"
	" Yes," Maggie replied with a smile. " You can't deny that you think he's
hot."
	" How do you know I think he's hot?" Dana regarded her mother with an
arched eyebrow.
	" Mother's intuition."
	" Well, there you are then." She said sarcastically. Scully went through 
the kitchen door to the living room, muttering, " 'Leg over… foot down, thigh up.
A mother isn't supposed to talk like that."
        " How do you think I ended up with four children?" Maggie came through 
the door and regarded her youngest daughter with a fond eye as she put her coat on.
	" Mom, please. Don't talk about sex and Ahab. There are some things a child
never wants to think about her parents."
	" Dear, if I hadn't thought about that, we wouldn't have made it through the
first week. And that was some week." She winked at Dana.
	" This conversation is over. I'm leaving." Dana left the house. " I can't
believe she said that. 'Leg over.' What the hell conversation is that to have with
your mom?" She said to herself as she walked to the car.
	Getting in the vehicle, Scully started it and drove away, still dwelling on
what her mother said.
        BadGirl! Scully surfaced. *Face it Dana. In the back of that prim little mind
of yours, you've been thinking the exact same thing. Well, not the exact same thing.
More along the lines of hotfuckingwildaffection. And besides, when did you get to be
so proper? I seem to recall a couple of times in college, more than a couple if
memory serves, that tequila and Jell-O shots played a very large part in your
extracurricular activities.* 
        *But that was college. I'm a grown woman. I outgrew all that stuff junior
year.* 
        BadGirl! leapt to correct her. *What about Jack Willis?* 
	*What about him?*
	*He was your instructor at the academy. I'd say that was a total breach of 
conduct right there.*
	*Hey, I didn't hear you complaining.*
	*Fine. What about old Ed Jerse? You did get a tattoo for the man.*
	*It was not for Ed. I did it because it was the unexpected thing to do.* 
	*Admit it - there's a rebel in you waiting to come out.*
	*So what if there is? I am not going to act on every little impulse I feel.*
	*I'm not saying every impulse. Just some impulses now and then wouldn't be so 
bad.*
	*Oh…you mean like the impulse to jump my partner's bones?*
	*Precisely.*
	*Oh, you're a sick woman, Dana Katherine.*
	*No shit.*
	*I refuse to continue with this line of thinking.*
	*Fine. Chicken.*
	*Hey! Who are you calling a chicken?!*
	*You, chicken.*
	*I'll show you. I'll go to his place.*
	*For what?*
	*Just to say hello, maybe invite him out for lunch or something.*
	*You just ate. Besides, that's so boring.*
	*I was being sarcastic. What would Mulder and I do if I did show up at his 
place?*	
 	*I could tell you several scenarios.*
        *That doesn't involve Trojans and Astroglide?*
	*Not a one.*
	*You're really fucked in the head.	
	*Thanks. Hey! I know what we could do!*
	*What?*
	*Go get another tattoo!*
	*Have you forgotten the trouble with the first one?*
	*No, but you have to admit, it looks good.*
	*True. If I do this, what am I going to get? Hmm. How about a butterfly?
Missy liked butterflies.*
	*You're not doing this for her.*
	*No, but I think it's a fitting tribute.*
	*If that's what you really want…*
	*Well, what do you suggest?*
	*Mulder naked on your shoulder blade.*
	*You're not serious.*
	*But I am.*
	*I don't have a picture of him.*
	*You do. Remember?*
	*Oh, yeah. I got double prints of the one that was taped to the office wall.*
	*Well? What are you waiting for? Go get it!*
	*Fine, fine, fine.*
	She went home and dug through various drawers until she found the picture.
It was a shot of them from when they went to Florida. The tech head had gotten a few
test shots before they headed into the woods that fateful day. She left the apartment
before she lost her nerve.
	Scully headed into DC. She went down to M Street and found a reasonably clean
parlor. She told the artist what she wanted and in no time he was stenciling a naked
Mulder in blue on her shoulder blade. 
	" Why your shoulder blade, miss?"
	" So it'll move. It's supposed to be rather lifelike."
	" Ah. Is this your boyfriend?"
	" No."
	" Husband?"
	"Nope." *Don't I wish.*
	The tattoo artist fell silent after that last denial.  
	*This hurts worse than I remember.*
	*Oh, the pain won't last; besides, it'll look really cool.*
	*Jesus, I sound like I'm eighteen again. And how is this thing gonna look
when I'm eighty and wrinkled?*
	*Think of it this way; at you'll have something to look back on fondly when you
get old.*
	*That's true. There was a time I didn't think that I was going to get old. This is 
the kind of stuff I should have done when I was young and dumb and thought I was going to 
live forever. I shouldn't be trying to recapture something I never had in the first place.*
	*This is the shit that I'm talking about right here. I hate it when you get in this
introspective mood. Look, you're doing it because it's fun.*
	*Getting dye injected into your skin is fun?*
	*It's a lot better than chemo treatments.*
	*Low blow, Dana.
	*Sorry I had to do that to you, but it needed to be said.*
	*S'okay.*
	" I'm all done, miss. Do you want to look at it?"
	" Sure." Scully got up and looked at the naked Mulder. *I have to admit - it's pretty 
damn cool. He cannot see this - ever.*
        It was pretty damn cool. The artist had done Mulder's face perfectly, even down to the
nose and pouty lips. The body was a bit more muscular, but there was no mistaking that it was 
Mulder. She rotated her shoulder and the tattoo gyrated its little hips. Scully grinned like 
an idiot. The work was exquisite. The artist put an antiseptic on her shoulder and bandaged her
up. As Scully put her top back on, he instructed her about the care of it and if there were any 
problems to come back and then go see a doctor.
        *Hmm. What if I told him I was a doctor and an FBI agent? Nah, he'd never believe it.*
She left the shop and headed back home.

The next weekend, Saturday night

	The bandage had come off the naked Mulder and the tattoo stood out on her smooth
shoulder like a proudly waving flag. The skin was still sensitive so she had on a tank top, so 
it wouldn't rub, and a pair of black jeans. Scully had finished dinner and was washing
the few dirty dishes in the sink. She was putting the last of them into the rack to dry when 
the doorbell rang.
         *There's only one person who would come here at night.*
         *Mulder.*
         *Yep.* 
         Scully went to the door and opened it. 
         " Hey Scully, I just wanted to drop these - What are you wearing?"
         " Clothes." Scully answered dryly. "You like?" She was actually fighting to hide 
a blush. She had just remembered what she had on. 
         " Oh, yeah." *More than you could possibly know, Scully.*
         " Come on in, Mulder." She let him in and closed the door. He followed her back
to the kitchen.
         " What is that on your shoulder?" He dropped the case files he brought onto the 
table and sat down while she perched on the kitchen counter.
         *Oh shit!* " It's nothing you should be concerned about."
         " You got another tattoo?"
         " Yep."
         " You're turning into a regular little rebel, aren't you? Let me see it."
         " No."
         " Come on."
         " Not on your life."
         " Scully, please?"
         " Nope."
         " I didn't want to do this." He leapt from his chair and grabbed her from her 
perch. Turning Scully around, he saw what she was trying to hide.
         " You tattooed a naked me on your back?!!!"
         " Yep." She turned around to look at him, face flaming.
         " Where did you get the picture for that thing?!"
         " This was the picture I used." She went to go get the perfectly tame shot of them 
in Florida. Coming back she showed him the photograph.
         " How in hell did you get the rest of it."
         " I described you to the guy and this was the result." She smiled at him 
devilishly in response.
         " When have you seen me naked?"
         " Lots of times."
         " When?" He asked suspiciously.
         " Well, the time I shot you for one."
         " Damn," Mulder muttered. " You could have at least told me you were going to get 
the damned thing."
         " What the hell was I supposed to say? ' I'll say hello to my mother for you, by
the way, I'm gonna get a tattoo of a naked you on my back?' "
         " I guess you're right. At least let me scrutinize the thing, see if they got the 
proportions right."
         " You mean if you're a magnum man or thimble boy?"
         " Among other things. Turn." She did. He looked carefully at the tattoo.    
"Well, the work is good, very good. Whoever did this certainly is talented."
         " I think so. Wait, check this out." She moved her shoulder. The naked Mulder 
performed his little dance.
         " That's, hmm, well…"
         " Speechless, are we?"
         " Apparently."
         She burst out laughing. Turning around, she saw the flush beginning to spread on 
his face. " A little embarrassed, Agent Mulder?"
         He gave her the "Go to hell" look.
         She grinned at him shamelessly. 
         Mulder recovered enough to ask, " You look good. Going anywhere tonight?"
         " Nope. Just here: sittin' and thinkin'." She flashed a grin at him.
         " And you didn't invite me?" He looked hurt.
         " It's a little hard to issue invitations to a quiet evening at home."
         " And that's all you were planning to do? Just sit at home?"
         " What are you trying to say?"
         " Well, you look like you're going clubbing."
         " That's not my scene; it's yours." She said that scathingly. " You're the 
one who picks up mysterious women in bars." 
         " And just what, exactly, are you referring to?"
         " I know about that vampire chick."
	 " That was a complete and total mistake."
	 " No shit, Mulder, no shit."
	 " You're one to talk. What about all those people you've been involved with?"
	 " What people?" Scully asked innocently.
	 " Don't give me that. If I hadn't come in when I did, you'd be having Monkey 
Boy's son right now."
	 " I wondered when this was going to come up." Scully said with a sigh.
	 " And what about Tattoo Boy?" He looked at her smugly.
	 " Hey!" She was starting to get angry. " Ed was ok before he tried to kill me."
	 " Oh. Before he tried to kill you."
	 " Don't sit there and be so self-righteous. How about Inspector Greene? The 
woman who plays mind games? She nearly got you killed."
	 " So have you a number of times."
	 " Yeah, well, I'd say were even in that respect." They were both silent after 
that last, brutal salvo.
	 " I'm sorry about that." She said.
	 " It's ok. You're right."
	 " Right or not, it was wrong of me to say that. I shouldn't have hurt your 
feelings like that."
	 " I said it's ok. Just drop it."
	 " Fine."
	 He could hear the sounds of the Flamingoes' "I Only Have Eyes For You" playing 
in the living room.
	 " Hmm. The Flamingoes. The last time I do believe you played the Temptations. 
Let's see, it was when you were going kiss Monkey Boy Ed."
	 " Yep." She replied, refusing to be drawn.
	 " Would you care for a spin around the living room?"
	 " What?"
	 " Care to dance?"
	 " I don't think so."
	 " Aw, come on, Scully." He gave her that mischievous little boy grin.
Mulder got up from the table, crossed the room and held out his hand to her. Scully hopped 
down from the counter and put her hand in his. Nevertheless, she gave him a very suspicious 
look. *You never can tell with Mulder.*
         They walked into the living room. The song was almost over and he put it on repeat.
Drawing her into his arms, they began to move in time with the dulcet tones coming from the 
speakers. Scully chuckled.
         " What's so funny?"
         " I was just remembering. This song was playing at the first make-out party I went to. 
It was the summer of '78. I was fourteen. I can't remember the girl's name whose house it was 
at, but I remember this song, and dancing just this close with Peter Mackenzie. I was in 
between freshman and sophomore year. He was going to be a junior in the fall. All the girls 
thought he was so hot. But for some reason, he singled out a lowly sophomore to dance with. 
That was the year I had braces. It looked like a railroad had set up camp in my mouth. But he 
didn't  mind. I guess it was because he had braces, too. I lived in dread of playing spin the 
bottle. But that what we did because that's what fourteen and fifteen year olds do. By some 
weird twist of fate, I ended up in a locked closet with Peter. We made out in there and our 
braces got tangled together." Mulder laughed at this. 
         " It's not funny. I was so embarrassed. Parents were called. They had to use a pair of
pliers to pry us apart. I was grounded for a week."
         " I never thought you'd have gone to a make-out party. You always seem so serious."
         " I wasn't always serious. I liked to have fun just as much as the next person."
         " What changed?"
         " I grew up," she said, simply. And it was true.
They continued dancing in silence. 
	 " Hey, Scully."
	 " Hmm?"
	 " Did you dance with Peter like this?"
	 " No. We were closer."
	 He pulled her close. His arms slipped around her waist. Scully had no choice but
to link her hands around Mulder's neck, simply because there was nowhere else to put them.
	 " Like this?" He asked.
	 " Something like that." He pulled her even closer. Her head rested in the crook of
her neck and shoulder. His face was next to hers, half-buried in her hair.
	 " Like that?"
	 " Exactly like that." They continued to sway in time to the music. He heard a soft 
exhalation and saw the smile begin to form.
	 " What?"
	 " I was just thinking about something my mother said."
	 " What did your mother say?"
	 " I can't tell."
	 " Why not?"
	 " It's too embarrassing."
	 " Come on, Scully. You can tell me."
	 " Well, she said, and I quote :' You know, it wouldn't hurt to give him a leg over.' "
	 " Him meaning me?"
	 " Yep."
	 " Should we put your mother's theory to the test?"
	 " Excuse me?" She pulled away from Mulder and gave him the patented "Mulder, you're so 
full of shit" look.
         " You heard me."
	 " I think you should leave."
	 " Who has a naked Mulder on their shoulder?"
	 " I'll never hear the end of that will I?"
	 " Nope. Besides," He added with a mischievous grin, " It'll be a chance to see if art 
really imitates life." He began stripping in the living room.
	 " You wouldn't." Panic was beginning to show on her face.
	 " Wouldn't I?"
	 Suddenly, BadGirl! Scully surfaced and took over. " Well, if you insist." 
Mulder could've sworn she leered at him. Not to be outdone, he replied.  "Oh, but I do."
         " Let me put on some appropriate music then." Scully walked over to the collection of 
CD's and picked one. " This should do." The sounds of Right Said Fred's I'm Too Sexy began 
to play.
	 Mulder panicked. " I was kidding."
	 " But I'm not." She crossed the room and settled herself on the couch. 
" Alright. Drop 'em."
	 " Ok." He began to dance around to the beat of the music whilst taking off various 
articles of clothing.
	 *Oh, shit.* I'm actually beginning to get turned on by this. Let me think… 
baseball… cold showers.*
	 Mulder got down to his black boxer briefs
	 *Walter Skinner naked on a cold day! Walter Skinner naked on a cold day!*
	 As the song ended, Mulder stood there wearing nothing but a bad haircut and a 
silly grin. 
         BadGirl! surfaced once again.
	 " Well, that was certainly interesting," she said with remarkable aplomb. She 
actually studied his, er, attributes. Mulder was starting to feel really retarded standing 
there. And it was getting chilly. 
	" Hmm. Well, the equipment is impressive. Let's compare the artwork, shall we?" 
She got up from the couch and went to turn around so he could study the likeness.
	" Are you insane?!"
	" It was your idea. Are you turning chicken on me?"
	" Damn straight."
	" I've seen everything you've had to offer. Why get shy now?"
	" Look, I may be a porno watching pervert, but I have some shame. I'm getting 
dressed now." And he did. " I never knew you were a closet slut, Scully."
	" Mulder, what you don't know about me could fill the fucking Grand Canyon."
	" Sure, fine, whatever."
	" That's my line."
	" I'm leaving. " And he did.
	Scully laughed her ass off.
Monday morning

	Scully walked into their new office and saw that it was empty.
	*I wonder where Mulder is. It's not like him to be late.*
	*Calm down and make the coffee.* 
	*That's his job.*
	*Can't you do it? You've done more outlandish crap than that.*
	*True. And you know why?*
	*As if I didn't already know, but tell me.*
	*Because I am a fool in love.*
	*Hallelujah! She admits it! Now, when he walks in, jump him right here on 
the carpet.*
	*I will not.*
	*You will too, or I'll do it for you.*
	*You wouldn't!*
	*Wouldn't I?*
	*You're a bitch, you know that?*
	Scully made the coffee and sat down at her new desk. Mulder walked into 
the office wearing that gray suit that made him look like a million bucks.
	" Morning, sunshine!"
	" You're in a good mood."
	" I've got a surprise for you."
	She eyed him suspiciously. " What?"
	" You'll have to wait until later."
	" How much later?"
	" Way later."
	" Fine." I'm not a kid who can't wait. I can control myself.
	However, by the end of the day, Scully was nearly fidgeting with curiosity. 
It was all she could do not to pounce on Mulder and demand the surprise. Her temper 
had gotten shorter and shorter throughout the day. And he enjoyed every minute of 
it. Mulder really had no idea of how close to death he really was. He teased her 
unmercifully and she remained stoic. But underneath it she was seething. Scully 
barely made it until six o'clock.
	" Alright. What is this surprise." She told him through gritted teeth.
	" My, my. You are impatient."
	" Mulder, I've been waiting all fucking day. Now, where is it?"
	" Calm down, Scully. Good things come to those who wait."
	She drew her gun. Mulder found himself staring down the barrel of her 
Sig-Sauer and his grin changed to that famous look of panic.
	" You wouldn't really shoot me." 
	" I've done it before. Don't fuck with me."
	" Fine. Just put the firearm away." She did. " Now, close your eyes. 
No peeking."
He checked to make sure her eyes were closed and he began to unwrap her gift. 
Scully could hear various items rustling around but couldn't identify one specific 
thing. 
	" Alright, open your eyes." 
	She did, and the sight before her was astounding. Her eyes skipped 
saucer and went directly to dinner plate. 
	" You didn't!"
	" I did."
	" Jesus, Mulder. You're never one to be outdone."
	" Damn skippy."
	The thing that was so amazing was Mulder standing in front of Scully with 
no shirt on, back turned, a naked her on his back. The work was good, very good. 
Done in blue, it stood out on his shoulder blade nicely.
	" Check it out Scully." He rotated his shoulder and the naked Scully did 
a little hula.
	" You are a sick man."
	" I learned it from you. And I've got something else for you." He walked 
over to the tape player on his desk and pushed play. The sounds of Right Said Fred
filled the office.
	" No, Mulder. I'm not going to do it."
	" Now, Scully, turnabout is fair play."
	" Uh-uh. No way."
	" Come on. Let's see if art really imitates life."
	" Not on your life."
	" How about I tell Skinner about you shooting me."
	" You wouldn't."
	" Wouldn't I? Now, drop 'em."

End.
Did you like?
Comments? Flames?
If you flame me, the forest fire variety will be used as toilet paper.
Send all feedback to trg@umich.edu or gambit_98@hotmail.com