"A Heart-to-Heart" by JulietttXF@aol.com (February 12, 1996) A short Marriage story for Valentine's Day. Dana Scully (Mulder) and Fox Mulder belong, as always, to Chris Carter, 1013 Productions, FOX Broadcasting, and Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny, respectively. I'm borrowing them without permission but (as should be obvious from my stories) mean no disrespect. This quick scene was inspired by, of all things, a CNN broadcast. This one is for Paula. ***************************** "A Heart-to-Heart" by JulietttXF@aol.com ***************************** Fox Mulder dropped the stack of files onto the kitchen table next to his cup of coffee before easing into his seat. Not exactly the way he wanted to spend his evening, but they really had a lot of work to do. And it was February 12th -- at least he -- *they* -- had plans for Valentine's, he thought with a grin. Not that he was the biggest romantic in the world, but then he'd never spent Valentine's Day with his wife before. The previous year he'd spent it alone. He had had no idea that less than three months later he would be a married man -- a very happily married man. And now,, a year later, he was even happier, if that were possible. He had the files, he had more security than he'd had last year, and he had Scully. Well, he'd had Scully for years, but now she was everything to him -- his partner, his wife, his lover. And they were talking about having children. Perhaps this time next year. . . . He smiled again and looked across the table at her cup of coffee where it sat cooling next to an opened file. "Doc," it said. One of her favorites, it had been a Christmas present. He had given it to her and suspected that she loved it as much for the fact that it held twenty ounces of caffeine as for the sentiment: "Doc" was one of his pet names for her. He reached for his own mug, which depicted a flying saucer which, when filled with a hot liquid, changed to Marvin the Martian saying "Take me to your leader." As he did so his hand b rushed something hard, and he glanced down. A small pastel candy heart, like the ones he used to find shoved in his locker in junior high. They still made these things? Evidently so -- there was a bag of them over on the counter. Scully must have picked them up at the store. This one was orange and said "Be Mine" in red lettering. He grinned and picked it up and popped it in his mouth. Still tasted as much like sweet chalk as ever; it was one of those tastes you never forgot. He got up and crossed to the counter. At least the white ones tasted okay -- like spearmint, if he remembered correctly. The green ones were the worst. He spilled some on the counter and searched through them. Scully had obviously left the piece of candy for him to find. Now, for an equally appropriate sentiment. Ahh. . . . Grinning, he selected a small pink heart and placed it carefully atop her file, then sank back into his seat. Putting on his glasses, he began to read. Dana Scully padded through the kitchen in stockinged feet; it was chilly despite the fire they had lit in the fireplace and the furnace, and her toes had been cold. She smiled at her husband's back as he bent over the folder lying flat in front of him, and headed for her own seat next to his. As she passed the counter she saw the candy spilled on the counter, and automatically looked at the table. There, atop her file. She lifted her eyebrows and bent over, ostensibly to retrieve her coffee cup. The pink heart said, "I'm Yours." She smiled again and took her mug to the kitchen and refilled it. On the way back she searched through the candy and found a yellow heart. Tucking it into her hand, she returned to the table, sat down, and began to read. Mulder glanced up at his wife but she gave him her most innocent look and placed her own glasses on the end of her nose. He twinkled at her for a moment, then they both went back to reading in silence. A few minutes later he caught a slight movement out of the corner of his eye, which he pretended to ignore. When he turned the page he glanced down. The small yellow candy read, "Lover Boy." His eyebrows lifted again. Oh-ho. Well, it was a little more -- sappy -- than their usual conversation, but he could handle it. He got up and refilled his coffee and perused the heap of candy. Ah, yes. This was perfect. Perfectly awful, that was. He grinned devilishly and plucked it out of the pile and, as he slid into his seat, slipped the green heart up against the edge of her pencil, then sat back down and held the file in front of his face. He knew she had seen it just a few moments later when the snicker she couldn't quite hold back burst from her lips. He lowered the file and looked at her but she ducked her head, her cheeks pink. He cleared his throat and went right back to reading. She was shaking silently. "Snuggle Bunny"? Oh, that was just too much. Their pet names had never been so -- "gooshy." Ick. But she had deserved it for the "Lover Boy" one. She got up to check the thermostat and inventory the candy again. "Cutie Pie"? Ewwww. She could, of course, but. . . . Ah, yes. There. Her smile was soft as she selected a small purple heart. She laid it carefully next to his file and slid into her seat. He glanced down as she picked up her notes again, and his heart warmed within him. "Love Me" -- a question or a command? "Love Me?" "Love Me." His smile was tender as he rose from the table and turned to the counter. He searched for quite awhile before finding what he wanted, while she watched him surreptitiously. When he turned back there was no pretense: he simply laid the white candy on the table in front of her and waited expectantly. She looked at it for a moment, then determinedly placed the folder on the table and removed her glasses, dropping them atop the file as she looked up at him with a smile. The look in his eyes echoed the sentiment on the heart. "Always." She took the hand he held out to her and followed him from the brightly-lit kitchen into the darkness. *End* Well, they *are* called "conversation hearts" -- I just decided to see if one could really have a silent conversation with them. . . . ;-) The Marriage Series: "Longing" -------------------------------------------- "Epithalamion" "Wonders Wrought" (2 parts) "The Last of the Chambord" "Waking" "On the Road" "Happiness" "Girls' Day Out" "Old Habits Die Hard" "Watching the Storm" "The Madness of an Hour" "A HEART-TO-HEART" "Not This Time" "Life Changes" (2 parts) "Mother's Day" [*] "Nursemaid" [*] "Success" "Cherish" "Childhood Lullabies" [*] "Everything I Want for Christmas" [*] "Lullaby For a New Generation" "Lipstick" "Room Service" "A Need For Comfort" [*] [*] These stories are still in the editing process; the others may be found on the world wide web and ftp sites.