Concert Day
by Lolabeegood

E-mail: lolabeegood@gmail.com
Distribution: Anywhere as long as my name stays 
attached.
Rating: R
Category: S
Keywords: Mulder/Scully, Post-series
Spoilers: The whole series and all movies, although 
this takes place before IWTB
Summary: A day in the life of Fox Mulder while living 
in long-term isolation.
Author's Notes: This is part of my 'Day' series of 
stories.  It can be read independent of all the others 
as they are only loosely linked.  Enjoy!

I do not own the characters. I do not own any or the 
songs mentioned and they are used without permission.  
A list of songs is provided at the end. I do not make 
any money from this.

**************************************

Mulder put her small bag in the trunk of her car, lightly 
slamming it shut.  She was headed off to Penn State for a 
medical symposium, stopping at her mother's for a night on 
the way there.  

"I'll call when I get to my mom's," she said as she ran a 
hand up and down his arm.

"Drive carefully, okay?" He said as he put his hands on her 
waist and smiled down at her.

"I will," she said as she looked up at him.  "Are you going 
to be okay? I mean, really?"

"I'll get to sit around in my boxers watching sports all 
day, and eating junk food in the living room.  And, I'm not 
putting the toilet seat down for 5 days...of course I'll be 
okay." He smiled down at her.

"You sound like you're looking forward to this a little too 
much," she narrowed her eyes at him.

"I'm just fooling myself," he said as he leaned down and 
kissed her nose.

"I better go, mom's going to wait for me for dinner."

"Say 'hi' to her for me," he said as he kissed her softly 
on the lips.

"Please be careful," she whispered.

"You too," he smiled back at her as he walked her to her 
door.

She got inside and started the car waving to him as she 
pulled away.  She watched in the rear-view mirror as he 
became smaller and smaller.  Finally, she hit a patch of 
trees and he disappeared.  

She had to go to the symposium.  She'd avoided them for a 
couple of years and finally her boss had noticed.  He 
approached her a couple of months ago and, under no uncertain 
terms, told her she was booked to attend.  It was 5 days 
away from Mulder and, she wasn't comfortable with it at all. 

The last time she'd attended a convention it had been shorter 
and they had fought.  Things had changed, and this time, he 
seemed to almost welcome her departure.  She wasn't sure 
if that was a good or bad thing. He had been living as a 
recluse for almost 6 years now and, with her as his only 
contact with the outside world, she wondered if he had grown 
sick of her.  

Five minutes into the drive, Scully turned on the radio and 
a CD immediately began to play.  It was one she wasn't 
familiar with, and, seeing as she was the only one who drove 
the car, very odd.  It was acoustic guitar music, the sound 
quality varied and it seemed...familiar.  

The song was "Somewhere Over the Rainbow", one of her 
favourites, and it was all guitar.  It suddenly dawned of 
Scully that she had heard Mulder play this same song around 
the house for her.  She reached over and popped out the CD.  
It read: "Music for a Lonely Car Trip" written in Mulder's 
handwriting.  

"So that's what you've been doing," she said to herself.

Mulder had taught himself to play the guitar two years ago 
and, about six months ago, had ordered some expensive recording 
equipment that was delivered to the house.  He said it was to 
playback his music so he could spot the errors and improve.  
She was happy to supply equipment for his hobby because it 
meant more nice music around the house.

Mulder, it turned out, was a very good guitar player.  He took 
to the fingering and the chord changes with ease and very 
quickly after starting, was quite adept at mastering songs.  
Scully had loved this hobby above all his others.  Sure, curing 
meat had been interesting, home improvement had been costly, his 
apple orchard had been rewarding, and cooking had been fattening, 
but music had breathed life back into their home on depressing 
days when children under her care had died.  

Some mornings she would wake to find him sitting alone in the 
living room working his way through a song, or come home from 
work to find him shirtless on their back porch strumming away.  
If she was to be perfectly honest with herself, she found the 
guitar incredibly sexy.  He looked like a folk hero when he sat 
with it on his lap and, more times then naught, she sat through 
most of his songs not listening to them, but waiting until they 
finished so she could jump him.  She sensed he knew this, and 
kept up the hobby to tease her.

Scully put the CD back in the player and listened to Mulder 
play the song.  

He had been keeping something under wraps in their spare bedroom 
and she had been too tired lately to investigate.  His recording 
equipment was strewn all over the room and it looked like a 
techno geek's wet dream some days when she walked past it.  
He didn't seem to ever record anything when she was home but, 
he had so many hours when she was at work each day, she wasn't 
surprised he found time to record an album.

As her ears drifted back to the CD she heard the song change.  
It was a jazz song she had heard before.  Maybe Cal Collins?  
Without words or any sort of labelling she was left to just 
listen to Mulder's beautiful music.  

She smiled to herself, he was very talented.  But, she reminded 
herself, why would that be surprising?  Mulder seemed to master 
almost any task or hobby he set out to.  Sometimes it took some 
time and a great deal of swearing but, the one thing she had 
learned about Mulder over these last six years was that, given 
some freedom he blossomed.  

For years his life had been dictated by the X-Files and he had not 
had the time or energy to explore other facets of his personality.  
Now, with nothing but time on his hands, he was truly finding out 
about himself for the first time in his life.  For that, she was 
grateful.  

The third song on the CD was "Against the Wind".  She laughed to 
herself.  She and Mulder had spent most of their careers fighting 
the forces that wanted to keep them in check.  And, still she 
fought, except this time on another playing field.  She fought for 
her patient's rights, for their dignity...mainly she felt like she 
fought insurance companies who wanted to withhold life-saving 
treatment so they could save a buck.  

Dana Scully continued to drive down the highway listening to 
Mulder play tune after tune, most of it older music that was 
instantly familiar after a few notes.  Some of it less familiar, 
but still just as beautiful.  

It was as Mulder played "In My Life" by the Beatles that she 
noticed him humming in the background as he played.  Then, out 
of nowhere he sang a verse to accompany the music.  

"But of all these friends and lovers, there's no one compares 
with you." He sang softly in the background.  Then, his voice 
went back to humming with the song until she heard the high pitched 
"In my life, I love you more," which is the signature sound at the 
end of the song.  

A smile broke across her face and she hit the playback button to 
hear the song again.  Mulder had a beautiful singing voice.  He 
carried a tune quite well, and had a deep melodious sound when he 
sang.  He had sang to her on occasion when they danced or once 
while they made love, but most of his singing seemed to happen in 
the shower or when he didn't know she was listening.  And now, with 
this CD she could listen to him sing with the mere hit of a button.  
It was only a couple of lines, but she was grateful for them.

The CD continued with Mulder strumming various songs from the 
last 50 years.  

She thought his rendition of  "Where Are You Going?" was 
particularly well done because the fingering for the solo in 
the middle of the song seemed quite complicated.  He obviously 
thought the same thing because she heard a quiet "Yes!" muttered 
at the end of the solo.  It was obviously something he'd had to 
record a number of times.  

When she thought of the time and effort he had put into this 
album, her heart felt like it was about to burst.  

"God, I love you," she said to him as if the CD meant his 
presence in the car.

Mulder moved on to play songs, and partially sing them, like 
"Light My Fire", "Here Comes the Sun", and "Graceland".  Not 
surprisingly, his next song was an Elvis song which he sang in 
its entirety, "Wonder of You".  After all these years he still 
had a love for The King.  

Scully's eyes caught the display on her CD player.  There were 
only two songs left on the CD he'd made for her.  She didn't 
want her concert for one to end, and was a little saddened by 
the prospect.  As she approached Alexandria, she thought it 
was fitting that he had stayed with her on the CD until then.  
There was enough time to re-play her concert before getting to 
her mothers. 

The second last song was a soft droning ballad that he sang 
in it's entirety.  The song seemed to be called "Suzanne" and 
Scully wasn't sure if it was a Johnny Cash song or maybe Tom 
Waits.   Whatever it was, it was beautiful and his voice was 
like candy as it filled her car and enveloped her.  

She found herself slowing in the traffic and taking an exit 
that was unplanned.  She wanted to focus on his last song, 
and for some strange reason, she knew it would be special.  
If he'd gone to this much trouble recording the CD, he would 
choose the last song carefully.

She pulled the car to a stop in a parking lot and listened 
to the end of the ballad as she placed the car in park and 
cut the engine.  Then she heard his beautiful soft voice, all 
folksy, as he strummed the guitar softly.

"I search your profile, for a translation, 
I study the conversation, like a map, 
'cause I know there is strength, 
in the differences between us, 
and I know there is comfort, 
where we overlap, 
 
come here, 
stand in front of the light, 
stand still, 
so I can see your silhouette, 
I hope, 
you have got all night, 
'cause I'm not done looking, 
no, I'm not done looking yet." 

Scully gasped as she listened to the lyrics.  He must have 
written the last song, it was so him...so them.  She 
had no idea he was writing music, she just thought he 
was enjoying playing.   She focused back on his voice.

"we negotiate with chaos, 
for some sense of satisfaction, 
if you won't give it to me, 
at least give me a better view. 
 
come here, 
stand in front of the light, 
stand still, 
so I can see your silhouette, 
I hope, 
you have got all night, 
'cause I'm not done looking, 
no, 
I'm not done looking yet."

She raised an eyebrow and a smile danced across her face.  
The song seemed to be about them both then and now.  When 
they first delved into a relationship and now that they are 
firmly ensconced in one.  

"I build each one of my days out of hope, 
and I give that hope your name, 
and I know you so well, 
and it don't take much to tell, 
either you don't have the balls, 
or you don't feel the same."

He actually said that to her once, many years ago; that 
she knew he loved him but that she just didn't have the 
balls to do anything about it.  She had answered him with 
a frantic and hostile kiss taking him up on his dare.  
They hadn't looked back since.

"I search your profile for a translation, 
I study the conversation like a map, 
'cause I know there is strength, 
in the differences between us, 
and I know there is comfort, 
where we overlap." 

He plucked out the last notes and the disc fell silent.  
She sat in her car, quiet for a few moments, in awe of the 
man she loved so desperately.  Half of her wanted to turn 
the car back around and spend the rest of the week lying 
in his arms, the other half knew he had not made this CD 
for that reason.  He wanted to tell her how much he loved 
her and he had accomplished that goal.  

Dana Scully reached for her phone and dialled their home 
number.

"It's me," she said to the machine, knowing he'd be 
listening for her voice.

A moment later the extension was picked up, "hi."

"Thank you, Mulder," she sighed as tears welled in her 
eyes.

"You liked it?" He asked, obviously proud of the CD's 
effect.

"You know I loved it," she smiled.

"You can't turn around," he said softly.

"How did you know I was thinking that?" She laughed.

"Because I know you Scully,  I know you."

"I know I can't but, I so desperately want to."

She was greeted by agreeable silence on the other end.  

"I love your voice," she said softly.

"I know," he snickered.  "Because you're always walking 
in on me in the shower under the guise of brushing your 
teeth or getting your makeup."

"I'm that obvious, am I?" she snickered.

"Transparent," he said softly.

"So, does this mean you're going to sing to me more?" 

"You have my greatest hits in front of you," he chuckled.

"Yeah, but I'd like a live concert when I return," she said 
seductively.

"Maybe that can be arranged..." he countered.

"Good," she sighed.

"Call when you get to your mothers...I love you." He said 
softly.

"I love you too," she said as she disconnected the call.

Dana Scully negotiated her way back onto the highway and 
pressed 'play' again.  

******************************************

The End.


Songs:

"Somewhere Over the Rainbow" by Judy Garland (but I had the 
Eric Clapton guitar version in my head)

"These Foolish Things" Cal Collins

"Against the Wind" by Bob Seger

"In My Life" by The Beatles

"Where Are You Going?" by Dave Matthews Band

"Light My Fire" by The Doors

"Here Comes the Sun" by The Beatles

"Graceland" by Paul Simon

"The Wonder of You" by Elvis

"Suzanne" by Leonard Cohen

"Overlap" by Ani Di Franco (I changed one line from "I don't 
know you that well" to "I know you so well").  This is the 
song Scully (wrongly) thinks Mulder wrote.