The Fourth Wall
by Aloysia Virgata

RATING: PG-13

DISTRIBUTION/FEEDBACK: Just let me know first on
distribution. Feedback always welcomed and appreciated at
aloysia.virgata@yahoo.com 

CLASSIFICATION: I have no idea. Is meta a classification? 

SPOILERS: I Want To Believe by way of fics by Marigold and
Aloysia Virgata

SUMMARY: Scully puts her white hand on Scully's sun-browned
knee...

DISCLAIMER: Not mine, though I'm uncertain as to whether
anyone else would even want to claim this level of crazy.
Marigold, thanks for letting me play with your things.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Marigold beta read The Water Is Wide. Then
I read How To Plan Your Tropical Vacation. And I thought,
"You know, those gals really ought to get together." And
Marigold thought that sounded fun. So they did.

Here are the links to those two stories, just in case you
need them: 

The Water Is Wide:
http://www.ephemeralfic.org/read.phtml?idx=1217268723 

How To Plan Your Tropical Vacation:
http://www.ephemeralfic.org/read.phtml? idx=1217343855


**********


"Hey," says Scully, settling into the rattan armchair. She
sips a gin and tonic.

"Hey yourself," replies Scully, twirling the parasol on her
mai tai. "I'm glad we could get together before you left."

Scully waves her freckled hand airily. She has lived in the
sun for a while now and despite her Irish heritage, she has
become bronzed from months outdoors. "We're not really on a
schedule. Just cruising around the Pacific at this point.
Mulder's happy. Have you ever suspected that he wouldn't be
truly happy if he didn't have something to be paranoid
about? I swear, running from the feds turns him on
somehow."

Scully laughs and smoothes her lemon-hued sundress as she
sits down. She thinks she could get used to wearing colors.
"You're not kidding! I surprise him with this nice vacation
and new swim trunks and he's all suspicious that I think
he's getting a gut."

Scully leans forward in her chair, wide-eyed and gripping
the armrests. "Swim trunks? Oh GOD. You hate the Speedo
too?"

Scully's jaw drops. "You?"

They smile at each other.

"Anyway," says Scully. "I like your shoes." 

Scully extends her leg, the Kate Spades looking as sexy as
they did at the store. "I never get to wear sandals. I
thought they were fun."

"They *are* fun. Did you hear what happened with my shoes?
IRS tracked me down. But I just can't help it. You wear
these shapeless lab coats all the time, spew all this
jargon..."

"...and people forget you're a woman. Plus he's so lanky. No
one wants to look like a little pixie next to that tall
drink of water. You can't be taken seriously without some
decent pumps."

They nod in agreement.

Scully chews her gin-soaked lime rind. "Remember those
white stockings? Were those the worst or what?"

Scully groans and fishes out a wedge of pineapple from her
glass. "Oh, God. Like a Pilgrim! And the bangs. The
hideous, hideous bangs. I think I gained 30 pounds after
they closed the X-Files the first time and I swear, it's
like I subconsciously picked the worst haircut humanly
possible. I looked pregnant. And the rectangular trench.
That's back before I had a decent tailor."

"I know just how you feel. I did this plaid jacket thing
for a while. I think I read once that it makes you look
more impressive if you're petite, but coupled with the
linebacker shoulder pads, I mostly looked like a sofa."

Scully laughs. "Remember that skirt suit after Dallas? That
was gorgeous. I think Mulder was having fantasies about it
for a while. My ass looked great in that suit."

"I do remember that! Oh, that was nice. Hey, do you
remember getting back from Antarctica? Because it's all a
blur for me."

"I think I was drugged."

"Isn't that always the way?"

They sigh.

Scully signals the waitress for another round. "So how's
Mulder adjusting overall? You guys did a sightseeing
company, right?"

"Yes. Sold it though. He's doing well. Worries about me too
much, of course."

Scully puts her white hand on Scully's sun-browned knee. "I
worry too. Honestly, how *are* you?"

"I'm fine."

"I should have known."

They laugh like crazy.

"So you brought your vibrator on your trip?" Scully asks
slyly. "Really?"

Scully blushes. "He's pushing fifty, Dana."

Scully's eyebrow goes up. "And?"

"And we haven't been relaxing in a tropical paradise with
nothing to do but keep an eye out for the IRS and screw."

"Fair enough. So what *do* you do?"

"Where? You mean like in bed?"

Scully rolls her eyes. "No, I mean like in church."

Scully delicately scratches a mosquito bite. "Uh, you know.
Regular stuff. We're too tired for much creativity lately."

"Ah. How lately?"

Scully grins. "Not real lately. We have a Jacuzzi at the
bungalow..."

Scully grins back. "Does he like that thing with his ear?"

"As ever. Hey, do you think he'd let me do his vasectomy
myself? I've never done one before."

Scully looks thoughtful. "He might. You're still his
personal physician, right? You could do it at Our Lady of
Sorrows. You have lots of leeway there still?"

"I do. You know, I think I'll ask him. So do you miss
medicine?"

Scully cocks her head and considers. "I don't know. I mean,
I do, but I was so drained all the time. Tired, stressed,
worried. I'm completely happy for the first time in my
life. How'd Christian do?"

Scully runs her finger around the rim of her glass. "Pretty
well, all things considered. He can start physical therapy
soon."

"That's good. I'm happy for you. I haven't heard anything
since I left."

"I miss William."

"Me too."

They sit in silence for a moment.

"The beard?"

Scully throws back her head and belts out a loud laugh.
"Worse than the Speedo! Oh, lord. Why didn't I make him
shave it sooner?"

"Rugburn on your thighs?"

"So not sexy."

Scully stretches and drains the last of her tumbler. "The
night is still young. Let's get some ribs. Where's Mulder,
by the way?"

Scully shrugs. "I'm not sure. I told him I was meeting a
friend."

"When did you fall in love with him?"

Scully smiles, reminiscing. "I'm not sure. It's like it
just crept up on me so slowly and then one day I looked at
him and I was blinded by a white light. I never saw it
coming, but it felt so...perfect. And I just knew."

Scully nods in understanding. "Nosce te ipsum. Sometimes
you just have to go with your gut."

"Remember Eddie van Blundht? I thought I'd die when Mulder
came in during that."

Scully snickers. "Remember Padgett? All his purple prose
about titian hair? So creepy."

"Remember the bee?"

They groan simultaneously, thinking of green alien goo and
frostbite and the inconvenient synchrony of that moment.

"Remember shooting him?"

"Remember patching him back up?"

"Phoebe?"

"Bambi?"

"Diana?"

"Bitch."

"Can you believe he didn't go to Canada after that kangaroo
court? Another cheap motel in New Mexico and there I was on
the bed, telling him I'd do it all over again." She shakes
her head in wonder.

Scully takes her hand and squeezes it. "Wouldn't you
though?"

Scully squeezes it back. "Of course."

They look out at the endless sea and marvel at the strange
beauty of the unforeseen.


**********

The End

********** 

Check out my site at http://undertherug.insatiable-
mind.net/Aloysia.htm