Full Circle (1/3)
by charvill

Email: charityharvill@yahoo.com
Spoilers: This is set post-IWTB so anything is fair game
Type: MSR, angst
Summary: Jerse is back


I made an attempt to laugh at the ruddy-faced man, 15 years my
senior as he joked about a recent mishap in the prosthetics wing of
the hospital, but the amount of alcohol in everyone's bloodstream
tonight made my social awkwardness less noticeable. A warm hand
wrapped around mine, squeezing lightly, reminding me I wasn't in
this alone.

I let out a heavy sigh of contentment and glanced sideways at the
hazel eyes which were crinkled around the edges as he grinned at
me. "See what you woulda been missing if you hadn't decided to
take a dip in the social pool tonight, Scully?"

"You're loving every second of this aren't you?"

He leaned back against the leather booth letting his arm fall around
my shoulders and pulled me tightly to his side. The heat of his
breath mixed with the fragrant smell of amaretto on his breath
raised my arousal level to new heights. "Finally getting to be the
trophy whatever," he gestured with one hand to dismiss the
uncertain term, "and put on a little PDA without looking over my
shoulder. Why wouldn't I love it?"

The group of doctors sitting with us ordered another round of
Guinness while I sipped on my glass (still half full) of merlot. Tonight
was a celebration of a patient who was finally given a clean bill of
health after fighting with terminal brain cancer the past 7 months.
When I called home to tell Mulder he insisted that I should go and,
not wanting to face these people outside of work alone, he agreed
to be my date. I mean, after all, we were *living* together and he
was a free man now. 

This was the first time since we got back from the South Pacific
two months ago that we had gone on what anyone might call a
date. He and I had both had much to catch up on at work. Me with
my new position at a hospital in Baltimore while he was working on
a novel about the Gunmen. We had moved a couple of months
after the incident that made Mulder free again. Once we finally
settled into our new digs in a suburb just minutes from my mother,
we left for Fiji.

Mulder listened with what seemed like focused intent as he laughed
heartily in all the right places at the men's (since I was one of just
two women there) jokes, but his wandering hands beneath the table
told me where his mind really was. Another twenty minutes passed
and a couple of the doctors excused themselves to the men's room
(five pints tend to have that effect on the body), Mulder joining them.

Gayle and I were quietly discussing what we would be doing with
our 72 hours off when I heard the bell chime loudly as a new
customer entered the Irish pub. It was raining harder outside now, I
could tell by the puddle that spread around the man's feet onto the
green stained-concrete floor. An odd feeling of recognition passed
over me as I stared at his longish black hair, peppered ever so
slightly with grays as it dripped down the back of his black leather jacket.

"Charles and I will be traveling up to Pennsylvania to visit his
mother. She's been doing much better since her heart surgery last
year, and...Oh my goodness, has it really been a year?"

"Time flies," I said, half-interested as I tried to place where I might
know the man from. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on
end since I seriously doubted anyone I knew would show up at
O'Toole's on a random Tuesday night in Baltimore. What if this was
one of Them?

The man ordered something from the bar which was on the
opposite side of the room from our booth so my line of vision was
hindered greatly. I shook my head trying to jar the panic that had
foolishly built in my chest when I heard a voice call my name, "Dana?"

I turned my head slowly as Gayle broke off midsentence. The black
hair clung in wet strands to his chiseled cheekbones, his breath
coming in strained gasps as he nervously approached our table. His
blue eyes had turned a much dimmer shade over the decade since
I'd last seen them. 

"Ed."

His thin lips stretched into a broad grin that made me very
uncomfortable. "It's been a long time." Ed gestured to the woman
sitting with me. "Aren't you gonna introduce me?"

I cleared my throat, wondering how to get rid of him before things
got ugly. "Gayle, this is Ed. Ed this is one of the doctors I work with."

He just stared at me, like I hadn't said anything.

"It's nice to meet you, Ed," Gayle said, offering her hand. He took it
without once looking away from me.

The overly loud booms of laughter were approaching quickly and
my initial panic returned, only now it was ten times stronger. The
men drunkenly fell into Ed's unmoving form as they reclaimed the
booth. 

"Excuse me," his polite request drew my attention and I watched as
Ed turned to face the man who attempted to get back to his seat.

Mulder sat down beside me, his arm automatically coming around
my shoulders. Two things happened instantaneously. Mulder's head
turned to follow my line of vision. Ed lunged.

I felt my body pressed deeper into the leather as Mulder kept his
attacker from getting anywhere close to me. I could hear more than
see the punches being thrown as the expletives flew. The doctors,
who were still sober enough to realize what was happening, finally
intervened and managed to pull Ed off of Mulder. 

"You son of a bitch! You're a lunatic! Don't you ever come near
Scully again or I'll have you locked up for LIFE this time!"

This made Ed struggle madly against the men holding him back.
"Dana don't listen to him! I just wanted to talk to you...you know I
would never hurt you!"

I watched Mulder's shoulders shake with laughter, but the humor
never reached his eyes. My mind was reeling as I watch Ed
escorted from the building as Mulder stood with hands on hips,
watching something through the dark window (I could only guess
that it was Ed's retreating figure). I smiled apologetically at Gayle
before warily approaching him.

"We should go," I said in a voice that was barely louder than a
whisper. He nodded his head, but didn't turn to look at me before
grabbing my elbow and ushering me out to the car. He remained
silent as we walked down the street, looking around (for Ed, no
doubt) and kept his arm wrapped tightly around my shoulders. The
first time he broke contact was when he opened the door for me
(something he'd done only a handful of times since we'd left the
FBI). The slamming of my door was hard enough to make me jump
in my seat.

The muscles in Mulder's jaw protruded under his skin as he gritted
his teeth and I knew he was going back over everything that had
gone down after he left the restroom. The silence was driving me
insane and I began having a flashback.


*He watched me from the end of the corridor, though the
second I glanced over he turned away. Finally, after all my
release paperwork had been filled out, I made the long walk
over to him. He looked at the cuts and bruises on my face
before looking down at his shoes. He shifted the weight from
his left foot to his right and I thought he was going to say
something, but instead Mulder just strode away without a
word. 

It wasn't until he found me standing in the door of his
basement office that he finally got some things off his chest.*


I shuddered under my coat as I thought of what had been one of
the worst months of my life---and with everything I had been
through that was definitely saying something.

"Are you cold?" The sincere tone of his question sent a jolt of relief
through my body; I released a breath I hadn't realized I'd been
holding.

I shook my head. "No, I'm fine."

He snorted, and I corrected my statement. "Sorry, I'm not cold,
just...," I hesitated, trying to find the right thing to say and not
wanting to rock our impossibly shaky boat. "This was the last thing
I expected to happen tonight. I really was having a good time with
you and then..." Another deep breath. "I didn't even know he was released."

Mulder cleared his throat and averted his eyes from mine,
pretending to focus on the tree-lined neighborhood streets in front
of us. 

"Mulder?" 

No answer.

"Mulder, did you know?"

Still no answer.

Anger replaced my earlier relief. "How did you find out? How
could you not have told me?" I roared.

"Scully, it's not...I wasn't trying to hide it from you or anything."
"Then what?"

"Skinner called to let me know that he'd heard Jerse was cleared
for release from the psychiatric facility he was serving his sentence in."

"What? When?" 

"I'm getting to that."

I stared at him as he pulled into our garage, waiting for his answer.

He seemed to be having a hard time, his shoulders hunched
forward as he braced himself with the steering wheel---the car now
idling. "It was just after I left you at Father Joe's. Skinner's name
popped up on the ID and I answered it thinking he might have been
contacted about the case."

"But he didn't have information about the case," I prompted after a
few seconds of silence.

"Scully," he finally turned to face me, his hazel eyes dark and
imperceptible in the dim light provided by the garage door opener.
"It threw me and I couldn't think about it right then. I knew where
you were and I was so pissed at how you'd dismissed me---"

"I dismissed you? How can you---?"

"Scully, please." He reached for me and, though I didn't take his
hand, I didn't pull away either. "That wasn't my point, and we've
gotten to a much better place in our relationship now." The word
relationship sent a thrill through me---how absurd considering we
had been sleeping together for the better part of eight years. "It was
just the worst timing possible. I immediately pushed the information
to the back of my mind, focusing only on the task at hand. And I
hadn't even thought of it again until," he paused, the muscles in his
jaw tightening again. "Until I saw him standing there tonight."

I processed this for a couple of minutes as we sat there staring at
nothing. "So what comes next?"

He smiled wryly. "Restraining order?"

"But Mulder I've forgiven you!"

He rolled his eyes. "Leave it to you, Scully, to joke at a time like this."

"I learned from the best."

"Thank you. So?"

Sighing, I asked, "Don't you think that's a little, I don't know...extreme?"

"What?" He pushed my hand from his violently. "Do you remember
what this asshole did to you?"

"Excuse me? Weren't you the one who didn't even think to inform
me when he'd been released? Now suddenly, because he
happened into O'Toole's tonight, I should get a restraining order
against him?"

"So you're not going to get it?"

I was fuming. This man was impossible. "No."

"Fine, I'll file it for you." He mumbled, throwing his door open and
striding away into the house. I ran after him, trailing him into our
bedroom where he was already undressing, throwing his clothes
haphazardly to the floor.

"Just how do you think you'll be able to get permission to file the
order?" I waited until I was sure I had his undivided attention---
which meant undressing, too. "You have no legal relation to me, Mulder."

He grimaced, and I knew I'd hit a nerve. Finally!

Everyone---especially my mother---always assumed Mulder and I
hadn't married because I didn't want it. Bullshit. Mulder had a
deep-seated fear of marriage that stemmed from his parents' nasty
divorce. Not being married had only been an issue that had caused
me pain a few times, but I had never known Mulder to be bothered
by it.

It was about damn time we had this conversation. But, then he did
something I never suspected. He went over to the closet, grabbed
an extra blanket and pillow and stalked off to the hallway, slamming
the door shut behind him. 

Numbly, I reached until I found the bed and then let myself collapse
on top of it. The tears never came.

(to be continued)