To Whom It May Concern
by Polly

Email:  polly122456@yahoo.com
Classification:  Story, M&S Friendship, Mild Angst
Rating:  PG
Spoilers:  References to lots of episodes; takes 
place during Season 7, somewhere after "Orison"

Disclaimer:  Not mine; all XF characters belong to 
1013 Productions

Notes:  Written for the Haven "Rec Me Baby" Challenge 
- an XF character makes a recommendation to someone 
else in XFville

Archive:  I'd be honored, just please let me know
Feedback:  Always welcome and very appreciated

Summary:  An old letter comes back to haunt Mulder


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November 15, 1997

To Whom It May Concern:

I would like to recommend that Special Agent Dana 
Scully be considered for the division head position 
in the Forensic Science Research Unit.  I understand 
this position will be open as of January 1, 1998, and 
I believe Dr. Scully would be an ideal candidate.

I have worked with Dr. Scully since March 1992; and 
her skills as a medical doctor and scientist, as well 
as her extensive work in forensic pathology, have 
proved invaluable to this Division time and time 
again.  Her abilities as an investigator, researcher, 
and educator have provided closure for many families 
of victims of violent crime and have offered 
explanations for cases that might otherwise be 
labeled "unexplained."  I believe her experience and 
expertise, coupled with her unwavering integrity and 
dedication, would serve her well in tackling the 
rigorous demands of directing and supervising this 
Unit.

Agent Scully has been invaluable to me as a partner 
and colleague; and while I would be extremely sorry 
to lose her from this Division, I cannot in good 
conscience stand in the way of a career opportunity 
for which she is so perfectly suited.  I hope she 
will receive serious consideration for this position.

Sincerely,
Fox W. Mulder
X-Files Division

~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~  ~

"Hey, Scully.  Aren't *you* the early bird this 
morning."

His voice startled her and she quickly refolded the 
letter, trying hard to regain her composure.  She 
didn't turn to face him, kept her eyes trained on the 
file she'd been flipping through.  "You mentioned the 
other day that we were running out of filing space," 
she stammered. "So I thought I'd come in early and 
clear out some of the old files."

He looked at the neat stacks of folders on his desk 
and wondered just how 'early' was 'early'.  "Wow.  
You should have told me, Scully.  I would have come 
in and helped."

"That's okay.  I enjoyed the peace and quiet."

He wasn't quite sure how to take that remark, but he 
let it slide and playfully shook the brown bag in his 
hand.  "But I *did* bring bagels.  *And* light cream 
cheese."

No reaction, so he dropped the bag on his desk 
between the accumulation of files and picked up his 
coffee cup.  "You're not overdoing it, are you, 
Scully?" he asked as he wiped out his mug and filled 
it from the Mr. Coffee Scully had bought as her 
Christmas gift to the office.  "The doctor said ..."

"The doctor said I was fine, Mulder.  Just some cuts 
and bruises and sore muscles.  No real damage done."

*Not on the outside anyway.*  He pushed away thoughts 
of Donnie Pfaster and took a sip of the steaming 
liquid.  "Okay, I just thought maybe ..."

Scully slammed the file drawer shut with such force 
that it rattled the windows above.  She spun around 
and dropped the file on top of one of the stacks, a 
single piece of paper remaining between her 
fingertips.  Her lips were pressed into a tight line, 
her eyes locked on his.

He took another sip of coffee as he walked toward 
her, stopping on the opposite side of the desk.  "Um 
... is something wrong?"

She handed the paper to him and folded her arms.  
"I'd like you to explain this."

Mulder perched himself on the edge of the desk, 
placed his mug beside him, and traced a finger over a 
visible scorch mark on the yellowed piece of paper 
before unfolding it.  He only needed to read the 
first sentence to know exactly what it was.

"Where'd you get this?"

"A bunch of papers were stuck in the middle of one of 
the files.  That was one of them."

There were only a handful of papers in his desk that 
had survived the fire that destroyed their office in 
1998.  Why did this letter have to be one of them?

Scully placed her palms flat on the desk and leaned 
forward.  "You wrote this while I was recovering from 
cancer, Mulder.  Did you want to get rid of me that 
badly?"

"Get rid of you?" A choked laugh escaped from his 
throat.  "I wrote it to get you to stay."

"To get me to stay?"  She shook her head and sank 
into the chair behind the desk.  "Well, that was a 
pretty funny way to go about it.  Would you like to 
tell me how you thought this letter would accomplish 
that?"

"I wrote that over two years ago, Scully.  What 
difference does it make now?"

"I'd like to know, Mulder."

He sighed and slumped into the guest chair, their 
usual positions now reversed.  "You suffered so much 
because of me, Scully," he explained, concentrating 
on the tip of his shoe.  "I figured your cancer would 
be the last straw.  I thought you would want to get 
as far away from me as possible, maybe a transfer to 
the San Diego Office to be closer to your brother."

He looked up before continuing.  "When I found out 
about the opening in the Research Unit, I wrote the 
recommendation because I thought you deserved it and 
because I thought you wouldn't be able to pass up an 
opportunity like that.  And that meant you'd stay 
here.  So even if you didn't want to work with me 
anymore, I'd still get to see you every day.  So I 
wrote the letter.  I'm sorry, Scully.  I'm a selfish 
bastard, that's my only defense."

"Oh, Mulder."

He rubbed his palms on his slacks and reached for his 
now lukewarm coffee.  "Anyway, I guess we know a 
letter of recommendation from Fox Mulder isn't worth 
the paper it's written on.  Nothing ever came of it."

He returned to the coffee maker, pretending to 
freshen his cup so he wouldn't have to meet her 
stare.  He was considering a trip to the rest room as 
another avoidance technique when her soft voice broke 
the silence.

"They called and offered me an interview.  I turned 
it down."

The coffee forgotten, he walked back to the desk and 
sat down again.  "Scully, that would have been a 
great opportunity for you.  Why did you turn it 
down?"

"It wasn't the right time," she said.  "I was still 
getting my strength back and you were so 
disillusioned.  I was afraid of what might happen to 
you if I considered leaving the X-Files."

Scully picked up the letter and ran her finger along 
the crease.  "And when they told me they had received 
a glowing recommendation for me, I thought it was 
Skinner trying to get me out of the field or one more 
attempt by *them* to split us up.  It never occurred 
to me that the recommendation was from you.  So I 
told them I was quite happy in my current position, 
that I found it very challenging and rewarding, and 
thanks but no thanks."

They looked at each other for a few moments, then 
simultaneously burst out laughing.  When Scully's 
giggles finally subsided, she wiped her eyes and 
shook her head.  "We're quite a pair, aren't we?"

"I've always thought so."  Mulder stood up and 
removed his suit coat.  "C'mon.  Let's finish this 
job."

Scully watched him roll up his shirtsleeves and waved 
the letter back and forth in front of her nose.  "Did 
you mean what you wrote in this letter, Mulder?  
About my abilities and expertise?" she asked.  "Or 
was that just a load of B.S.?"

"I meant every word."  He smiled at her as he 
loosened his tie.  "I know back then I wasn't always 
very good about giving credit where credit was due.  
I guess I'm not much better now.  But I've always 
respected your skills and your opinions, Scully, even 
when I didn't say so.  I've learned a lot from you. 
You never let me phone it in; you make me work for 
everything.  And I'm very grateful to you for that.  
You could have had a stellar career with the Bureau, 
Scully.  I'm sorry that being stuck here with me 
screwed all that up."

"Mulder, I ..."

"Did you mean what *you* said?" he interrupted.  
"About being happy in the job and finding it 
challenging and rewarding?  Or was *that* just a load 
of B.S.?"

"I know I never told you either, Mulder.  But for all 
the difficulties we've encountered over the years, I 
realize that I've seen things and done things that I 
could never have seen or done in a lab or a 
classroom."  She leaned forward and rested her 
clasped hands on the desk.  "This job has been many 
things but it's never been boring.  I told you once 
that I wouldn't change a day.  And that's still the 
truth."

His wide smile brightened the entire room.

"Let's get rid of some of this old stuff," he said, 
placing a stack of files into one of the storage 
boxes she had assembled.  "And let's start with that 
letter.  Give it to me and I'll perform a ceremonial 
shredding."

"No way."  She tucked the letter into her coat pocket 
and patted it securely.  "I'm keeping this.  I might 
have it framed.  Who knows when you'll ever say such 
nice things about me again.  Now, I believe somebody 
mentioned something about bagels."

Mulder moved another stack of files from the desk and 
poured them both fresh coffee before taking his seat 
across from his partner.  "You've really been busy 
this morning, Scully," he said as he opened the paper 
bag.  "We must have loads of filing space now."

"Not really, Mulder," she replied.  "We've still got 
work to do.  Unless you just want to forget it and 
file everything under 'Q'.  There's lots of space 
there."

He handed her a sesame seed bagel and napkins.  "I 
don't think so, Scully.  Then we'd have to change the 
name of our division, and the 'Q-Files' just doesn't 
cut it.  Besides, I'm kind of partial to the 'X-
Files'."

"So am I, Mulder.  So am I."

They both laughed as Mulder crumpled the bagel bag 
into a ball and launched a 10-foot hook shot into the 
trash can.  "Ah, nothin' but net."

"Way to go, Kareem," Scully applauded.  "Now, pass 
the light cream cheese."

THE END

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