Disclaimer:  Fox Mulder, Dana Scully, and associated characters are
property of Chris Carter, Ten-Thirteen Productions and Fox Broadcasting
Corporation.  They are used without permission, and I can't afford to get
permission, and I'm not planning to make any money from this story anyway. 
The song "Real Love" belongs to John Lennon and the Beatles, as well as 
Apple Records.  No copyright infringement is meant.  I just wanted to 
borrow the song for my story.

Any elements not recognized as being taken directly off the television 
show belong to me.  Copyright Christina Shuy.  Any similarities to any
characters created by another author is purely coincidental. Great Minds 
Think Alike, I've been told.

Comments and other things are much apprieciated and can be sent to 
cshuy@netcom.com.  I like email, so please reply! I'll do what I can 
about responding to any replies.

This may or may not be the start of a new series depending on feedback 
and writers block.

Rating: G.  Very tame. 
Summary: Away from the office, they both listen to a song and come to
realisations about what they mean to one another. 
Spoilers: None.  

This can be archived.

Real Love
by Christina Shuy
cshuy@netcom.com

	Dana Scully let herself back into her apartment and sighed.  It 
had been a long day and she had actually been up since the previous day.  
The flight home from the last case had been delayed due to a mixup in the 
reservations.  It had been the airline's fault, but that didn't make up 
for the fact that she was still tired.
	She walked into her bedroom to change and emerged about ten 
minutes later, freshly showered and dressed in a sweatshirt and shorts.  
It was warm in Washington, D. C. for the time of year and the heat had 
built up in her apartment.  At least she lived on the ground floor.
	'Thank god for small favours.' she thought to herself, turning on 
the radio as she went to sit on the sofa with a good book.
	A song that came on the radio caught her attention.

"All my little plans and schemes,
 Lost like some forgotten dreams.
 Seems that all I really was doing,
 Was waiting for you.

 Just like little girls and boys,
 Playing with their little toys.
 Seems like all they really were doing,
 Was waiting for love."

	'I guess I know who I've been waiting for...' she thought, and 
for a moment, the thought surprised her.
	Mulder had been an assignment at first, but the friendship 
between them had quickly developed.  Along with more than that.
	And Mulder *was* like a little boy sometimes.

	At the same time, in apartment 42 across town, Mulder was sitting 
and listening to the same song.
	He had arrived home and immediately flopped down on his sofa,
switching on his stereo. 

"Don't need to be alone,
 No need to be alone.
 It's real love, it's real.
 Yes, it's real love, it's real."

	'But I am alone... or am I?' Mulder's thoughts went back to the 
various cases he and Scully had been on.
	Even though he'd ditched her many times, she still stuck by him, 
standing up for him and even lying for him to the brass to try and save 
his butt.  A truer friend he couldn't ask for.
	Only she was more to him than that.

"From this moment on I know,
 Exactly where my life will go.
 Seems that all I really was doing,
 Was waiting for love.

 Don't need to be afraid,
 No need to be afraid,
 It's real love, it's real,
 Yes, it's real love, it's real."

	'And what am I waiting for?  Even if she doesn't feel the same 
about me, at least she'll know.'

"Thought I'd been in love before
 But in my heart, I wanted more
 Seems like all I really was doing
 Was waiting for you."

	Mulder mulled over the verse.  Phoebe.   She had been a crash and 
burn in his life.  And he had tried looking for someone else.  Bambi 
Berenbaum and Detective White.  Neither of them had been even *close* to 
being what he wanted.  It all came back to Scully.

	'Whenever I'm around Mulder, and he's not in the middle of some
trauma, I know I love him in my heart.  And not as a surrogate brother!'
	He was so different from Jack Willis.  Or anyone else she had 
dated.  Not only that, she had found herself mentally comparing the 
person she was on a date with to Mulder.
	Scully's thoughts wandered to the incredible tenderness Mulder had
shown her in the time they had been partners.  Never crossing the line
exactly, but most coming close.  All the signs seemed to point to him 
feeling something similar.  It seemed he may well have been afraid as well.

Don't need to be alone,
Don't need to be alone.
It's real love, it's real.
It's real love, it's real.
Yes, it's real love, it's real. 
It's real love, it's real.           

	'I am not going to be alone.  I want to make this real for both 
of us.' was their shared thought, though they didn't realise it yet.
	As the song ended, both reached for their phones, Scully delaying 
for a moment to turn down the stereo before calling.
	Just as she picked up the phone, it rang in her hand.
	"Scully."
	"Scully, it's me.  Can I come over?  I have something I need to tell 
you, and I don't want to do it over the phone."

-End-

Does this beg for a sequel?  Well, does it? =)  I might write one, 
depending...
-- 
"The Truth is Out There.  Trust No One."- from "The X-Files"
Pursuing a BS degree(Electrical Engineering) - Electronics is my forte!
"In the moment that you think you can't, you'll discover that you can." - 
Celine Dion - "Power of the Dream" "Let's get Dangerous!" - Darkwing Duck.
Looking for work and a place to live... somewhere in the SanFran Bay Area.