TITLE: "L.A. Story"

BY: Ten

E-MAIL ADDRESS: kristena@ocean.com.au

CATEGORY: V; MSR

RATING: R for adult sexual situations

SUMMARY: Two special agents loose in Los Angeles with a

credit card... But some things don't require a charge

card.

TIMESPAN/SPOILER WARNING: Post "Hollywood A.D.", refers

to "Brand X", "The Amazing Maleeni", "Millennium", "Post

Modern Prometheus", "Jose Chung's From Outer Space" and

"Fire".

This is the first in a trilogy/quartet. Also, I used a

real person in this story, but so did her husband in

writing the ep, and I'm sure she has a sense of humour.

She gets to keep him, we fans merely borrow him ;)

ARCHIVE INFO: It goes to Gossamer through xff. Can be

archived anywhere as long as my name, addy and disclaimer

stay intact.

FEEDBACK: Love it. Brings joy to my world!

THANKS TO: Annie for some local knowledge, Debbie, Mac,

Judie, Gerry and Suzanne.

My website for all my X-Files fanfiction, thanks to the

wonderful Skyfox, is at http://tenxffic.iwarp.com

DISCLAIMER: The X-Files, the episodes referred to, Mulder

and Scully and all other characters from the show belong

to Chris Carter, the relevant writers, Ten Thirteen

Productions and Fox Broadcasting, and are used without

permission. No copyright infringement is intended, no

profit will be gained. Characters not recognised from the

show are mine.

The X-Files: " L.A. Story"

By Ten, 13 - 27 June, 9th July 2000

xXx

Premiere night of 'The Lazarus Bowl'

Hollywood:

Scully took in a deep breath of air for a silent sigh.

Then she realised that filling her lungs in an area known

for its smog was not a wise move, and she had to let

loose a cough. The sigh, however, was justified. She

reflected that when the late, usually great, Jose Chung

had borrowed her and Mulder's personas and X-File for his

book, he'd at least had the decency to change their

names.

But there was no way she could feign ignorance or

convince her mother and brothers that 'The Lazarus Bowl'

movie had nothing to do with her. They would find out

about it somehow. Perhaps she could go into hiding until

the movie left the theatres.

Then another disappearing act when it came out on

video...

The movie was so bad that it would probably only have a

short run in the theatres, but with their luck it would

probably become the year's blockbuster or gain a cult

following like 'Ed Wood' - so bad it became a classic.

She looked across at Mulder. They had left the fake movie

set graveyard. She had been surprised it was still there

- after all, the movie had long since fiiinished filming

there - but the security guard that had confirmed that

Mulder was in there and let her in also explained that

the set was being reused for a children's series and

might possibly become part of the studio tours.

Great.

At least she seemed to have brought Mulder out of his

funk.

Their evening had started with the premiere of that

humiliating movie, seeing themselves portrayed like

cartoon characters, their hard work on the X-Files

trivialised, and their relationship cheapened...

But, like Mulder said about O'Fallon and Hoffman, how

could Hollywood possibly capture such complex people,

such a complex job, and such a unique, special

relationship - one that even she couldn't fully

comprehend?

She was not going to let that movie drag them down. They

were alive, relatively young, and, thanks to Skinner, in

possession of a Bureau credit card for the evening.

Scully smiled at the fact that she and Mulder were still

holding hands as they exited the Fox studios lot. Things

really were looking up.

"So..." She held up the credit card. "Where to, and what

to do?"

"That is the question," Mulder intoned.

"Our limo awaits." She pointed to the limo and driver.

"Let's shop." Mulder pre-empted the chauffeur and opened

the passenger door for Scully himself. "Century Plaza,

please."

She couldn't help grinning in anticipation.

xXx

Once in the Plaza, Mulder immediately homed in on a

display in a store window. "Hey, look - 'Lazarus Bowl'

action figures!" He looked like he couldn't decide

whether to be wryly amused or horrified.

Scully sighed. "I'm a toy..."

"An *action figure*, Scully. GI Joe wouldn't dare take

you on. Your nephews will love it. And hey, it's not so

bad for you - you're also Tea Leoni. Me - I'm...Garry

Shandling." He screwed his face up.

"Mulder, they had to go for someone like that."

He gave her a sidelong look. "Really? I'm afraid to ask

for your reasoning behind that theory."

"Because no actor in the world could replicate you.

Federman knew better than to try, so he just caricatured

instead," she told him honestly.

Mulder stared at her, studying her face as if trying to

work out if she was being completely serious. Then he put

his hands deeper in his pants pockets and looked down at

his polished shoes. Was he blushing? He glanced back at

the display. "Think we should buy some to use as voodoo

dolls?"

"They're giving me enough of a pain already. Perhaps we

should buy the whole lot and bury them."

"Well, at least they've been made to look like the actors

and therefore don't really resemble us. Though after

seeing them on screen tonight, I think the term 'actor'

is stretching it a little. The script sure didn't help."

He peered at a bottom corner of the window and grinned.

"Hey, look. They've got a 'Mulder' and a 'Scully' in a

Barbie dream bed..."

Part of her felt embarrassed, part of her thought: 'All

right!' and the rest of her chickened out through sheer

habit and decided to change the subject. "Is there a

Skinner action figure?" Scully nearly kicked herself at

the look on Mulder's face at her question. He'd taken it

the wrong way.

"Nope. Richard Gere showed some sense."

Scully thought that Mulder was probably considering

buying one of the Scully dolls because he did seem to

have a thing for Tea Leoni. Perhaps she could buy a

Mulder figure as a 'boy toy'.

The real thing was much better to have anyway. Not so

long ago - once again - her partner had been life-

threateningly ill. The tobacco beetles. And her cure had

nearly stopped his breathing. Several times. She

remembered at one point he was on a respirator to aid his

lungs and he stared at her with a look that said: 'We

both know how serious this is and how much I want this

damn tube out, so make a joke to distract me, because I

can't...' Scully had her hands full (or rather her tear

ducts full) trying not to cry in front of him, and the

only thing that came to mind as she squeezed his hand

tighter was: 'Mulder, the premiere of 'The Lazarus Bowl'

will be coming up soon. You HAVE to be there for that.'

She left that unsaid though, for fear that instead of

laughing he would go into cardiac arrest to make sure he

WASN'T.

Now he was well again and the local air wasn't reducing

him to any helpless wheezing. Garry Shandling's

performance may have produced some splutters, which were

justified...

Scully thought of the candles and bath paraphernalia she

had packed specially for this trip in anticipation of the

time being right for her and Mulder. Or of making the

time right. She hoped they would get to use them.

Mulder turned away from the window display, breaking her

out of her musings. He tapped the credit card he was

holding. Scully blinked. The card had been in her pocket.

How had he -?

Her partner smiled. She shook her head. Either she had

been really distracted, which as an FBI agent (even as

one off duty) was not a good thing, or Mulder had been

practicing the tricks they learned on the Amazing Maleeni

case. His smile widened and he gave a 'voila!' flourish.

Then Mulder's expression turned thoughtful. "Hmmm..." He

looked around, still tapping the card.

"Dare I ask what you're looking for?"

He spoke decisively. "We're getting you out of that

dress."

She blinked, then smiled blindingly. "In the middle of

the Plaza, Mulder? Is that wise?"

"Ha ha." He seemed relieved by her reaction though. And

hopeful-looking. He guided her towards a boutique. "I

mean, you really look great, but..."

"Enough black already?"

"Yeah."

Scully considered. She wasn't insulted. Federman's

comment when they had first met him about her being

'Jodie Foster's foster child on a Payless budget' had

stung though. Not that she had really gotten around to

altering her fashion habits since then. "Okay. How high

on the thigh and how low on the neckline do you want it?"

Mulder looked surprised and somewhat adorably alarmed at

being given the choice. "Um, er... You select whatever

you feel comfortable with. You look sexy enough in that,

yet it's pretty much covering everything."

She was able to get him to help choose several outfits,

and she modelled them for him, sashaying and flirting up

quite a storm. They settled on a crimson cocktail dress

that showed her legs but wasn't letting her chest all

hang out. It came with a warm matching wrap, which Mulder

put around her shoulders. She wore the outfit out of the

store, her other one in a bag which Mulder carried for

her.

He looked at her with undisguised enjoyment, then asked,

"Now, what should *I* wear?"

Scully looked him over from head to toe, making him

squirm slightly. "You're just fine as you are."

Definitely fine. It had been years since she had seen him

in a tux. The Cecil Lively case. Mulder looked just as

gorgeous now. Though the image of him dancing with Phoebe

still irritated her.

"Okay, I'll keep this on."

/Don't be too sure of that.../

Blithely unaware of her thoughts, Mulder continued, "So,

you choose what we do next."

Perfect. "We dance." Not only to banish Phoebe from her

head, but to recapture the time when they had watched the

Cher lookalike perform. And just because it was a great

excuse to hold each other close.

His expression was startled, then he smiled. "Dancing it

is. Let's find a club where we won't look out of place in

these clothes -"

"Or end up amongst a heap of teenagers!"

After some enquiries, they found a place with an intimate

little dancefloor and a jazz band playing. They did fast,

swinging numbers that left them laughing and breathless,

and slow, close dances that made them quiet and

contemplative. She didn't know which was better in the

slow dances: resting her head against his chest and

closing her eyes, letting the beat of his heart and the

music guide her, or holding him close, and looking up

into his eyes as they moved.

Mulder only stepped on her foot once, which was fine

because she only stepped on his toes twice.

"What next?" Scully asked when they were seated at a

secluded table, still able to hear the band. She would

have loved to keep on dancing, but she was beginning to

feel tired, and she wanted to save some energy for what

she hoped was to come.

Mulder leaned across the table with such an intense look

in his eyes that she thought the time had come then and

there, and so what if they were in a public place? "Ice

cream," he announced. He signalled for a waiter.

Scully felt a little disappointed, but not too much,

because she knew that tonight was the night, and

everything else leading up to it was a bonus.

Soon a huge dish of ice cream with all the trimmings was

put in front of them. Mulder shifted his chair around so

that they were side by side, handed her a spoon, and told

her to dig in. Making sure she had napkins arranged to

prevent any stray drops from getting on her dress, Scully

did.

They ended up feeding each other. Mulder had a streak of

ice cream running from the corner of his mouth over onto

his cheek. Scully wanted to lick it off. She mentally

shook her head, bemused. Her thoughts sounded very

lustful, but love was the main thing she felt when she

looked at him or thought of him. And lately she had not

distanced herself from that love or run away from it.

She wiped ineffectually at her face with a napkin as

Mulder was finishing off the last of the ice cream. She

put down the napkin. "My turn to choose."

"And what do you choose?"

Could she say it? Amazingly her voice did not wobble.

"We're all sticky. A bubble bath would fix that nicely."

"Yeah. Your foot probably needs a good soak too from when

I stomped on it." He looked at his watch. It was late. He

gave a regretful sigh. "It's been great, but I guess it's

time to call it a night. Bath and bed sounds good to me."

He scooped up the last spoonful.

Scully realised that he had misunderstood her. He felt

the same as she felt, but she knew that Mulder was

letting her set the pace of their courtship these last

months. She would have to clarify things so that there

was no doubt whatsoever in his mind. "Bath and bed, yes.

But I said *a* bubble bath, as in singular. We've shared

a movie, we've shared dancing and an ice cream. I think

it's time to share more."

Mulder gazed at her steadily, slowly licking the last of

the melted ice cream from the spoon. Then he swallowed it

but his look of anticipation remained, and without taking

his eyes off her, he called out, "Check, please!"

A few minutes later as they walked towards the door, he

halted her.

"Scully... You are sure about this? They - 'we' - didn't

even get together at the end of that movie."

"We've spent seven long years waiting for the right

moment... Time to MAKE that moment instead of hoping it

will come along. They got it so wrong, but we can get it

so right, if we're willing to take the chance."

He managed to huskily say, "Scully...." and then seemed

at a loss for words.

"Then here's something we don't need a credit card for: I

love you, Mulder."

His smile came from deep within and warmed her soul. "I

love you, too." The fingers of both his hands entwined

with hers and gently moved. "Can I kiss you? I don't

think any paparazzi are lurking."

For a second she wondered why he was bothering to ask,

but they were in a public place, whereas the hospital

waiting room on New Year's Eve had at least been

deserted. Plus there had been a certain amount of

curiosity about the real life 'Lazarus Bowl' FBI agents.

However it looked like none of the press had either

bothered or managed to follow them here.

And Mulder's request was also partly old-fashioned

courtship, whether he was aware of it or not. Scully was

about to happily give him permission to kiss her when the

jangling of the door announced that more customers were

entering. She tugged his hand. "Come on, let's go back to

the hotel."

They turned and came face to face with Tea Leoni. "Oh, hi

there!" the actress said in surprise. Her date, a man who

bore more than a passing resemblance to Mulder, gave them

a smile of greeting and headed for the men's room with a

"Back in a minute". Scully wondered why Federman hadn't

hired him to play Mulder. They could have been brothers.

"We were just leaving," she said, trying to hold onto her

smile and hoping it didn't look frozen. "I can recommend

the food here."

Ms. Leoni nodded. "This is a great place." Her eyes

lingered on Mulder, who managed to say hello, then

returned to Scully. "I hope you approved of the way I

portrayed you, Agent Scully. I only did the bra shot

because it was tastefully done, and I practiced very hard

with those high heel boots. Nearly sprained my ankle

twice."

"The running was very well done." Too bad that Skinner

hadn't run - as in away - when Federman first wanted to

get some movie ideas from him.

"Not that I really needed to be taller," the statuesque

actress continued blithely. Scully was glad she was in

heels high enough to look her in the eye. But she wasn't

finished. "And that red hair dye was a pain. Thank God I

had a hairdresser on set to deal with it and she finally

found one that worked. More trouble than creating some

cleavage for Julia Roberts to play Erin Brockovich, I can

tell you. I don't know how you manage. Do you want the

brand?"

Scully thought that if her smile became any more frozen,

she could ice skate on her own face. She felt an

overwhelming desire to seize Ms. Leoni by her now-blonde

tresses and throw her into the fishtank to her right, all

six feet of her, but a Dynasty style catfight with a

movie star would surely end up in the tabloids and ensure

that the movie got loads more publicity.

The actress turned to Mulder, who had his hands in his

pockets again and was scuffing his feet. Her expression

was concerned. "I was worried about you when you left the

premiere. Are you all right? What was wrong?"

"Um, er..." By the looks of it, Mulder didn't want to

give Tea Leoni the Hollywood schmooze routine, but he

didn't want to give her the naked truth either. And he

had better not want to give her the naked pretzel. Had he

given her the once-over when they came face to face and

was Ms Leoni responding to that? It was pretty much an

autonomic reflex for a man, after all... And this was a

movie star.

Partly to get herself away from such jealous thoughts,

Scully came to his rescue. "I read in an interview that

you've just signed for another movie."

"Oh yeah - playing law enforcement again. Was worried

about being typecast, y'know, but I couldn't pass it up.

It had box office all over it." Tea's gaze returned to

Mulder and stayed there. "Actually, Agent Mulder, I was

wondering if we could get together at some mutually

suitable time to go over this latest script - give me

some pointers... Possibly a tour of the FBI building?

There was supposed to be one as part of the publicity for

'Lazarus Bowl', but it fell through."

Scully tried not to tap her foot. "Well, Ms. Leoni, if

you are portraying a female FBI agent or a policewoman,

then it would be best to speak to one. I have a few

contacts here in LA. I'll email them and I'm sure that

one of them will be happy to do lunch with you."

She was aware that Mulder was giving her a look that was

half thoughtful, and half amused at the possibility that

she could be jealous, and the actress was busy thinking

of a way to manoeuvre that offer around to the one she

really wanted.

Then, at last, Tea's date reappeared, to Scully's relief,

and she was able to engineer her and Mulder's swift

escape.

In the limo, he gave her a relieved and sheepish smile.

"Thanks. Now, where were we?"

She reached out and took his hand. She whispered, "You

ever see the Kevin Costner movie 'No Way Out', Mulder?"

He raised an eyebrow. "You wanna do it in the back seat

of this limo?"

Scully laughed. "It would be a very Hollywood thing to

do, wouldn't it?"

"As I remember, Kevin and Sean Young were cruising around

the D.C. monuments at the time."

"Oh well, then that trip will just have to wait until we

get back home."

He smirked, then dropped it. "We haven't even kissed

yet," he said softly.

"We will." She knew he wouldn't try with the chauffeur

right there. Thankfully the hotel wasn't far away.

xXx

They went to Scully's room. It was decorated in tasteful

green tones that somehow complimented the swirling

abstract oil paintings that hung at intervals on the

walls. Not a bad colour for a redhead either. Mulder was

right - she needed to wear less black. Well, she was

about to wear less everything...

Scully shut the door behind them, feeling her heels sink

into the thick carpeting. Her heart wasn't doing the same

though. It was thudding up around the ceiling. She put

down the bag containing her other dress.

Mulder tilted his head at her, silently asking, 'Now?'

She sent back a silent, 'Now would be good,' and their

arms went around each other, one face came down and

another raised up, and then they were kissing.

Whatever traces of lipstick that eating the ice cream had

not removed would have definitely disappeared by the time

the kiss ended. They were still a little sticky from the

ice cream itself, but that just added to the experience.

They were really getting each other's flavour in full

now, instead of the fleeting taste on New Year's Eve.

"I think we just topped anything that I've ever seen on

screen," Mulder said, running his fingers through her

hair.

She traced his jawline. "Want to hear a secret, Mulder?"

"Sure."

"Do you remember back when Federman invited us to watch

the movie being made and we were on the phone to each

other in the hotel and then Skinner rang from a

bubblebath?"

"Oh yes."

"I lied to you. I wasn't packing. I was in a bubblebath

myself."

He gave a deep laugh. "So was I!"

She moved a little closer against him. "I was thinking

about you while I was in there."

"And I was thinking about you too."

"Yeah, I could hear water moving around..." she said

wryly.

"Hey!" he said with mock-indignation. Then he looked at

her thoughtfully. "You were really thinking about me? Not

about...one A.D. Skinner?"

"Mulder, I couldn't care less about Skinner's flashlight

or however big it is or isn't. There's only one that I've

taken a shine to."

A grin. "Oh... That's good." He nodded. "And just for

edification, Scully, Tea Leoni isn't my type, no matter

how big her cross is."

"I'm very glad we've cleared that up, Agent Mulder." She

kissed him again. "Now, I'll get the bath running."

"You NEVER draw my bath..." he said in mock astonishment,

echoing a night from years ago.

"This, Mulder, is OUR bath. And I'm better at doing it

than you are."

"True, I don't have a range of bath lotions and crystals

and treat their introduction into the water on the same

level of seriousness as splitting an atom. Nor do I take

the bath's temperature to ensure that it is just right."

"This has to be an exact science, especially tonight." He

cocked his head enquiringly. "A bubble bath will be

great, but we don't want too many bubbles so that we

can't...enjoy the views, so to speak. Or know exactly

what we're helping each other wash." She saw the light go

on in his brain.

Mulder stood out of the way and watched Scully shed her

wrap and shoes and busy herself with the business of

running the bath. At least, he stood out of the way for a

few seconds, then leaned over her and started running his

hands over some interesting places.

"Mulder!" she 'protested', getting very flustered.

"I'm helping..." he explained, lifting the hair off her

neck and blowing there, setting off reactions right down

her spine.

"Helping? Helping to drive me crazy... Mulder, just let

me reach the bath crystals..."

"Why? We don't need to add anything to the water apart

from ourselves."

"Just a few minutes, Mulder. Just a few more minutes and

all will be yours." She at least wanted the bath water

deep enough to sit in. She would even skip breaking the

candles out, to save some time.

He inched back just enough - literally only a few inches

- to allow her room to move while still   keeping contact.

Scully smiled at him as she chose a jar from her

selection on the shelf. "These are the only type of

crystals that Melissa ever managed to get me interested

in." And when she caught a glimpse of herself in the

mirror, her skin and eyes and lips were glowing like they

were crystals held in the sun.

A glimpse is all she got, because Mulder's lips were on

the prowl again, his hands undoing her dress, and she

dropped the jar. "Mulderrrrrrrrrrrrrr!"

"Scully, there's only so long the human male can hold out

for. I've been holding out seven years. I think it might

pay to speed things up a little..."

That was logical. And her desire to touch him was

overriding any desire for getting the setting just so.

She decided that he was right: they could do the bath

thing in the morning with all the trimmings. She leaned

forward and turned the taps off. There was not much water

in the bath.

Mulder said over her shoulder, "We can keep that running

while we get each other out of our clothes." He'd nearly

gotten her out of the dress by this stage.

She gave a shimmy and a tug and the dress was on the

floor. "Forget it for now. Too much work when there are

other things to concentrate on. And I think I want our

first time to be in a bed." They could 'limber up' for a

bath session, plus splashing water everywhere in her own

bathroom was one thing when she could clean it up

properly, but in a hotel...

Scully turned around in his arms and started moving them

towards the bedroom, working on getting him out of his

tux with all due speed. He looked just as great out of it

as in it.

"That's quite a flashlight, Mulder."

"And it's taken quite a shine to you, Scully."

"That was my joke. You are right though. And I think I've

digested enough ice cream to fit something else in

now..."

Together, hand in hand, they moved onto the bed, towards

an inevitability they did not want to hide from anymore.

xXx

Mulder was on a voyage of discovery of her body. First he

had thoroughly kissed her mouth and face, then her neck,

and now she was running her hands through his hair as his

mouth, tongue and fingers ambled exquisitely down the

valley between her breasts. Her breasts ached to be

climbed, conquered by him.

"Mu-Mulder..."

"Mm-hm?" he said distractedly, then he looked up, clearly

worried that he wasn't doing something right.

She smiled and stroked his cheek reassuringly. "You're

doing great. But I give you permission to stop moseying

through the canyon and scale a few peaks instead, huh?"

She admired that he was doing his best not to rush

things, but she wanted to get to the main event soon too.

Her partner grinned and with that permission promptly

launched himself on the most enthusiastic mountaineering

expedition she had ever encountered. His mouth, tongue

and fingers were like a co-ordinated climbing team,

spreading out over her hills, exploring everywhere,

searching for the spots that were her special places,

marking them, worshipping them...

In tandem with his actions, Scully was vaguely aware that

her hips were undulating rhythmically. The higher he

went, the higher he took her. Oxygen was becoming thin.

Her head was spinning, dizzy. Her hips were thrusting. It

was like -

Suddenly she was on top of the world.

Whether there was a mirror above the bed that she hadn't

noticed, or maybe she had an out-of-body-experience, but

suddenly she was watching herself. She saw herself

arching up on the bed, eyes half-open, mouth fully open

in a silent cry. And pleasure was pouring through her

body like she was standing under a waterfall.

She saw Mulder. His head was up and he was staring at

her, stunned. Then he looked down. His left hand had been

on her hip, the other on a breast. Nothing, not even her

hands, had been near the juncture of her legs. Slowly he

removed his hands, as if to say, "Did I do that, and if

so, HOW?"

Then he shifted up to gather her in his arms and hold her

against his chest while she caught her breath.

"Oh God," she whispered eventually, not knowing how much

or how little time had passed.

He stroked a breast. "You didn't tell me that these were

volcanic! Was that what I think it was?"

"Yeah. Nice work!"

"But I didn't even touch down there yet! You must have a

hair trigger, my love. Or a very lovely pair of them."

"Mulder... Some women can climax just from breast

stimulation. But - I was never one of those women. Or

never knew I was until just then."

"Well, there's plenty of territory left to explore here.

Who knows what else we'll discover."

"I know exactly which territory I want you in next. I

think that it's time to put that flashlight of yours to

good use." She could feel that it was still ready for

action. Good control, but as he had said, the human male

could only hold out so long. And she wanted that action

to be with her, in her. Now.

xXx

She was vaguely aware of the banging sound of the

headboard against the wall. Mulder was certainly putting

everything into it. So was she.

She almost laughed when she remembered what he had said

to her when they had first become joined. "Yes, that is

my flashlight, Scully, and I am happy to be lying on top

of you." At least they weren't trapped in a zombie

coffin. To carry the exploration analogy further, Mulder

was proving to be a great cave explorer with his handy

flashlight. No contest.

The intensity was building. The banging was deafening.

She felt like her whole body was locked on 'vibrate',

such was the effect that their union was having.

Her orgasm hit and kept on hitting. She didn't know if

she was experiencing multiple orgasms or whether this one

was in no hurry to leave, but she didn't care. If Mulder

had found her 'hair trigger' earlier, this time he'd hit

the main switch.

She didn't know if she was crying out or not, but surely

the whole of Los Angeles - and in fact the whole of

California - must know that they were finally making

love.

Along with her sexual satisfaction came another surge of

satisfaction and pride in her as Mulder hit the heights

too. She revelled in his face, his expression.

Even after her pleasure ebbed, she was still shaking from

its effects.

Consummatum est, indeed. A finish, and a start.

A time later, when two sets of breathing had slowed down

enough, they held each other blissfully under the

blankets, regaining their powers of speech just as the

need for sleep increased.

Scully smiled against his chest. She could make a joke

about deserving Academy awards, but she certainly hadn't

been acting and neither had he. "Now THAT was a premiere

event."

"What, we should have sold tickets?" Mulder mumbled

sleepily, but content.

"Not to that climax. That was a private screening only.

Might squeeze in a matinee tomorrow, perhaps in the bath.

Let's get some sleep."

His breath puffed against the top of her head. "Yeah, I

don't think I'm up for any more action tonight."

"Not even if we used the Lazarus bowl to make it arise

from the dead?"

Mulder nearly choked on her hair. Scully nearly left

teeth marks in Mulder's chest in trying to suppress her

laughter.

As she was drifting off to sleep, Scully noticed that the

painting across on the other wall now looked like it was

hanging crookedly. Wow, her senses really were out of

whack. But then again, with those abstract works, it was

very hard to tell...

xXx

Scully's eyes flew open. The bed was moving. Mulder - it

must be Mulder just shifting beside her. She wasn't

exactly used to -

Then the bed moved in a way that Mulder could never have

managed, not even in the throes of thudding. Los Angeles

was the one on the move.

She could hear the lamp rattling on the dresser and

something crash to the floor. Mulder's arms tightened

around her as she pictured tabloid headlines proclaiming

that the 'Lazarus Bowl' FBI agents were trapped in bed

together by an earthquake and had to be dug out... Full

middle page colour spread...

Just as she was about to ask Mulder whether they should

stay where they were or grab some clothes and get into a

doorway or outside, the quaking stopped. Slowly they sat

up.

"Are you all right?" she asked Mulder, just as he said

the same. They nodded.

"Any idea how severe that one was?" Mulder asked and she

shook her head.

It wasn't dawn yet - they hadn't been sleeping very long.

They heard a noise out in the hallway and hurriedly threw

on some clothes to go investigate.

A night porter was placating an angry woman two doors

down the hallway. She was complaining about something

that had broken. The porter was trying to convince her

that repairs would be done, but since it was not

something that could be classed as urgent, he would find

her a replacement for now and organise help in the

morning. The woman reluctantly accepted and shut her door

with a bang.

The porter sighed, then saw Mulder and Scully and smiled.

It had a hint of a tired edge. "Has the aftershock done

any damage to your room?"

Mulder stared at him. "An aftershock? You mean there was

another quake *before* that?"

"Yes, sir. A four point seven about forty-five minutes

ago. Power flickered but didn't go out, and there are

some dishes to sweep up, but usually it doesn't do much

damage. Noticeable enough, though. This aftershock was

probably a three point six. There will probably be some

more little ones in the next few hours."

Mulder and Scully exchanged glances. "Thank you," Scully

managed. She and Mulder went back to her room. She sat on

the edge of the bed. The random thought came to her that

it had been a good thing that she hadn't put lit candles

all over the place after all. Mulder perched next to her.

"Well..." he said contemplatively.

"Mulder, that first quake must have happened just when we

were... Right at the 'crux' of things."

"Yeah." He ran a hand through his already mussed hair.

"Geez, now I'm worried. I thought it was just us. Be a

shame if we can't match it next time."

"Mulder, even if I get a fraction of that denouement next

time, I will be a _very_ happy and a very lucky woman."

She meant it. "The quake possibly sustained things. But I

don't know if I could survive such an intensity every

day."

"Hey - what if we *caused* the quake?" He looked gleeful.

"Then we have more power in this town than studio heads.

Come on, back to bed."

"Yes, ma'am."

"You know," Mulder remarked, half on the edge of sleep,

five minutes later, "we could always buy a bed with

'magic fingers' in it."

"Got those already. Good night, Mulder."

"It was, Scully. It was after all."

THE END.