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Title: Party Planner
Author: Pattie
Rated: PG-13
Category: MT, Angst, Case File
Spoiler(s): Season 6.
Summary: Hey! It's Scully's Birthday! What's happening?
Read! Special guest appearance by a certain rodent... Yes,
him! Write me if you can guess the guy.
Feedback: Warmly welcomed and suggestions
always well received at patfiler2016@outlook.com
Archive: Gossamer. I do the rest of my posting
and the story will be up at my site soon.
Disclaimer: Chris Carter, Ten Thirteen Productions and Fox
Studios own the copyright to Mulder, Scully and company, and
The X-Files. No money has come to me from this and no
copyright infringement is intended.
DANA SCULLY'S APARTMENT
GEORGETOWN, DC
FEBRUARY 22
9:30 PM
It was all Scully could do to lock the door behind her, drop
the accumulated mail on the coffee table, place her bags
on the floor and remove her boots. She and Mulder had been
through wind, rain, snow, slush, ice storms and slimy bayous
during the past ten days. All she wanted was a nice, hot bath.
She could just feel herself sinking into her warm bed with the
covers pulled around her. This last case had been exhausting.
She thought about restocking her overnight bag just in case they
had to travel again but decided the laundry could wait until
tomorrow night. So could sort the bills, the glossy flyers and
addressed admails. After all, tomorrow was still like any other
office day, and the more sleep she could fit in, the better she
would handle work. Especially her final reports on that damn
case.
As she was about to run her bath, the phone rang. "If that's
you, Mulder, not now. No more driving and definitely no small
talk about the mysteries of the universe," she said to herself.
Damn, the display showed Mulder's home phone number.
"Scully."
"Scully. Just checking to see if you got home all right. I was
afraid you might fall asleep at the wheel when I dropped you off
to pick up your car." He had reason to be concerned on this night
in particular. If anything had happpened to her, he would have a
whole lot of angry Scullys to answer to. His bags were at the
door and he didn't plan on going out of town any time soon.
At least, not until he and Scully were sent out on another case.
"Yeah, I'm okay. All I want right now is a hot bath, and straight
to bed. Are you all right, Mulder?"
"Still a little rough around the edges, but yes, I am going to
get a lot of sleep tonight. Look, I'm not going to be in the
office until later tomorrow, so start without me."
"Are you ditching me at the office for a change? Or are you
trying to get out of paper work?" She felt she'd been a bit
harsh and quickly apologised. "I'm sorry, Mulder. I'm just
exhausted."
"That's okay. I have to do a few things tomorrow and I'm not
getting out of the paper work, so just take care of your side
of the report. Deal?"
"All right. So, I hope this is important. Remember, Skinner
wants this report as soon as possible."
"I know. Good night, Scully." Click.
She was too tired to wonder why he hung up so abruptly, but
went to take her bath, chalking it up to fatigue.
FOX MULDER'S APARTMENT
2360 HEGAL PLACE
ALEXANDRIA, VA.
9:37 PM
"Okay, guys. Now that that little bit of business is taken care
of, let's hear some party talk. It was damn hard getting her back
here in time. That alone is a birthday present in itself."
The Gunmen were seated in his livingroom.
"Streamers, balloons, cake, all taken care of," Byers began.
"The 8 mm home movies all spliced and converted to DVD, with
the help of one Margaret Scully, who has also provided a special
taped message from Scully's brother," Frohike added. "She's due
in town at about noon tomorrow."
"Transportation to the party courtesy of one VW van," Langly
reported.
"That thing's more like a can than a van," Mulder snickered.
Frohike took exception to that remark. "Not any more. Langly
had his first lesson with Mister Vacuum Cleaner this afternoon."
"Hey, Man, I know how... "
"Stop," Mulder shouted. "I'm tired, don't need to hear your
little battles, and all I want to do, besides get to sleep,
is make this party a success. Now, I'm going to keep Scully
busy until the last minute, and Frohike, don't do any snooping
around tomorrow. Here is the key to Scully's apartment. Oh,
and the hundred bucks I bet on the odds of my getting Scully
home in time for her birthday. Congratulations on your faith
in me."
"The food's ordered, and thanks for the donation to our tech
fund," Byers replied. "For the evening, we have a selection
of two red and one very special fine, white Scully favorite,
and beer."
"It was worth it, and yes, I still have money for her gift.
Thanks a lot, fellas. And I'm sorry I blew up. I'm just tired.
Remember, don't even go near her place until 9:00. Anyone can
spot that van in a New York minute, even Scully. Remember:
1:00 and absolutely no later."
Langly took one last guzzle of beer before standing. "Later,
Dude. By the way guys, my birthday's... "
"Shut up," Frohike sneered. "We know when it is. I'm hiring
Barney this year just for you, Junior. Good luck, Mulder."
"Thanks again. I owe you a lot."
"No problem." Frohike patted Mulder on the back. "And if you
want, we can get rid of the guests early and leave you two
alone to have a little private celebration. You're a great
party planner, but take a tip from someone who knows women."
Mulder smiled. "I don't think so, but it's a nice thought."
"Don't knock it. If I were you, I'd get to her before someone
like me does."
The three men left the apartment and Mulder rubbed his eyes.
He had already broken the 'no gifts rule' he and Scully had
agreed upon on two occasions, so why not go a bit further and
give his partner a party? The next task was to get Skinner to
agree to give both agents the afternoon off and ask him to
drop by later for the celebration.
OFFICE OF THE X-FILES
J. EDGAR HOOVER BUILDING
WASHINGTON, DC
8:00 AM
Scully entered the office, placed her Starbuck's cup on the desk
and removed her coat. "Happy Birthday to me," she whispered.
"And no word from Mom. I told her I was back last night and all
she said was that she missed our Sunday talk this week. Well,
I'm sure she'll call later."
She began to go through the memos that had piled up on their
desk and the emails on the computer. There wasn't realy much
happening as far as alerts were concerned, except for one APB
on an escaped killer and a couple of reminders to attend
upcoming meetings. No offbeat tabloid clipping with personal
notes saying, "Dear Agent Mulder, This is in our town and... "
She sipped her coffee and opened her briefcase to begin working
on the case notes she and Mulder were expected to submit as soon
as possible. Where was he anyway? "We don't keep secrets
anymore," she whispered. "Maybe it's just an eye exam or dental
apointment." She shrugged and began translating her rough notes
into documents.
A.D. SKINNER'S OFFICE
10:21 AM
Mulder managed to enter the building without Scully's notice and
went straight to Skinner's Office. "Hey, Kimberly. Is he in?"
"Yes, Agent Mulder. What can I do for you?"
"I need to talk to him for a couple of minutes. Is he free?"
"As a matter of fact, he is. I'll let him know you're here.
Oh, wish Agent Scully Happy Birthday for me." She informed her
boss that Mulder wanted to see him, and then said, "Go right
in."
"Thanks. And, you're invited to Scully's apartment after work.
But don't tell Scully. She doesn't know about any of this, and
I'm not going to go into the details."
The woman smiled. "I get it. Good luck, Agent Mulder."
Mulder smiled confidently. "I have everything under control."
He had no problem getting Skinner to give them the afternoon off,
and their boss was going to be at the party sometime that
evening.
Scully's gift had been purchased, wrapped and was sitting in the
trunk of his car.
PARKING GARAGE
J. EDGAR HOOVER BUILDING
WASHINGTON, DC
11:45 AM
Mulder locked the car and whistled as he made his way to the
entrance. He had taken care of all the last minute details,
looked in on the Gunmen while they were decorating Scully's
place, and dropped off his gift. Now he was ready to take Scully
to an early lunch. If all went as planned, his partner was going
to get an emergency call to go straight to her apartment. "Okay,
Margaret, I'm counting on you."
There was a man in the elevator as he pushed the button for the
second floor. Mulder had one more thing to do at the Hoover
before going down to the office. As soon as he looked up at the
display above the doors, he felt the familiarly cold end of a gun at
the back of his neck.
"Don't think of moving. I'm in the driver's seat."
Mulder recognized the voice. It was someone he had arrested six
years ago. "The first time I heard your voice was on wiretap,
and the last time was in a courtroom. Arthur Davis."
"Good memory, Agent Mulder." The man had greying brown hair,
brown eyes, and was roughly the same height as Mulder. "We're
going to get a few words taken back, as well as my freedom,
today. Your gun now."
Mulder remained calm. "Well, I had other plans. No ice cream and
cake for me, I guess. Why don't you just put the gun down and we
can talk."
"I don't think so. Now, get that little cell phone of yours and
tell your boss I have an announcement to make."
"What if I don't?"
"You're dead or as good as. And as for anyone just hopping in
here, this elevator is now out of order."
Mulder hoped the party would go on as usual. Scully deserved a
good birthday, but chances were pretty good this situation
would rain on her parade. He knew people would be looking for
him soon.
OFFICE OF THE X-FILES
11:56 AM
At that moment, Scully was leaving the office to go to lunch, and
her cell phone rang. "Scully."
"Dana, Honey, it's me. I just got here, but I can't get into your
apartment. I left my key at home, and the Superintendant is out.
Can you meet me here? I've brought a little something for lunch."
"Well, I'm kind of busy at the office. Mom. But I think I can
get away for a while. I'll be right there."
"Thanks. And Happy Birthday."
"I knew you wouldn't forget that, Mom." Scully smiled and placed
her cell in her pocket. She made her way to the elevator.
ELEVATOR
12:01 PM
Mulder took a deep breath and tried to figure out how to deal
with Davis. "You picked a bad day to do this, Arthur. I can't
take back my testimony because there were fourteen eye
witnesses who agreed with the facts we uncovered. Besides, we
don't grant you your wishes whether you shoot a hostage or not."
"Oh, I think the FBI is going to protect one of their supposedly
best profilers. So, grab that phone and we can get this all
over with."
As this was taking place, Scully found the elevator out of order
and took the stairs to the parking garage. A chill ran down her
spine. She didn't know why, but then she also didn't know just
how close she was to Mulder and his captor at the time. She
shook off the chill as just a draft and drove off.
DANA SCULLY'S APARTMENT
12:45 PM
The birthday girl didn't see her mother waiting at her apartment
door. She looked around and decided to go into her apartment
anyway, as she thought perhaps the Superintendant had opened
the door. She checked the door and it was unlocked. When she
entered the apartment people yelled, "Surprise!"
Her mother hugged her. "Happy Birthday, Honey."
"Thanks. Someone did a lot of work," Scully observed. Streamers,
balloons and a banner hung from the celing and walls, and there
was a pile of gifts in her livingroom. "So, who's the party
planner?"
Byers was puzzled. "Didn't Mulder come with you?"
"Uh, no. I haven't heard from him. He took the morning off."
Everyone stopped smiling and began looking at each other for
answers.
"Maybe he got caught up in traffic," her mother said.
"I think I'd better call him."
ELEVATOR
12:51 PM
Mulder tried to call to Skinner, and was interrupted by
Scully trying to reach him. "Yeah, Scully. I'm kind of way-laid
and I can't talk right now. Where are you?"
"At my birthday party. What's going on?"
"I'm talking to Skinner right now. I can't tell you." He turned
to see Davis still holding the gun. "Talk to you later." He then
pressed the button for Skinner's office. "Walter, this guy means
everything he says." Mulder ended the call and shrugged. "It's
not up to me, Davis. You can make things a lot easier by
turning yourself in and ending this now."
"As long as I get the plane, the money and my freedom, I don't
care. I can wait."
Mulder laughed. "You know what'll happen the minute you get on
that plane."
"Not with you to protect me, Mulder. And who else were you
talking to? The name Scully rings a bell... Your partner. Too
bad I didn't get her as well."
"Not for her."
Davis slammed Mulder into the back wall of the elevator. "I
have the gun. I'm running the show here. You'd better pray we're
out of here by sunset."
DANA SCULLY'S APARTMENT
GEORGETOWN, DC
1:00 PM
Scully didn't like the sound of Mulder during the call. She didn't
care if it was her birthday and her friends were here with
presents.
"What's wrong?" her mother asked.
"I don't know, Mom. I think Mulder's in some kind of trouble,"
she whispered. "I just have a feeling... "
"Now I'm sure he's fine. Why don't you open your presents
and celebrate your birthday." Margaret put her arm around her
daughter, and because she didn't think her daughter felt
consoled at all, she looked pleadingly around the room. "Why
don't we sit down and go on with the party, hmm?"
Scully sat with her mother on the sofa. "I can't. Not without
Mulder. Not until I know he's safe. Mom, I read a memo on
an escaped convict this morning, and thought nothing of it.
Maybe he's one of Mulder's cases."
"There are lots of 'maybe's' in this world," Byers whispered.
"You've got company, and Mulder arranged all this."
"Thanks, but I think I need to call my boss."
The rest of the celebrants stood in confusion and decided to
eat. Scully's mother nodded at them and they went ahead with
the lunch, as the birthday girl called Skinner's office on
her home phone.
A.D. SKINNER'S OFFICE
1:17 PM
Skinner had just returned from a strategy meeting with other
agents, and answered his phone. "What can I do for you, Agent
Scully?"
"What's happening down there, Sir? Where's Mulder?"
He didn't want to answer that one. "First of all, he's all
right. We have a situation in the elevator... "
"The escaped convict I read about in the memo this morning?
Arthur Davis?"
"Now don't panic Agent Scully. We're doing everything we can to
get things under control. I think it's best you let us handle
this and stay put."
"He's my partner! You know I'm not going to just sit back
and... "
"That's an order. I'm sorry this had to happen on your
birthday."
"Sir... Sir?" Scully was ready for action now. "That was my
boss," she told her mother. "Mulder's in trouble. I've got to
get down to the Hoover."
The Lone Gunmen stopped her in her tracks, and sat her back
down on the sofa. "If you can't have a happy birthday, at least
make it a safe birthday," Frohike advised her. "Don't worry.
They're surrounded by a building full of Federal Agents."
ELEVATOR
3:00 PM
Both Mulder and Davis were sweating. The air in the elevator was
stale, hot and irritating. Tempers were becoming short.
"What the hell's taking them so long!?" Davis shouted.
Mulder, his tie undone and coat and jacket on the floor, sat in
the corner. "It takes time to make all the arrangements. Just
wait a little longer."
"Yeah, right. They're planning a rescue and arrest. It won't
work." He grabbed Mulder's phone and called Skinner. "Where
the hell are all the things I asked for?"
"Relax. Everything's on its way," the A.D. answered. He was in
the corridor not far from his office. Several agents were wearing
flack jackets and carrying rifles. "Just wait."
"One more hour and Mulder is a dead man." Davis slammed the
phone shut.
"I didn't really want cake and ice cream anyway," Mulder muttered.
"Shut UP!"
A man with a heavy beard, long hair, black hat and coat stood
outside the elevator holding a device resembling a small remote
controller. He pressed a button, and Mulder watched Davis
crumble to the floor in pain, losing consciousness.
The mystery man pressed a button on his cell phone. "Test worked.
Subject reads as dead." If Skinner or Mulder had heard the voice,
they would have known the young, former agent who had been
involved in a lot of double dealing was just seconds away from
earshot.
Mulder crawled over to the motionless Davis. "What the -- ?"
Mulder felt for a pulse, tried CPR, and couldn't revive the man.
He retrieved his cell phone.
The elevator began to move, and the doors opened to armed
agents, who were told by Skinner to lower their guns.
"Call an ambulance. What happened in here?"
"I don't know. He's dead. Whether it was a heart attack or
something else, I don't know." He pulled himself up and
grabbed his coat and jacket. "Don't I have a party to go to?"
"Go on. You can write up the report tomorrow. I'll take care of
the other matters. We should get an autopsy on him."
Mulder was relieved to be in the fresh air of the garage. Well,
it was fresher than that in the elevator, and reeked of
gasoline fumes, stale apple cores and motor oil, but he thought
it was wonderful.
He reached for his cell phone.
DANA SCULLY'S APARTMENT
GEORGETOWN, DC
3:15 PM
Scully was about to run for the phone when her mother motioned
for her to stop.
"Hello?"
"Margaret? Can I speak to Scully?"
Mrs. Scully smiled, and said, "You sure can, Fox." Her tense
shoulders loosened when she realized her daughter's partner was
safe.
"Mulder. I was worried about you." Tears welled up in her eyes,
yet she smiled. I heard what happened. Did they... Are you all
right?"
"No, they didn't get him. Something else got to him first, and
yes, I'm okay. I'll tell you all about it later. So, do you have
room for one more party guest?"
Tears were running down her face, "Yes. Of course I do. Get over
here right now!"
Mulder thought of his appearance. He couldn't go to her birthday
party all sweaty and scraggly. "I'd better clean up first,
Scully. It wouldn't do for the emcee to show up all grungy."
"No, no. Come as you are. I want to see you right here and now.
I thought we agreed we werent't going to... "
Mulder just smiled and let her tell him off. It felt so good to
hear her voice, all he could say was, "Happy Birthday, Scully."
"And another thing... "
Yes, his timing may have been off, but this had been the first
time he'd ever planned a party. That was something to be proud
of.
END
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