*NEW* NC-17 Little Red Corvette 2/2
Vicki Sapers
Little Red Corvette (aka The Real Us)
by Vicki Sapers
DISCLAIMER: Mulder and Scully belong to Chris Carter, 1013
Productions, and/or Fox Studios. No infringement is
intended, and believe me, I'm not making any money
off this.
CATEGORY: S, R
RATING: NC-17.
SPOILERS: None
WARNINGS: Lots of MSR, so if you don't like that
stuff, turn back now!
SUMMARY: Mulder and Scully take some time off in sunny California
just to enjoy each other, but end up not being able to
deny who, and what, they really are.
NOTES: Time-wise this follows my first story, "Out of the
Cold". You don't really have to read it first for this
story to make sense, but you might want to check it out
anyway. If you don't read it, all you really need to
know is that Mulder and Scully are nowů.together. You
know, really together. The kind of together they will
never be on the show, thanks to CC.
REQUEST: I love any and all comments and suggestions for
improvement, so PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE let me know what
you think. Reply to roc...@gte.net
**********
Part 2 of 2
The next day Scully really did feel like Cinderella at the ball. She and
Mulder walked hand in hand through the parks of Carmel, eating cotton
candy and watching the local artists work. The day was clear and sunny,
just chilly enough that she wore a favorite sweatshirt and he donned his
favorite black leather jacket. The pungent ocean smell was perfect for
clearing cobwebs from tired minds.
Scully wanted to get an oil painting, preferably a seascape. He pointed
out oils of coastal sunsets, watercolor marina views, pencil sketches of
gulls over the rocky cliffs, even a charcoal of a family of sea lions
sunning themselves on a pier. None were exactly what she was looking
for.
Mulder finally flopped down on a bench between the latest cluster of
disapproved artists and a playground. A balding man in a bright yellow
jacket strolled along the path in front of them, taking pictures of the
beach and the park. His hands twitched, fiddling with the camera
settings after every few exposures.
"Okay, Scully, enough with the art already. We've been walking for
hours. Why do you want a painting?"
She sat down next to him and elbowed him in the ribs. "I told you. For
my bedroom."
On the far end of the playground, a group of boys argued about the score
in a pickup soccer match. Back by the trees at the inland edge of the
park, a group of girls cackled out a jump rope song as a blond-haired
angel in a pink jumpsuit hopped up with every whump of the rope on the
ground. Her pigtails bounced over her ears, falling to slap her
shoulders with each landing.
Mulder raised his eyebrows at her. "And why this sudden passion to have
a seascape in your bedroom?"
"Cinderella's ball is almost over, Mulder. Tomorrow we go back to being
our other selves. When we're there in my room, I want to look up and
remember us like this."
"Scully, in the bedroom is the only place in Washington where we are
like this." He twined his fingers in her silky hair and kissed her
deeply.
Breaking the kiss for a breath, Scully considered his words then looked
at him with a depraved smile. "Then maybe I'll hang it in our office."
Mulder groaned. "As if it's not already hard enough for me to keep my
mind on work."
She laughed and he wrapped her in a bear hug. Staring over Mulder's
shoulder, she saw the girl in the pink jumpsuit skip out of the cocoon
of twirling rope and two others run to take her place. Pink Jumpsuit
wandered toward the edge of the wood, collecting dandelions. Scully's
brow creased when the man in the yellow jacket snapped a few pictures of
the girl bent over, then moved off the path into the grassy area between
the walkway and the trees.
"Mulder," Scully said, pushing him away from her.
He lifted his head and gazed at he somber expression. She nodded toward
the scene unfolding across the park. Her hands, still on his shoulders,
felt his muscles bunch and she saw his eyes narrow.
They watched Yellow Jacket saunter closer to the trees and the lone girl
in the Pink Jumpsuit, frequently checking over his shoulder. Careful to
maintain the air of two lovers with eyes only for each other, Mulder
reached around Scully, feeling her waistline under the soft sweatshirt
she wore.
"You carrying your weapon?"
"Yes."
He nodded in relief as his hand found the cold leather holster clipped
on her hip. Pink Jumpsuit hopped closer to the trees, blowing on a
dandelion that had already turned to fluff and giggling was the white
puffs floated on the air like soap bubbles. Yellow jacket's shutter
whined again.
"Head down that way, Scully," Mulder said, pointing down the path toward
the girls with the jump rope. "And keep her in sight, not close enough
to spook him, though. I'll head the other way and come up behind him in
the trees."
In a last attempt at maintaining their cover, Scully stroked Mulder's
jaw. In her mind, she swore she heard a clock tolling midnight. With a
sigh, she stood and started down the path.
Passing the jump-ropers, she glanced over her shoulder silently wishing
Pink Jumpsuit away from the trees. Yellow jacket slid out of sight
behind a large cedar. Taking the opportunity to get closer without being
seen, Scully darted off the path. A public restroom allowed Scully to
get close to the girl's position without being in the Yellow Jacket's
line of sight.
About 100 yards down, Mulder dipped into the tree line. Tipping her head
around the corner of the restroom, Scully looked for Pink Jumpsuit. The
girl ambled along, humming a nursery rhyme, scanning the ground for more
flowers. A flash of yellow from behind the rough bark of a tall pine.
Pinky was on the brink of disaster. Scully desperately looked for Mulder
in the thick growth, but saw nothing.
Everything happened at once. Pinky lifted her head as a soft but deep
voice seduced her closer to the tree line. Scully jumped from her hiding
place and raced the final yards as a hairy forearm reached out and a
large hand wrapped itself around a fragile wrist. Lunging forward,
Scully wrapped her arms around the girl in a flying tackle, wrenching
her from yellow jacket's grasp.
The would-be abductor let out a plaintive cry. For a moment, the
insanity shining in his eyes said he just might be bold enough to fight
for his prize. Scully cradled the frantic child as yellow-jacket took a
step forward, camera swinging wildly from his neck. In a flash of blue,
Mulder slammed into him from behind.
The two men rolled on the ground, struggling for dominance. Yellow
jacket wrapped burly arms around her partner's waist and twisted him
toward the ground until Mulder raised up and slammed an elbow into the
man's face, spraying blood across them both. Using his momentary
advantage, her partner pinned the other man to the ground face down and
twisted the man's arm behind his back until all the fight was gone.
The child's sobs and the fight scene drew the attention of passers-by.
While Mulder sat straddling the suspect, fighting to catch his breath,
she flipped out her FBI ID and waved it at the growing crowd.
"FBI, everything is under control. Someone please get to a phone and
call the police." Scully watched as Mulder cuffed and patted down the
suspect. Her partner seemed okay, so she stayed with the child, but kept
her eyes open, ready to back him up if necessary. She shuddered when
Mulder removed a large knife from a sheath at the man's ankle.
From the path, two uniformed officers jogged toward the agents. From the
grassy park, a boy careened toward them on an out-of-control bicycle,
his face screwed up in fury, screaming 'Jennifer'. One of the cops took
control of the suspect while Mulder went to intercept the crazed bicycle
rider.
After a brief struggle during which Mulder attempted to restrain the
boy's flailing arms and legs, the boy quieted and Mulder led him over to
where Scully related her story to the other cop.
"This is Michael, Jennifer's brother," Mulder said. He let the boy go
and the brother and sister hugged. Fresh tears streaked down the girl's
face.
"Michael, are your Mom and Dad here in the park?" the officer taking
notes asked.
"N-no," the boy stuttered, still holding Pink Jumpsuit-Jennifer.
"They're visiting a friend." He stumbled over his words as he raised his
head to the adults towering over him. "I'm supp-supposed to be watching
her. I-I'm supposed to take care of her." He ground a fist in his watery
eyes and pressed his lips shut as Mulder put a hand on his shoulder and
squatted down to look at the boy on eye level.
The tortured gaze in Mulder's eyes at the significance of the boy's
words wasn't lost on Scully.
"It's all right, Michael. Jennifer's okay.".
"But I wasn't watching her. I wanted to play soccer with the guys." More
police cars rolled up, and an officer led the handcuffed suspect away,
stuffing him in the back of a black-and-white "That manů," Michael said,
his lips quivering.
"I know," Mulder said, "but it's okay. She's all right." With a choked
sob the boy fell into Mulder's arms and wrapped shaking arms around his
neck. The muscle in Mulder's jaw tightened as he held the boy's rattling
frame. With a deep breath, Mulder turned his eyes to the police officer.
"Do you have a cell phone?" he asked.
"In the car," the cop said, nodding.
"Have you contacted the parents yet?"
The cop shook his head.
Looking frightened, Michael raised his head, but didn't release Mulder's
neck. "Are you gonna call my parents."
Scully thought Mulder had the most compassionate eyes in the world. With
a soft voice, he smoothed the boy's hair and said, "No, I think you
should do that."
Michael nodded solemnly and straightened up to follow the officer and
Jennifer back to the police car.
Between the two agents standing side by side, silence stretched like an
endless chasm. Finally, Scully touched Mulder's bloody sleeve. "Any of
that yours?" she asked.
He shook his head without looking at her, his eyes still fixed on
Michael. Still a thousand miles away, Scully thought, with a different
boy once responsible for his sister.
One of the cops trod back toward Mulder and Scully.
"We're gonna take the kids home," he said. "Parents are on their way."
The officer shuffled his rubber-soled black shoes. "One more thing," he
said. "For the report, what happened to the guys face? I mean not that
I'd blame you if you just busted him one."
His moment of reflection broken, Mulder glared at the cop. "He had his
hand around my back. He went for my gun."
"Did he get it?"
"No."
"You hadn't drawn it?"
"No."
"Why not?"
Mulder turned the intensity on high and the officer took a step back.
"We're on a playground for Christ's sake," Mulder growled.
The cop pointed his pen at the purple ridge showing just above the
collar of Mulder's drooping T-shirt. "He do that?"
Scully's heart leapt and her eyes flicked to her partner's, but he
managed not to flinch at the question.
"No," he answered.
"Too bad, we could'a got him on assault on a federal officer."
Scully knew Mulder was about to explode at the ignoramus. She hoped it
would hold, they didn't need to draw any more of this cop's attention to
why off-duty Washington FBI partners were on the beach in Carmel, one of
them sporting the most livid love-bite she had ever seen.
"You'll have to make do with kidnapping, I guess," he ground out
sarcastically and stomped off toward the car.
"Okay, fine," the officer said, hurrying to catch up. "You're gonna need
to come down to the office and make a statement."
"We'll be there," Scully said. As they left, he called from behind them,
"Me, I'da drawn on him. Won't catch me jumping an unknown without a
weapon." Scully thought she heard Mulder's teeth grinding, but he kept
walking.
After the last report was filed and badge and telephone numbers were
exchanged, Mulder and Scully walked out of the Carmel police station
into the California sun. The red Corvette waited, sparkling in the sun,
looking less magical than it had before.
"We still have time to check out a few galleries for that painting,
Scully," Mulder said as he folded his long legs into the sports car.
For the first time all week, a smile came easily to Scully's face. "No,
I don't need it any more."
He put his arm over her shoulder without starting the car and looked at
her with those melted chocolate eyes that said "I'm sorry," so clearly.
Instead of launching her standard lecture on him wallowing in unfounded
guilt, she laughed and rested her hand on his thigh. "You know, Mulder.
I thought I needed a keepsake to remember us like we were last night and
this morning. But Michael and Jennifer and that cop who would have
pulled his gun in a playground full of kids showed me the truth." He
raised his eyebrows, encouraging her to continue. "It was fun, but
that's not the real us. Out in that park, that was the real us. And
we're not so bad. In fact, we're pretty damn good."
She pulled her lip between her teeth as Mulder put the car in gear.
"We're going to have to be to explain to Skinner why we were still in
California together two days after we finished our case when that Carmel
PD report hits his desk," Scully said.
Mulder grinned. "We'll just tell him the truth, Scully: that you went to
Carmel to look at paintings and I shacked up with a gorgeous woman for
the weekend." He angled the rearview mirror down to check out the purple
bruise on his neck, and his grin became a leer. "We've even got proof,"
he said.
They watched the sun set from the Point Pinos lighthouse promontory.
Scully sat between Mulder's legs, leaning her back into his chest with
his arms wrapped around her torso. The love between them was as
impossible as the vivid color painted across the horizon. Impossible,
but real. Not constantly on display, but infinite in its beauty in those
special moments when it did appear.
End of Part 2 of 2
The End