X-Mas Night (2/3) PG (fwd) by Melody

[Bite Me Frodo]

I DID NOT WRITE THIS - I am the administrator for the x-files-fanfic
mailing list and am posting this story for a subscriber. For information
on the mailing list, go to http://mail.utep.edu/~trevizo/x-files.

Please do not send comments for the author to me -- send them to
(har...@kans.com). You may direct requests for missing parts to me though,
but please try to find them at the archives first:

http://web.ukonline.co.uk/members/xfilesfanficarchive.d/contents.htm
http://sa.iinet.net.au/gossamer/fiction.html
http://www2.iwn.fi/x-files/
http://gossamer.simplenet.com/

__________
/ __ __ \
( (__) (__) )
--------[[[---------]]]-------------------------------------------------

**See disclaimer in part 1**

**********************************
X-Mas Night (PG)
by Melody <har...@kans.com>
Part 2/3

The lights flickered again, then went out and stayed out. Mulder
used a fireplace match from the holder on the mantle to light the lamps
Anna had ready, then asked where she wanted to work on the puzzle.
"The best light will be in front of the fire," she began. "I have a
card table we can put up..."
"Let's just sit on the floor." Mulder interrupted. "If you don't mind,
I mean. We could just pull this rug back a little and there'll be plenty of
room in front of the hearth for the puzzle."
Anna reached behind the sofa and pulled out several large pillows
that had seen better days, dropping them on the floor. While Mulder
pulled the rug back, she found a metal nail file and used it to break the
seal on the puzzle box. They made themselves comfortable, and then
dumped the puzzle pieces onto the floor between them. Mulder startled
her when he tossed the box lid -- and the picture on it -- behind the couch.
When she looked at him he grinned. "That way we can't cheat," he
explained.
They argued good-naturedly over who got the flat-sided pieces that
formed the 'frame' of the puzzle, both knowing it was the easiest part of
the puzzle to solve. Then there was a long, comfortable silence as they
both fitted a few pieces together. When Mulder reached to put a piece
into the section Anna was working on she smacked his hand and pushed
another piece toward him. "Here -- this one goes right there where your
thumb is."
"Hey, who's the expert puzzle-solver here, anyway?" he objected.
He grinned when she retorted, "I am!" From there it degenerated into
a contest of who could find the most fits, especially on the other's side
of the puzzle. They constantly found themselves reaching for the same
bits at the same time. In very short order the frame was completed and
the silences lengthened.
Mulder could have worked faster if he'd wanted. His gifted memory
gave him an unfair advantage, but he was enjoying the relaxed time with
Anna. He didn't want to cut it short.
"This is a nice house," he said idly. "How long have you lived here?"
"I grew up here," Anna said. "When my parents died a few years
ago, I moved back."
"It's pretty isolated here, isn't it? Must make for a long commute
to work."
"It would, but I work at home." Anna took advantage of his
momentary distraction to slip a piece into Mulder's side of the puzzle.
"I'm a freelance illustrator."
"Do you do children's books, things like that?" Mulder asked.
"Sometimes," Anna replied, then frowned when Mulder's fingers
beat hers to the piece she wanted. "I've done a few. But usually I do
cover art for science fiction and fantasy books---they're more fun. I
get to let my imagination go."
Mulder's attention was caught. "You draw aliens for a living?"
Anna grinned at the incredulous look on his face. "Aliens, and
dragons, and centaurs, to name a few. What, you don't believe me?"
He had the oddest smile on his face... "Want to see some of my work?"
"I'd love to."
Mulder got up and helped Anna to her feet. She picked up one
of the oil lamps and crossed the room to a painting on the wall, Mulder
following with the other lamp.
"This was the first book cover I was ever commissioned to do.
Mom had it framed and hung it in here, even though it clashes with the
rest of the room." She held the lamp up to illuminate a scene from a
fantasy, a centaur with a sword battling a dragon. The colors were
vivid and varied, the dragon itself multicolored and iridescent, and the
trees and grass were of colors not normal to earth. Mulder found
himself grinning at the scene on canvas. "It was the author's first book
and it didn't sell very well, but he and the publisher both liked my work.
Once my foot was in the door, so to speak, I was able to get more
commissions. I've been able to freelance for nearly seven years now."
"I'll bet it's great to be your own boss," Mulder murmured, still
grinning, "but who do you yell at when things go wrong?"
Anna laughed. "Well, it does have it's downside! Sometimes it
would really be nice to have someone to talk to while I'm working."
"Where do you work? Do you have a studio here?"
"Funny you should ask....!" Anna led the way down the dark hall
to a door at the end. Instead of a room, as Mulder expected, it opened
onto a steep stairway. A cold draft drifted down from above. "This
house has a big attic, but when I was a kid it was only used for junk.
My sister and I played up here on rainy days. When I moved back I
needed a place to work, so I cleaned it out and had a few skylights put
in. It's a great place to paint."
The stairwell was narrow, and halfway up it turned back on itself
to come up into the attic. Stepping up behind Anna, Mulder looked
around. Even in the dark the spacious room seemed clean and airy.
Large, snow-covered skylights were spaced along the slanted ceiling
between conventional lighting fixtures. The lamps cast flickering light
over an easel holding a large canvas, a small table covered with paints
and jars of brushes, and a desk almost as completely covered as Mulder's
own. A big slant-top drafting table sat further back. Paintings, finished
and unfinished, were stacked along the wall on both ends of the attic,
and more were hanging on the walls.
Anna held her lamp higher and led the way to the drafting table.
"These are for a children's book. I don't do many of these anymore. The
painting downstairs...? That author's daughter wrote this. It's a re-telling
of an ancient Irish folk tale, complete with leprechauns and fairies." She
smiled at the tall agent as he bent to look at the drawings. "I couldn't
pass it up, it was right up my alley!"
Mulder was surprised at the way the drawings portrayed leprechauns.
"She seems to be pretty accurate. Not many people realize leprechauns
weren't nice characters."
Anna looked at him in surprise. "How did you know?" she asked.
"I have an eidetic memory. I read a lot, and my memory just -- sort
of files it away. It comes in handy sometimes."
"I bet." she grinned. "Now me, I have an awful memory. I know
there are at least fifty things -- erasers, brushes, drawings-- in this room
that I've 'put away' and never found again." She waved a hand and
bumped a can full of colored pencils, sending them bouncing across the
floor. Cringing, she added, "I also put things aside and forget to move
them back!"
Mulder bent to help pick up the scattered pencils but Anna waved
him away. "Go ahead and look around if you want, it's too cold to stay
up here very long. I'll get most of these and pick up the rest later." He
hesitated, and she made another shooing gesture.
Standing up and stepping carefully, Mulder made his way over to
the wall where several finished canvases were hanging. He had to grin
at a couple---Anna really had a wild imagination! Others were of
'traditional' alien forms. One painting he recognized from a book he'd
bought to read during a long airport layover last year. As he moved on
around the room he found another group of fantasy scenes. One was
clearly about some sort of spell-weaving magician. Another seemed to
be a war between humans and humanoid cat-people. Further down he
found more 'alien' paintings, some that raised the hair on the back of his
neck...aliens with human captives, a few of which seemed eerily familiar.
"Anna?" he called across the room. "Do you believe in the existence
of extra-terrestrial life?"
"Of course I do. Ow!" Mulder heard the faint thud and turned to see
her straightening from under the table, rubbing the back of her head. "It
would be pretty arrogant to think that among the millions of stars and all
their planets that ours is the only one hosting life. Even intelligent life.
Don't you think?" She picked up her lamp and crossed the room to where
Mulder waited by the stairs.
"I've seen too many unexplainable things not to believe in the
possibility," he said as they started down.
"Ooh, that's right, you said your department investigated UFO
sightings. Have you ever seen a UFO?"
They'd reached the hall again. Mulder frowned slightly, not quite
sure if Anna was asking seriously or if she was being sarcastic. "You
could say that," he said slowly, thinking of the ship he'd seen cruising over
the abandoned mine where the mysterious files had been stored. "I've seen
things flying that defied gravity and made no noise. That changed
directions at impossible angles without slowing...." Anna stopped in front
of him so suddenly he nearly ran into her, and he had use his other hand
to steady the teetering lamp chimney. The glass was uncomfortably hot,
and he absently stuck his scorched fingers in his mouth.
"Are you serious?" Anna was asking as she turned to face him.
"You've really seen a UFO?"
Mulder pulled his hand away from his mouth, but Anna didn't give
him a chance to answer. Instead, she grabbed his elbow and hurried him
back into the living room. "This I've got to hear about---you can tell me
about it, can't you? They're not classified or anything?"
"Not as far as I know. Usually I get accused of seeing things. Not
many people believe me when I tell them what I saw."
"Your partner believes you, though, doesn't she?"
<How do I explain this?> he wondered. "Scully believes I saw
*something*.... She's seen some of these things, too. She just thinks
there has to be a more rational explanation for them than alien spacecraft."
<Or aliens. Or ghosts, or mutants.... > Anna was looking at him too
closely and he mentally changed gears, launching into retelling some of
the odd, unexplainable things he'd seen over the years.
Anna listened with interest as he spoke, but part of her mind was
still on his earlier expression. It hurts him, she realized, that even his
partner didn't always believe.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

They settled back onto the floor pillows and absently resumed
working on the puzzle as they talked. They took turns telling work
stories, Anna's having to do with mundane problems--- temperamental
authors and impossible deadlines, shipping mix-ups and workroom
disasters. Mulder was making her laugh with a story about a town
going hysterical en masse over an apparent invasion of killer cockroaches.
Anna was almost positive he was exaggerating, but he swore it was true...
She was sure she had him when he got to the part where a building full
of animal dung blew up, raining crap down on everything and everyone
nearby---including Mulder and his partner.
"You made that up!" she laughingly accused, turning towards him.
The laughter trailed away when she found herself much closer to him
than she'd thought.
Mulder had turned, too, and they were face to face, scant inches
apart. His grin faded and he leaned closer, touching his lips to hers.
Almost as soon as the kiss began Mulder pulled back, looking... startled?
"I'm sorry," he began, but she interrupted.
"Don't be," she said with a shy smile. "I'm not."
A smile ghosted across his face, then he sobered. "Anna, I don't
want to start something with you I can't finish. With my work..." She
stopped him, her fingertips cool against his lips.
"I understand. You aren't even sure where you'll be from one day
to the next." She wondered briefly if he had any idea how much need
showed in his shifting hazel eyes right now. "But you're here now...
We can have tonight, can't we?"
"It's been a long time." He spoke so softly Anna barely heard him,
and his faint smile was twisted. "I'm not sure I remember how."
"Then maybe I can help." The smile she gave him was light, playful.
"Um, it's not against the law to seduce an FBI Agent, is it?"
"It depends," Mulder answered with a slow smile of his own,
responding to Anna's attempt to lighten the mood. "Are you currently
under investigation by the FBI?"
Anna leaned back against her pillow and smoothed her dress,
drawing the agent's attention to the thrust of her breasts, the curve of
her waist. "You mean a criminal investigation?" She watched in
fascination as his eyes darkened, traveling her length with a heat she
could almost feel. After pretending to consider his question, she
answered, "No, not that I'm aware of."
"Then I guess there would be no law against it. Is there a particular
reason why you ask?" His voice was changing, growing slightly husky.
"Well, I was thinking about doing a little investigating of my own,"
she murmured confidingly, leaning in a little closer. Her fingers moved
to toy with the buttons on his shirt. "I've got a few ideas and I'd like to
see where they might lead...." One button opened, then another, and
Anna slipped her fingers beneath the fabric to touch his chest. An odd
sound escaped Mulder's throat, and she smiled.
"I see," Mulder said. "You've handled investigations before?"
"Well, no, not on my own. I could probably use a few pointers."
Another button slipped and there was room for her hand to explore the
patch of hair that ran just below Mulder's collarbone. His hand came up
to cover hers beneath his shirt, temporarily halting its wandering.
"Well, I could tell you a little about how I run my investigations,"
he murmured. "I like to start at the beginning, the top, and work my way
down. Be as thorough as possible." Releasing her hand, he reached out
and pulled the band from her hair and let it drop among the puzzle pieces.
His fingers ran across her hair, then into it, drawing her to him.
"Sometimes," he continued softly, "if you take a little extra time you may
find small clues that make a big difference later on." His voice trailed off
as he bent to explore her face with his lips, starting at her forehead,
tracing her eyebrows, seeming to linger over her eyes when he discovered
she wore no makeup to risk smudging. Down over her cheekbones,
across to detour to her ears---finding several spots that made her shiver.
Finally he arrived at her mouth and took his time there, too. He was in
no hurry, it seemed. With his hands gently framing her face, his mouth
explored hers. His lips caressed, pressed her lips into opening for him.
His teeth nipped, and her involuntary gasp let his tongue slip inside. At
first he probed, then he changed the angle of his head and his tongue
began to stroke. Anna began to burn. Both his hands were still on her
face, but her body ached for him already. She moved restlessly, and he
finally broke the kiss.
"Are you with me so far?" Mulder asked. His spoke lazily, a hint of
laughter in his words, but his voice was rough and his eyes were dark fire.
Anna nodded, finding her voice didn't work on the first try.
"Um, yes.... Start at the top, be thorough...."
"Leave no stone unturned." Mulder added, then he kissed her again,
slow and hot and deep. His hands began to move....
He had large hands, and his touch was -- not gentle, precisely, but
sure.
Anna craved more, she wanted all of him. Curling her arms around him,
she offered all that she had and let him take what he needed.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

It was noticeably cooler in the room when they stirred again. The
fire had died down and the cold outside was working its way into the
house. Reluctantly they untangled themselves and got up, pulling clothes
back on against the chill. Mulder went to the garage for wood and Anna
went to find bedding. It was already too cold in the bedrooms to sleep
comfortably, so she hauled out pillows and quilts and blankets, closing t
he doors behind her. While Mulder coaxed the fire back to life, Anna
hung old quilts on nails over the dining room and kitchen doors as she'd
seen her mother do many times. It looked a little strange, but it would
keep the living room warmer. Smiling to herself, she turned to pull the
seat cushions off the sofa-bed. Mulder noticed what she was doing and
came to unfold it for her, grinning when he saw the quilt-covered doorways.
"I take it power outages aren't real unusual out here?"
"No, we had them all the time when I was a kid. There haven't been
so many lately, but I still keep things on hand." She made quick work of t
he sheets and Mulder lent a hand with the blankets. Tossing the pillows
in the right general direction, she stepped back. "I've got the munchies---
be right back." she said, and disappeared into the kitchen.
Mulder followed her to the door, but she hadn't taken a lamp and he
couldn't see in the dark room. "Is there something I can help with?" he
called into the darkness.
"Just a minute--" A match flared and Anna lit a votive candle on
the countertop. By its tiny flickering light she pulled something from a
cabinet and filled it with water at the sink. "Here, you can put this near
the fire to heat." An old-fashioned cast-iron kettle was thrust into his
hands, and he obediently went to tuck it in the coals. By the time he had
it situated, Anna was coming out of the kitchen balancing a foil-covered
tray, two coffee mugs, a box of instant hot chocolate mix, and a glass
jug of something dark red.
The box was sliding off the top of the tray when she reached the fire,
and Mulder caught it before taking the tray so she could sit down. She
paused first to loosen the cap on the glass jug and sit it to one side of the
hearth, then sat cross-legged next to him.
"Where did all this come from?" Mulder asked as she pulled the foil
off the tray. It was a big tray with divided sections, and every section
was full. There was sliced turkey, dinner rolls, and lots of 'nibble' food--
baby carrots, black olives, dark green pickles that looked homemade...
"I had an early Christmas dinner with friends. They don't like
leftovers, so everyone gets sent home with a tray for later."
"Comes in handy for midnight snacks," he said, then checked his
watch. "Oops, I guess we're a little early!" Anna laughed and snagged
his wrist to check for herself. It was 11:21.
They ate turkey on rolls and talked idly, Mulder asking about the
friends and their dinner. The awkward tension from earlier was gone,
and conversation was easy. Mulder teased Anna about not touching
the raw broccoli on the tray, then laughed when she told him - deadpan -
that she never ate anything that looked like a tree. Then Anna laughed
and beat on his back helpfully when Mulder nearly choked on his first
taste of the sweet pickles.
"Oh, I should have warned you about Brenna's pickles," she admitted
when he got his breath back. "She uses her grandmother's recipe and it
has way too many cloves in it! Are you okay?"
"I think I'll live." Mulder took an experimental breath and let it out.
"Those pickles need warning labels."
Anna leaned forward to gingerly touch the glass jug near the fire,
then let her fingers hover over the kettle. "These are pretty warm -- which
sounds better to you, hot cocoa or hot spiced wine?"
"The wine, please. I was wondering what I was smelling." He
watched as she poured the warmed wine into the mugs, the quilt she'd
had around her shoulders slipping to the floor. She handed him a mug
then wiggled around trying to get the quilt fixed without spilling her own
wine. After a moment Mulder leaned forward and took her mug, sitting
both it and his own on the hearth, then hauled Anna into his lap. He
folded the quilt around her, tucking it in at her feet, then handed her back
her wine. "Better?"
"Mmm," she murmured, curling against his chest. She could hear
his heart beat strong and steady, and the feel of his arms around her was
warming her more than the wine she sipped. A comfortable silence
enveloped them.

End part 2/3 of X-Mas Night
****************************

Melody
<har...@kans.com>

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
***He who has a cool head keeps his.***
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------