"Forbidden Fruit" by Anne Vermillion, re: Exit to Eden challenge

[Ann Vermillion]

Hi folks!

okay, let's get the disclaimers out of the way. Mulder and Scully
aren't mine, they belong to the exalted Chris Carter, Fox, and 1013
productions. I'm just borrowing them for a while.

and on to the story....

When I saw the challenge about Exit to Eden, I was intrigued, and a bit
jealous because I hadn't thought of it myself! I bought the audio novel
when I saw GA's name, and the story was just incredible. I'm halfway
through reading it now, and I can still hear her voice throughout! I
heartily recommend it; it's two hours of Scully talking dirty, with an
excellent story wrapped around it!

Rating: pg-13 for mild sexual connotations and a few naughty words.

MSR ahead! anti-shippers, this ain't your cuppa tea! Plenty of UST!

Spoilers: none

Summary: Mulder stumbles on to Scully's voice on an audio book, and
when he teases her about it later, they both realize they have feelings
to discuss.

Enjoy, and please, let me know what you think! I crave
feedback...e-mail me at pup...@ix.netcom.com.
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Forbidden Fruit

by Anne Vermillion

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Mulder blinked sleepily at the television, only half watching the
writhing bodies on the screen as they grunted and sweated their way to
the inevitable climax. He thumbed the "stop" button, halting the
progress with a sigh. After nearly three years of celibacy, the novelty
of porn had long since worn thin, useful only in desperation. He turned
off the television and tossed the remote on the battered coffee table,
and his gaze alighted on two cassettes gleaming newly in the dim
lamplight. He scooped them up, squinting at the title for the second
time that day.
*Exit to Eden*. He forgot where he had heard it, but someone had said
that this book was very steamy, and that the movie really didn't do it
justice. He hadn't seen the movie, but he had bought the tapes in a fit
of curiosity. After some searching, he found his walkman, smiling as he
thought of how many ransackings the device had survived. He eased his
sweat pants off and slid between the sheets of his bed, stretching
languidly before slipping the first tape into the player. He placed the
featherweight headphones on his ears and pushed "play"; maybe it would
help him sleep. After listening to the intro he was already nearly
drowsing.

*"My name is Lisa."*

Mulder's eyes snapped open, all thoughts of sleep banished by the silky
sensuality of her voice. He had heard this voice before, but never in
the breathy, intimate whisper that spoke to him now. The voice he knew
spoke with conviction, had berated him more than once, and contradicted
him more times than he could count. He fumbled for the cassette case
and scrutinized the credits as the voice continued to arouse him.

*"I wear leather a great deal, high boots always..."*

*Exit to Eden*
*read by Dana Scully*

*"And I wear lace, especially if I can find the kind I like..."*

She continued to speak, her voice soft, smooth, washing over him like a
warm summer rain.

*"At the Club they call me The Perfectionist."*

He laid the cassette case down and leaned back, closing his eyes as
her voice relaxed him into a story of searching, uncertainty, sex,
finding, love, sex....he pictured her, her blue eyes half-closed, her
lips brushing against his ear as she whispered to him. He imagined
himself as Elliott Slater, searching for his truth, his desires, finding
them unexpectedly in Lisa. He smiled; in a bizarre way, Elliott's
search was similar to his own; searching for sanity and closure in an
insane and endless world. Scully had brought his search into
perspective, gave him focus instead of the aimless wandering he'd been
doing before. He wondered if she could ever fall for him as Lisa had
for Elliott, as he had for Scully...her voice dropped half an octave
into a sultry growl, and his hand slipped under to sheets to cup his
groin.
It was a long time before Mulder was able to sleep.

She was already at her desk when he stumbled into work the next day,
her glasses perched on the end of her nose as she went over a file.
*She has no idea how sexy she looks in those*, he thought as he slid
into his desk with a groan. "Morning, Scully."
"Morning, Mulder." She glanced up, and her lips curled into a soft
smile at his rumpled clothes and tousled hair. "Late night?" He
nodded, taking a sip of his coffee with a grimace. Her smile reached
her eyes. "What was her name?"
Mulder shot a quick look at his partner in drowsy surprise; usually he
was the one who threw the innuendos at her. He smiled at her banter;
two could play at that game. "Lisa."
Her eyebrows shot up into her hair, and he saw several emotions
telegraph across her face...surprise, embarrassment, and...something
else. He went on, continuing the game. "A friend of mine introduced me
to her. She runs a resort in the islands somewhere, and she was only
home for a little while." He yawned hugely. "I must have listened to
her all night." He watched her face turn first pink, then red as her
smile faded. "Anyway, it was a very late night."
He expected her to change the subject. What he didn't expect was her
standing up, mumbling something about, "Needing some air," and walking
out, grabbing her coat on the way. He watched her go, mentally
reviewing what he had said. She was used to his kidding after so long;
what had set her off? Like a sledgehammer, his sleep-fogged brain
finally kicked in, and he had a name for the emotion he had seen on her
face.
Hurt. Anger. Jealousy?
Oh, shit.

Dana Scully bit back angry tears as she walked out of the building,
heading for a nearby cafe. Several emotions battled within her, and as
she walked she tried to sort them out.
*I can't believe he'd...*
*He'd what? He'd actually seen another woman? Why should that make
you so mad?*
*Because he's supposed to...shit, he's supposed to what? Spend every
waking moment waiting for me to call? God, that sounds so high
school.* The door jingled as she walked into the cafe. She took a
corner table and ordered a hazelnut creme coffee.
*You know, you could always tell him how you feel.*
*Out of the question. We're partners, friends. We could never be--*
*What makes you so sure, Doctor Scully? How do you know he's not
thinking the same thing about you?*
*Why should he? Since we've been partners, I've done nothing but
contradict him and argue until we're both blue in the face*
*You've also pulled him out of the jaws of death more than once, and
he's done the same for you.*
*We're partners. And friends. Both would do that for each other.*
*Ah, but would they do it with such feeling?*
The coffee scalded her tongue. *Enough. I'm happy enough being his
partner and friend. I shouldn't be angry at the thought of him with
somebody else if I haven't told him...*
"Excuse me." Scully looked up to see the waitress put something on the
table. "This arrived for you a minute ago."
"Thanks." She watched the waitress for a moment before looking down at
what she'd left.
She cocked her head to the side at the three objects on the table. A
single rose. An envelope. Two cassettes. She looked around for the
possible source of this gift. Seeing no one, she slipped a finger under
the flap of the envelope and pulled the slip of paper from within.

Dana,

I'd like you to meet Lisa.

Apologies,

Mulder

She frowned in confusion, re-reading the short note. She picked up one
of the cassettes and scanned for the label.

*Exit to Eden*
*Read by Dana Scully*

Her hand flew to her mouth and she felt the heat rise in her face. *Oh
my god.*
The jingle of the door made her glance up; Mulder walked in and sat
down across from her, laying another rose on the table. She smiled
gently; this rose had a white handkerchief tied to it like a flag.
"Truce?" he said softly.
She couldn't meet his eyes. "Mulder, I...I'm sorry I reacted the way I
did." Her stomach was in knots. "It was inappropriate, and
unprofessional."
"Scully, you don't have to apologize. If anyone was unprofessional and
inappropriate, it was me." She heard him snort. "As if that was a
change."
"Mulder..." She looked up, and suddenly found that she couldn't look
away. She saw the emotions churning behind those hazel
eyes...contrition, compassion...and something else. Was it...she dared
not even think it lest it not be true, but she smiled all the same. His
eyes softened at her smile; he understood. She picked up the other
cassette, and her smile turned rueful. "Where did you find these?"
"A friend of mine told me the book was good, so I picked it up." He
chuckled. "Imagine my surprise."
*Oh, I bet I could*
"What did you think?" She raised an eyebrow as he opened his mouth.
"Of the book, Mulder."
"I liked it." He picked up the rose/flag, twisting it between his
fingers. "Elliott's search was very symbolic to me; it represents a lot
the searching we as humans do, trying to find our identities, and how
what we think we want is not necessarily what we'll find."
"Interesting; I never thought of it that way. I did that when I was in
college; it paid well, and it was a chance to...I don't know, become
someone else for a while." She pondered for a moment. "I guess I had
my own searching to do at the time." She looked down at her coffee, now
gone cold, and shook herself out of her musings. "We should get back to
work." Mulder stood as she signaled the waitress and paid for her
coffee. The walk back to the office was in comfortable silence, each
with their minds on their respective searches.
Scully put the roses in an iced tea bottle filled from the water
fountain and put her purse in the bottom drawer. "I have to go to the
lab for a while and start on those autopsies." She could feel Mulder's
eyes on her as she gathered up her things, knowing that he couldn't hold
back his wit for much longer. Now that the tension had been resolved,
it couldn't be long now...
"Hey Scully, will you call me up and read to me tonight? Now that I've
met Lisa, I don't know how long I can go without her."
Without missing a beat, she walked up to him, leaning over to whisper
in his ear, invading his space as he had done so many times before. "Be
careful what you wish for, Elliott." She hadn't lost her sultry voice,
her "phone sex" voice, someone had once told her. She drew back and
gave him a catlike smile, wishing she had a camera to capture the
expression on his face.
She held back her laughter until she was in the elevator.
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Well, that's about it! Please let me know what you think; feedback
keeps me going. I hoped you liked it!

the truth is out there,

AnneV
pup...@ix.netcom.com