"Snapshots 11:Interlude"
By Dawson E. Rambo

Disclaimer: Fox Mulder, Dana Scully, and any other tangentially 
mentioned characters were created by Chris Carter, and remain the 
property of him, TenThirteen Productions, and Fox Television, a unit of 
20th Century Fox, Inc. All characters are used without permission, and 
no infringement is intended. Characters not previously copyrighted by 
Chris Carter, TenThirteen Productions and Fox Television remain the 
property of the author.

Classification: MSR,A
Rating: PG (Parental Guidance. Adult themes, some profanity.)

Notes : This is the continuation of my ongoing story "Snapshots." As the 
title indicates, this was originally designed to be a vignette, but 
somewhere along the line it acquired a life of its' own and has been 
perpetuating inside my computer while I sleep. Darn fornits. (If you 
don't know what a fornit is, ask me...and if you do know, you also know 
what the heck I'm talking about.)

The Story Thus Far : Mulder and Scully have declared their love for each 
other, have made the beast with two backs, had serious snuggle bunnies a 
few time, and shared more than one incredible kiss. And now Skinner has 
become aware of what has transpired between Our Favorite Duo, and.....

Well, read on! :) :)

Archivists: Go for it. Keep my name and email address on it, and 
distribute away.
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	Assistant Director Walker Skinner picked the single sheet of paper 
up from his desk and swiveled in his chair, wanting to read it more 
closely by the sunlight streaming in through his office window. The 
paper wasn't classified or top secret, but it did hold some very 
interesting possibilities. For days, the Mulder and Scully Situation, as 
he had come to think of it, had been on his mind. It had been on his 
mind for a much longer span of time than a few days, but after the 
confrontation with Mulder at Quantico, he had been unable to think of 
anything else.
	Skinner swiveled back and picked up the phone. He dialed the ten 
digits from memory, without having to look. The phone rang several 
times, and a soft female voice answered.
	"Hello?"
	"It's me," Skinner said.
	"Hello." There was a pause. "It's been a long time."
	Skinner smiled. "I'm sorry. I've been busy."
	"I know," the voice said, and Skinner had no doubt that she did 
know. "What can I do for you?"
	"I need your advice. It's about Mulder and Scully."
	The woman's throaty chuckle made Skinner shiver. "I thought it 
might. How much do you know?"
	"How much do <you> know," Skinner asked.
	The voice remained silent, and Skinner knew he would never get an 
answer from her on that topic. How they knew, what resources they had, 
how they kept watch over these two very special Special Agents was 
beyond Skinner's Need to Know.
	"I know he's in love with her, and I suspect the opposite is 
true."
	"So far, so good," she said.
	"I'm not sure if they've..." Skinner found himself unable to 
complete the sentence. What phrase to use? What ubiquitous metaphor 
would fit? Slept together? Made love? Humped?
	"Become intimate?" she supplied.
	"Yes," Skinner affirmed. "That."
	Again, she paused, and was silent so long that Skinner wondered if 
she would answer it all, and if she did, would her answer be of any 
substance or just another meaningless declaration.
	"I think you can safely assume that situation has developed," she 
finally said.
	Skinner nodded. He'd thought so.
	"I think they need some time off. Some time away from the office, 
from the X-Files."
	Again, she laughed. "Walter, we couldn't agree more. I assume you 
got our mail? About the conference?"
	Skinner leaned back, removing his glasses and placing them gently 
on his blotter. "You sent that? I was holding it in my hand when you 
called."
	"We thought you might get some...interesting ideas if you saw it."
	"Do we have funding?"
	She sighed. "Always, Walter. When Mulder's financial reports 
arrive, forward them to us. We will make the necessary arrangements, 
through the usual offshore double-blind account. The computer 
transaction will be classified and encrypted, Five Zero level. Even the 
comptroller himself won't be able to trace the transaction."
	"I can't send them off together, you know. I still don't 
officially know about this."
	Her voice grew an edge of steel. "Listen carefully, my dear. You 
will never, repeat, never become `officially' aware of that particular 
situation, even if they decide to copulate on your desk in the middle of 
the goddamned day. They are too important to us. To our mission. You 
remember our mission, don't you?"
	"Yes," Skinner said quietly. "I remember."
	Seemingly satisfied, she continued. "Very well. Give Special Agent 
Scully the week off with pay to attend the conference. I guarantee you 
that Agent Mulder will ask for matching vacation time before the end of 
business."
	"And if not?" Skinner wanted to know.
	"If it comes to that, we'll make other arrangements. Have a good 
day, Walter," she said, and disconnected.
	Skinner slowly replaced the phone, his lips pressed into a tight, 
thin line. This was going to take an acting performance of Oscar caliber 
to pull off. Not to mention the fact that this was the first time he was 
going to have to deal with Agent Scully since he had become 
`unofficially' aware of her intimate involvement with Mulder. 
	Skinner took a deep breath and buzzed his administrative 
assistant. Years ago, for the political correctness movement had taken 
off, she had simply been his secretary.
	"Abby, please ask Special Agent Scully to come up."


	Dana was working on her laptop, charting peptide reactions against 
antibodies when her phone rang. Absently, she answered, "Scully," her 
attention still focused on the screen.
	"This is AD Skinner's office. The Assistant Director requests your 
presence in his office forthwith."
	"Mulder, too, Abby?"
	"No, Dana. Just you."
	Uh-oh, Dana thought, hanging up. 

	"You wanted to see me, sir?" Skinner looked up from his work and 
nodded, motioning with his hand for Scully to come in. "Have a seat, 
Agent Scully."
	Dana breathed an inward sigh of relief. If it had been an ass-
chewing that had been on Skinner's mind, he would have asked her to 
stand before his desk like a wayward child. She sat down quickly, 
crossing her legs and clasping her hands together in her lap.
	Skinner signed the report he was looking at, closed the folder and 
tossed it on a stack of similar folders in his OUT box. "I wanted to 
talk to you about something not specifically related to the X-Files," 
Skinner started, and Dana's defenses went up again. He suckered me, she 
thought. Got me to relax by not bracing me like a Marine recruit. It's 
not going to work.
	"Oh? And what is that, sir?"
	"Scully...you gave a talk earlier this week on DNA typing in non-
secreting suspects. How did that go?"
	Confused, Dana said, "Fine. Why? Did someone mention something to 
you?"
	"No, Scully. I'll be honest with you. Doctor Forester at Quantico 
has been saying some very nice things about you, about your future here 
at the FBI." Again, Dana's defenses went up. A transfer, she thought. 
Over my dead body.
	"Sir, I'm quite happy in my present assignment," she started, 
hoping to defuse the situation.
	"Scully, please...let me finish. No one wants to transfer or 
promote you right now. I'm not trying to split you and Mulder up." On 
the contrary, Skinner thought. Quite the opposite. "What I am talking 
about, though, is a scientific conference being given in San Diego 
starting this Friday and lasting for about a week. Doctor Forester and I 
both think that it would be beneficial for you to attend."
	Dana chewed the inside of her cheek, considering. Mulder's 
institutional paranoia had long ago burrowed into her soul, and as she 
considered her answer, all the different possible motivations for 
Skinner offering her this assignment screamed through her mind.
	He wants to split me and Mulder up for a few days, see if our 
hormones cool off.
	He wants me out of town because he's going to depose Mulder from 
the X-Files.
	He's genuinely concerned about me and my career.
	The last seemed the most obvious, the most plausible, the easiest 
to believe. Which is why she was suspicious. But then another idea 
slowly twisted its way across her mind, and she had to fight not to 
smile.
	"Of course, sir. When do I leave?"	
	Skinner sat back, flatly regarding her. "Don't you even want to 
know what the conference is about, Scully?"
	She faltered. "Of course, sir."
	Skinner held the sheet up. "National Association of Criminal 
Forensic Pathologists Conference on Advances in Blood & Body Fluids 
Analysis with Emphasis on Computer Modeling of Peptide-Based DNA 
Sequencing." He snorted. "That's a mouthful."
	"Makes us sound more important, sir. More intelligent." Scully'd 
been trying to a little levity, and considering the expression on 
Skinner's face, she had succeeded.
	"Agent Scully...you don't need any help sounding intelligent." He 
glanced back down at the piles of paperwork still awaiting his 
attention. Scully took the obvious dismissal signal and stood, moving 
towards the door. "Abby will make all the travel arrangements," he said.
	"Thank you, sir," Dana replied, closing the door softly behind 
her.


	Mulder was standing at the filing cabinets, thumbing through the 
contents when Scully re-entered the office. He watched, wide-eyed, as 
she locked the door and walked over to him. Sliding her arms around his 
waist, she turned him to face her, her eyes bright.
	"Scully?" he asked.
	"Shut up and kiss me, Mulder." A slow, gentle smile spread across 
his face. He reached a hand up and cupped her chin. "As lovely as that 
idea sounds, Scully...this is not the time or the place."
	Scully withdrew from the embrace. "You're right." She returned and 
unlocked the door. 
	Mulder returned to his desk and sat. "What brought this on, 
Scully?"
	Scully glanced at her watch. "It's just after nine...about...oh, 
two-thirty or so, I want you to go up to Skinner's office and request 
time off. Starting Thursday...through next Sunday." Mulder's confusion 
showed on his face. "The Bureau has seen fit to send me to a pathology 
conference in San Diego, and you're going to come with me."
	Mulder shifted in his chair. "Won't it look...obvious?"
	Scully nodded, acknowledging his point. "Yes...but, as you said, 
Skinner knows. I have a sneaking suspicion that the conference is a 
cover for something...else."
	"Like what?"
	"I think Skinner may be giving us a...."
	"Honeymoon?" Mulder suggested. The word caused a blush to creep up 
Scully's face, coloring her cheeks. "Maybe," she said softly. Teasing, 
she added, "Remember, Mulder. Vegas is only a six hour drive from San 
Diego. Five...if you have a badge. And we do."
	"Talk about a gamble," Mulder said quietly. Scully laughed. "No, 
marriage is out of the question." Mulder's expression didn't fall...it 
collapsed.
	So, Dana thought, he's been thinking about it, too. 
	"For now," she added hastily. Mulder brightened at hearing that. 
Suddenly, she had to know. Walking over to his side of the desk, Scully 
leaned down, locks of her coppery hair teasing his face. "You think 
about it?"
	"About Vegas? All the time."
	"Mulder, I'm serious."
	He sighed. "Yeah...I think about it. Geez, Scully...what kind of a 
question is that?" He stood, taking her into his arms, his hand 
returning to her cheek. "I'm involved with the most beautiful... 
intelligent, sexy woman I have ever known in my entire life, a woman who 
has always been there for me, who has gone through more doors with me 
than I can count, a woman who I am desperately head-over- heels in love 
with. Of <course> I've thought about it." He paused. "Haven't you?"
	"Off and on," Scully whispered. Liar, she thought. You've been 
hardly able to think of anything else for months. You get a couple of 
glasses of wine into you, and you start acting like a high school girl 
again. Remember that time you stood in front of the mirror in the 
bathroom brushing your teeth? You pulled the brush out, your mouth 
covered in green goo, looked straight into the mirror and said it. "Mrs. 
Fox Mulder." And then you shivered, laughed, and finished brushing your 
teeth. Remember your dreams that night, Dana? Remember?
	"Liar," Mulder confirmed, lowering his mouth slowly. Dana gasped 
and moaned softly as his mouth captured hers, and she descended into the 
kiss, forgetting where they were.
	It was only the latest Federal budget problems that had saved 
them. The knob on the office door had been screwed up for as long as 
either one of them could remember. They used the door every day, so they 
knew how to pull and twist at the same time to make sure the bolt 
disengaged correctly. If someone else trying to come in didn't know how 
to work the knob, it usually took them a few seconds to get it right.
	The knob rattled, once, twice, and Scully heard the second one. 
She pushed herself out of the kiss and away from Mulder, looking 
guiltily away, tucking a wayward strand of hair behind her ear as 
Pendrell walked into the office.
	"Hey guys!" he said, holding a lab report. "Those figures you 
wanted-"
	He saw the way they were standing. He saw the flush in Dana's 
cheeks. He saw the way Mulder was studiously avoiding looking at her, at 
him, at anything, and somewhere, deep inside his brain, Special Agent 
Pendrell made the connection. 
	"Uh...anyway," he said, recovering nicely. "Here are your labs." 
Neither partner moved to take them. "Uh...I'll just leave them here on 
your desk, Agent Scully."
	Scully just nodded, unable to meet his eyes.
	Pendrell turned to leave, and then couldn't resist. He had to know 
for sure. He turned back to Mulder and said, "You missed some," 
motioning with his hand towards Mulder's mouth. Guiltily, Mulder's hand 
flew to his mouth, and then he saw the look on Pendrell's face.
	Pendrell sighed, and turned to leave.
	"Wait!" Scully said. Gone were thoughts of San Diego, of a Bureau-
sponsored road-trip with Mulder, with thoughts of sneaking away to Vegas 
to secretly marry him. Gone were thoughts of the bubble baths, the 
champagne, the room service. All that remained were thoughts of 
immediate damage control.
	Pendrell's shoulders hitched and he turned back to face the 
partners. "What? You're going to say that it's not what it looks like, 
right? You were inspecting Mulder's mouth for the presence of aliens, 
right? Maybe you wanted to check his teeth to see if he was turning into 
a Vampire. Is that it, Scully? It's all a misunderstanding?"
	Crap, Dana thought. I completely forgot he's got a crush on me.
	"Danny," she said softly.
	"<Agent> Pendrell," he corrected coldly.
	"Danny," Scully said again, just as softly, taking a steps towards 
him. "We're all adults here. Let's discuss this."
	"What's to discuss? It's obvious you're fucking your partner."
	"Hey!" Mulder said, starting to come out from behind his desk. 
Scully held up a hand, stopping him. "Wait," she said.
	Pendrell glared at Mulder for a long moment, and then his 
expression softened. "I'm sorry, Mulder. Fox. I don't know...what got 
into me."
	All three of them knew what had gotten into Pendrell, but no one 
said anything. 
	"I guess it's no secret that...I...would have liked to...."
	"Danny," Scully said again, trying to avert disaster. "I'm 
sorry..."
	"I know," he said, quietly. "It's just....well, do you remember 
when I asked you out last year?"
	Dana nodded, not sure where he was going. She replayed the 
conversation in her mind, and suddenly understood what was about to 
happen next. She felt terrible, and wished there was something she could 
say to alleviate Danny's pain. "If you hadn't given me the reason that 
you didn't want to date people from work...this would all be a lot 
easier."
	Mulder looked away, suddenly ashamed. God, if he hadn't stood up 
and kissed her, none of this would have happened!
	The trio was silent for a few long, painful moments.
	"You were in love with him, even then, weren't you?" Pendrell 
asked. Scully glanced at Mulder. Mulder just shrugged. "Might as well, 
Scully...he's got us either way."
	Scully turned to face Danny Pendrell again and spoke slowly, 
trying to choose her words carefully. "There has always been...feelings 
between Mulder and myself, Danny. Surely you could see that he and I 
weren't...normal partners."
	Danny thought about it nodded his agreement. "I just thought that 
since...well, dating someone who isn't your partner is a lot less 
horrible...politically, anyway."
	"That's true," Dana agreed. "But...if it's any comfort...we 
haven't been...together for very long."
	"It's not," Danny said.
	Dana tried to contain her annoyance. If he'd knocked, like a 
normal person, none of this would have happened. "Danny, we need to know 
if you're going to do anything about this. We need to take steps to 
protect ourselves." She looked hopefully at him.
	Danny's gaze went back and forth between them once...twice. "No," 
he finally said. "It's none of my business, really. What you two do on 
your own time is your own business. Just try and keep it out of the 
office, OK?"
	He means don't wave it in his face, Dana thought, but said 
nothing.
	"Fine," she agreed.
	"Mulder, would you excuse us for a moment, please?" Danny asked. 
Mulder glanced at Dana and she nodded. He left quickly, closing the door 
behind him.
	Dana looked expectantly at Danny.
	"You love him? You really love him?" Dana walked over to where he 
was standing and took his hands in hers. "Danny...I always knew you 
liked me. But...I was Mulder's partner for almost a year before you 
graduated the Academy. I had fallen in love with him back then...neither 
of us just had the...guts to tell each other."
	"I'm sorry," she added softly.
	He just nodded, and turned to go. He stopped and turned back, 
leaned forward and planted a gently, dry kiss on Dana's forehead. "Just 
be happy, Dana, OK? That's all I ever wanted for you." He opened the 
door and stepped into the hall, shutting it behind him. Mulder was in 
the hallway, leaning against the wall, his hands jammed in his pockets.
	Pendrell stopped in front of him. "Take care of her," he said.
	Mulder looked him straight in the eyes. "You know I will." After a 
moment, he added, "Danny... I hope we can still be friends."
	Danny let out a deep breath. "I hope so, Mulder." Pendrell trudged 
down the hallway, his face forlorn, his body slumped. Mulder watched him 
go, wondering what it was like to be in love with Dana Scully and know 
that she didn't even feel near the same way about you.
	Well, pal, his mind said, you felt that way for about four years. 
You know that feeling well. You know exactly what he's going through 
right now, and damned if you don't feel just a little bit smug and 
superior, having won the fair Scully's heart for your very own.
	Feeling slightly ashamed, Mulder walked back into the office, 
shutting the door behind him.
	Scully was standing with her arms crossed. "God, that was close!" 
she said.
	"Do you think he'll say anything?"
	Scully considered this frightening thought for a moment. "No, I 
think he'll keep his mouth shut. It'd be hard for him to explain certain 
things, and I don't think he wants to add any more embarrassment to an 
already painful situation."
	"I think you're right," he agreed, moving back to his desk. "But, 
just to be safe, you realize that I'm never going to be able to kiss 
you, hold you, or make love to you ever again as long as we live."
	Scully laughed. "As if you had the self-control, Mulder."
	"Scully, I'm hurt! What makes you think I can't resist 
your...considerable charms?"
	She sat down at her desk and turned to face him. "Remember our 
little talk about fantasies last night, Mulder?"
	He nodded. "Well...if you come to San Diego with me, not only will 
I wear nothing but one of your shirts for you again...or any other 
fantasy you ask me to fulfill-" she saw his expression suddenly turn 
lecherous, and she held up a hand, "-- within reason, Mulder. Within 
reason. No livestock or furry woodland creatures..." Mulder's face 
playfully fell, and she laughed. "Not only will I do that again for 
you...but I'll let you in on some of...my fantasies."
	Mulder reached for his phone with blinding speed. "Why isn't the 
damn Bureau Travel Office on my speed dial?" he demanded.
	As he waited on hold to book the flight, Dana's laughter filled 
the office.


	Bzzzzzzzz! Skinner looked at his watch. It was two-thirty. He owed 
himself five mental bucks. He'd bet that Mulder would have been in his 
office at least two hours ago. "Yes?" he asked.
	"Agent Mulder to-"
	"Send him in," Skinner said, reaching into his IN basket for the 
completed time-off request form. It was all filled out; all that was 
required was Mulder's signature. Skinner had already signed it himself.
	Mulder walked in with an expression that Skinner had never seen on 
his face before. It took a moment for him to place the exact....
	Respect. It was the first time Skinner had ever seen respect on 
Mulder's face.
	"Yes, Agent Mulder?" he asked.
	"Sir, I was wondering-" Mulder said as he walked in front of 
Skinner's desk.
	Skinner resisted smiling. He slid the form across the top of his 
desk, practically into Mulder's lap. "Sign it, get out, and remember to 
be discreet."
	Mulder looked at the form in his hand and tried unsuccessfully to 
hide his shock.
	"Sir- what?"
	Skinner leaned back and spoke softly. Mulder hadn't shut the door, 
and Abby, aside from being a wonderful admin assistant, was also one of 
the chief contributors to the Bureau's rumor mill, a vital function in 
any organization, a function Skinner had used to his advantage more than 
once.
	"Mulder...when two people first become...close, they need time 
together to acclimate to each other, to get to know each other on that 
new...level. I want you two to be as effective as you have been over the 
last four years, and I can't do that if you're mooning over each other 
like a pair of love-struck teenagers. Take the time...on me and the 
Bureau, for a job well done. Go to San Diego, get some sun while 
Scully's at the conferences, and well...do what has to be done so that 
when you two get back, you can return to the X-files as the partners 
that I know and trust."
	Skinner paused. "Clear?"
	"As crystal," Mulder said, quickly leaning down and signing the 
form. He handed it back to Skinner, and was just about out of the office 
when Skinner called to stop him.
	"Mulder?"
	"Sir?"
	"Have fun." His tone switched to something approaching a warning. 
"But don't get the idea that this will be anything approaching a regular 
occurrence, and don't embarrass me, no matter what happens. Is that 
clear?"
	"Yes, sir."
	"Good. Get out of here."
	Skinner waited a good five minutes before dialing the number. "He 
took the bait," he said when the voice answered.
	"We knew he would. Too bad you're not a betting man, Walter. I 
would have liked winning that particular wager."
	"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Skinner said, eager to end the 
conversation.
	"Walter...you sound rushed. When are you coming to visit me 
again?"
	<When Hell freezes over,> Skinner thought. "I can't break away 
right now, I'm sorry."
	"Hmmm...that's too bad." Another pregnant pause. 
	"I should be going," Skinner said.
	"You do that, Walter. We'll take it over from here." She heard 
something in Skinner's silence. "Don't worry yourself so much, Walter. 
You're going to give yourself an ulcer. Remember...we never take direct 
action. We just...observe."
	Skinner said nothing, and after a moment, the woman said, "Good-
bye," and disconnected the call.
	Well, Mulder, Skinner thought, I hope you remember to pack your 
bathing trunks. A sudden mental image of Dana Scully in a green bikini 
flashed across Skinner's face and he blanched, wondering where that 
thought had come from.
	Forcing his concentration back to the task at hand, Skinner turned 
his attention to the monthly manning statistics, preparing once again to 
fight the battle of the belt-tightening, being asked to do too much with 
too little by a government that was led by people that didn't understand 
anything about reality, who existed in a world of sound bites and 
opinion polls. A very large part of him envied Mulder. Mulder was still 
out in the field, investigating exciting, unusual cases, with a partner 
that would die for him, a woman that one of the most incredible that 
Skinner had ever known.
	Lucky bastard, he thought.
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END PART 11

Ok, ok...some people might take offense at the concept of Skinner 
playing matchmaker, but I think I handled the concept of the mysterious 
woman on the telephone actually pulling the strings from behind the 
scenes pretty well. To me, that removes responsibility from Skinner, and 
thus saves his characterization. To those of who you think that the 
woman on the other end of the phone is Marita Covarrubias (Mulder's UN 
contact,) it's not. :) She is not part of the Conspiracy, or the Shadow 
Government, and she isn't the resultant love child of Frohicke and the 
Queen of Reticula, either. You'll just have to wait to see who she is. 
:)

I would like some feedback on how I handled the Pendrell situation. I 
read in another FanFic story that his first name was Danny, and so I 
usurped that for my own use. I forgot which story I got it from, but no 
infringement was inten- yadda, yadda, yadda.