TITLE: Falling Snow, Chapter 3/10
AUTHOR: Snark
E-MAIL: snark_911@yahoo.com
CLASSIFICATION: SA (Story, Angst) plus some UST
KEYWORDS: NONE
RATING: PG-13 
SPOILERS: This story is set before the Two Fathers/
One Son episodes. While there are no true pre-requisites 
for this story, allusions are made to at least the 
following episodes: Sleepless, Red Museum, Detour, 
Triangle, Shapes, Alpha, Bad Blood, Clyde Bruckman's 
Final Repose, and Tithonus. 
DISTRIBUTION: OK to forward to ATXC newsgroup and to
Gossamer. Please ask permission before archiving anywhere
else, please. Or at least let me know that you have 
archived it, so that I can keep track of where it's listed.
DISCLAIMER: The characters of The X-Files universe belong
to Chris Carter, the FOX network and 1013 Productions.
No infringement is intended and no money is being made by
the existence of this story. (Unfortunately.) However, 
the characters of Khi Shaolin and Mobaje are my own creation. 
These characters are not for use by any other fanfic author 
without my express, written consent.
FEEDBACK: Mail comments to snark_911@yahoo.com.
AUTHOR HOMEPAGE: http://www.smartania.com/snark/index.html
SUMMARY: Mulder, Scully and a mysterious woman from Mulder's
past crash in the snowy landscape of the Colorado winter. 










------------
Chapter 3
------------


Mulder had picked Scully up at her room just before 7:30. She 
had been glad to see he'd dressed casually as well, his black jeans 
topped by an intense forest green sweater that set off his eyes 
nicely. She'd teased him that he was supposed to bring flowers 
when picking up a woman for dinner.

"Sorry, my lady," he had said, giving her a slight bow from the 
waist as he effected a 'mea culpa' motion with his hand to his 
chest. "My dating skills are a little rusty lately."

As they had walked down the hall, Mulder had offered her his 
arm, as if they were dressed to the nines and attending a formal 
affair instead of just a casual dinner out. As Scully had threaded 
her hand into the crook of his arm, she'd smiled to herself. Rusty 
perhaps, but still alive and well.

Now, as they sat relaxing at the table after dinner, Scully 
watched in amused silence as Mulder continued the date 
pretense, ordering a sort of ice cream and cherries dessert for the 
two of them to share. They had split a pizza between them for 
dinner already, so why not a dessert too, he had calmly 
explained. 

Khi had opted out of the pizza-sharing idea, going instead with a 
half-pound burger piled with every topping known to man, and a 
few that probably weren't. The restaurant was more of a bar and 
grill, really, but the food had been excellent and the staff both 
friendly and efficient.

They chatted amiably throughout dinner, drifting from topic to 
topic like a butterfly floating on a gentle breeze. Scully feared 
she would be a third wheel at the college reunion, but both 
Mulder and Khi had nicely kept the conversation out of the 'old 
times' category. 

"To friendships. Both old and new," Khi said, raising her bottle 
of St. Paulie Girl into the air. Mulder and Scully followed suit, 
murmuring the toast as their wine glasses clinked together with 
the bottle. While Scully still didn't quite trust Khi, she found her 
to be an intelligent, even witty, dinner companion. The evening 
had been quite relaxing so far, a fact that came as a pleasant 
surprise.

"So Khi, Mulder tells me that you might be... let's see, how did 
he put it?" Scully pretended to think for a moment, rolling her 
eyes up towards the overhead lights and tapping a forefinger 
against her lips. "Planning something, I believe was the exact 
phrase," she finished with an amused glance over at Mulder.

"Zippy! What have you been telling this woman about me?" Khi 
reacted with feigned shock. "Planning something, why I never..."

She ranted and raved, each phrase more indignant and outrageous 
than the last, until Mulder, and finally even Scully, were 
laughing outright. Khi eventually ran out of words to say, ending 
with a spluttering string of nonsense as she finally dissolved into 
laughter herself.

As they slowly gained control of themselves again, Mulder 
looked around for the waiter, wanting to order another round of 
drinks. Showing again the efficiency of the staff, the waiter was 
already on his way over with another carafe of wine for Mulder 
and Scully and a fresh beer for Khi.

"But now that you mention it..." Khi intoned with a devilish look 
in her eye. She slowly raised a single eyebrow as she said it, 
sending them all laughing again as the waiter cleared away the 
last of the empty dishes and glasses.

"So what's it going to be this time, Khi... rafting? Bungee-
jumping? Deep-sea diving?" Mulder asked, pausing to take a sip 
of the wine. "The Mall of America the day before Christmas?" he 
finished with a what-did-I-tell-you glance at Scully. She gave a 
slight shake of her head, beginning to smile as she reached for 
her glass.

Khi laughed. "Now, *there's* something that would truly be life-
threatening. I'd never inflict that on you, plus it's still a ways off. 
No, I was thinking more like... parachuting."

The glass never reached Scully's lips. She set it down sharply, 
thankful Mulder and Khi were too involved to notice the loud 
clanking noise it made as it hit the table.

"In the middle of the winter?! Thanks, but I'll just take the mall, 
thank you very much. Parachuting into the snow, Jes-" Mulder 
finished in a mumble, shaking his head as he laughed. 

Mulder didn't notice that Scully had turned as white as the snow 
falling outside the bar's windows.

     *    *    *    *    *    *

"Hey now, parachuting is *best* in the winter, believe me. All 
that nice, fluffy snow to break your fall--it's like dropping down 
onto a bed of feathers," Khi said, pantomiming gentle falling 
motions as she spoke. "I've got a friend who has a plane, we can 
have him fly us down tomorrow morning, do the jump and be 
back here in time for tea. We just need to-" Khi launched into 
full persuasion mode, outlining every detail in her most 
convincing tone. 

Scully heard none of it. It took all of her strength and 
concentration to keep her body from betraying her fear, to keep 
her hands and face steady as she tried to catch her breath. 

After a few moments, when she felt she could stand without 
promptly passing out, she managed a small "Excuse me, guys, 
restroom break," as she got up and headed away from the table. 
Khi and Mulder each gave a sort of half-wave of 
acknowledgement, each too engrossed in the conversation to 
really even look up as she left.

If they had, they might have been concerned when she didn't 
head for the restroom, making her way instead towards the heavy 
wooden doors of the front entrance. Scully murmured a comment 
to the bouncer as she headed outside, showing him her 
establishment-ID bracelet. Noticing her paleness even in the 
rather dim light of the bar's interior, the bouncer asked her if she 
was all right as he opened the door for her.

"Yes, fine, thank you," she said in a voice barely above a 
whisper. "I just need a quick breath of fresh air, that's all." Scully 
waved a nonchalant hand in the air as she ducked through the 
doorway.

She immediately noticed that the temperature had risen by 
several degrees--it was markedly warmer than when they'd first 
entered, although still brisk. The snow, which had been closer to 
small pellets when they arrived, had switched over to large, 
beautiful flakes. Each made their way down out of the sky, 
silently covering everything in a gentle blanket of whiteness. 

Scully walked a short distance down the block, the night air 
providing the clarity she was looking for. She breathed deeply 
several times in succession, doing a few quick arm rotations to 
get her blood pumping again. Her breath hung in the air before 
her, slowly swirling away as the seconds passed.

"What the hell is wrong with me," she mumbled to herself. 
"You're a doctor, a scientist, not the Stupendous Yappi." 

She knew there was no logical reason to be alarmed, that indeed 
there was little proof of clairvoyant ability. But no matter what 
she told herself, no matter how hard she tried to dismiss her fear, 
she couldn't shake the feeling she was truly perceiving the future. 
That events would unfold exactly as she kept envisioning. 

That Mulder would die in her arms, his life bleeding onto the 
snow beneath them. 

     *    *    *    *    *    *

After a long look up at the night sky, and knowing she couldn't 
be gone more than five minutes without Mulder getting worried, 
Scully turned and headed back into the bar. The bouncer flashed 
her a grin and told her it looked like the walk did her some good. 
She gave a small smile in return as she moved past him, 
threading her way through the small crowd waiting to get seated. 
It had to be approaching 10:00pm, but the dining area was still 
nearly full, forcing people to wait for available tables.

Mulder was just getting up from the table, laughing at something 
Khi had just said, when he caught sight of Scully. He stepped to 
her side as she came closer, reaching out to touch her shoulder 
very briefly. 

Well-schooled in Mulder101, Scully could see the look of 
concern veiled beneath the smile--a look quiet and hidden, but 
there nonetheless. Scully was always amazed at the depth of 
feeling Mulder could convey with a seemingly simple look or 
motion.

"You OK, Scully? We were about to send out the reconnaissance 
teams for you," Mulder asked, the offhand comment masking the 
once-over glance he gave her, searching for some outward sign 
of trouble. She couldn't tell if he'd seen her come in from outside.

"I'm fine, Mulder, I just stepped outside for a second," she said, 
feeling it was safer to bend the truth slightly than risk an outright 
lie. "I was feeling a little warm in here and just wanted to cool 
down a little bit." 

Playing every inch the gentleman this evening, Mulder pulled her 
chair out for her, graciously seating her before returning to his 
own chair. As she watched him settle back into his seat, she 
realized with something of a start that she wasn't being 
completely fair--Mulder was often gentlemanly, holding doors 
and pulling out chairs for her, guiding her through doorways with 
a gentle hand. It was just that those things normally happened in 
the course of their daily work, not during a casual evening 
together.

Scully refused to use the word 'date,' even in the safety of her 
own thoughts.

"Well, as crazy as it sounds, Khi's got me damn close to sold on 
this parachuting idea, Scully," Mulder said, pouring himself 
another glass of wine. He laughed as Khi did a little dance-of-joy 
at the table, complete with a Homer-ish 'Whoo Hoo.'

"Sounds pretty painless, really, and might actually be kind of 
fun," he continued. 

Khi chimed in with the reassurance that nothing could be 
simpler--"A troop of girl scouts laden with boxes of Thin Mints 
could do this jump, it's so easy," she said, figuring that a 
challenge-to-the-manhood couldn't hurt her cause. Scully was not 
surprised to see that it worked, watching as Mulder bristled 
slightly even as he tried to toss it off with a "Yeah, whatever, 
shut up" response. 

"Mulder, forget for a moment that a) you've never parajumped 
before, b) you're here on business and c) it's the dead of winter 
and no more than 30 degrees outside," Scully began, smiling in 
spite of herself as she saw Khi and Mulder exchange a told-you-
so look between them. "You're in the middle of a senior bureau 
conference.  If you were to miss the final session on Sunday, you 
could seriously compromise your career at the FBI. You could be 
reprimanded, you could be censured, you could be fired 
outright..."

Scully caught the gleam in Mulder's eye as he listened to her.

"...you could just go ahead and book that plane for three seats," 
she finished with a resigned sigh. 

"Two for the price of one!" Khi laughed. "I didn't really think I 
could even convince Zippy to do it, and here I got a second FBI 
agent thrown in as well. My skills of persuasion must be sharper 
than I thought." She started outlining the where and when details 
of the next day's jump.

Scully reached out and poured herself another wine, leaning back 
in her chair and thinking. Wondering who Khi Shaolin really was 
and if she were really just the adventurous friend she presented 
herself to be. Wondering if her own decision to go with them 
would seal Mulder's fate, condemning him to a death she had 
seen all too clearly. 

"So, does that seem reasonable to you?" Khi asked as she and 
Mulder turned towards Scully. Breaking out of her mental 
reverie, Scully took a sip of her wine before answering. The few 
seconds gave her time to replay their conversation in her head. 

Even though her attention had been completely focused on her 
own thoughts, some part of her mind had still tuned into their 
planning session and was now able to pick out the pertinent 
details at high speed. It was a skill she had developed over the 
years without even really trying--she knew it was the only thing 
that had gotten her through more than a few 7:00am bureau 
meetings.

"Um, yeah, that should work all right," she said. "Hotel lobby at 
9:00am, out to the airfield by 11:00, in the air and en route by 
noon, jump around 1:00, picked up and back here by late 
afternoon," she summarized quickly.

Khi was impressed with Scully's succinct recitation, teasing 
Mulder he'd better watch out, having a partner with a memory 
like that. "You won't be getting away with anything, Zippy," Khi 
said with a chuckle.

"I wouldn't even dream of trying," Mulder said, giving Scully a 
cryptic grin. The waiter arrived with their dessert, cutting off 
Scully's question before she could ask it.

As the waiter began setting their dessert on the table, Scully 
realized why it had taken fifteen minutes to bring it out. It was, 
quite simply, a work of art. Perfectly sculpted mounds of pure 
white ice cream lined the inside of an ornate crystal goblet. Dark, 
sumptuous cherries ringed the upper edge of the ice cream, 
complementing the small tower of them that had been placed in 
the center.

Another dish contained still more cherries, simmering and 
bubbling in a thickened sauce. Placing the dish near the edge of 
the table, the waiter took a small bottle and poured an amber 
liquid over the simmering mixture. And then, with a flourish 
worthy of the theater, the waiter set the entire dish on fire.

Smiling, Scully looked across the table at Mulder, noticing the 
perfect reflection created by his glasses. The visual effect was 
stunning--it was as if he were a creation of fire himself. As if his 
very soul had been set ablaze and unleashed for her to see. She 
was mesmerized for a moment, unable to break the hypnotic 
effect. 

Finally, it was the realization she was gazing at him like a 
schoolgirl that gave her the strength to drop her eyes down to the 
table. But it had not been quick enough, she knew. She knew 
Mulder had experienced the same thing in those few moments. 

That he, too, had looked deep inside her, right to the very center 
of her soul, and had seen the same fire. 

     *    *    *    *    *    *

The rest of the evening at the bar and grill passed quickly. Khi 
finally broke down as she watched Mulder and Scully enjoy their 
jubilee dessert, quickly ordering a large hot fudge sundae for 
herself. There wasn't much conversation at Table 14-A after
that--just murmuring variations of "I can't believe how good this 
is" from all of them.

Finishing off her sundae, savoring the last of the dark chocolate, 
Khi put her spoon down with a satisfied sigh. "You know, when 
you eat something like that, you can totally see how the phrase 
'Chocolate is better than sex' got started," she said with a laugh, a 
sentiment echoed by Mulder and Scully. Seeing they were nearly 
finished as well, Khi excused herself, wanting to hit the restroom 
quick before leaving.

The waiter made one last stop, asking if anyone needed anything 
else before he totaled their tab. Scully, laughing, told him no, 
they had consumed far more than they needed to already. The 
waiter stepped over to the bar for a moment, tapping things into 
the keypad at a computerized billing station. He returned a 
moment later with the bill, proffering it to Mulder first.

Mulder just laughed. "No, I believe that should be given to the 
lovely redhead over there, my friend," he said, giving Scully an 
evil grin. The waiter laughed as well, turning and handing it to 
her with a flourish. Throwing a mock glare at Mulder as she put 
the bill down next to her, Scully took the opportunity to thank the 
waiter for the excellent service, wanting him to extend their 
gratitude to the cooking staff as well for the delicious dinner and 
dessert. 

The waiter seemed genuinely pleased at the compliment, 
graciously giving her a slight bow and telling them if they ever 
came again, to make sure they asked for Josh. Scully told him to 
hang on just a second, pulling her small wallet out of her jacket 
and extracting the desired credit card. "You take Visa, right?" 
Mulder asked him, tossing Scully a teasing look. He expertly 
dodged the cloth napkin that came sailing his way, laughing as he 
retrieved it from the floor and set it on the edge of the table.

The waiter quickly settled the bill, giving Scully her receipt on a 
small tray filled with brightly wrapped mints. "Enjoy the rest of 
your dessert and your evening, sir, ma'am," he said as he left. 
 
Mulder tipped the crystal goblet towards him, intending to scoop 
up his next bite, and saw there was only a single cherry left. With 
the barest hint of a grin, he tipped it up onto his spoon, making 
sure he also got the last of the deliciously thick sauce, too. 

After a moment's pause, he held the spoon across the table for 
Scully, offering her the last taste. She reached out to take the 
spoon from him, but he moved it out of her grasp. When she put 
her hand back down, he held the spoon out again. She quirked an 
eyebrow at him, a look he returned with a quick flicking up and 
down of his own brow.

Scully gave him a small eye-roll and sigh, before finally giving 
in and leaning forward to mouth the cherry off the spoon. She 
didn't quite get all of it, though--a  bit of the dark sauce trickled 
its way down her chin. Reaching for her napkin, she quickly 
remembered that she'd fired it at Mulder for his earlier comment. 
She reached up to try and stop the flow with her hand as she 
stretched for another napkin from the center of the table.

Before she could reach one, though, Mulder leaned over and 
wiped the offending sauce off with a gentle finger. He smiled 
slightly as he wiped his hand on his own napkin--"At least it 
comes off easier than the barbecue sauce did," he quipped.

It took Scully a moment to reference the comment, but when she 
did, she gave him a quick grin in acknowledgement. Scully 
settled back in her chair, relishing the wonderful flavor as she 
licked the last little bit of the sauce off her fingers. It was 
amazing, she thought, that a bar and grill in the middle of 
Colorado would serve the best dessert she'd ever tasted. "Perhaps 
Khi was right with the chocolate comment," she said.

"Yeah, except we're not eating chocolate, are we," he said with 
an unbelievably sly look and grin. As her eyes widened at his 
flirtatiousness, he stood and headed off towards the restroom 
himself, giving Khi a quick wave as he met her on her way back 
to the table. 

As Scully watched him move away, she was glad Mulder had left 
the table immediately, not giving her the chance to say her usual 
sarcastic reply.

Because this time, she didn't want to say it.

     *    *    *    *    *    *

They caught another cab back to the hotel, Khi splitting off from 
Mulder and Scully as they entered the lobby. Khi said she was 
normally one to go for midnight runs, but would settle for a light 
workout in the hotel gym this night. 

"Wouldn't want to twist my ankle in the snow and not be able to 
throw you guys out of a plane tomo-" Khi broke off, 
backtracking slightly and masking her face into a look of pure 
innocence. "I mean, not be able to guide you expertly to safety 
on your first parajumping experience," she finished sweetly.

"Yeah, whatever, shut up," Mulder said, laughing as he heard 
Scully's voice saying the same words. Grins were exchanged as 
Mulder and Scully headed for the elevators, Khi starting down 
the hallway to the gym.

"What, you don't want to take the stairs this time, Scully?" 
Mulder asked as he held the elevator doors for her.

"Don't even start with me, Mulder. I *so* had you beat--you 
should've been paying for dinner," Scully said as she pressed the 
button for the 12th floor. She couldn't resist smiling a little, 
though, when Mulder heaved an exaggerated sigh, murmuring 
"Mmm, mmm, good" as he bent down to re-tie a boot lace. 

Scully folded her arms and leaned against the wall of the elevator 
as it began its slow climb. Whether from the wine or the pleasant 
evening, she was feeling very relaxed, almost detached from 
herself. She watched as the first floor lazily drifted down beneath 
her--the Regal's main elevator was glass-walled, allowing its 
passengers to look out over the lobby and recreation area as they 
ascended.

"So why are you coming on this jump, Scully?" Mulder asked. "I 
mean, I know you don't really like Khi all that much, and you 
don't exactly seem the type to have always harbored a secret 
passion for extreme sports."

"Actually, Mulder, I've always thought that parachuting might be 
rather interesting," Scully explained, keeping her voice light and 
conversational. "Free-falling to earth, the air rushing past you, 
your body able to twist and turn without restriction... Should be 
an interesting experience."

She sure as hell knew she wasn't going to tell him the real reason. 

"Well, the only thing I know for certain about doing anything 
with Khi--it is *always* interesting," Mulder laughed, moving 
over to stand near Scully and look out over the lobby with her. 
He was so close to her, she could have sworn that she felt the 
heat radiating from him.

The elevator slowed as they reached the 9th floor, the bell 
chiming out the stop signal. As the doors opened, an elderly 
couple began to step inside. As they saw Mulder and Scully, 
though, they paused.

"We're headed down to the lobby--is this going up or down?" the 
woman asked politely. "We couldn't tell from the indicators out 
here."

"Up, ma'am, to the 12th floor," Mulder replied. "We'll be there in 
a second, then you can head back down to the lobby from there." 
He stepped forward and held out a hand, offering her some 
assistance should she need it.

"No, no, that's all right, son," the man chimed in with a smile. 
"We'll let you two finish your ride up. Just push the 9th floor 
button when you get out to send it right back to us."

"Are you sure? It's no trouble at all," Scully said, motioning for 
Mulder to hold the doors open.

"You two go on, now," the man said, waving for them to be on 
their way. "Just send it back down for us."

Mulder smiled at the couple, stepping back inside and releasing 
the doors. As they were nearly closed, the woman caught Scully's 
eye, giving her a smile and sly wink.

"Have fun," the woman called as the doors squeezed shut. 

As Scully caught Mulder's eye as she turned away from the 
doors, she asked "Now, what do you suppose she meant by that?"

"I have absolutely no idea," Mulder replied, his tone innocent. 
The wink he gave her was decidedly *not* innocent. Scully 
turned to face the glass again before she was tempted to return 
the wink.

When the doors opened on the 12th floor, Mulder held out an 
elbow for her, just as he had when they originally left for the 
evening. Scully placed her hand on his arm, reaching back at the 
last second to hit the button for the 9th floor.

As they walked along in comfortable silence, Scully tried to 
remember an evening when she'd had so much fun, when she'd 
felt so completely relaxed and at ease. Considering she couldn't 
think of anything, she concluded it had been a very long time.

"Here you are, my lady," Mulder said, stopping in front of her 
door. He'd been covering her hand with his own--with a gentle 
squeeze, he took his hand away and stepped back slightly as she 
unhooked her arm from his. 

Scully pulled out her entry keycard, working the door lock with 
the studied ease of someone who checks into more hotels in a 
year than most people do in a lifetime. Mulder started down the 
hall towards his own room, but turned back almost immediately 
as Scully called out his name.

"Mulder?" she said, stepping towards him even as he turned to 
face her. She had originally reached up a hand to touch his 
shoulder as he walked away, but he had turned too suddenly--the 
hand now rested squarely against his chest instead. They were 
mere inches away from each other, Scully looking up at Mulder 
as he tipped his head to look down at her. 

She was shocked at the depths of those hazel eyes, feeling as if 
she were looking over the edge of a bottomless abyss. She 
wondered how she had never seen it before. Or perhaps more 
accurately, why she'd never allowed herself to see it before. She 
teetered on the edge of that abyss for a few long seconds, feeling 
as though she were being drawn forward by some unseen hand. 

Mulder finally broke the moment, reaching out to brush her 
cheek with back of his fingers. Light and gentle, surely, but she 
was rocked by the nearly electric charge it sent through her.

"I had a great time, too, Scully," he said quietly. Taking her hand 
off his chest, he pressed a gentle kiss into her palm as he turned 
away again. 

Scully shook herself slightly, her mind trying to comprehend 
what had just happened, why she had done and said the things 
she had. It must be the wine, she thought firmly to herself. Had to 
be the wine.

As she stepped inside her door, she heard Mulder call out a 
"Good night, Scully" as he opened his own door. She poked her 
head back around the doorframe, laughing as she saw that he was 
doing the same thing a few doors down. 

"G'night, Mulder," she said. He grinned back at her, finally 
moving inside his room and shutting the door behind him. Scully 
did the same, leaning against the door as she closed her eyes for a 
minute. Girl, she said to herself, you need a hot bath and a good 
night's sleep.

She didn't see them at first, turning immediately from the room 
door to enter the bathroom. She began drawing a bath, glad that 
she'd remembered to pack a couple of scented bath oils. She 
paused for a few moments to make sure the water temperature 
was going to stay constant, then went out into the main room.

This time, she saw them immediately.

A dozen long-stemmed roses were lying on her bed, a flowering 
vine intricately woven around and through the stems. The 
delicate purplish-white petals of the vine's flower provided a 
stark contrast to the dark, rich red of the roses. The arrangement 
was exquisitely beautiful.

As she picked them up, she noticed a small piece of paper tucked 
inside the vine. She withdrew it carefully, unfolding it to reveal 
the strong, bold strokes of a hand-written note.

      "I know I should have had these
            for you earlier, but I thought--
                   better late than never.

                                     --Fly Boy"

How does he *do* that, she wondered--she hadn't been away 
from Mulder for more than five minutes all night. Scully shook 
her head in silence, a grin slowly spreading across her face as she 
fingered the petals of the roses. 

As she placed the arrangement on the nightstand, making sure 
not to crush any of the flowers, a thought sprang unbidden into 
her mind. One that, even a few short months ago, she would have 
pushed aside without a second's thought. But not tonight.

Tonight, she knew that one day, she would look into Mulder's 
eyes and jump willingly over the edge of the abyss.


      *** 30 *********  Section End  *********** 30 ***
 

Continued in Section Four, Chapter 4/10...

http://members.tripod.com/~koosn/falling_snow-4.txt