Shorts

Not So Lonely (The X-Files) part 1

Requested by Trust_No_One_But_Me

Mulder pov

Mulder sat in the fluorescent light of his dingy basement office, thumbing through all of the recently closed cases. He sorted them all alphabetically, shoving them into the drawer labeled "X-Files". He left only one file out: the current case he would be briefing his partner on later.

He could hear the wind howling outside, and was for once glad to be cooped up in his warm basement office. Even if it did get rather boring, on days like today. When there were no extravagant cases to solve, no traveling the globe in search of the truth; it began to feel like a regular office job.

There was a knock on his door, three light raps. "Come in," he called, not bothering to look up from the lone remaining file his desk.

His partner, Dana Scully, trudged into the the room, a heavy briefcase in tow. She appeared slightly disgruntled; a few strands of her short titian hair were in wild disarray, and her FBI badge was on a slight angle. She must have just come in from outside, he presumed.

"Why, Scully, we've been working together for five years now. You should know there's no need to knock," Mulder quipped as his petite partner seated herself across from him, frantically attempting to fix her hair.

"Jesus, that wind out there is insane today," she muttered, ignoring his previous statement as she continued to fumble with her hair.

Mulder stifled a laugh. "Your hair's fine." Then his eyes dropped to her briefcase on the floor beside her, resting beside a small paper bag. "What's in the briefcase?"

"Autopsy results I have to deliver to Agent Rhinehardt," Scully said with a sigh, before reaching down into the paper bag. Mukder watched as she carfully grabbed something out of it, but was not prepared when she threw it directly towards him.

Mulder barely caught the object. It was one of those heart-shaped chocolate boxes. "What's this for?" he inquired.

Scully smirked. "Happy Valentine's day, Mulder," she said, finally drawing her eyes up to meet Mulder's. Then, she immediately changed the subject. "So, what's on tab for today?"

Crap, it's Valentine's Day? Mulder thought, horribly embarrassed. I'll go out and get her sonething over lunch. Hoping to dispel the awkwardness, he spread his fingers over the yellow file on his desk, pushing it towards his partner. She picked it up and began reading as he spoke.

"Tanner Smith and Brooke McMan, both age seventeen. What appears to be a rape and murder. Late Saturday night, Tanner raped Brooke and then murdered her with a kitchen knife, stabbing her twice in the side. Or at least, that's what the toxicology report states. Although no such knife was found, and the stab wounds were circular shaped as opposed to the typical 'kinfe slice'," he stated.

Scully glanced up from the report. "And you think this is an x-file?" she inquired, raising her eyebrows.

Mulder folded his hands on his desk. "I think it's unusual enough for our type of investigation."

Scully examined the photographs of the crime scene for a moment longer before dropping them harshly on the desk. "Mulder, that girl could have been stabbed with anything circular shaped. A broken table leg, chair leg, even a spoon if her murderer thrust it hard enough," Scully protested, viewing the snapshots of Brooke McMan's body. "I see nothing paranormal or unexplained about this case, Mulder. Actually, I think it belongs in the violent crimes division."

Mulder pursed his lips, feeling rather defeated. He said nothing for a moment, twiddling his thumbs innocently. But he was just so bored, he needed this case. "But, Scully, it's right-"