TITLE:  Love's A Beach
AUTHOR:  XSketch
SUMMARY:  It's Valentine's Day...and Mulder's ditched 
Scully again.
CATEGORY:  Vignette, casefile, MSR
RATING:  PG-13
ARCHIVE:  Two weeks exclusive to IMTP's VS11, and 
then I'd be honored for you to use it - as long as 
you keep my name attached and let me know where so I 
can visit!
FEEDBACK:  Proudly begged for at 
sketchney@ntlworld.com!
SPOILERS: Nope (I've been very good this time 
<g>)...'cept, maybe, Vickie Moseley's VS11 'Great 
Balls Of Fire'
DISCLAIMER: Oh, please!  Look, they're NOT mine - 
never were, never will be!  I'm just giving them an 
airing.  Chris Carter, 1013 and co. own them, and all 
complaints about where the show ended up going are 
encouraged to be sent to them!
AUTHOR'S NOTES:  Written for VS11's Valentine's Day 
special.  The Lithuanian and Norse myths mentioned do 
exist...Wish I could claim to have come up with 
those, but I can't. :-(  I read it and just *had* to 
make the M&S connection! 
This is for GG7 - for being the first person to prod 
me into writing!

*****************************************************
**************

LUVLITE LAKE, CONNECTICUT
FEBRUARY 13th, 2004
5:17 PM

*This* was the best time for a stroll along the 
beach.

Everyone was making their way home, the business was 
winding down and the sun was setting.  Quiet, 
tranquil, and hers for the taking whenever she wanted 
it.

Yep: the best time for sure.

Of course, why they were even open for business in 
February when it was freezing cold and the December 
snow had barely thawed still befuddled her, but it 
was her husband Olev's decision and he owned the 
place; it was best to let him just get on with it.

...If only, one day, he would make the time and get 
his head out of the books long enough to share this 
special walk with her... That didn't look set to be 
happening any time soon, though - not even with 
Valentine's Day just around the corner - so she 
stopped at the water's edge and let out a sigh in 
appreciation of the fact that she could experience 
this at all.

The moment of tranquillity quickly and unexpectedly 
changed into one of confused shock, however, as the 
clear blue lake turned a sickly shade of amber and 
the small tide dispensed two objects shaped like 
teardrops at her feet.

XxXxXxXxX

"It was her."

Fox Mulder glanced up at the tanned, Dutch-accented 
man that had just uttered the words, and then 
frowned.  

The call had come on his cellphone from the Tolland 
County sheriff at 5:12 this morning, and he had 
almost turned it down... 'Almost' being the operative 
word, of course.  Fifteen minutes later he had left 
the apartment and the peacefully slumbering Scully in 
favour of solving this as soon as possible.

"Who?  Your wife?" he queried, glancing out at the 
expanse of golden water and then back at the man.

Olev Johansen gave a scoff of laughter and shook his 
head.  "No!"  As quickly as it had departed, the 
seriousness returned to his face.  "The mermaid 
lady," he whispered for dramatic effect.

Mulder could be gullible...No, not gullible - more 
'open-minded'... about things, but even he had come 
far enough to be able to give the man a skeptical 
glance.  He was just thankful his partner wasn't here 
to see it, otherwise she'd be either checking him for 
a head injury or gloating with 'I told you this case 
was a waste of time!'

"I hear the mermaid lady's story when I small boy... 
I no believe... I still don't.  But be it her or 
something else, I need my water back fresh - I lose 
customers all time beach closed," Olev explained.

"I-I'm sure there's a perfectly reasonable 
explanation, sir," Mulder faltered, lowering his head 
to stare at the two objects in the evidence bag that 
he held.  "And I'm sure we'll be able to open the 
beach before too much business is lost."  A pause, 
and then, "But, about this mermaid: what's the 
story?"

So, he was curious!  Was that such a surprise?

"In Baltic Sea, lady fall in love with fisher-man…but 
that is pissing off Perkunas because it make the 
water impure."  Johansen paused as he noticed the 
dawning realization on the FBI agent's face.  He 
wasn't deterred from telling his story for long 
though, and after a deep breath he continued, "So 
fisher-man was killed with great bolt of lightning in 
the palace, and mermaid lady was chained to ruins.  
But it said she cry - she cry a lot for loss of 
fisher-man, and her tears colour the sea... Maybe she 
freed from palace and now she cry here...at my lake."

"Mister Johansen, you're talking about a myth 
centuries old... Believe me, given many other 
scenarios I would have every reason to think that a 
myth may be connected to the crime... I just don't 
think it's the case here."  What the hell was coming 
out of his mouth!?  Mulder quickly shut it before he 
told the man he was crazy, and then crouched down to 
collect a sample of the coloured water.

"You no think?  It may be old story, but I think it 
true...Melba agree, and she not often do that for 
things she know I learn from my papa," the tanned man 
countered, combing a shaky hand through his greasy 
hair.  "I think it very likely - especially today of 
all days."

Mulder capped the tube before shooting the man a 
questioning glance.  "Huh?"

"February 14th, of course!"

February 14th?...Febr--

Oh, crap.

Valentine's Day...

...And he had ditched Scully...

XxXxXxXxX

GEORGETOWN, WASHINGTON D.C
HALF AN HOUR EARLIER...

Dana Scully turned over and reached across the 
bed...only to find the space beside her empty.  Her 
eyes immediately flung open and looked around the 
room, but there was no sign of her partner.

Since he'd moved into her apartment three weeks ago 
she had learnt a couple extra perks and quirks about 
him that she never thought possible (after all, 
they'd always spent so much time together whilst on a 
case and in the rest of their personal time... What 
made cohabiting so different?), but nine times out of 
ten he was always there in the bed with her when she 
awoke - always ready to prove to her again just how 
much he really did love her, even though it would 
make them late for work if he did.

Today they had the day off, and she was adamant on 
the idea of making this Valentine's Day work, with 
neither of them ending up in hospital.

...Maybe he'd gone for a jog...

Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, Scully padded into 
the living room and then the kitchen.

She quickly stepped back, though, as the image of his 
running shoes next to the front door registered in 
her mind.

"Mulder?"

A search throughout the whole apartment and several 
more sharp calls of his name turned up no Mulder.  
However, another visual sweep of the living room 
revealed the folded note on the coffee table.


	'Scully,
	   Please don't load your gun yet!  I got a 
call from the sheriff in Tolland County early this 
morning about some lake changing color all of a 
sudden… It sounds fairly simple, and I know you need 
the rest so I didn't want to wake you.  I'll solve it 
and be home ASAP, unscathed - I promise.
	      Yours always, M'


The paper fell to the floor as the anger inside her 
rose.  She was going to kill him this time, for sure.  
Ditching her was one thing, but in the morning and on 
today of all days... A death sentence was definitely 
called for.

After an unsuccessful attempt at calling his number, 
she phoned the sheriff to gain all the information 
she could (wishing she could kill him as well for 
calling her partner out).

"Oh, yeah," the voice down the line apologized.  "I 
didn't think he'd mind - I've heard that that kind of 
thing is what you investigate."

"It is, Sheriff Gusmano, but we usually take 
assignments via our assistant director," Dana 
seethed, barely able to contain the murderous rage 
boiling in her veins.  Of course Mulder wouldn't 
mind!  She, on the other hand...

"All I can do is apologize, agent.  As it is I've 
been trying to contact your partner to apologise for 
wasting his time an--"

"Wasting his time?"

"Well, yeah... We found out the cause of the colour-
change in the Johansens' lake, and it ain't anything 
paranormal, I can assure you," Gusmano explained.  
"I've been trying to pass the information on to your 
partner, but he's not answering his phone.  I was 
just about to drive out there when y--"

"No, don't worry about doing that," she suddenly cut 
in - a plan forming in her mind.  This would be the 
perfect chance to punish him for ditching her!  
"Where did you say he was again?"  She could turn up 
and then watch his face as she debunked whatever 
crazy theory he had concocted with the sheriff's 
explanation.

"Luvlite Lake Beach and Boat Club."

"Thanks.  Thank you very much."

XxXxXxXxX

As Olev Johansen made his way up the decked stairs to 
look for his wife, Mulder sat down in the rental car, 
booted up his laptop and then - with a couple of 
clicks - opened the 'Myths And Legends' program 
Scully had given him two Christmases ago.

"Ah, Scully, you know what I like," he grinned (as he 
had then), typing 'Baltic Sea - Perkunus' into the 
search bar.

When the results brought back an alternate spelling 
and two listed articles, he opened the first and 
begun to read.

Needless to say, it was pretty much exactly what the 
Dutchman had described to him.

At the bottom of the page, however, was printed the 
sentence 'Recalls myth of Freya - the Norse goddess 
of Love and Fertility - who cried tears of amber into 
the sea after losing her husband, Odur'.  Immediately 
he typed that name into the program, and was reading 
the almost identical tale when the sound of 
approaching footsteps caught his attention.

"Melba is okay... She speak to you now," Johansen 
awkwardly smiled, resting a hand on the top of the 
open car door.

Mulder gave an appreciative nod and then followed the 
man up to the clubhouse.

XxXxXxXxX

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 14th, 2004
1:57 PM

Two and a half hours, three cups of coffee and one 
bathroom break later Mulder moved back out to the 
beach no nearer to solving this case than he had been 
when he'd first arrived.  Melba Johansen had seen 
nothing, the trees that surrounded the small building 
showed no signs of UFO activity, and the only theory 
he had to work with was the myth of a grieving 
mermaid goddess.

Pretty standard X-File, then...

With a defeated sigh, he glanced down at his watch.  
Two o'clock... Scully would have concocted a perfect 
torture plan for him by now - heck, she'd have come 
up with it five seconds after reading his note!  He 
couldn't really blame her - forgetting Valentine's 
Day and ditching her aside, he had then worsened the 
situation by not bothering to call her.

He reached into his jacket pocket for his phone, only 
to find it not there.

"You seem to have this habit of leaving things 
behind: Unlocked car, laptop, cellular 
phone...partner..."

Mulder looked up to see Scully standing against the 
front of his car with her arms folded across her 
chest and the stern expression on her face that could 
kill a thousand men on the spot in a heartbeat.

"Scully... Hey!"  That's it, Mulder, play it cool.  
"When did you get here?"  Approaching, he smiled - 
trying to let his happiness to see her outweigh the 
fear of what she was going to do to him. 

Dana stood still, watching his tall frame as he 
stopped directly in front of her.  She was still 
angry with him, but as she stared at his face and 
noticed the guilt it unsuccessfully tried to hide 
from her, it was a difficult internal battle to stay 
that way. 

"I think the words you're looking for are 'I'm sorry 
I ditched you yet again, Scully.  What can I do to 
make it up to you?'" came her cold response.

He grimaced.

"Mulder, one of these days you're gonna learn you 
can't chase after every little case that drops in 
your lap, and that I don't particularly like being 
left behind - without warning - on one of our rare 
days off," Scully asserted - arms unfolding and both 
hands moving to rest against her hips.

"I'm sorry, Scully.  Really, I am - I did leave you a 
note to let you know where I'd gone..." came his 
hesitant defence.  "But we could be witness to a myth 
becoming reali--"

"No, we're not, and other than coming to kick your 
ass to Kingdom Come, I'm here to let you know that 
your work here is done - there is no case."

"The water suddenly turned amber!  Of course there's 
a case, and I think it's connected to an old Norse 
tale..."

"Believe me, Mulder, there is no X-File here."  
Scully's features softened and she outstretched a 
hand to gently touch the end of his jacket sleeve.  
Sometimes she hated having to tell him that there was 
a rational explanation because of all the hard work 
he put in - no matter how big a jerk he could be.  
"Sheriff Gusmano got word of the real answer you're 
looking for and has been trying to pass it on to 
you...but guess who left their phone on silent and in 
the car?"  The all-too-familiar raised eyebrow 
appeared. 

"You have the answer?"

She smiled triumphantly as the crestfallen expression 
on his face deepened.  "Ohhh yes... But you're not 
going to like it."  The hand on his arm raised to 
rest on his shoulder and then turn him so he was 
looking out at the water.  "See that building beyond 
the trees on the other side of the lake?"  Her other 
hand outstretched to point at the dark spot on the 
horizon, and he nodded.  "It's a waste disposal 
plant."

Mulder's shoulders abruptly slumped and his head 
snapped round to stare at her.

"Yesterday there was an unexpected leak and somehow 
it all overflowed into the Johansens' beautiful lake 
- contaminating the water," Dana continued.  "That's 
why the water suddenly changed colour.  But the 
sheriff wasn't handed the incident report until about 
the same time you were flying to Logan."

It was the most logical thing he'd heard thus far, 
but still Mulder didn't want to believe her, so he 
quickly reached into the car and pulled out the 
evidence he'd collected.  "Well, what are these 
then?" he enquired, holding up the bag with the two 
teardrop-shaped objects in.

"Uh..."  Scully paused and had to break eye contact 
briefly.  "Mulder, what did you used to do with your 
fish when they died?"

"I flushed th--  They're not, are they?"

A nod of her head and the bag sharply fell from his 
grasp.

"So, this...?"  He presented the plastic tube to her, 
then removed the lid and lifted it to his nose to 
sniff the yellow liquid.  A second later disgust 
washed over his face and he quickly emptied the 
contents out onto the sand at his feet.  "Jeez... I 
really...I really screwed up this time, didn't I?"

Scully shook her head and reached for his hand - her 
anger a memory she was okay to put aside at least 
until later.  "When don't you?" she smiled.  "It's 
what makes you unique, though - you mess up so many 
times, but you still fight for what you believe in, 
survive and beat the bad guys.  As annoying as you 
can be, I wouldn't have you any other way."

"But I ruined today...I ruined your Valentine's 
Day..."

"Very true, and I will make you pay for doing that, 
as well as for ditching me.  But the day is still 
young, there's still plenty of time for you to buy me 
something..."  A pause to flash him a mischievous 
grin.  "...And maybe we can hunt down a decent 
restaurant to go to before flying back."

"In podunk Connecticut?" Mulder groaned.

"It's worth a try, isn't it?"

He nodded as she gave his hand a squeeze.  "Okay.  
I'll just go tell the Johansens I'm leaving."

"I'll be waiting."

He was just moving back towards the clubhouse when 
her voice suddenly called out, "Besides, you forgot, 
Mulder, that you need me around to help you find the 
answers!"

He turned, smiled, gave a nod of his head and mouthed 
the word 'Always' before continuing on his way.

XxXxXxXxX

TWENTY MINUTES LATER

Having had her patience stretched to breaking point, 
Scully was briskly walking toward the clubhouse when 
her partner suddenly re-appeared.

"Sorry about that, Scully, but I do come bearing good 
news and a plan to make this day worthwhile," he 
panted.

"You'd better," she grunted in reply.

He looked hurt at her lack of belief in him (even 
though he knew at the same time that he'd given her 
no reason to have otherwise), but boldly continued, 
"Have you got the overnight bag in the trunk?"

"Mulder?"

"Just bear with me: obviously the Johansens have 
gotta shut the place down 'til the lake's been 
completely decontaminated, and they've made plans to 
disappear for a few days... So, I kinda asked them if 
we could stop here - just for tonight - and they 
happily gave me the keys to the place.  Even gave me 
directions to a nice dining spot a couple miles 
away."  Mulder paused and smiled at the mixture of 
happiness, shock, love and confusion he saw in her 
eyes.  "What d' you think?"

Think?  She had to *think*?!  She couldn't even 
speak!  Yet again his tenderness and desire to always 
make sure she was happy overwhelmed her.  At the back 
of her mind she vaguely remembered that she should be 
angry with him, but that was too distant a memory to 
care about right now.

"Scully?  Did I screw up again?"

"Whuh--?  Mul--  No!  No...No, you didn't.  Are you 
sure they're okay with that?  I mean, you didn't tell 
them we're FBI partners, did you?  Because if word 
gets back--"

"Yes they are okay with that, and no I didn't tell 
'em you were my work partner - give me some credit, 
g-woman.  I told 'em I have this beautiful girl that 
I'm dating but always take far too much for granted, 
and that I'd forgotten it was Valentine's Day so I 
wanted to make it up to her..."  He paused and a 
devillish grin lit his face as he added, finally, 
"And then I held them both at gunpoint and demanded 
they hand over the keys or I'd shoot--"

"*Mulder!*"

"What?  That's what you wanted to hear, isn't it?"

Dana shook her head, reached up onto tiptoe to kiss 
his cheek and then wrapped her arms around him.  "So, 
what now?"

"I got the map here... Why don't we go grab a meal?"

"Yes please - I haven't eaten since last night and 
I'm starved…"

"So am I, but how about we save that for after?"

A playful slap on his arm from her, a hearty laugh 
from him and then together they made their way toward 
his parked car.

XxXxXxXxX

LUVLITE LAKE
7:22 PM

"Come with me down to the beach."

Mulder looked down at Scully, who had suddenly tugged 
at his hand as he was about to ascend the path to the 
clubhouse.  Already this evening had proven to be one 
he would remember always thanks to the meal they had 
just shared.  The prospect of walking the beach in 
the moonlight with the woman he loved so much was an 
added bonus he hadn't stopped to consider.

"Come on," she persisted with a breathy whisper.

"Scully, the water's full of piss and shit!"

"So are you a lot of the time, but I still kiss you!"  
To prove her point she reached up and pressed her 
lips against his (the mixture of her desire and the 
wine she'd consumed at the restaurant immediately 
intoxicating his senses).  "Come on,…We don't have to 
go near the water.  I just...I just wanna walk along 
the beach with you."

Nothing more needed to be said, and he happily 
obliged her.

XxXxXxXxX

Ten minutes later they were settled on the sand - 
Scully sitting between Mulder's spread legs and 
resting back against his chest.

"I had come up with about a hundred different ways to 
torture you for ditching me this morning, you know," 
she sighed as his arms encircled her.

"Mm... I'd guessed as much... What were the chief 
runners?"

"Making you clean my apartment from top to bottom for 
a month, singing to you, making you learn to rinse 
your mouth out with water when you've cleaned your 
teeth instead of coffee - although I'm planning on 
working with you on that one anyway, so don't get too 
cocky... Uh, inviting Bill 'round for dinner and 
making you stay..."

"Wow, I'm glad I got you drunk instead so that you 
forgot you had to be angry with me!" he chuckled, 
resting the side of his head against hers.  "I don't 
think I could have survived that much punishment!"

"Hmm..."

The humour quickly faded away and a thick layer of 
tense silence smothered them for a moment.  Finally, 
though, his hold on her increased and he whispered 
against her ear, "I don't like leaving you behind, 
Scully.  As you said yourself, I need you by my side 
if I'm ever to find the answers professionally or 
privately.  But when I got the call from the sheriff 
this morning I just couldn't say no, even though it 
seemed a waste of time.  It killed me to have to 
leave you behind, but I thought you could do with a 
little rest, and I didn't wanna pull you out to the 
middle of nowhere for another pointless case... Not 
that I'm saying I knew it was just gonna be two 
petrified fish and a lake full of the county's toilet 
sewage--"

"I know.  Let's just forget it and enjoy what's left 
of today."  One of Dana's hands reached up and 
stroked down his cheek as he kissed her earlobe.

"Jurate," came his deep sigh.

"What?  Who?"

"I was just thinking about Jurate - the mermaid 
Mister Johansen told me about - I read up about her 
on that CD-ROM you gave me for Christmas.  Apparently 
she had originally gone to visit Kastytis - a 
fisherman who was hunting in her kingdom - to stop 
him fishing, but she fell deeply in love with him 
instead... I was thinking about how much you remind 
me of her... I mean, you were sent to debunk me, but 
instead you worked *with* me and helped me.  And 
when, when They realised Their mistake, They tried 
everything to separate us."  Mulder swallowed and his 
eyes slipped shut as he remembered the day she had 
walked through his office door for the very first 
time.  "You became my everything, though - my 
world...dependable, held together and always so 
caring."

After a heartbeat or two to let his words sink in, 
Dana cleared her throat and then twisted in his arms 
so that she could stare at him.  "You're forgetting 
something, though, Mulder," she whispered, never 
breaking eye contact.

"What?"

"Didn't that story finish badly?"

"Yeah.  A sea goddess in love with a mortal was 
frowned upon, so--"

"Shhh," she cut him off, placing her cool fingers 
against his lips.  A little shuffling, a few more 
twists and she was kneeling in front of him - her 
hands resting on his neck.  "How about we create our 
own myth...and give it a happy ending?"

He was beaming from ear to ear as he leaned forward 
and they shared a passionate kiss.  "I think I like 
that idea a lot, Dr. Scully," he breathed.

"And how about we sit here for a few more minutes and 
then go inside?"

"How about we just stay out here under the safety of 
the stars?"

It was Scully's turn to grin, and she did so as she 
nodded her agreement and then moved to sit down in 
front of him yet again.

Not long after, they showed each other how much they 
appreciated what they had together every day of the 
year - not just today - under the watchful eyes of 
the gods.

Even the goddesses of the sea stopped crying to 
smile.


=====
THE END
=====

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
'Don't wake me up
If I should be dreaming
I don't wanna miss
One minute of this dream'
			-'Oceans Away' by G. Pitney
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


To those I promised MT to: sorry!  It seemed much 
more fun contained 
in Scully's mind...if not just better for the story 
:-)  Whether you 
liked it or not, though, I'd love to read your views 
at 
sketchney@ntlworld.com!!!  ...Please?!

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!