Only One Choice, Part 2, Chapter 17
Read it here on AO3 / Tagging @today-in-fic
“We should get champagne or something, to celebrate,” Scully says, her eyes roving over the menu.
After three weeks of rehab, Teena Mulder has finally been able to move home, though she’s under the constant care of an in-home nurse. Knowing that she’s back in her own space, no longer the medical setting that made her miserable, is a huge weight off Mulder’s shoulders. This is why they’re out to dinner, celebrating a hopeful return to what feels like normal.
“Only if you’re driving home,” Mulder replies playfully, “you know what bubbly does to me.”
She gives him a flirtatious smirk. “Yes, I do.”
“Dana?” someone calls out, and they look over to see two women. One is tall and slim with light olive-toned skin and brunette shoulder-length hair. The other is significantly shorter, Latina, with thick hips and an ample bustline, her dark hair cascading down her back.
“Monica, hi,” Scully replies warmly to the tall woman. She turns to the shorter one, “you must be Dahlia.”
“Guilty as charged,” the short woman answers jovially with a heavy Spanish accent.
“This is my boyfriend, Fox Mulder,” Scully continues, gesturing to him, “Mulder, this is Monica, I’ve told you about her.”
Mulder nods in understanding. Scully has often mentioned a woman she regularly has coffee and lunch with who works in VICAP.
“Nice to finally meet you,” Mulder says, offering his hand to Monica.
She takes his hand with a firm grip, then gestures to the short woman, “this is my partner, Dahlia.”
Mulder and Scully both greet Dahlia with handshakes.
“Well, we’ll leave you to your meal, it was nice to run into you,” Monica says.
“Would you like to join us? We haven’t even ordered yet,” Scully offers, giving Mulder a quick glance to confirm that this is okay. He nods almost imperceptibly.
“Oh, we don’t want to impose,” Monica answers.
“Not at all,” Mulder jumps in, correctly picking up that Monica is worried about imposing on him, not Scully, “I’d love to finally get to know this mysterious VICAP woman Scully is always talking about.”
Monica smiles and he moves to the chair beside Scully so she and Dahlia can occupy the other two. They order champagne and appetizers, and he finds the two women to be very pleasant company.
“So, you work in VICAP too, then?” he asks Dahlia, and she gives him a confused look.
“No, I work at a little flower shop in Alexandria,” she answers.
“Oh, sorry, I thought Monica said you were partners.”
Scully shoots him an embarrassed glare, but Dahlia laughs.
“You know, I always tell Monica she should just call me her girlfriend, but she insists on ‘partner,’” she says, looking at Monica affectionately. He can’t help but smile, realizing he’d missed the very obvious fact that they are lovers.
“Girlfriend sounds so juvenile to me,” Monica explains, “partner feels a bit more serious, and permanent.”
“It’s okay, mija,” Dahlia continues, “you can call me your partner, hasta el día en que puedas ser mi esposa.”
Monica beams at her, and while he didn’t understand a word of that, it’s plainly clear that they are very much in love.
Appetizers come and go, flutes of champagne are emptied and refilled and a second bottle is ordered. Scully brings up Monica’s education and her experiences working at the New Orleans field office, and she and Mulder carry on a conversation about the change in VooDoo practices over the course of generations while Scully and Dahlia discover that they have similar taste in literature. Dahlia is telling a story about reading a Spanish translation of Jane Eyre as a teenager and how she still, to this day, has a hard time not calling him “Señor Rochester,” when the waiter brings by the check and Mulder snatches it away just as Dahlia was reaching for it.
“My treat,” Mulder says, pulling out his wallet.
Dahlia gives Monica a look, saying “me gusta este chico,” and Mulder chuckles.
“That I understood,” he quips, and they all laugh.
Back at the apartment, they get ready for bed. Scully is standing at the sink brushing her teeth when Mulder slinks up behind her, slipping his hands onto her hips and dipping his head down to kiss her neck.
“Mmm, there’s that champagne,” she says, the words garbled around her toothbrush.
“It’s not that champagne makes me want you, Scully. I always want you. It just makes me a little more bold,” he explains, trailing his fingers down to the hem of her night shirt and lifting it enough to get a look at her panties.
She swats his hand away. “Let me finish brushing my teeth,” she chastises, and he retreats to the bedroom.
She joins him a few minutes later, slipping under the sheets and draping her bare leg over his. He lifts his arm so she can burrow against his torso, her head on his chest. He rubs his hand across her back, eliciting a contented sigh.
“So, what did you think of Monica?” she asks, her fingertips on his ribcage moving in small circles.
“I really like her, I can see why you two hit it off,” he answers.
“She reminds me a little of you, actually,” she says, and he can feel her smile against his skin. “She has some...out there ideas.”
“Am I not talking enough about cryptids at home, Scully? You had to go find a friend to supplement?” he asks playfully, dipping his fingers into her armpit briefly in a threat to tickle her.
She clamps her arms against her sides and giggles. “We don’t talk much about that, but when I first met her she told me about my aura, so I figured you two would have some things in common.”
“That sounds more like Missy’s purview,” he comments, and then they fall silent for a moment.
“I’m actually really glad we ran into her,” Scully begins, running her hand down his abdomen to rest just beneath his belly button. “There’s something I’ve been thinking about and I wasn’t sure how to bring it up without you having some context.”
“Scully, if you’re about to suggest we have a foursome with Monica and Dahlia, I’m going to owe Frohike five hundred bucks,” he interjects.
She scoffs, “in your dreams, Mulder.”
“I think you mean Melvin.”
“Well, sorry Melvin, but that’s not what I was thinking about.” Her thumb hooks just beneath the elastic of his boxers, his happy trail tickling her skin.
“Okay, sorry, what were you thinking about?”
“What if,” she begins, dragging her finger back and forth under the fabric, “Monica was your partner. On the X files.”
He puts his hand over hers to still the movement, pulling away a bit so she’ll look at him.
“What do you mean, Scully?” He feels a rush of adrenaline, though he’s not yet sure if it’s from excitement or fear.
“I mean, she’s open to...unexplainable phenomena. The two of you get along quite well, and she wouldn't try to debunk your work or scoff at your theories. You said they might let you reopen them if you had a partner you could work with, and I think Monica might be that person.”
He considers this for a moment. “Who’s to say she’d even want to, she’s assigned to VICAP-”
“She hates VICAP,” Scully interjects, “it’s a bunch of macho men trying to one-up each other. I know she’d be happy to be reassigned, and to work out of the Hoover building. She and Dahlia live in Palisades; her commute sucks.”
His mind is reeling, but he doesn’t want to get ahead of himself. “I don’t even know where we’d start, Scully. It seems so unlikely.”
“Just ask for a meeting with AD Skinner. If you think it would help for Monica to be a part of that meeting, I know she’d be happy to attend. I’ve told her a bit about The X files and I wouldn’t even bring this up with you unless I was sure she’d be interested. I can talk to her about it on Monday, if you want to give it a shot.”
He looks up at the ceiling, eyebrows stitched in thought. Hope pricks at the corners of his mind, but he knows well enough not to let it take root; he’s been disappointed too many times before. He looks over at Scully, her expression holding all the hope that he won’t allow himself to feel.
“Why are you doing this?” he asks gently.
“Because I want you to be happy,” she says earnestly, pulling her hand from beneath his and bringing it to his cheek, “from the moment I met you, I saw how you light up when you talk about The X Files. If there’s a chance you can investigate them again, I want to pursue it.”
He sighs, a tender smile tugging at his lips. He turns on his side, pushing his palms under her ass and pulling her on top of him as she giggles.
“Okay, talk to Monica,” he says, sliding his hands under her sleep shirt and up her bare back, “I’ll email Skinner on Monday.”
She smiles at him, self-satisfied and victorious.
“Now, about that champagne,” he says, pulling her down for a kiss.
———
She nervously checks her email every two minutes, aggressively clicking the send/receive button. Monica and Mulder were meeting with AD Skinner at 11:00am and it’s now almost 1:00pm and she hasn’t heard anything. That could either be a very good sign, or a very bad one. She has class in ten minutes and needs to head over to the lecture hall to prepare. She refreshes it one more time, and an email pops up.
Sent: September 18, 1997 12:51pm
Subject: Maybe good news?
He didn’t say no, but he didn’t say yes, either. He asked us about 800 questions and then said he had to run it by the section chief. My impression is that he wants to make it work, but obviously it’s not totally within his control.
Fingers crossed. Hopefully we’ll know by Friday.
She heaves a big sigh, a cautious smile playing on her lips. She shoots him a quick response and then makes her way to class, praying all the way that the answer will be yes.
———
She’d taken that Friday off, for no reason in particular. Ever since Mulder had effectively moved in with her, she liked to take random weekdays off here and there just to have some time to herself. She’d spent the afternoon reading, re-arranging her spice cupboard, and making space for Mulder to have half her dresser instead of just one drawer. She’s sitting on the floor of the bedroom, surrounded by neatly folded stacks of T-shirts and pajama pants, when she hears the front door open. She checks her watch; it’s only 3:00 pm, too early for Mulder to be home.
“Hello?” she calls out nervously.
The bedroom door swings open and Mulder is there, his chest heaving and a dopey smile on his face.
“Is everything okay?” she asks, “what are you doing home?”
“It was approved,” he says breathlessly, apparently having run from wherever he parked the car.
“What was approved?” she asks, standing.
“The X Files, Scully. They’re reopened, effective Monday, with me and Reyes as the assigned agents,” he says, his smile broadening even further.
Her mouth drops open in disbelief, a surprised smile forming on her lips. She had held out hope, but she was also very aware that the chances were slim. He crosses the room, scooping her up in his arms, her legs wrapping around his hips.
“It never would have happened if it wasn’t for you,” he says, adoration in his eyes.
She kisses him, and he turns to lay her on the bed, shedding his suit jacket and tossing it on the floor. Moving quickly, desperately, he tugs at the waistband of her pants, stripping them off along with her panties, and pushes her shirt up to expose her breasts. He begins kissing her neck, down to her chest and belly, pausing intermittently to speak words of affirmation and gratitude until he reaches the apex of her thighs and is quiet.
He laps at her tenderly, humming and sighing as her body catches up and she feels the flush of desire form in her belly. She pushes her fingers into his hair, scraping gently at his scalp in encouragement as he flicks his tongue against her opening and she bucks her hips in response. His thumb swipes gently over her clit as he pushes his tongue inside her, licking at her increasingly slick walls and making her whimper. After a few minutes, he switches to his fingers inside her and his tongue at her clit. Swirling and sucking until she commands him not to stop, he holds steady as she falls apart against his lips, flexing his fingers deep inside to draw it out. Finally she taps on his head, and he crawls back up to plant soft kisses along her jaw.
“Consider us even,” she breathes out, eyes still closed in bliss.
“I think I might like to continue making it up to you,” he says with a nip to her earlobe, and she laughs.
“Okay, if you insist.”
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Super Bowl 2017 pregame: Start time, TV schedule, and live stream
Don’t know what to do in the hours leading up to the Super Bowl? Watch people talk about the Super Bowl!
The Super Bowl is the biggest event in American sports and it’s set for Sunday, when the Atlanta Falcons will take on the New England Patriots from NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. With the event comes a ton of hype, and a ton of coverage.
The Super Bowl Experience has been running all week and of course, on Sunday, those not in Houston will have plenty of options for absorbing all the content they can related to the big game. Pregame coverage of the game will be running all day on some television channels.
The game itself will be broadcast by Fox at 6:30 p.m. ET. An online stream of the game will be available on Fox Sports GO, free to everyone in the United States, even those without a television subscription.
As far as pregame action, the NFL Network leads the way with more than 11 hours of coverage on Sunday. Things start at 9 a.m. ET with an 8.5-hour edition of NFL GameDay Morning. Their coverage will feature a slew of interviews with coaches, players, athletes, actors, and musicians, including Bill Belichick, Dan Quinn, Julian Edelman, Matt Ryan, LeBron James, Serena Williams, and Mark Wahlberg.
If you’re planning on watching on Fox, its coverage will start at 11 a.m. with NFL Films’ Road to the Super Bowl. From there, we’ll be treated to a full hour of Skip and Shannon: Undisputed, a special hour-long Super Bowl special of their television show where they yell about nothing and have generally bad opinions.
At 1 p.m., the Fox Super Bowl Kickoff show is on for an hour. Former players like Kevin Dyson and Santonio Holmes will recount their Super Bowl memories, and reporter Clarissa Thompson will interview Falcons running back duo Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman.
After that, Fox will have a 4.5-hour Fox Super Bowl Pregame show. This will feature the typical pregame crew of Terry Bradshaw, Curt Menefee, Howie Long, Michael Strahan, Jimmy Johnson, and that dancing football robot. Long will also talk to his son, Chris, who is playing in his first Super Bowl with the Patriots.
During an animated segment, Rams DC Wade Phillips will take viewers on a journey of Houston football history. Pam Oliver explores the popularity of high school football, with appearances by Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and Saints quarterback Drew Brees.
Somewhere in there — around 4 p.m. — there will be an interview between Bill O’Reilly of Fox News and President Donald Trump, which should be nothing if not interesting.
Also airing on Fox before kickoff will be the NFL Tailgate Party. Fitz and the Tantrums are the opening act, and then Zac Brown Band will take over the stage.
Finally, ESPN will have its own content on Sunday to watch as well. That will begin with NFL Insiders at 10 a.m. on their flagship network, and will continue with Postseason NFL Countdown from 11 a.m. through 2 p.m. with special guests Rex Ryan and Odell Beckham Jr. It will be Chris Berman’s final time on Sunday Countdown after over 30 years as host. There will be a segment celebrating his legacy, as well as a sit-down between Matt Hasselbeck and Matt Ryan, a history of Super Bowl footballs, and a feature detailing Malcolm Butler’s game-winning interception against the Seahawks in the Super Bowl two years ago.
Here’s the Super Bowl coverage from Fox, NFL Network, and ESPN (all times Eastern):
Fox
Road to the Super Bowl: 11 a.m.
Undisputed with Skip Bayless and Shannon Sharpe: noon
FOX Super Bowl Kickoff: 1 p.m.
FOX Super Bowl Sunday: 2 p.m.
Donald Trump interview with Bill O’Reilly: 4 p.m.
Super Bowl pregame: 6 p.m.
Super Bowl kickoff: 6:30 p.m.
ESPN
Postseason NFL Countdown, with guests Rex Ryan and Odell Beckham Jr.: 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Featured segments:
Malcolm Butler’s Super Bowl XLIX Interception: noon
Matt Bryant’s Tragedy and Triumph: 12:15 p.m.
Matt Hasselbeck and the Thunderbirds: 12:40 p.m.
Super Bowl LI Game Balls: 12:55 p.m.
Conversation with Matt Ryan: 1:15 p.m.
Chris Berman’s Sunday NFL Countdown Legacy: 1:30 p.m.
NFL Network
NFL GameDay Morning: 9 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.
So there you have it — those three networks should have you covered with with all you need (and a lot that you don’t need) before the Falcons and Patriots face off on Sunday evening. Just in case, here’s the info you need to know to watch the actual Super Bowl.
How to Watch
When: 6:30 p.m. ET
Where: NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas
TV: Fox
Announcers: Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Erin Andrews, and Chris Myers
Halftime performers: Lady Gaga and Tony Bennett
Online: Fox Sports Go
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