Story [The X-Files] "Tomorrow" Post Pilot

Title: Tomorrow
Author: ginchy
Timeframe: Immediately post Pilot episode
Characters: Mulder, Scully
Summary: This is set the day after the Pilot, when Mulder and Scully agreed to meet. A few things may be off with a Saturday in DC, but just go with it.

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March 23, 1992


Fox Mulder had called early in the morning to invite her to lunch. That in itself was not strange--the night before they had loosely planned to get together. The strange thing was that Dana could swear that he hadn?t slept. His voice had none of the quiet, gravel roughness that she would expect of it so early in the morning, and it was almost as if she could picture him sitting next to the phone, waiting for an appropriate enough hour to call her.

Dana wondered if he knew, as she did, that she hadn?t slept at all, either. That she had lain awake all night watching gray shadows move across her wall, and thought about bright lights in forests and teen-agers who believed they had been taken captive -- abducted -- by aliens.

After his call, Dana had uncharacteristically lay in bed late, feeling almost as if she could pretend this assignment had never occurred, and that she wasn?t relegated to chasing aliens with a spooky partner. She hadn?t lied when she told Agent Mulder she was looking forward to working with him, but she hadn?t expected that the work would be so hard, that so many conclusions could be drawn. She had expected to debunk the alien claims quickly, efficiently, scientifically? and then Agent Mulder with his ability to talk in circles and his penetrating looks that could make a person believe anything he did? had thrown those expectations out the window, slamming it for good measure.

Finally, sick of her thoughts, Dana rose and dressed, resolving to stop by the Hoover Building on her way to meet Agent Mulder for lunch. She still had some paperwork from Quantico to fill out for her official move to active agent status, and she could stand to finally unpack her box of supplies, as they?d given her a small, closet sized office there in the building to use so long as she was Agent Mulder?s partner. She had wondered why she hadn?t been placed in the basement with Mulder, and wondered if it was due to her superiors wanting immediate access to her, or if it were Mulder?s request that she not be placed in his office with him.

Because she was sure that a request such as that would have been granted for Mulder, spooky reputation or no. Mulder may have been involved with chasing little green men, but the Bureau knew an excellent agent when they had one, and like any other business they would hold onto him, lest he leave and use his talents elsewhere. Mulder, after all, had achieved what most agents would kill for--almost every agent, student, Assistant Director, hell even the Director--knew his name, knew of his work. So even if there were whispers of aliens and things that went bump in the night, Mulder was a commodity the Bureau knew it could not afford to lose.

It was sunny out as Dana drove into the city, roads jammed with tourists and weekend workers. DC was a city that truly never slept, and no one ever really took a day off. She made it to the Hoover Building a bit before 10 a.m., and spent the next few hours working, idly wondering if Agent Mulder were down in his basement office.

Finally the time came for her to head to lunch, and she left the building, deciding to walk to the restaurant Mulder had bade her him at. She exited the front of the building, wading through the usual throngs of tourists, business men and women, and politicians that congregated outside. The small diner was located a few blocks from the Hoover Building, a dingy little building that looked as if it had been there for years, run-down against the bright splendor of surrounding buildings, the outer face of DC--the safe and reliable side. This particular diner was not a place other agents, politicians, or WASPy business workers would be caught--this diner thrived more on th

 

Very nicely done . . . you nailed early Mulder and Scully exactly. He really was a deranged jerk at first, wasn't he? The grabbing bits of her salad and sticking it on his chili burger was classic.

It was also a nice touch not to have Scully be offended by him . . . I think you could plausibly write her either way at that point. But the fact that she appreciates even weird camaraderie kind of looks back to that iconic moment in the pilot, in the hotel room with the candles. We're reminded that somehow, these people who ought to hate each other just . . . don't.

You're making me look forward to this movie even more, you know.

 

Mulder eats vegetables?

I like how smoothly they transition into being partners - she has no idea what to expect at lunch, but things just fall into place without any effort. Most of all, I love how Mulder, Mr. Trust No One, trusts Scully without missing a beat. I guess when pretty lady disrobes in front of you in a candlelit motel room, that creates a solid bond.

 

I know so little about the X-Files aside from Mulder and Scully, and I have to say, well done all around!

 

Woot!! Love it ginchy lee! It's only hours away....

 

You've definitely got Mulder and Scully down, it was all quite well done, especially liked Scully's thoughts on being the Mrs. Interesting transition to make, Mulder both trusts her and not at the same time, also loved stealing part of her salad and Mulder's nickname being so prominently featured, makes sense that he'd be a bit bitter about it and Scully would be slightly embarrassed. And I hope he got a good discount.

Nice opening!

 

ophelia: Did you enjoy the film? I really liked it, but enjoyed it even more on a second viewing. Thank you so much for reading this little fic?early Mulder and Scully is very interesting to write. You?re so right in saying that you could take it so many ways, but I like the idea that Scully was always just fine with whatever Mulder did. I think that intrigued him about her from the start.

JadeSolo: Mulder eats vegetables? Now for some reason that just reminds me of the nurse in the Pilot talking about her aisle in the supermarket?. LOL And, yup, I think Scully throwing her robe off was a clincher between the two of them? From a certain point of view. Thanks!

Penguinator-176: Thank you for reading!

Jade_Pilot: Thanks, gal!! You HAVE to go see the movie, and quick, so we can chat about it! I've already seen it twice and hope to see it again this weekend! I saw the last one 5 times in the theater, so we'll see if I can beat my own record.

Jinngerbread: Thank you! I?m afraid this one is a one-shot, but I do have some ideas now that the film is out? we?ll see how that pans out. LOL I?m glad that you picked up on Mulder being a little bitter about Scully, but yet finding something in her to trust all the same. That?s very important to their relationship later on.

Thanks to everyone who read!