"Joy to the World" Eva James ejxf@hotmail.com http://members.tripod.com/~evajames/ Disclaimer: All hail the great surfer god. (Oh yeah, they aren't mine.) Rating: PG for (gasp) much sappiness. Feedback: Pretty please with sugar on top. ejxf@hotmail.com Spoilers: This is a follow-up to "The Ghosts who Stole Christmas," but no spoilers other than that episode. However, a general knowledge of US6 up to this episode would be nice. Mulder and Scully are not in the XF division in my little universe, but Skinner *is* their superior. How's that for twisted? In light of recent developments, this story couldn’t exist. But I don’t care. Here, the evil, evil Diana is rather nice, just a little misguided. You’ll see. Classification: SRH: MSR, but it isn't the main, main focus of the story. That is, it isn't the only thing. There's also a weird, messed up Diana/Scully friendship thing going on. Summary: Mulder and Scully get engaged and Scully finds a new friend in an old adversary. *** Mulder and Scully seated themselves on the couch, holding their unopened gifts in their laps. Mulder ripped into his first, a gleeful grin on his face. Inside was a gold picture frame, in which was a picture Mrs. Scully had taken of the two when Scully was recuperating from her cancer. It had been a happy time for both of them, no matter how hard it had been. Scully was getting well; both had large smiles on their faces. "Scully," Mulder breathed. "This means a lot to me. Thank you. This is one of the greatest presents I've ever received. Open yours!" he finished impatiently, leaning over to give her a peck on the cheek. Scully unwrapped her box carefully and opened the lid. Inside was another white box. Inside that was another. Scully sighed happily, and continued opening her present. Soon, she reached the last little white box. She opened it and stared warily at the deep blue velvet jewelry box. She lifted it out and opened the lid slowly. Scully gasped when she looked inside where a simple gold ring with a small diamond setting lay. Before she could say a word, Mulder interjected softly, "Scully, will you marry me?" "What?" she whispered. "Will you marry me?" Scully felt tears coming to her eyes, and reached around to give Mulder a hug. "Yes," she whispered back. "Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes!" Silently, Mulder lifted her chin and their lips met in the sweetest kiss either of them had ever tasted. *** "Agents Mulder and Scully, you wanted to meet with me?" inquired Skinner, not really wanting to hear what this was all about. "Yes. We have some good news." Mulder clutched Scully’s hand for support. "Agent Scully and myself seem to have become...involved. The wedding is in June. We thought you should be the first to know." Skinner’s head dropped to his hands. "Get out of here. We’ll discuss this later." He had just lost $6000 in the office pool. Scully and Mulder tiptoed out of the office. "Uh-oh," Mulder whispered when they got out into the hallway. "It doesn’t matter," she whispered back, pulling his head down to hers just as Diana Fowley walked down the hall. "I knew it!" Diana screamed in a rage. She ran toward them then, jerking the two apart and slapping Mulder on the face, hard. Then she went for Scully, punching her in the stomach. Mulder pulled her off Scully, then kneeled down, holding a winded and shaken Scully in his arms. Diana stood there shaking as hot, angry tears rolled down her cheeks. Meanwhile, Mulder lead Scully down the hall in his arms, not bothering to look back. *** It was a few days after Christmas when the two agents met with Diana again, once again accidentally. They were dining in a small French restaurant when she strode in, an angry gleam in her eyes. She spotted Mulder and rushed over to join them. "May I sit with you?" she inquired. Getting a playful look on his face, Mulder replied in the affirmative, winking at Scully. This could prove to be very interesting. *** Exactly twelve minutes later, Diana Fowley dissolved in tears and Mulder dissolved in giggles. thought Scully. "I’m really, really sorry," said Scully. Diana fled to the women’s room. "I have to go after her," Scully told Mulder, rising. Scully entered the restroom to find Diana hunched over the sink, her slight body wrecked in tears. Scully went to her, leaning down and whispering to her, "Shhh. What’s wrong?" "Like you don’t know!" Diana spat out. "I don’t. We were just joking and I thought you knew that. We didn't search you out to harm you; you came to us. I am sorry, though." "Yeah, right. I’m sure Mulder didn’t mean it but you. You!" "What have I done?" "What have you done? You love him and he loves you back, that’s what." "There’s nothing wrong with that, Diana." "Yes. Yes there is. You don’t understand! I love him. I’ve loved him forever, since the moment I met him. He never even knew. Then this uppity little agent steps in when I’m away and he falls head over heels. You never loved him like me. It wasn’t love at first sight for you. It can never be you for him. You’ll never be able to love him like I could have. Like I do." Scully gasped. "Diana, I’m sorry, I really am. I can’t say there’s anything I can do, but -- I'm very sorry. We truly didn't know." "It isn’t enough. Nothing could ever make up for it. How would you feel if you lost him? Don’t you think it’s worse for me?" "No, I mean, I don’t think it’s worse, but if it were only half as much...I truly am sorry. I really never meant to hurt you." Scully had just realized the implications of what Diana was saying. If the situation had been reversed, Scully didn't know what she would have done. "I know. You’re a good person and that only makes it that much worse!" Diana dissolved in another torrent of tears. Scully patted her on the back as Diana sobbed on her shoulder. "Shhh. Why don’t you get cleaned up and we’ll go back out there. I’d really like it if we could be friends. I think you're a nice person, although I don't know you well. Mulder did love you once, I know he did. He still cares about you. I'm very sorry about the scene in there." "I don't think I can ever face him again," whispered Diana. "Yes you can," Scully comforted her. "It'll be okay. Everything will turn out. It always does." Scully helped Diana wash off her face and offered her some face powder. Pretty soon, Diana looked as good as new. (Which, admittedly, isn't much, but still...) As the two agents walked out, Scully gave Mulder an imperceptible look that said, The rest of the dinner was pleasant, if a bit strained. After dessert, Scully sent Mulder outside to get the car and spoke to Diana quietly. "If you ever need anything, I hope you know I'll be here. Would you like to go shopping or something on Saturday? I don't think Mulder and I -- that is -- I'm not busy." "I'd like that," smiled Diana sadly. "Good. I'll call you later this week." "Thanks." Out in the car, Mulder was fuming. What was with Scully? Diana burst into tears and suddenly Scully had to act like a saint? When Scully got out to the car, he couldn't help himself. "What was that all about in there?" he exclaimed. "What was what?" "That. You were getting all buddy-buddy with Diana. She's practically stalking me and you want to be friends!" "Mulder, I misjudged her. I admit it. She loves you, maybe as much as I do. I can't just ignore that. Without you...I can't imagine my life. Be nice to her, please. She needs it." "Fine," grumbled Mulder, "but I can't say I like it. Are you sure she's not just fooling you?" "Mulder, I think I can tell when someone is lying about something like that. It's real. I thought the same thing you're thinking when I went in to talk with her, but her feelings are genuine. If the situation was reversed, and you were in love with someone else, I would act the way she has been. It doesn't make Diana a bad person." *** Diana and Dana met at the mall that Saturday. Mulder had been enraged to discover that Scully was canceling their plans for the day, but Scully stood strong. "Mulder, it's not like I'm leaving you," she had told him. "I never like to see someone else hurting when I can prevent it." The two were a little awkward at first, but soon giggled like old friends. They were extremely careful not to talk about Mulder, but other than that, touched on every other topic under the sun. After a hard morning of shopping, the two opted to have lunch in a little coffee shop down the street. They lugged their many bags back to the car and, their load lightened, sunk tiredly down into their seats. "You know," Scully was saying, "when I was little, I used to pretend my name was Diana. I thought it sounded so much more exotic than plain old Dana did. It drove my mom nuts. Every time she talked to me, I would remind her what my 'new' name was!" "Dana, if you don't mind me asking, I-I heard that you and Fox are getting married this June. Is it true?" "Yes, we are." Scully reached out to her, placed her arm on Diana's in a comforting gesture, as a tear trickled down her cheek. "I'm sorry," hurried Diana. "Maybe I should just go." "No, don't. Don't let a man come between friends. Tell you what. Mulder and I are going to dinner Sunday. Why don't you come along? I've got an old friend from Quantico that I know would love to meet you. He just got divorced, so he'll want to take things slow too. It'll be good for you to get out. What do you say?" "Thanks Dana. I don't know why you're even doing this for me. I've never been anything but trouble for you, I'm in love with your fiancée, I've got your job." "Stop. Everyone deserves another chance. I think you certainly deserve happiness. I know Mulder's first impression of you was very good." "Thank you. It means a lot for you to say that. So I'll see you Sunday." "Yes. We're meeting at that little Italian place near the Bureau, do you know it?" "I do." "Okay, 7:30ish then. I'll see you there. Just bring yourself." "See you." *** "You *what*?" "I invited Diana to have dinner with us Sunday. I've asked an old friend from Quantico, Matt, to be her date." "I do not believe this! Forget it! I'm not going!" "Oh yes you are. You loved Diana once, I can tell. I'm certainly not asking you to love her again; you can at least be cordial!" "What is this? Why are you suddenly the Good Samaritan? Why can't she leave us alone?" "Because I asked her not to. This is the best way. It isn't good to needlessly make enemies, and making an enemy in Diana would be losing out on the opportunity for a very good friendship! Look, I don't have many other friends. Our job doesn't really allow for it. There's nothing wrong with it, but when someone else is making an effort, and Diana certainly is, I can't just ignore it!" "Aren't I enough?" "Mulder, you're not exactly female. While I love you very, very much, I do need other friends." "I know, I know. It's just -- why did you have to pick my old girlfriend?" *** The dinner went very well after all. Diana and Matt seemed to hit it off immediately, and had many of the same interests, though Matt was more of a skeptic like Scully, instead of a believer like Diana and Mulder. He now worked in the violent crimes section, so Mulder had had opportunity to meet him before. Mulder never was very liked by other agents, but on the few occasions when the two had met, there had been no big arguments. After dinner, Diana hugged and thanked Scully. This was the nicest thing anyone had done for her in a very long time. *** The date for the wedding was nearing, and the friendship between Scully and Diana had deepened. The two were always meeting to shop or get a cup of coffee. Mulder wasn't ecstatic about the development, but didn't see anything he could do about it. He had gotten to know Matt and Diana a lot better, though, as the four often had dinner together. Maybe Diana was finally getting over him. One day, when Dana and Diana had stopped for lunch, Scully's thoughts turned to the wedding, as they often, understandably, did. "You know Diana, you're probably my best friend, besides Mulder. It's funny: you're someone who I never would have thought I could like. Now, I feel like I could tell you anything. What I'm trying to say is, would you like to be my bridesmaid? There's no one else I would like to ask more." "I would be very honored. Do you think Fox will mind? He still doesn't seem comfortable around me. I wouldn't want to upset him." "He'll deal. He'll have to. Even if you weren't my bridesmaid, we'd still be friends. I don't give up friendships over men. It's something I told myself after I lost my best friend in high school over my boyfriend, Marcus. Don't worry. He'll be okay with it." And it was good. It was very, very good. *** Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. Don't be like Dan Quayle and say, "It isn't pollution that's harming our environment. It's the impurities in our air and water that are doing it." He wasn't even trying to be funny. Protect our environment for our children. C'mon, I'm sure Mulder would say the same thing! *** P.S. Many thanks to my good friends E.&E. who have helped me out along the way and beta readers Kel, Dk, and Allison -- you have been invaluable! Eva ;-)