Welcome To The Harem

Change Of Opinions III by Bridget
Summary: Scully tries to give Mulder a push back onto the path of partnership. Mulder/Diana friendship, Mulder/Scully friendship. See also Change Of Opinions I, II and IV.

Well, this is story three in the unexpected series that began over two
years ago. I posted part one and two long ago and recently while
re-reading them I was struck with inspiration to add to it. Also, I
haven't contributed to the fanfic world in about the same amount of
time. (It's amazing what meeting a non-obsessed true love can do to a
person.) So please keep these facts in mind when you undoubtedly get
a weird disjointed feeling while reading.... Anyway, hopefully you'll
enjoy these extra pieces either way, as individuals or as part of the
series.

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, they are not mine. First and foremost,
they
belong to Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny. Chris Carter, Fox and
1013 Productions come in second, third and fourth place, respectively.
Although if anyone is offering up ownership....

Archive: Anywhere and everywhere. : )

Title: Change of Opinion III
Author: Bridget
E-mail: msathenaxf@aol.com
Rating: G
Category: V
Summary: Scully tries to give Mulder a push back onto the path of
partnership.

Change of Opinions III
*********************

This had to be the longest day all week. Even aside from it being a
Friday, the minutes seemed to barely tick by. Having Diana in the
office all day didn't do much to improve the situation and on top of
that, she was stressed about the idea of an evening with a man other
than Mulder. It was not something she had done in a very long time.

Sheriff Mike Olin had phoned her at the office on Monday. He was
going to be in town for the week for some kind of conference and
wanted to know if she would like to have dinner. Scully had stalled
for time while she considered it, finally deciding that it was only
fair. Mike had saved her life, shooting a man who had a gun to her
own head, while her real partner was gallivanting around New Hampshire
with Diana Fowley.

The more Scully thought about it, the more nervous she became. She
was jerked from her thoughts by Mulder's voice. He and Diana had been
pouring over file folders all day apparently trying to find
commonalities between supposed UFO sightings. If they could unlock
the secrets of what brought aliens to particular locations, they could
predict other sites. Scully thought the answer was quite obvious in
most cases-local beer.

"So Scully, if you were an alien, what would drag you all the way
across the galaxy to cut up some livestock?"

She eyed him playfully, pretending to think about it. "Some really
good steak," she finally replied. Scully watched his eyes turn green
with amusement, when she heard Diana's annoyed sigh. Immediately, his
attention went right back to her. Annoyed, Scully decided right away
to clear out early.

Mulder looked up at her when she grabbed her briefcase. She ignored
his curiosity, waiting for him to ask.

"Where are you going? It's only four-thirty. I know it's Friday...."

"I'm leaving for the day. I'm busy tonight."

Scully noticed that he had already turned away, obviously not really
caring. Out of form he continued the conversation.

"Dinner with your mom?"

Putting the briefcase back down, Scully considered what to say. It
wasn't really his
business and it certainly wasn't Diana's business. But some shred of
pride made her want to clarify that, no, on a Friday night with
nothing left to do for the weekend she would not be spending the
evening with her mother. Especially when Mulder would undoubtedly be
here with Diana all night.

"No. I've got a date."

Smugly, she noticed that she had his attention again.

"With who? Do I know him?"

Suddenly Scully knew exactly where she could take this conversation.
No longer about pride, Scully decided to try to use this to her
advantage. Skinner had never spoken to Mulder about what was in her
report on that case, leaving it up to her instead. If she could let
Mulder know what happened, then maybe they would be able to set some
things straight. Mainly about how out of place she felt with him and
the X-Files thanks to his change of attitude towards their
partnership.

"Yes, as a matter of fact. Sheriff Mike Olin."

She watched as his photographic memory came up with the person to
match the name. "Guy from the New Hampshire case, right?"

Then he went in a totally different direction. And it offended her.

"Can we trust him?"

Scully tried to keep her voice neutral as she explained. "He's in town
for the weekend to attend a seminar. I doubt he's here to dig up
classified secrets on dead cows."

"We can't trust anyone Scully. We should check up on him,"
interrupted Diana. Scully had forgotten she was there, so intent she
was on trying to steer the conversation her own way. Hot anger
settled in her stomach and she looked at Diana coldly. As if it were
her secrets in those files. Grabbing her jacket she stalked to the
door. As she turned the doorknob, she knew just what to say to get
Mulder to attention.

Turning back she said, "He was my partner on that case and he saved my
life. He wanted to see me and I figured the least I could do was buy
him dinner. I appreciate your concern, but I'll be careful not to
divulge any national secrets over my filet mignon. Good night."

Locking eyes with Mulder for just a moment she tried to tell him
everything she was feeling. Turning away, she felt guilty for the
feelings she saw in his eyes. Scully left, hoping that rather than
ignoring her as he had been for months, that maybe he would actually
react. Anger, sadness, fear, anything was better than nothing.

----