feedback: msnsc21[at]yahoo.com
August
15, 2004
Title: Rain Delay
Author: ML
Email: msnsc21@aol.com
Feedback: always welcome
Distribution: Gossamer, Ephemeral, yes; anyone else,
just drop me a line. Thanks!
Spoilers: nope
Rating: R
Summary: Whoever said getting there is half the fun
has never gotten lost in Camden, New Jersey.
Disclaimer:
Who are these people? They just sort of
sneaked onto the page when I wasn't looking. I don't
have any control over them, and I certainly don't own
them. No harm or gain intended by this story, just a
little fun.
A BtS challenge fic. Elements at the end.
====
Water, water
everywhere. But not the kind that did them
any good, Mulder reflected. Not the kind of beautiful,
blue, beach-edged water he was hoping to see out the
window.
He turned
away from the spectacular views of forked
lightning and trees whipping around in the wind. The
interior of the room wasn't what he'd hoped for, either.
Instead of a huge bed made up with soft cotton sheets
and a ceiling fan circling lazily overhead, there was
the usual skimpy double with a scratchy synthetic spread
over it. Plenty of humidity, though. "Did you call
the airport?"
Scully nodded,
her eyes on the television screen.
Mulder couldn't see what was so fascinating to her
from where he stood. "Delays all across the board.
Probability of any flight leaving tonight is unlikely."
Wouldn't you
know, the weather had been just fine as
long as they were investigating a case. But let him
plan a little extra-curricular activity for them, and
the heavens let loose. They should have been on the
plane, getting their beverage service by now. Instead,
they were stuck in Camden. Philadelphia International
wasn't allowing any flights out until the storms abated.
He flopped
face-first onto the bed. "What about
driving?" he asked, his voice muffled by the pillow
he burrowed into.
"All
the low-lying areas have flash flood warnings
in effect," she said. "I don't think we can outrun
the storm, anyway. Why, were you thinking of driving
to Cancun?"
"Very
funny, Scully," Mulder muttered into the pillow.
Just when he'd finally persuaded Scully to take a non-
work-related trip with him, the mother of all storms
was keeping them earthbound.
He turned
over to see the television as Scully snorted
and muttered something under her breath. "Idiots,"
she said.
"What's that?" he asked.
"Some
reality show," she said. "Most of these people
couldn't find their asses with both hands. They're
not even holding the map right."
Mulder watched
for a while. The show appeared to be
a competition to see who could get to a pre-determined
point first, with obstacles thrown in the way. It was
more fun watching Scully mutter and shake her head
over the antics than it was to watch the show.
She caught
him staring at her. "Take a picture, it
lasts longer," she said, tossing a pillow at him.
She was still a little angry with him, but he could
tell she was softening.
"I would,
but I left my camera in my other pants," he
said, spreading his arms out to show he had nothing to
hide. Considering he was wearing only boxers at the
moment, it was pretty obvious.
He loved it
when he made Scully blush. She shook her
head and turned away, pretending to ignore him and his
boxers. If he had his way, she wouldn't be ignoring
him for long.
Besides, he
couldn't help the way the roads were laid
out in New Jersey. So he took the wrong exit. He still
found them a place to stay, no mean feat in this kind
of weather.
She had turned
back to the television, but he could
tell her attention was at least partly focused on him,
lying innocently beside her, not even attempting to
touch her. She was sitting at the end of the bed and
so she couldn't see if he was watching her or the TV.
She steadfastly refused to turn around. He could
look at her to his heart's content. She was wearing
her terry robe and her hair was still damp from the
shower. He liked that look on her, though he liked
her look without the robe even more.
The show continued.
"Cute goats," he ventured at
one point. One of the contestants was trying, with
limited success, to herd goats into a boat. Her
partner was screaming at her, which wasn't helping
much.
"Yeah,
but they're going about it all the wrong way.
There's nothing to be afraid of," she said, "but
they're acting like they'll get goat-cooties or
something."
"While
you would use those magic words, `naa ram ewe,
naa ram ewe,' and they would instantly do your bidding?"
Mulder asked.
"It was
`baa ram ewe,' and it *did* help," Scully said
defensively.
Mulder wisely
let it drop. They watched in silence a
while longer. "We'd clean up on this show," he
remarked.
"You
think so?" No longer able to keep her back to
him, Scully had moved to stretch out beside him, and
he played with her fingers as she tried to keep the
remote from him. "I seem to recall that you're
somewhat map-impaired yourself."
"Well,
I think the navigator should take some
responsibility," he countered.
"Not
if the pilot won't listen," she replied, and
rolled away from him.
Crap.
"Sometimes
the important thing isn't where you're
going, but who you're with," he said.
Scully rolled
back to face him. "What a line,"
she said, rolling her eyes. But she had at least
answered him.
Even to him
it sounded like a line, but he meant
it sincerely. Being stuck in a fleabag motel with
Scully was better than being anywhere else without
her.
"Yeah,
I know," he replied. "But not too bad,
huh?" He wiggled his eyebrows at her.
"Better
than your map-reading skills, anyway,"
she said.
"Ouch."
Scully didn't need a scalpel to wound
him, but he took it like a man...a man who hoped
he'd get lucky some time that night.
"Forgive
me?" he asked winningly. "It's at least
better than sitting in the lounge at the airport."
"Maybe..."
Scully relented just a little. He
thought he could see a small smile starting.
And then,
to cap the wonderful evening, the
electricity went off.
They both
lay still, perhaps hoping that it was
a temporary outage. After several minutes, Mulder
got up and looked out the window.
"Looks
like we're not the only ones," he said. All
the street lights were out. He could see headlights
in the distance reflecting off the wet ground, and
the occasional flash of lightning, but nothing more.
Scully joined
him at the window. "Some vacation,"
she said glumly.
"Don't
give up, Scully," Mulder said. "Chances are
it will have blown over in the morning, and we'll
get to the airport, and be on our way."
"I never
pegged you for an optimist," Scully said.
She leaned against him. "But at least it's not a
hurricane."
"Been
there, done that," he agreed. "This is
nothing." He put his arm around her. "Guess we
might as well get some shut-eye."
Scully allowed
him to lead her to the bed, their
way illuminated in flashes by the storm.
They both
climbed into bed. After a moment, no
sound but quiet breathing from the other side of
the bed. Was she sleeping already? He hoped not.
Into the silence he spoke. "Scully."
"Yeah?"
she said. She didn't sound like she'd
been sleeping.
"Ever read a map by Braille?"
A sigh from
Scully. "I'm pretty sure you're not
really talking about maps, Mulder."
"Well,
not the conventional kind, anyway. More
like contour maps."
"Of what?"
"Well, you know...hills, valleys, clefts..."
A stifled
giggle from Scully. "Prominent
erections?" she said in a strangled voice.
"Now
you're talking," Mulder said. "Bet you I
could find *your* ass with one hand."
"Mulder,
are you calling my ass a prominent
erection?" Scully tried to sound indignant,
but she was laughing too hard.
"Never!
But I have one you could explore, if
you like." Bedclothes rustled as he pulled his
boxers off. He reached out for Scully and made
contact with terry cloth. He let his hand drift
down to her waist. "What d'you say to a little
exploration?" he whispered in her ear.
"Aren't
you afraid of getting lost?" Scully
sighed, turning toward him.
"No,
I have a pretty good sense of direction
without a map," he countered, drawing a line
from her chin down her throat to the opening of
her robe. He put his hand through the enticing
gap. "'Sides, on a trip like this, taking detours
is half the fun."
"So you'd
say you know where you're going most of
the time?" she murmured with a little catch in
her voice as his fingers stroked her softly under
the fabric.
"Yeah.
When it really counts," he said, letting his
lips explore her face before settling on her mouth.
"Why is this still on?" he asked, plucking at her
robe.
"Hmmm..."
Scully took his mouth again instead of
replying. His hand fumbled for the tie at her
waist and the robe loosened and fell open. At last
he could feel her, unencumbered by fabric.
Without being
able to see, he could concentrate on
the feel of her soft breasts and rigid nipples under
his fingers. He wanted to taste them, too, to savor
the feel of Scully's sweet skin on his tongue. He
could hear Scully's breathing quicken as he bent to
his task. Her hands stroked through his hair. He
enjoyed the feel of her fingertips on his scalp and
then the nape of his neck and down to his shoulders.
She pressed
against him, rubbing against his cock.
He had to pull away for a moment to catch his breath.
"You okay?" she asked, a little breathless herself.
"Uh huh," he said.
"Need
directions?" she teased, letting her hand
drift down his chest and play over his abdomen.
"Uh uh,"
he said. "I know my way around." He gritted
his teeth as Scully's hand reached his cock and
squeezed it gently. "But it feels like you want
to drive."
"Maybe,"
she said. Her fingers played over him.
"Or park it. And the map-reading metaphors, too.
Enough is enough."
He almost
pointed out that she started it, but better
sense prevailed before she made him go sleep in the
car. "Whatever you say, Agent Scully," he said.
"I'll hold you to that," she warned.
It was on
the tip of his tongue to make another
quip, but fortunately her hand was doing such
wonderful things to him, he was beginning to lose
the power of speech. So instead, he leaned in to
kiss her. After that, no more words were necessary.
Lips met lips
hungrily. Hands met to guide and
stroke, and soon the storm, the flight delays,
the motel itself, no longer mattered.
x-x-x
Bright light
shone in Mulder's face and he blinked.
The curtain gaped open and a bright finger of
sunlight hit him right in the face.
Scully was
burrowed into the pillow next to him.
She stirred only slightly as he rose from the bed.
Water-diamonds
sparkled everywhere. The pavement
was almost blinding with reflected light. He could
see no damage other than a few small branches
littering the parking lot.
Scully sat
up as he hung up from calling the airport.
"Flight's in ninety minutes, Scully. The roads are
clear. Think we can make it?"
"I don't
know," Scully said. "I think I've grown
to like it here." She gave him a sultry smile. Her
hair was thoroughly tousled and she peered at him
through its strands. Her lips still looked enticingly
swollen, too.
"Well,
maybe I can arrange for us to get lost again,"
Mulder grinned at her. "Or we can make it a historic
spot: `Scully Slept Here.'"
"Now
that would be worth a prominent erection," she
said with a straight face.
Oooh, Scully.
She was getting too damned good at the
innuendo game. "Are you sure we need to leave for
the airport right away?" he asked. "I can drive
fast."
"Good,"
she said. "Drive fast, and maybe later we
can see about membership in the Mile High Club."
Mulder grinned.
"I do like the way you think,
Agent Scully."
"I learned
from a master," she said demurely.
"Come on, I'll flip you for the shower."
"Bring it on," he said, leaping onto the bed.
end.
Challenge
elements: A map, water, camera, and
photograph. All there, in various ways.
Also
in commemoration of getting lost in Camden,
NJ myself recently. Though I do not blame my
navigator in any way -- in fact, without her,
I'd probably still be there!
I'd
love to hear from you: msnsc21@aol.com