From: LassMulder@aol.com Date sent: Sat, 14 Feb 1998 15:59:32 EST Subject: Elevators Title: Elevators Author: Lass Mulder Rating: PG Classification: SRH Spoilers: none Summary: The lights go out in a stuck elevator. Dana Scully pulled the door to the office shut, locking it and testing the handle before walking away with her partner. "I am *so* tired. I'm going to get home and fall straight into bed. To hell with food," she murmured, mostly to herself. "Well, I'm sorry, it's not my fault Skinner decided he needed all that paperwork done by tomorrow at 6." Pause. "Can you believe the man gets here at 6 am?" "Yeah, Mulder, he doesn't have a life. *Just like us*, might I remind you." The pair reached the end of the hallway and stopped in front of the elevators. "I have a life.." Mulder replied indignantly. "Mulder, you don't go on dates. You don't own a *bed*. You are still at work at one in the morning finishing paperwork with the FBI's resident "Ice Queen". You do not have a life." Scully punched the "up" button, hoping Mulder would let the "Ice Queen" thing go. She got enough of that from every other agent and secretary at the bureau. Mulder decided to leave the "Ice Queen" comment alone. That was dangerous territory. The elevator finally arrived. "We must be the last people in the whole building. This is pathetic." Scully sighed and stepped into the elevator, Mulder following. The small room started it's slow ascent. With a loud thump the elevator stopped, and with a long, drawn out whine, the lights went out. "Of course. This *would* happen. Why didn't I think of this? It's perfect! The obvious next step for me this week would be getting stuck in a dark elevator with good ol' Spooky at one in the morning." Scully stopped. "Mulder? I didn't mean that." From somewhere on her left came, "I know." "Cell phones!!" Scully dug around in her purse, but she pulled the phone out too quickly, and it slid from her grasp and hit the floor with a splitting rattle. "No." Scully moaned, sinking to the floor. "Now, Mulder, it's your cue to tell me that you either left *your* phone in the office, or else it isn't charged for the first time in the 4 and a half years I've worked with you." "I'll take option number two, Johnny." Mulder slid down the wall, stretching his legs out. "That would be right." Silence. "That's it. This is insane. I can't do this." Mulder heard his petite partner stand up, and start pacing around the small compartment. "Can't do what?" Mulder asked, not getting up. "I can't stay in this dark elevator all night. Even with you. Especially with you." "Why?" "I can't. I can't do this. I can't, I can't, I can't." Scully's voice was getting more and more agitated, almost panicky. "Woah, Scully, slow down. What's the matter?" Mulder stood up and found her in the dark. Wrapping his arms around her he forced her to stop moving. "Mulder, let me go! Let me go, or I swear to God, I'll-!!" Scully's voice rose, and she squirmed and punched at her tall partner's chest, kicking at his legs. Mulder released Scully, thoroughly confused. "What is *wrong*, Scully?" "I hate this. I hate this. I can't stand this. I hate small spaces. I went crazy that time Pfaster had me in his closet, and the same happened when that ass-hole Duane Barry stuffed me that God-damn trunk!!" Scully's voice had reached a screech and she was talking very quickly. "Car's don't bother me anymore. I had some therapy for that, and now I can do the car thing. But I still don't like elevators. I can manage if I know they're moving, and the lights are on, but. This is insane, I have to get out of here." Scully started feeling the walls, wishing one would magically open for her. "Oh, God, Mulder. The walls are getting closer..." Scully was sure the room was smaller than before. Mulder grabbed Scully again, and this time didn't let go when she protested. "No, Scully, you have to listen to me. It might be awhile before someone realizes where we are. Quite awhile. So you're going to have to get over this. Now, I'm much bigger than you, right?" "This is no time for your sick "short" humor, Mulder-" "I'm not going to say that. Answer me. Aren't my arms much longer than yours?" "Yes, what's your point?" Scully snapped. "Look. I've got my arms stretched out all the way. See? The room isn't getting any smaller. If it was, I wouldn't be able to stretch my arms like this. Ok?" Scully hesitated, and then checked to see if Mulder was really telling the truth. She put her hands up to his shoulders and ran them along his arms, out to his finger-tips, which were still not touching the sides of the elevator. After convincing herself she was relatively safe for the time being, she let out a nervous sigh and sat down. She felt Mulder sit down next to her. "Scully. can I ask you a question?" "Mm-hm." "Do you call me "Spooky" when you're talking to other agents about me?" Scully was a little more than surprised at the bluntness and nature of the question, but she told her partner the truth quickly. "Mulder, I don't call you Spooky. And, the thing is, I don't talk to any other agents. I talk to Skinner, and the occasional lab technician, and that's about it. As I said before, I have no life." Mulder, not knowing quite what to say, sighed and crossed his arms. "It gets cold in here at night, doesn't it?" "Maybe it's because you're sitting right next to the Ice Queen." Scully offered bitterly, still breathing heavily, and thinking of the small dimensions of the elevator. she thought. "Why do you do that? Why do you call yourself that? Degrading yourself does nothing but lower your self-esteem. And in our line of work, that can't happen. And, trust me, you are *not* the Ice Queen." "What happened to "Trust No One"?" Mulder paused. "Do you trust me?" "Mulder, to echo something you told me about a year or two ago, you are the *only* one I trust," Scully said softly after a while. "Then, *trust* me, you aren't the Ice Queen." "Thanks, Mulder. .Oh, I can't do this. This is impossible." "It's not impossible, Scully. We just have to keep your mind off of this." thought Scully. Mulder continued, "So, we are going to play a game. Uh. Word Associations. Ok? You know how to play, right? I'll tell you a word, you tell me the thing that pops into your mind first. Then you get a turn. Ready?" "Mm-hm." "Uh. red." "Hair." Mulder laughed. "Ok. Your turn." "Green." "Gray." "As in aliens?" "Mm-hm. Paris." "Shoes. Shopping. Louis Vuitton." "Women and shoes. I'll never understand that. Did you know Jerry Sienfeld thinks aliens *have* landed, but women have been so preoccupied with shoes, and men have been so preoccupied with cleavage, that we haven't even noticed?" Mulder offered. "No. Back to the game," Scully said. "Uh, France." "Topless beaches." "Ugh. I should have seen that coming." "Playboy magazine." "Pervert," Scully said instantly. "Pervert," Mulder said, giving another word. "Hey! You get 2 in a row? But. Frohike," Scully answered. Mulder laughed again. "Ok. You get 2." "Me." "You? As in "Dana Scully, MD"?" "Yes." "Trust." Scully was silent for a few seconds before saying, "Love." Mulder waited a long time, finally answering softly with, "Sun flower seeds." Scully let out the breath she didn't know she'd been holding. "Hmm. Ok. Steak-out." "Ice Tea." Pause. "Or Root Beer." Another pause. "Oh, right, I need to give you a word. Dog." "Fish food. Uh. sister." "Sadness." "That's weird. That's the exact word I was thinking of. Your turn." "Handcuffs." "Chocolate," she replied promptly. "Wha-?" Scully cut him off. "Don't ask. Forget I said that." "Ok. Sure. Fine." "Whatever." The 2 partners smiled in the dark. "Who's turn is it?" Scully finally asked. "Yours," Mulder said. "Mmm. Can we change the rules a little bit? I'll ask you 5, then you ask me 5. The person who isn't asking also has to close their eyes. Sound Ok?" "Fine with me." "Close your eyes." "They were already closed." "Oh, Ok.. Quest." Scully started up the game again. "Truth," Mulder shot back. "Annoying." "Partner. Ow!" Mulder rubbed at the sore spot on his arm where Scully had pinched him. "Phoebe," Scully said, hoping to catch her partner off guard. "Fire." "Fire." "Fear." thought Scully. "Monkey." "Dishwasher." "What? No, never mind, I don't want to know. Well, that was 5. Now it's your turn." Mulder sighed. "Ok. Sheep." "Follow." Scully felt Mulder jerk. "What?" "Nothing. ...Just thinking about a small red laser light. Next word, Jealousy." "Phee- um, I don't know." "Were you going to say Phoebe?" Mulder asked, amused. "No!" Scully answered, a little too quickly. "Continue, please," she said stiffly. "Fire," Mulder said, throwing her word back at her. "Inner strength and passion." "Bed." "Dying. You thought you could get something kinky out of me, didn't you?" "Dying," Mulder said, avoiding her question. "Belief. Ok, that's 5. My turn. Got your eyes closed?" "Never opened them." "Good." Scully smiled. "Have you been honest up until now?" "Yes." "Will you promise to be so from now on, too?" "Mm-hm. So long as you will. Shake." Mulder stuck out his hand, but pulled back when Scully spoke. "Mulder? That's not my hand." "Oh, right. Well, we'll take each other's words for it." "Ok. Video." "VCR." "Blonde." "Bimbo." "Red-head." "Short. Ow!! Stop pinching. That hurts." "It's supposed to. Virgin." "Lying." "Mulder!" "Handsome, dashing, brilliant, *always* right-" "I didn't mean that as a question in the game," Scully said dryly. "Sorry. I was really into it. And there are so many things I associate with myself." Scully let out a noise Mulder wasn't sure he had ever heard before. "Scully, what was that? Did you snort?" Another "snort" came from Mulder's partner. "I'll take that as a yes. My turn. Quantico." "Jack." "Computer." "Artificial Intelligence. Now look how you've got me thinking," Scully scolded. "That was a strange case." "There are X-Files that aren't strange?" "Good point. What *did* happen to you just before you found me again? You looked like you had gone through Hell." "I was in the air ducts.. Somehow they got going really fast, and they sucked me in. Don't ask me to explain it. I don't want to get into that again. Those air ducts were very small. very cramped. and very dark." Scully paused. "Oh, God, Mulder, I don't think I can do this." "Yes, you can. You will. You've been doing fine so far. Let's keep you talking." "No, Mulder, this won't work," Scully said, her breathing becoming faster. "Is it hot in here? I'm really hot... I've got to get out of here, Mulder, please... Oh, God..." "Scully, it's OK. Stand up. I've got my arms stretched out again. See? The elevator is really quite large. I can't touch the sides. Stand up. See?" Scully stood up and moved over to her partner in the complete blackness of their temporary cell. She found him in the darkness and trailed her hands along the top of his right arm, gliding down to his fingers. She twirled her fingers into his, gave them a quick squeeze and moved her hands back up to his shoulder. As she couldn't run her hands over his head, she dropped them down to his chest, skimming it, pushing aside his tie, (which she remembered was awful - one of her least favorites) and continued across to his other shoulder. Her hands made the journey down his left arm much as they had for the right. The same squeeze of the hand, and then back up to the top. But this time her hands didn't drop away, and she didn't step back or sit down. She moved closer. Keeping her hands on him, she felt her way up to his neck, pausing there for an instant before threading her fingers up through the hair at the back of his head. Again she took a step closer. Mulder's arms had gradually come down to rest at his sides, but he hadn't said a word or backed away. Scully, once more, took a step towards her partner, so they stood only a few inches apart, with their feet touching. Scully raised herself up onto her toes, and brought Mulder's head down closer to her. She whispered softly, "Mulder?" Silence. She waited for awhile, counting to 10 before asking again, "Mulder?" This time, as she counted to 10, she felt his breath on her face. she thought, absently. "Mulder." Again, no answer. "Even if you won't acknowledge me, I'm going to tell you what I need to say. I trust you. I know I've told you that before, but I just needed to let you know that again." Mulder's hands circled her waist, pulling her into him as his lips met hers. The kiss was tentative at first, but it deepened quickly. Mulder backed Scully up, trying to find the wall. But in the dark, he wasn't sure where it was. Scully nodded her head and sighed into her partner's mouth, letting him move her backwards. She hugged Mulder's neck tighter, kissing him harder. His hands moved lower, pressing her closer to him as he pushed her back. But she hit a wall, her head banging against the mirror that was there, and the pair's teeth clicked together, causing Scully to give a startled, "Ow!" The kiss stopped, and Mulder leaned against Scully for a moment. Suddenly, he started shaking. "Are you laughing?" Scully accused. Mulder just kept silently laughing, placing his forehead against Scully's. Soon she was laughing, too, and they settled down to the floor to try to calm down. "Why is this so funny?" Scully asked, taking some deep breaths. "I don't know..." Mulder replied. "But," he said, becoming serious, "now that we're on the floor, we could try that again without the danger of walking backwards into a wall." "That sounds like a great idea," Scully placed her hands on either side of Mulder's face, pulling his mouth to hers again, as she shifted over to sit on his lap. When the maintenance crew found them in the morning, Scully was curled up, using Mulder's lap as a pillow. His right hand was laying protectively on her head. "Ok, come on, wake up!! Let's go!! Take my hand and we'll get you guys outta there," yelled one of the burly men. He thrust a large hand down through the panel in the elevator roof, motioning for Scully to grab on. "Why are you two so late? I've been waiting 20 minutes for you," Skinner said, standing up as Mulder and Scully entered his office. "I told you to be in here at 6. And... aren't those the same clothes you were wearing yesterday?" ============== Comments?? Please?? I'm down on my knees here. I'm *begging* you!!! LassMulder@aol.com ==============