Relationship Management-101 by Pamela O This story was inspired by Chris Carter's X-Files. I am using his characters without permission. TIA, Chris! Summary Mulder and Skinner discuss the women they love-can you believe it! This is a sequel to With Just Words, which is a sequel to Along The Way, but each story can stand on it's own. It's rated G and, of course, based on the title, *R* for relationship content. This story is dedicated to Jonathan and Nicholas who make the X-File labelled PARENTHOOD so much fun. Relationship Management-101 "Who do you need information about?" He stood in the office doorway looking like he usually looked; white shirt with sleeves rolled up, red tie, and his stern expression born of exasperation inherent with the title of Assistant Director. "Excuse me?" Mulder looked up from the one page article he had been trying to read for the last half hour. "You have been trying to access the personnel files, Mulder. After three incorrect password attempts, it's someone's job to check it out." With a trace of annoyance, he handed Mulder a sheet of paper that detailed the time and source of the said activity. 'Oh, I must have been more tired than I thought. I didn't realize I'd switched data bases." Skinner looked around, noting that Mulder's partner, Dana Scully, was apparently out or gone for the day. He nodded his head in a slow, rhythmic manner. "Sure Mulder, that's what I needed to hear. Maybe you should call it a day then," he added with a brusqueness that made it sound like an order and not a suggestion. "Yes sir. Sorry to bother you with that," Mulder said. *** Skinner pushed the door that was already ajar. "Agent Mulder?" Mulder appeared not to have heard him nor did he appear to have moved from the same spot he had occupied earlier. This time he sat rocking in his grey office chair, alternately chewing on, then drumming his pen on the folder in his lap. "Mulder? You were leaving a couple of hours ago, " Skinner questioned. "I'm going now." He tossed the folder on his desk, his demeanor spoke of irritation, frustation, and fatigue. "Look Mulder, first of all, I don't consider myself the confidant type and if I were, I'm not sure that you would trust me. But..." He took of his wire-framed glasses, blew away a spec of dust and then replaced them. "It's 6:30 and I'm going home to an empty apartment, an unblinking answering machine and probably a bag of potato chips--baked mind you--for dinner." "So, you're saying you'd like to help me out, but this evening is already jammed packed with goodies?" Mulder responded with typical Mulder humor. "Something like that." Skinner's face reflected a gradual dissipation of stress. He almost smiled. *** They found themselves in a Georgetown restaurant that attracted a nice mixture of regulars and tourists. Mulder ordered the shrimp scampi and Skinner went with the Greek salad and grilled chicken. They both drank Scotch. "Have you heard anything about Scully and Pendrell?" Mulder selected this as his opening, happy to create a bigger space for his thoughts to whirl around in. "As a matter of fact, I have." "You want to fill me in?" "The general consensus is that they got together on or about May 31st and that things are moving at a steady pace." "At a steady pace." Mulder repeated. "For more than a month." he commented, carefully assimilating each piece of information, his hands folded in front of him on the table, calmly belying his internal chaos. "Yes, that's what I've heard. How long have you known?" "Since about 6:45 this morning." "Oh, I see." "What, umm, what does conventional office wisdom say about this pairing?" "It's thumbs up. Scully's been around for a little more than three years now and the rumor was she hadn't been seeing anybody. People hold them both in high regard. I think Pendrell is receiving kudos all around." "Hmm." Mulder replied, listening, taking it all in. "What's going on with *you* and this "pairing", Agent Mulder?" "I'm...coping. That's one of the things I do best." He took this moment to signal the waiter to bring two more drinks. *** "If things *were* to go another way, Mulder, in a way that would detour you and Scully from a strictly professional partnership--and I don't presume to know about that one way or the other--but, take it from me, it couldn't work. I've seen couples try and fail because eventually the work suffers. It's the nature of this job." "Fortunately, I know that. Or, unfortunately I know that, as the case may be," Mulder said. In those rare moments when he put his torch down, the one that insisted upon light in all the darkness of cover-up, there was no question in his mind that Scully was the person he was meant to be with during his time on this earth. He just didn't know how to merge the work with the personal and until he figured it out, things would have to stay the way they were. "Do you think Scully knows that?" Skinner asked. "Yeah. Why wouldn't she? Scully's got this brilliantly analytical mind." "She's very intelligent." Skinner confirmed. "She's a damn good agent. I've never worked with a better one." "Extremely capable." Skinner echoed. "She also has this girl-next-door image combined with this slow, simmering, sexiness." "She's definitely attractive." Skinner acknowledged. "And, most importantly, I trust her implicitly." "I'm sure she's worthy of your trust, Mulder." That exchange managed to drain their glasses so a third round was ordered. Luckily, their food arrived before the drinks did, giving them a different diversion to lighten the emotional intensity of their conversation. *** "Suffice it to say, if Pendrell hurts her, he's a dead man." Mulder stated between forkfuls. "In that case, I think he'll be around a while. He's an okay guy, Mulder." "Tell me about him." "You mean tell you what his personnel file says?" "Something like that," Mulder admitted. "Sean Ryan Pendrell is 31. He was born and raised in Albany, New York. Got his B.S. in Physics from the University of Chicago, his Ph.D in Chemical Engineering from MIT. He's been with the Agency for two years. Before that he worked for Monsanto. He's married, no children." Mulder's muscles temporarily stopped working. He struggled to swallow the food in his mouth. "Married? Still?" "Yeah, that's a tragic story. Seems he married his college sweetheart. She was in a terrible car accident almost four years ago...sustained a massive head injury. She's being kept alive on life supports." "God, I didn't know that." Now Mulder struggled not to feel relief. (Pendrell belonged to someone else!) Nevertheless, he felt relief and was left to deal with the guilt associated with benefiting from someone else's misfortune. (Because he was a good guy, Pendrell probably would opt to stay married.) *** "You remember Sharon, don't you?" Skinner asked. "Your wife? Of course I do." An image of a petite brunette who exuded a quiet energy that you did *not* want to be in the way of, came to Mulder's mind. Change the hair color to red and take away ten years or so, and that description could fit Scully. "I was glad to hear that she recovered from that incident. What's the status otherwise?" "Otherwise, we're still living apart. We've been going to counseling, though. I'm not comfortable with the idea, but I don't want to throw away 17 years of marriage without one last cry-- uh, try. Did I say cry? I meant one last try." "That sounds reasonable." "Sharon...she's another incredible woman. She's got it all; brains, looks, compassion...sensuality. Mulder nodded in agreement. Although he'd only met Sharon Skinner once, he'd clearly discerned each of those qualities. "How'd you two meet?" "Through work. She's an archaeologist-top of her field-works for the Smithsonian. We needed help with a case I'd never forget even if it hadn't led to meeting her: Lester Lovelace killed his wife and five kids and buried them in individual graves in a 200 year old church cemetary. He didn't confess until 50 years after the deed was done." "I remember hearing about that case. Lovelace didn't bother with grave markers, right?" They could shake their heads and laugh about it. They had to laugh or risk going totally insane. It was the nature of the job. It was sad, but not surprising, Mulder thought, that romantic relationships, with all of their built-in complications and frailties could not withstand the constant onslaught of such evil. Both the relationship and the work demanded tending. In their line of work, one would always get more, the other less - to its detriment. Mulder glanced down at his half-empty plate and then over at his empty glass. This time he signaled the waiter for water. As it was, they should probably take taxies home. "So, how's the counseling going?" he asked. "Oh, I don't know. We all agree that I'm basically pissed; after all these years, her main complaint is that I don't open up...I don't tell her things...I don't let her in." "*Do* you open up to her?" "No, but I never did. It's not my style. Here's my analogy--tell me what you think: This woman picks this house near the river. She loves it. Time passes and she decides that she doesn't like mosquitoes and the threat of floods is upsetting to her." Mulder's blank expression told Skinner what he needed to know; one or both of them had had enough to drink. "Don't you get it? Sharon's the woman and I'm the house. Suddenly, she's not happy. Why not? I haven't changed? Things that never bothered her before do now." "I guess *she* has changed. I guess it's a good thing you're not as limited as that house is." Mulder said. "Yes, I guess she has. And, when I think about it, I know my excuse is...lacking. Nothing ever stays the same." Skinner ran his hand across the top of his head where hair used to be as if unconsciously making his point. Skinner continued to explain, "I didn't want to bring home all the muck and mire. I wanted a place to go to that was not tainted and soiled. I didn't think that was asking too much." With resignation he said, "Well, we do what we have to do, when we know what we know." "Yeah, I've had pretty much those same thoughts all day." "And, what have you decided to do?" "Respect the choices Scully makes. Accept her. Be there for her. No matter when. No matter what the circumstances. That's all." "I think that's everything, Mulder. You know, I've heard one word used to describe all of that." "Yes sir, I believe I'm familiar with that one word myself." "Would it be accurate to use in this situation?" "Some would use it. Personally, I consider it to be woefully inadequate." Skinner nodded his head in a slow, rhythmic manner. He understood as much as he could understand. The rest remained to be seen. A few seconds later, he caught the waiter's eye, they were ready for the check. He'd charge dinner (and their taxies home) to his expense account. After all, relationships certainly quailify as something unexplained by scientific inquiry, the same as any other X-File. The End Author's note: I wrote this thinking that Mulder needed someone to talk to. In that sense, it's like the one I wrote called Above All Else in which Scully needed and found someone to talk to. It's in the archives if you are interested in reading it. -- I "borrowed" titles or lines from at least three songs. This is all I can do in the way of acknowledgement because I don't know the full names or artists. :> Please let me know what you think. (E-mail answered here).