Monday March 20, 7:30 a.m.
Westside High School

Dana and her mother sat outside the principal’s office.  After the events of
Saturday evening had spiraled from gut wrenching to heart lifting, Dana had
hoped the matter was closed.  Unfortunately for Fox, Mr. & Mrs. Heflin did
not.  They were in the office with Fox and Mrs. Mulder, sorting out the
details of what Zack described as an unprovoked jealous attack.
Due to the nature of Dana’s involvement, Principal Beim-Esche agreed with
her mother’s wishes to interview them privately.  Still, they could hear the
accusations fly in the adjoining room.  After some time had passed they
heard chairs move and footsteps at the door.  A very tight lipped Lucy and
Charles Heflin exited with a red faced Zack, still walking as if in a
measure of pain. Dana tried to suppress a smug little smile.  Between her
and Fox, they had really done a number on that jerk.  At least now his
reputation would precede him somewhat, hopefully eliminating the chance of
it happening to another girl.
Behind them came Mrs. Scully, her face masked in a very different
expression.  You could tell that she was upset, yet there was an
unmistakable gleam of pride in her eyes.  And then came Fox.
His face was furrowed in a look of concern, but when he saw Dana, his
expression changed.  The brown eyes sparkled and the lopsided grin returned.
He crossed his wrists before him, imitating a handcuffed prisoner resigned
to his fate. 
 "All right Fox, let’s go."  As she passed, Mrs. Mulder turned towards them.
"Hello Dana-Mrs. Scully,  I just wanted to tell you that I am terribly sorry
for your trouble."
"Oh, it’s no trouble," Mrs.Scully interjected, "and please, call me
Margaret. We're all quite...fond of Fox and I know he had only the most
honorable intentions.  As I see it, this is the second time his assistance
has proven invaluable to my daughter."
While their mothers chatted, neither Fox nor Dana broke eye contact.  No
words were spoken, there was no telepathic exchange.  In the time they had
spent together they had learned to read each other’s expressions and body
language. Dana could tell from his posture that he was not quite out of the
clear as she would have assumed.
His face told her there was something wrong-something troubling him, but his
eyes reassured her (it’s no big deal.).
She raised an eyebrow, pupils growing large for a moment-(what just happened
in there?)
He rolled his eyes upwards and then looked back and winked.  (I’m in a bit
of trouble but I’d do it again)
She flushed slightly and rewarded him with a small smile.  (So would I)
He turned towards her, eyebrows both up-his head cocked to the side.  (What
are you trying to tell me?)
She grinned broadly then looked down.  
"Are you coming, Fox?"
Dana looked up.  His expression had changed to irritated  resignation.
She looked surprised-confused. (Where are you going?)
He motioned with his hands still crossed, to his mother, and sighed.  (Home)
As he slipped past her, he made a poor pretense of tripping, and caught
himself on the arm of her chair.  His face was unbearably close to hers.
She felt as if her face had flushed simply from his nearness.  He leaned in
towards her ear, as if to disclose the most intimate of secrets....then
paused tantalizingly.  Dana closed her eyes, savoring the moment.
"Homework." he breathed huskily into her ear.  Dana almost swooned for a
moment until the meaning of the word hit her like a slap in the face.
"What!?"
He straightened himself.  "Homework. Would you mind bringing me my
assignments this week?"
Understanding flooded her brain.  He was being suspended from school.  For a
week.  Because of her. "Of course.  I’ll have to get Bill or Missy to bring
me over, though."
Teena spoke.  "Is that all right with you....Margaret?"
Dana’s mother smiled warmly and laid a hand on Fox’s shoulder.  "For this
young man, anything."  Fox had to stifle the urge to kiss Mrs. Scully.
"OK Dana, it’s our turn to see Ms. Beim-Esche."  Dana got up and walked
towards the door.   She turned just as Fox was exiting, and he turned too.
She smiled a self conscious lip biting smile. (Bye Fox)
He returned the smile (Bye Dana) then winked (see you soon).
Seated in the principal’s office she suddenly found it very difficult to
relate her story with the proper amount of reserve and seriousness.
Reminding herself that Fox was in much more trouble than she was, Dana
sobered up and relayed the tale.

"Well Dana, from what you’ve told me, and I’m not too surprised to say this,
I believe you.   Zack will be remain suspended for 2 weeks and be on
probation for the duration of the school year.  His parents were rather
upset with this but I advised them how fortunate they were that you and your
mother would not be pressing charges in which case I could quite legally
have had him expelled."
"Now Fox," she paused, letting out a slight sigh, "Fox is another matter
entirely."  Dana saw from the principal’s tone that she liked Fox, and
regretted the necessary discipline.  "Motive aside, it stands that he did in
fact, attack another student in front of half the school.  So he will have
to continue on suspension this week.  However, since up to this point he has
been an exemplary student, it will not remain in his student records, and,"
she turned to Dana, "if you would assist him in catching up with his daily
work, I will see to it you are given your seventh period study hall this
week to help him."
Dana beamed. Trying to suppress her delight, she blurted out, "Yes,
thank-you ma’am, of course."
"All right then.  Mrs. Scully, does this resolve the matter to your
satisfaction?"
"I should say so," Margaret answered, "for both Dana and me."
As they got up, Margaret shook the principal’s hand warmly.  "Thank you Ms.
Beim-Esche."
"Yes, thank-you" Dana added.
"Its my pleasure, she responded with a smile, "We feel very fortunate to
have a student of Dana’s calibre in our school.  I hope that you will all be
staying with us for quite some time.  The summer truly is wonderful here."

Later that same day..

It was odd how uneventful the day seemed without Fox there.  Other than
spiteful looks from Molly in gym class, most of the kids at school seemed to
regard her as something of a celebrity.  Students she’d never met came up to
her to say hello and practically everyone smiled at her as she passed.   At
one point in the lunchroom Molly glared at her and got up as if she had
something to say, then thought the better of it.  Dana had gotten used to
stares from her & her little clique, so this treatment didn’t affect her in
the least.  One thing she had learned from the many different schools she’d
attended.  Every school had a group of petty minded people who would look
down their noses upon her and at least half the school.  She discovered with
Ahab’s guidance, that the opinions and cruelties of such small minded
cretins meant nothing her life.
"Power perceived is Power Achieved, Starbuck.  If they sense you as a threat
and treat you as such, reacting in kind will only sink you to their level."
She smiled thinking of her father.  How she missed him.  Spring break was
coming and he’d made arrangements for them to stay on base that week in
Annapolis.  It suddenly hit her that if she was on the base with her family
she wouldn’t get to spend much time with Fox before he left for Oxford.  

She cursed his luck then instantly felt guilty about it. He was brilliant,
and deserved every opportunity that came his way His interest in Psychology
was no surprise to her.   She recognized his natural ability to size up a
person almost immediately and accurately.  It could be infuriating at times,
you’d wonder if he said things because he meant them or because he knew it’s
what you wanted him to say.  The flip side of this gift was that he had a
perverse talent of knowing exactly what to say to unnerve you, what buttons
to push. And it seemed to give him great pleasure to do so.   She couldn’t
contain the grin which blossomed on her face.  How ironic that the things
most maddening about him were also what she loved-what made him so unique &
wonderful.  To be in the company of someone of the opposite sex and yet
really feel appreciated--respected for your individuality was rare.  The
closest she had ever come to that was with Ahab.  She knew he loved all his
children equally, but she and her father had a special bond.  Common
interests, respect and something more-something unspoken.  She snickered
softly about her Freudian slip.  The analogy of Fox to Ahab.  Talk about
something unspoken.  She knew his time at Oxford would be incredible for
Fox, maybe even envied him for it. It was then and there that she decided
not to let him see even a moment’s hesitation in her happiness for him. In
San Diego, there had been a boy she was crazy for, & who loved her back.
But when her father accepted the transfer which took them to Asia for
several months, Steve was terribly resentful about it.  It made what should
have been an incredible adventure for her sad and bittersweet.  And a year
later, when she returned, he scorned her, as if the choice to leave had been
hers.  A pretty pathetic example of puppy love, to be sure, but Dana
recognized the moment for its truth. 
Love could build a person up, but just as easily bring them down.  So she
perfected a way to communicate with others without giving them a clue to her
feelings.  It made decisions simpler, tough choices easier.  She swore Fox
would not feel torn by her hesitance to say goodbye.  And when hereturned
for the summer-for graduation, well they would have plenty of time to
discover one another. The sixth period bell rang.  Startled, Dana looked up.
So deep in thought, she hadn’t even considered the teacher’s instructions.  
"Miss Scully?"  Mr. Munekee motioned her to his desk. "Here’s Mr. Mulder’s
sheets on todays’ lecture, you might review them yourself," he admonished
her, looking over his glasses with a stern expression, tempered by a twinkle
in his eyes.  "Also here are some extra credit materials for Fox to work on
independently. Now as I understand it, you have a ride waiting for you
outside the front entrance."
"Thank you Mr. Munekee."
"You're welcome, Dana, tell Fox we miss him."
She grinned, gathered up her papers and Fox’s assignments, and practically
skipped out the door.  As she passed through the front door after signing
out of the office she froze in her tracks.  It wasn't Bill there, waiting
for her, but instead a silvery blue mustang was idling.  Surprised, she
fought valiantly to contain the smile which threatened to cross her face.
But when his twinkling brown eyes met hers,  she conceded the battle.  
Fox saw her step out the front door and hesitate, surprised to see him.
His gut wrenched as she favored him with a heart stopping smile.  It was
the kind of smile he rarely saw, but readily cherished.  He felt his heart
race uncontrollably.
(What are you doing, Fox?--you’re getting ready to leave in less than a
month.) 
He leaned over to open the passenger side door, and Dana climbed in.  
"Curbside service?" she questioned him.
He stared at her face for a moment-her intense blue eyes, lightly freckled
complexion in a soft red frame.  This face was a work of art, he thought to
himself.  This face....was...raising an eyebrow in such an endearing manner
and made his resistance all the more difficult.  He cleared his throat.
"You’re not getting goofy on me now, are you Fox?"
He turned away, silenced for the moment, but smiling all the same.  Dana had
a maddening ability to lay into him effortlessly.  And she would expect no
less from him in return.  He mused over a proper retort.
Seemingly encouraged by the pause, she continued.  "Oh, you *ARE* getting
goofy on me, o.k...."
She looked out the window chuckling softly.  "Well you’d better de-goof a
little because it appears that all of your teachers have decided to put a
very unceremonious end to your mini vacation."
He regarded the stack of books and papers she offered for evidence, and
groaned.
"Great. Thanks alot."
"Hey I didn’t make up the assignments, and i certainly didn’t attack Heflin
at the prom," she chided him.
"No, that’s true, he conceded, "You reserved your *attack* for a much more
*private place*."  He leered at her laughingly, obviously very pleased with
himself at his double entendre.
Dana nodded in agreement.  "Touche, Fox.  Just remember that it’s a skill I
haven’t lost."   She then gave him *the look*.
Widening his eyes in false trepidation, he sat up straight, gripped the
steering wheel stiffly, eyes straight ahead, and answered in a mocking tone,
"Yes ma’am, Miss Scully, where to Miss Scully?"
Dana mulled it over. She didn’t want to go to her house, Bill and Missy and
Charlie and Mom would all be there soon, and she didn’t want to share him
just yet.  But going to his house--possibly his room--the implications were
too much to consider.  She felt her pulse rise in agreement. Without
realizing it, she sighed out loud.
Mulder glanced at her quickly, seeming to comprehend of the weight of her
decision.  Reminding himself to do what was right and ultimately best for
the both of them, he suggested the Library.
Scully visibly relaxed by this neutral suggestion, nodded in agreement, and
gave him a tight lipped smile.  "Uh-huh.."
And so they spent several hours at the public library, and on the nights
which followed as well.  They passed the time pleasantly, joking, going over
assignments and figures and theories.  It was an easy, familiar routine.
And as they were each hesitant to end their sessions, more often than not
they found themselves evicted as a result of the librarian needing to close
up.

The remaining weeks at school passed in a similar fashion.  Well, almost.
Dana noted bitterly that when Fox returned to school, he also returned to
his familiar routines with Molly.  Very much hurt by this, Dana silently
relinquished their evenings of study to her unworthy opponent. Still, she
had Fox to herself in many ways, in their shared classes.  And she knew it
was for the best no matter how it hurt.  Much to her delight, however, Fox
openly defied Molly’s ego on several occasions by enthusiastically speaking
with Dana in front of her.  He made no secret of the fact that he and Dana
had an intellectual partnership-an equality she could never share.  Dana
took great satisfaction in this.  She was not an eternal optimist, but not
entirely jaded either.  She knew that statistics were in her favor in terms
of maintaining a friendship with Fox after high school.  Good friends kept
in touch.  High school sweethearts rarely did, no matter what the movies
said.  And the prospect of his friendship being  there-an anchor in the
turbulent years ahead was an inviting one.  After all, she reasoned to
herself, it probably wouldn't be too long before the Scully clan was
destined to move on again as well.
Dreaming the uncertain dream of loving Fox Mulder was fine and well, but the
reality of certain frienship held it's own appeal.  She couldn’t bear the
thought of repeating the Steve incident.  No, at long last Dana reconciled
herself to enjoy her time with Fox, however she spent it.  The biggest
problem now was that there was so precious little of that time left.