Touchy V (Day 2)

Author: PhileyX 
E-Mail: phileyxback@yahoo.com 
Web-site: https://www.angelfire.com/id/phileyx
Rating: G
Category: UST
Prequels: Touchy from https://www.angelfire.com/id/phileyx/Touchy.html, Touchy II from https://www.angelfire.com/id/phileyx/TouchyII.html, Touchy III from https://www.angelfire.com/id/phileyx/TouchyIII.html, and Touchy IV from
https://www.angelfire.com/id/phileyx/TouchyIV.html
Disclaimer: Mulder and Scully belong to Fox.
Author's note: I would like to apologize in advance for any geographical inaccuracies.

XXXXXXXXXXX
Touchy V  **DAY 2**


"Hurry up, we're late!" Scully grumbled as she rushed Mulder out the door.

"I'm coming, I'm coming." He responded grouchily behind her. Despite her promise, his ass still hurt. And a lot too. 

"I can't understand how we slept through that stupid alarm. We don't even have the time to check on your wound." 

He grimaced for two reasons. The first, he was the one that shut the alarm off; but he'd rather sit on another hook than admit it. Secondly, he wasn't looking forward to the prospect of ripping the bandage off the wound; the first time was always the worst.

Oblivious to his discomfort, she decided firmly. "Somehow we have to squeeze it in after daily briefing and breakfast." 

When they reached the hostel's dining area, they found their colleagues already seated and in the middle of briefing. But their arrival did not go unnoticed, rather every one seemed to perk up at the sight of them. Durst even took the trouble to pause his speech to give them a very unpleasant glare.

Felix was the first to cheerily greet them. "Hey, looky who finally decided to join us? Had a good night's rest?" 

Nelson followed up with a rude snort of laughter but was swiftly silenced by a kick in the shin from Ruby. "Oh grow up, Nel. There's nothing funny about this." She muttered.

While both Mulder and Scully wondered what Ruby was talking about, Durst called for everyone's attention. "Let's continue, shall we? As I was saying, I've made some changes to the schedule. Felix and Nelson, you're off graveyard for tonight, the Bunsens will be doing that shift instead."

"Woo Hoo!" Nelson squealed again, hastily moving his foot out of Ruby's way just in case. Then turning to the still bewildered couple, he told them. "I love you guys!"

Mulder asked the question on both their minds. "What's a graveyard shift?" 

"Night duty. The shift's from 7pm to 7am." He explained.

Felix added impishly. "But we usually call it 'detention'."

"Detention?" This time Scully echoed curiously.

While the former struggled to keep from laughing, Nelson began mimicking woman's voice and alternately a man's, playacting a very crude lovemaking scene.

"Shut up, Nelson!" This time Durst growled and the teenager reluctantly complied. Looking at the couple's confused faces, he graciously explained. "Mr. and Mrs. Bunsen, we would really appreciate it if you could keep it down after twelve."

As seconds ticked by, realization slowly dawned on the duo. It became painfully clear that everyone in their midst had heard Mulder's painful procedure last night and thought it to be the passionate going-ons of a married couple. 

While Scully blushed uncomfortably, Mulder tried to act as if it wasn't a big deal. "So we got detention because we were a little too noisy last night? What are we, in Grade school?"

Durst ignored him. "Felix will fill you in on what to do. Do you have any questions?" 

"Well, there is something else..." Scully hesitantly voiced and Mulder instantly shot her a horrified look. Silently he begged her not to do what he thought she was about to do. Giving him an apologetic shrug, she went ahead anyway. "Um... You see Josh kinda pulled a muscle last night. Would it possible to keep him off active duty for a couple of days?"

Snorts of laughter filled the room at the end of her request. Even Durst could not help himself and his hard features softened. But Mulder was determined not to be the only one mortified. "Hey lay off! I got to keep the missus happy somehow." 

The room once again burst into howls and hoots. Scully gave Mulder a dirty look. Her partner had the gall to smile back sweetly.

Durst called out for order once he got a chance. The room quietened down reluctantly. "No one gets off duty just because of a muscle pull. It's not like we're Baywatch and have extras to fill in for us. Josh does his time. For the night shift, I'll stay up in the office tonight. If back up is needed, buzz me on the walkie."

Scully sighed. It was the best they could get though. "Fine."

"Well then, that's it for today." And Durst dismissed them.

"This is bullshit..." Mulder muttered as soon as the administrator walked off. 

Felix chuckled. "You got off easy. He usually puts you on for a week. By the way, we'll have to congratulate you. You guys broke the record. No newbie has ever gotten detention within their first 24 hours."

While Mulder groaned, Scully shot Felix her very best glare. The latter instantly muttered something about getting to work and bustled towards the exit. Nelson wisely followed him without a word.

"You ready, Josh?" Ruby suddenly asked from across the room.

Mulder turned and blinked. "Uh yeah, Ruby." Amidst the humiliation, he had forgotten that he was due to play lifeguard with her.

Adding to his disconcertment, Scully suddenly protested with an uncharacteristic pout and whine. "But Josh, you promised!"

"Huh?" 

His FBI partner batted her eyelids and lowering her voice seductively. "We still got a couple of minutes of breakfast. We could... you know..."

Utterly taken aback, he croaked. "We could... what?"

"Oh you!" Scully sighed and gave him a mock frustrated look. "I'll see you in the room, hon." And with a gentle pat on his ass, she walked off.

After the brief shock of Scully touching his butt in a non-doctoral way wore off, it dawned on him that her horny act was just get him back in the room so she could get his wound checked. While disillusionment set in, he also noticed that Ruby was still standing before him with a disgusted look on his face. 

He cleared his throat and got back in character. "I'll see you on the beach, Ruby. Don't worry, it won't take long."

"It won't?" She arched an eyebrow and Mulder could have sworn there was a double meaning in that simple question somewhere. He chose to ignore it though.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Looking up from her paperwork, Scully watched them through the glass windows. From the lifeguard watchtower, they were rather tiny but it was clear that they were getting on rather well. Her lips pursed. There was something about Ruby that was unsettling but she couldn't pin it down. No, it wasn't anything to do with the way she flirted with Mulder, or how he didn't seem to mind the least. It was something more substantial than that. 'At least I think so.' She entertained herself with a tight smile.

"I don't suppose you're finished?" Durst's sudden question made her jump.

She turned to face him. The scowl on his face told her he wasn't pleased that she had stopped working. Determined to justify herself, she grabbed the log coordinates data from the table, walked over and dropped it on her new partner's table. "Actually, I am." 

His eyes narrowed suspiciously. Picking up the papers, he growled softly. "We'll see about that."

A nerd at heart, she immediately took the insult to heart. 'Does he think I'm a complete idiot?' She wondered. 

Durst spent two minutes staring at the numbers. And with every second, his face seemed to get more and more grouchier. When he finally looked up, he was glowering at her. "How did you do this?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean you took only half an hour to map out a week's work of coastal runs. And you're not even familiar with this terrain."

Now she was mystified. If she did a good job, why did he look so mad? "Well there was a map, I just read it and converted the numbers. It's not really brain surgery."

There was a moment of pure silence as he continued to stare at her. Then all of a sudden, he broke into a huge grin. Dana almost gaped when he did. Durst was actually rather boyishly handsome when he wasn't scowling. 

Shaking his head, Durst was muttered to himself. "Finally, a live one."

"Excuse me?"

He sobered but smiled at her. "I'm sorry. It's just that I've been surrounded by idiots for so long that I've forgotten there are actually people who do know their jobs."

"Ah." She nodded, thinking about her childhood sailing trips. Amidst her brothers, she was always the one stuck with the numbers. "Well for some people, it can be brain surgery."

Durst sighed and glanced at the framed picture of the team on the wall. "Tell me about it." 

Scully knew Durst's background well and intuition was telling her to use it to get him chatty. Slyly, she casually explained. "My Dad taught me. He was a Captain in the Navy, stationed in the Middle East."

It worked, he looked interested. "I was in the Navy too. For about ten years. Joined the core when I was nineteen."

"What happened?"

"Busted my knee. I didn't want a job behind a desk or anything stupid so I left."

"I see."

"How about your father?"

"Oh he... um... passed away a couple of years ago."

"I'm sorry."

"Thanks." She paused for a moment before she asked. "So what made you decide to be a lifeguard?"

"The sea."

"Can't tear yourself away from it, huh?"

He shrugged nonchalantly. 

It was then that she noticed he was looking at her in a particular way. "What?"

Durst hesitated and looked conscious. "You're just not quite what I expected you to be."

Surprised at his unusual confession, she asked. "And what did you expect me to be exactly?"

"I don't know. Just not like you." And with that, he hastily changed the subject, giving her more paperwork.

As Scully slipped back to her temporary desk, she wondered about Collin Durst. Suddenly, he didn't seem to be a likely suspect anymore. 

XXXXXXXXXXX

It was a chilly night, a vast difference from the heat of the night before. And naturally it would be the night to serve out their detention. But Scully was looking forward to the hours ahead. It had been a long time since she had been out to sea. After a few hours in the office with Durst, he had deemed Scully competent for the Navy and allowed her the choice of either staying in the tower or a routine coastal run. Of course she picked the latter.

As she walked towards the docks, she caught sight of Mulder about to board the speedboat. "Mu... Josh, wait!"

Turning, he glared at her until she got closer. "Trying to get us busted, Lynn?" He chided her for almost using his real name.

"I'm sorry, I nearly forgot." Flustered, she pointed to the ropes that kept the boat at bay and muttered rather hurriedly. "Why don't you get the ropes? I'll get it started."

"Why don't I get it started and you get the ropes?"

She gave him a look before jumping aboard the small vessel. "Because Josh, you don't know how."

"I do too."

"No, you don't." She argued back and disappeared behind the helm.

Groaning, he resigned himself to the undignified task. And knowing she could still hear him, he yelled after her. "What is it with you and boats anyway? Why do you always get the wheel?"

"Number one, I don't get sea sick!" 

Now that, he was unable to argue with. "And number two?"

She didn't reply immediately, the sounds of the engine cranking up disrupting the flow of the conversation. But as soon the noise reduced to a gentle purr, she called out. "Number two, there aren't any foot pedals for my little feet to reach so I'm claiming boats to be my domain." 

Mulder laughed. By that time, he had successfully unraveled the knot. He tossed the heavy rope on board before jumping on deck himself. As soon as she saw him on board, she taxied the speedboat around to face the sea. He soon took his place beside her, pretending to understand all the buttons and switches she worked on to get them away from the dock.

He suddenly asked very seriously. "Well?" 

"Well what?"

"You wanna tell me what's going on between you and Durst?"

Her eyebrows rose. "What?"

Looking irritated, he elaborated. "Did you happen to notice that dinner was rather quiet?"

"Now that you mentioned it, yeah it was." 

"Do you know why?"

"Not really." 

"Because Durst laughed. And everyone thought it was creepy."

She tore her eyes away from the sea front to glance incredulously at him. "Oh please."

"No really. And you made him laugh."

"So my joke was funny."

Lifting an eyebrow, he refuted her claim. "No it wasn't. Nobody understood it except Durst."

They were nearing their first stop on their run. She slowed the boat down. "Fine, it was a Navy joke. So no one else got it, so sue me."

"And then there was a 'moment'."

By then, she had switched off the engine. Good thing too because she was incapable to anything else except to stare at him. "A moment?" 

"Yeah, you shared... a look. It was definitely a moment."

"You call that a moment?" She blurted. While he looked slightly uncomfortable, she laughed softly. "Mulder, I appreciate your efforts in portraying a jealous husband and everything, but there's currently no one around us for this display."

"Scully..."

"Oh all right, fine." She sighed. "Just remember this conversation for times when I ask you about your 'moments' with Ruby, okay?" The look he had on was murderous but she ignored it. "We started talking, that's all. He found out that my Dad was in the Navy and it was free flow from then on. Actually I'm beginning to think he's not such a bad guy after all. The problem is, he's a perfectionist and he still thinks he's in the Navy. That's why he gives everyone a hard time."

"Well thank you Dr. Seuss." He deadpanned.

She smiled at him sweetly. "You're just jealous because I figured him out before you did."

"I'm not jealous of anything." He snapped back. "And why did you tell him about your Dad being in the Navy? That isn't in your profile."

"Our profile doesn't say anything about our parents, does it?"

"But what if he checks you out?"

"Why would he check me out? Because my father was in the Navy? Mulder, now you're being paranoid!"

"But he's our main suspect!"

"Based on what? Because he was mean to us when we came? He's mean to everyone!"

"Okay Scully, how about this for a reason?" Mulder grabbed the boat logbook and flipped to the last entry. "He made the boat run last night. Alone or so he says."

Her face shifted from Mulder's hard face to the Durst's name on the log. "How come he doesn't have a partner for the run?"

"I asked. Felix said that usually Krooks makes the run with him, since he's not around... Ultimately Durst has the final say, so he can go alone if he wants to. Nobody is stupid enough say anything, lest they get pulled in for an extra shift."

"So what you saw yesterday could be Durst and his... drug cronies?"

"It certainly is a great possibility, isn't it?"

"But you didn't see anyone's face. It might not have been Durst."

"So being on duty last night, why didn't he see anything at all, when I did?"

His argument was a valid one and she admitted it. "All right Mulder, you win. He's a suspect." As he smiled triumphantly, she rolled her eyes and waved towards the boat front. "Now can we get back to work?"

His grin disappeared. "Um... What do we have to do again?"

She frowned. 'So I was right.' He wasn't listening when Felix briefed them during dinner. 'Probably too busy gaping at Durst's smiling face.' She concluded in annoyance. "Just flash the lights about, make sure there's nobody on the rocky coves and then we move on."

"Right." 

"I'll stay in here and chart our next stop."

Ten minutes later, Mulder was back, rubbing his hands together. "It's freezing out there."

"Mulder, this is weird." She motioned him to look at the boat's radar screen, pointing at a green blot. "See this, there's something there."

"Is it moving?" He asked suspiciously, thinking once again about the Big Blue incident that sunk their boat.

"No, it's stationery. But I just can't figure out what it is. The maps show nothing." Mulder bit his inner lip thoughtfully and she looked up just in time to catch the fleeting look on his face. "Oh no, Mulder."

He pouted shamelessly. "But we've got the gear."

"Mulder, it's in the middle of the night. We won't be able to see anything."

"We can't do this in the daytime anyhow, somebody would get suspicious. We'll take a dip and see what it is. If it's nothing, no one will have to know we made the trip."

"It can't be nothing." Tapping the screen, she sighed. "This is definitely something."

XXXXXXXXXXX

'What's taking her so long?' Mulder wondered impatiently. He was waiting by the side of the boat as Scully went under. The latter had insisted that she went down alone. 'And all because of a stupid bait hook.' He thought grouchily.

A couple of air bubbles gurgled on the water surface, reminding him of her limited air supply. Frowning, he checked his watch and mentally calculated that she would be running out of it in ten minutes. He then debated with himself if she did go past the time limit, whether he go in after her or give her another five minutes. But as seconds ticked away slowly, his patience ran thin. And he decided to risk her wrath and get her up himself.

The cold water cruelly enveloped him with open arms. Half of him wanted to turn back but the other half was too worried about Scully. He took a couple of deep breaths of oxygen and allowed himself to sink into the dark ocean. 'Scully was right. It was too dark.' He thought, as the underwater light in his hand didn't really reveal very far in front of him. Nevertheless, he persisted and flipped his fins harder. 

As the familiar tinge of nausea and lightheadedness hit him, he began to see something. It was a large object seemingly protruding from the sea's base. As he got closer, he saw that it was a small boat. It didn't look too battered or old and concluded that it sunk not too long ago.

Suddenly a moving shadow caught his eye near deck of the vessel. Hoping it was Scully, he kicked towards the direction. But it turned out to be no one. He decided to circle the boat, surely he would come upon her sooner or later. So he twisted his body to start from the hull and his eyes instantly widened. 'Scully!'

XXXXXXXXXXX

As her lungs painfully contracted, Scully pulled the mouthpiece off. She knew she had a better chance without it than breathing in the carbon dioxide that remained in the tank. As she proceeded to yank the rest of the heavy gear off, she felt a sharp pain around her neck. Looking down, she saw the glint of her gold necklace, sinking slowly to the bottom of the sea. 

Unable to bear the thought of losing the only thing left that she shared with her sister, she went after it. Unfortunately by the time she reached the base, it was nowhere to be seen. Then she noticed something hovering above her. 'No it was someone.' She peered harder. 'Mulder?'

XXXXXXXXXXX

He was relieved when she looked up and saw him. It seemed that he made the right choice coming down to find her. She looked like she was in a whole lot of trouble. He took a deep breath and pulled the mouthpiece from his mouth, offering her a shot. She accepted it gratefully. After a couple of seconds, she returned it and pointed upwards. He nodded, understanding. Taking her hand, he led her up. 

Halfway to the top, things began to go unexplainably wrong. Scully suddenly let go of his hand. He looked down and was surprised to see that she was already quite a distance from her and sinking fast. Recovering from his shock, he dove after her. But no matter how hard he kicked, she always seemed a body's length from him. 

'What had happened? Had she suddenly lost consciousness?' He wondered as they went deeper and deeper. And yet, Mulder realized that they had much further than before. It was as if they had gone past the ocean's base. He flashed his light below and could see nothing except Scully's shadow. And as time elapsed, he knew that he was in very real danger of losing her. 

The panic produced a positive effect; somehow he managed to catch up with her. She was just inches away from him and he lunged to grab her outstretched arm. 'Got you!' He triumphantly thought but her deadly pale face told him that what she needed was air. He was about to give her a bout of it when a sharp tug nearly pulled her out of his grasp again. Staring at her in astonishment, he saw that she was just as bewildered as her. In fact, she kept looking down at her feet as if something was there. Before he himself could take a good look, another sharp tug once again threatened to separate them. 

'Okay, I've had it!' Mulder decided angrily. 'No way am I letting you die here, Scully.' With his hand gripping hers tightly, he moved to her side and secured one arm round her waist. Then he began to kick with all his might, towards the surface.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Durst's face didn't give anything away. Leaning against the wall, he stared at them impassively. Although uncomfortable, the duo didn't show it. Instead, they played a loving couple desperately trying to recover from the recent shock. Never in her entire life had Scully whined so much in front of Mulder and the latter did a fantastic job as a supportive husband, complete with fervent little kisses on her forehead and all. 

"That's it honey. Swallow it down, it will help you sleep." Mulder crooned softly into her ear. With her back safely facing Durst, she crossed her eyes and made a gagging motion with her finger, almost forcing Mulder to laugh. 

It was then that Durst's patience cracked, the affectionate display obviously too much for him. He cleared his throat and asked. "I'm sure she'll be okay, Josh. She's just in a bit of shock."

"I'll say. Whatever the hell it was out there, it almost killed her." Mulder growled on top of Scully's head. 

The latter took another sip of water before settling back into the pillows. "There was nothing out there, Josh. It was the current."

"So how come I wasn't pulled under?"

Durst raised an eyebrow. "You mean something was pulling her down?"

"Like a rock." 

He looked thoughtful for a while before Mulder saw him exchange a meaningful look with Scully. Not liking this private Navy Club thing going on before his eyes, he demanded to know. "What?"

"Nothing." Scully hastily muttered. 

"I saw him give you a look."

She sighed dramatically. "And I suppose you're declaring it another moment." The obvious green-eyed-monster implication made Durst's mouth twitch into a smile.

Mulder frowned. How is it that it takes only a couple of words from Scully to get him to smile while the most he got from Durst was a disgusted sneer? Granted that his humor was far less engaging, but the man seemed to take too much pleasure in his partner's wit.

"Tell him." Durst suddenly said.

Mulder saw that he was talking to Scully. "Tell me what?" 

"No. It's too stupid." She told their superior.

Irritated, Mulder snapped. "Stupid enough for him to know but not me?"

Scully stiffened, giving him an exasperated look. But before she could be vocal about it, Durst stood up. "I should go." He said quietly, as though sensing a lover's quarrel about to start and wanting to remove himself from the spectacle as fast as he can. "Good night."

After the door closed behind him, the agents sat in silence for a while before Scully said. "Do you think Durst suspects anything?"

"Maybe. He did ask a lot of questions on why we went for a dive in the middle of the night. But the truth was a good enough cover. He perked up when he heard about the sunken boat. He never knew about it. Funny how he missed it considering he's been sailing these waters all this time."

"It was near Christmas island. Looking at the radar, anyone would have written it off as a large mass of rocks. The only reason why I caught it was because I was new to the terrain and followed the map closely."

There was an awkward pause again. Mulder idly pulled at the sheets and tucked them carefully around her. His grave face told her that Durst knowing something that he didn't was torturing him. So it wasn't long before she sighed helplessly. "It's an old Navy myth. You'd laugh."

"I'm Fox Mulder. The guy that believes anything, remember?"

She smirked. Then staring defeatedly at his broad chest, she began. "The story goes that the Greek God of the sea, Neptune and his many sons help rule the islands underneath the sea. The seaweed supposedly hides them from being exposed. Any sailor who ventures into the waters to discover Neptune and his sons is sure to meet an early death."

She paused to choose her next few words carefully. "They say that a true sailor whose livelihood depends on the sea owe these royalties a token gift. The gift could be anything, as small as a coin or as precious as their own lives."

"And Durst thinks that Neptune was trying to claim you?"

She nodded. "Some sailors have claimed to have seen Neptune and his sons but somehow escaped death. They specifically described being sucked into the darkness. It's probably why Durst jumped to that conclusion."

"And I suppose you don't believe a single word of this myth?" She gave him a look, to which he smiled. "What I don't get is that why would he automatically assume that Greek Gods are after your life? You're not a typical sailor."

"I don't know. But really Mulder..." She frowned. "We're not here for an X-file. We're here to bust a drug ring. So let's not lose focus okay?"

"I know. It's just that you almost died out there tonight. If there is something out there in the water, I think we should make it a higher priority, don't you?"

She pressed on his hand and whined. "There isn't anything out there. I was losing air and sank. Can't we go through one normal case without the paranormal?" 

As her voice faltered into a tired whisper, he figured that the sleeping pill he gave her was kicking in. "All right, Scully. I'll drop it... for now."

"Besides, if the myth was indeed true, then they got what they wanted."

His eyes widened. "What do you mean?" 

"Well you see..." She snuggled deeper into her pillow, muffling her voice further. "They got my chain." 

'What?' Mulder thought with a frown. But before he could voice his doubts whether he had heard right, her soft rhythmic breathing told him that she was already fast asleep. 

He stared at her back of his partner's head for a while, privately debating if he should. Then very gently so as not to wake her, he pulled the collar of her shirt slightly apart. Like she said, her chain was gone. All that was left was a bruised red mark, where it must have snapped off. 

Without him even realizing it, his fingers had moved to touch the wound. It must still smart because his partner jerked her head, causing him to hastily retract his hand. Luckily for him, she was too drugged to wake up. 'That was close.' He thought, letting out a breath of relief. He was pretty sure Scully wouldn't be too pleased if he was caught with his hand down her shirt. 

Besides, he wasn't supposed to be the touchy one.

XXXXXXXXXXX
End of Touchy V (Day 2)

E-Mail: phileyxback@yahoo.com