House of Cards - Chapter 5 By Jennifer T. Brooks E-Mail: Jenntou@excite.com ******************************************* Cape Fear, North Carolina Blake Maxwell's Beach House August 16, 1998 3:00 am Blake Maxwell decided to cancel his reservations in Charleston and stay at the beach house in Cape Fear instead. Dana had been sleeping for several hours and he wasn't in the mood to drive 6 or more hours to get to their final destination. The beach house was nothing elaborate. The house sat up on stilts due to the constant flooding. He was glad though, because it gave him a place to park the car. The house had three bedrooms, one bathroom, and a large airy kitchen that opened into the living room area. He knew that he could have afforded a mansion on the beach but didn't want to have to bother with hiring people to take care of it for him. He liked the cozy feel of the house and wished that he had more time to spend there. He bought the house specifically for him, Dana and Claire. They each had their own bedroom which was decorated to their tastes. Of course Blake had paid for everything, but if you can't share your wealth with your friends who can you share it with. Thinking of the house he was reminded that he needed to call Claire and see if she wanted to join them for the weekend. Blake pulled into the garage under the house and woke Dana up. "Dana, we're here. Time to get up. I really don't want to have to carry you into the house." "Okay. Okay. I'm up." She said while rubbing her eyes. Both were too tired to unpack the car and elected to go straight to sleep. ******************************************* Cape Fear, North Carolina Blake Maxwell's Beach House August 16, 1998 7:00 am Dana woke up to the smell of bacon. She didn't even bother to put on her robe as she wandered out into the kitchen. She saw that Blake was hard at work preparing breakfast. "Sleeping beauty finally decided to join the living," Blake said as he saw Dana out of the corner of his eye. "I made some bacon and eggs if you are in the mood. "Actually, I'm not really hungry right now. Maybe later," Dana said as she grabbed a coffee cup and proceeded to pour herself a cup. "Dana you need to eat. Look at you. You are much too thin. We need to put some meat on your bones." "I'm not too thin. I'm happy with my body size right now. I feel healthier now than I have been in a long time. I eat, but only when I'm hungry." "If you say so," He said while turning his attention back to the stove. "I thought while we're here we should call Claire and see if she wants to join us." "That's a great idea. She would've been really mad if we went away and didn't invite her." Blake picked up the phone and hit the speed dial for Claire's cell phone. "Hello, this is Claire Bradshaw. I'm not in right now, but please leave a message and I will get back to you as soon as possible," Her voice mail said. "Shit, got the voice mail," Blake said to Dana. "Yes, this is Lex, I'm on death row right now and I heard you were a mighty good attorney and I was wondering if you could represent me. They said I was an ax-murderer, but I don't own no axe. They set me up. Please say you'll be my attorney. You can reach me at the Cape Fear mental institution," Blake said imitating a 300 pound hillbilly named Lex. "You're awful Blake." "Yeah, but she'll know it's us," Blake laughed. Although they only worked together for a couple of years, the friendship they formed was deep and lasting. Claire was now a successful attorney in New York City and Dana and Blake didn't get to see her as often as they would have liked. A half hour later Claire called them and told them that she was on her way down and that they needed to pick her up at the airport. "Blake, I was here first. I'm not riding in the backseat," Dana said emphatically. "You're the one that wanted me to get the car and you are really the only one that can fit back there. Claire and I are too large." "No. I want to ride up front," Dana said as she started jumping up and down acting like a two year old who didn't get her way. They always made her ride in the back because she was short. "Stop complaining and get in the back shorty," Blake said as he got in the drivers seat and started the engine. ******************************************* Cape Fear, North Carolina Blake Maxwell's Beach House August 16, 1998 8:00 p.m. They picked Claire up at the airport and drove to the house in silence. Dana was mad because she had to sit in the back. Claire was tired after the plane trip and Blake was trying to remember the words to The Artist Formerly Known As Prince's song "Lets Go Crazy". Dana was irritated at him for singing the lyrics over and over again. "I know that I'm missing something. What comes after "When you call up your shrink in Beverly Hills, you know the one?", I can't remember the rest of the line. I need some help here." "If I tell you will you shut up?" Claire asked. "Yes, Claire." "It goes 'Dr everything will be alright.' There are you happy?" Claire asked. "But what comes after that?" Blake asked. "Something like "instead of asking him how much of your mind is left ask him how much of your time." I don't know. You have money, buy the damn CD and listen to it," Dana said. "Great idea. Lets go to the local K-Mart and pick it up." "No Blake. I'm tired, lets just go to the CFMI and call it a night." Claire said. They had started calling the house the Cape Fear Mental Institution after he bought it. They noticed that when one of them had a major crisis in their life they sought refuge at the house. "Claire it will just take a minute," Blake said as he pulled into the parking lot of the K-Mart. "You can wait in the car if you want. Come on Dana, lets go shopping." Claire waited in the car while Blake and Scully went shopping. Dana secretly liked going shopping with Blake because he was very generous and always paid for everything. She knew that although she could afford to buy the items herself, Blake really enjoyed indulging her. He had a family of his own but they stopped speaking to him once he told them he was gay. The people he considered his family was Dana and Claire. "Dana, lets go look at the lingerie. You need to wear something better to bed other than that ratty T-shirt you wore last night. If I had known that your sleep wear was in such disarray I would have brought you some from the store." "Blake, I'm not getting lingerie from K-Mart." "I supposed that would be a fashion faux-pas. Well lets at least see what they have. Look at this underwear. It's positively darling. Dana, you have to get this. Please, please. I won't make you try on any teddies." "Okay. Fine. I'll get the underwear but nothing else. We're supposed to be here buying your CD." "Oh that's right. Lead the way." The trip for the one CD turned into 20 new CD's, new underwear for Dana, a new clock radio/CD player for each of their bedrooms, a new blender and new towels. Claire finally came into the store to join them after they had been gone for 20 minutes. The total purchase came to $800. ******************************************* Cape Fear, North Carolina Blake Maxwell's Beach House August 17, 1998 11:00 am "Wake up ladies. We're losing sunlight." Blake yelled into Claire's bedroom where Dana and Claire had spent the night. He noticed that Dana was wearing the new underwear. "Okay. Give me a minute. I need to find where I put my swimsuit," Dana said. "Oh, don't worry about it. I have new swimsuits for both of you in the trunk," He said as he hurried down the hall get the swimsuits and other goodies out of his car. "God Claire. You know that he probably picked some totally slutty number out for us so that we would attract all kinds of men. Men which he is going to look up and down hiding behind his ray bans. It happens every year," Dana said. "I heard that Dana." Blake yelled from the living room. "Here's your swim suit Dana and here's yours Claire," He said while handing them their suits. Dana's was better than she expected. One year he got her a plastic suit which all three of them had to tug on to get her into it. They had a harder time getting her out of it and Blake elected to cut the suit off of her instead. The suit that Blake picked out for Dana was a plain iridescent electric blue bikini. He picked the same style out for Claire but in a iridescent red color. He reclined on Claire's bed and watched while Dana and Claire changed into their swimsuits. They had each seen each other nude so many times that they no longer felt uncomfortable being nude around each other. Blake noticed that Claire appeared to have gained a little weight around her stomach. He bet with her busy schedule that she didn't have time to work out. He knew a nutritionist in NYC that he would offer to send her to. Dana on the other appeared to have lost a lot of weight. "Dana, look at your ribs. They're sticking out," Blake said as he went over to her and traced her ribs with his fingers. Dana tried to brush his hands away. "It's just the suit Blake." "No, I saw you before you put the suit on and I could see your rib bones and hip bones clearly. You need to gain some weight," Blake said tenderly as he continued to run his hands along her ribs and hip bones. "He's right," Claire said, "You've lost a lot a weight. You are almost too skinny now. Next to you I'm going to look like a beached whale." "I doubt that Claire. You still look as beautiful as ever," Dana said to her. The three friends made their way out to the beach and set up camp for the day. Blake bribed Dana and Claire to go down to the water and flaunt their bodies to bring men to him. Blake pretty much had a steady stream of men to look at for most of the afternoon. He noticed that Dana seemed attracted to one of the men and wasn't surprised to see her disappear into the beach house with him. "She's doing it again. Must have been a bad couple of weeks," Claire said to Blake quietly. "I hate when she gets like this Claire." "I know. But what can we do about it? She needs to hit rock bottom before she will let us help her. She thinks that sleeping with someone is going to make her feel better and there isn't a damn thing we can do to stop her." "What if we call Mulder?" Blake asked. "No. We promised her that no matter how bad she got that we wouldn't call him." "I know that we promised her, but look at her. She's destroying herself with this behavior," Blake pleaded with Claire. "I'll tell you what. We won't call him but we can at least go and stop her." "You aren't serious? I can't believe you are suggesting that we go in there an interrupt them?" "Why not? We've done it once before," Claire said. "Yeah and look where it got us. One very pissed off Dana Scully who wouldn't talk to either one of us for two months afterwards." "I'm willing to take the risk. One of these days she's going to fuck the wrong guy and end up dead or with AIDS." "Okay, I'm sold. Let's go save her from herself," Blake said as he got up and followed Claire into the house. They walked quietly into the house and saw Dana lying on top of the coffee table while her fling of the week (FOTW) was going down on her. From the position Dana was lying she could not see them. "Oh God yes," Dana screamed while clutching the FOTW's head between her thighs, "Fuck me now." The FOTW licked his way up her body and entered her roughly before looking up to see Claire and Blake watching him. "What is this a fucking peep show. Get the hell out," The FOTW yelled at them. Dana looked up to see her best friends watching some guy whose name she didn't even know pound himself into her. She was going to kill them. Before she could tell them to get the hell out of the house Blake and Claire grabbed the man and pulled him out of her. Blake grabbed the guys clothes and pushed him out on the deck. "I never want to see you around here again. That's my wife," Blake told the man. Dana laid motionless on the table, making no effort to cover herself. "I cannot believe that you just did that. You have no right," Dana yelled. "The hell I don't. You think I want to watch another friend die of AIDS. He wasn't even wearing a condom Dana. How stupid and irresponsible of you. I expected more of you," Blake said softly to her. Claire got her comforter and wrapped it around Dana. "Come on Dana, lets get you into the shower and cleaned up. Then we can all talk." Dana went with Claire willingly into the bathroom. While she took a shower Claire sat on the toilet and entertained her with stories about her co-workers at the law office where she worked. When Dana was done with her shower she did her hair and make up while Claire took a shower. They assumed that Blake was in the kitchen making dinner based on the smells. "It's about time ladies," Blake said as they entered the living room in the new clothes he had given to them. "Dana I know that you are probably furious that we interrupted your coitus this afternoon. But I didn't know what else to do. I was going to call Mulder but Claire stopped me. I can't sit by and watch you destroy your life like this. If you want to have sex with someone you just met, fine, but at least practice safe sex. You are a doctor. You should know better." "I'm sorry that you had to see me doing that." "It's not the first time," Claire replied. "Well I intend it to be the last time." "That's what you said the last time." "This time it is going to be different," Dana assured them. "Dana, what is causing this behavior?" Blake asked her. "Is it Mulder this time or Walter?" "I don't know. I'm just so mad at both of them." "Fine be mad at then but stop taking it out on yourself. You are a beautiful desirable woman who could have almost any man in the universe, gay men aside. You don't need to pick up one night stands to prove that you are desirable," Blake assured her. "I know Blake. Susan tells me that same thing weekly. I just can't help how undesirable and ugly I feel that the two men that I want don't want me." "So accept that and move on. There are plenty of men that do want you and want you for who you are, not for what you can do for them sexually." "It is easier said than done." "How are you going to know unless you try? Make me a promise Dana. Promise me that you will not sleep with a man until he has taken you out on a least three dates and you know his name." "Okay. I guess I can promise you that for right now. I wasn't looking at getting laid today. Although I must admit I enjoyed that orgasm." "We could tell that you were enjoying yourself. Hell I got an erection watching you, and you aren't my type." "I'm glad that I could give you a lift," Dana said while winking at Blake . "Well you sure as hell didn't do a thing for me," Claire chimed in. "I'm glad Claire or that would qualify us for the most dysfunctional friendship. The homosexual, the lesbian and the slut. I think it would make for a good movie," Dana Scully said. "One more thing and I'll shut up on the subject. It makes no sense to me how you can be mad at Mulder and distance yourself from him when you've never told him how you feel. That being said, it's getting late, lets go dancing," Blake said to his two friends. "Okay, but we get to dress you," Claire said with a mischievous smile while looking at Scully. ******************************************* FBI Headquarters September 20, 1998 9:00 am Dana Scully sat at her desk looking out of the window. The leaves were beginning to change and fall was on its way. Her thoughts took her back to what had happened to her over the summer. The best times that she had were the weekends she spent with Blake and Claire at the beach house. She had kept her word to them and had not had any one night stands. She hadn't seen much of Mulder outside of work. She knew that he was upset with her for not attending any of his basketball games. She just didn't want to be around Skinner and since he was a member of Mulder's team there would be no way that she could avoid him. She had grown more distant from Mulder over the past month. He refused to give her the recognition she deserved for finding the UNSUB in the cave. She knew that she was being petty in holding it against him, but she couldn't help herself. Dana was also irritated that Mulder was an hour late and had not called in. "Sorry I'm late Scully," Mulder said as he walked into their office, "But I had a meeting with Skinner this morning." He said as he sat down behind his desk and started going through his mail. "What was the meeting about? Why with Skinner? Kersh is our AD," Scully said. "Just some things he wanted to talk to me about. It has nothing to do with the X-Files." They soon settled into their comfortable morning routine, although Dana Scully could not stop wondering what Skinner and Mulder were talking about. She was certain that he would never tell Mulder about their affair. Diana came into the office several times to ask them about their progress on several cases. She stood a little to close to Mulder and payed a little too much attention to him for Scully's liking. Around noon he excused himself for lunch. "See you in an hour Scully. Got a lunch date." Mulder said as he got up from behind his desk and left their office. Scully was stunned. Mulder had a lunch date and she had no one to eat with. Such was the price to pay for being arrogant and aloof. She wondered who Mulder was eating lunch with. After fifteen minutes of mentally torturing herself she decided to go the cafeteria and get something to drink. She noticed Mulder was eating lunch with Natasha. She thought to herself. She left the cafeteria without getting anything to eat. She realized at that moment that Mulder never wanted to be anything more than friends with her. He didn't see her as a sexual being, and he never would. She needed to get on with her life like he had. When Mulder returned from lunch with Natasha he noticed that Scully was even acting more withdrawn than she usually was. "Have a nice lunch Mulder?" She asked him. "As a matter of fact, I had a very nice lunch," He replied. "Oh really, where did you go to eat?" She asked him. "Oh, I just grabbed a bite to eat from one of the vendors down on the street," He told her not realizing that she saw him and Natasha together in the cafeteria. "Who did you eat with?" Scully asked him. "Oh, just an old friend from the academy. It was good to see him again." "Well I'm glad that you enjoyed yourself," She told him seething. He was lying to her and she knew it. Not only did was he never going to love her for more than a friend, he obviously found that he couldn't trust her anymore or he would have told her the truth about lunch. Neither of them would realize it at the time but this was the beginning of the end of their friendship. ******************************************* The fall went by quickly for Dana Scully and Fox Mulder. They each retreated into their own circle of friends. Mulder was dismayed to see his friendship with Scully ending for no apparent reason. He tried to engage her in conversations and invited her over to his apartment all the time. She always had excuses and couldn't make it. He knew that she was purposely avoiding him but there was nothing that he could do about it. He had talked to Diana about his problem with Scully because it was beginning to affect their partnership. She looked like the cancer had returned but each time he asked her about it she assured him that she was fine. Diana also told him on numerous occasions when he asked her that she had seen the results of Dana's latest physical and she didn't have cancer. As to whatever else health problems Dana had she wasn't allowed to discuss them with Fox Mulder noticed that Scully seemed to change into someone else. She was playing the part of the aloof arrogant bitch that people thought she was. She acted no differently to Mulder than she did to the rest of the agents she came across. Several people had stopped Mulder what had crawled up Scully's ass and died. At first he defended her, but he was now having a hard time making up excuses. The more withdrawn she became the less Mulder cared to draw her out of her shell. He was once attracted to her and wished that they could have been more than friends. Now, he was glad for the day to be over so that he could spend his free time with Natasha. Natasha was the one highlight in his life. He was glad that he found her. The thought of having to spend all his time with neurotic depressed Scully really made him even more thankful for Natasha. The fact that she was divine in bed didn't hurt either. End of chapter 5