Title: Ménage a trois... 
Author: DanaK; DanaK35@yahoo.com
URL: http://danak35.tripod.com/
Archiving: sure, just let me know where..
Rating: R / NC-17 (just to be safe)
Classification: S, A, Sc/S 
Spoilers: not really, except Triangle and some S.R.819 
Keywords: MSR, SSR, UST
Summary: When one part of life ends, another must begin...

NOTE: for the purpose of this story I have ignored most of Season 6 and modified the events in S.R. 819; I just 
NEED to have the characters behave differently.

Disclaimer: 'The X-Files' and all 'The X-Files' related characters and situations are the intellectual property of 
Chris Carter, 1013 Productions and the FOX network. The following material is not intended to infringe on the 
above copyright in any way. Which means, they aren't mine, yak yak yak...you know the drill!


MENAGE A TROIS...
by DanaK35

French: literally, household of three: an arrangement in which three persons share sexual relations or are 
bound to each other by feelings of love


PROLOGUE

Washington D.C.
FBI Headquarters, 8:15 pm

Walter Skinner sat at his desk, feet up, eyes closed, thinking. The day had been hard, hectic and confusing. 
Hard, because he was being watched constantly, hectic for work was always just that and confusing because 
of her. Scully. When she had stormed into his office this morning he had been blinded. By her fire and the way 
she had blazed into his sanctuary, asking for help, demanding that he'd get her the coordinates she needed. 
To safe Mulder. Once again. How could he have told her that he would do anything to help her, even if it was 
saving Mulder's sorry ass? He couldn't, he had to dress her down, act as the superior officer. For his sake and 
for her own.

Of course, once she had left his office, disappointed, he had told Kimberly he needed to get some fresh air and 
left quickly. Outside the building he had pulled out his digital mobile phone and called Naval Intelligence, where 
he had an old friend from Vietnam, who owed him one. Only minutes later he'd had what she needed.

Rushing back into the building he had looked for her at her desk and when he couldn't find her tried her cell 
phone frantically. She had finally picked up, believing he was Mulder. The connection had been bad and so he 
had pushed the button for the elevator just to see her standing inside, where he had quickly joined her, handing 
her the piece of paper. 

And then she'd kissed him.

The feeling of her soft lips on his had overwhelmed him, brief, as it had been. Her small body had pressed 
against his and he'd had to fight the urge to pull her to him, embracing her and kissing her hungrily. 

But he hadn't. Of course he hadn't. He was her superior officer.

He had learned to fight these urges for her long ago. 

She was an Agent assigned to him. Well, not anymore, but still she was out of reach. 

She probably saw him as the enemy most of the time. 

She would never know of his deal with the devil. 

She would never know his dreams. 

'She is not your Agent anymore,' a little vicious voice in him said. 'But she loves her partner,' said another.

That was just point. 

She loved her partner. It was obvious. 

Her only concern focused on Mulder. She would never see him, Skinner, as any other than her ex-superior 
officer.

He knew all that.

Then why was he calling the airline to get a flight to Bermuda?


**********************


A hospital somewhere in Bermuda
2 am

Skinner spotted on a chair in the hallway right away. She was hunched over, her elbows resting on her legs, 
hands entwined. She looked up, surprised, when she noticed his brisk step. "Sir?" Her brow was furrowed, her 
eyes worried.

Skinner sat down beside her. "How is Mulder?"

She sighed and rubbed her face with both hands. "The doctors are still with him, he's been in the water for a 
long time."

Skinner nodded his head. "What about you, Scully." 

She seemed surprised at this question. Her face relaxed. "I have been better," she admitted.

"Have you eaten?" 'I must have turned insane', he thought.

She shook her head. "Then let's go have a bite to eat..."

"No, sir, I really shouldn't..."

"It's an order, Agent Scully," he said and got up, walking over to the nurses' station, where he conversed with 
the young nurse who wrote something down on a notepad. When he returned he held out a hand to her. "All 
taken care of, they have yours and my cell phone number in case he comes out of it... and she told me that 
there is a nice place to eat just across the street."

Stunned she took his warm hand and he helped her up, leading her down the hall to the elevators. 

*******************

The noisy, crowded restaurant was full of tourists and locals. Fishermen's' nets hung under the ceiling, 
postcards and yellowing posters decorated the walls. The air smelled of seafood, garlic and olive oil. 

Scully and Skinner sat down at a small table with red and white checkered cloth and one candle in a wine 
bottle and a skinny waitress placed the menus unceremoniously in front of them. 

Scully fought the urge to glance at her watch and pretended to study the menu. She wanted to be back at the 
hospital but she couldn't have refused Skinner's offer. She was hungry and he'd been extremely helpful, friendly 
and concerned. She glanced at him over her menu and noticed that his chocolate colored eyes resting on her. 
She blushed and averted her eyes, nervously fiddling with the paper.




"Shall I order, Agent Scully?" The formality in his voice almost made her laugh.

She nodded and Skinner ordered stuffed flounder and salads, mineral water and Merlot for them.  "Care to tell 
me what exactly happened today, Agent Scully?"

She swallowed. The truth, he wanted the truth. Well, it would have to be an edited version of the truth.

"Mulder has gone off without me again. This morning I got the coordinates to his location, but only the 
coordinates. I needed your help to find out where exactly he was..."

Skinner took a sip of the wine and glared at her. Then he slammed down his fist on the table. "That is such 
bullshit, Agent Scully," he hissed. Heads were turning. 

She sat up straight. "Sir?"

"That is bullshit, and you know it," he said, calmer this time. His shoulders relaxed and then the angry 
expression on his face faded. 

"Why won't you trust me?"

Scully looked down at her hands and took a hasty sip of her Merlot. He was right. Why didn't she? 'Because 
you suspect him of betrayal,' a voice in her head said. 'But he gave you the coordinates.' 

She sighed. "This morning I got a call from an informant, that Mulder was in trouble," she began, "according to 
my source something had happened in the Bermuda Triangle..."

"What?"

"The Queen Anne. She had... resurfaced...somehow. Of course, Mulder took off to investigate it. A storm came 
in, he was no longer on the Satellite, and I got worried..." Her voice trailed off.

Their food arrived and for a few moments they ate in silence. "So did he find it? The Queen Anne?"

"We... I found it, but there was nothing. It's a ghost ship. Eerie. I was walking down the corridors and except for 
there being not a soul, it was like it had just left the harbor. The ballroom was trashed as if there had been a 
huge fight, but besides that... it was strange." She didn't tell him, that at one point she had had the feeling she 
wasn't alone.

Skinner nodded and looked at her. Why did she go on these wild goose chases for Mulder time and time 
again? "How did you find Mulder?"

"When I got off the Queen Anne we... I found him in the water, unconscious. Why did you come here, Sir?"

Yeah, why had he come? "I wanted to find out why I went through all the trouble," he said sarcastically.

After finishing their meal in silence, Skinner paid the check and they left. A slight drizzle had started and they 
crossed the street quickly, Skinner's hand on the small of Scully's back. She turned to him when they reached 
the shelter of the hospital lobby.

"Sir, I... I was a bit harsh before," she said, "it is just that you... I just don't know if I can trust you!" 

He was surprised by her frankness. On impulse he put his hands on her shoulders. Her blue eyes seemed to 
hypnotize him and he wished he could wrap his arms around her, right here, right now. Instead he said. 
"Scully, I want you to know that you **can** always trust me."

She looked up at his intense dark eyes and a shiver ran down her back. She wanted to kiss him again, feel his 
hard, sensual mouth under her own lips, just like this morning. 'Mulder', the thought came to her unbidden. "I 
think I better go in and check on Mulder," she said, blushing and turned away, leaving him in the lobby. Alone.



Half an hour later, Walter Skinner entered Mulder's room carrying some flowers. Scully was already there and 
Skinner stopped in his tracks.

She was leaning over him, smoothing his hair, talking softly to him. A cold hand seemed to grip his heart. The 
way she looked at him, her hip against the bedrail, his hand on her waist. This is where she belonged. 

What had he been thinking?

Three disheveled figures rushed past him and began talking to Mulder. Skinner took a deep breath and when 
Mulder said "And he was there, too" he stepped into the room, laying the flowers down on the bedside table.

"Right-- Me and my dog Toto." He noticed that Mulder was full of drugs, rambling on about Nazis and a ship 
and Scully who saved the earth. One of the three Stooges stated he wanted the drugs that Mulder had 
obviously had. He turned to leave, saying grumpily. "Get some rest, Mulder, 'cause when you get out of here 
I'm going to kick your butt good." 

Outside the room Skinner leaned against the wall, trying to breath evenly, clenching his jaws. 

Dana Scully was getting to him. 

As was her relationship to Fox Mulder. 

Jealousy was a new emotion for Walter Skinner. But yes, he was jealous. Jealous of what his Agents so 
obviously shared. 

He peeked into the room once again, just as Mulder said: "Hey, Scully...I love you." 'Shit!' he thought.

He never heard Scully's 'Oh brother.' He never saw her leave the room.


End Prologue