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TITLE: Conhouse I and II
e-mail Address: ErinStone1@aol.com
RATING: PG-13
CATEGORY: Scully/Slash
SPOILERS: None
Keywords: Scully Slash/Other Romance
Summary: none
Disclaimer: Fox, Chris Carter and 1013 own them ALL, except Lena Conhouse, she's mine. I'll say it again - please don't hurt me.
Comments are welcomed. Please send them to ErinStone1@AOL.com
CONHOUSE I
Chapter One
Special Agent Conhouse. Lena Conhouse. That was the woman's name.
And Scully liked her immediately because she was intelligent and had an odd sense of humor. And the beauty of the thing was this, Conhouse seemed impervious to Mulder's obvious appreciation of her.
"Alrighty then, family, here's the last of the samples. Call me crazy but they appear to be infused with a drug known as coaxin."
"What's coaxin?" Mulder asked. Scully noted that he was invading Conhouse's personal space as he had done with her since their first day together. Conhouse didn't seem to notice..
"I was getting to that... Coaxin is a drug that is used to sedate patients prior to organ removal. If you're giving a kidney to your brother, say, you'd be given coaxin to sedate you, and - here's the interesting part - to coagulate the blood in your body in order to expedite the removal of organs without much blood loss."
"And the victims had Coaxin in their bloodstream's?"
"Yep, all three, which doesn't make much sense really. Why would a killer be concerned about slowing the blood loss of his victims if he was going to let them die anyway? It makes me think that they weren't meant to die." Conhouse paused, then looked at Scully, quickly raising and lowering her eye brows. "Things that make you go hmmm..."
Scully smiled, she couldn't help it.
The murders were grizzly. Three seemingly innocent people had been killed. Found in their hotel rooms dead, with major organs missing, and she was smiling. But hey, the woman was funny...
"So, my friends, that's what I got so far. I'll keep looking, but the chances of me finding more at this point are a crap-shoot."
Mulder found himself smiling too. This woman had integrated herself into the investigation. She was charming, really. And her use of the words 'family' and 'my friends' were very effective. He could see Scully being sucked in. And felt himself being sucked in as well.
"Here's the good news. Coaxin has only one manufacturer. Chemtech. So - your perp would have to go directly to the source to obtain the substance."
"How do we get a hold of Chemtech?" Scully asked.
"Well - actually, I hope I'm not hopping on your last nerves here agents, but I did that. I called to find out who may have gotten the drug without the benefit of regular hospital pharmacy channels. What I found out is that no one but a hospital pharmacist can get coaxin."
"So... we're looking for a hospital pharmacist?"
"Or, someone with access to a hospital pharmacy, or I suppose, access to a pharmacist. That'd be my guess." Conhouse said.
Scully watched Mulder and Conhouse talk about a possible profile of the murderer. Instead of listening to the profile, she took a good hard look at Conhouse. She guessed the agent at 35 or so. Shoulder length dark hair, almost black, in a kind of messy layered style. Dark brown eyes that had flecks of gold. Really good makeup, not heavy and tastefully done. She regarded the woman with a praise born of admiration for her sense of style. Or so she told herself. She knew how to dress herself, good clothing choices, black pants and top, tight fitting. Probably a blazer gracing the back of her chair at a desk somewhere nearby. She was sporting gold jewelry, although silver may have been a better choice for her. No wedding ring. She had shorter nails with opaque polish and white tips, a French manicure. She wasn't olive toned exactly... she had a skin color that Scully couldn't put her finger on. She was wearing Doc Marten's, Scully was sure of that. It was a more sedate pair, but Docs none the less. Somehow, the shoes matched the outfit, and Conhouse pulled off the 'executive woman' look with no trouble.
"So that about covers it." Conhouse stated, looking toward Scully.
"Well, thanks Conhouse. We appreciate your help." Mulder was effusive, touching his hand to her upper arm.
"Not a problem. Let me know what turns up, this is 'barrel of monkeys' fun compared to what I have been working on."
Scully couldn't resist. "And what would that be?"
"DNA sampling for all new Agents. Directive from AD Skinner. What a bully that guy is huh? He called me into his office, sat me down, I was sure that I was going to be shit-canned. And then he just gave me the directive. All that drama just to ask me to do my job. Sheesh."
The other agents looked at one another, smiling in recognition of Skinner's description.
Conhouse came nearer to where both agents stood, looking around as she did so, gave them a sly smile and lowered her voice in a conspiratorial whisper, "That guys got some issues. I don't know if its personal rage or what, but his inner child is crying out for attention. Maybe a little decaf could take the edge off - who knows."
Scully laughed. Mulder was smiling. Conhouse smiled at them. She liked these two, liked that they laughed at her kidding. Other agents just stared at her when she went off on a tangent. These two were different and it was a blessing.
Mulder gave Conhouse a half wave and opened the lab door for Scully. "Keep us posted."
"You betcha." Conhouse waved them out.
"We've got nothing to go on." Scully was perched on the edge of Mulder's desk, a file in her hands. "Why don't I run a check on DC area hospital pharmacy's? Maybe something will turn up there. Organ selling is a lucrative business, and I think our killer may be selling what he gleans from his victims. There's really no other explanation."
"Yeah, maybe he's new at this and hasn't been able to keep his victims from expiring while he takes the organs."
Mulder's phone rang and he picked it up, "Mulder."
Scully watched as his expression clouded over, "We'll be right there. Don't touch anything."
"Scully, call Conhouse and see if she's into doing some field work. We've got another body and I think she could be helpful at the scene."
"Okay. I'll see if she's up for it. Meet you there?"
He nodded and scribbled on a sheet of paper and handed it to her, "This is where we're headed."
"Thanks."
"You okay?" Scully looked at the woman beside her in the car as she drove through the thick DC traffic.
"Yeah, it's been a long time since I've been to the sight of a homicide. I see the body's in the lab and can disconnect myself a little better from the violence of the crime that way. Know what I mean?"
"Yeah I do."
'No Scully, you don't.' Conhouse thought.
"Listen, if it's too much, when we get there, don't feel like you have to go in."
"I think I'll be okay, thanks though." She smiled at Scully, trying to appear brave.
Scully had forgotten that not everyone sees eviscerated bloody bodies at crime scenes as 'typical'.
"Hoo wee, somebody got crazy with the yellow tape." Conhouse said as they pulled into the motel's parking lot. It was a bit overdone. The police must have gone through a whole role of 'Police Line, Do Not Cross' tape.
"Yeah, hope we can get through it." Scully parked and got out of the car. Conhouse fell in behind her as they walked up to the first policeman in sight. He looked awfully young.
Scully and Conhouse both held up their Federal ID badges, "Scully, Federal Agent. This is Agent Conhouse. Okay if we go in?"
"Go ahead."
Conhouse turned back to him, looking very serious, pointing randomly around the area and said, "You need more tape out here mister." The policeman nodded and started scrambling in the trunk of his cruiser. Scully turned back to look at Conhouse, smiling and shaking her head. Conhouse just shrugged. They walked through the hotel room to the bathroom in back.
Mulder was standing in the bathroom over the tub.
"What have we got?" Scully looked up at him and he started to explain what they knew about the victim. Conhouse remained in the bathroom doorway, looking a little pale.
"38 year old woman from Ohio, here on a sales training through her job with a vitamin company. The maid found her at about 1 o'clock this afternoon. She appears to be missing a kidney and a lung."
"And a pulse." Conhouse stated simply.
"Yeah, that too." Mulder said.
Conhouse eased her way into the room and the other two agents stepped back against the wall to give her space. She knelt by the tub and looked carefully at the wounds in the woman's chest. "Got any latex on you Scully?" Scully handed her a pair of gloves from her pocket. Conhouse pulled them on and touched the edges of the chest wound.
The flash came, as she knew it would.
She could feel herself being lifted and placed in the tub. The ice came next, filling in the spaces around her. A voice, a man's voice, told her not to be afraid. She was drugged, that was certain, and she couldn't seem to open her eyes to get a look at the man. She managed to open her eyes just slightly, but saw only the top of the man's head. She smelled alcohol, and felt a syringe being inserted under the nail of her index finger. The flash was gone and she realized she had fallen back against Scully's legs.
"Are you okay?" Scully had her shoulders and was squatting behind her. "Conhouse?"
"I'm okay, just a little, ah, spinney."
"We should get you out of here. Mulder help me get her up."
Mulder grabbed an arm and Scully grabbed the other. They lifted Conhouse and walked her into the other room, setting her down on the bed.
"It's a man, I'm sure of that." Conhouse stated, rubbing her forehead with her fingers.
"He drugs them first, I think, then injects the coaxin under the nail of a finger, that's why I found no injection marks during the autopsies. "
Mulder was stunned, "How..."
"Just observation Mulder." Conhouse turned to Scully.
"He doesn't want to hurt them. I have a feeling he doesn't enjoy his work. I think we need to check out unskilled hospital workers. Those incisions were done with a scalpel, but they weren't done well. Even a surgeon in a hurry is more careful than that, it's an ego thing. We need to figure out how he drugs them, that's a missing element too."
Scully just nodded, she was fascinated.
"Oh, dark hair, he may have dark hair."
"Conhouse, how could you know all this?" Mulder's eyes narrowed a little.
Skeptic, thought Conhouse. "Observation. Pure and simple."
"Did you see dark hairs on the body?"
"Nope, it's a hunch."
She could see the wheels spinning in Mulder's head. He'd figure it out eventually, especially with his propensity for the unexplained, but she wanted to put it off as long as possible.
"I missed any sedatives during the autopsies. Stupid of me, really. I'll have to check the lab work again. Look for obscure sedatives that aren't easy to get."
"I'd like to help with that if I could." Scully said.
"Please do."
"And this autopsy, can I sit in on that too?"
"That would be swell." Conhouse smiled.
"Well, I'll leave you two to slice and dice." Mulder said. "I'll follow up on the hospital checks you started Scully. Catch you two later." And he made his way to the outside door.
"What is with all this tape?!" They could hear Mulder ask as he fought his way through the door.
Conhouse smiled at Scully and the redhead started laughing. She was alarmed to find that she couldn't seem to stop.
"You're not thinking about snorting are you? Because I just hate that. Such an undignified noise for a grown up to make." Conhouse had a dead pan look on her face and it sent Scully into a new stream of laughter. Conhouse looked smug.
"Let's go Ms. Laughsalot." Conhouse motioned towards the door.
As they drove back to the lab Scully slowly recovered. It had been a lifetime since she'd laughed that hard. She had never been treated like this, teased like this by anyone except her brothers. And that teasing was never this pleasant. She was surprised to find that she liked it. She thought of Mulder and the tape comment again and tried in vain to suppress a laugh.
Conhouse glanced at her, smiling.
"You're a piece of work Conhouse."
Conhouse looked surprised, and then let out a , 'ha'. Scully noted that she looked pleased through her feigned indignation.
Mulder sat at his computer and typed "Conhouse, Lena" into the bureau's ID database. Seconds later, Conhouse's employment record popped up. He read through it carefully.
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Personnel record - Employment Division**Access limited to L-4 and above**
Name: Conhouse, Lena Elizabeth
DOB: 1st March 1964
Birthplace: Stoneboro, Pennsylvania
Race: Caucasian
Eye Color: Brown
Hair Color: Dark Brown
Height: 5'5"
Weight: 121
Sex: F
Marital Status: SingleEducation:
Stoneboro High School - Stoneboro, Pennsylvania
BA - Northwestern University - Evanston, Illinois
MA - New York University - New York, New York
Doctorate - New York University - New York, New York
Internal Medicine & Forensic Science with emphasis in PsychologyResidency served out at Lutheran Mercy Medical Center - NY, NY
Career History:
August - 1994: Recruited into Bureau following completion of residency. Trained at Quantico, VA. Received highest level of accreditation in forensic sciences and deviant profiling. Hired directly by Quantico upon completion of training. Worked on numerous 'hard to profile' cases. Ninety eight percent solve rate.
June 1998 - Assigned to the profiling/forensic sciences division, Washington D.C. bureau office.
Personnel record notes are available through Human Resources Dept. at 202-555-1021.
Mulder clicked on the 'print' icon and then called the number. A half hour later his e-mail notification chimed.
To: S. A. Fox Mulder
From: Human Resources
Attachment: Conhouse1.docMulder downloaded the attached file and poured through it's contents. The words 'uncanny', 'perceptive', and 'unbelievable' were sprinkled throughout the descriptions of Conhouse that were written by her superiors.
He hit 'print' again and sat back in his chair.
'She saw him', Mulder thought. 'I knew it. She can see the killer.'
"Okay, the body is on it's way over. Should be about 20 minutes or so." Conhouse was taking her blazer off and draping it over the back of her chair. Scully looked around the woman's office. Her desk was cluttered, not unlike Mulder's actually. She had stacks of paper in piles, other papers scattered around in no particular order. Her nameplate had little gold star stickers all over it. Conhouse noticed Scully looking at it and said, "The lab administrative assistant gives me a gold star for every expense report I hand in that she can actually read."
Scully smiled, raising an eyebrow at her. "I see."
Conhouse sat down at her desk and scribbled some notes. Scully continued her visual tour of the office. She walked to the corner where a bulletin board was hanging on the wall. Miscellaneous notes were push pinned here and there. There were a handful of fortunes from fortune cookies. After each fortune, someone, Conhouse she assumed, had written the words, 'in jail'.
"Shouldn't this be 'in bed'?" Scully asked.
"Beg pardon?" Conhouse spun slowly in her chair to face her. The look with which she regarded Scully gave her sudden and unexplainable butterflies. Conhouse had her head tipped down, but her eyes were on Scully's, and the way she was looking at her....
"These fortunes," Scully drove on, trying to talk her way through the unfamiliar feeling, "like this one. Shouldn't it be 'You will have a long and fruitful life - in bed'?"
Conhouse laughed. "Well yes, I suppose. I just put 'in jail' at the end of those because I was having lunch with my Dad. Thinking about sex things, and my parents... just gives me the woolies."
"Really?" Scully laughed.
"Yes - really."
"That's funny Conhouse."
"Not too." Conhouse was serious.
"Yeah, that's funny." Scully smiled softly.
The outer door to the lab opened and an EMT pushed a gurney through it slowly.
"Ready?" Conhouse asked.
"Yeah."
They walked out into the lab area. The EMT looked at Lena, "Dr. Conhouse, you'll need to sign here." Conhouse grabbed the clipboard and signed quickly, handing it back to him.
"Thanks Jack."
"You bet."
The professional tone Conhouse was using, along with her being addressed as 'Doctor' made Scully realize that she was in the company of a smart woman. Such wit and an active brain to go with it - quite a combination. Scully imaged that there weren't too many people mentally equipped to handle her.
"Now, Dr. Scully, would you like to do the rap, or should I?"
Scully wanted to watch her work. "You. Please."
"Ok."
They put on smocks and gloves. Conhouse flipped on the overhead recorder and slid the safety glasses into place on her nose.
"September 1, 1998. 4:38 p.m. Doctors Dana Scully and Lena Conhouse, Special Agents with the Federal Bureau of Investigation - presiding over the autopsy of one Denise Ann Lang, white female, 38 years old, resident of Ohio. We will start by trying to determine time of death, then move on to means of death." Conhouse picked up a scalpel and started to cut.
-end-
Chapter Two
The autopsy was complete, finally.
"And cleanup's a breeze." Conhouse said as she shut the door on the slab that now held the body of Mrs. Lang.
"What time is it?" Scully asked.
"Um, about 8:30 I guess. Kinda late huh?"
"Time flies ..."
"Yeah, my dog is gonna be pissed."
"Uh Oh. What kind of dog do you have?"
"Lab/shepherd mix, she's from the pound, rough trade, you know?"
Scully smiled. "She must be starved."
"Oh yeah. If she had opposable thumbs she'd be dialing the phone right now, calling the ASPCA..."
"What's her name?"
"Wanda."
"Cute."
"Do you have any pets?"
"Just Mulder."
Conhouse laughed hard at that one. Scully was pleased with herself.
"I feel like a bad mamma. I really should head home and tend to Wanda."
"Aw - and I wanted to take you two to dinner," Mulder was standing in the doorway.
He was smiling, apparently having not heard the pet comment Scully had made, much to her relief.
"I'd love to, really, but my dog is probably crossing her little legs, woofing my name in vain."
Mulder seemed to deflate.
Conhouse caved a little. "Tell you what, why don't we make dinner at my house? It's not too far from here. Of course, I can't cook for shit, but between the three of us we can probably avoid giving ourselves food poisoning."
"Scully can cook." Mulder stated, matter-of-factly.
Scully raised a brow at him.
"That true missy?" Conhouse asked.
Scully looked slightly dyspeptic, but nodded none the less.
"Yippee!" Conhouse yelled and sprung toward her office. "I'll get my jacket and you two can follow me home."
"Sorry."
"Sure you are Mulder." Scully said, looking up at him. "It's probably a good idea actually, we have some information to go over with you. Did you find anything out on your end."
"Oh yeah. Lots."
"Good." She was surprised.
"Let's go hoodlums." Conhouse held the door open for them.
******************************************
Conhouse drove the 20 minutes home. The two agents followed her separately in their own respective cars. She wove through the tree lined streets near her cabin. It was a beautiful night. Not quite dark yet, but nearly. Stars had begun to reflect off the lake. The weather was perfect, breezy and warm.
Scully was directly behind Conhouse, lost in her thoughts as she drove. She was intrigued by the possibility of seeing Conhouse's home. Actually, she was intrigued by Conhouse, period. She thought again of the look the woman had given her in her office. The 'in bed' look. Scully had thought she was flirting with her, but she just wasn't sure. She seemed to be. Maybe I'm was just reading too much into it, Scully thought, but the possibility that it was flirting made her stomach warm.
I should be freaked, she thought. No, wait, that's premature. I don't know that it really was flirting. Maybe she jokes with everyone that way. She hadn't joked with Mulder, but then, he'd spent much less time with her than I did.
Her thoughts turned to her sister Melissa. She had had an affair with a woman while she was in college. It didn't last more than a couple months, but Missy always said that it was more intense than anything she'd ever felt before. She had said that making love to a woman was amazing. Scully hadn't asked for details, she wasn't sure she wanted the blow by blow. Melissa was such a free spirit. Scully could never be as uninhibited as Melissa was. God, she missed her.
She would have loved Lena. They would have gotten along like sisters themselves. Scully suspected that Lena was a lot like Melissa - loving, warm. Probably not judgmental either, there had been no sign of that so far. She really was a piece of work. Scully smiled.
She pulled her car in behind Lena's in the large driveway. Mulder was there a second later.
As they walked through the door of what appeared to be a small cabin Scully gasped slightly in surprise. It was really quite large inside and the back of this room was all windows. The lake sparkled over a deck that ran the length of the house.
"Lena, this is beautiful."
Lena smiled slightly and turned to look at Scully. "Thank you." Then, "Hey, you called me by my first name. I like it." Her face was soft, thoughtful. Scully flushed - now that was flirting, she was sure of it.
"Wow." Mulder remarked as he walked up to the two women. "What a dump."
Lena smirked at him, "Wanda, come here Buddha!"
They heard a series of thumps and a large blonde dog appeared at the head of the steps that lead downstairs. Her tail was wagging profusely and she saddled up to Lena to get stroked.
"Hello baby, I am so sorry that I'm this late. But, the good news is that I brought some new crotches with me."
Wanda made her rounds, sniffing crotches and looking up at the other agents. They both tried in vain to protect themselves against her inquiries. Mulder seemed to get the brunt of it. Eventually she settled down and sat next to Scully, slowly wagging her tail, looking from agent to agent. Lena said "let's go potty little bear" and headed for the steps. "Be right back."
Mulder took the opportunity to hand some folded papers to Scully. "Look at these." He was speaking softly.
"What is this Mulder?" Scully eyed him, following his lead and lowering her voice.
"Bureau employment records for the good Doctor."
"Why?" Scully was thoroughly confused, her brow furrowing.
"I have reason to believe she has extra sensory perception."
"Have you lost your mind Mulder?" Scully was incensed.
He gave her a 'hush' look and took the papers from her, stuffing them quickly into his jacket's inside pocket.
"Ready to forage for food?" Lena was back upstairs, Wanda on her heels.
"Yes." Scully shot Mulder a look and followed Lena into the kitchen.
Mulder sat down on the large comfortable couch and flipped on the TV.
"Okay, we have pasta, garlic, tomatoes - some chicken, and a pack of gum. What does that make?" She shot a smile at Scully.
Scully smiled back at her. 'She's like a little kid.' "Well, lets see here. Something, I guess. We may be able to save the gum for a whole other meal... Let me work on it."
"I have some play clothes downstairs Dana." Scully warmed at Lena's use of her first name. "Maybe you'd like to change before slinging foods that aren't the color of this blouse?" She reached over and pinched some of the fabric of the blouse that hung between Scully's breasts. She looked into Scully's eyes. "Ya think?"
Scully found she couldn't speak, just nodding. Lena let the fabric loose and rubbed out the pinch mark with her fingertips. "Whoops, sorry, I didn't mean to leave a mark."
Scully thought briefly of Melissa. Her hand came up to rest on Lena's. She squeezed her hand quickly then let go.
"It's okay, I'm not worried about it."
"Let's go get you some play clothes."
They walked through the living room and found Mulder on the couch with Wanda, her head in his lap. He was watching a baseball game. "Is this okay?" He looked like he'd been caught doing something that was against the rules.
"That's perfect Mulder. She likes you."
"I like her." He said, rubbing her head.
"You want some comfy clothes?"
"Na - I'm fine."
"Okay. Be right back."
Scully followed Lena down the steps and into the closest bedroom.
"This is the guest room. I keep all sizes in here. Go ahead and fish through the drawers. Put on whatever you'd like. I'm gonna go change." She left her there to dress. Scully looked through a couple of drawers and picked out a pair of navy sweatpants and a gray sweat shirt with what she thought was a college logo on the front. Upon closer inspection, she realized that it said "Betty Ford Center". Figures, she thought.
She left her skirt, blouse, nylons, blazer and pumps neatly piled on a chair and walked barefoot into the hallway.
"Lena, you still down here?"
"Yep, last room on the right."
Scully walked down toward the voice and slowly pushed the door to Lena's bedroom open. The room was beautiful, with a large bed covered in pillows. There was a chair and table in a sitting area off to the side. Floor to ceiling windows everywhere. Scully could see part of the master bath, and a large tub from where she stood. Lena was sitting on the bed, brushing out her hair. She put her hair into a ponytail, then slid a black baseball hat onto her head. She was wearing a pair of black stretch pants and an oversized black sweatshirt with the words, "Runs with Scissors" on the front in stark white printing.
"Piece of work." Scully said, and shook her head at Conhouse.
"You should talk - Betty. Lets go cook something."
Dinner was long gone and the agents were finishing a second bottle of wine.
"So, speak to me of hospitals Mulder, what did you come up with today?" Lena cocked her head in his direction.
"Well, to be honest, not much."
Scully looked at him, "Mulder, I thought that earlier you said..." she let the sentence fade on her lips. She was wondering when Mulder would confront Lena about the ESP thing. Looks like it was now. God he made her crazy.
"Nothing with the hospital records showed up. No fishy pharmacists. I hate to say it, buy I'm concerned that we're sitting here drinking wine and this guy could be out there harvesting more organs."
"No, not tonight." Lena shook her head slowly. She put her elbows on the table and placed her head in her palms, pulling the bill of her hat down almost over her eyes. "He's taking the night off. We'll be able to pick him up tomorrow, long before he plans to get another one." She let go of her hat and lifted her head to look at Scully.
Scully was surprised. "How can you know that?"
Lena stood up and strolled to the spot where Mulder had laid his jacket. She reached inside and pulled out the papers he had tried to show to Scully earlier that evening.
Mulder tried in vain to hide his embarrassment. Lena came around his side of the table and placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's ok Mulder, don't feel bad, really."
She handed the papers to Scully. "I know all of that because of this."
Scully took a few minutes to look through the papers. She did not understand, at all, what all of the employment files had to do with their case. At least, not until she got to Conhouse's superiors notes. She then understood what Mulder was talking about. It was an exceptional record, but then, it wasn't impossible to maintain a solve rate that high just by using your normal abilities. Or was it?
Lena spoke, "Mulder figured it out. ESP I guess you'd call it. I could see the guy, barely, but a little, from the episode I had at the motel. But during the autopsy, I saw him clearly. His name is Harold Harley. He's a lab tech at Mercy General. When we search his residence we'll find the organs in a freezer in his basement. The hard part will be getting a warrant, we'll have to figure out some story that can prove intent, motive. That's always the hard part for me, trying to convince a judge that I have evidence to warrant a search, when all I'm really going on are visions and feelings."
"Jesus." Mulder was shocked.
Lena smiled softly at Mulder. "You don't think I'd sit here drinking with you two yahoos if I thought another life was in danger, did you Mulder?" She winked at Scully. Scully looked at her, dumbfounded.
"It never occurred to me. How long have you been able to do this, this... thing?"
"All my life."
"Can you read thoughts all the time?"
"No, I can't. It's hard to explain but, I can't read anything that's blocked. If there is something a person doesn't want me to know, I won't know it. That doesn't make much sense does it? It's so hard to explain. A criminal rarely gives me anything to go on, unless they want to be caught. In most homicides, however, the other party, the victim, leaves his or her thoughts behind, like an electrical current. At least that's how I picture it, that's how it feels. I can read final thoughts. Most of the time they're terrifying."
"So, can you read the thoughts of people around you? The ones that aren't blocked?"
"Yes."
"Really. Can you tell me what I'm thinking right now?"
"Yes. If you take a moment, think about it, and stop talking."
"Ok." Mulder shut up and stared at Lena. She looked back at him, occasionally lowering her eyes.
"To your first question, yes, I have a pontoon tied up on my boat dock. The second question is also a yes, you're welcome any time Mulder. You and Scully both."
Mulder raised his hand to his mouth, covering it. His eyes were wide. When he dropped his hand he revealed a huge smile. "Incredible. Scully, I asked her if she had a boat, and if you and I could get a tour of the lake sometime."
"Scully, would you like to know what I got from you tonight?" Scully nodded slightly. "You were thinking about your sister, Melissa, earlier, briefly, in the kitchen."
Scully stared at her in complete disbelief, her eyes widening. "My god."
"That's all I've really gotten from you so far. You're a quiet little thing. Mulder, however, has been an open book all night." She looked at him, "I could hardly hear myself think over your racket, mister." Lena flicked some wine at Mulder.
He yelped a little and tried to dodge the sprinkles.
"Do I have to tell you how important to me it is that only you two are aware of this?" Lena looked seriously from one to the other. "I can't afford to be 'outted' if you will."
"Of course." Mulder said.
Scully looked at her, "yes, of course."
"My being in DC isn't coincidental. I requested the DC bureau because you two were here. I knew, due to the nature of your case files, that you two would be likely to believe me, and not be too freaked out about it. We can help each other. I think."
Mulder nodded, squeezing her hand.
Scully finally spoke. "It must be horrible for you to see killings first hand."
"I can't say I enjoy it."
They sat in silence for a while.
"I'm going to call the DC police and have them pick Harley up. I'll just tell them that I have circumstantial evidence from the autopsies. When they find the organs in his freezer we won't have to explain ourselves further." Mulder stood and went to his jacket, pulling out his cell phone.
"Good point." Lena knew that Mulder was dying to know if Harley was really their killer. She thought that it would make them all feel more secure with one another when the organs were found in his possession. She was also certain that he would confess to the crimes. He never wanted to do the killings in the first place. They would find a group of people linked to Harley that put him up to crimes. Mostly low end criminals looking for new ways to make money.
"Are you okay Lena?" Scully scooted her chair a little closer.
"Yeah. I am now. You two have lifted a huge burden off of my shoulders. Or, I guess, you're now helping me carry it. In essence, you're saving me. I think a 'thank you' is in order. You have no idea how good it feels to part with that secret."
Mulder walked into the room, hanging up his cell phone as he came. "They're gonna call us after they pick him up. If all goes well, the DC police can take over the rest of this case and we're off the hook."
Lena let out a long sigh. "Well, I don't know about you two, but I could use some coffee. Why don't I make some and we can go out to the pontoon and sit under the stars for a while. It's a beautiful night, let's take advantage of it. Mulder, bring your cell phone with."
"Sounds good to me."
"Actually, I'd like more wine." Scully looked a little pale.
Lena laughed, "Better yet. I'll bring a bottle down with us, just take your glasses with you."
A few minutes later they were rocking gently with the waves, each stretched out on the long seats of the pontoon boat, looking up at the stars. Wanda lay in the middle of the pontoon, on it's carpeted floor, snoring gently. Lena sat up and sipped from her wine glass. "I love it out here."
"It's a perfect night." Mulder added.
Scully lay on her back looking at the stars. Her mind was a confused blend of admiration and disbelief. She would look at Lena for a few seconds, shake her head almost imperceptibly, then turn her gaze back up to the sky.
Mulder's cell phone rang shrilly in the dark.
"Mulder." He listened for a while and ended the call by saying, "Thank you Officer, it's all yours."
Looking at Scully he said. "Harley was picked up at 11:46 p.m. at his residence in Georgetown. He confessed immediately and led police to a freezer in his basement that housed all of the harvested organs. He's currently giving the DC police the names and addresses of all those involved in the crimes."
Every hair Scully had was standing on end.
"We are no longer involved in the investigation. They will take the prosecution proceedings from here."
Scully was in shock.
"I've got more questions for you Lena. Ready for a little q & a?" Mulder picked up his wine glass and took a sip.
"Shoot."
They talked until 2 in the morning. Scully remained lying on the pontoon seat, looking at the stars. She said nothing, just listened quietly to the conversation. Mulder finally excused himself from the boat to go inside and lie down. Wanda padded after him.
Scully sat up slowly, looking at Lena. "I'm sorry."
Lena turned her head towards Scully. She knew exactly what she meant. She looked down at the floor of the boat, tears filled her eyes.
Scully stood and walked to Lena's seat, sitting down next to her. She draped her arm over Lena's shoulders. "I'm tired Lena, you must be too."
"Yeah."
"Come on, lets go inside."
Scully thoroughly expected to see Mulder on the couch upstairs. He wasn't, however, so she went back down the steps and pushed the door of the guest room in slightly. There he was, Wanda tucked under his arm, sprawled out on the guest-room bed.
Lena appeared behind her in the doorway. "He's such an angel when he's sleeping."
They stood watching him a moment longer.
"You can sleep with me Dana, my bed so big we may not even be able to see one another from opposite sides."
Scully followed her into her bedroom.
"I have got to brush my teeth. My mouth tastes like I ate a sock." Lena ran her tongue over her teeth. "I think I have an extra toothbrush, would you like it?"
"Yes. Thank you."
"I'll leave it on the sink when I'm done." Lena went into the bathroom and shut the door. Scully could hear the water start to run.
She sat on the bed and inspected the photos on Lena's nightstand. 'That must be her parents' she thought, looking at a picture of a gray-haired man and woman, their arms around each other. On a whim, Scully shut her eyes and pictured the gray-haired couple laying in bed together, in a romantic embrace. She imagined the man's hand running over the hip of the woman...
The bathroom door shot open. "Stop that right now."
Scully jumped, a startled look on her face.
Lena tried to look upset, but a smile was threatening at the corners of her mouth. "I'm serious, now cut it out, it makes me queasy and... uncomfortable."
Scully erupted in laughter.
"Yeah, you're a real hoot." Lena muttered as she shut the bathroom door.
"Unbelievable." Scully said to herself, smiling. "Unbelievable."
Scully took her turn in the bathroom then walked to the bed and striped off her sweatpants. She climbed in to bed, pulled up the covers and stretched out.
"Dana?"
"Yes?"
"I have nightmares once in a while. They can be... bad."
Scully understood. "It's okay."
"I just felt like I should warn you... in case..." Lena sighed heavily.
"It's ok Lena." Scully said softly.
Scully woke to the sound of sobbing. It took her a moment to get acclimated to where she was, but when she did, she instinctively reached across the bed. Her hand came in contact with Lena's back. She scooted over towards her and rubbed her hand over Lena's back in slow circles.
"Lena..." she whispered.
She wasn't waking up, now just crying softly.
"Lena..." Scully pulled gently on her shoulder and the crying woman turned over and into her. Scully wrapped her arms around her, pulling her close. She was on her back with Lena's head resting on her shoulder. She could feel the tears soak into her tee shirt. "It's okay..." she whispered soothingly, "it's okay." She stroked the dark hair with one hand and continued to rub lazy circles on Lena's back with the other. She laid her cheek on top of the other woman's head. "Ohhhh Lena, how can you not cry with what you've seen."
Lena eventually grew quiet, her arm drifted up to rest across Scully's hip bones. Scully didn't move, she didn't want too. It felt too good to be able to comfort her. She didn't think that Lena had even woken up through it all. She suspected that if she had, embarrassment would have gripped her, and she would have moved quickly to her side of the bed.
Scully fell asleep with her hand running up and down the arm that Lena had resting across her abdomen.
-end-
Chapter Three
The first light of day streamed through the windows of the guest bedroom. Mulder got up and pulled on his pants, zipping them up, then grabbed his shirt and pulled it on. He slipped his shoes on and walked out the door.
Wanda followed Mulder up the steps. She watched him with the careful eyes of a dog that needs to go outside. He wasn't noticing. She walked to the door of the deck, sat down, and looked at him. She snorted. He was writing on a pad of paper by the phone, ignoring her.
She padded softly down the steps and to the end of the hallway. Silently, she used her nose to nudge the door of the room open.
Her ears perked up and she stood still briefly as she heard the front door upstairs open and close.
She continued on into the room and sat down as close to the bed as she could. She rested her chin on the comforter and again, snorted. A hand reached out and stroked her head. Then, legs swung over and Wanda skittered out of the way. She wagged her tail, happy to be noticed and ran to the bedroom door.
Lena whispered, "Ok, I'm coming, I'm coming. Hold on."
Lena went to the outside door downstairs and opened it. Wanda shot out toward the lake. Lena walked back to her bedroom, back to the bed, and looked down at Dana. The red head was sound asleep. Her arms in the same position Lena had left them moments ago, when she maneuvered herself out of Scully's embrace to tend to Wanda.
She wasn't sure exactly what had taken place, and she couldn't read anything from Dana as she slept. There was also a good chance that Dana would block the events of last night upon waking. Maybe she could just ask her what happened. Now there was a new concept. Lena sighed and left the bedroom.
On her way to the coffee machine she noticed Mulder's note on the countertop upstairs:
Ladies -
I'm going to take a run. Then I plan to go into the office to round up some files. I'd like Lena to take a look at them. Should be back in a few hours. I hope you two don't have other plans for you weekend... you can call my cellular if you plan on dissing me.
Thx - M.Lena smiled. 'Guess I'm Mulder's newest toy.' She turned her attention to the coffee machine.
A couple minutes later she let Wanda back in and gave her some kibble. The coffee was done and Lena considered taking some down to the woman asleep in her bed, but thought better of it. There was no good reason to wake her, short of Lena missing her company.
She walked into her living room and put on her favorite CD. Soft music filled the room. She sat on the couch, sipping coffee and running her hand through her hair. An internal dialogue started:
'God, I hope I didn't start that.' She flushed with embarrassment. 'I was crying, my eyes feel like they were strapped to a belt sander... shit... shoulda slept on the couch...'
"Good morning."
Lena turned to see Scully at the top of the steps. She was wearing the sweats she had on from the night before. She looked woozy.
"Well hi. There's coffee in the kitchen with your name on it."
Scully was using both hands to rub her head. "Oh good." Wanda got up and followed her into the kitchen. "Good morning blondie." Scully leaned over and kissed Wanda on the top of her head. "You are so sweet." She rubbed the dog's neck. "I used to have a doggie too Wanda, but Mulder killed it." Scully could hear Lena gasp from her place on the couch.
"Just kidding." She paused. "An alligator killed it, actually."
Lena just stared at her, stunned.
"Remind me to tell you the story sometime when I'm more awake."
"I'm not sure I want to hear it."
"Where do you keep her treats?"
"In the cabinet under the coffee maker."
Scully fished around and pulled out a dog biscuit. "Does she do any tricks?"
"Well, there's the pooping trick, but she does that one outside."
Scully gave her a slight scowl.
"Oh... you want her indoor trick. Hold the biscuit between your teeth and Wanda will take from you."
Scully scowled more. Lena laughed, "really!"
She put the biscuit between her teeth and bent down. Wanda very carefully removed it and padded off to a small carpet to chew it up.
"We've really got to work on her trick repertoire." Scully stated as she stood up, reaching for a coffee cup.
"You're welcome to try, but keep in mind that she's got a brain the size of a walnut."
Scully shot a look in Lena's direction and poured herself some coffee. She noticed the note that Mulder had left and stood at the counter for a second to read it. She walked to the couch and sat down next to Lena. "I can't believe this view." Steam was rising off the lake. "All I can see from my front window is another apartment building."
They sat quietly looking out the window.
"Is this Luther Vandross?"
"Yeah. I bought this CD a couple weeks ago. I'm wearing it out."
"He's got such a smooth voice."
"Doesn't he? He's my favorite. I just love his smarmy backup singers. I love all backup singers, frankly. Patti LaBelle's got some great ones, so does Chaka Kahn."
"Doesn't Patti LaBelle sing that French sex song?" Scully asked. Lena turned toward her in surprise. Scully looked serious.
Lena cracked up, Scully just sat, looking puzzled.
"Oh my god Scully, are you always like this when you wake up?"
Scully looked hurt. "Like what?"
"Well... goofy ... in an adorable way."
"I was serious. There's a song, I think Patti LaBelle sings it, voo-lay-voo something something."
Lena smiled, "I have that one on an old LaBelle CD somewhere. It's called 'That French Sex Song.' I'll dig it out and play it for you sometime."
Scully was smiling vaguely, looking a little pouty. "Thank you." She chuckled a little and sipped some coffee. Pulling her legs up under her on the couch she turned to face Lena directly. Her smile faded into a look of concern.
"Can you tell me what you dreamed about?"
"My parents... having sex." It was all she could think of to say.
"Let's try that again."
"I can't honestly remember."
"You were sobbing."
"I'm sorry Dana, I hope I didn't frighten you."
"I'm not looking for an apology."
They sat in silence for a few moments.
"Lena, do you sleep at all when you're alone?"
"Rarely."
"Do you remember what happened last night?"
"No."
Lena looked... pained ... embarrassed.
Scully put her cup down on the coffee table and held both of Lena's hands in her own. She closed her eyes and recalled, in her mind, the events of the night before. She could again feel Lena's back... feel Lena turning into her. She relived the feel of Lena's arm across her body... her touch... the way she smelled... the incredible softness of her hair. She wondered if her feelings were translating to the other woman along with the physical aspects of her memories.
"Yes..." Lena said aloud, softly, "they are."
Butterflies floated through Scully's stomach.
Lena gently pulled her hands away. Scully opened her eyes and sat back a little.
Scully said, "Could you feel that too?"
"The butterflies?"
Scully nodded.
"I thought they were mine."
Scully's breath hitched in her throat and she let out an involuntary 'oh...'
Somewhere a muffled ringing started.
She stared into Lena's eyes a moment longer. "That's my phone."
Lena smiled. "What a relief. I thought you were making me hear bells."
Her comment made the butterflies in Scully's stomach flutter a little faster. She reluctantly got up from the couch and rifled through her bag and pulled out her phone.
"Scully." She watched Lena as she listened to the caller. Her face suddenly molded into a look of mock surprise, she held the phone away from her mouth for a second, "It's Mulder!"
Lena returned her look, "No way!"
She returned her attention to the call. "Yes, we're up, barely."
Lena was half listening to Scully's side of the call as she sipped her coffee, staring out the window. She found that her mind was drifting to the visions of Scully's hand running through her hair...
"I haven't asked her Mulder. Hang on."
Lena looked over at her.
"Mulder would like to know if we've seen his note, and if it's ok for him to bring some files over later."
"That's fine."
"We saw your note Mulder, she says it's fine."
She addressed Lena again, "He would also like to know what you'd like for dinner."
"Really? Hmmm, chinese I think, we can order out from here."
Dana turned back to the phone to relay the information, then listened for a minute.
"Yes, I plan on being here. I have to run home and clean up, get some clothes, maybe a bathing suit..." she paused. "Well, there's a first time for everything Mulder." She paused again while he talked. "Hang on, I'll ask."
"How would you feel about having overnight guests again?"
Lena smiled at her. "I'd feel good about that."
Scully smiled, raising her eyebrow at Lena slightly. She tipped the phone back to her mouth. "Yep, bring as much wine as you can carry Mulder, but remember, you drink-you stay, got it?" He must have agreed to the terms, a moment later she said, "Okay, see you later."
She rung off and put the phone back in her bag then reclaimed her spot on the couch.
"You sure you want Mulder picking your brain all night?"
"I don't mind. I've got some picking of my own to do."
They were quiet for a minute.
"I should run home and get some things. Can I bring these clothes back to you later?" Scully stood.
"Absolutely."
She walked to the staircase and stopped suddenly, turning back. "You know..." she paused, regarding Lena with seriousness. "I haven't left yet, but I can't wait to get back here."
Lena smiled at her.
"I've known you for how long now? A week maybe, at most?" Scully looked perplexed. She shook her head. "Are you even aware of what you do to me?" She apparently didn't expect an answer. She turned slowly and walked down the steps.
Lena sat on the couch, the wind knocked out of her.
Scully made her way back to her apartment. Traffic was light at 8 a.m. on a Saturday morning.
She thought about how her words must have affected Lena. She wasn't sure why she'd said that; 'do you even know what you do to me?' Unless, of course, she wanted Lena to know... what she was doing to her.
And what would that be?
'Making me come undone.' Dana thought.
And what had happened to being freaked out? That was gone, not even an option now. There was no reason for it. She wasn't freaked out, worried, or anything else even mildly uncomfortable for her. She wasn't even going to waste time wondering =why= she wasn't, she knew in her heart that it wasn't important to figure out the why.
She knew only this. Her words to Lena were true. She couldn't wait to get back to her. She didn't know where they were headed together. She felt that it would all work itself out.
Scully smiled to herself. She wasn't picturing how her furniture would look in Lena's front room; she wasn't worrying about what Monday might bring, or even what Mulder would think if he were to find out. She had gone through too much in her relatively short lifetime to question the way she was feeling.
What this was, whatever that turned out to be, was a gift. She decided simply to take it and praise life's generosity.
She pulled into her parking space, turned the car off and sat for a moment. There was something she had wanted to imagine, but she was afraid. She wasn't sure she could block it; thinking maybe it would be too, what?... emotional... to keep blocked in Lena's presence. She gathered her courage and closed her eyes. In her mind, she saw Lena's face, as it had been, when they were together on the couch. Her lips were a deep red color, as though they had been stained with wine. They looked ... soft. Scully had felt pulled toward them, this morning, after letting Lena in to re-live the night before. She took that memory a step further now, imagining that she had leaned in. She felt her lips meet Lena's, let herself smell her warm skin, she imagined running her fingers over Lena's jaw... pulling back slightly to lick that dark bottom lip slowly with the tip of her tongue...
A shudder ran through her and she moaned softly.
Oh my,
that felt...
so good.
She opened her eyes slowly and pushed her hips back into the seat. Another shudder worked its way up from deep in her abdomen and fanned out, shimmering across her back.
She inhaled deeply, blew the air out slowly, and opened her car door.
-end-
Chapter Four
When Scully walked through her apartment door she immediately noticed the message light on her answering machine flashing. She set down her bag and walked over to hit the play button.
...Beep... "It's me. I have 3 files here that I'm going to bring to Lena's but I wanted to talk to you about them before we get over there. I'm in the office, call me when you get home." She could feel his excitement through the answering machine.
She had picked up the phone and dialed the office in the middle of Mulder's message. She was curious about the files he had picked, wondering if Samantha's was among them...
The message machine continued on:
...Beep... "Hi..."
At the sound of Lena's voice Scully pulled the phone away from her ear and hit the 'phone' button on it to hang up.
"I'm calling to say... I guess I don't know what I'm calling to say..." Lena laughed softly. "Hurry ... just... hurry."
There was a soft click as she hung up.
Scully smiled, closing her eyes. An "ohhhhhhhh" escaped her, riding out of her lips on a deep sigh.
She pressed the play button on her machine, quickly deleting Mulder's message and listened again to Lena's.
She sat on the couch, staring at nothing while the answering machine whirled briefly.
When she had left Lena's earlier no words were exchanged between them. Lena was still on the couch when Scully had come back upstairs, and she had been wearing the same expression Scully was wearing now. Stunned, in a way. Now she knew what Lena was feeling. A high-octane crush kind of feeling, like her synapses were overloaded and now simply numb with... want.
There was a knock at the door. She knew it was Mulder. She walked to the door, checking the peephole before opening it.
"Hey Scully." He was smiling broadly. "I was on my way back to Lena's so I thought I'd just stop here on the way... "
"Come on in."
"Just get home?"
"Yeah. Do you want some coffee?"
"That'd be great."
She walked to the kitchen with Mulder on her heels.
"Mulder, I want to talk to you about Lena. I think we need to be careful with her."
"What do you mean?"
"I know that the prospect of her gift, her insights, could have an untold impact on the X-files. But I think we need to be cautious not to take advantage of her abilities. She has put a tremendous amount of faith in us Mulder, and I don't want her to be hurt."
"I don't want to hurt her either Scully, but think of the light she could shed on our work..." he looked frustrated, waving a handful of files in the air to make his point.
"Listen," Scully sighed and faced him, "I'm not saying that you, we, shouldn't ask her to help us with our cases, old and new. What I'm saying is that we need to keep in mind that she =lives= all of these crimes. She was there as that woman was being taken apart in that bath tub Mulder, she could feel what the victim felt." Her tone was insistent, she wanted him to realize that he would be asking Lena to relive dying... possibly over and over. "It may be that she needs to be in the presence of a body to feel the violence, but I don't know if that's the case. It may not be. I think until we know the impact that this replaying of violence causes Lena, we should stick to cases that don't involve death."
Mulder looked at her for a second, then nodded, reluctantly. "Well... I guess I need to go back to the office and find something a little tamer than the batch I have with me now."
Scully took the files and quickly scanned their labels, finding the one she wanted and pulled it from the bunch. "Take this one Mulder." It was Samantha's file.
"Scully..." Mulder looked wary.
"You can explain it to Lena, and what you can't explain you can visualize and she'll be able to feel it, believe me."
"Do a little experimenting this morning?"
"You could say that." Scully knew that he would miss the gist of her comment. She was certain that he was oblivious to the chemistry working between Lena and herself.
"Well, Samantha is alive, or so I've been led to believe."
Scully gave him a gentle smile. "Take it Mulder."
He smiled back at her.
"Now, I need a shower." She crossed the room and picked up her bag.
"Okay, well, I'm going to steal a cup of coffee and go back to the office, maybe get a couple of files that fit the 'non-death' criteria."
"No fluke men..." She yelled over her shoulder as she walked down the hall to her bedroom.
"Right."
Scully was surprised that she had beaten Mulder to Lena's house. It must be taking him a long time to find some case files that didn't involve death...
She grabbed her overnight bag out of the trunk and walked the flower-lined path to Lena's door. Through the glass she could see Lena at the dining room table. Wanda was lying across her bare feet. Her full hair was pulled back in a loose twist, held in place with a hair clip. She was writing in a checkbook, paying bills Scully assumed. She had a pair of glasses perched at the end of her nose - small rectangular lenses with thick black frames. Lena was wearing a bikini top tied at her neck and back, and what appeared to be a pair of jeans. Scully stared at her a moment longer before knocking.
She knocked lightly and Lena looked up over her glasses toward the door. Scully decided that she liked those glasses... a lot. Lena waved her hand for Scully to come in and Wanda padded over to get a sniff.
"Hi."
"Hi."
"I hurried."
Lena smiled, "I'm glad."
"Paying bills?"
"Yep, gotta get the last of Mr. Spiegel's kids through college."
"So you're the patron saint of catalogue mogul's huh?"
"You bet."
Lena got up from the table and slid her fingertips into the back pockets of her jeans. Scully could feel the hot blood race through her system. Lena's jeans hung very low on her hips, her stomach was flat and her hips flared seductively. And, although she couldn't have been much taller than Scully, she seemed to be all leg.
"Can I take your bag?"
Scully swallowed. "No, but you can come down to your room with me while I put it away."
Lena bit her bottom lip, slowly reaching to remove her glasses and set them on the dining table. She extended her arm toward the steps. "After you."
"Go ahead," she cocked her eyebrow at Lena, tilting her head slightly, "I'm enjoying the view."
A blush rose in Lena's cheeks, and she turned to walk down the steps. Scully followed, letting her eyes linger over the other woman's bare neck, the smooth planes of her back, the jeans that hugged her body.
They walked into the bedroom. Lena turned to face her. Scully dropped her bag where she stood and they stared into each other's eyes.
"Mulder could be here any minute." Scully said.
"Then I shouldn't be standing here in my bedroom with you looking at me like that."
Scully smiled. "I can't seem to help it Lena, the way you look..."
"I could say the same."
Scully was happy she had chosen the tight jeans and the simple white tee shirt. They were having their desired effect.
"Lena... I..."
Lena closed the distance between them. She never took her eyes from Scully's. Her fingers came to Scully's face and she let her fingertips graze over her lips lightly.
"I can't keep my eyes off you Dana- and it's getting harder to keep my hands off as well."
Her fingers were shaking slightly as they made there way down Scully's throat to the vee neck of her tee shirt. Her hands came down to her sides and she reached for Scully's, holding both of them in her own. Scully kept her eyes open slightly as Lena gently pressed their lips together. Her hands squeezed the other woman's and she pulled them toward her in an effort to not break the contact. Their lips came together over and over, soft against soft, never fully separating between the sweet contact. Scully let go of Lena's hands and held her by the waist, the feel of bare skin setting her senses on fire. Lena's fingers again came to Scully's mouth. She slid them between their kisses, using them to pull Scully's bottom lip down slightly, so she could lick at it with the tip of her tongue. Her free hand went to Scully's neck, then through the hair at the back of her head.
Scully was drowning. She loved the way this woman touched her, the feel of her fingers and tongue. She let her hands come around to the front of Lena's body, to the soft warm skin of her stomach, up over her breast. She felt the nipple and was drawn back to it, rubbing through the bathing suit fabric with just the palm of her hand. Lena moaned into her mouth and bit at Scully's lower lip.
"We should stop Lena... " she said it as she lightly pinched a nipple. She wanted to feel it with her tongue. "before I completely loose all my restraint."
"You're right." Lena pulled back slightly but laid her hand over the one Scully had on her breast and pushed it into her, breathing in sharply.
Scully moaned, "god..."
Lena kissed her again, lifting her own head slightly at the end of the kiss to break it. "Maybe we should separate for a minute, because I can't seem to not kiss you."
Scully smiled, "Good idea, I'm having trouble not kissing you too."
"I need to change my bathing suit, why don't you go upstairs and I'll be up in a minute."
"Change? Why? The one you have on is perfect." Scully reached over and, surprising herself with her boldness, ran a finger across the underside of one of Lena's breasts.
Lena smiled dangerously at her. "I've compromised the integrity of the bottoms."
Scully returned her smile, "Due to?"
"Your exceptional kissing skills."
"Really?" Scully slowly drew the word out in a whisper.
Lena unbuttoned her jeans, then unzipped them. She reached slowly over to hold Scully's hand, then drew it down the front of her pants.
"Really." She whispered.
Scully thought she could come right there. Lena was soaked, wetting Scully's hand immediately. She let out a deep moan and let her forehead rest on Lena's shoulder.
Lena whispered into her ear, "See what you do to me?"
Scully cupped her gently, wanting to slide her fingers inside.
The doorbell rang.
"Oh shit," Scully whispered, "guess who." She carefully pulled her hand out of the front of Lena's pants. "I should go up."
Lena smiled, "yeah."
"See you in a minute."
"Could be two..." Lena had started to pull her jeans down over her hips.
Scully smiled and reluctantly made her way up the steps.
-end-
Chapter Five
Scully made her way up the steps, trying to regain her composure and look pointedly innocent as she crossed the room to open the door for Mulder.
"I expected to see you in your bathing suit Scully."
"Well Mulder, the day is young."
He sat his bag down on the tile entryway floor. "Where's Conhouse?"
"Downstairs, I think she's putting on a bathing suit."
"Are we going out on the boat?"
"I imagine so, yes."
They didn't noticed Lena until she spoke, "You two look like a Calvin Klein ad." She meant it. Mulder was dressed in jeans and a white tee shirt just as Scully was. Lena sighed inwardly, thinking to herself, 'I have the 'Wetdream Poster Children' in my living room'.
Mulder smiled at her, "Don't hate us because we're beautiful..."
"Not a chance." She said, "I'm passive aggressive. I'll just silently resent you until my stomach is a knotted mass of anger."
Scully noticed that Lena had indeed changed her suit, but the new one was very much like the other. She had forgone the jeans and was wearing a beach towel around her hips instead.
"Are we going on the lake tour?" Mulder asked.
"Yep, I already have a cooler and some food out on the barge. Oh, and fishing equipment. You two do fish, don't you?"
They stared at her, Mulder's mouth moved slightly, but nothing came out.
"Alrighty, well, my little mimes, we'll work on that later."
"Same room assignments as last night, right?" Mulder was heading toward the steps.
Lena and Scully glanced quickly at each other. Scully said, "Yeah."
"Okay, be right back." Mulder practically skipped down the steps.
Lena turned to Scully, "They grow up so quickly." She had a mock look of pride on her face.
Scully rolled her eyes at her, "I should go get my suit on."
"Seeing you in a bathing suit should just about kill me."
Scully looked toward the steps quickly checking for Mulder. She then turned back to Lena, grabbed her by her toweled waist and pulled her close. She rubbed her cheek to Lena's and licked her ear lobe, whispering, "I don't know how I'm going to get through this day without throwing you down and ravishing you."
Lena's eyes were closed, she looked pained, "You just made me blow out another pair of bottoms."
Scully laughed lightly and headed downstairs to change.
As she passed the guest room door Mulder stuck his head out, "Scully?"
"Yeah?"
"If I were Frohike I'd have passed out up there."
Scully smiled at him, "She got to you huh?"
"She'd get to a dead man in that bathing suit."
"Yes well, she is attractive."
"No, Scully, Bambie was attractive, Conhouse is =stunning=."
"Smart is sexy Mulder. Lena is brilliant, Bambie had a bug fetish. There's a difference."
"Ouch..." and he winced, and was gone behind the door once again.
Scully should have been upset. She should have been angry at Mulder's objectification of Lena. But, she wasn't.
She was pleased.
She thought, ironically, 'Mulder thinks my girlfriend is hot'. The thought made her laugh aloud. The word 'girlfriend' made her laugh aloud as well. Such a nondescript word for such a complicated, emotionally enormous, inexplicably hot thing - not to mention a little 'Jan Brady-ish'.
Mulder was back upstairs in a pair of bathing trunks and a towel wadded up in his hands. Lena was back to paying bills as she waited for them to get ready.
"Hey cute man, why don't you grab a couple CD's from the rack to take on the barge?"
"You actually trust my musical judgement?"
"Hey, I bought all those CD's. You'd have a rough time picking something I don't like."
Mulder ran a finger along the ample CD selection and pulled one out. "I LOVE THIS!"
"What?"
"Earth, Wind and Fire, Greatest hits Live. This is perfect boating music."
"I pictured you as more of a 'Violent Femmes' kinda guy."
Scully came up the steps in a two piece black number that stopped both Lena and Mulder's breath.
"What?" she said, looking at Mulder, a little agitated.
"Nothing. It's just... you look good in black, small... black." Mulder said, not wanting her to feel self conscious, but physically unable to stop staring.
She eyed him warily. "Thank you Mulder."
Lena was flustered. She wanted to rip the small suit off of Scully's sweet little frame and bury herself in the beautiful pale skin. She tried to cover up by saying, "I guess we're ready, let's go float."
Mulder passed Scully with his CD selections and she followed him down. Lena watched her take the steps. 'How do I get you alone Dana... Jesus.' She was blurry eyed with lust. She leaned over to Scully and asked if she had a current CPR certification. Scully glanced over her shoulder at her, a sly smile at the corner of her mouth. The look made Lena hotter. 'Hope we live...' she thought.
The group climbed onto the pontoon boat, Wanda taking her spot in the center, lying prone across the floor.
Lena steered the boat a lap around the small lake, pointing out the good fishing spots. She was the only person to build a home on the lake, and she thought of it as hers. She had purchased all of the surrounding acreage to make certain no one else would be able to build nearby.
"What do you catch out here?" Mulder asked. He started to tinker with one of the fishing poles Lena had set out for them as she pulled out into the middle of the lake and dropped anchor.
"Bass mostly, some blue gill and sunfish. I've seen pike in here from time to time, but I've never caught one."
"Does the lake have a name?" Scully asked.
"Not really. It's too small to even show up on most maps. When I got the survey and assessment for the property it was labeled 'Lake 41'."
"Okay," Mulder walked to the front of the boat with a fishing pole. "How does this thing work?"
"It's a thumb release trigger, you push here and cast. There are worms under the back seat in a white container."
"Worms?" Mulder wrinkled his nose.
Lena smiled at him. "I'll put one on for you, how does that sound?" She grabbed the container and loaded Mulder's hook. "Okay, you're ready to go. You want to cast, without hooking the ones you love, of course, and then just keep an eye on the bobber."
Mulder let the line fly.
"Nice job Mulder. Now just reel in a little until you hear a click." She looked at Scully. "Do you want to fish too little white girl?"
Scully gave her a broad smile. "No thanks, I'll watch."
"Fair nuf." Lena dug around in her tackle box and pulled out a lure. She put it on her line and leaned the pole against the driver's chair. She unhooked the towel from around her waist and leaned over to lay it across the long back chair of the boat. When she turned to walk up front she noticed that Scully had been staring at her ass over the top of her sunglasses.
She looked at Mulder. He was busy reeling his line in. She took the opportunity to lean down and whisper into Scully's ear. "Were you staring at my ass Ms. Scully?"
"Yes, I was." Scully was whispering too, keeping one eye on Mulder.
"Maybe we can work out a lap dance later, would you like that?" Lena winked at her and stood to arrange her fishing pole.
Scully smiled slightly and looked to the sky, taking a much needed deep breath. How could this woman go from baiting a hook one second to reducing her to molten lust the next? Her eyes slipped shut and she let herself imagine a very naked Lena sitting on her lap, rotating her hips...
"I got one!" Mulder yelled, scaring the daylights out of both the women and sending Wanda skittering for safety.
Lena walked up behind him. "Good deal! Set the hook in the fish's mouth by pulling up firmly, =but gently= on the line Mulder, and then start reeling."
Excitement gripped Mulder and he yanked the pole up with enough force to launch the space shuttle. The hooked fish shot out of the water and was launched into the sky. It wiggled erratically, liberating itself from the hook in mid air. The line, complete with empty hook and bobber, landed on the fiberglass roof of the pontoon's sunshade and the fish landed back in the water, next to the boat with a 'smack'.
Lena stood up from her terrorized crouching position and pried Mulder's hand from the fishing pole. She looked at him seriously while carefully reeling in the line, "That went well."
Scully howled.
Lena continued on, "Maybe we should just sit and relax for a while Mr. Spasmatic, ya think?"
Mulder was chuckling. "I'm sorry Lena, I didn't mean to scare you." He laughed a little harder. "You should have seen the look on your face."
Lena could not resist the urge to tease him further. "Would that be the 'Mulder is gonna hook me in the tender meats' look? Or the 'a fish is coming at me like a fucking dart' look?" She shook her head slightly, "Can you recall?"
She noted with joy that her comments rendered Mulder a temporary asthmatic. Tears streamed down his cheeks. Her face remained stoic, making Mulder laugh harder. Lena turned to see Scully bent over, holding her stomach.
She shrugged. "I need a glass of wine." Lena opened the cooler and pulled out a bottle of Chardonnay and a corkscrew. She opened the bottle quickly and poured out three half-full glasses. She handed one to each of her recovering victims then sat back and sipped on her own.
A ringing started somewhere. Scully looked at Mulder, "Did you actually bring your phone out here?"
Mulder looked sheepish, "Yeah. I had it hidden in my towel." He walked over to where his towel was wadded up and pulled out his phone.
"Mulder."
Scully looked at Lena, shaking her head. Lena smiled at her. She really liked Mulder, but she hoped that this call would take him away, if just for the rest of the day. She wanted Scully all to herself.
"Now is not a good time Frohike."
Lena was startled to get a very strong stream of thought from Dana, ~yes it is... it's a great time...~. She looked over to her, raising her eyebrows and smiled.
"And it can't wait?"
~nope...~
"This better be good. Tell Byers I'll be there in a little while."
Mulder hung up and looked at the women. "Is it okay with you two if I take a rain check on dinner?"
Lena squeezed every cell in her body trying to look disappointed. "Dissing us for some guy, huh?"
"No, it's not like that, believe me. These friends of ours..." he looked at Scully.
"Yours Mulder." She replied, pointedly.
"Ok, mine. They're onto a little hacking deal that could get me into the pentagon's internal database."
"Mulder, that's illegal." Scully looked slightly disgusted. "Don't let those three take you down that path."
"They're harmless Scully."
"Hacking into federal computer systems is anything but harmless Mulder."
"Don't worry, I won't let them do anything stupid."
"So you're going to protect them from themselves?" Scully wasn't buying it, and as much as she wanted him to go, she didn't want to spend Sunday bailing him out of jail.
"I promise I'll be careful."
Lena walked to the front of the boat and pulled up the anchor. "I should probably get Ms. Thing out of the sun anyway, I can smell burning flesh." She turned around and winked at Scully.
"Thanks, sorry about this." Mulder really did look sorry.
"It's ok, just make good on your rain check." She smiled at him, turned the engine on and made for the dock.
"Can we go over the files I brought with me on Monday?"
"Sure, I can come to your office first thing, if you'd like."
"That would be great."
"Consider it done."
A minute or two later Lena docked the boat and tied it up. Scully said goodbye to Mulder and excused herself to go take a shower. Lena followed Mulder into the guestroom as he gathered his things. "For what it's worth Lena, I had a great day."
"I'm glad."
"Honestly, I haven't laughed like that in a long time, and I've =never= heard Scully laugh like that. She really likes you."
"Good, I like her, and you too, even though you tried to fish me to death."
He chuckled a little. She followed him up the steps and to the door. "See you Monday?"
"Yep, first thing. Have fun hacking."
Mulder waited until he was on the highway to pull out his phone and call Frohike.
"What do you want Mulder?"
"I'm calling to thank you."
"No problem. What did we get you out of?"
"A 'third wheel' afternoon."
"Huh?"
"I think Agent Scully has finally found someone worthy Frohike. Someone even you'd approve of."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I didn't want to hang around and hold up the process."
"What's his name?"
"None of your business."
"That's harsh Mulder."
"Talk to you later Frohike."
"Hey wait, the offer to spend the afternoon tip toeing through Pentagon records is still open Mulder."
"Sorry, that's illegal."
"Right. Bye."
Mulder hung up and took a deep sigh. He hoped that Lena hadn't been able to tell his quick exit was a rouse. He thought he had blocked it from her well enough, and even if she had known what he was up to she didn't give it away.
He shouldn't have listened to Scully's messages at her apartment. But she was in the shower and he honestly did think he'd hear his own voice and erase the message for her.
But it had been Lena's voice on the machine, not his.
And then, being here with them together this morning, he became aware of their attraction to one another. He thought about the way Scully looked at Conhouse. He could tell she was falling.
His Scully.
She had never looked at him that way.
There had been times when he wanted to tell her he loved her, but he knew in his heart that it wouldn't be right. She deserved the undivided attention of someone who loves her. He loved her, more than he had ever loved anyone, but could never promise to make her the central focus of his life.
Conhouse could be that person. He was suddenly washed in a flow of muddy emotion, jealousy, fear... but most of all, sadness.
It was time for him to let Scully go.
To give her a fair shot at being happy.
He could tell from the look in her eyes.
His Scully.
Was in love.
-end-
Chapter Six
Lena leaned her back against the closed door. She let tears stream down her face, considering Mulder's sacrifice.
His emotions were still palpable in her mind.
And through it all he smiled.
Then gracefully left them alone.
She wondered how could he endure under such suffocating loss; his sister, his father, now... his Scully?
It was too much emotion for her to embrace, the years of want that dripped off of him seconds ago in the doorway. His heart breaking around her.
And still he smiled.
She squeezed her eyes tightly shut. She saw a dark room, a black couch. She suspected that he was going home. She could not, in good conscious, make love to the beautiful woman downstairs, knowing that it could do irreparable damage to a man with such a good soul.
When she opened her eyes, Dana stood before her. She was wearing one of Lena's robes, her wet hair combed back from her face. She looked so worried. Lena let her head drop. Tears falling freely now.
"Dana, he loves you."
"What?"
"He loves you. He made up the Frohike thing so he could leave us alone. He knows, I think he heard my message on your machine."
"Oh god." Dana turned slowly and walked to the couch, numbly falling back onto it.
Lena felt a rush of emotion, some Mulder's, some her own. She knew suddenly what it would feel like to lose Dana, from Mulder's perspective, and hers as well. "He would never tell you..." Lena walked to the couch, sitting down next to Dana, "Dana, he's so incredibly sad." Lena winced, stricken by the pain she had felt from Mulder.
"Where is he going?" Dana asked, tears now pooling in her eyes.
"Home, I think."
Dana took Lena's hands in her own. "I have to go."
"I know."
She got up from the couch and went downstairs. Lena remained there, staring at the floor.
Dana reappeared, dress and packed. She smiled weakly at Lena and walked out.
Lena dropped her head into her hands and let her own sorrow wash over her. There was a dull ache in her stomach.
She's gone.
A rush of warm tears streamed down her face.
As soon as Lena had said, "He loves you", Dana had shut down, blocking Lena out with every ounce of her consciousness. It occurred to Lena, then, too late, that she had let herself fall in love.
Too much, too soon.
Lena let out a bitter laugh... and now, too gone.
"I know better." Lena chastised herself aloud. "Honestly."
Wanda padded over to her and pushed her snout at her hands.
"Yes baby, I liked her too." Lena rubbed Wanda's soft ears. "We're gonna miss her aren't we?"
She patted the spot next to her on the couch and Wanda jumped up, lying down and laying her head in Lena's lap as she cried softly.
"Scully, what are you doing here?"
She walked through the door and past him, to his couch, and sat down.
"I could ask you the same question."
"Well, I was with Frohike..."
"Don't lie to me Mulder, I can see right through it."
"Oh." He walked over and sat next to her on the couch, avoiding her gaze.
She faced him, holding his hands much like she had held Lena's an hour before. "Listen to me, please."
He raised his eyes to look at her, she could see the pain on his face so clearly.
"Mulder, I love you. And there was a time when I would have jumped at the chance to be in a relationship with you. But now..."
"I understand Scully."
"No Mulder, I really don't think you do. I've been so lonely for the past 6 years. Lonely =with= you. Do you know how that feels?"
He shook his head, confused.
"You are the king of the dodge Mulder. I could never quite compete with the next case file, the next lead from the gunman, the next lead on Samantha..."
Mulder winced.
"I'm not trying to hurt you, I just want you to understand that I do love you, but it's because you're my soul mate, not my lover. That would never work between us and I think you know it as well as I do."
He shook his head.
"I know you're right Scully, I guess I just always hoped something would change. That things could be different for us."
"I hoped for that too Mulder, but it won't happen that way. It's not meant to be."
He sighed and dropped his head.
"I'm here now to show you how much I love you. To show you that I'd do anything, and I always will, to take your pain away. You're my best friend Mulder. I don't want to see you hurt."
"Are you in love with her Scully?"
She sat back, looking at him intently.
"I think I am, yes."
He sat quietly for a second, biting the inside of his lip. She watched him carefully, trying to gauge his response to what she had just said. He finally looked at her.
"Then what the hell are you doing here?"
She smiled at him and stood up.
"Are you going to be ok?"
He smiled at her, "Get outta here."
She turned and left, shutting the door behind her.
Lena stood under the shower head, letting hot water cascade down her back. She was suddenly very tired. She had decided to shower and go to bed, even though it was probably only 7pm.
She had hoped that maybe sleep would take away the events of the day, if only for a little while.
She stepped out of the shower and towel dried her hair, running her fingers through it to comb it out. She dried the rest of her body off and brushed her teeth, thinking absently that she couldn't remember eating anything today, and then realizing that she didn't really care. She wasn't hungry.
She opened the bathroom door and was startled by a figure in the darkness of her room. Her eyes adjusted to the early evening light and she could see that the person sat in a chair by her bed, facing the bathroom door.
It was Dana.
She stammered, "I thought..."
Dana raised an eyebrow at her. "You thought wrong."
"But Mulder..."
"Well yes, there was that. He's ok. I talked to him."
"And..."
"And I told him that I think I'm in love with you."
Lena could hear her heart beating in her ears. She closed her eyes and smiled. "I see. So what are you doing in my bedroom, in my dining room chair, in the dark?"
"Waiting."
"For..."
"My lap dance."
Lena opened her eyes and looked at Dana. She could see her smiling in the soft darkness.
Blood raced hotly through her body. She felt a warm seeping between her legs at Dana's seductive words. She walked very slowly to where Dana sat and lifted a long leg in the air in front of the redhead's face. She put it down just as slowly, and settled herself onto Dana's lap.
Dana's face remained closed, with a slight smile. She stared at Lena with piercing blue eyes.
Lena leaned into her, pushing her bare breasts into Dana's clothed chest. She captured an earlobe in her mouth, sucked gently and whispered into Dana's ear, "I'm glad you came back." She licked the rest of Dana's outer ear with the tip of her tongue, then left a slick trail down her neck, working her way to the skin of Dana's clavicle. Dana gasped and sucked in a breath, her jeans and tee shirt feeling suddenly much too tight.
She pulled back to look at Dana's face. So beautiful, her lips were parted slightly, eyes closed. Lena grabbed onto the chair behind Dana's shoulders and slowly started to pump her hips against Dana's zipper. Her eyes never leaving Dana's face. She ran the tip of her tongue over the pouting lower lip, eliciting a low moan from the trapped woman. She cupped Dana's breasts through the fabric, rubbing herself against Dana and her own hands.
She felt Dana's hands come up to her ass, feeling the motion of Lena's ass pumping against her. She loved the way the warm hands felt, not pushing, just resting on her, wanting to feel the motion. "Are you going to help me come Dana?" Lena whispered it in her ear. Dana moaned, biting her bottom lip, "oh yes..."
"You've got me so hot already Dana... I don't think I can last much longer..." Lena pumped against her harder. Dana brought a hand around between them and laid it, palm up, against her jeans. Lena brought herself down on it, covering Dana's palm in wetness.
Dana gasped, "Ohh.. god... you're so wet..."
Lena wanted to push her over the edge. "Your fingers baby, I need them inside me, please..."
Dana captured Lena's lips, raking her tongue over her teeth, through them, and finally in circles to the rhythm of Lena's hips.
Lena felt Dana's fingers enter her, her head spun deliriously and she started to slowly fuck the fingers, seconds from coming all over Dana. She tried in vain to hold off, wanting it to last. Her body lifted up off of Dana and she held firmly to the back of the chair, driving herself onto Dana's fingers over and over. Dana brought her other hand to Lena's clit, milking it between two of her fingers. Lena came, falling back onto Dana's lap, rocking her hips against Dana with the convulsions that rolled through her. Dana cupped her as her body racked. She felt warm come seep out of Lena and onto her thighs, soaking through the denim. She had never seen a woman come, much less be the cause of it, and the brilliance of it was devastating to her.
She held Lena in her arms, waiting for the fade. Lena clung to her, slowly feeling them subside.
Dana brought her hands to Lena's face, lifting her chin. She stared into her eyes, running her thumbs over Lena's cheekbones.
"Where did you come from?" Dana asked the question in a low whisper as tear made it's way down her cheek.
-end-
Chapter Seven
"Where did you come from?" Dana asked the question in a low whisper as tear made it's way down her cheek.
Lena kissed her softly. "Does it matter?"
"No." She said, staring into her eyes.
"Come with me..." Lean stood and pulled Dana up into a standing position. She walked her over next to the bed. "I'd like to get you out of these clothes."
Dana nodded, still staring into her eyes. She was overwhelmed. The high-octane crush she had felt earlier in the day had evolved into something much thicker. She wondered if she'd ever be able to put words to what she was feeling. It was like she was wrapped in a thick warm fog. Never in her life had anyone opened themselves to her like Lena had, letting her in, giving herself to Dana in her most vulnerable moments. And asking for what she needed, unashamed.
It had taken every bit of courage Dana had to sit in that chair, waiting for Lena to get out of the shower. She had played a good game up until then, talking recklessly to Lena, boldly, about how much she wanted her. She had wanted to bolt from the bedroom, not knowing what reaction to expect, but the need in her body kept her pinned to the chair. The promise of touching Lena again, like she had before Mulder had showed up this afternoon was alive in her memory. Could she do this? Could she really pull off her smoldering sensuality act? Insecurities she hadn't felt since high school gripped her. She felt vaguely ashamed at what she was about to do; it was an unwelcome gift from her upbringing that wasn't easy to shake.
But it had worked, and Lena had given herself over to Dana without reservation.
And it was stunning. To see such a beautiful woman; losing control. She wanted to give that to Lena in return. Give all of herself without letting insecurity and shame keep her in check.
It was different with the men she had been with, not that there were many. Dana felt a superiority over them, feeling almost sorry for them in a way, like they were animals that had no control over themselves. She never felt like she was giving anything up to them, ever, always feeling like she had the upper hand. She knew, going into these encounters, that she would feel next to nothing. It wasn't the man's fault, she predetermined the outcome long before they had a fair shot at making her feel ...anything. It wasn't a sin if you didn't enjoy it.
The truth was, Dana letting herself go enough to have an orgasm was not a gift she was willing to give to anyone, at least not until now.
But she wasn't sure she knew how.
Lena pulled the white tee shirt out of Dana's waistband, lifting it carefully over her head. She put her hands on the button of her jeans, tugging gently until it gave way, then slowly slid the zipper down. She took a second to run her fingers down the length of Dana's exposed skin and felt her shiver under the touch.
Lena had felt Dana seize up slightly, moments ago, as she reached for her hands to pull her out of the chair. The feelings she was having tumbled forth into Lena's mind and she silently cursed the damage catholic school had done to too many little girls. She started to undress Dana, picturing old terrors being shed away with layers of her clothing. She had to figure out a way to release the Dana that would trust her enough to let go.
"You have no idea how beautiful you are, do you Dana?"
Dana shook her head slowly, watching Lena reach around her to unclasp her bra.
"No one has ever told you?"
"No." It was said in a whisper so low that Lena could hardly hear it.
"How can that be? They must have been blind." She paused and looked into her eyes, gauging the reaction Dana was having to her words. She felt Dana slip, a brick falling from her mental wall.
"I noticed your eyes first. They're a color of blue that seems to shine from within." Lena pulled Dana's bra forward, off of her arms. "Do you remember when you were in my office? I looked into your eyes for too long at one point. I thought that maybe you'd be able to tell that I wanted you." Lena stroked the skin of her cheek as she whispered to her, never breaking eye contact. "Could you tell Dana? That I wanted you?"
Dana made a soft whimpering sound, unable to answer. Lena felt another layer of self-doubt drop in a veil around Dana's consciousness.
"I noticed your mouth next. You were talking to me in the kitchen." Lena's whisper intensified. She put her hands on either side of Dana's waistband, pulling the jeans and underwear slowly down together and helped Dana step out of them. She stood up to face her again. "I caught myself watching your lips as you spoke to me," Lena smiled slightly. "I had no idea what you said Dana. Your mouth is incredibly sexy."
Dana shut her eyes, her body swayed gently. Lena wrapped her arm around Dana's waist, setting her down on the bed.
"Lie down, I have more to tell you." Dana eased herself back onto the pillows. Lena lay down beside her, facing her. She used her fingertips to draw small slow circles over Dana's abdomen.
Lena laid her head on the pillow, placing her mouth next to Dana's ear. "Your hands caught my attention next. You were running them through your hair. I imagined what you could do to me with them." She flattened her hand out on Dana's stomach, drawing it slowly down to run over the inside of her thigh, then back up, just as slowly. Bumping over her ribs and up between her breasts. Dana arched up slightly, almost imperceptibly into her palm.
Lena could feel the uncertainty in the other woman's body lift away with the arch in her back. She knew she was close to breaking through.
"I've noticed other things too. The way you walk, something in the way that you carry yourself... it just makes me weak. The way you give your smiles to me, they're like gifts..."
Dana's right arm bent at the elbow and her hand reached out blindly for her. She found Lena's face, and rested her hand on Lena's cheek, applying gentle pressure so that her lips touched Dana's ear. She turned her head slightly to increase the pressure of the contact and Lena ran her warm lips slowly over the delicate skin.
"I belong to you now Dana. You hold all of me in your hands. I'll be yours as long as you'll have me ...just yours.
Lena felt the last shroud of shame fall from Dana's consciousness. It seemed to rise off of her body, leaving a clearer more vivid image of Dana beneath it. She closed her eyes, wanting to see what Dana saw, and her vision was filled with the image of her body being lifted from a thick gray haze. Golden shimmering light surrounded her, shining at her from no discriminate direction, possibly from within as well.
"I would give you anything, everything Dana."
"ohhhhhhh..." Dana sighed and rolled her body restlessly, arching her back again, against Lena's palm that rested on her abdomen.
Lena brought her hand down, running over the pale thigh, down to the back of the knee. Dana shifted, her body moving in an unconscious effort to guide Lena's hands. Lena continued to tease the skin of Dana's legs, letting her hand brush the auburn hair between them, but not quite touching it fully. Dana pushed her hips forward, rolling them. She raised her right leg and draped it over Lena's body, opening herself to her.
Lena ran her bottom lip over Dana's ear, continuing to whisper to her as she brought her hand up to Dana's nipple. She ran her palm over the nipple lightly, eliciting a moan and more arching from Dana.
"I watched you walk into my office in your gray suit..."
Lena pinched her nipple with a light flicking motion, then quickly flattened her hand and rubbed Dana's breast firmly. Dana responded by pushing her hips into the air and running her hand into Lena's hair, a moan making it's way out of her mouth.
"covering this stunning body..."
Lena focused her attention on the other breast, repeating the motions.
"so brilliant, so serious..."
Her hand ran down between Dana's legs, her fingertips running lightly over the patch of hair.
Dana spoke, her voice shaking, "I... wanted you..."
Lena felt her heart lurch in her chest. She knew that saying the words must have been so difficult for her, it blew Lena away.
Lena drew her index finger between Dana's wet lips, bringing it to her clit, then back down. Dana's head turned into her, she was biting her lip. Lena repeated the motion slowly, until Dana's hips rocked gently against her finger, picking up the rhythm she needed. She would rock her hips slowing until Lena's fingertip reached her clit, then she would push her hips down quickly, to speed the finger over the her nub.
"I lied... to Mulder... I lied..." Dana whispered.
Lena didn't speak, just letting her finish when she could. Dana's hips were moving faster, and pushing harder against her hand. The hand that wasn't in Lena's hair was clenching and unclenching the bottom sheet of the bed. Her body was twitching; her abdomen was tensed, hard. Lena could tell she was getting close to cumming. She increased her finger's pressure, letting it slip inside Dana slightly with each rocking of her hips.
"... I told him... I thought I was in love... with you..."
The hand that had been clenching the sheet came to Lena's wrist. Dana held to it tightly, holding the fingers in place as her hips slowed and her body twitched. She pulled it tightly to her, the heel of Lena's hand pressed firmly against her clit, and her finger buried itself inside of her.
She was breathless, her voice catching as she whispered "... but even then... I knew that I was... in love with you..."
She pushed her head back into the pillows, pushing her hips with deliberate motion into the hand. She started slowly, her grip on Lena's wrist loosening slightly. She laid her hand on top of Lena's, pushing her own finger inside of herself, on top of the one Lena already had inside of her. Her movements quickened, she took a deep breath, then held it and rode Lena's hand wildly, unashamed of her loss of control.
"...so lovely Dana... you are so lovely..."
Dana came violently, her hands releasing Lena's hair and wrist, then fluttering against her own chest. Her hips pushed impossibly hard against Lena's hand. Lena cupped her, feeling a torrent of spasms against the finger she had buried deep within Dana's folds... her head swimming with emotion.
It took several minutes for the spasms to subside. When they did, Lena slowly withdrew her finger. She lifted Dana's leg off of her and put it flat on the bed, raising her own and resting her thigh between Dana's legs in an effort to quell the shaking in Dana's thighs.
Dana rolled into her, resting her head on Lena's arm, tucking her arms between them. She brought her leg back up over Lena's and Lena wrapped her free arm around Dana's waist.
Dana looked into her eyes, "We have a lot to talk about."
Lena smiled at her, "Yes, I imagine we do."
"But not now."
"Ok."
"Right now I feel like I'm floating."
"Mmmm, that's a good sign."
"How soon can we do that again?"
Lena laughed, "As soon as you'd like to honey."
Dana tucked her head under Lena's chin. "Honey," she murmured, "I like that..." and she slowly drifted off to sleep.
-end-
Chapter Eight
Scully awoke to the sound of soft snoring and reached over, in a sleepy haze, to stroke it's creator. She was not surprised to feel a cold wet nose nuzzle it's way into her hand, a contented sigh emitted as she rubbed Wanda's soft head.
"Hello sweetie."
Wanda turned onto her back, all four legs in the air, trying to entice Scully into rubbing her belly. It worked, and she was rewarded with belly rubs and kisses. Wanda gave a contented dog's long scratchy sigh.
"Where's your momma?" Scully noticed that the sun was coming up, shining brilliantly through the windows. "Is she outside?"
The word 'outside' sent Wanda wiggling for a foothold. She stood up on the bed, gave Scully a sloppy lick on the chin, and jumped on the floor, her whole hind quarters shaking from the violent wagging of her tail.
"My my, someone's in a hurry, huh?" She swung her legs over the bed and stood. Rubbing her head she went into the bathroom and stole one of Lena's robes from the hook on the back of the door.
"Come on Wanda, wanna go outside?" She went out into the hall, to the back door and let Wanda out.
She walked to the stairway and made her way up, but stopped when she heard Lena talking. She waited a few seconds, waiting for another voice. When none came, she realized that Lena was on the phone and went up the rest of the way.
Lena was sitting on the couch, a pad of paper in hand. When she saw Dana she patted the spot next to her. Dana came over and sat down, then curled up and laid her head in Lena's lap. Lena ran her hand through Dana's hair, looking at her as she listened to the caller.
"Ok Laverne, lets have that list."
She scribbled some things down on the pad, then turned it around so that Dana could read it.
Bran Flakes Raisin Bread Milk FE Iron Tablets Roses
Dana look up at her, her brow furrowed.
"Ok, see you tomorrow. I'll try to come right after work, so probably around 6."
"Yep, love you too, see you soon."
"I won't forget."
"Bye."
She leaned over carefully and put the list on the coffee table. Then sat back and resumed Dana's head petting.
"That was Laverne."
"Oh." Scully said, not wanting to admit that she was dying to know who was on the phone.
"She's 87."
"Oh." Scully was relieved, very relieved.
"When she runs out of raisin bread... well... it's not pretty. It's best to just not let it happen."
"Is she family?"
"No, I met her at the grocery store actually."
"Pickin up babes?"
"No, picking her up, she wiped."
"As in 'out'?"
"Yep, as in 'surf's up'."
"Jeez."
"That's what she said. She was carrying this loaded bag of groceries, trying to maneuver a cane at the same time and she fell. I helped her up, talked to her, ended up finding out that she's on a fixed income and refused to have a doctor check her out... Long story short, I followed her home, checked her out, and I've been doing her weekly grocery shopping ever since."
Dana was looking up at Lena while she spoke. When Lena finished explaining, Dana reached up and pulled her face down to kiss her. She released Lena and continued to stare into her eyes with a look that was... well, moony.
"Did I just score some points?" Lena asked, smiling.
"Oh yeah, big points."
"You like the whole 'helping hand' thing?"
"Very much."
"Did I mention that I clean for her too?"
Dana laughed and reached up for another kiss.
"Did the phone wake you up?"
"No, Wanda the wonder dog did."
"She wasn't on the bed was she?"
"Would she be in trouble if I said 'yes'?"
"I'd have to put her down."
"She was definitely =not= on the bed."
"Good thing." Lena said, giving Dana a tough girl look that made her laugh.
They sat quietly for a while. Lena watched her fingers as they ran through Dana's hair.
"Should we talk now?" Lena asked the question because she'd been anxious about having this discussion with Dana. Part of her just wanted to get it over with.
"Probably."
"How do you feel Dana?"
"Better than I have in years."
Lena smiled, "Super, me too. Glad that's out of the way."
Dana smiled at her, "But..."
"Oh."
"This is sort of a first for me. And I'm guessing, but I'd say I'm not your first. True?"
"True."
"So, I should be concerned about public opinion, what my Mom will think, our ability to work together..."
"And are you?"
"Yes."
"Well, I've been living as a lesbian since puberty."
Dana was surprised. "Has it been hard for you?"
"Yes. I can't lie about that. The hardest part was work. I generally don't come out at work. I find that it sometimes taints people's viewpoints whether they like to think it does or not. I'm one of those 'get-to-know-me' queers. You know, get to know me first, then I'll tell you in confidence and hope like hell you keep your mouth shut."
Dana had a look of concern on her face that broke Lena's heart.
"At Quantico, it was widely known that I was a lesbian. I was respected, in spite of that, and I have reason to believe the same will happen here in DC. In other words, you won't see me with a "I'm not a lesbian but my girlfriend is" tee shirt on at the office, but if I'm asked, I won't lie."
Dana looked at her solemnly. "I could be saying something that is very un-PC here, but I have to say that I never would have known that you were a lesbian. That is, if you hadn't flirted with me." She smiled, "You are such a =girl= Lena."
Lena laughed out loud. "That's funny."
"I'm serious."
"Well, be that as it may, I'm still a lesbian."
"So you always knew you were gay?"
Lena looked at her seriously, a rare occurrence, Dana was discovering. "Pretty much. I had a wicked crush on Mrs. Gardner, my kindergarten teacher. We used to lay down for nap time and I would lay on my little towel on my back, hoping to get a peek up her skirt when she walked around to make sure we were asleep."
Dana sat up. "Sick little twist, weren't you?"
Lena chuckled. "Horny, I guess, even at 5."
"Dana looked at her for a moment, took a deep breath and said, "I had a crush on my 7th grade English teacher. Her name was Ms. Howe."
Lean tried to not look shocked, "Really?"
"Yes." Dana nodded slightly. "She was smart, pretty. She was getting a divorce that year, and I rationalized it by thinking that I felt sorry for her. You know, wanting to comfort her. When I think about it now, I realize that it wasn't just that."
"Did you have other crushes?" Lena broached the subject carefully, not wanting to push.
"One or two." Dana threw her a half smile, remembering.
Lena sat quietly, hoping she would elaborate.
Dana thought for a moment, then continued, "In college, I had this friend, her name was Sheila. She lived in the dorm next to mine my freshman year. I met her in a class and when we found out that we lived so near each other we decided to walk to class together. We ended getting really close. We would go to dinner together on Sunday's. The dorm didn't serve dinner on Sunday. Anyway, she had long dark hair, a little taller than me, and she was incredibly funny."
Lena smiled, she noticed that the parallels between her and Sheila were not lost to Dana.
"We got together on her birthday, it was a Saturday night. Her dad had been up to see her, and had bought her a six pack for her birthday. I think he knew that between the two of us we couldn't do much damage with that amount of beer." Dana smiled wryly. "We went to the college gardens, it was by a river, and sat on a blanket in the dark with her six pack. We hadn't even gotten through one beer a piece, and she leaned over to me, we were lying down, and pretended to pull something out of my hair, like a fuzzy or something, and she kissed me."
Lena felt her heart flutter. She loved first kiss stories, even though this one involved Dana, it was so long ago that there was no jealousy, just the feel of the sweetness in the actions of two young women.
"What did you do?" Lena asked softly.
"I kissed her back." Dana said, looking down. She ran her fingertips over the fabric of the couch.
"And?"
"And continued to kiss her for another hour or so..." she looked up.
Lena smiled. She was delighted with Dana's openness, but tried to contain it. It was soothing to her to know that she wasn't the first woman to try reeling Dana in. That meant that Dana had considered the consequences of her feelings toward women at least once already. Maybe that fact would make the process easier for her now. Lena hoped.
"Does this story have a happy ending?"
"No. Sheila couldn't cope. I mean, I wasn't coping either, really, but she felt so good to me that I was willing to at least play the coward and hide a relationship. She ended up standing and pacing. I was confused, like, 'come back down here'. She was terrified. We walked home, went our separate ways. She wrote me a letter and delivered it the next day. It said, for the most part, that she was sorry. That she was just home sick and confused, and that it wouldn't happen again. It gave me the perfect 'out' really. She blamed the whole thing on herself so I was off the hook. We went back to walking to class together, but the Sunday dinners stopped. The next semester we just sort of lost touch with each other. I have no idea what happened to her."
"Were you devastated?"
Dana shook her head. "Not really. I was confused. I guess I just figured, 'ok, well, it was just her', like I wasn't a lesbian, she was just too persuasive... or something. I even rationalized it by thinking that one beer screwed up my judgement, that was a reach." Dana shrugged. "How about you? Who was your first?"
"Sheryl Richie, 11th grade."
"Started young eh?"
"Yeah. She was a shrew. I still contend, to this day, that she took advantage of me. She knew =exactly= what she was doing."
Dana rolled her eyes. "Ya, I believe that."
Lena gave her a mock look of indignation. "But it's true."
"Tell me."
"She was in my choir class. She had reddish hair." Lena leaned over and gave a strand of Dana's hair a soft tug. "And this beautiful complexion. One of those rare red heads that still tan." She rubbed Dana's tanned cheek. "And, she sat next to me. She kind of announced, when she walked into class, that she wanted to sit next to me because I was so beautiful. Which was funny, because I had braces, slight acne, and really bad hair; a real ugly duckling. I figured she was making fun of me. So, of course, I didn't believe her, and it totally rattled me. I was afraid of her for a while, because she always said inappropriate things to people. She seemed older than the rest of the 11th grade, but she wasn't, she just... had this way."
"Go on..." Dana looked amused.
"Well, I was painfully shy. I mean, speaking to me was like a random act of violence against me, from my point of view, anyway. So Sheryl seemed to recognize that, and she was gentle with me. She noticed that I would draw little pictures in my notebook, so one day she came in with a small drawing pad for me. It had a little bow on it. She just handed it to me, not saying anything. I was thrilled. For two reasons. One: it was the first important gift I had gotten from anyone that wasn't family, and Two: because when she handed it to me I got this image in my mind of myself, except, I saw myself through her eyes. I hadn't fully developed my 'insights' yet, so the images were blurry, but the way she saw me was quite a bit different that the way I saw myself. I thought of myself as mousy, insecure. She saw... well... beauty, I guess. She seemed to focus on my eyes and lips, the two parts of me that weren't ravaged by acne and braces."
Dana was absorbed in the story. She became aware again that Lena wasn't like the other 'kids', as she had put it. She realized that it was easy to forget that the woman was a mind reader.
"That's when the crush began. She continued to give me little gifts, and little touches along with them. I got progressive images of her touching me, kissing me, and some other things that I couldn't even see on late night cable." Lena looked at Dana and winked. "So, one day during class she tells me that she asked her mom if I could spend the night at her house. She said that they had a camper parked in the driveway and that her mom said we could sleep in that. She asked if I could call my Dad and find out if I could do it, then if I could, I could just ride home with her. I was freaked, but also, a walking bag of active hormones. The thought of having her to myself, regardless of the outcome, was just to much to refuse. I called my Dad at work to ask, and he was on to the whole gig immediately."
"What do you mean 'on to'?"
"Well, he knew all of my friends, and I had never mentioned Sheryl around him, knowing that he would feel my attraction to her, so he was a little concerned. And, he just =knew=. He knew where I was leaning, I had had many crushes on women throughout my childhood. I think he was aware that I was feeling something about Sheryl that was 'crush' like. You see, he's a little different than the other kids too."
"Ohhhhh." Dana said, drawing it out. Then the implications of the statement really hit her. "Wow... he's..."
"Yes. But he's better at it than I am."
"You'll need to elaborate on that when you're done with this story." Dana said to her, in all seriousness.
"I will, there's a lot I need to elaborate on. My family is odd."
"I don't doubt that a bit. Now finish telling me about Sheryl."
"Well, Dad knew something was up. He didn't seem upset, exactly, just unnerved. He wasn't opposed to my lesbianism, I think at that point he had expected it, but he hadn't had to put a face on it. He agreed to my spending the night at Sheryl's, nonetheless, and I went home with her after school. Her mother was wonderful. I was brought up without one, for all intents and purposes, and when Mrs. Richie found out that it was just my Dad and I left at home, Brian was already in college, she doted on me. She fed me, gave me lots of momma-style hugs. I swear, she was nearly in tears half the time thinking about me not having a mother. I'll elaborate on that later too."
"You'd better."
"So it got late and Sheryl and I retired to the RV. Her Dad, who was also golden, had hooked up the electric and water for us, it was like our own little world in there."
Lena stopped. She was smirking a little, shaking her head.
"What happened?" Scully prodded her.
"She was on me like white on rice."
Scully laughed. "Just like that huh?"
"Yep, barely got out of there with my life." Lena said, laughing.
"Well, my goodness. You poor thing."
"I know... tainted so young."
"How long did it last?"
"Until I met a boy and started going steady with him. Scott was his name."
"Ok, I'm confused now."
"Well, I had always liked him. I thought he was cute, and he ignored me through most of high school. Then the summer before my senior year I somehow lost my baby fat, got my braces off and my skin cleared up."
"And he noticed you?"
"Yeah. And I was flattered and wanted to see what boys were like. I still regret the way I told Sheryl. I just said, "Sorry, I'm straight now, see, this is my boy... I think she's married now..."
"Did you sleep with Scott?"
"Yes. But he had to work for it. I wasn't easy..."
"Unlike now..." Scully whispered under her breath.
"Dana!" Lena said emphatically, scolding her.
"I knew that'd get ya."
"I had to try boys at least once. Well, in Scott's case, about 30 times..."
Scully raised a brow at her, smirking slightly.
"He was like a Dapper Dan Doll. I could undress him, bend him this way and that. Make him lie still or move around... he was an angel, really. He put up with a lot from me. He made me confident around men, which I hadn't been up until that point."
"So you liked the intimacy?"
"Yes, I did. But I didn't get much out of the other 90% of the deal."
"Oh."
"And I think I felt guilty about Sheryl for the entire 12th grade."
"You wrecked her."
"Oh don't say that." Lena placed her hand over her heart. "That would be awful."
"I'm kidding, sorry." Scully leaned up and kissed her. "What happened to Scott?"
"I broke up with him my first semester in college. I fell in love with the girl across the hall and came out with a vengeance."
"I suppose you broke his heart too?"
"Doubt it. We were going to different colleges and I had heard rumors that he was seeing some little slut named Jennifer."
Scully snorted laughter. "You are something else Conhouse."
Lena let out a full laugh. "You know what?"
"What?"
"I love it when you say stuff like that."
"Really? Why?"
"I have no idea, but I love it." She smiled a goofy smile at Dana, shrugging her shoulders.
"Hmmmm, well, get used to it."
"Really?"
"Yeah, really." Dana was thoughtful for a second, then continued. "I can't promise you that things will be smooth. In fact, I can probably promise you that they'll be tough. I mean, I don't know how I'll behave tomorrow at work, if I'll be able to tell my mom right away, or any of that. But I do know that I'd like to see where we go together. I have a history of crushes on women, it's time that I got the courage up to find out what it's about."
Lena was gazing at her intently. She could tell that Dana was talking to herself as much as to Lena. Trying to convince herself, maybe, as she tried to convince Lena, that this was the right thing for her to do.
"I love your company. I love your peacefulness and stability. I love your sense of humor. I love your dog." Scully said, smiling, as she looked into her eyes. "I know this won't be easy for either one of us, but I need to take the risk at this point in my life. I've squandered so much time already Lena, wasted it. I don't want to be alone anymore, I haven't for a long time. But, I haven't come across anyone who makes me feel like you do."
Lena still hadn't responded and it was making Dana nervous. "Do you want to take this chance? On me, Lena?"
"Yes." Lena reassured her. "Yes I do. It's just... I don't want to screw it up. I'm worried that I'll push too hard or that you'll realize this isn't right for you."
"If I thought that would happen I wouldn't be here now. I can guarantee you that you'll never meet anyone more cautious than I am. I put so much thought into every move that I make that it sometimes gives me a migraine. Honestly, I wouldn't be here if I felt that it was wrong for me. I'm all together too anal for that."
At that, Lena stated, matter-of-factly, "I have to take you to bed now."
Scully laughed in surprise. "What?"
"The bed, now... please."
-end-
Chapter Nine
Lena let Wanda in through the downstairs door, then walked into the bedroom. Dana had already shed her robe. She was laying on top of the bed's comforter, belly down, looking at the picture of Lena's parents.
"You're not planning on thinking about..." Lena asked, warily.
"No, no." Dana laughed. "I was just wondering who this woman is. Is it your Mom?"
"No. It's my step-mom, Judy. My Dad married her about 3 years ago."
"Do you like her?"
"Very much. She keeps him normal... ish."
"Is she aware of his..."
"Nope."
Lena had moved to the side of the bed. She lay down beside Dana with her head propped up on her hand.
"Are you thinking about doing to me what you did to me last night?" Dana asked, putting the picture back on the night stand.
Lena nodded slightly. "Would you like me too?" She was whispering.
"Yes." Dana lowered her voice to a whisper, matching Lena's sudden intensity.
"Do you like it when I talk to you while I touch you?"
"... yes." Dana rested her head on the backs of her hands and looked into Lena's eyes.
Lena ran her hand from Dana's shoulders slowly down to the dip in her back. She leaned in to Dana's ear and whispered, "I adore you..."
Dana sighed deeply and let her eyes slip closed.
"And I am amazed... that you picked me..." Lena whispered as she ran her hand down over the swell of Dana's ass to the back of her knee and up again.
Lena got to her knees on the bed and shed her robe, letting it fall to the floor. She straddled Dana's hips, sitting down on her fully, then laid herself out on Dana's back.
The groan elicited from Dana's lips made her head swim with desire. She consciously chose not to read any thoughts from Dana, she wanted to feel her way through responses. She ran her hands over Dana's arms then back to her shoulders. She brushed auburn strands off of the back of her neck and ran her tongue lightly along Dana's skin, stopping at her ear, "... you are so soft..."
Lena let her hands glide down Dana's sides. She could feel her own wetness start to rub off onto Dana. She moved her hips slightly, sliding herself gently along the crack of the other woman's ass. She felt Dana push her hips back up against her. A sweet 'ohhhhhh god' from Dana rang in her ears... making her slide against her again.
"... Lena, god... that feels incredible... "
Her nipples were grazing Dana's back, her hips moving slowly against her ass. Lena sat up, slightly, and the change in pressure was overwhelming, "ohhhhh..." she sucked in a breath through clenched teeth...
"... don't stop Lena... please..."
Lena sat straighter, her hands resting on either side of the dip in Dana's back. Her hips moved of their own accord, her clit captured between the cheeks of Dana's ass.
"... can you feel that?..."
"... yes... you're so hard..."
Lena laid fully against Dana's back once more, her hands ran down Dana's sides. She pushed her hips into her ass again, and when Dana's hips lifted off the bed to meet her thrust, she slipped her hands beneath her.
"... ohhhhhh... " Dana let out a choked moan as Lena slid a finger into her. The fingers of her other hand found Dana's clit and she rubbed it in slow circles.
"I want you to cum with me Dana... can you do that?"
"... yes... "
She pushed her clit into Dana, wanting her to feel it hard against her. Dana clenched her ass and captured it, pulling it back with her as she pushed herself down into Lena's fingers.
"Jesus... Dana... oh god..."
Dana's hands came up, she grasped Lena's face and the back of her head, craning her neck to kiss her. Their tongues met. Dana's fingers sliding into Lena's mouth. Lena kissed her mouth and fingers at once, running her tongue over both. Each continued riding the other and they came together, as they had promised each other, moaning into one another's mouths - hips rolling in release.
"...I can't believe what you do to me..." Lena whispered, rolling off of Dana's back after slowly withdrawing her fingers. "No one has ever made me as hot as you do... how do you do that?"
"Mmmm, I don't know, but I like it... I like it." Dana whispered back, her back suddenly cold. She shuffled a little, getting under the comforter. She held the covers up and Lena snuggled in with her. "Get closer..."
Lena scooted into her. She reveled in the feel of the warm arms around her. "I can't believe how good you feel. I could get so used to this."
"That's the plan." Dana stroked her back softly, breathing in deeply, loving the smell of her skin.
"So you're sucking me in are you?"
"In a manner of speaking, yes."
"Lulling me into a sense of safety? So you can... let's see..."
"Steal your dog?"
"Too obvious."
Dana laughed. She had no idea what she was saying. It didn't matter. This silliness was all she could muster after having every synapse in her body fire at once. She was thinking of the definition of an orgasm that she and Melissa had looked up in the library when they were in their teens. It had said something that ended with, 'resulting in a feeling of euphoria and relaxation'. For the first time she knew what that meant. It made her smile.
"So which are you little white girl? Relaxed, or euphoric?"
"Both."
Lena responded by laughing and sighing at once. The resulting noise making her sound simple minded. "My god Dana, you killed some of my brain cells."
"Dork." Dana whispered, and kissed her on the forehead.
Lena laughed out loud.
It was early afternoon and the two women were out on the boat, lying in the sun.
"So, tell me about your family Conhouse. Who can do what?"
Lena looked over at her, smiling. "Now don't beat around the bush Dana..."
"Come on - spill it."
"Well, let's see. Where to start? My Dad is able to do just about anything. He's had nearly 65 years to develop his skills. He's proficient in all types of clairvoyance, including, but not limited to, thought transference, automatic writing, tachometry, telepathy, and remote viewing. Now Brian, on the other hand, has struggled with his abilities for most of his life. He's tried to suppress them, although, as a result of that, his unconscious mind, his dreams, mostly, are filled with real life events. He's been in and out of counseling most of his life. Lately, I think, he's been able to control his depression with medication."
"Is he alright now?" Dana was looking over at Lena, her brow furrowed.
"Yes. I think so, anyway. The last time I talked to him was a couple of weeks ago. He seems to be able to sleep now, and he was cheerful. He had met someone, which I think probably makes him happy. He's gay, also, by the way. He lives in California."
"What does he do?"
"Set designs for award shows. He was a theatre queer."
"No kidding."
"No kidding."
"Wow."
"Yeah."
"Where does your dad live?"
"He lives in Delaware. A place called Harmony Hall, this big farmhouse that's an historical site. It was weird how he got the place. He and I were really in to doing a family genealogy a couple of years ago and we found out that this historical site called Harmony Hall was owned by a General Conhouse back in the late 1700's. We went to the site and found that the county was taking bids to lease it out. Dad bid on the lease and he got it. He and Judy have been there for a couple of years now, restoring it to its original style. It's not far from here, about an hour and a half. I'll take you out there some time."
"Was it in bad shape when they moved in?"
"Oh yeah. They lived in one room for the first year while they tried to make the others livable."
"Tell me about your abilities. I know you can read my mind... when I want you too." Dana shot her a smile. "What else can you do?"
"Just about everyth