----- A Marriage Of Convenience by Deslea R. Judd -----

Winner of the Fluffy Trophy 1999 as Best Non-MSR Fanfic
Archived with author consent c/o "The City of Stars"
  (http://digilander.iol.it/xbellatrix/)
  by Melody Morgan Carter (xmcarter@libero.it)

Title: A Marriage Of Convenience
Author: Deslea R. Judd
E-Mail: drjudd@catholic.org or drjudd@primus.com.au
Copyright 1998
DISCLAIMER: This work is based on The X Files, a creation of Chris Carter
owned by him, Twentieth Century Fox, and Ten-Thirteen Productions. Julia
Capwell is my creation and may not be used without my written consent (her
name was, however, misappropriated from the defunct soap Santa Barbara). All
other characters remain the intellectual property of those parties and are
used without their consent and without commercial gain.
OK to archive.
Spoilers: Redux, Redux II, Christmas Carol, Emily.
Category: Story, Romance (Skinner/Scully).
Rating: PG 13.
Summary: Scully and Skinner marry to avoid him being called to testify
against her. But sometimes marriage can be a self- fulfilling prophecy, and
Scully just might find herself in the process.
NB: Not related to Someone I Trusted, but I promise I'm working on SIT X!
Fan mail is always appreciated!!! My e-mail is drjudd@catholic.org or
drjudd@primus.com.au. This and my other stories may be found at
http://homepages.tig.com.au/~drjudd (shameless plug).

A Marriage Of Convenience *PG-13* 1/1 Deslea R. Judd drjudd@tig.com.au
drjudd@catholic.org Copyright 1998

//I love you, not only for what you are, but for what I am when I am with
you. I love you not only for what you are, but for what your love makes
me. --Unknown//

PROLOGUE
The two figures were striking. At All Souls Catholic Church in Annapolis,
the couple stood proudly before Father McCune, their FBI dress uniforms
matching those of a large number of those attending, not least of which was
that of the man who had given the beautiful redhead away with a fond smile.
Now, the redhead stared up at the taller man at her side, her hand over his.
Her beautiful voice rang out with commitment and resolve. "Walter, I give
you this ring as a sign of my love and fidelity, in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." Scully stared up at Skinner,
searching for a reaction, and met with his affectionate smile. She returned
it, and when he leaned forward, she met his lips with a sweetly chaste kiss.
They glanced sidelong at Mulder, who beamed at them approvingly. They
re-took their seats, and Scully regarded her new husband thoughtfully.

ONE
After Section Chief Blevins had apparently suicided, there had still
remained the question of how the Department of Defense operative, Scott
Ostelhoff, had come to die in Mulder's building. The DOD would happily have
let the matter drop, but unfortunately for the DOD, Ostelhoff had a wife,
and her uncle was a Congressman. There had been an inquest, and that inquest
had handed down a verdict of murder by person or persons unknown, with a
recommendation that Mulder be indicted. Mulder had claimed self defense, and
his claim had a certain amount of credibility given he had discovered
Ostelhoff watching him. Privately, Mulder freely admitted to Scully that
what had happened had been fifty percent self defense and fifty percent cold
blooded murder, induced by his confused rage at the discovery of how he had
been used earlier that evening. "All I saw, Scully, was the man who did
those things to you and me and my father and your sister." Nonetheless, he
genuinely believed both then and now that Ostelhoff would have killed him,
and felt no qualms of conscience about his self defense claim. The most
damaging possible testimony would be, ironically, her own. Mulder had
admitted to killing Ostelhoff to Scully immediately after it had happened,
and due to her illness had not told her that there was any question of self
defense for several days, by which time the inquest investigation had
already begun. Any questioning of her would immediately destroy his defense.
Scully had initially refused to testify, and she had been held in contempt
of court and jailed for several weeks. Finally, she had been released with a
$35,000 fine and had not been called again. Still wincing over the dent in
her savings, Scully had been appalled when Skinner had then been called to
testify, not against Mulder, but against her. Julia Capwell, who by now was
their collective attorney, had explained the situation. "Walter, you're the
only person who knows definitively that Dana knew Fox was alive." She
ignored Mulder's wince at her use of the name. "You confronted her, and she
didn't deny it. All three of us know it, and since you were the recipient of
the pathology report which proved Mulder wasn't dead, the other side have a
pretty good idea of it, too. Now, as long as there's no proof Dana knew
Mulder was alive, we're free and clear. Mulder kills Ostelhoff in self
defense, and because he doesn't know who is watching or who he can trust, he
goes into hiding, leaving the body posed as himself to buy him time, not
risking making contact with Dana here. Dana, believing the body is Mulder's,
identifies him as such. Mulder comes out of hiding when Dana is dying and
what with the Blevins stuff doesn't get another chance to tell his story for
days to come, when he makes his formal statement. But as soon as you testify
Mulder made contact with Dana before her collapse, everything changes. The
jury will assume he gave Dana his first and most immediate version of
events, which in their minds will be the most credible, and presumably he
never once mentioned self defense, or else she would have testified. It also
makes her an accessory after the fact. Dana has refused to testify, and that
looked bad, but not as bad as her testimony. And we did manage to salvage
that somewhat by getting Mulder to testify about their difference of opinion
about Emily's adoption, painting it as a possible grudge thing. But Walter,
I don't see that you can follow suit. You'll be accused of covering up the
truth, and your career will be worthless. A partner showing what is
perceived to be misguided loyalty, or misguided hostility, is one thing, but
the Assistant Director is quite another." Skinner had nodded slowly, and
Scully had been alarmed at the idea of his career going down the drain over
this. Mulder, more realistic, had understood that had been the case for a
long time anyway. But the prospect that Skinner might be sacked, leaving the
post open for another supervisor who might interfere with their work, was a
worrying one. They had quibbled about this for some time, Julia forgotten;
but finally, their lawyer had gotten their attention. Granted it at last,
she had made her fateful suggestion. With a quiet voice quite unlike the one
that had been used to yell, "Will you all shut the fuck up?", she'd said
cooly, "Well, Walter, you could always marry her." Scully had stared at
Julia, thunderstruck. She knew, of course, that a husband could not be
called to testify against his wife; but, dear God, marriage? If it came to
that she could always have married Mulder and been done with it. //Would
have saved me a second mortgage for that damn fine, at any rate//, she
thought ruefully. She looked at Skinner, and was stunned to see a thoughtful
expression on his face which told her clearly he was considering it. Julia
had left them to it after that, instructing them to brief her on their
decision within twenty four hours. Two pizzas and three bottles of wine
later, the three of them had hammered out a plan which would allow their
work to continue unhampered. Bureau marriages were permitted; marriages
between superior and subordinate were not. In this plan, Mulder remained
head of the X Files project, now exclusively. Scully, meanwhile, was
transferred to head a new, Special Projects section of the the Scientific
Analysis Unit at Quantico and was responsible to Section Chief Rudolph, who
fortunately was more interested in science than internal politics. Mulder
then used his support budget to purchase the exclusive services of the
Special Projects Unit, making her his consulting partner, but technically
not accountable to Skinner. Technically she was first and foremost
accountable to her client, Mulder; and secondarily to Rudolph, who could not
possibly have cared less. From Rudolph's perspective, any trouble she got
into was her client's lookout, not his. A fortunate bonus was that Scully
got a new and heftier budget with which she was able to purchase a small,
much-needed support staff. Giddy with relief, Mulder had left, leaving
Scully and Skinner lazing drowsily on the floor at right angles to one
another, their heads close. From this vantage point, they stared out the
picture window at the sleet. Scully's head was swimming. Within hours she
had gone from staring down the barrel of a sentence for being an accessory
for murder to staring down the barrel of a sentence of marriage to Skinner.
There was confusion and amazement, and also, if she were honest, a dawning
hope. Could this be the change she had been seeking in her life since she
had so nearly died? A shared life with someone? Marriage, something she had
not thought of for many a long year...could this be what she longed for? At
last, Skinner spoke. "Scully...Dana. What do you think about all this?"
Scully was quiet for a long moment, but finally, she said in a low voice,
"It's different for Mulder. Marriage is something you can do in a registry
office and then undo. I'm not like that. I believe that marriage is a
commitment you make for life. I have no use for marriage of any other kind."
"Nor do I," he said softly. "And yet how do we let Mulder go to jail for
this?" she asked wretchedly. "We can't." They stayed there for long moments,
still staring at the sleet. Finally, Skinner spoke; but the voice was that
of a very different Skinner. "Dana, there is a way." She said nothing; only
tilted her head slightly to catch sight of his expression. He continued. "We
could get married for real - for life." Still she was silent; but now, she
rolled onto her side and leaned over him. She waited. A frown passed over
his face. "I don't know how to explain what I mean, Dana. But - we're
friends. Confidantes. I'm comfortable with you. You make me smile when we
work on something together and you say something that makes me do a
double-take. It may not be the stuff of romance stories, but we could be
happy together, I think. Content. I think we could make a home together, a
life together." "So do I," she said softly. "I know we could." "Do you think
you'd ever regret it?" he asked with a pang. "Wish you'd waited for Mr
Right, that sort of thing?" She thought a moment, just to be sure; but then
she shook her head decisively. "No. No, I wouldn't. I've had the swelling
music and the heart-bursting passion. It doesn't last. I want something that
will last, Walter. I want to be with someone I can give myself to and know
they'll always be there, and that they're strong enough to give me what I
need without being swamped by me." "Me, too," he said softly. "What Sharon
and I had was too flighty. It lasted seventeen years, and it probably would
have lasted another seventeen if she hadn't died; but we were people who
skittered across one another's nerves constantly. We were too different." He
sighed, "But I did love her. Very much." Scully took his hand. "So what are
you suggesting, Walter? That we try to fall in love?" There was mischief in
her voice. He smiled at that, but shook his head. "Just that we live
together as life partners. As for love...it'll happen in it's own time. Or
maybe it won't." She nodded slowly. "But it will be okay, even if it
doesn't, I think," she said slowly. "Because we're working to be partners as
we are now, not because that might happen sometime later - right?" "Right."
They were silent for a long time after that, the only sound the driving
rain. Finally, Scully had said diffidently, "Walter?" "Yes?" "If this is for
life, I want to marry in the Church," she said softly. He nodded. "So do I."
It had been decided as simply as that; and finally, they had gone to bed.
Skinner had not slept on the lounge as they had first decided after a
certain level of inebriation; instead, he had slept in her bed, both of them
dressed, their bodies curled together in an intimately chaste embrace. She
had slept, comforted, and sweetly content; and that was the beginning of her
understanding that she did love him, after all.

TWO
"Congratulations, Dana. I'm so pleased." Scully came to herself. "Thank you,
Holly." She lowered her gaze. "You know, I'm sorry I gave you the brush-off
when we thought Mulder was dead. I just didn't know how to deal with it. I
did appreciate what you tried to do for me." The tiny brunette gave her a
compassionate smile. "I understand, Dana, really." Her tone brightened. "But
Mulder's alive, and the case looks like being dropped, and you've married a
wonderful man. Everything's come right for you, Dana." Scully felt a shadow
pass over her, the shadow of children who would never be; but it passed.
"Yes, Holly, I think it has." She gave a sudden grin. "So when can we expect
to hear wedding bells from you?" Holly gave a sidelong glance at Kimberley,
who was sharing an affectionate exchange with Skinner. Her expression was a
fond one. "Her parents are still having trouble with this, Dana. We want to
give them time, if we can, before we take that step. We don't want to drive
them away by moving too fast for them." Scully counselled softly, "Don't
wait too long, Holly. It's your life," she added, thinking of her mother's
dismay at the news of her own marriage to Skinner. "Part of being a parent
has to be letting go." Holly looked suddenly bereft. "I know, Dana. I know."
Thinking of Emily, she took the older woman's hand. "She's with you today,
you know." Scully bit back the tears which suddenly threatened. "I know she
is, Holly." She pulled the other woman close. "Thank you." They stayed that
way for a long moment, but then Skinner cleared his throat. "You going after
my staff again, Holly?" he demanded with a glint in his eye. "You treat her
right, Sir, or I just might," Holly rejoined. Kimberley rolled her eyes.
"Come on, you incorrigible flirt. I want to dance." They watched them
depart, arm in arm, and Scully said as an amused aside, "I don't know how my
brother's coping with the lesbian contingent." Her hand closed around his
unselfconsciously, her tone reflective. "They make a sweet couple, though."
Skinner gave a low snort of laughter. "Funnily enough, Kimberley just said
exactly the same thing to me about you and I." Scully turned to him.
"Really?" she asked, pleased. He nodded. "She said we were very adult. She
said that Holly and she admired the fact that we were such good friends -
she said she thought it made a good foundation for a marriage." He gave a
low sigh. "I don't know if she was hinting at anything - God knows, if
anyone knows the reasons for this, she does - but she said she believed with
time we'd make each other very happy." Scully scoffed, "Walter, they //all//
know." She added slowly, "I think she's right." Skinner squeezed her fingers
gently. "Me too." They went to the dance floor, and they went into one
another's arms.

PART 2

Frohike, Langly, and Byers sat at what could only be regarded as the
outcasts table, a table for those who knew no-one else (or, in the case of
Mulder, who had left the bridal party's table to join them, people whom
no-one wanted to know). By a strange twist of fate - and the mischievous
hand of Scully - Bill and Tara Scully were seated in the table adjacent and
had no choice but to converse with them. Bill was positively monosyllabic,
blaming Mulder as he did for Scully's recent prison holiday, but Tara took
delight in the discussion. Langly spoke. "So Mulder, do you think they'll be
happy?" For even those close to the couple who knew of the reasons for the
union had been told that the marriage was permanent and would not be ending
in divorce after the trial. Byers pointed to them dancing. They stood in an
embrace which was so innocent, so uncomplicated that it was pure, their
locked gazes childlike with gentle fondness. "What do you think?" he asked
with a pang of envy. Mulder looked on with a bittersweet smile. "I think
she's married her soul mate. I just don't think she knows it yet." Frohike
and Bill both harrumphed, and were both similarly ignored. Bill snarled, "So
how does it feel to be a free man, Mulder? Was it worth offering my sister
over to some guy like a common whore?" Tara jabbed him with her elbow.
"Bill!" she reprimanded, upset. Mulder snapped, "The only reason I don't
slug you like you deserve, Scully, is that your sister would kill me."
"Don't bother," Frohike muttered in Mulder's ear. "I put itching powder in
his napkin." Scully would have been proud of the self-control Mulder
displayed at at that; but he was saved from having to reply to either
Frohike or Bill by the sound of a microphone. Mulder returned to his table
for the toasts. Skinner rose. "Well, ladies and gentlemen, it's no secret
among any of us that circumstances have dictated the timing of this wedding;
and I thank you all for coming on just a week's notice. But don't be misled
by that fact." He turned to Scully. "I stand here before you profoundly
honoured to have taken Dana for my wife. She is without doubt the most
beautiful, brilliant person I have ever known." Scully turned a gratifying
shade of pink. "She challenges me, and she makes me be honest with myself
and others. She is breathtakingly strong and compassionate, and she is very
dear to me. I'm a very lucky man." Scully, her eyes bright, acknowledged him
with a little nod of her head, her lips trembling even through her smile.
She rose at his gesture, and allowed him to kiss her hand. "To Dana, and all
who are privileged to know her." He moved to sit, but she restrained him
with a gentle touch. As the goodnatured toasts died down, she said slowly,
"It is frightening to think that if not for circumstance we might not have
seen this day." She met his gaze. "It is frightening to me that I have known
this man for five years, and that this incredible future we now share could
have passed me by in the blink of an eye." She turned to the congregation,
most of whom were her friends, but a handful of whom were foes, Bureau
operatives who shadowed their every move. "I have lost much in the last five
years - my father, my sister, and recently my daughter. Those losses, and
most especially that of my daughter, remain part of me always. But God has
seen fit to give me a new future with the blessing of those I loved in my
old life. For that, and for you, Walter, I will always be thankful." She
stopped, unable to continue, and simply raised her glass. He leaned forward,
and she kissed him tenderly. "Thank you, Walter," she whispered. "And you,"
he said huskily. "Oh, Dana," he breathed. They were interrupted by Mulder
clearing his throat. "I'm going to make this short and sweet, because I
can't hold a candle to that anyway. The very first time Scully met Skinner,
her first words to me describing the encounter were, 'He just wanted to reel
me in'. Well, Sir, you've finally done it. Congratulations, and may you
dream of Mulder-free conferences." "I'll drink to that!" Walter laughed, and
Mulder and Scully laughed with him.

THREE
It was that night that the question of making love arose. When Scully
stripped off her Bureau dress uniform, it revealed a negligee of the richest
ivory silk, hand embroidered with heavy gold thread. Skinner raised a
questioning eyebrow. "Is this a hint, Dana?" His voice was kind. She gave a
sheepish grin. "Mom bought it. She said if I wasn't going to look like a
bride outside I was damn well going to look like one inside." He couldn't
keep the admiration out of his voice. "Oh, you do, Dana. Believe me, you
do." He sobered. "Doesn't she know we haven't - uh -" She cut him off. "She
hopes tonight will be the night." "Do you?" he asked piercingly. She
hesitated. "I - I'd like to," she admitted slowly. "I don't want us to spend
our lives alone - you know, that way. But we've been so happy these last few
weeks as we are, as friends. I don't want to risk what we have." Her voice
became lower. "I don't want to lose you." He drew her close. "You won't,
Scully." He felt her mould herself to his body, her soft cheek warm against
his bare chest. She must be aware of him through his trousers, hard against
her stomach, but she neither pushed him away nor pulled him closer, but
simply accepted it for what it was, that he wanted her. Her acceptance
stunned and exhilirated him in turn. "I know this is awkward. We're people
who have never been lovers, but we've made a life together. There was a
time, and it wasn't so long ago, when people married this way all the time,
but that's not our culture. It's strange to us." She raised her head to meet
his gaze, and nodded her agreement with his assessment. "But Dana, you're my
wife now. We promised to make a life together, to live as man and wife, and
we're both people of our word. It may not happen tonight, or tomorrow night,
or even this year, but we're going to find a way to make it work. I'm in
this for the long haul." Against all her will, she felt her eyes sting with
sudden tears at what he was offering her. Permanence. Security. The things
Scully had craved all her life, sought in her religion and her science and
in Mulder. And here they were, handed to her by a man who wanted nothing
more of her than her own resolve, resolve she lived by anyway. This was not
a man who would take and take and take, like Mulder; this was not a man who
would ever let let her go to prison for him or put her in a situation where
such a thing was necessary. This was not a man who would rail at her with
furious betrayal on that day when she finally decided her life or her family
was more important than his cause. This was a man who would accept her,
support her, whatever she did. She felt her tightly contructed, protective
walls crumbling; and it was a relief. At last, she spoke. "So am I." He
kissed her forehead. "Let's go to bed." So she let him lead her to their
bed, still unsure whether he would make love to her, but trusting him and
herself to make everything okay. But he didn't.

EPILOGUE
When she woke, she felt peace. He was still curled protectively around her
body, his arms loosely around her. Vaguely, she remembered him stroking her
breast as they dropped off to sleep, him kissing her neck; and yet they had
been innocent touches, leading no further than themselves, just as her
kissing his fingers and nuzzling deeper into his body had been. As before
when they had slept together, she felt content. It was as though, in a
strange way, this chaste intimacy gave her something lovemaking never could:
reassurance that she could be loved for who she was, rather than what she
did or what she could give. Idly, she wondered whether them making love
might actually spoil it. And then he stirred, and kissed her sweetly on her
shoulder, and she thought, //No. As long as he kisses me that way, I will
know.// So she turned to face him, and she tenderly kissed his lips, her
tongue caressing him for the first time. "Walter," she whispered. "I love
you for what you've given me." He looked at her, his reply unmistakeable,
but his eyebrow was raised in question. "Me," she explained softly. "You've
given me me."
END

Author's note: I wanted to go on from this, really; but I didn't think there
was anything more to say. Let me know if you beg to differ. Deslea

BY THE SAME AUTHOR:
Offspring (Scully/Skinner, XF, mytharc novel, Piper Maru backstory)
On The Outside (mini-novel, Offspring prequel, mytharc, Sam/other, Colony
backstory)
One Endless Night (Skinner/Scully, some mytharc Colony to Emily)
The Field Where My Love Died (TFWID vignette, implied MSR)
The Field Where My Love Prevailed (TFWID vignette, implied MSR)
The Field Where Her Love Died (Scully/Melissa Ephesian (past), Sc/Sk
(past/present), unfinished, not yet available)
Someone I Trusted (Series) (Scully/Skinner, follows mytharc)
A Soul, Unbound (Emily vignette, missing scene, Scullyangst)
A Teletubby X File (Humour, story, XF/Teletubbies crossover)
Why Did The Chicken Cross The Road? An XF Primer (Humour)
The Scully Skinner Shipper Drinking Game (Humour)
How To Write A Scully Skinner Romance (Humour, in progress)
Borderline (unfinished mini-novel, MSR, some Sc/Sk)
Lyrics of the Heart (unfinished mini-novel, MSR, characters die, lotsa
karaoke)
Smokin' Maggie (unfinished mini-novel, mytharc, MSR, not yet available)
Evolutions (unfinished novel, not yet available, Offspring sequel, mytharc,
Sk/Sc, Samantha, Redux backstory)
Deslea R. Judd drjudd@catholic.org or drjudd@primus.com.au
http://homepages.tig.com.au/~drjudd (personal)
http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Parthenon/8558 (theology)
http://www.geocities.com/Area51/Dungeon/6533 (XF Sc/Sk)
"In the face of death, I am who I am, and what I have been has been given
over because they were never really mine." -- Dana Scully, XF Fanfic "One
Endless Night" D R Judd

***

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Archived by "The City of Stars" http://digilander.iol.it/xbellatrix/
Fluffy Trophy 1999 by Melody Morgan Carter (xmcarter@libero.it)