Title - Visiting DC
Author - Donna
Email address - donnah@pop.uky.edu
URL - www.geocities.com/Area51/Quadrant/4571/
Rating - PG
Category - MSR
Spoilers - None
Keywords - MSR, Charlie fic
Summary - Charlie comes to DC for a conference
Feedback - Please

Disclaimer - Mulder, Scully, the Lone Gunman and
Skinner all belong to Chris Carter, 10-13 and Fox. No
infringement intended



Visiting DC


Mulder knocked a second time on the door.  He had told
her he was coming over to bring these files.  Well, if she
was out he could just leave them on the table.  He felt a
slight disappointment at missing her.  Usually when he
stopped by her place she had on her casual clothes,
rather than those suits she wore to work and he could . . .
He shook his head and slipped his key into her lock.

He was barely inside when he realized she had just
gotten out of the shower.  He heard the shower door
close and knew there was a gleam in his eye.  He'd
probably get slapped if he let her get close enough, but it
might be worth it.

He laid the files on the table and waited, a grin on his
face.  When the bathroom door opened, a man wearing
boxers and towel drying his hair emerged.  Mulder froze
for an instant, then his gun was out.  "Freeze! Put your
hands up.  Where's Scully?"

The hands went above the man's head and the towel fell
to the floor.  "Don't shoot.  You must be Mulder."

Mulder's eyes narrowed at that.  "Who are you?"

"Charlie.  Charlie Scully, I'm Dana's brother."

"Charlie?"

"I'd offer you some ID but . . ." He shrugged and looked
down at his boxers.

Mulder was scanning him, yes that ginger colored hair
and he had Scully's blue eyes.  Mulder lowered his gun,
chagrinned.  "Listen, I'm . . . I didn't know you were here."

"Yeah, hey, do you mind if I get dressed?  I'm really
much better with my clothes on."

Mulder closed his eyes for an instant.  Great, he'd made
a wonderful impression on her other brother now.  He
nodded and Charlie moved into Dana's bedroom.  "I put
coffee on, if you want some."  Charlie called from the
bedroom.  "Wish it was decaf under the circumstances,
but . . . "

His voice trailed off and Mulder made his way to the
kitchen, shaking his head in defeat.  Shit!

Charlie emerged quickly, wearing casual slacks and an
open collared sport shirt.  He was holding his wallet,
which he presented to Mulder.  "See, it really is me."

"Mr. Scully, I'm . . . "

"Charlie.  It's Charlie.  And if I were to come in and find a
nearly naked man where I was expecting Mary, I'd want
to pull a gun too, if I had one."  He held out his hand.
"Let's start over, Mulder, I'm pleased to meet you."

Mulder took his hand gratefully and shook it.

Charlie nodded, "Did you leave me any coffee?"  He
moved around the taller man and poured himself a mug.
Mulder just watched him bemused, he didn't seem angry;
he was just accepting have a gun shoved in his face like
it happened every day.

Charlie took a seat and motioned for Mulder to take one
as well.

After a moment, Mulder found his voice, "Where is
Scully?"

"She went to the store.  She should be back any minute."

Mulder nodded, afraid to say more and took a sip of the
coffee.  They both looked up as the door to the apartment
opened.

"Charlie?  I forgot to tell you Mulder might drop by and - "
She stopped as she spotted the two of them sitting at the
table.

"We've met."  Charlie's voice dripped with sarcasm.

She stood at the entrance to the kitchen, grocery bag
forgotten in her arms.

"What happened?"  She finally asked.

"Well, my heart got a good aerobic workout and I got
some good dirt on you.  You might want to let the men
who have keys to your apartment know when you have
other men staying over.  Especially the ones that are
armed."

Scully's eyes widened and she looked from one to the
other.  "What happened?"  She finally asked again.

"I didn't shoot him, Scully.  Relax."

"Oh my god."  She placed the bag on the table finally.

"Hey, did you get doughnuts?"  Charlie pulled the bag to
him and started searching through it, the trauma
apparently forgotten.  Mulder peered in as well and
smiled when Charlie withdrew the pastry box.

"That's it?  You didn't shoot him?  What happened!"

Both men looked up at her as though they had forgotten
her presence.  "Oh, Mulder and I bonded.  Do you have
any milk?"

Instead of answering she slipped into a chair at the table.
Charlie shrugged and stood to look for the milk.  Mulder
rose as well and poured Scully a cup of coffee, which he
placed in front of her.

"Thanks."  She said faintly, watching the two of them.

Mulder resumed his seat beside her.  "I have a question."
Scully turned to look at him.  "You and I get along pretty
well.  Melissa was a little weird but - " He hesitated as her
eyebrow rose.  "Okay, pot calling the kettle black,
anyway, now I've met the elusive Charlie.  My question
is; where did Bill come from?"

Charlie choked; spraying milk toward the sink, then sank
back into his chair and grabbed a napkin.  "I want to hear
the answer to that one myself."

Scully glared at both of them, then rose with dignity and
left the room.

The two men exchanged glances.  "I think we're both in
trouble now."  Mulder offered.

Charlie nodded, "Good thing I have that conference.  You
can handle her."

"You're leaving me alone with her?"  Mulder asked.

"Hey, you're armed."  He stood again and wet a paper
towel to wipe up the milk on the floor.

"What kind of conference, maybe I could sit in?"

"I'm throwing you both out."  Scully was standing in the
doorway again, having heard everything they said.

They both stood sheepishly and moved toward the living
room.  "Hey, Sis, are we still on for dinner?  I should be
out by five."

After a moment she nodded.

"Great.  Mulder, you want to join us?"

Her eyes widened and she looked over at Mulder.  A grin
took over his face.  "Love to.  I'll meet you here, around
five then."  He let himself out without another word, Scully
would find the files and it just seemed like a good time to
escape.

*****

He was back before Charlie later that day and knocked
carefully, not even considering using his key to let himself
in.  When Scully answered the door, she gave him the
once over.  Not normal Saturday night wear for him, no
jeans and t-shirt.  He was actually in slacks and a golf
shirt.

"Left over from California?"  She asked as she let him in.

"Yeah.  I started to wear the pink one, but I didn't want
Charlie to get the wrong idea."

She snorted and followed him to the couch.

"Did you find the files?"  He turned toward her.

"Yes and I'm checking some things.  But I refuse to talk
about work tonight."

"Yes ma'am."  He nodded in a military fashion at her and
her eyes narrowed again.  He was in too good a mood.

About that time the door opened and Charlie let himself
in.  He stopped when he saw that Mulder was already
here.  "Hi.  Have you guys been waiting long?"

"No, I just got here, and she refused to discuss business
so I'm glad you arrived."

"She can be narrow like that."  Charlie offered as Scully
stared at the two of them.

"If you two can't behave you can go to dinner without me,
you know."

The two men looked at each other as though
contemplating just that when she whirled away from them
and grabbed her purse.  "Like I'd leave the two of you
alone together."  She muttered under her breath.

Mulder struggled to keep a bland face while she glared at
him.  He turned to Charlie.  "Well, where would you like to
go?  You're the tourist."

"You know where I'd really like to go?"  He looked over at
Mulder, "The Lone Gunmen's apartment.  Think there's
any way you could get me in?"

Mulder gaped at him for just a second while Scully
sputtered.  "Uh, yeah, no problem."

"Mulder!"  Scully was looking even more outraged.

"Hey, Scully, he's our guest.  We should always try to
accommodate company."

"Did you two rehearse this?  You can't be serious about
going over there."

"Sure I am.  I love your stories about those guys, Dana."

Mulder looked over at her.  "Stories?"

"Shut up, Mulder.  I cannot believe the two of you."  She
sighed. Great, instead of a nice evening at a decent
restaurant, catching up on family, she was going to
spend another evening with the geeks from hell - and she
was including the two standing here in that description.

"Charlie, you want to freshen up?  I'll drive."

Charlie nodded and disappeared into the back of the
apartment.

"Mulder."  Scully hissed at him, "I do not plan to spend
my entire Saturday night over there."

"No problem, we'll hang out for a little while then go get
some dinner."

"You promise?"

"Cross my heart."  She rolled her eyes but said nothing,
plopping down in her easy chair to wait.  He could hear
her muttering and turned away to hide his smile.

When Charlie rejoined them, Mulder opened the door
and led them to his car.  Charlie took the front seat next
to Mulder, so Scully let herself in the back.  Her
mutterings were almost loud enough to hear now.

Mulder pulled out into traffic and then glanced over at
Charlie.  "No one told me you were coming."  His eyes
darted to the back seat for an instant, "but I'm surprised
you're not staying with your mother."

"Well, I'd planned to stay there.  She's out of town, but
the power went off in her neighborhood, so I imposed on
Dana.  Even without Mary here, at my age, a cold shower
sounds horrible."

Mulder nodded in agreement.  "I'd like to meet Mary
sometime."

"Oh she wants to meet you too.  She couldn't come this
trip.  Will, our oldest, had a band concert so she's
attending for both of us."

"She wants to meet me?"

"Dana doesn't only talk about the Lone Gunmen."

Mulder glanced back at her but she was looking out the
window, ostensibly ignoring both of them.


When they arrived at the apartment, Mulder again led
them in, Scully trailing.  He knocked and looked up at the
surveillance camera.

The door opened fairly quickly, though they could hear
several locks being disengaged.  Charlie's grin got bigger
and bigger.

"Mulder, my man.  We didn't expect to see you tonight."
Langly opened the door wide, then spotted the rest of the
entourage.

"We've got special company tonight, guys.  This is
Charlie Scully, Scully's other brother."

Langly held out his hand cautiously to shake.  "Don't
worry, I'm the nice brother."  Charlie spoke and shook the
blonde's hand.  "Very pleased to meet you.  I've heard a
lot about you.  You're Langly, right?"

"Uh, yeah."  He motioned for them to come in.  Byers and
Frohike had joined them by now.  Introductions were
made and Charlie's enthusiasm for seeing their work put
them at ease.

Scully just shook her head slightly and took a seat off to
one side, an older copy of the newsletter in her hand.
She followed the conversation lightly until she heard
Frohike speak.

"Hey, we were going to order a pizza, why don't you guys
stay?"

"That would be great."  Charlie spoke before Scully could
open her mouth.

Mulder looked over at Scully and moved Frohike so that
he was standing between them.  "What?"  Frohike looked
from him to Scully and back.

"Scully, what if I promise you a really nice dinner
tomorrow night?"

She shut her eyes and slumped in the chair.  Sure,
whatever.

It was after eleven when she finally dragged the two of
them away.  Charlie had a receipt for a three-year
subscription in his pocket, the longest they offered.

Once back in the car, Mulder looked over at Charlie.  "Do
you have plans for tomorrow?"

In the back seat Scully, rubbed her forehead lightly as
though a headache had taken up permanent residence.

"I have a continuing ed session from one to three, then I
head for the airport."

"We could get some breakfast, then I could show you our
office."

"Are you serious?  You could get me in there?"

Scully groaned, but they ignored her.

When they got to her place, Mulder walked in with them.
"I can pick you guys up at, say, nine?  There's an I-HOP
on the way.  We can get some breakfast and then I'll
show you some of the files."

"Great.  See you then."  Charlie shook his hand and
headed for the back.

Mulder turned to Scully.  "Did you have a really terrible
time?"

"No."  She said grudgingly, "and I'm glad the two of you
get along better than you and Bill."

"Amen, Scully."

"You didn't have to bond quite so well, you know.  I'm
holding you to that `nice' dinner tomorrow night."

"Yes ma'am."  He smiled down at her.  "Sleep well,
Scully.  I'll pick you up around nine."

She nodded and walked him to the door.  "Be careful."

"Always."  He shut the door behind himself and waited
until he heard the deadbolt engage, then headed for his
car.

*****

He was wearing the jeans and t-shirt the next morning.
Charlie was a little more dressed in deference to his
meeting later.  Scully had opted for slacks and a sweater.
Going into the office on a Sunday always made her so
happy.

Following a fattening breakfast of Belgian waffles, she
was in a better mood and watched bemusedly as the two
men dived into the files.  Charlie was asking questions
she would never have suspected he would ask, and
Mulder was reveling in it.  She hadn't seen the man so
happy since Kersh had gotten stuck in the elevator and
missed a meeting with them.

His smile and obvious delight in the company of her
brother eased her pique at being here and she settled
back to watch the two interact.  It really had never
occurred to her that these two would get along so well.

It probably should have.  Charlie was the most
personable Scully.  He'd never met a stranger and his
students adored him.  He'd been voted teacher of the
year four or five times since going to the university.

She was smiling when Mulder looked around to check on
her.  His own smile grew and he turned back to Charlie.
She booted up her computer.  Might as well get some
work done.

After about an hour and a half, Scully stood and
stretched.  "I'm going to make a pot of coffee, you nerds
are obviously going to be here awhile."

"Good idea, Dana."  Charlie didn't even look up and
Scully shook her head.  Once she had left the room, he
looked up at Mulder.  "Finally, we're alone."

Mulder looked over at him.  "What?"

"Just a word to the wise, and if you tell her, she'll kill both
of us."

"What?"  Mulder lowered his voice, as though he feared
she might listen at the door.

"I've never seen her with anyone the way she is with you.
She's never been `in love', not even in high school when
it was life or death.  But you . . . Be good to her Mulder.
She's a damn special lady and the way she talks about
you . . . I know what she's feeling even if she doesn't."

Mulder gaped at the man, "are you, are you saying she . .
. "

Charlie looked at him curiously, "Now I understand.
You're both numbnuts when it comes to relationships.
No wonder you're so good for each other.  Think about it,
Mulder.  What other woman do you want around you all
the time?"

That took no thought.  "No one."

"See?  Think about it, and eventually man, do something
about it.  And for god's sake we never had this
conversation."  He turned back to the file as they heard
Scully's steps approaching.

Mulder was staring at the door when she entered with the
coffee pot.  She stopped and looked at him.  "What?"

"Uh, nothing.  Nothing."  He turned back to the files and
Charlie rolled his eyes.  These two needed more than a
gentle push, but he'd done what he could.  He
desperately wanted to see Dana happy and this was the
man that could do it.  He'd seen her eyes light up every
time she spoke of him, even when she was trying to be
angry with him.

Charlie had been unsure until he'd actually seen Mulder,
been in the man's gun sights.  He loved Dana; he just
didn't seem to know it.

After a while, Scully checked her watch.  "Charlie, you
still need to pack.  If we don't get moving, you'll miss your
seminar."

Charlie glanced at his watch.  "Don't you hate it when
she's right?"

"I'll let you know if it happens."  Mulder grinned at the
look of mock outrage on her face.

She couldn't get really angry.  Mulder so seldom played.
He was in a great mood, and she knew that a large part
of this mood was due to her dorky little brother.

Charlie looked back and forth between these two.  Oh
yeah, these two were almost as right together as he and
Mary.  "Come on guys.  I do need to get my things."  He
shoved the drawer closed and they headed for the car.

When they got to her apartment, Mulder headed inside
with them.

"I know you have to get ready, but I'm really glad I finally
got to meet you Charlie.  It's nice to know I can get along
with at least one Scully."

"Well, I am the easiest to get along with."

Scully rolled her eyes.

"I've noticed."  Mulder agreed.  "You're welcomed in DC
whenever you can get here."

"Will do, and you know where Ohio is, right?"

"Right."  They shook hands.  "Well, I'll get out of your
way.  Scully, I'll pick you up at six."

"Mulder, you don't have - "

"I'll pick you up at six, and wear something sexy."

Her eyes widened and she opened her mouth to protest.

"Please, Scully?"

Charlie chuckled and they remembered he was there.
"Hey, I can take a hint.  I'll see you guys on my next trip."
He left the room and Mulder shrugged.

"See you at six, Scully?"

She nodded; it did kind of sound like fun.