TITLE: 'Twas the Night Before Wedlock 
AUTHOR: bellefleur
EMAIL ADDRESS: bellefleur1013@yahoo.com
DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT: sure
RATING: PG-13
CLASSIFICATION: V
KEYWORDS: MSR 
SPOILERS: none
DISCLAIMER: Not mine; they belong to CC, FOX, etc.
SUMMARY: On the eve of Mulder and Scully's wedding, Skinner 
jumps to the bride's defense when he thinks the groom is 
engaging in some inappropriate activity. 


* * * * *

Skinner lay in bed mindlessly flipping channels on the TV.  
It was almost midnight, and there was nothing on.  He kept 
the volume muted out of courtesy for the other guests 
because of the late hour.  He knew he should be getting to 
sleep, but for some reason he was feeling restless.  He just 
couldn't stop thinking about the events that had led him to 
this moment.

Just a few weeks ago, his two most notorious agents had 
announced to him that they were finally going to tie the 
knot.  The news itself didn't surprise him.  Actually, he 
had been expecting it for some time and often wondered if 
they had already done the deed and were keeping it a secret.  
However, what did surprise him was the request they then 
made: they asked him to give away the bride at the ceremony. 

He had been quite taken aback by this, and he knew it must 
have been written all over his face.  Over the years, he had 
become more of an ally to these two, but he knew how wary 
they were about trusting anyone but each other and figured 
that they considered his loyalty to be unreliable.  Even if 
they respected him as an ally, he didn't expect they would 
also consider him a friend.  Although they knew him better 
than did any of his colleagues or agents, he had always 
maintained a distance from them, even when they had risked 
themselves for him beyond the call of duty. 

Thus, he was rendered speechless when he learned that the 
two agents considered him not merely a friend, but someone 
close enough to be given the honor of a family member.  All 
he could finally think to say was that he'd think about it, 
and then he hastily ushered them out the door. 

The fact was, he felt unworthy of such an honor and was a 
little embarrassed by that.  But it was true that he 
probably had a better understanding of their relationship 
than anyone else, even their own families, and in that sense 
he had a unique appreciation for this union.  Usually, he 
wouldn't approve of partners marrying one another, but 
Mulder and Scully were an exception to almost every rule.  
Other partners hadn't experienced as many threats or losses 
as these two, nor did they have the same loyalty or devotion.  
Although he knew Scully deserved better than Mulder, 
considering some of the things he had put her through, no 
better companion could be found for this man who was once 
such a lone wolf.  Despite the kind of work they did and 
what most people thought of it, they made an incredible team 
and deserved all the happiness they could give each other. 

And so, Skinner had accepted their invitation, which is why 
he was now lying on a hotel bed in Virginia riddled with 
these thoughts. 

The couple had opted for a simple and private ceremony at a 
historical hotel in the countryside.  Rooms had been 
reserved here for the small wedding party, which basically 
consisted of himself, the bride and groom, and a few of 
Scully's relatives. 

He had felt like an outsider that evening at the rehearsal, 
as though he had no right to be a part of something so 
personal to Scully's family.  But Maggie Scully, bless the 
woman, had stayed by his side and put him at ease, telling 
him how much this meant to her daughter to have him here 
since her own father couldn't walk her down the aisle. 

Later, when the women had escorted the bride away with them 
for the remainder of the evening, he and Mulder had spent 
some abbreviated bonding time together as a poor substitute 
for a bachelor party.  Skinner had been amused to hear that 
Maggie insisted on the bride and groom having separate rooms 
for the night, so he gave Mulder a fatherly pat on the back 
in consolation when the younger man decided to turn in early 
in preparation for the big day.  He himself then returned to 
his own room and had been sitting here channel surfing ever 
since.

On this eve of the wedding, it was difficult not to think 
back to the night before his own ceremony over two decades 
ago.  As a young man, he had bought into the dogma of every 
husband-to-be and enjoyed his last chance at freedom with a 
boisterous bachelor party, arranged by his best man.  The 
evening had started with a couple of strippers and a lot of 
booze, and ended with him drunk and in bed with one of the 
women. 

He never told Sharon about what happened that night, but so 
many times he came to wonder if part of the problem in their 
marriage was that he had violated her trust before they even 
took their vows.  At the strangest moments, the guilt would 
overcome him, the memory mocking him with the image of that 
anonymous woman's smile as she hovered above him.  Even now, 
he could hear her laughter echoing through his head, as 
though he were reliving that fateful night. 

Then the laughter became louder, and he realized that it was 
actually coming through the wall next door.  Only, this time 
it tapered off into a groan.  Eliciting an internal groan 
from the unwitting eavesdropper. 

This was not what he needed tonight.  It was hard enough on 
him not being able to sleep because of his overactive 
thoughts.  He didn't need the neighbors keeping him awake 
with a sound show that only reminded him of how long it had 
been since a woman had made noises like that for him. 

Unbidden, images of this woman on the other side of the wall 
materialized in his head.  Just a few hours before, as he 
was approaching his room from the stairwell, Skinner had 
seen her leave the room adjacent to his and walk the 
opposite direction down the hallway.  She was a brunette of 
medium height, well-dressed, with her hair pulled up into 
curls on top of her head, and she was attractive enough to 
make him turn and watch her walk away.  She had been on her 
way out somewhere, probably on a date--which apparently 
wasn't over yet.

Another laugh.  No, a giggle, really.  Followed by another 
moan, then a very loud and impassioned cry: "Fox!"

Skinner froze.  He couldn't possibly have heard what he 
thought he heard.  He was willing to give the man in 
question the benefit of the doubt, but how many men named 
Fox could there be in the hotel that night? 

And then he heard the owner of that name call out loudly, 
"Oh yeah, baby, just like that!"

There was no longer any doubt in Skinner's mind.  He knew 
that voice, and he was livid.  Fox Mulder was about to marry 
the woman of his dreams--hell, the woman of any man's 
dreams--and here he was with someone else.  Skinner knew 
that if Mulder went through with this, it would be the 
biggest mistake of his life.  But more than that, he refused 
to let him hurt Scully in this way.

Pausing only long enough to pull his pants on and grab the 
room key, Skinner bolted out of his room to the door next to 
his and banged loudly.

At first, there was no response.

He banged again.  "Mulder, I know you're in there.  It's 
Skinner.  Open up."

After another pause, Mulder opened the door just wide enough 
to stand in the doorway, blocking the rest of the room from 
view.  He was wearing a hotel robe and was in the process of 
tying it closed.

"I'm kind of busy here.  Can't this wait until morning?"

"No, it can't.  What the hell do you think you're doing, 
Mulder?  You're getting married tomorrow, to a beautiful and 
amazing woman.  If you respect her as much as I hope you do, 
then you can't do this to her."

Mulder looked a bit puzzled.  "I think you're being a little 
old-fashioned about this, and frankly, sir, I don't think 
this is any of your business.  Just because we asked you to 
walk the bride down the aisle doesn't mean you have the 
right to play the indignant father-in-law.  Now, if you 
don't mind...."  He tried to shut the door, but Skinner 
threw up his hand to block the way.

The A.D. was now even angrier because of Mulder's callous 
attitude.  "I do mind.  I'm not going to let you mess this 
up, not by doing something this asinine just as some final 
assertion of bachelorhood."

"What's going on?"  Mulder looked behind him, beyond 
Skinner's line of sight, to acknowledge the owner of the 
female voice.  Their unwelcome guest braced himself to 
confront the woman's wrath at the invasion of her privacy.  
But, his argument was with Mulder, and he would willingly 
leave the woman in peace if Mulder would abandon his tryst 
and follow him elsewhere to continue their disagreement. 

Then the door opened further and the woman came into view.

There, next to her fiance, stood Dana Scully, also wearing a 
hotel robe that she was tying tightly around her waist.

And at that moment Walter Skinner realized his mistake and 
turned beet red.  

As both agents stood there awaiting an explanation, he 
stuttered out his embarrassed response.  "I'm sorry.  I had 
no idea this was your room.  I'm next door, and I--I thought 
this room belonged to another woman, and I thought I heard 
her in here, then I heard Mulder, and I--I came to stop him 
from making a horrible mistake."

Mulder was both hurt and incredulous.  "You think I would do 
that to Scully?"  His arm instinctively went around her 
shoulders to pull her defensively to his side.

Skinner knew there was no easy way to get out of this.  "I'm 
sorry, I didn't mean to imply....  It wouldn't be the first 
time that a man had done something foolish on the night 
before his wedding."  Mulder was about to reply, but Skinner 
continued before he could get a word out.  "I apologize for 
bothering you both.  I think I could use a drink.  I'm going 
to head down to the bar for a while."

With a glance at Mulder to punctuate his intention to stay 
out of earshot and allow them their privacy, he turned and 
fled down the hallway, leaving his two puzzled agents 
standing there in his wake.  

* * *

An hour later, Mulder wandered into the hotel bar and found 
his boss sitting alone nursing a beer.  Signaling to the 
bartender to bring him a pint as well, he settled on the 
stool next to Skinner and waited for his drink to be served.  
The two men then sat there in silence, tending to their 
libations.

Mulder finally spoke first.  "Did you really think I'd do 
something like that to Scully?"

Skinner sighed heavily.  "I can't apologize enough for my 
assumption.  I know how much you love her, and you're the 
last man that I'd assume would do that, but--all I was 
thinking at the time was that I couldn't let anyone hurt her 
like that."

There was another pause as they let these words and their 
implications settle between them.

"I guess it wasn't too far off base.  The old Fox Mulder 
would've done something stupid like that.  But not now--not 
to her."

"Mulder...."  Skinner paused, as though searching for the 
right words.  "You said that walking her down the aisle 
doesn't give me the right to play the father-in-law, but I 
don't think you would've asked me if you didn't already 
trust me to have her best interests in mind.  If you were 
any other man, I'd give you a speech about what I'll do to 
you if you ever cause her sorrow, but I know that if that 
ever happened, you'd be the first one to do damage to 
yourself.  So, instead, I'll ask you to promise that if you 
ever hurt her, you won't try to kill yourself.  Stand up and 
take whatever punishment she gives you, but don't hurt 
yourself.  You know that will only cause her more pain, and 
God knows she's suffered enough personal losses.  If you do 
kill yourself, so help me God, I'll track you down in 
whatever afterlife you're hiding in and kick your ass."

Mulder smiled at this last part.  "I guess you know me 
better than Bill.  He just gave me the routine, 'Hurt-her-
and-I'll-kill-you-myself-you-sorry-son-of-a-bitch' speech."

Skinner chuckled at this, and they both returned to their 
beers, consumed by their own thoughts.  

Mulder finally articulated the question that he had been 
mulling over.  "Why did you assume that wasn't Scully?"

"I saw another woman coming out of that room earlier, so I 
thought she was staying there.  Besides, I had heard that 
Scully was sharing a room with her mother somewhere on the 
first floor, and I thought you were staying with her nephew 
or something." 

"You're right.  But Scully's cousin helped us out by giving 
us her room, and she swapped places with Scully after her 
mother fell asleep."  Mulder turned toward his boss with a 
confused look.  "But if you recognized my voice, I don't 
understand why didn't you recognize hers."

Skinner was uncomfortable about answering this, and he 
wasn't even sure if it was a question expecting a response, 
but he gave one.  "I heard giggling, and she called you, 
'Fox.'  I guess it just didn't sound like the reserved 
special agent that I'm used to."

Mulder smiled.  "She only calls me that when she's tipsy.  I 
think the ladies had a bit too much to drink at the 
bachelorette party."

Skinner was a little embarrassed by this revelation and 
stared down into his empty mug to hide the reddish tinge 
overtaking his face.  And then he realized something, which 
he spoke aloud.  "I'd never heard her laugh before."  He 
turned and looked at his agent.  "You make her happy, Mulder.  
You make her laugh.  Spend every day of the rest of your 
life doing just that."

"That's exactly what I plan to do."

With a nod of acknowledgment, Skinner stretched and slid 
down from his barstool.  "C'mon, Mulder.  You've got a big 
day tomorrow and we could both use our sleep."

Mulder finished off his beer with one swig, and after 
settling the bill, the two men headed out of the bar.  
Tomorrow might be a life-changing day for the soon-to-be-
husband, but it was tonight that had changed Skinner.  He 
found that he had a new respect for Mulder, as a man much 
better than himself--a man who did not fear the loss of his 
freedom but embraced it, and who already lived out the 
commitment he was yet to make legal, but which obviously he 
had made with his heart and soul long ago.  And he realized 
that maybe this was the man that Dana Scully deserved after 
all.


THE END

*****

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