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“What is it with you and strays?” Mulder asks over the whining of the wiry-haired dog caged in the back seat.
“I don’t know, Mulder. They just seem to be drawn to me.” She grins to herself, her face in her cellphone.
“How are you even going to get him on the plane? You’re taking him across state lines without any paperwork.”
“I have this pocket-sized, shiny, fun thing in my pocket that usually helps me get what I want.” She pats her left breast.
“I doubt your vibrator will help you get this mutt on the plane, Scully.”
She looks up at that and gives him a disbelieving look. “I’ll have you know, I don’t own that particular…model anymore.”
“Oh? You finally wear the batteries out?”
“I found something more esthetically pleasing. And can be recharged with a USB cable.”
Mulder chuckles to himself. Ever the most prepared out of the two of them, he had to wonder why she asked to borrow his charging cord the night before when he spotted, over her shoulder, said phone attached to cord on her side table before she closed the door on him.
“Could’ve just knocked, Scully.”
“Ahh, but we don’t do that anymore, do we Mulder?” She lolls her head against the headrest to stare at his profile.
He’s quiet and shifts in his seat. “I don’t recall that being a mutual decision.”
“Well, this little guy is going to need some room to run around. It’ll give me an excuse to come by more often and work on our communication skills.”
“Wait!” Mulder’s head whips to his right. “He’s staying with me?! Why is he staying with me?! I don’t even want the dog!”
The whining gets louder in the back seat, the mutt tries to bite his way out of the metal cage. Scully shushes the K-9 to get him to settle, her fingers reaching between the bars to scratch behind his ears.
Mulder could kick himself for word vomiting about the dog. She’s now this mutt’s plus one. Of course the dog can stay at the house if it means he gets to spend time with her, too.
“I’m sorry, Scully. Of course the mutt can stay with me. Your landlord probably won’t allow you to have pets regardless...Unless you show him that badge of yours to get your way, too?”
“Oh no, I show him other things to get my way.”
Mulder turns pale overthinking all the possibilities.
“Mulder!” Scully lightly smacks his upper arm. “I’m kidding!”
He has to swallow the bile down before he can speak. “Heh, heh, yeah.”
They ride in silence for a few more miles.
“You brought up a good point, though.”
“Oh?” Scully leans her back towards the door so she could look at Mulder.
Surprisingly, Mulder pulls off to the side and put the car in park.
“Are…are you seeing…what I mean is, is there anyone…special…in your life?” He plays with his fingers, unable to look at her.
She reaches out to place her hand over his and intertwines their fingers. “You’re the only special one, Mulder. There hasn’t been anyone else.” The reassuring squeeze she gives him allows the breath he’d been holding to release.
“Same for me, Scully. You’re still my one in five billion…I guess it’s over seven billion now?”
“I like those odds.” Her grin is contagious.
A yip from the back seat breaks up their intimacy. “Alright, alright. Let’s get you home, Mutt!”
As Mulder starts up the car and pulls back onto the main road, Scully pipes up.
“He does have a name, you know.”
“Oh?”
“Daggoo.”
“We need to discuss your naming animals capability or lack thereof.”
Daggoo yips in the backseat, his tongue lolling out of the corner of his mouth. Looking at him through the rearview mirror, Mulder could almost see the dog smile.