Happiness: Letting The Cat Out Of The Bag 
Author: shawntaw 
Category: MSR, Au 
Rating: PG 
Disclaimer: I didn't create these amazing characters, so no one's 
paying me. 
Also, I made up Carver, Kentucky. If such a place really exists, I 
don't know about it.:) 
Summary: What's the word I've seen on some other stories of this 
nature? Oh yeah...schmoop...Schmoopiness to the max...I can't say 
more without giving it away.:) 
Feedback makes me very happy at shawntaw@hotmail.com :) 
TO DANI WHO HAS MADE A WEBSITE OF MY STORIES: 
www.geocities.com/corran_14776/shawntaw.html 
Thank you.:) 
Note: HOLD ON THROUGH THE BEGINNING ANGST; THERE IS A HUGE HAPPY 
PAYOFF AT THE END!!! And, no more Diana after the tiny appearance in 
this story - I promise. 
********************************************************************** 
*** 
Diana hobbled sneakily away from Scully's and Mulder's hotel room 
window with a snort of glee. She, of course, then held her nose in 
agony. The makeshift bandage was falling off; she needed to get to 
the hospital and make sure her nose hadn't been broken. 
*That's o.k.; I've won. Their partnership is OVER now.* 
Mulder may not be hers and she may not have delivered him to the CSM, 
but she was thrilled that she had, at least, destroyed their ability 
to continue their work at the F.B.I. together. Maybe this, at least, 
could get her back into the CSM's organization in some capacity. 
*Goodbye, F.B.I...* 
Grinning, Diana got into her car and placed the camera on the seat 
beside her, patting it like a puppy. 
********************************************************************** 
***** 
The first indication that something was amiss was the way the lunch 
crush of F.B.I. employees in the elevator ceased their chatter the 
moment Mulder and Scully boarded. 
It was Monday, and Mulder and Scully had arrived at work together 
that morning, having overslept at Scully's apartment. 
"No one will even notice, Scully," Mulder had said. 
"Well, we can't make a habit of this," Scully had grumbled. 
Now she wondered if the scuttlebutt was starting already. What other 
reason could there be for this strange silence? And they were 
staring at them; she could feel it even if she couldn't catch anyone 
at it. 
And then someone snickered. Someone else said, "Shhh.." and the 
snicker stopped. Mulder and Scully looked at one another in 
confusion. The elevator dinged and Mulder, without thinking, placed 
his fingertips on Scully's back to escort her from the elevator. 
The snicker sounded again followed by some female giggling. Mulder 
and Scully stopped and turned to look at the passengers. 
"Ok, what's going on?" Mulder said, getting irritated. 
Several people were avoiding his eyes and flushing as though 
embarrassed, others were amused or trying not to laugh. 
As the doors automatically closed, Scully and Mulder could hear the 
uproarious laughter break out as the elevator carried the employees 
to their respective floors. 
Mulder frowned, "More 'Spooky' crap, no doubt. Wonder what brought 
it on this time?" 
Scully sighed. *THAT'S all it is.* "Oh, just let it go, Mulder. 
Come on, I'll buy you lunch." 
She tugged on his sleeve and the two of them headed for the small 
cafeteria for a quick lunch. 
They had been catching up on paperwork and decided just to grab a 
bite and carry it back down to the basement. 
********************************************************************** 
***** 
Scully sneezed as they entered the cafeteria and Mulder paused in his 
stride to dig in his pocket for a hankerchief. She thanked him, 
swiped at her nose, and joked with him about laundering it before 
returning it. Mulder smiled and put his hand on her back as they 
continued toward the food line. 
As they both returned their attention to the room they were entering, 
they froze. 
Everyone was staring at them. 
For a moment, Mulder and Scully stared back, blinking. Mulder 
automatically dropped his hand from Scully's back. 
"That's it! What the hell is going on here?" Mulder finally said, 
loudly, to everyone as they began to move again. 
No one answered him but continued acting as though nothing were amiss. 
Kimberly approached them from across the room. 
"Good. Maybe now we'll get some answers," Mulder leaned over and 
said softly to Scully. 
She nodded, but was silent. Scully just knew this had something to 
do with scuttlebutt about the two of them. 
*What is it this time? Mulder and I are doing it in the basement? 
Nah, that was the popular one last year...On the road? On cases? On 
Skinner's desk?* 
She smiled tentatively at her own joke. 
"You really don't know, do you?" Kimberly said without preamble when 
she reached them. 
"Know what?" Scully said, smile disappearing. 
"Come with me; A.D. Skinner's sent me to look for you," Kim started 
to hustle and bustle her way out of the lunch crowd. 
Mulder and Scully had no choice but to follow. 
********************************************************************** 
***** 
When they reached the relative quiet of Skinner's outer office, Kim's 
sanctum, Scully reached out and put a hand on Kim's arm, stilling her. 
"Tell me, Kim. What is it?" 
She grimly looked at them for a moment, stepped over to her desk and 
rummaged in a drawer, and came up with a printout. 
"This was e-mailed to pretty much everyone in the building this 
morning," she said. 
It was a photo. A photo of Mulder and Scully in the shared hotel 
room in Carver, Kentucky. 
Scully was wearing Mulder's gray t-shirt and he had a towel loosely 
knotted around his waist. It was obvious they had just gotten out of 
the shower. Scully's hair was slicked back with moisture and 
Mulder's had that wet, spiky look. 
And they were locked in a pretty heated embrace. 
Mulder broke the silence first. "Well...," and then with 
realization, "Diana." 
Scully nodded and closed her eyes. "Diana," she agreed. 
"Hey, you look hot in this picture, Scully." 
Scully opened her eyes in disbelief at Mulder's tone. 
"You find this....funny?" 
He looked at her wide-disbelieving eyes with love. 
"We knew everyone had to find out eventually. I mean, we ARE getting 
married, Scully. Am I happy they found out like this? No. It is a 
inexcusable invasion of our privacy. Do I care that they know that 
we love each other? No. I don't. In fact," he took her hand in 
his, "I've wanted to tell everyone you've agreed to marry me since 
the day it happened." 
Mulder smiled at her, but her expression became bleak. 
"What about our partnership, Mulder? The X-files? I don't want to 
give that up," she responded quietly. 
"Um, I hate to interrupt this, but I think A.D. Skinner is ready to 
see you now," Kim said apologetically. 
"I need time to think about this," Scully said and bolted for the 
door, running for the anonimity of the stairs and then, the basement. 
********************************************************************** 
****** 
Mulder entered Skinner's office with his shoulders hunched. 
The older man greeted him standing by his desk, hands in his pockets. 
"You know then, " he stated. 
Mulder nodded. 
"Where's Scully?" 
"She took off. I think she's a little overwhelmed and...embarrassed." 
Skinner nodded, "Understandable." 
He gestured at the seats in front of his desk. 
"However, if you'll bear with me for a few minutes, I think I have 
some good news for you and Agent Scully. It won't negate the 
embarrassment of having your private lives gawked at, but - in the 
long run - I think you'll both be happy." 
********************************************************************** 
******* 
Scully stepped hesitantly back into Kim's area and stared at 
Skinner's door. 
Her few minutes away had done nothing to calm her nerves. She had 
paced like a caged tiger in their cramped basement office, only to 
run back up the stairs so that Mulder wouldn't fear that, for once, 
he'd been ditched. 
Kim was silent; she simply allowed Scully the time she obviously 
needed before entering the office. Kim knew that Scully's greatest 
fear was the dissolution of her and Mulder's partnership. 
Scully took a deep breath, gave Kim a quavering half-smile and 
stalked toward Skinner's door with purpose. 
As she opened it, the conversation of the two men inside filtered out. 
"-all fine and good, but I wonder if Scully isn't a little worried 
that she'll be permanently stamped as 'Mrs. Spooky' after this. 
Maybe that's the real reason she's been so resistant to going public 
with our relationship." 
"Stop being a yutz, Mulder. She's loved you for years; everyone 
knows that." 
"I know, I know, I just guess I'M worried if being completely 
attached - MARRIED- to ol' 'Spooky' won't hold her back, I-" 
She closed the door quickly, but quietly. 
He thought she was ashamed of him. Scully hung her head with shame 
for herself that she had not let him make their relationship general 
knowledge when HE wanted to. If she had, they would not be facing 
this problem right now. 
*Ashamed of him, huh?! Damn his guilt complex! I'm not letting him 
take the rap for this one; I own the guilt for this one!* 
She turned to Kim who was watching Scully's inner turmoil with 
concerned eyes. 
"As soon as Mulder comes out of Skinner's office, tell him I'm 
waiting for him in the cafeteria, ok?" 
Kim nodded. 
Scully smiled her enigmatic smile of old, and walked purposefully out 
the door. 
********************************************************************** 
***** 
She forced herself to sit tall in her plastic cafeteria chair and 
take another sip of coffee. They were staring at her, it was still 
in the middle of lunch rush and she could feel all the eyes on her 
like intrusive touches and it made her skin crawl. 
Ashamed of Mulder? No. Ashamed of their relationship? No. But, 
scared that others might use their relationship to ridicule them and 
their work? Yeah, that one she was worried about. 
Scully reminded herself that this needed to be done. That this would 
end the secrecy...the gossip...the speculation...and it would take 
the sting out any insulting innuendoes that anyone cared to fling 
their way. She became 'risk-taker Scully' - the Scully that marked 
Mulder in the elevator by tackling him and giving him a hickey. 
She passed the time until Mulder's arrival trying to remember the 
words to Elvis songs - Mulder's favorites. 
********************************************************************** 
***** 
She saw him the moment he entered the cafeteria. 
He looked wonderful - as usual - in his everyday suit. Loud tie a 
little askew, hair a little mussed, concerned look on his face. 
It was now or never. 
Scully reached down and slipped off her heels, crawled to standing 
onto the chair, and - after only a moment's hesitation to balance 
herself - stepped carefully up onto the tabletop. 
People started slowing to a halt around her before she even spoke. 
Mulder had spotted her the moment she stood on the chair and was 
heading toward her rapidly. 
"I would like everyone's attention, please!" she announced in a loud, 
authoritative voice. 
Everyone became still and conversation filtered down to silence as 
they all contemplated the barefoot, red-headed "Ice Queen" standing 
on a cafeteria table making a proclamation. 
Several people were already deciding that she'd gone nuts. 
"I know that a certain picture of Agent Mulder and me has been 
circulating-" 
At this there was a blatant whistle and some tittering. Scully 
blushed, but merely held her head high and continued. 
Mulder was standing halfway between the door and where she stood, 
seeming rooted to the spot with shock, his mouth open slightly. 
"-so I guess it will be no surprise to you when I say that, yes, 
Mulder and I are involved in a physical relationship. We have been 
for several months." 
There were some disbelieving huffs in the crowd and some low 
muttering amongst themselves. 
Scully held up her hand and the crowd was once again silent. She saw 
the cafeteria doors open to admit Skinner. He looked confused for a 
moment, took a few more steps into the room, saw her and then cocked 
an eyebrow in surprise. 
She cleared her throat and plowed on. 
"I know it is hard for you to believe, but I am here to tell you the 
whole truth to satisfy your petty gossip-mongering and your betting 
pools so that it will end and we can all get back to work. The truth 
is we have only been involved for a matter of months, although I have 
loved Mulder for years." 
At this, several people looked Mulder's way to gauge his reaction, as 
did Scully. 
He walked slowly forward and the crowd parted before him. He held up 
his hand to her and said quietly, "You don't have to do this, Scully." 
She smiled lovingly at him. It was strange to be looking down at 
Mulder's upturned, serious face. 
"I want to," she responded. He said nothing, but let his hand drop 
to his side. 
"What you don't know is that Mulder asked me to marry him and I 
accepted his proposal," she returned to addressing the throng of 
agents, secretaries, and other assorted employees of the F.B.I. 
There was a collective gasp of surprise and, out of the corner of her 
eye, Scully noticed a cafeteria lady dashing back to the kitchen and 
returning with a couple of cooks and dishwashers, wiping their hands 
on grungy towels and watching her like she was the world's best soap 
opera. 
She waited for the shocked muttering to die down. Mulder was still 
looking at her with that serious, worried look. She had said all 
there was to say, but she wanted to say something to convince him 
that she was happy that their relationship had gone public. 
Something that would make him smile...grin with utter surprise and 
happiness. 
Everyone was staring at her expectantly, wondering what revelations 
were yet to come since she still stood on her 'soapbox.' 
"And this ring," she said, indicating her right hand, "belongs on 
this finger," she finished, removing it from the incorrect hand with 
a flourish and placing it on the correct finger while looking 
directly at Mulder. 
His mouth quirked a little and she grinned at him openly. 
"I didn't want us to say anything because I was scared for our 
partnership. But I want everyone to know now that the cat is out of 
the bag, so to speak, that I am not embarrassed by my relationship 
with Mulder. You will not be able to use this to belittle our work 
or snicker about us at the watercooler. This is not an 'affair', it 
is a marriage and I will not tolerate any crap 
from any of you." 
There was a sobering silence and Mulder's small uplift of lips became 
a genuine, "YOU GO GIRL!" smile. She looked into his eyes. 
"Mulder, I know that in the movies it is usually the man that makes 
the grand, public confessions of love, but -" 
Scully broke into song. Horrible, off-key, warbling, song. 
Collectively, the room flinched. 
"Wise men say....only fools rush in..." Scully sang with all her 
heart. 
Mulder burst out laughing. She looked directly in his eyes, cocked 
an eyebrow at him in challenge, and continued to butcher the normally 
beautiful love song. 
"..but IIIIIII caaaannn't heeeeellllpp faaaallllling in 
love...with...you.." 
He was laughing so hard now that tears were swelling in his eyes. 
His laughter was so raucous that it almost drowned out Scully's 
attempt at song. 
People were cringing, but looking at Mulder like he'd lost his mind. 
She could almost see them thinking, "For goodness sake, she's trying 
to do something sweet! Have a little tact!" 
Only Skinner in the back of the room had a big smile on his face. He 
knew that this is what Scully had intended, even if he had no idea of 
the joke behind it. 
"Scully! Stop it before security comes swarming in here thinking 
someone's being murdered!" 
Almost as though they'd rehearsed it, the entire room turned to look 
at Mulder in disgusted disbelief. 
She just poured out her heart to him! How could he be so- 
But Scully was laughing and letting Mulder pull her down from the 
table. They collapsed into each others arms, crying and laughing. 
"Elvis is rolling in his grave, Scully," Mulder said, wiping the 
tears from her eyes with his thumbs as he cradled her face. 
"I thought you said he faked his death, Mulder," Scully countered, 
doing the same to his face with her fingertips. 
They both became aware of their audience again at the same time. 
"Hey, you're not the only one who can showboat, you know," Mulder 
said - and dipped her as though they were dancing. 
One quick grin at her surprised face and he kissed her deeply and 
thoroughly in front of the lunch crowd in the cafeteria at the J. 
Edgar Hoover Building. 
The secretaries hooted first. The romance of it all carried them 
away. The cafeteria workers joined them, wiping the tears from their 
own cheeks and waving their dishtowels in the excitement of it all. 
Agents began clapping and even the couple of A.D.s that had wandering 
through for a snack had to show their approval by joining in. 
Soon the whole room was shouting and clapping and caught up in the 
moment. 
Mulder released Scully and, still in a dip, asked her under cover of 
the noise- 
"Scully?" 
"Yes, Mulder?" 
"Answer me one thing." 
"What's that?" 
"If I promise never to ditch you or doubt you in the future, will you 
promise never to sing Elvis again?" 
"Shut up, Mulder." 
She grabbed him by the tie and shut him up herself... 
with a kiss. 
********************************************************************** 
****** 
What did Skinner say to Mulder in his office? What was this like 
from Mulder's point of view? Tune in next time....