One More Skeptic

Rating: It's fine.

Disclaimer: So... I don't own the characters or the idea! (Got this from Tumblr... again).

Summary: Dana Scully had never been stood up on a date before... until tonight.

A/N: So I'm not 100% sure who posted this on Tumblr, but I did reblog it so I could save the idea for later. I finally got around to writing it... so I hope you all enjoy it! Sorry for any grammar mistakes!

'How could I have been this stupid,' she asks herself while she sits in a booth at some local diner by herself. She was supposed to be on a date tonight, but the only other person who was keeping her company was the young waitress who would check in every so often to see if she was ready to order some food. For almost an hour now, she would dismiss the girl and explain that her 'date' would be there any second… that she wanted to wait for him before ordering something to eat. But to no one's surprise, including the couples around her who watched in amusement, he never showed.

She checks her watch one last time and when it reads 8:10 P.M. she decides that it's time to go. For an hour and ten minutes, she sat in a restaurant booth by herself, praying and hoping that this was all just a dream. She had never gotten stood up before. Guys weren't exactly lining up to take her out on dates, but the ones who did have the courage to ask would never intentionally blow it like this. She closes her eyes and lets out a deep sigh. 'It's your own fault. You knew it was too good to be true.'

And when she opens her eyes, the young waitress is making another round… slowly getting to her table. To waste this young woman's time is even more embarrassing than getting stood up, so she grabs her purse and begins digging around for her wallet.

A few tables down, he was sitting alone with a cup of coffee in front of him and few leads he had picked up on about some disappearances in the next state over. He had been reading through the reports and claims when he had overheard the couple next to him laughing and pointing to something on the other side of the dinner. He puts down the news articles and reaches for his cup of coffee, trying to silence out the white noise of the dinner to zero in on their conversation.

"Look at her… all pitiful."

"This must be some kind of prank."

"I kind of feel embarrassed for her, you know?"

He places the cup of coffee down, casually looks up… and spots her immediately.

She's a tiny little thing, tucked away in a booth by herself, frantically checking her watch and sipping at a glass of water. He frowns when he hears more snickering from the happy couple besides him. He's been through his fair share of embarrassment, but never anything like this. Her cheeks are growing just as red as her hair under the spotlight lamp that hangs above her table and her blue eyes go to check the time on her watch. He watches her open her eyes and fix them on something that's currently moving besides him. For a second, he thought their eyes would meet, so he looks away so he doesn't draw any attention to himself.

He notices all the black she's wearing, the cut-off jean shorts, and an over-sized green jacket. She may be a bit of a nerd… or a loner, but stunningly beautiful nonetheless. He figures whoever stood her up has made a huge mistake, but she doesn't look like the type to take these things lightly… even less like the type to give second changes for fucking up this royally.

The young waitress passes by his table and is making her way to the redhead's, and he watches through the corner of his eye as the girl in the booth sighs and begins to look through her purse.

'She's leaving,' he thinks.

But he's intrigued. He wants to know more about her. And even though she might not be used to the strangers talking about her so loud and the looks of pity coming from people next to her, he is.

So he throws cash onto his table and gathers his notes, pushing himself up from the booth and heading for the door that leads to the parking lot. He passes her table and looks down at her, seeing that she's having trouble finding enough money to tip the young waitress for waiting on her for over an hour. So he stands in the parking lot for a few seconds, runs a few fingers through his hair, and takes a deep breath.

He steps back into the restaurant and spots her immediately. She's about to scoot out of the booth, but he makes a move and hurries to her. His heart is nearly beating in his throat. It wouldn't take much for her to bring him down into a pit of embarrassment much like she had been in all night by getting up and just leaving him there.

"Babe, I'm sorry I'm late. Traffic was horrible," he says over the loud atmosphere of the dinner. Her eyes are wide and she's nearly fallen backwards into the booth as she goes to look up at him. Before she has any time to do anything else, he leans down and presses a sweet kiss to her cheek.

She curses under her breath because she's just managed to drain the embarrassment from earlier. He takes the opportunity with everyone now watching to whisper his plan into her ear.

"My name is Mulder. Just go with it. Whoever stood you up is an idiot."

There's no time for her to think, so she nods her head once and her tongue comes out to lick her lips as he moves away from her, taking a seat across from her at the booth. Normally, she would've just pushed past him and left. But he was unbelievably cute and he was trying to save her from the horrible night she was having. It was better than going home to an empty on-campus apartment, anyway.

His plan so far seemed to be working. The couples who were once laughing and pointing were no longer turned in their seats to watch her date fail miserably. And no one had recognized him as the guy who had just left the restaurant.

She's opening her mouth to thank him and offer up her name, but the young girl is back with a smile on her face.

"Ready to order?"

Scully looks up at this Mulder guy sitting in front of her and then up at the waitress.

"May I have a cheeseburger with fries, please," she asks and the young girl nods and writes.

"That sounds good. Make it two," Mulder says before gathering up the two menus and handing it to their waitress. She leaves with a smile on her face.

"She was going to kick me out if you hadn't showed up." It would be questionable if she had offered up her hand for him to shake, so she doesn't. "My name is Dana, by the way," she lowers her voice so no one around her can hear her introduce herself to her 'date'.

"Do you go to school here," he's asking, pointing out the window and towards the University buildings that are a few miles away from them.

"I do." She straightens up in her seat. "I have an undergraduate in Physics and I'm working on my medical degree now." He looks a bit too old to still be enrolled in school here, but that doesn't mean he's not working on a masters or a doctorate. "What about you?"

"Let's just say that in most of my work… the laws of physics rarely seem to apply." Her head is tilted to the side and her arms have come over her chest, crossed.

She finally notices the papers he has with him and asks about them. She watches the emotions play out on his face as he debates on whether or not to let her in on his little project or not. He's been laughed at and made fun of all of his life for believing in things like this, so he figures adding one more skeptic to the count couldn't hurt.

"Maybe I can get your medical opinion on this, though."

He pulls out the folder, papers and spilling onto the table in front of her. They spend the next few minutes bouncing ideas and explanations off of each other. She's the only girl he's ever met that has taken an interest to all of this so quickly, seeming to want the answers and the truth just as badly as he does.

And when he finally tells her his ultimate theory on how all of these missing teenagers have seemed to disappear, she doesn't laugh and roll her eyes like every other agent he works with at the FBI has. It's then that he realizes that he's found someone special. So when he sees her focused on the chemical compound that he's presented her with, he realizes that this is supposed to be a date… not a meeting.

"Do you believe in the existence of extraterrestrials?" He's lowering his head and whispering, trying his hardest to sound almost… spooky. She's fighting off a smile.

"Logically… I would have to say no." He closes his eyes and nods his head in confirmation that she's just like the rest. "Given the distances needed to travel from the far reaches of the space, the energy requirements would exceed a spacecraft's capability." He's nodding his head more, as if he's heard this all before.

The rest of the night goes by well. They sit there, challenging one another, laughing when the other gets too invested in their answer. And before they know it, it's time for the dinner to close.

She reaches for her purse, but he holds out his hand and pays for both of their meals with cash. He gathers his papers and notices they are the only ones left in the restaurant besides a few staff members. So he stands from the booth and comes to stand in front of her, offering up his hand to help pull her out of her seat.

They walk out of the restaurant together, their cars parked on opposite sides of the lot. She's fishing for her keys and he's watching her, a small smile forming on his face. Earlier that night, he had intended to do some research here, have a cup of coffee, and head home to an empty apartment. Never would he have thought he would instead spend his time researching with a beautiful, intelligent soon to be medical doctor.

"Thank you," she finally says. "For… everything," she's gone shy once more, not having the confidence to look him in the eyes like she had earlier that night when she was arguing her point about science being his key to the truth.

And for some reason, he can't bear the thought of never seeing her again… he's saved her from maybe one of her most embarrassing nights and had put on a show for the people around them so they wouldn't feel sorry for her. But he realizes that he wants another date… a real one.

"Go out with me," he says, his hands in his pockets.

"What," she sounds surprised, definitely not expecting his question.

"Let me take you out on a real date," he explains. "I'll even pick you up so you know I won't ditch you." She smiles at his effort. He had been fun company. There was very little small talk, which she had always dreaded on dates. He went straight into the deep conversations she craved for. Intellectual thinking that stimulated her very 'Scully' like responses. "What do you say?" He holds out both arms, presenting himself to her and she smiles, then nods.

"Sure. Okay."

They plan it for tomorrow night and after she gives him directions to where her apartment is located, they finally shake hands and make off to go their separate ways. But after a few steps, he turns around and calls out to her.

"Dana... I never got your last name."

She's unlocking her car when she hears him yell from the other side of the parking lot.

"Scully," she yells back to him before getting into her car.

He smiles.

"Mulder and Scully... not too bad," he says aloud, shrugging before getting into his own car and make sure she leaves first before heading home.

A/N: So... there it is. I'm not sure if I should continue or not... I don't even know where to begin. Review and let me know what you think! Sorry for grammar miskaes!