Title: A Matter of Trust (1/2)
by the Jedi Shipper
Rated: PG-13 for cursing
Spoilers: Lazarus, Any episodes with TFO 
Category: MSR, Angst
Summary: Dang, even when she’s not around she’s causing problems. I’m
talking about Diana of course. My take on the ring issue.
Author's Notes: Part of my series. I am assuming that Biogenesis and
everything that follows it never happened. (Cause I wanna that’s why!)
Disclaimer: As much as I wish these people were my creation and I had
millions of dollars and lots of fans, they're not. Surfer dude CC owns 
them as well as Fox, 1013,DD, GA, whoever else
you want to credit. I am getting no money for this story yadda yadda
yadda.

	Scully remembered a time when she didn’t like weekends. Weekends used
to mean she’d be home alone, doing not much of anything except for cleaning her 
gun or watching the Exorcist again.
	But that had all changed. Now she spent weekends with Mulder. It was
the only time they could be like a real couple. Now she enjoyed every minute of her
weekends.
	This particular morning she was hanging the clean clothes in the
closet. It felt comfortable, she realized. She was hanging both hers and 
Mulder’s clothes. Comfortable, strangely domestic.
	Well, she thought raising an eyebrow at Mulder’s Marvin the Martian
boxers, as domestic as they could get.
	She finished hanging and sat, cross-legged to fold the rest of the
clothes. As she did something caught her eye in the very, very back corner 
of the closet. Behind his shoes, gathering dust, was an old shoe box. Suddenly 
curious, Scully dug it out.
	She opened it to find Diana’s face staring back at her. She frowned.
Well she’d known that they were together, they had to have some pictures. A lot 
of the pictures were singles of either Diana or Mulder, but there were several of 
them in intimate embraces. She reached down for more pictures, but her hand touched 
something familiar, yet foreign.
	It was a ring.
	A man’s wedding ring.
	At first she didn’t comprehend exactly what she was seeing, but then
she saw it.
	A marriage certificate.
	Fox William Mulder and Diana Joan Fowley.
	Scully’s heart constricted in her chest. Suddenly, it was as if the
walls were caving in on her. It hurt so bad that she could hardly breath.
	Quickly she got up, pain and shock, turning into anger. She had to get
out of here. Where the hell were  her keys?
	“Hey Scully,” came Mulder’s voice approaching her, “Look at this,”
	Grabbing her keys Scully practically ran past Mulder slamming the door
to the bedroom and then the front door as she did.
	She ran down the stairs, not wanting to slow down enough to take the
elevator. She ran out the door and to her car. It wasn’t until she was sitting in 
the car, putting the keys into the ignition that she realized she still had the 
ring pressed in her hand.
*		*		*
	“Hey Scully. Look at this,” Mulder said looking at the newspaper. But
she shoved by him, not saying a word but slamming the door behind her. A second 
later the front door slammed.
	“What the hell?” he said to the suddenly empty apartment. What was
wrong with her?
	Then he saw the old shoe box. 
	“Oh shit,” he said to himself numbly.
	In her haste Scully had dropped it and it’s contents had spilled over.
	His mind sped up. Maybe she hadn’t seen it. Maybe she had just seen
the pictures.
	But then why would she have rushed out of the apartment like that?
	He snapped out of it and took off running. He was out the door and
down the stairs just in time to see her car speed out of the parking lot, tires 
skidding on the pavement.
	“Shit, dammit!”
	He ran for his car and was soon following her.
*			*			*
	Scully’s hands were gripped tightly around the stearing wheel.  Her
rearview mirror confirmed what she already suspected, Mulder was following her. 
She mused with the possibility of evading him. She knew how, problem was, he knew 
how too. It wasn’t any use, he’d catch up with her anyway, sooner or later.
	And then suddenly she was crying. Crying, Dana Scully didn’t cry. Not
over another woman. Definatly not over something like this.
	But as much as she hated to admit it, Diana had always made her unsure
of herself. Even before. She felt she was in constant competition with Diana, first 
as Mulder’s partner, then as his lover. 
	Scully wiped away at the tears angrily. Furious with herself for
getting so upset over Diana Fowley of all people, furious with Mulder for not 
telling her.
	How dare he.
	Her eye fell on the beautiful diamond engagement ring on her finger.
That was something she thought she had over Diana. It had given her that power over 
Diana.
	Scully laughed bitterly. Not now.
	She had an engagement ring. Fowley had a wedding ring. 
	By this time Scully had reached her apartment. She pulled in and got
out, barely remembering to lock the door. Mulder pulled up right behind her.
	“Scully wait,”
	Scully continued stalking across the parking lot.
	Mulder grabbed her arm. “Scully,”
	“Get away from me. Let me go,” she demanded, trying to pull her arm
away. He held fast.
	“Let me go,” she repeated under her breath.
	Mulder flinched. Her eyes had turned to pure ice and she was starring
daggers at him. He loosened his hold on her and she yanked her arm away. She spun 
and continued towards her apartment. Mulder followed her.
	“Get out Mulder,” Scully said, an edge in her voice.
	“No,”
	“Get out!”
	“Scully you’re overreacting...”
	That did it.
	“Overreacting?! Mulder I was honest with you about Jack Willis. I told you 
about him because I respected the fact that you needed to know. I always told you.
	“But when Diana walked into MY life, I had no idea who the hell she
was. I had to find out from the Lone Gunmen that you two dated. I was hurt Mulder, 
really hurt,”
	Mulder opened his mouth to speak but she beat him to it.
	“I figured, I was your partner, it’s none of my business, I don’t need
to know. When you trusted her above me you hurt me again Mulder. I ignored it, I got 
over it.
	“But this Mulder... Did you even think while you were proposing to me
that maybe, maybe, this little bit of information was something that I should know.
Don’t you think that I deserve to know that you married her? Did it cross your mind 
even once,”
	Suddenly Mulder was angry. “Would it have changed your answer?” he
shouted back at her.
	“No! That’s not the point! The point is that you’re not being honest
with me,”
	“You never asked! It never came up.”
	“It never came up? Mulder this is just something two people in a
relationship like we are usually share little tid bits like that!”
	“Yes that would have been a good conversation. Hey Scully, you know
that woman that you hate and trust about as far as you can throw her? Well I was
married to her once, nearly a decade ago,”
	“Mulder I have every right to know! You’re right, I don’t trust her. I
can’t even stand the sight of her. I respected the fact that for some reason, you 
think she’s not betraying you, but now I can’t help but think that maybe there’s 
more behind your decisions,”
	“Like what?”
	“Like what? Like maybe you still love her. I saw you holding her hand.
I never told you but I saw you,”
	“You think I still love her? You’re getting as paranoid as I am. How
can you possibly think that?!”
	“Because you put this on your finger,” Scully shouted holding up the
ring. “Because you trusted her over me. Because when I gave you evidence that she 
was lying to you, you refused to believe it,”
	“Dana-”
	“Don’t you Dana me. You never call me Dana unless you’re worried about
me or you want to get out of the doghouse,”
	He took a deep breath, calming himself.
	“Scully I don’t love her. I’m past that,” he gestured at the ring she
was holding, “part of my life,”
	“Mulder people who are ‘over’ their ex’s don’t keep their wedding
rings!”
	“Scully I don’t love her anymore,” he repeated, shouting this time. “
I’m not married to her anymore, I’m married to you!”
	“You’re not married to me, you’re engaged to me and that can change!”
	“Are you trying to tell me you want out? Is that what this is all
about, because you didn’t have to drag Diana into this!”
	Scully stared at him, eyes wide with disbelief at what he was saying.
	“Get out of my apartment!”
	“Fine!”
	Mulder turned and headed out the door.
	“And take your fucking rings with you! Both of them,” Scully yelled,
hurling both his old wedding ring and her engagement ring at him.
	She stood staring at the slammed door for several seconds. Then she
leaned against it and slid down to the floor. She wrapped he arms around her 
head and started to cry earnestly.
	What had she done?