Title:  Two Way Street
Author:  Julie Cantrell
Rating: PG
Category: VA
Spoilers:  "One Son"
Keywords: M/S UST
Summary:  Why does Mulder believe Diana Fowley?  Post-ep vignette.
Feedback:  PLEASE!  I live for feedback!  Please send comments to me
           at curls@zoomnet.net
Archive:  DO NOT ARCHIVE AT GOSSAMER (I already took care of that).
          Anyone else, just ask first.  I promise I won't turn you down.
Disclaimers:  The characters of Fox Mulder and Dana Scully belong to Chris
              Carter, 1013 Productions, and Twentieth Century Fox
              Television.   No infringement is intended.

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Two Way Street
by Julie Cantrell
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Damn that man!

There is no one on this planet as infuriating as Fox Mulder.  He preaches
the word of 'trust no one', but he can't seem to remember to practice
his own mantra.

Damn him!

Trust no one?  What a joke!  He'll believe anyone who says they've seen
a light in the sky.  He'll believe you if you say you've seen werewolves.
He'll believe you if you say you believe him.

That's what Diana Fowley did.  'I believe you, Fox.  I believe in your
work.  I believe in you!'  Yep, that's what she says.  What a crock!

Of course, Mulder's practically salivating over it.  He's so naive.  He
wants for people to believe in him so badly that'll he'll eat shit if
you ask him to.

Do you know what the sad part is?

It's that childlike wonder and belief in others that I find so endearing
about him.  It's part of the reason why I love him.  Mulder doesn't give
up on people, even when the rest of the world has shunned them.

I know that Mulder wants to believe in Fowley.  They obviously shared
something very special in the past.  Heaven help me, but I want to believe
her, too.

But, I can't.

The evidence against Fowley is nothing compared to my gut instinct.  I
know that Mulder can't see what she's doing now, but he will.

That's the part I'm fearing the most.

When Mulder finds out what she's done, it will crush him.  Another
betrayal to add to the ever growing list.  He's been betrayed so many
times, you'd think that he could see more clearly.

And yet, he can't.

He continues to follow on blind faith.  He'll continue to believe her
until it destroys him.

Of course, I'll never let that happen.

As long as their is a breath in my body, no one will harm the man I call
'partner'.  Not a secret government agent, not invisible monsters, not
little green man, and certainly not Diana Fowley.

It's a two way street and I have to make sure the Mulder goes in the
right direction.

******************

Damn that woman!

I swear to God, no one has the ability to piss me off like Dana Scully.
I'm beginning to believe that I created a monster.  I told her to trust
no one so many times that when a trustworthy person comes along, she can't
believe them.

Damn it all to hell!

Scully won't give up either.  Not as long as she believes that Diana is
evil.  Scully is persistant.  That's one of the many qualities that
she possesses that makes me love her so much.

But, why can't she understand how I feel this time?  She wants me to trust
her instincts, but she refuses to trust mine.

There is no one in this world that I trust more than Scully.  We've been
to hell and back so many times that it's a miracle that we're sane.

There was a time, before Scully, when Diana Fowley was the love of my
life.  She was intelligent, beautiful, and she supported me. I had
never met anyone like that before.  Until Dana Scully walked into my
tiny dungeon in the bowels of the J. Edgar Hoover Building.

I have absolutely no reason to believe that Diana has betrayed my trust.

You know, my ego would love to believe that Scully is doing this out of
some jealous impulse.  I'd love to think that she hates the fact that I've
been involved with women other than her.  It's so un-Scully.

I know, however, that she honestly believes that Diana is pulling a fast
one.  A wolf in sheep's clothing?  Perhaps, but I can't help but think
that there was a time that I thought that about Scully.

I honestly wish that Scully could see me the way Diana does.  She's
believes me first, not science.  My partner, however, goes in a different
direction.

Why can't Scully see that those who can be trusted are few and far between
and that we need every ally that we can get?  Why?

I hate to admit it, but there is a small niggling in the back of my mind
that is telling me to trust Scully's instincts.  But, instincts can be
wrong.  Can't they?  Dear God, please let them be wrong.

Scully taught me that you need hard evidence, as well as intuition, to
solve a case.  Until Diana is proven to be disloyal with hard evidence,
not speculation, I will continue to believe her.

Until then, it's a two way street.  I just hope that I don't have to
choose a direction.

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The End.

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Author's notes:  This is my first attempt at a post-ep story.  It's short,
but hopefully, it'll help everyone that's been having problems with
Mulder trusting Diana.  I kinda like the idea of Mulder being naive
and wanting people to believe in him so much that'll he'll take whatever
he can get.  I think that Mulder thinks that Diana is giving him something
that Scully's science won't allow:  100% belief in the paranormal.  Mulder
craves that and Scully can't give it to him, even though he really wants
her to be the one to believe him (i.e. believe *in* him).  Just an
opinion.  ;)

At any rate, what did you think?  Good?  Bad?  Ugly?  Hehe.  Seriously,
I've never written a post-ep story before and would love any and all
feedback (flames, however, will be ignored).  Just e-mail me at
curls@zoomnet.net and tell me what you thought.

******************

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