TITLE: The Discount
AUTHOR: Elsie
E-MAIL: elsiel@telusplanet.net
DATE: June 2002
RATING: G
CATEGORY: V
DISTRIBUTION: Anywhere
SPOILERS: Travelers
SUMMARY: Scully meets Mulder's wife.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: Thanks to Megs and Angelique for beta reading.
DISCLAIMER: Mulder and Scully aren't mine.  No infringement is 
intended.


"So, Mulder, why do you always get a discount anyway?" I 
had asked one evening as I twirled noodles with uneven 
chopsticks.  We had been sitting on his living room floor, 
in the middle of our Thursday night dinner from Pham's 
Noodle House.  "Have you been such a long-time customer--"

"I'm family," he interrupted, reaching across the coffee 
table for the rice.

I probably rolled my eyes at him; I don't remember now. 
"Family," I repeated, wondering what kind of nonsense he'd 
come up with now.

"It's true, Scully!  I always get a discount 'cause I'm Mr. 
Pham's nephew-in-law--or whatever it's called."

I nearly choked on a piece of noodle.  Mulder reached over 
and patted my back--as if that would have helped!  I took a 
sip of tea after the coughing subsided, and cleared my 
throat.  "You're married?"

"What, you don't think I'm husband-material, Scully?"

"As a matter of fact, no, Mulder.  I don't."

"Well, I'll have you know, I'm a fabulous husband!" he 
waggled his eyebrows at me.  I wondered if we were still 
talking about the same thing.  "You ever been married 
Scully?"

"No, and you knew that already."

"Then how do you know whether I'd be a good husband or 
not?" he asked.

"I don't," I admitted.  "But if you're such a good husband, 
where's your wife?  Why haven't I met her, and why haven't 
you ever mentioned her before?"

He beckoned me closer to him, and when I leaned in, he 
whispered conspiratorially, "She's an alien."

He laughed at my shocked expression.  "That isn't funny, 
Mulder.  You shouldn't joke about something as--"

"I'm not joking!" he interrupted me.  But his continued 
glee convinced me otherwise.  I returned to the far end of 
the coffee table and picked up my noodles, leaving Mulder 
to sulk over not being able to tell the rest of his story. 

After several minutes of Mulder's pouting, I gave in.  I 
decided to play along.  "Sure, Mulder, you're married.  
Whatever.  So who's your wife, then?" 

"Her name's Lola.  She used to work at the noodle house as 
the cashier.  We fell in love over a plate of spring 
rolls..."  He looked out the window, smiling as if savoring 
a fond memory, then abruptly turned back to face me.  "Hey, 
did we order any spring rolls?"

"No," I replied before he could start searching the 
containers.  I briefly entertained the thought that maybe 
Mulder was telling me the truth, but brushed it aside.  I'd 
have known if he really was married.  "So what happened?  
Did you live happily ever after?"

"Nah."

I waited for elaboration, but none came. "Did you bring the 
receipts?" he asked instead, effectively changing the 
topic.

- - - - - 

I had forgotten all about Mulder's "wife" until almost a 
year later when the pretty Asian woman I'd ridden up the 
elevator with stopped in front of Mulder's door and knocked 
before I could.

I turned to the woman, curious to know who she was.  She 
didn't look like she was selling anything, and she had come 
directly to Mulder's door.  Was she a friend of Mulder's?  
I had only met three of his friends so far.  Before I could 
ask her, the door flew open.

"Hey, Scully..." Mulder's words faded as he realized that 
there were two people instead of one standing in front of 
his door.  His mouth stayed open, but nothing came out.

I could see he'd be useless for the time being, so I turned 
to the woman on my right--secretly delighting in the fact 
that she was a few inches shorter than me--and introduced 
myself.  "Hi, I'm Dana Scully, Mulder's partner at the 
FBI."

"Lola Mulder, Fox's wife," the woman said in a surprisingly 
unquiet voice.  To say I was surprised would have been more 
than an understatement.  I tried to hide my amazement as we 
shook hands.  From her handshake, I got the impression that 
Lola was a very straightforward woman.  To my dismay, I 
found myself immediately liking her.

By this time Mulder had recovered and let us inside his 
apartment.  I moved to hang up my coat while he gave his 
wife a brief hug.  God, he's really married!  Why the hell 
didn't I know this?  My stomach hurt from all the questions 
I had.

"It's great to see you, Lola.  You look great.  How have 
you been?  How are your parents?" he babbled.

"Likewise, Fox.  As far as I know, my parents are good.  I 
visited them last year," she responded a little stiffly.

"Lola's from Vietnam," Mulder told me before turning back 
to his wife.  "Scully and I were planning to order pizza, 
do you want to join us?" 

I started walking towards the telephone to give them some 
privacy and also to keep from blowing up at Mulder in front 
of his wife.

"No, thank you.  I can't stay," Lola replied.  She glanced 
over at me quickly before continuing, "It's been three 
years, Fox.  I'm going to go see my lawyer next week."

I froze in my tracks, glad I was out of their sight and 
feeling guilty for wanting to eavesdrop in the first place.  
I could hear the change in Mulder's voice right away, 
failing in his attempt to keep the disappointment hidden.  
"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Okay.  Call me when the papers are ready."

"I will.  Goodbye, Fox."

"Bye, Lola."  

"It was nice to meet you, Dana," she called to me.  I 
stepped back into the foyer, hearing the close of the door 
before I could reply.

Mulder exhaled loudly, his left hand stretched out, still 
touching the closed door.  After a minute he turned around 
to face me.  Seeing his expression made my anger disperse 
and fade.

"I'm sorry, Mulder."  I put my hand on his arm when he 
approached me.  I didn't know what else to say.  It didn't 
seem right anymore to interrogate him; it would be akin to 
kicking a man who's already down.  At the same time, I 
hadn't even known he was really married until ten minutes 
ago--how could I comfort him about an impending divorce?

"Don't be.  I knew it was coming."  He placed his hand over 
mine.  "We were never in love; I was just doing a favor for 
a friend who needed a green card.  It was only supposed to 
be three years."  He smiled weakly, squeezing my hand.  "I 
guess it's still a little sad, though.  I haven't seen Lola 
in over a year; I didn't even know she was in town."  I 
knew he was hurting more than he let on, but didn't want to 
bring up anything that he wasn't ready for.  "Hey, did you 
order the pizza yet?"

I grinned.  Only Mulder could remember food right now.  
"No, not yet."

"What do you say we get Vietnamese instead?  I have a 
feeling Mr. Pham won't be giving me a discount for much 
longer," he chuckled half-heartedly.  "I think he was 
hoping Lola and I would eventually grow to love each other, 
even from long distance!"  His smile told me he was going 
to be okay, and with my support he was going to be just 
fine.

"Sure, Mulder.  Sounds good."

THE END