The characters of Fox Mulder and Dana Scully are copyright 10.13, no
infringement intended, used without permission. The story is copyright
to me.

This is the sequel to my story "Centrefold". It can stand alone, but I'd
strongly suggest reading "Centrefold" first (should be on the archive,
otherwise you can e-mail me for it). For those of you who haven't read
that and don't want to, you need to know that in "Centrefold" Scully
found an old magazine with Mulder as the centrefold ("Mr June") wearing
a posing pouch and a smile.:) Turned on, she kept it. Nobody knows.
Spoilers only for the episode "Paper Clip", though there is a brief
reference to "Revelations" (but no spoiler). Mulder/Scully romance
warning. Rated..hmmm..PG I think. Kissing and cuddling, that's all.:)
And a bit of suggestive language.

After having read "Centrefold", Summer (with my consent and blessing),
wrote a lovely little "mirror" story called "Centre Folded". Please
note, that was Summer's imaginative take on the idea, and the events she
describes in "Centre Folded" do *not* occur in my stories (as far as the
Mulder/Scully dynamic goes I think it's important, because if the events
Summer wrote *had* happened, I would have written the scenes between
them in "Mr June" very differently).

My thanks go to all the people who e-mailed me after "Centrefold"
telling me they liked the story and suggesting ideas for the sequel.
Pretty much everyone wanted to see our heroes squirm a bit, so your wish
was my command. The only person to give me a new idea I've used however,
was Alasdair McLean. Having written the first part of this, I talked to
him about where it should go next, and he suggested the office scene
halfway through. He also suggested some of the dialogue there, and found
me a way to advance the scene in the way I wanted, (Michelle! Slide
projector!), so credit to him for that, and thanks. Thanks also to
Vickie, Ra and Char for help and advice.

Note: The official guide contradicts itself on whether Mulder graduated
from Oxford in 1982 or 1986. I've chosen the earlier date. It would make
Mulder 18 when he started at Oxford in 1979, the usual age of entry for
a student, British university courses normally lasting three years. And
it fits my story better.:) In addition in "Fire", (shown in 1993), it is
mentioned twice that Phoebe and Mulder hadn't seen each other in ten
years, which although it could fit either date, fits better with the
earlier one. I'm assuming Phoebe and Mulder dated for some time, and
that it ended in 1982/3 after he returned to the States. Now watch CC
blow that neat little theory out of the water in season four, by telling
us Mulder didn't graduate until 1991 or something....<G>.

Both this story and the prequel "Centrefold" are dedicated to Char Hall,
for being Char Hall.:)

Mr June.
by Michelle Hiley.
fbi_basement@hiley.demon.co.uk

"Dana? How's it going?"

Scully looked up as Mulder's head poked round the office door. "Ok, I
guess."

"Can I help?"

"Not really." Scully took off her glasses and wearily rubbed her eyes.
"The autopsy results tend to confirm the poison theory. Now I just have
to finish the report. But you don't know enough about forensics to
help."

Mulder looked at her, concerned. "Can I at least get you something?
Coffee? A sandwich?"

She shook her head and smiled at him. "I'm fine. An hour, two maybe, and
I'm out of here. Go home Mulder. You can't help."

"But...."

"Mulder, I appreciate the concern, but you simply can't help me with
this bit. I'm just going to finish up, then I'm headed home to take a
long hot bath and fix a meal. There's no point in you staying. *Go*."

He shifted awkwardly, still reluctant to leave her there.

"Well...if you're sure. Good night. You won't stay too late?"

"Two hours maximum."

"Promise?"

She laughed. "You can be a real mother hen sometimes, you know that?"

"*Promise*? I don't want you working yourself into the ground over
this."

She raised her hands in mock defeat. "Promise. Now go away so I can
finish it."

Grinning at her, he left. She shook her head and turned her attention
back to the report, frowning over the chemical analysis.

*****

Mulder wove through the traffic feeling unbearably smug. He'd help. He
might not have the medical know how, but he could at least make it up to
her for having had to do most of the paperwork on this one. Two hours,
she'd promised. Knowing her that's how long she'd be there. Enough time
for him to get to her place, run her a bath, and have a meal ready to be
put in the oven. He'd show her he could be a considerate partner, when
he wasn't having to run off after monsters and men in black. Pulling up
outside her apartment he let himself in, whistling to himself. Time for
a surprise.

*****

Scully finally typed the last of the notes and sent the report to print.
At last. She checked her watch. One hour, fifty minutes. So she'd kept
her promise to Mulder. Picking up her bag, she waited for the report to
finish and grabbed it, dropping it in the internal mail for Skinner as
she left. Home. She could hardly wait.

*****

The dinner was prepared, the dishes done, the table laid. All she had to
do was put the meal in the oven. Mulder hoped she hadn't decided to pick
up some food on her way home. He judged she'd been tired enough to want
to get home, maybe phone from there if she decided not to cook. He'd
risk it. Ok, she'd have stayed roughly the full two hours, so if he ran
her bath *now* and made it hot.... Should hopefully still be right for
her. He began running the water, remembering with a smile his petulant
complaint to her once that she never drew *his* bath. He ought to put
something scented in. Women liked hot scented baths. He carefully
suppressed the mental image of Dana Scully in a foam bath <careful
Mulder, that's dangerous thinking>, and looked around. She must have
something surely? He checked the bathroom cabinet. Rose bath oil. Maybe.
Orange scented bubbles. Hmm. Perhaps he should check the bedroom for
further choices. He glanced at his watch. Better make it quick though,
before the bath filled or she got home, since he didn't plan on being
here when she arrived. He'd left her a note, so she didn't think she'd
had considerate burglars or anything. He hurried into her bedroom,
pulling open her bedside cabinet and pulling out the contents. No
bottles. Just a book and a bag full of magazines or papers or something.
He'd pick from the bathroom bottles. Hurriedly he stuffed the contents
back into the cabinet, a couple of magazines slipping loose from the bag
to fall to the floor in front of him as he did so.

Someone once commented that if you drop a book or magazine, it will
always fall open at the sex scene. This is not, strictly speaking, true.
It will usually fall open at the most read part. The fact that this is
usually the sex scene, says more about human nature than it does about
magazine aerodynamics.

This magazine however decided to defy tradition and land cover up and
closed. It was a magazine. What did it know about plot developments?

Mulder hastily picked them up and put them back. Was that all of them?
One copy of "Cosmopolitan" and one of "Fantasy Men"? He closed the
cupboard and was halfway back to the bathroom before it hit him.

"Fantasy Men"?

Dana bought "Fantasy Men"?

Curiosity sent him back to the cupboard. He pulled out the magazine.
Well, well. Seemed his quiet aloof partner had a warm side after all.
He'd suspected it, but he hadn't known she bought magazines like this
one. So, did she buy *very* explicit magazines, or fairly tame ones? He
wanted to know.

<It's invading her privacy.> said a little voice inside him.

True. Curiosity struggled with guilt. One quick look. She'd never know.
He opened the magazine at the centrefold.

*****

Ten minutes later Scully came home to a surprise. There was a note on
the kitchen table. "Wanted to help. Put the meal in the oven, enjoy the
bath. See you tomorrow." He'd made her favourite dish. The bathwater was
warm and rose scented. She would have hugged him but he'd gone. Trust
Mulder. She called him but got only his machine, so she left a thank you
message. Throughout the bath and the meal, she pondered over her
inexplicable partner. Just as she thought he didn't care, he went and
did something like this. She had to face it, she'd fallen for him badly.
After dinner she curled up on the bed. Well, if he wasn't here to be
with, at least she had the next best thing. She opened the cabinet and
reached for the magazine.

It was gone.

Frowning, Scully checked through the cabinet. She was sure she'd put it
there. A search of the cupboards throughout the apartment commenced,
until finally she had to admit defeat, It was gone. But how? She hadn't
thrown it out, it had been there just last night....

She gasped as the only possible explanation hit her. Mulder must have
taken it. Which meant...he knew. He *knew*. Oh God. *Why* had she kept
it? What must he think? She sat on the bed. Whatever was she going to
say to him?

*****

The next morning Scully was in early. She hadn't slept too well. The
tension was unbearable. Should she just ignore the whole incident,
pretend it hadn't happened, and just hope it passed without comment?
Maybe she should talk to him, explain. Was there any chance he hadn't
looked at the magazine? That he'd taken it just to tease her? Fat
chance. And so far as she knew, Mulder wasn't into male pin-ups. So
there was only one reason for him to steal it. She slumped at her desk
and put her head in her hands. Ok. Let's start with what you're going to
say when he walks in that door.

<Hi Fox! Would you like some coffee?>

Too cheery.

<Good morning Agent Mulder. What's our case load for today?>

Too formal. Honest. Just be honest, and relaxed, and say what comes into
your mind.

<Hi Mulder. By the way, did you steal a magazine from my apartment? You
know, the one with the naked picture of you?>

Scully groaned. It was going to be a long day.

*****

Mulder hovered outside the door. She was in there. Ok. he had to go in.
He couldn't spend the rest of his career in the corridor. Or could he?

<Get a grip Mulder, you're being ridiculous.>

Am I? My *partner*, the woman I respect, and admire, and, well, desire,
has seen me more or less naked!

<You were wearing that pouch. She's a doctor, she's seen you in a
similar state before.>

Even then I was wearing more clothing! And I wasn't oiled and posing!

<Ummm.......true.>

Mulder took a deep breath. He *had* to go in there. Ok, act nonchalant.

"Morning Scully."

Scully, lost in thought, jumped. "Uhh,...morning Mulder."

He nodded and sat at his desk. Suddenly the newspaper looked very
interesting. Picking it up he hid behind it, feeling himself starting to
blush.

Scully breathed a sigh of relief. Ok. Play it cool Dana. She began
shuffling paperwork. Paperwork. That's it. You have a lot of expenses
claims to do. Anything to avoid looking at Mulder.

Behind the paper Mulder was having a crisis. He couldn't read this all
day, but his face was beetroot red. He needed some way to hide, while he
regained his control. Did she realise the magazine was missing? He still
couldn't figure out how she had it. The shock he'd received when he saw
his old photo, had been partly explained when he realised it was an old
magazine, but that didn't explain how it fell into Dana's hands. How
long had she been looking at that picture?

Why had she kept it?

Mulder's mind was whirling. He'd asked himself that again and again, all
through the night while he sat in his apartment, the magazine open in
his lap and the memories flooding back. He'd posed for it during his
third year at Oxford, a few months before this magazine had printed it.
He'd never actually seen the finished photo before, the photographer had
just handed him the money and left. Now, unexpectedly, it had come back
to haunt him in the bedside cabinet of a woman he was in love with. He
shook his head, carefully holding the paper to shield himself from
Scully. Why did she have it? It couldn't be a plant by *Them* could it?
No. Even they couldn't have known he'd go poking around in her room.
Maybe she'd found it funny? Had she been saving it to tease him with
sometime? Maybe...maybe she'd never looked at the centrefold picture?
You're clutching at straws now, Mulder, he told himself. She must have.
No other reason to have a fourteen year old magazine in her beside
cabinet. The odd thing was, though he was embarrassed, (hell, he was
*mortified*), he didn't feel violated. He actually quite liked the idea
of her looking at him like that. The embarrassment was from wondering
what she must think of him. Did she have any respect left for him at
all? When he'd posed for it, it hadn't bothered him what the women that
looked at it thought. But then back then he hadn't been in love with
Dana. He sighed to himself. He needed more time to himself, without
having to look at her. But how....oh, yes.

Dana didn't look up as Fox got to his feet. Wherever he was going, she
mustn't look at him. Her eyes would give too much away. Abruptly, to her
surprise, the lights went out.

"I..I thought I'd show you the new slides I got. Possible Bigfoot
activity. If that's Ok?" Mulder's voice sounded hesitant. Dana smiled,
blessing the darkness. It would give her some much needed time to pull
herself together.

"Ok. Shoot."

Relieved, Mulder started the projector. "Right, well, this is a recent
photo. If we compare it to this old one, you can see the similarity.
Same torso, same basic height. Might be the same specimen, only slightly
older...."  He let his voice trail off. Oh shit.

Scully was sure that despite the darkness, he could see her blushes.
Hell, he must be able to sense her embarrassment. "Ok." she managed.
"How about the next slide?"

Mulder thankfully punched the button. The next slide showed a man
pointing to tracks. Much safer. "This one was taken in the last week.
They tracked the creature, but it seemed to have vanished."

"No sign of how it disappeared?" Scully tried to choke the words back,
but she was too late. The silence between them grew. Finally Mulder
spoke, gently.

"Scully...I think we need to talk."

She nodded, then realised he couldn't see her. "Yes."

He turned the lights on. "Where?"

"My place."

"Scene of the crime huh?" He tried to ease the tension by joking, and
was rewarded with a brief smile. "What'll we do if Skinner finds we're
playing truant?"

She arched a brow. "He doesn't usually notice. He'll think we're trying
to solve something."

"He'd be right."

She coloured again and proceeded him out of the door. Mulder watched her
with interest. Scully seemed....scared. Embarrassed. He felt his heart
quicken. Why was she so unnerved? Had...had she kept that picture
because she simply wanted to look at him? Suppressing the sudden burst
of hope and joy, Mulder followed her out of the office.

*****

Neither said anything until they'd reached Scully's apartment. Mulder
slumped on the couch while Scully made coffee, attempting to postpone
the inevitable. Finally she came back through, silently handing Mulder
his coffee and sitting opposite him. For a while neither said anything.
Finally, just as Mulder couldn't stand it anymore, Scully spoke up.

"I'm sorry."

Mulder paused. Whatever he'd been expecting, it wasn't that. "Sorry for
what?"

Scully stared morosely into her coffee cup. "For embarrassing you. For
invading your privacy. I shouldn't have kept that photo."

"It's OK. I don't mind you seeing it. But I..."

"What?"

"It doesn't matter."

"Mulder, *what*? I thought we were going to talk."

Ok. Here goes. "I'm worried about what you must think of me. For posing
for it."

Now it was her turn to be surprised. "Think? Why should you be worried
what I think?"

"Well, you might suspect I'm a lunatic privately, but you've always
shown me a certain respect." She caught his gaze, and was shocked by the
worry in his eyes. "Now I'm worried you just think I'm some male bimbo."

"Mulder, you're one of the best profilers we've ever had! You're an
Oxford graduate!" Without thinking she moved over to sit by him, and
took his hand. "And you're also one of the kindest, gentlest, bravest
men I know. You really think one picture could change the respect of
years?"

He looked at her and she could see the relief in his expression.
He smiled, covering it with a wisecrack. "Then you still respect me in
the morning?"

"Fool." She grinned and the tension eased somewhat. "Of course. It's not
like you were naked. And even if you were, it's your business. You must
have had your reasons."

He grimaced. "Yeah."

She gently turned his hand over, threading her fingers through his.
"Mulder...I know it's none of my business...but why did you pose for
that photo?"

He chuckled and squeezed her hand. "Oh no. I have a couple of questions
first."

She swallowed. "Ok. Ask them."

"One now, one later." He smiled. "First, where the *hell* did you get
that picture?"

"Coincidence. One heck of a coincidence. About three months ago, I was
clearing some of Melissa's things out of Mom's attic. It was in an old
box of her stuff."

"Melissa? It was hers?" Mulder was taken aback. "Is there any female
member of your family that *hasn't* seen that photograph?"

"Well, I didn't show it to Mom. I was worried she'd make it this year's
family Christmas card."

They both laughed. "She might, knowing your Mom's sense of humour."

Scully smiled. "Ok. Now, you have to answer *my* question."

Mulder nodded quietly. "Well, it was in my third year at Oxford. I
needed the money. Well, *I* didn't...."

Scully said nothing, letting him continue.

"Phoebe had got an offer to study in France for the summer. But she
needed some travel money, and we were broke. She knew a photographer,
who specialised in erotica. She talked me into the session."

Scully's jaw dropped. "You did it for *Phoebe*??"

"Yeah. Dumb, huh?"

"If she needed the money, why didn't *she* pose?"

Mulder looked wretched. "She didn't feel right about it. Said men lusted
over female nudes, while it wasn't as bad if I posed for women. I loved
her, or I thought I did. I wanted her to be happy."

"So you agreed. Oh Mulder, I'm sorry."

"It's Ok." He hastened to reassure her. "I didn't mind really, up until
yesterday, when I was worried what you might think. Now I know it
doesn't bother you, I'm happy."

"It was a nice photo." Uh-oh. Now what had she gone and said. She
dropped her gaze again. There was silence for a moment.

"Scully."

She looked up reluctantly.

"Why did you keep it?"

She tried to laugh it off. "Is this officially question number two?"

"Yes." His tone was serious. "I'd like an answer."

She sobered. "I don't know" she said quietly.

Mulder looked at her, while she shifted uneasily in her seat. She wasn't
going to get away with it. Very well then.

"I liked it. I just wanted to keep it." There, she'd finally said it.

"And me?"

She looked up, queryingly.

"Do you like me?"

She nodded silently, unsure of what to say. Mulder solved her problem by
leaning down and unexpectedly kissing her. A moment later he broke away.

"You get to keep me as well, if you want to you know." he said softly.
"And I still have that leather posing pouch."

Her mouth quirked. "Model it for me sometime?"

"Whenever you want." His hand brushed her face. Reaching for her again
he cupped her face and kissed her, a little longer and deeper. This time
it was Scully who broke away. She stroked his face for a few minutes,
obviously trying to reach a decision. Mulder watched the struggle,
echoing his own feelings.

"Scully? It's Ok you know. We don't have to rush into anything."

She nodded. "I know. But I want to. I've wanted to for a while. But I
thought...I thought you weren't interested."

"And I thought you weren't." Mulder smiled. "Are you sure about wanting
a relationship with me?"

She grinned. "It's probably...no make that *certainly* a bad idea. If
Skinner finds out he'll kill us. We'll fight regularly. Hell, we drive
each other mad now! But yes, I'm sure. I love you. How about you?"

"I love me too." At her groan of annoyance he whispered. "I love you.
And I want to make you make that noise again."

"Just keep telling those kind of jokes and you won't be disappointed."

"That wasn't exactly what I had in mind." He raised his eyebrows at her
expression. She wasn't sure whether to kiss him or hit him. Instead she
took his hand, leading him into the bedroom. Suddenly shy she sat beside
him on the bed, unsure whether to make the first move. Abruptly Mulder
laughed, stroking her hair.

"What?"

"I only posed for that damn photo because of Phoebe. It's the first time
that woman has ever done me a favour!"

Scully joined in the laughter. "Maybe I should send her a thank you
card. Except I guess we'll want to keep this to ourselves for a while?"

Mulder nodded. "Might be best. Pity though. I'd love to see her face. I
guess I can forgive her a lot for this, huh?"

Scully nodded in agreement. "I guess we both can." She reached for him
shyly. "Now come here."

Curling up on the bed, Dana took Mr June in her arms, for the first time
of many.

The end.

Yup, mushy happy ending, what else do you expect from me?:) Apart from
long intros and plenty of footnotes that is. I hope you enjoyed it.

The Footnote!

Observant readers may have noticed the repetition of a line or two from
"Centrefold". This is in the interests of International Line Recycling,
and not at all because the author is too lazy to think up new ones. I'm
doing my bit for the environment folks!:D

Actually after posting "Centrefold" I realised the last line was rather
like that of another of my stories. What can I say. My imagination
repeated itself. Sorry.:) But then I thought it might be nice to frame
"Mr June" with the same first and last lines as "Centrefold". So I gave
that line yet another outing. I have now put it back in its box for a
while.

Comments welcomed at fbi_basement@hiley.demon.co.uk