It wasn't like Mulder to not at least let her know if he wasn't going to be going into the office. Even if it was something she couldn't tell anyone else about he at least tried to let her know. If he was going to do something she normally had some idea about it because of an X-file or a run-in with some of the higher-ups in their bureaucratic food chain, but this was sudden and mysterious and that made her worry.
She checked his office but nothing was disturbed, or rather everything was in the same state of upheaval that it normally was. So she went by his apartment, only he wasn't there either, she even dared to poke her head into his bedroom, swearing she would never mention it after the fact. No Mulder. It took her another three hours of driving to spots she knew were his touchstones to find him.
The batting cages, of course, she probably should have started there. He was alone when she arrived in that weak afternoon light where the sun lingered like it hated to give up to twilight. Dana got out of her car and strode toward the cage, hearing the grunts as he hit baseballs like they'd personally offended him and his ancestors. Her fingers hooked into the chainlink fence that surrounded the cage and she watched him for a long silent minute.
Of course, he knew she was there, of course, he knew she would find him, hell she might be the only one who would look or know where to look. Which meant he wasn't hiding so much as sequestering himself away from something. Working out aggression or aggravation he didn't feel otherwise able to. Sometimes her training wasn't the best to let her be an unbiased friend, but she was still there for him.
He hit one more ball hard enough to rattle the bungee springs that held the backdrop in place. The sound reverberated in time with his jangled nerves, the coiled up feeling inside him that he'd been trying to either ignore or stuff down for most of the day. It had usually meant his intuition was trying to tell him something, that something was wrong, that there was some oddity to be found or waiting to happen... but today, nothing had actually happened, save for the low-grade anxiety, the strange waiting, the constant wariness.
He'd thought Scully would have shown at least an hour ago - or at least, he'd been trying to will her to. So when he stepped aside and flexed his fingers in his batting gloves, his sarcasm bubbled up more strongly than was probably good.
"Oh, I don't know. You're the doctor, how long do you figure a trapezius normally holds out?"
She understood the waiting, but it was normally waiting for results and diagnosis. When she waited for something it was to clarify and reason, that was the gulf between them. She still thought with an analytical mind.
Dana would have been there sooner had he left some clue of where he'd been. He'd made it a goosechase but in the end she tracked him down. She always would even if it took her a while.
"Given the force of your swings I'd worry more about your rotator cuff, if you've been out here all afternoon you've probably already strained it." Given with all the level tone her dry commentary back to him always was.
She pulled back and let her hands slide into the pockets of her overcoat. "You picked a good spot to hide, should I leave you to it?"
no subject
Date: 2020-09-03 12:41 am (UTC)She checked his office but nothing was disturbed, or rather everything was in the same state of upheaval that it normally was. So she went by his apartment, only he wasn't there either, she even dared to poke her head into his bedroom, swearing she would never mention it after the fact. No Mulder. It took her another three hours of driving to spots she knew were his touchstones to find him.
The batting cages, of course, she probably should have started there. He was alone when she arrived in that weak afternoon light where the sun lingered like it hated to give up to twilight. Dana got out of her car and strode toward the cage, hearing the grunts as he hit baseballs like they'd personally offended him and his ancestors. Her fingers hooked into the chainlink fence that surrounded the cage and she watched him for a long silent minute.
Of course, he knew she was there, of course, he knew she would find him, hell she might be the only one who would look or know where to look. Which meant he wasn't hiding so much as sequestering himself away from something. Working out aggression or aggravation he didn't feel otherwise able to. Sometimes her training wasn't the best to let her be an unbiased friend, but she was still there for him.
"How long were you planning on keeping this up?"
no subject
Date: 2020-09-03 12:50 am (UTC)He'd thought Scully would have shown at least an hour ago - or at least, he'd been trying to will her to. So when he stepped aside and flexed his fingers in his batting gloves, his sarcasm bubbled up more strongly than was probably good.
"Oh, I don't know. You're the doctor, how long do you figure a trapezius normally holds out?"
no subject
Date: 2020-09-17 04:48 am (UTC)Dana would have been there sooner had he left some clue of where he'd been. He'd made it a goosechase but in the end she tracked him down. She always would even if it took her a while.
"Given the force of your swings I'd worry more about your rotator cuff, if you've been out here all afternoon you've probably already strained it." Given with all the level tone her dry commentary back to him always was.
She pulled back and let her hands slide into the pockets of her overcoat. "You picked a good spot to hide, should I leave you to it?"