Chapter Text
Dr. Graham Ashmore first introduces himself on a quiet Thursday in late August.
It wasn’t often that the halls of Our Lady of Sorrows Hospital saw newcomers amongst the doctoral staff, so naturally people took notice.
Scully heard the whispered water-cooler gossip of a brilliant, new doctor that had moved from Sacramento. So handsome, a young nurse from paediatrics giggled, and no ring on his finger!
Eye-candy , a receptionist almost twice Scully's age laughed, it’s so nice to finally have something to look at around here.
She told Mulder about it when she arrived home that night. About how the older receptionist's cheeks turned pink and the nurse giggled like a teenager. He smirked as he stirred spaghetti sauce around the pan, “Well?”
“‘Well’ what?”
“Does he live up to the hype?”, he'd chuckled.
She came up behind him, linking her arms around his waist, “I wouldn’t know. I haven’t seen him yet.”
She rested her cheek against the hard expanse of his back and felt the hum of his laughter vibrate through him.
“Well make sure to keep me updated”, Mulder joked.
He smelled slightly of sweat and tomatoes, it made her mouth water.
The hospital had many departments and was large enough that there were often days that she didn’t run into familiar faces in the halls at all, but over the next month she caught glimpses of the mysterious Dr Ashmore. A flash of salt-and-pepper hair as he ducked into an examination room, a hint of a tall frame as he darted around a corner on his way to surgery, but never close enough to form her own opinion.
It wasn’t until a month later that she could see what all the fuss was about.
She was sitting in the deserted break room, eating a sandwich Mulder had packed when he first introduced himself. Just call me Graham , he’d smiled.
Shorter than Mulder but more muscular, he had warm brown eyes and short cropped facial hair that suited him well. Scully couldn’t help but admire the way his smile stretched across his face and deepened the wrinkles around his eyes. It was kind and genuine and Scully felt herself charmed.
He asked if he could sit with her and she didn’t see why not.
He was two years older than her and had recently sold his practice and moved back to Washington to be closer to his daughter. In college he tore a ligament in his shoulder during a game of football and it throbbed during the winter or after a long shift. Faith was important to him but, like her, he wasn't devout. His spare time consisted of playing basketball and reading science-fiction, he didn’t think extraterrestrial life was out of the realm of reasonable possibility. Scully chuckled and told him he would get along with her husband.
Arriving home that night, she gave Mulder the update.
“Beefcake? Have I got something to worry about, Scully?” Mulder smirked as he came towards her, arms circling her waist.
“Now why would you do that?”
“Just wondering if I should feel threatened. Seems like this guy has all the women foaming at the mouth”
She laughed and curled her hands around his neck, dragging his face down towards hers, “Well not all the women…”
“No?”
His lips were soft as she ran her tongue over them and she felt his hands grip her hips tightly, like he owned them, she supposed in a way he did. They didn’t do much talking after that.
Whenever she would pass Graham in the halls they would give each other a little wave and soon Thursday afternoons became reserved for late lunches together. They discussed the latest findings in The New England Journal of Medicine and laughed about Father Ybarra’s emails that seemed to become more unhinged by the day. She enjoyed Graham’s company, after hiding away and carefully keeping to herself for so long, Scully could admit that it was nice to have a work friend.
Though they were now safe, they didn’t venture out together often, but she thought their weekly trips to the grocery store in town were important to combat the effects of Mulders long-term isolation.
The shopping trips afforded him brief social interactions with other humans, and she also selfishly loved doing menial tasks together as a couple, something they couldn’t do in their life before.
As Mulder weighed up the cereal options, she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket.
Saw this and thought of you :) , sent with an article about the advances in radiotherapy.
“What’s that?” Mulder asked as he read over her shoulder.
She felt herself jump, “Jesus, Mulder! Don’t sneak up on me like that”
He nodded towards her phone, indicating his want for his prior question to be answered.
“It’s just an article Dr Ashmore sent me”.
Mulder scoffs and throws off-brand cornflakes into the cart.
“Mulder, you need to watch your sodium levels”
He ignores her, taking hold of the cart and pushing it forward, “You know he’s interested in you, right?”
She tucks her phone away, trailing after him.
“Who?”
“Dr ‘Beefcake’ Ashmore, that’s who!”
The corner of her mouth turned upward in amusement, “Mulder, it’s just an article.”
She had nothing to hide about her friendship with Graham, Mulder was aware of their shared Thursday lunches and occasional emails.
He stopped in front of the broth display, “I’m going to do a stew this week”
“Okay, sounds good”
He’s quiet and she happily notes he pays careful attention as he reads the nutritional panel on the side of the carton before placing it in the cart. For a moment she naively thinks he’s dropped it, but she can see the gears and cogs turning in that one-track mind of his. She runs her hand over his bicep in an attempt to soothe his inner workings, their physical touch always a source of comfort, the coarse hair of his arm tickles against her fingers.
Undeterred, he turns and continues, “It’s the weekend, who messages a work colleague on the weekend with an article on radiology?”
“Radiotherapy.”
“It’s Sunday for Christ’s sake, Scully”
She chuckles at that, moving to smooth her hands over the material against his chest, “If you recall, Mulder, it wasn’t long ago you were sending me work-related articles and calling me on the weekends”
“Exactly, so it makes me an expert on his intentions. They were never work related. I just wanted to talk to you”
She smiles at his confession, something she already guessed but the confirmation was nice.
“He’s just a friend from work. He’s not interested in me like that.”
Mulder cups her jaw, running his thumb gently against her skin before moving to tuck a strand of hair neatly behind her ear. “He’d be crazy not to be. Look at you, you’re perfect.”
She feels herself flush at the compliment, “Are you coming on to me, Mulder?”
“Depends. Is it working?”, he murmurs, taking her hand and bringing her fingertips to his lips.
She quickly scans their surroundings, making sure the aisle is empty before she leans on the tips of her toes and brushes her lips against his, “You have nothing to worry about… It’s nothing.”
He doesn’t look convinced. She thinks they should split their shopping into two trips a week.
In November the water-cooler gossip hadn’t died down and Graham is still a hot topic of conversation. I heard Shannon asked him to dinner, said a receptionist. Oh yeah? And what did he say?, replied a nurse. He said he was flattered but he was actually interested in someone right now! , the receptionist whispered. Probably one of those lab techs, lord knows they’ve all got their eyes on him. The hairs on the back of her neck prickle and when she glances up, she catches the judgemental eyes of the nurse.
Scully watched as the microwave lazily spin her soup around, the warm inner light making it look yellow and congealed.
“So are you seeing anyone, Graham?”
From behind she heard his sharp intake of breath and the clatter as he dropped his fork.
It was forward of her but she was curious and wasn’t this the type of thing friends spoke about? He had openly mentioned his divorce from when his daughter was still young, and his bachelor lifestyle in Sacramento but had yet to mention his pursuit of any lab techs.
He slightly hesitated before clearing his throat and chuckling, “Why's that, Dana? You got someone lined up for me?”
Scully laughs, turning to him and lightly shrugs, “No, just heard a rumour that you’ve got your sights on one of the hospital's lab technicians”.
“Is that right?”, he’s looking at her with dark eyes and slightly cocks his head as he asks, “And what do you think?”
“Of what?”
He watches her carefully, “Do you really think that's what I’m interested in, Dana?”
He says Dana like it’s sacred, the same way Mulder does just after they finish making love, with his fingers trailing up her spine and his heart beating under her cheek, Dana spilled from his lips like a prayer.
There are warning alarms inside her head.
The microwave signals the soup's release and she hurries to remove it. Gasping as the ceramic burns the tips of her fingers, she pulls them into her mouth. He’s behind her in an instant, touching her in the place Mulder claimed so long ago and guiding her to the sink.
They stand in an uncomfortable silence as they watch the rushing water spill over her fingers, his thumb running back and forth along the delicate, bird-like bones in her wrist.
He ends the quiet first, “No.”
“No what?” she asks.
“No, I’m not interested in a lab tech...”