Language: We're potty mouths, all of us.
Sex Disclaimer: subtext, innuendo, a nudge and a wink, but nothing graphic.
Location: Washington, D.C., the nation's capital. Some places are real, some (sadly) are now closed, some are made up.
Part 4
Dupont Circle hummed with activity. The sidewalks were crowded with people headed for the shops, restaurants, and bars, and the streets were choked with the last of the rush-hour commuters.
"DC just amazes me." I said, watching the cars negotiate their way through the madhouse of the traffic circle.
"How so?" Scully asked.
"Well, it's 7:30 on a Friday night, and it's still packed. You'd think everyone would have gone home by now, you know? And this is just in the city. You should see the Beltway. I bet it's a parking lot right about now."
Gabrielle looked over at me. "Do you have to take the Beltway to work?"
"Huh? No. I walk to work. How about you?"
"I walk. Or take the subway. How about you, Dana?"
"I drive. I don't live near a metro stop and besides, we usually take off on such short notice that I keep an overnight bag in my trunk."
"What's that like, travelling all the time?" Gabrielle asked. "Do you get to visit interesting places?"
"Sometimes. Usually it's just small-town America. The travelling itself is fairly straightforward, lots of planes and long drives in rental cars," Scully said with a small laugh.
"What kinds of cases do you work on that you travel so much?"
Scully gave me a long appraising look before answering. "We investigate cases that deal with the paranormal."
"What, like counterfeit tarot cards?"
Scully's eyes lost their steely gleam of caution and began to twinkle with amusement.
"Do you have a big map with little pins marking Blair Witch sightings across the Northeast?"
Scully's lips twitched.
"Have you ever heard of some monster called El Chupacabras?"
A small strangled sound escaped from the back of Scully's throat.
Gabrielle interrupted us, pointing to a building across the street. "That's where we're headed."
"Buffalo Billiards. Wow, I haven't been there in years." I smiled at Gabrielle. "Great burgers."
She grinned back. "Oh yeah!"
We arrived just as the happy hour crowd was thinning out. "I'll get us a table; you," nodding at me, "get the drinks, and you stay here with our stuff."
Scully took off her coat and perched on a bar stool near a small table, watching the other players.
I tossed my jacket onto an empty stool. "Anybody got a preference? Pabst Blue Ribbon is three bucks a pitcher."
Scully paled.
Gabrielle laughed. "Maybe we should start with something in bottles."
Lucky for me, the small bar was well stocked with a variety of beers. I did *not* want to see Scully's reaction to a can of Schaefer. I smiled at the bartender. "Three Bass Ales and some menus, please."
"You done with those?" Gabrielle pushed aside her empty plate and hungrily eyed my leftover french fries.
"Knock yourself out, I'm stuffed." I shoved the plate toward Gabrielle.
She grabbed a fry, dunked it in ketchup, and popped it into her mouth with a grin.
Scully sat, motionless and wide-eyed, watching Gabrielle eat.
The burgers were just as good as I had remembered. I sighed happily and took a sip of beer. "Now aren't you glad you didn't get that chicken breast sandwich?"
Scully nodded. "But it's going to take me a week in the gym to work off that meal."
Gabrielle finished off the fries and tossed her balled-up napkin onto the empty plate.
"I don't know where she puts all that food," I said, shaking my head in disbelief.
"Must be an X-File," Scully said.
"Huh?" Gabrielle and I both turned to look at her.
"Private joke. Never mind."
Gabrielle and I exchanged amused glances. Scully was definitely loosening up. While we were eating, Gabrielle told us some stories about herself and her job, and soon Scully chimed in with some tales about med school and the FBI academy that had us falling off our stools with laughter.
I had seriously misjudged her; her cool, proper exterior concealed a wicked sense of humor.
"Everyone up for a game of cutthroat?" Gabrielle looked at us expectantly.
"Sounds good, but you'll have to refresh me on the rules. You?" I looked over at Scully.
"Why don't you two play for now? It feels good just to sit down and relax for a change," Scully said.
"All right," Gabrielle drawled, "but you're playing the winner."
Scully laughed and took a sip of her beer. "Maybe later."
Gabrielle turned out to be a little shark.
After losing the fifth straight game I turned to Scully. "It's your turn. Please?"
"Oh, no. You're doing just fine. Hey, you sank three balls that time."
"And I appreciated it," Gabrielle stood beside me and leaned on her cue.
"So I got a little confused about who was solids," I groused. "Could have happened to anyone."
"Why don't you two play?" Gabrielle pushed her stick toward Scully. "I can get us another round."
"C'mon, Scully. You rack," I waved the plastic triangle at her before calling after Gabrielle, "Hey, can you see if they have Shiner Bock?"
"Sure," she said over her shoulder as she headed toward the bar, seemingly oblivious to the many appreciative looks she received along the way.
"Table's ready," announced Scully, standing and retrieving her cue.
"Uh huh." I picked up a small square of chalk and examined it. "So, you play often?"
"Quit stalling."
I looked at her sheepishly, then walked around the table to set up for the break.
Scully and I were fairly evenly matched, and once we'd agreed to dispense with calling our shots the game progressed nicely.
Gabrielle returned with our drinks. "Who won?"
"Who won what?" I asked her, watching the man from the next table gape at Scully's leg as she prepared her shot.
"The game. This is your second game, right?" Gabrielle tracked my gaze and turned to look at the man. "Take a picture already. Jeez."
With precise motions, Scully took her shot. The cue ball struck the solid yellow ball dead center, pushing it halfway toward the pocket. Scully looked up with a dazzling smile.
Gabrielle shook her head as she moved toward a stool. "May as well get comfortable, I guess."
"Good shot!" I took a beer from Gabrielle and handed it to Scully, then turned to the table for my turn.
Scully had left me a good setup; one of my balls was nestled against a corner pocket. The cue ball, however, was right smack in the middle of the table.
"Crud." Standing on my tiptoes, I leaned across the table to make my shot. My cropped sweater rode up as I stretched and I could almost feel our lecherous neighbor's stare on the exposed skin of my back. I slowly turned my head and looked straight at him. He raised his mug of Pabst in salute.
With a sigh I returned to my game, somehow managing to sink my ball without scratching, but I was not so lucky on the following shot. "Oh well," I sat on a stool and reached for a beer.
"Mmmmm, Shiner Bock," my fingers closed around the longneck bottle. I toyed with the label before taking a long sip, then opened my eyes to see Gabrielle and Scully watching me. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. "What?"
"I guess you told him." Gabrielle said it with a straight face, but Scully couldn't suppress a smile.
"Yeah, well, I didn't hear you coming to my rescue." Now that I think of it, you could probably kick his ass.
"That's Xena's department." Gabrielle chuckled, then gestured toward my hip. "What is that design, anyway?"
"What design? The mola?" She'd lost me.
"It's a celtic knot, isn't it?" Scully spoke quietly.
"Oh. Oh." I unconsciously moved a hand to the small of my back. "Yes, it is. How did..." I closed my eyes and groaned. "Oh, no."
"Oh yes." Gabrielle's green eyes twinkled. "It's a big hit with the gentlemen."
I groaned again and buried my face in my hands.
"Can I see it?" Scully's voice was soft, almost tentative.
"I, uh, it's..." I rubbed my back and looked around the pool hall. Most of the players were absorbed in their games.
"Now you decide to get shy?" Gabrielle was enjoying this far too much. "You've already shown everyone else in the room."
"Fine." I took a deep breath, turned my back to my companions, and uncovered the triangular tattoo. Scully and Gabrielle both leaned in to get a better look.
"Wow, that's really pretty. Did it hurt much?" Gabrielle gently stroked the design with her finger.
"No, not really. It was a little annoying at first, but then-"
"Then the endorphins kicked in and it felt almost good," Scully said absently.
"No, I was going to say that it started to tickle." I straightened my clothing and turned to face Scully. "Your turn."
Scully blinked in surprise, then quickly recovered. "Oh, right. The game."
"You know what I'm talking about." I grabbed her stick. "Where is it? Shoulder, hip?"
"It's not on her shoulder."
I looked at Gabrielle, confused. "How do you know that?"
"I would have noticed it."
"When have you..." My voice trailed off as I began to understand Gabrielle's logic. "In class. When you wore a tank top." I turned to Scully, who was becoming increasingly flustered at the turn the conversation had taken. "That only leaves your hip or butt. Unless-"
"It's on my hip," Scully said, anxious to stop any further speculation.
"Well?" I crossed my arms across my chest. "We're waiting."
"Surely you're not suggesting that I show you right now."
"That's exactly what we're suggesting. Right, Staesh?" Gabrielle looked at me with a mischievous grin.
"Sounds right to me." I held out one hand. "Want me to hold your cardigan?"
Scully looked at me, then Gabrielle, then back at me. "Oh, all right." She removed her cardigan and threw it at me. "I can't believe I'm doing this," she muttered as she untucked her tank top and pushed her skirt down to reveal a beautiful multicolored ouroborus.
"Wow," I breathed, moving closer. "This is gorgeous. That red is amazing."
"I've never seen anything quite like it," said Gabrielle. "What made you choose this design?"
"Long story," Scully tucked in her shirt and reached for her cardigan. "Now, if you don't mind, the show's over."
The pool hall had become quite crowded and Scully and I decided that we'd embarrassed ourselves enough for one evening. The final straw had come when a twentysomething kid with dreads offered Scully some advice during the last game.
"He was only trying to help." Gabrielle began to pile the balls into their tray.
"You wouldn't say that if he'd been talking to you," Scully reminded her. "Besides, 'Arch your back! Arch your back!' isn't going to help me sink any balls, now, is it?"
"No, but it sure gave your friend over there a cheap thrill." Ignoring Scully's stare, I picked up the pool cues and put them back in their wall racks.
When I returned, I picked up my nearly empty beer and leaned against the pool table. "Where to now, Julie?" At Gabrielle's puzzled glance, I asked, "You are this evening's social director, aren't you?"
"Oh my god. I had the biggest crush on Doc."
Gabrielle and I both gaped at Scully.
"But...those knee socks!" I shuddered at the memory.
Scully gave a sheepish shrug. "It was the glasses."
Gabrielle tilted her head and looked at me appraisingly. "You had a thing for Gopher, didn't you?" Before I could respond, she picked up the balls and headed toward the counter.
Scully sat on a barstool, looking at the floor, one hand covering her mouth.
"Don't even think it," I warned.
"I didn't say a word."
"Well, don't." I finished off my beer, then giggled. "It's pretty funny in a what-was-I-thinking sort of way."
She smiled and took a sip of her beer. "This is pretty good," turning the bottle in her hands, "Shiner Bock. Never heard of it."
"Nectar of the gods. We drank a lot of it in college. Here comes Gabrielle - we ready to go?"