Title: Spender's Surprise
Author: Erin M. Blair
E-Mail: eblair@sonic.net
Classification: SRA--Story, Romance, Angst
Content: Spender/Other Romance. MSR-implied.
Spoiler: The End. The Beginning. X-Files Movie
Rating: PG.
Archive: OK to Gossamer and Xemplary. Others:
ask me first.
Disclaimer: Jeffrey Spender isn't mine because
Chris Carter owns him, but David Mulder and Melanie
Alomar both belong to me.
Summary: What will Spender do when his old
girlfriend/partner shows up and wants to
resume the partnership? How will this
affect his new partnership with Diana Fowley?
--------------------------------------
SPENDER'S SURPRISE
Written by: Erin M. Blair
--------------------------------------
"Agent Spender?"
I looked up from the stack of X-Files on my
desk, most of which I had disregarded. It was
Skinner's secretary, Kimberly, and I didn't
want to see her.
Not like this.
I had enough problems dealing with my new
partner, Diana Fowley, who I hated so much.
OK. Maybe I don't hate her that much; I
have to admit that I'm starting to like her.
Why was I assigned to this boring assignment?
"Yeah?"
She handed me a letter. "This arrived for
you."
I mumbled a quick "thanks," and I watched
her leave the room. Quickly, I ripped open
the envelope, and I pulled out the letter. It
was on white stationary. It had a certain
smell to it, and I recognized the scent of
strawberries. I looked at the curvy handwriting,
and I knew right away who it was from.
It was from Melanie Alomar. That name brings so
many memories. She was the first real love of
my life, and it was a surprise to hear from her
again. When I watched her airplane take off at the
airport for Salt Lake City, I'd thought that I would
never see her again.
Here's what Melanie said:
\Dearest Jeff,
\
\I know that we left on bad terms. I can't
\imagine how hard it was on you when I left
\for Salt Lake City. I know how much you
\loved me, but I wanted to
\have a good career at the FBI. I wanted to
\go, Jeff.
\
\That was last year.
\
\I want to return to the D.C. area and to
\you. I want to be your partner again, if
\you'll still have me, in every sense of the
\word. I'll be transferring to the D.C.
\office. I have already made arrangements
\to stay with my sister, Celina. You remember
\her, Jeff? I introduced you to her at
\my birthday party a few years ago.
\
\Call me at 555-1221.
\
\Melanie.
I didn't know if I should laugh, cry, or scream.
Melanie and I had a wonderful partnership. Hell,
we were lovers. Then she dropped a bombshell on
me: she's leaving for Salt Lake City. Apparently,
it was the same position that Dana Scully had been
offered and turned down, but my Melanie took it. I
was devastated. When I saw Dana Scully walking down
the corrider to her desk, I thought she was Melanie. They both
look so much alike with red hair and blue eyes. I
thought that I was falling for her on the rebound, but
when I saw the love that she has for Mulder, I decided
to step away. I knew that I couldn't win.
Now, Melanie's coming back and wants to be with
me.
With me.
What will I tell Diana Fowley? That I want
to be with Melanie? It's an enormous decision. How
do you tell a current partner that a former partner
wants to return to be at my side?
Knock. Knock. "Come in!"
"What's wrong?"
I looked up to see David Mulder walking in to sit down
at a chair beside my desk. I sighed. "We've been friends
ever since I saw you mope about losing Dana Scully,
right?" David recently transferred to the J. Edgar Hoover
Building from the San Francisco Field Office. When he first
arrived, he met Dana Scully. After he discovered that she
had only eyes for his cousin, he had downed several shots
of vodka at Casey's Bar. That's where I met him. After awhile,
we exchanged stories about his cousin.
"Right." I'm sure that he saw my anxiety. "What's
wrong? You look as though you saw a ghost."
"Not a ghost, David. I thought that you weren't as
big on the paranormal as your cousin."
"I'm not. I don't believe in aliens. I think
that it's a joke."
"Uh huh." Someday, he's going to believe in that
stuff. I just know it. I wouldn't admit to anyone,
not even David, but I'm starting to believe in
the possibility of alien life.
I'm nowhere near a believer like Fox Mulder, though.
"Well? Who's the letter from?"
"Melanie."
"Who's Melanie?"
I'd never told him about her. Actually, I had no
real reason to tell him about how she broke my
heart. "Melanie Rose Alomar was my partner until
she left for Salt Lake City, Utah. She was offered
a position in forensics which would, ultimately,
help her career in the FBI. It was the same position
that Dana Scully--"
"I know who she is. My cousin's lover and partner.
Go on."
"It was the same position that Dana was offered,
but she turned it down because of the recent
events." I sighed, as I fingered the white
stationary. "She was my partner in every sense
of the word, and I loved her so much. I was
hoping for it to be more..."
"You were going to marry her," David remarked,
with a look of understanding.
"Yes, I was. I was going to propose to her
that night," I whispered. "Then she dropped
her surprise. I felt like dying. Why did she
have to leave me, David? I loved her so much.
I thought that she knew that."
"I'm sure she did love you in her own way.
She probably felt that she had to leave
because of the pressure that the FBI put
on her. Since they didn't get Dana, they
went after Melanie."
I nodded. "I guess that they don't like it
when they don't get their way."
"Love's a risk," David said, with a sigh.
He looked at me in a meaningful way. "Jeff,
what are you gonna do about Melanie?"
"I don't know. Call her, I guess. It's just
that I don't know how I feel towards her."
"You'll find out soon enough, Jeff. I'll
talk to you later," David said as he got
up and walked towards the door.
I watched him close the door behind him,
and I dialed Melanie's number. "Hello?" A low,
female voice answered my "hello" with
"Melanie."
"Hey Alomar, it's me."
"Hi Spender. Long time, no see. I take it you
read my letter." We called each other by our
last names as a tribute to Mulder and Scully. We
thought that it was funny.
"Yes, I did."
"Well?" I looked down at the floor, and I
gave a long sigh. "Spender?"
"Look, Melanie, it's been a long time."
"I know that, Jeff."
"I--uh--I already have a partner.
Diana Fowley."
"Jeff, I know that. I also heard that
you hate her. I felt bad when I left
you. I shouldn't have done that and
I realized that it was a big mistake."
She paused. "I regretted it. It did
nothing for my FBI career, that's
for sure."
She regretted leaving me. Good.
Should I accept her as my partner now?
Or what? "Melanie, I'm not in
Violent Crimes Unit anymore."
"I know that," Melanie said.
"You do?"
"Yes," she replied. "You're in the X-Files
now. I want to be assigned to it."
"I don't know if they'll let you or not,
Alomar. There are two agents that are very,
very interested in getting it back."
"I know who they are. You don't have to
tell me. Let me guess: Fox Mulder and
Dana Scully."
I sighed. "Yes."
"I want to see you. Meet me."
"Where?"
"The Lincoln Memorial in an hour."
"See you in an hour," I murmured, as I
put down the receiver. *What am I going
to do?* I asked myself. I heard a voice
calling my name, and I turned around.
It was Diana standing in the doorway. "How long
have you been listening?"
"Who's Melanie?"
"My ex-partner," I said simply. She didn't
need to know the details. "What do you want,
Diana?"
"I don't like her."
"Who? Dana Scully?"
"I hate her too, but I'm beginning to hate
Melanie Alomar more. She's taking you away
from me."
I looked into Diana's brown eyes, and I
couldn't understand why she's jealous of
Melanie. They'd never met! "No, she's not. She
wants to talk about why she left me in the
first place. This has nothing to do with you."
"Yes, it does."
"No, it doesn't. Look, Diana, we have a
very good working relationship. Let's keep
it that way." I paused, as I was carefully
picking up the right words. "Melanie was
my lover as well as my partner. I can't
abandon my past, and I know that you still
love Mulder in your own way. Please understand.
I have to go."
Diana nodded. "If you have to go, then I won't
stand in your way."
I gave her a quick hug. "Thanks, Diana." I left
her to take care of some of the paperwork that
Skinner wanted us to do, and hurried towards
my car to head over the Lincoln Memorial.
I spotted an auburn haired woman sitting at the
park bench, and I decided to approach her. I
tapped her gently on the shoulders. "Melanie?"
She turned around, and gave me a bright smile
which sent an undeniable wave of passion through my
body. Seeing her there brought back so many
warm memories of our love and partnership. As
she watched me, I struggled to find the words
to greet her. "Melanie, you look beautiful!"
"You look great yourself," Melanie said, as
her smile deepened and she gave me a once over. "Thanks
for meeting with me. I thought that you wouldn't
come."
"I still care about you, Melanie. What happened to
us was horrible."
"I know. I miss you so much. I didn't want to leave
you, but I had no choice."
"No choice?"
"They told me that you'd be in trouble if I didn't
accept. I didn't want to see you hurt. I love you
too much for that to happen. I had to leave you
and I hope that you'll forgive me."
"You had no choice, Melanie? You could have said
no."
"I couldn't. They...told me that you'd be hurt if
I didn't accept."
"Who's they?"
"Them." Melanie looked away from me, and when she
faced me again, I saw the tears flowing down
her cheeks. "I didn't want to leave you, but I had
to. I wanted you safe from harm, and that's why I
accepted. Now, I'm back. I'm not going anywhere."
I didn't know what to do or say, but I know that
she still loved me. I pulled her close to me, and I
could felt her warm body against mine. I stroked her
silky auburn hair gently, and then, I kissed
her on her red lips. "I love you, Melanie. I'm not
going anywhere either. I'm yours if you'll still have
me."
"I'll have you," Melanie murmured, as she nestled
in my arms. "I'll have you."
The End
Author's Notes on "Spender's Surprise":
I know that I'm a well known Mulder
and Scully MSR and MSM author, but I wanted to
write a story featuring Jeffrey Spender. As a
writer, I wanted to use Jeffrey in a way that I'd
never done so. I used to hate him so much, but in
light of the recent episodes, I grew to like the
ferret. =) As for Diana, I wanted Jeff to hate her
as much I still do.
The character of Melanie Alomar has been used several
times in several stories that I'd written privately.
In the other stories, she's a ballerina. However, in this
story, I modified her to be a FBI agent. I also used
the character of David Mulder, who's Mulder's
lookalike cousin, from the story, "Someone Else."
This story is somewhat related to "Someone Else" but
you really don't have to read it to understand the story.
It'll be great if you did, but I can understand if you
don't. =)
Although this is purely a Spender/Other romance, I
threw in some hints of a Mulder/Scully Romance going
on.
I hope that you'll enjoy this story as I had
writing it. If you want more tales of Spender and his
new partner/lover, Melanie Alomar, please let me know. =)
Special Thanks/Inspirations:
To Chris Owens: For bringing life for Jeffrey
Spender.
To David Duchovny: For breathing life into Mulder,
and giving me the inspiration for creating David
Mulder.
To Gillian Anderson: For being the inspiration for
the creation of Melanie Rose Alomar, and for bringing
life to Dana Scully.
To Drovar: For giving me the inspiration to create
a story starring Spender and featuring David Mulder.
If it weren't for your story, "My Name's Not Fox", I
doubt that this story would have seen the light of day.
Thank you for creating Spenderfic Mailing List.
To Laurie B.: For beta reading this story, and thank
you for giving me suggestions.
For additional beta reading, I would like to thank
Jo Moore from Church of X Mailing List as well as Jade
from Folie_A_Duex so I can polish the story before putting
it out. I would also like to thank Kristy B. for taking her
time to help me with this story.
To Church of X, SEFAMSRN, ANXFOBSESSION, and
ANTI-FOWLEY: For being the best supporters any
girl has ever had. You're great! =)
Finally, I'd like to thank everyone who has read
my stories over this first year. Without you, I wouldn't
have continued to write these stories.
Feedback: Positive, thoughtful, constructive
criticism only. Send to: eblair@sonic.net
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- Erin Blair
- eblair@sonic.net
- "And if I quit now, they win."
- from the X-Files: Fight the Future Movie