Author's note: Parts of this story fall before Ghosts I Have Met while the rest occur after Ghosts, but before Absolution, though, as typical in my crossover universe, one does not have to read the others to understand this one.

Special thanks goes to Liza for helping to talk me through this!
 

Scully stood beside a hot dog cart two streets over from the Hoover Building. She glanced over her shoulder then mentally chastised herself at the instinctual reaction. No, she wasn't on the lookout for CGB Spender. This time, she watched to make sure that Mulder hadn't followed her. 

She wanted to ensure that her secret still remained just that: a secret. 

He knew she ate bee pollen laden yogurt and fat free tofutti rice dreamsicles, but he didn't know, what he couldn't know, was that she inwardly craved hot dogs. And not just any hot dog in particular; a Polish sausage smothered in cheese and sauerkraut.

After putting in her order, Scully glanced over her shoulder again. Her eyes caught on a familiar uniformed figure leaving a restaurant famous for its sushi. Scully paid the vendor, then quickly caught up to the Marine. 

"Mac, hi!"

"Scully!" The major turned, surprised to see the agent. "It's good to see you! How have you been? Any weird cases keeping you busy?"

Scully rolled her eyes, pausing as she stared at the major's unexpected sushi roll. "Is that your lunch?"

Mac nodded thoughtfully and eyed Scully's sausage knowing the woman's penchant for health food. "Don't tell Mulder," the agent cautioned with a smile.

The major smiled in return. "OK, as long as you don't tell Harm," she agreed indicating the sushi roll. 

And so it began.

Mac and Scully, barring travel on either side, met for lunch every Wednesday. After choosing whatever they each craved at the moment, they would meander around the downtown D.C. area until they found a suitable park bench. There they would sit and talk about their days, their jobs, but mainly about their partners. 

***

"You know, for so long I've only had myself to rely on," Mac mused one day as they sat watching the pedestrians. "The thought of completely trusting anyone is scary."

Scully smiled ruefully and tossed the remnants of her corned beef on rye in a nearby trash can. "I know what you mean. I had three siblings, but for some reason, I was always the loner. Whether by choice or by nature, I don't know." She paused and gazed at a man leaving a store across the street. "It wasn't until I was partnered with Mulder that I truly felt like I wasn't alone. At least not completely. We're alone together..." she glanced over at Mac with a sardonic tilt to her eyebrows. "If that makes any sense."

The other woman nodded. "It does. Your work is..."

"You can say it. Strange."

"No," the major qualified, "I was going to say, just enough off the mainstream to set you two apart from the rest of the agents."

"You're being polite, but thanks." Scully paused as if contemplating her next statement. "Our work, Mulder's and mine, doesn't leave us much time to make friends." A dark look passed over her face, closing off her features. "Not too many people make overtures either."

"Their loss," Mac replied with a soft smile. She rose and tossed her chicken pita wrapper into the trash can then smoothed her skirt. 

Scully nodded and stood as well. 

***

"So how does Harm like Pensacola?" Scully asked around a mouthful of a hamburger covered in mushrooms and Swiss cheese. 

"I wouldn't know," Mac answered taking a huge bite out of her turkey salad on wheat. 

Scully looked at her askance. "What do you mean? He hasn't called you?"

The major nodded distractedly, her attention focused on a tall dark haired figure that looked enough like Harm to make one take a second look. With a soft sigh on finding that it indeed wasn't him, Mac excused, "His requals must take up more time that he thought they would."

The agent looked skeptical, but refused to push the issue. The two ate in silence for a while. At length, Mac murmured, "I miss him. More than I thought possible." She stared off into space. "It's almost like he was never here at all." 

Hating herself for her words, and knowing they would provide only empty comfort, Scully soothed, "I'm sure you'll hear from him soon."

***

"Hey, Dana," Sarah greeted with a soft, satisfied smile. 

Dana smiled in return noting that look had not left the major's face since they and Mulder had returned from Florida after Harm had been injured in a car wreck.

"How's Mulder doing? Has he been released from the psych ward yet?" Sarah sat on the bench with a cup of yogurt and spoon heaped with bee pollen. 'You know,' she thought ironically, 'this is actually good.'

Dana dropped to the bench in a heap and sighed tiredly. "No, not yet. Fowley somehow has convinced his doctor that he's a threat to himself and that if he's released he'll just do something rash."

Sarah's brown eyes widened with concern as shook fully took in Dana's haggard appearance. "Not eating today, Agent Scully?"

"Not hungry," Dana murmured shaking her head. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back against the bench. "God, Sarah," she murmured, a single tear drifted its way down her cheek. "What if he doesn't make it out of this one? He's already used up more than his share of nine lives."

"Hey!" Sarah whispered as she squeezed the other woman's hand. "You two have been through too much for it to end like this."

"That's just it," Dana argued, looking despondently into the trees, "our luck is due to run out, and run out soon."

The major tossed her unfinished yogurt into the trash and faced the agent. "Have you been to see him today?"

Shaking her head no, Dana replied, "He's not allowed visitors."

"Since when has that ever stopped you two?" Mac asked with a light smile.

***

"Harm's back!" Sarah cried as soon as she could make out Dana's red hair in the crowd. 

Seeing the wide grin on her counterpart's face, the agent couldn't help but smile in return. "He's on leave?"

The major shook her head delightedly and, noting the stromboli in one of Dana's hands, gripped the free hand. "No, he's back for good!" The two moved to a park bench away from the crowd and Sarah continued after taking a sip of her strawberry Smoothie, "He's taken a position at the Pentagon until he can get reinstated at JAG."

"Sarah, that's great news!" The agent took a huge bite out of the sandwich and watched as her friend sipped her drink. "Something tells me, though, that that isn't everything."

The major blushed slightly and sipped harder on her Smoothie.

"Alright, Sarah, out with it! You <never> blush!" Dana teased with a smile. 

She took a deep breath and sobered slightly. "He kissed me," Sarah murmured, almost as if she still believed that the event had actually occurred.

"At the office?" Dana asked incredulously.

"No," the major said with a light chuckle. "He came by my apartment last night. He'd just gotten back into town."

The agent laid her stromboli aside and asked, "And?"

Sarah shrugged, "And nothing. We talked half the night and right before he left, he kissed me."

"So, what's wrong?" Dana asked, one eyebrow raised.

Shaking her head, the major murmured, "You're too perceptive."

Dana grinned satisfied that she'd guess correctly. "That's why they put the 'I' in FBI." She sobered instantly when she noticed that Sarah didn't smile at the joke.

The major was about to speak when Dana's cell phone rang. "Scully," she answered with an apologetic smile to her friend. "Alright, I'll meet you there." She pressed the End button and said, "Sorry, that was Mulder. Apparently there's been a break in a case we've been working on...."

Sarah nodded with a soft smile, "Go on ahead. I'll talk to you later."

Dana rose and started to walk away. After a few steps, she glanced back at the major. "Call me if you need anything. Even if it's just to talk."

"I will," Sarah promised.

***

Friendship, like hatred, begins with a word, but grows with a promise. An unspoken vow of sorts that links two people together. The ties that bind may be shared experiences or common interests, but the strongest bonds are those forged by kindred spirits. Such are Sarah and Dana. Two women who both search for their own truths, who love completely the men in their lives, their partners. Whose true natures are found not in their deeds, but in their eyes. Two warriors of the spirit. They bear the scars of their battles, but they continue on unbroken. And so will their bond.
 

END