#Madeline Walter

[finleyforevermore]

A collection of out of context quotes from Off-Book: The Improvised Musical Podcast because it is criminally underrated and more people need to know about it:

"Relax, you're at the lake-[WHEEZE]"

"My name's not Vanessa, it's Li'l Fossil!"

"Who do I gotta eat to be king of this town?"

"I'm an empath, but I'm not good at it."

"It's hard to be married to a guy that everyone respects."

"I'm going to smoke several packs of cigarettes!"

"Congratulations, you successfully stole that baby!"

"Everyone get your sweaters off."

"I was about to be inwardly sad, but outwardly brave."

"What do you mean "he's fine"? He's dead!"

"She's as stupid as that Sally Fields!"

"We're all gonna die soon."

"Buy a stupid little sack for your baby!"

"When you're looking at a microwave, that's not a microwave, it's basically dirt!"

"It's you!....say what you are!"

"When you were born, you came tumbling out."

"You can't just call upon a Ratatouille, like, a Ratatouille has to happen to you, you know?"

"Which war was it?"

"Tombathy, if I wanted a silver gear, I would have been born a poor person!"

"I don't know you anymore. I'm famous now."

"I gotta take a sip of liquid death-"

"But honestly, you know what might solve that?: patricide."

"How does a hot chocolate man have his own camera?"

"You can't stop the war that's about to begin!"

"My best friend is a 6 foot tall mouse!"

"I haven't heard you call me 'treasure' since 1992." "Yeah, that's probably when you started calling me John."

"Julia Roberts knows how to not upstage."

"Yeah, fuck you pigeon, I don't like you at all."

"Which came first? My dreams or these eggs?"

"No, it's because my father broke everything that started with K in the house one Christmas."

"No one's ever seen your face except for your wife? How did you grow up?" [....QUEUE SONG]

"I now pronunce this high school...dead."

"Stop that baby! She's headed to the stairs!

"You wanna know the story with Santa and his marriage?"

[nezoid]

Search History UCB - Spice Girls and Spice Kisses

Featuring, Nicole Byer, D'Arcy Carden, Jocelyn DeBoer, Marcy Jarreau, Betsy Sodaro, Drew Tarver, and Madeline Walter.

[offbookkeeping]

17. 2024: Live from LA Podfest with Carl Tart and Madeline Walter

Plot summary:

The LAPD from the future reminisces about their terrible security and their enemies after Officer Cardamom stops a man dressed as a dog from stealing a bunch of evidence. Meanwhile, Aardvark Evil Place, a shadow organization, is trying to sell a bunch of cocaine shaped money to the Cat Criminal Cartel. After an hour of meowing the Cat Criminal Cartel does a bunch of cocaine and discusses how Aardvark Evil Place hasn't given them their cocaine money. Their plans get interrupted by them chasing little lights on the wall and sleeping in patches of sunlight. Cardamom is assigned a new partner who's a dog and they bond over their hatred for cats and criminals. At the same time, Cardamom's ex husband is getting a massage, venting about his marriage, and listening to smooth jazz. Cardamom and her new dog partner Scratchington are forced to reunite with Ron and they go to infiltrate the Cat Cartel together. They interrupt their choir practice where they're singing christmas carols. The cats have forgotten about their crimes and therefore cannot be arrested so they leave. There's a lot of discussion about edible arrangements and veterinary school and shadowy criminals. What even is the ending

Best quotes:

• "Sorry your nose fell off after you got gangrene in the Congo. It happened to my cousin, he was sad for days!"

Best songs:

• Plans and Meetings and Times and Details

• Edible Arrangements

Thoughts Overall:

There's a song about really unhinged edible arrangements and it's fantastic. This episode is really bizarre because I completely forgot it existed and I don't remember listening to it and also on spotify it doesn't have a description or anything so I'm not totally sure what its deal is. Also can someone please tell me if it's geocitities or geocitities?

[don-lichterman]

Mack & Rita (2022 Movie) Official Trailer - Diane Keaton, Taylour Paige, Elizabeth Lail

Mack & Rita (2022 Movie) Official Trailer – Diane Keaton, Taylour Paige, Elizabeth Lail

Mack & Rita – Watch the trailer now! Available on PVOD September 1st. Diane Keaton, Taylour Paige, Elizabeth Lail, Amy Hill, Lois Smith, Lois Smith, Wendie Malick and Dustin Milligan. Subscribe to the LIONSGATE: YouTube Channel for the latest movie trailers, clips, and more:…

[downton-bridgerton]

The Brown Family || Paddington In Peru (2024/25) (x)

[ty-bayonet-betteridge]

i see a character with identity problems and my brain goes That Guy Is Plural. and im like ok u right

[corallapis]

Edward Clifford, details from A Lunch Party at Ashridge House (1892). Sitters identified below.

Rt Hon. John ‘Yvo’ Vesey, 4th Viscount de Vesci (1844-1903), husband of (3)

Colonel Hon. Sir Reginald Chetwynd-Talbot (1841-1929), husband of (4), brother of (5, 7, 12, 14, 16)

Viscountess de Vesci (née Lady Evelyn Charteris) (1849-1939), wife of (1)

Margaret, Lady Chetwynd-Talbot (née Stuart-Wortley) (?-1937), wife of (2)

Countess Brownlow (née Lady Adelaide Chetwynd-Talbot) (1844-1917), wife of (15), sister of (2, 7, 12, 14, 16)

Miss Pamela Wyndham (later Baroness Glenconner; Viscountess Grey) (1871-1928), daughter of (10)

Hon. Alfred Chetwynd-Talbot (1848-1913), brother of (2, 5, 12, 14, 16)

Lady Alice Gaisford (née Kerr) (1836-1892)

Mr Harry Cust (1861-1917), cousin and heir of (15)

Mrs Percy Wyndham (née Madeline Campbell) (1835-1920), mother of (6)

George Herbert, 13th Earl of Pembroke (1850-1895), husband of (12)

Countess of Pembroke (née Lady Gertrude Chetwynd-Talbot) (1840-1906), wife of (11), sister of (2, 5, 7, 14, 16)

Countess Cowper (née Lady Katrine Compton) (1845-1913)

Admiral Hon. Walter Carpenter (né Chetwynd-Talbot) (1834-1904), brother of (2, 5, 7, 12, 16)

Adelbert Brownlow-Cust, 3rd Earl Brownlow (1844-1921), husband of (5), cousin of (9)

Marchioness of Lothian (née Constance Chetwynd-Talbot) (1836-1901), sister of (2, 5, 7, 12, 14)

[ajsbookreviews]

Lessons in Chemistry Book Review

Lessons In Chemistry

Author: Bonnie Garmus

Description: Chemist Elizabeth Zott is not your average woman. In fact, Elizabeth Zott would be the first to point out that there is no such thing.

But it's the early 1960s and her all-male team at Hastings Research Institute take a very unscientific view of equality. Except for one: Calvin Evans, the lonely, brilliant, Nobel-prize nominated grudge-holder who falls in love with - of all things - her mind. True chemistry results..

Rating: ★★★★★★★☆☆☆

Review: Without expectations and just about a hum of what it was about, I started reading this book a few days ago. What I presumed was going to be a romantic adventure between possible rivalling scientists in the 60s, with a dash of hurt & comfort and a big splash of gender inequality, turned out to be much more profound and thought-provoking than imagined. 

However, the plot is lacking. It’s not an empty carcass by any means, but the story is sometimes singlehandedly driven by Grasmus incredibly knack for writing dynamically and the characters’ development. It’s, in other words, mostly character-driven. With this in mind, the characterisation and attention to detail was marvellous. Zott’s arc is complex, mosaic, and frustrating – which is why it’s so human. It’s a great depiction of the strength and determination of women, a showcase of the duality and unfairness of life. Despite its dramatisation, it feels like a good representation of unjustness. A terrific read within the range of the genre. 

As some final words I’d like to give a little heads-up. There are very triggering themes in Lessons in Chemistry, including a graphic SA scene close to the beginning. I would’ve appreciated the warning before reading, so here’s one for you.  

[roanokesims]

Winterfest 1926

Winterfest celebrations were held at Andrew's home this year. With everyone present, it was deemed necessary a full family photograph should be taken. Myrtle and Vinnie brought their beaus, Billy and Don Bjergsen with as well.

[xmencovered]

X-Factor (1986) #37

Published February 1st, 1989

Cover art by WALT SIMONSON

[moviemosaics]

The Cathedral

directed by Ricky D’Ambrose, 2021

[alexsnerdycorner]

LFN FANFIC

NEW chapter of my LFN Fanfic will be out tomorrow on AO3. It will have brief mentions of SA in the first part (Sasha's chapter). If you want to skip her part and just read Michael's, I won't be offended.

[nezoid]

The last time I saw #searchhistoryucb play was March 3, 2020 (2 years, 7 months, and 21 days ago), so you don’t understand how happy I was to see them play again last week! Tears of joy (and laughter) honestly. 🥹

Thank you for letting me shoot you all again! (Thanks to Raiza!) 🙏🙌📷

Such a dream team and paired with Spanish Aqui Presents! Spanish History, what a show! 👏🎉

I adore you all! 😻💗

Search History UCB - 🇦🇺

[original-username42]

The year is 2030 and they just remade Breaking bad but now… its WOKE!!! Its now called Breaking Trans and instead of cooking meth they cook estrogen. Walter White is now Walter Black. Jesse Pinkman is now Jesse Pinkwoman. Gus is now gay and has a boyfriend who was killed by the Salamancas. Walter now has a disabled son who he defends from harassment. Saul is now a femboy twink and is named Saul Twinkman. Walter and Saul have gay sex for half the episode in every other episode, in season 4 it becomes a threesome with Mike. Tuco is now a woman named Tuca and shes also gay. Halfway through the show Walter Jr transitions and names herself Madeline. Instead of dying at the end Walter also transitions and says "I'm Breaking Trans"

[shakespearesdaughters]

What kind of books by Dark Academia do you suggest to me? At the moment I’m on Tolstoj but I wanna to know much

The Secret History by Donna Tartt anything by Donna Tartt (praying we get another book in the next 5 years)

Maurice by E. M. Forester

Brideshead Revisited by Evelyn Waugh

The Patrick Melrose series by Edward St Aubyn

Confessions by Kanae Minato

In the Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco

Piranesi and Johnathan Strange and Mr. Norrell by Susanna Clarke

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

Dead Poets Society by N H Kleinbaum

Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

An Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice

A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

The Idiot by Elif Bautman

The Talented Mr Ripley by Patricia Highsmith

Babel by R F Kuang

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath

Stoner by John Williams

The Queens Gambit by Walter Tevis

The odyssey by Homer

Carmilla by J Sheridan le Fanu

We Have Always Lived In The Castle by Shirley Jackson

Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay

Labyrinths by Jorge Luis Borges

The October Country by Ray Bradbury

Inferno by Dante Alighieri

Just to name a few!

[television-overload]

of our own making

(an X-Files fanfic)

Chapter 30/34 - battery operated radio

[Read on AO3]

The next morning over a breakfast of bland oatmeal, some bacon, and orange juice, Scully makes a few calls. Skinner is delighted to hear from them, and promises to stop by in the afternoon, repeating his heartfelt congratulations before ending the call. As for the Lone Gunmen, you’d think they’d just discovered evidence of the lost city of Atlantis, with the way they whoop and cheer over the phone. No one is surprised when, a few hours later, the three unlikely friends make an appearance in the doorway of their hospital room, bearing colorful balloons and stuffed animals that look like they’d been won in a claw machine at an arcade.

The nurse leading the way glances at them with suspicion, but loosens up a little when she sees Scully’s eyes brighten in recognition. She supposes they do make quite a group of misfits, but to them, they’re family. You can never have too many weird uncles, and Madeline’s got it made in that department.

“Let’s see the little stinker!’ Frohike says excitedly in lieu of greeting, setting the balloons onto a table by the entrance. He wastes no time at all in making his way over to them, coming to a stop next to the couch where Mulder has been laying with Maddie resting on his chest, reading the newspaper while she sleeps.

“Hey, fellas,” Mulder says, slowly easing himself up so as not to disturb the slumbering infant. Her face bunches up, her brows furrowing a little as she stirs. Oh well, no harm in her waking up now to greet their visitors.

“Wow,” Byers says, his eyes wide. “You guys really did it.”

“I’m a man of my word,” Mulder deadpans, and Scully can’t help but smile as the three Gunmen crouch down to get a good look at Maddie.

“So, like… you have a daughter,” Langly muses aloud.

Mulder chuckles. “Crazy, huh?”

Frohike reaches out a finger and tickles her chin, grinning from ear to ear. “You’ve got some weird parents, kiddo,” he says. “I wish you luck.”

“Trying to turn her against us already?” Scully asks, her eyebrow raised quizzically.

“Maybe,” he responds. “If I have to.”

“Congratulations, you guys,” Byers says, beaming at them proudly. “She’s a lucky kid.”

Mulder lays Madeline on top of his knees, letting her stretch out and survey the faces hovering above her.

“If Mulder ever needs some sense knocked into him, Scully, you call me,” Frohike says seriously, glancing in her direction. “He’d better pull his weight, or else he’ll have us to answer to.”

Scully wants to laugh at his thinly-veiled threat, but she finds it sweet, not that she’ll ever need to take him up on the offer. Mulder has been a saint ever since they got here—ever since they began this process, really. She couldn’t ask for better.

He had smelled like his usual travel shampoo and that new baby smell last night when he came to bed. It was intoxicating. And this morning, he even made sure to order their breakfast before she woke up, and had the baby brought in so he could feed her without her having to tell him to.

She’s not exactly sure what their routine will look like when they get home, but she’s confident that they’ll find a good balance. She can’t wait.

“Got room for one more?” a voice calls from the door, and in walks Walter Skinner bearing a bouquet of flowers.

“You’re just in time,” Scully says, walking over to him to accept the gift. “She’s just now waking up from her nap.”

Skinner smiles and approaches the gathering crowd around the couch, peering down at the subject of all the attention.

“Wow, look at that,” he says. “How’s it feel, Mulder?”

Mulder picks Madeline up and holds her in front of him, bringing her close enough that he can press tiny kisses to her cheeks before laying her on his shoulder.

“Feels pretty good, Skinman,” he answers. “You wanna hold her?”

“Not so fast,” Frohike says, pushing himself in front of the much taller man. “I called dibs on the way over here.”

Mulder merely chuckles and gets to his feet, transferring the baby to their friend’s arms with all the grace of a seasoned parent.

“Hi there, little miss,” Frohike says, rocking her back and forth. “I’m your uncle Melvin.” Madeline stares up at him in wonder, completely captivated by the silly faces he makes.

After Frohike, Byers gets a turn, and Langly politely declines, opting instead to give her a tiny fist bump. Then it’s their boss’ turn.

“Alright, give her here,” Skinner says, reaching to take her out of Byers’ arms. His posture is a little stiff, but the warmth of his smile is a dead giveaway as she settles in his hold. His pointer finger pulls back the blanket swaddling her so he can get a better look at her. “Well, you guys, looks like your harebrained little scheme worked out, after all,” he says.

Scully chuckles. She’s so thankful that they’ve had the support of Skinner and the Lone Gunmen throughout all this, despite how unconventional their plans were. She’d been so afraid all along that something would come and take away this opportunity from them too, but here they are at the end of one journey and the beginning of another. 

She feels like she can finally let herself be happy.

After another minute or so, Madeline seems to realize that she’s in unfamiliar arms and starts to fuss, her chin jutting out along with her bottom lip.

“I think someone wants her mama,” Skinner says, bending forward to hand her back to Scully. It’s too early for another feeding, so she probably just wants to be held and rocked the specific way she seems to like it.

“What’d you call her?” their boss asks, shoving his hands in his coat pockets.

“Madeline,” Scully answers.

“Well, I’m happy for you two. Or three, I guess. Gonna take some getting used to, huh?”

“Don’t pretend you’ll miss having us around,” Mulder jokes.

“You know I will,” Skinner says seriously. “Although I can honestly say that I hope your successors are a little more adept at staying out of trouble, or at least getting out of it without my intervention. I’m pretty sure I’m running low on the Director’s good will.

“I have a good feeling about agents Doggett and Reyes,” Scully says. It will be strange, to not be the ones in the driver’s seat, so-to-speak, but they’ll still get their doses of a good X-File every now and then. It’s not really goodbye.

“We should get out of your hair,” Byers says when the room has fallen silent.

Frohike nods in agreement, taking a step toward the door. “Hey, if you ever need babysitting, you’re looking at the owners of the most secure daycare facility on the eastern seaboard,” he says, jabbing a thumb at himself and the other two Gunmen.

Langly snorts. “Yeah, it’s so exclusive, we only have space for one client. And we’re highly selective. You might not get in.”

“Alright, alright,” Mulder laughs, leading them toward the door by the shoulders. “Thanks for stopping by. It really does mean a lot.”

And after a few more firm handshakes, hugs, and well-wishes, they’re gone.

-.-.-

The door closes behind Byers, and the four men stand in the hall awkwardly, waiting for someone to state the obvious.

“You saw the rings, right?” Langly states, glancing between his compatriots who each nod in turn.

“I don’t know who they think they’re kidding,” Skinner says in exasperation. “That diamond would have had to cost at least three grand, minimum.”

“How long do you think they can keep pretending they’re just friends?” Byers asks. “I mean, realistically?”

A look of horror dawns on Frohike’s face. “This is Mulder and Scully we’re talking about,” he says. “It could be forever, for as stubborn as those two are.”

They mull that one over for a moment, each with a look somewhere between frustration and concern.

“That’s it,” Skinner says suddenly, gritting his teeth as he turns to face the other direction. “I’m taking matters into my own hands.” The Gunmen watch in puzzlement as the bald-headed man approaches the nurses’ station, digging his wallet out of his pocket.

Langly looks at Byers and shrugs. The three of them follow behind and stand beside him at the counter.

“How much for you to put on some cheesy romantic music in that room over there?” Skinner asks the nurse on duty, pulling out a couple $20 bills.

“I’m sorry?” she asks, looking up at him in confusion.

Skinner waves the money in the air and points back in the direction of room 509. “Do you have a radio or something? Maybe the intercom?”

“Can I ask what this is about?” the woman asks, clearly suspicious of such an odd question.

“Our friends are complete idiots and won’t admit that they’re in love with each other,” Langly answers bluntly.

The nurse’s eyes go wide, lighting up in interest. “Those two? With the baby?” she asks. “But I thought they were married.”

“They are,” Frohike says. “The key detail here is that they’re idiots.”

The other three nod, confirming that assessment.

The nurse purses her lips, her eyes traveling to the cash in Skinner’s hand, then back up to each of the four of them in turn.

“I’ll see what I can do.”

-.-.-

Mulder is just finishing up washing his hands in the en suite bathroom when, from somewhere in the hall, he hears the faint sounds of a piano playing. A few seconds later, the whine of a saxophone joins the melody, and he chuckles to himself. He’d never been a huge fan of smooth jazz himself, but he could appreciate the musical stylings of Kenny G every now and then.

He’s about to hurl some lighthearted joke about the song at Scully when the sight of her stops him in his tracks.

There she stands in the middle of the room, right where he left her, except now she’s swaying along with the music, Madeline still in her arms. The soft, easy smile on her face emanates a warm glow on the room, and he’s absolutely in awe of her.

He leans against the door frame of the bathroom, fighting back against the sudden pounding of his heart as he watches her.

She’s so beautiful.

In the space of a few seconds, he makes a decision, stepping carefully toward her.

She spins slowly along with the music, humming softly to Madeline and unaware of his presence until he gently taps her on the shoulder, almost startling her.

“May I cut in?” he asks, his voice hardly more than a low whisper.

There’s that shy smile he so loves to see. She used to smile at him like that a lot, back when he could shamelessly flirt with her in the first few years they worked together. She glances up at him briefly now from underneath thick eyelashes, and he takes that as a yes, wordlessly taking Maddie from her arms and placing into the nearby bassinet.

She looks content enough there for now. Relaxed, perhaps by the sourceless hypnotic music. Mulder quickly returns to Scully’s side, scooping her hands up in his and guiding her left hand to his shoulder.

“Does this song take you back, Scully?” he asks, pulling her close and swaying along with her.

“Mmm,” she hums softly. “Missy bought me this CD for Christmas back in ‘92.”

He throws his head back in exaggerated exasperation before dipping his head to meet her eyes teasingly. “I knew it,” he says. “I bet you crack open a bottle of wine and sit in the bubble bath while it plays, don’t you, Scully.”

The look she gives him is just proof of why the FBI Behavioral Science Unit used to pay him the big bucks.

“Lucky guess, Mulder,” she says, smirking up at him. 

He pulls her just a little bit closer and feels a chill run up his spine when Scully moves her hand to the nape of his neck, brushing against the short hair there.

“You know, this song is actually called ‘The Wedding Song,’” she states conversationally.

“Oh really?” Mulder spins her out and then back into his arms, keeping pace with the slow rhythm. “You know, we never had a proper first dance. With actual music playing, I mean.”

“No,” she agrees, “we didn’t.”

Their words hang in the air, the implications as clear as they’re going to get for today.

The saxophone croons in dulcet tones, and Mulder feels himself surrendering to its pull. Scully’s hand, the one he holds in his, moves to rest on his shoulder along with the other one, leaving his arm hovering in the air. 

With deft fingers, he pushes back some escaped tendrils of her hair, tucking them neatly behind her ear before bringing his hand down to her waist. She’d opted for a thin sweater this morning, having no use for her professional attire any time soon. Its fabric is soft beneath his fingertips, and he revels in the sensation that being near her evokes.

Over the years, he’s seen enough hospital rooms to last a lifetime. But, he thinks, he could spend the rest of his life here in this one, so long as Scully and their daughter—their daughter—are there with him.

That wouldn’t be so bad.

-.-.- 

“It’s working!” the nurse—Andrea—says excitedly, peeking into the room through the small window in the door.

“What’s happening?” Frohike asks from his place on the ground. He holds the battery operated radio Andrea had provided up against the door, the volume turned up enough that they should be able to hear it through the crack at the bottom.

“They’re dancing!”

Skinner stands away from the group, somehow embarrassed even though this had been his idea to begin with.

“Wait! This might be it!”

Langly’s head joins hers at the window just in time to see Mulder adjust his hold around Scully’s waist, pulling her closer.

“Come on, man! You can do it!” he says in a hopeful cheer. Andrea turns to look at him, then peers back into the darkened room.

They’re gazing at each other now in that way they always do, their swaying starting to slow almost to a halt. It’s nearly imperceptible at first, but they see Scully lean in, tilting her head up toward Mulder in a way that looks very promising.

“Come on…!” Langly repeats, holding his breath. The nurse gasps, grabbing the sleeve of his t-shirt.

Now Mulder is leaning forward too, craning his neck lower and aligning his mouth with Scully’s. The speed at which they move nearly sends Langly into a fit of rage. Even a sloth would be telling them to hurry it up already.

“What are they waiting for?” Andrea asks, her brows furrowed in an accurate representation of the frustration the four men have felt toward this duo for the past several years.

They get closer, and closer, and closer, and finally, just when they think the moment has finally arrived—

The sharp cry of the baby sends all their progress crashing to the ground.

“Ugh!” Langly groans, throwing up his hands in annoyance. “Why?”

“No dice?” Frohike asks from the ground.

Byers shakes his head, and Frohike sighs, switching the radio off in an admittance of defeat.

“They’re like that all the time?” Andrea asks, looking alarmed at the thought.

“Sometimes worse,” Skinner says. He rubs his fingers over his bald head in an attempt to stave off an oncoming migraine.

The nurse lets out an astonished breath of air. “Well, I’m sorry I couldn’t be of more help,” she says, her hands perched on her hips. “It was sweet of you to try.”

“Eh, they’ll figure it out eventually,” Langly says optimistically, waving a hand through the air. “If they don’t, we’ll just lock them in a room until one of ‘em lets it slip.”

“It was worth a shot,” Byers says in consolation, helping Frohike to his feet. “We almost had them.”

“How hard is it to tell your best friend you love them?” Skinner asks rhetorically. Frohike shrugs and hands the radio back over to the nurse.

Langly spares one last glance at the door to Mulder and Scully’s room. A thought crosses his mind, and he feels his stomach drop. 

“You’re not going to tell anyone, are you?” he asks, suddenly afraid they might have just messed everything up.

“Tell anyone?” she asks, her head cocked in confusion.

“You know… that they might have exaggerated a little on their adoption application?” he bites his lip worriedly, wishing they’d just left the hospital instead of meddling in their friends’ business. “If they find out that we ruined their happy ending, I think they’d kill us,” he says. “That is, if I don’t jump off a bridge myself first.”

Andrea laughs, shaking her head. “Are you kidding? They obviously love each other more than half the couples I see come in here. Of course I won’t say anything!”

Langly lets out a breath of relief, and so do the others.

“Well, thanks again for your help,” he says, offering her an awkward smile.

She shrugs. “Sure beats whatever soap opera they’ve got playing in the break room.”

Sometimes, Langly thinks, it would be nice for Mulder and Scully’s lives to be less like a soap opera. But beggars can’t be choosers.

A silent moment passes, and he shares a look with the other Gunmen. Time to roll out, ideally before they do any more potential damage to their friends’ lives.

He gives a parting nod to the nurse, then turns to start the trek back down the hall. Frohike grumbles something about Mulder’s wasted good looks as they walk, and Skinner just looks tired.

Just before they reach the elevator, they hear Andrea call out, stopping them in their tracks.

“Wait!” she says, jogging to catch up with them, a small smile on her face. “Um…” Taking a pen out of her pocket, she clicks it once and grabs Langly’s arm. “If you ever want to grab dinner or something,” she says, writing down her number while carefully avoiding his eyes.

Langly watches in astonishment as she completes the strand of numbers, punctuating it with a smiley face. With one quick, shy glance up at him, she disappears back to her station, leaving them all completely awestruck for a good few seconds. The elevator comes and goes before they snap out of it, forcing them to wait for it to cycle back to them.

“In a shocking turn of events, Langly might actually have more game than Agent Mulder,” Byers narrates in an amused tone.

“Puh-lease,” Frohike counters, giving Langly a good-natured shove in the arm as they start moving again. “We all know that I’m the real chick magnet around here.”

~~~

Linking because I can...

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