Chapter Text
It had been quite a day. After a 16 hour shift, Dana Scully let herself flop down onto the only free seat that was left on the train and let out a deep sigh.
Despite of the late hour the train was quite crowded. After a while she found herself shifting her body every other minute in the tiny spot, trying to avoid getting too close the young guy sitting next to her, who was munching on a smelly burger, in total disregard of his fellow passengers.
Scully was not a fan of public transport. Especially not after the day she had had. But her car had broken down on Monday this week. It had just stopped working in the middle of an intersection, when she had already been running late for work. Thankfully with the help of two kind strangers she had been able to move the vehicle to the side, so it wasn’t blocking the traffic anymore, until a towing truck had arrived and taken the car to the nearest repair shop. Unfortunately it had turned out to be a larger issue. Spare parts needed to be ordered and Scully was told it would be about 5 business days until she could have her car back. So until then public transport it was. The train was loud and hot and 10 more minutes later she decided she’d had enough and reached into her purse to take out the earplugs she always carried with her. Maybe this way she could at least get some peace and quiet for the remainder of the ride.
She took the tiny foam buds between her fingers and gently pressed the material in shape to fit her ears, before sliding them into her ear canal. While the earplugs expanded, within seconds, Dana felt the stress leave her body. With every decibel the tiny plugs prevented from reaching her eardrums, she relaxed just a bit more. This was bliss.
She had just closed her eyes a bit when the train came to a sudden stop. Passengers who had not held on to something were thrown around the cabin, desperately trying to keep standing in their position to not be knocked over or bumping into other people.
Scully’s eyes flew open. What was it now? What had happened? Annoyed she removed one of the earplugs and was hit with a wave of the noisy environment again. As she had suspected, just seconds later the train operator made an announcement. People had been spotted on the train tracks, so now they had to wait before the situation was under control again and they had made sure nobody was in immediate danger to the train or themselves.
While the vehicle was forced to stay in position, Dana’s eyes glanced around the cabin. Most people looked just as tired as she felt. There was young mom with her baby, who kept fussing in his pram and seemed to be cranky. Scully wondered where the woman was going with the little one at this hour. It must have been way past his bed time. No wonder the baby was worn out. An old man, wearing a baseball hat who held onto a bottle of beer as if it was his most precious. A group of young men who were obviously on their way to a party, playing loud music from their phones. An elderly woman who shot them angry looks, constantly shaking her head and muttering something to herself about today’s youth. Right opposite of her, the woman who worked at the hospital’s cafeteria, Melanie seemed to be lost in the book she was reading but she looked exhausted. Scully knew she had two small kids at home who were waiting for her. All those people trying to get from spot A to spot B, most likely just trying to get home after a long day just as herself. The train started moving again and Scully mouthed a “thank god” to herself and saw the man next to her quietly nod in agreement. She slid the second earplug back into her right ear and closed her eyes again.
20 minutes and 3 more stops later, she felt the engine slow down and the train came to just another stop. When the doors opened a tall and handsome man walked in, who immediately caught Scully’s attention. He had brown hair and kind hazel eyes. He was wearing a long coat and was carrying a suitcase in one hand. He seemed to be in the middle of a phone call and Scully couldn’t help but chuckle when she spotted him scrunch his nose in response to the smell of food in the cabin.
“Ok, Frohike, I’ll see you then. Can’t wait to find out what you guys have for me this time.”
The train began to move again with a jolt. The man ended the call and let the phone disappear in the inner pocket of his coat. When his eyes finally wandered through the cabin, his eyes met Scully’s and he flashed her a smile. Scully caught herself staring and averted her eyes quickly. She suddenly felt awfully shy. Nevertheless she couldn’t help but smile to herself. He really was a cute guy.
“Next stop: Georgetown”
Scully couldn’t help but feel a bit disappointed she had to get off the train so soon. She would have liked to take in the sight of this beautiful stranger for a bit longer, stealing glances at his magnificent form.
With a sigh she got off of the folding seat and heard it flop back into its original position. She pressed the green button to release the door and descended the 2 small steps onto the platform. Now it would only take a few more minutes of walking and she would finally be home.