Title: Small Sound Black Dreams 3

Author/pseudonym: Amatia

Fandom: X-Files/The Silence of the Lambs

Paring: Dana Scully/Clarice Starling, implied Mulder/Krycek

Rated: NC-17

Archive: Yep.

Disclaimers: X-Files characters are the property of 1013. Clarice Starling in the creation of Thomas Harris, movie rights are Orion's.

Summary: An old love of Scully's returns.

Warnings: Spoilers for XF - "Fire", "The End", "The Red and the Black".

Spoilers for "The Silence of the Lambs" (movie) and slight ones for "Hannibal" (book).

Notes: This series was started over a year ago, and it's still growing. Thanks go to Hth for planting the seed for this all with her fic, "Thank You For Not Smoking". All parts have now been given a Roman Numeral designation for easy identification and ordering. :-)

Small Sound Black Dreams 3: Sorjoun

by Amatia

Quantico, VA
Fall 1990

Dr. Dana Scully had a small apartment in Quantico, only a few blocks away from the Academy's campus. Clarice Starling took a deep breath as she prepared to ring the bell next to the nameplate that read D. Scully. Now, Clarice, there is absolutely nothing for you to be worried about, she admonished herself. After graduation, you're not going to get another chance to tell her. She pressed the button.

"Yes?" came Scully's voice through the intercom.

"It's Clarice Starling, Doctor."

"I'll buzz you through," came the reply. Starling turned the handle of the door as the loud buzz sounded.

The door of apartment 4A was open, and she went in. Scully was seated at her kitchen table, textbooks open around her. "Evening, Clarice."

"Evenin', Dr. Scully."

"What can I do for you?"

"I was wondering if you weren't too busy, if you would mind going over these medical records of our suspect in the Buffalo Bill case with me."

"Certainly," Scully replied, gesturing at the chair beside her. "Can I get you anything? Water, a soda?"

"No, thank you." Starling slipped out of her coat, then took the offered seat, placing the folder she held on the table. "It was kind of you to offer."

Scully smiled warmly. "So, what's up? I thought you were in Belvedere."

"Came home to try and piece some of this puzzle together. We think that the suspect is a - he wants to be a woman. So we cross-matched medical records from Johns Hopkins, U. Minnesota, and Columbus Med, looking for men that had applied and been rejected. We figured he'd applied at all three, and we found records for one man who'd applied and been rejected. Subject's name is Jamie Gumb. Crawford fed him into the known offenders DB, and he's got an alias, John Grant."

"But there's no known correlation between transsexuals and violence," Scully interjected.

"That's true. And that's what's puzzling me. Dr. Lecter's theory is that our suspect has severe childhood trauma, most likely physical abuse of some type."

"Well, you've got your suspect. What do you need me for?" Scully's tone was serious, but there was a slight twinkle in her eye.

"I want to know why he does this."

Scully shook her head. "Clarice, you know. You don't need me to help. I'm a pathologist, besides. So to what do I owe the honor of this visit?"

"Dr. Scully, I..."

"Dana. You're technically no longer my student."

"Dana, then."

Scully closed all of her textbooks, and turned so that she was facing Starling completely. "I may study up on medical things in my free time, but I know a troubled countenance when I see one. Are you going to tell me what's wrong, or are you just going to keep repeating my name?"

"Well, then, I might as well just ask. Will you have dinner with me tonight, before I have to go back to Belvedere tomorrow morning?"

Scully arched an eyebrow, then relaxed it with a smile. "Yes. And you certainly took awhile in getting to the point."

Starling felt a rare blush creep into her cheeks. "Sorry, Dana."

"Don't apologize," Scully said with a chuckle. "So, where are we going for dinner?"

"I thought maybe we'd avoid those Marine hangouts, and go to Farinelli's."

"Sounds good. Although pasta is the last thing I need." She smiled wryly.

"Oh, get something with vegetables in it. That way you can compromise with your inner Kate Moss."

"My inner Kate Moss? You mean I'm not already Kate Moss?"

Starling let out a full-throated laugh. "Kate Moss looks good on a runway, but I bet she's not so great in person. You, on the other hand, are beautiful just the way you are."

It was Scully's turn to blush now, and she gave Starling one of her rare, deep smiles. "Thank you," she murmured. "Now, if you'll excuse me for just a minute, I'm going to change out of these jeans before we go to dinner."

"It's not a formal place, Dana," Starling replied gesturing to her own slacks and sweater set.

"Still, I want to change." Scully stood up. "Have a seat on the couch, relax. I'll just be a minute."

Starling nodded, and moved to the couch as Scully slipped into her bedroom. She picked up the most recent edition of "Forensic Pathology News" and flipped through it. Scully came back out dressed in dark green slacks and a white sweater. "All set?" Starling asked.

"Yep." Scully ran a hand through her shoulder-length hair. "Oh, wait a minute, I want to pull my hair back."

"No, don't," Starling said before she could stop herself. She smiled apologetically. "It's nice like that."

Scully shrugged. "Okay."

Starling set the magazine back down, and stood. "I just left my purse by the chair..."

"Oh, I'll get it for you," Scully said as they both moved in the same direction at the same instant, and collided. "Sorry!" Scully exclaimed, reaching out to grab Starling in an effort to keep both of them from falling. Starling had had the same thought, and they ended upright, arms wrapped around each other, blushes rising to their cheeks.

"Sorry," they both whispered at the same time, and traded self-conscious grins.

Starling picked up her purse from the floor by the table. "Your car or mine?"

"Yours. Then I don't have to get mine out of the garage."

"Landlord lets you share a garage?"

"I pay extra for it," Scully admitted, putting on her coat, and patting to make sure she had her wallet.

Starling slid her coat on, then dug her keys from her purse. "You'll have to forgive the state of my car," she said as they left the apartment. "It's not the greatest piece of junk on the planet, but it runs. Most of the time."

"You should have seen the car I had in college. God, it died once a week, at least. And it was rust orange." Scully made sure the door to the building locked behind them.

Starling unlocked the car doors. "Well, then you've got me beat."

They got into the car, and Starling started it up, tapping the gas lightly. "Takes a minute to warm up," she said in explanation. "Or it kills at intersections."

"I understand," Scully replied with a chuckle. "Totally."

Starling hit the blinker, then pulled away from the curb. "It gets me around. That's all I ask for right now."

"When you graduate Academy, you can requisition a car for just about anything. Sometimes they sell the used cars at a good price - that's where I got mine."

"I wasn't aware of that," Starling said. "Thanks for telling me. I'll have to keep an eye out for a good deal."

"Well, I don't know about motor pools at other offices. You might get assigned somewhere where they don't do that."

"Crawford says he's pushing to get me assigned as a psych instructor here. I hope it goes through." Starling turned the corner.

"You want to deal with all the new male recruits who think they're God's gift to criminal justice?" Scully laughed. "They have a hard time with a woman in a position above them. Even with the military guys we get, they have "Sir, yes, sir!" drilled so far into them that I don't know if they even remember the word "ma'm". It's mind-boggling."

Starling chuckled. "Well, according to the recruiting counselors I spoke with, it's easier to get in if you're a woman."

"That's because the FBI has always been a Boy's Club, Clarice."

"We'll just have to change that, won't we?" Starling asked, flashing a wide grin at Scully, who grinned in return. She pulled into the lot for Farinelli's, and parked. "Here we are. Best fettucini alfredo in town."

Scully groaned. "But I look taller if I'm skinny!" she replied in a slightly whiney voice, but her smile belied her tone.

"Too bad, I'm forcing you to eat pasta. Come on, Dana."

Scully followed Starling into the restaurant. A suited waiter seated them. "Can I interest you ladies in a drink?"

They exchanged glances. "Diet Coke," Scully said to the waiter. To Starling, she said, "I assume you don't want to drink if you're leaving tomorrow morning."

"You assumed correctly." Starling replied, and opened the menu. "Now...what to eat..."

Scully opened her own menu. "What do you recommend?"

Starling scanned the list of specials. "The lasagne is excellent, as is the fettucini alfredo with vegetables."

"What about the marinara sauce? Good?"

"Also excellent."

"Then I am having angel hair pasta with marinara sauce," Scully said firmly, and closed her menu.

Starling rolled her eyes at her. "How do you decide so quickly?"

"Always have. Whenever my family would go out to dinner, I was always the first one ready to order," Scully explained. "So, what are you having?"

Starling set her menu atop Scully's. "Gnocchi. Also with marinara."

"I've never had it."

"You can try some of mine. I can never eat it all."

A waiter came by with their sodas. "Are you ready to order?"

"Yes, we are," Starling said. "I'll have the gnocchi with marinara, please."

"Certainly," the waiter replied, scribbling on his pad of paper. He looked up at Scully. "And you, ma'm?"

"Angel hair pasta with marinara."

"Wonderful. Is that all?"

"Yes," Scully said, afraid Starling would try to order something else. Like breadsticks.

"Your food will be up shortly," the waiter said, picking up the menus and, with a professional smile at them, disappearing.

Scully's eyes met Starling's. The other woman held her gaze. Scully held up her soda glass. "To new friends, new food, and new experiences."

"Cheers," Starling said, touching her glass to Scully's. They drank.

Scully set her glass back on the table. "Can I ask a question? I don't know whether to deem it personal, or not..."

"Ask away."

"What is it like, talking to Hannibal Lecter?"

Starling considered the question for a moment. She raised her hand unconsciously, wanting to trace her mouth with her fingers as she often did when thinking. "I'll say this. The very first time I met him, he could tell, from behind a thick pane of glass that contained only air holes at the top and bottom, that I used Evyan skin cream, and that I often wore L'Air du Temps perfume - but that I hadn't worn it that day."

"Damn," was Scully's reply.

"That's what I thought. The man is brilliant, Dana. Truthfully, I'm surprised that he was caught."

"There were a lot of people who were surprised when he was caught. I was an undergrad in college. Read all the newspaper accounts of Lecter, couldn't believe that a man with that brilliant of a mind, disturbed as he was, would allow himself to be caught." She let her gaze linger on Starling for a moment, then asked softly. "Does he frighten you, Clarice?"

"I was only frightened for the first instant that I saw him. From then on, I was exhilarated that he...would even want to help me. And even though Crawford kept telling me that I shouldn't let Lecter get inside my mind, I did. I trusted him with my life, I had to to get his cooperation. And I am absolutely certain that Lecter will not harm me."

"You have nerves of steel," Scully said. "God, Lecter would scare the crap out of me."

"That's the thing, though, Dana. If he knows he doesn't scare you, he won't go after you. And that is why he will leave me alone."

"You're not the least bit afraid? Even now that he's escaped?"

"No." Starling took a drink of her cola. "No, I'm not afraid. I think Lecter would consider it rude to come after me."

Scully rested her chin on her fist. "How did he do it?"

"When one of the cops handcuffed him to the bars of the makeshift cell they'd set up in the courthouse, Lecter picked the cuffs with part of a pen that he'd stolen from Dr. Chilton, and hidden in his mouth somehow. He cuffed Boyle to the cage, and...disfigured his face. Then he killed Pembry, cut the skin off of his face, and placed it over his own, pretending that he was the wounded Pembry. Pembry's body was dropped down the elevator shaft dressed in Lecter's clothes, and Boyle was... displayed. In quite a gruesome manner. The EMTs had no clue that it was Lecter in Pembry's clothes, and skin. In the ambulance, Lecter killed the whole crew, parked it in the Memphis airport. He killed a tourist, then took his clothes and money."

"No one knows where he is."

"He could be anywhere, Dana. More than likely, he's left the Eastern part of states, if not the country."

"I don't doubt it," Scully said. The waiter appeared behind her shoulder and set down her plate. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," he replied, setting down Starling's dinner. "Can I get you anything else? More soda?"

"I'm fine," Starling said. "Dana?"

"No, thanks," Scully said, settling her napkin on her lap. "Most people would have lost their appetite with our conversation, but I'm starving."

Starling laughed. "Me, too. Danish and coffee just doesn't cut it for a meal."

They made small talk as they ate, discussing various aspects of Starling's training. Scully found she could commiserate fully, having only graduated the Academy in the spring. They discussed college, med school, their home towns. Or lack of, in Scully's case, since she'd moved around so much.

After coffee, they drove back to Scully's apartment. She looked at Starling in the dimness of the car. "Do you want to come in for another cup of coffee?" she asked.

"Sure. Two cups won't keep me awake all night." Starling turned off the car, and removed the key from the ignition. Her keychains jangled as they hit against each other before she wrapped her hand around them.

She followed Scully up the walk, and into the building. They hung their coats on the coatrack, and Scully went into the kitchen to make the coffee. Starling followed, and took two cups from their hooks under the cupboard, and set them on the table. They brushed against each other as Scully went to take the cream from the refridgerator.

"Sorry," Scully murmured.

Starling looked into her eyes. "Don't be, Dana." She slid her hand around Scully's waist.

"Clarice..." Scully whispered, swallowing audibly. She didn't move away. Her tounge darted out to moisten her lips.

"I want to kiss you," Starling said softly.

She watched Scully swallow again. "I...I don't know what to say...Clarice, I..."

"Can I kiss you?" Starling asked, stepping closer. She could almost hear Scully's heart pounding, and she could see the vein throbbing at her throat. "Dana..." She moved her thumb against Scully's side, rubbing gently. "If you don't like women, tell me now before I make an even bigger fool of myself."

That got a smile out of Scully, and she slid her hand around Starling's waist. "I never have before...but you're different...I feel like I'm going to faint, I can hardly breathe."

"So does that mean you'll let me kiss you?"

"Please," Scully whispered.

Starling smiled slowly, and brushed her lips gently across the other woman's. Scully's hand tightened on her waist in gentle reproach, and Starling took it as an invitation to kiss Scully hard, and felt her mouth open under the assault. Tongues met, and tangled for a moment, and then Starling released her hold on the older woman. "Was that okay?" she asked softly.

"That was more than okay," Scully replied, wrapping her other arm around Starling's waist. "But can we try it again? And not in the kitchen this time? It's cozy, but the counter isn't the most comfortable thing to lean against."

Starling chuckled, the rich sound vibrating through Scully. "I will go anywhere, so long as I can touch you."

Scully took a hesitant breath, then made up her mind, and grabbed Starling's hand. "If I told you I wanted to go into the bedroom right now... would you make love to me?"

Starling's reply was immediate, her voice low and husky. "God, yes. I would get down on my knees right here."

"Then I want you to make love to me." Scully's own knees had gone weak at Starling's statement.

Starling brought her mouth close to Scully's ear, a seductive smile on her face. "Go get undressed...I'll be in there in a minute."

Scully squeezed her hand, and went into the bedroom. Starling took one of the dark pink tulips from the vase on the table, and blotted the end on a towel. She then followed Scully from the kitchen, hiding the flower behind her back. Scully had her back to the doorway, and she was almost finished undressing. Starling watched as a pair of navy silk panties slid down creamy-white legs to the floor, and Scully pulled back the coverlet on her bed. Turning, she saw Starling standing in the doorway, and a faint blush rose to her cheeks. A smile curved her lips as she slid underneath the sheet. "You coming?"

Starling nodded, and crossed the room slowly. "Close your eyes."

Scully did, and Starling set the flower on the nightstand so that she could undress. Her clothes soon tossed over a chair with Scully's, she sat down on the edge of the bed, and picked up the tulip again. "Keep your eyes closed," she said, a touch of teasing in her voice.

Scully nodded slightly, her cheeks flushed in the dim light of the room. Starling laid the flower against her forehead, and began a slow descent. Down the forehead, over the bridge and up the incline of Scully's nose. She paused with the flower resting it's petals on Scully's upper lip. "Smell that?" she whispered, and Scully nodded in reply, a smile touching her face as she recognized the scent. The flower continued it's slow journey over her lips and chin, dropping to nestle for a moment in the hollow of her throat. Starling bent down and placed a kiss on the pale flesh beside it, and felt Scully's pulse jump against her lips. At the same time, she laid a hand on Scully's bare thigh, lightly, without pressure. The tulip continued, into the valley between Scully's breasts, the rosy tips of which hardened as the flower was dragged over sensitive flesh, down to pause against her navel. Her thighs relaxed of their own accord, and she parted her legs almost unconsciously. Starling slipped the hand which had been resting on Scully's leg down to trace light patterns on the soft skin of her inner thigh. A soft moan of protest issued from Scully's lips as Starling let her wandering fingers come close to her core, then dance away again.

Starling decided to leave the tulip in it's current place on Scully's abdomen as she slid her other hand down to join the one caressing Scully's thigh. Gently she spread the other woman's legs apart as her fingers came closer and closer to their eventual destination. Another moan slipped past Scully's lips, and she opened her eyes. "Clari..."

"Yes, Dana?" Starling asked, smiling up into Scully's aroused gaze.

"Touch me. Please..." the last word became unintelligible sound as she watched Starling lower her head, then felt a hot breath on her clitoris, and dissolved into a pool of desire as Starling's tongue found her clit. "Oh...God, Clarice..."

Hands held her hips down as she tried uncontrollably to make contact with more of Starling's mouth. Through heavy lidded eyes she looked down at the woman who lay between ler legs, her hair caressing Scully's lower body with it's silken strands. One of the hands released it's hold on her hip, and reached upward to find Scully's breast. She covered the gently kneading hand with her own, her eyes slipping shut as Starling brought her closer, closer, closer...

And everything exploded into a brilliant shower of sparks, hands clentching together as her body trembled, held close in Starling's arms, the other woman's body pressing against her own as she shook with the force of the orgasm...

Slowly, Scully regained control, and she opened her eyes to meet Starling's, as the other woman hovered above her in joy. "My God, Clari, I... we...I never..."

"You never imagined it would be like that?" Starling finished for her, her lips curving into a knowing grin.

Scully nodded, matching Starling's smile, then pulling her down to place a tender kiss on her neck. "How can I repay you for that...extremely pleasurable experience?"

The not-quite-angelic smile on Starling's face grew broader. "Don't worry, Dana, I can think of a few ways..."

---end---