They are suddenly free to become closer to each other without blurring any lines that ‘shouldn’t’ be blurred. As long as he calls her scully he can tell himself he’s within the parameters of a professional relationship, even if he isn’t.
I still think he initially insisted on last names to create professional distance, from a pretty coworker that he may or may not have been attracted to. I think it's rather wonderful how respectful Mulder is of Scully, how he allows her the distance she needs, even when he wants more, as even I believe he does, much sooner than she wants it. That's why in Momento Mori, when he gets a chance to get into her head by reading her journal, he can't resist.
I know MSR people resist the idea that Scully is identified in Mulder's mind with his sister, and is an emotional substitute for her. But how could he not feel something like that, especially after she is abducted and then returned. I think there is much more going on under the surface than conventional romantic feelings between Mulder and Scully, in part because of that tension. This is an element that is missing between Sam and Dana. Sam can't feel that quasi-incestuous attraction for her Dana, she's the wrong gender-type. I don't believe the reader can know what is there influencing the attraction because Naraht hasn't really shown us much.
As I always feel a little bit overprotective of Scully (one of the perils of over-identification), both reading fic and watching the show, I felt rather irritated by both Bill and Sam in this story. Back off, I hear myself thinking. Just let it be. I don't see any sign here so far that Scully is physically attracted to Sam, except perhaps that last line, where she is noticing "the curve of her long, pajama-clad back." And even in the long run, pushing Scully faster than she is ready to go is not going to get a potential lover very far. There are so many barriers to that in canon, even leaving aside Scully's evident heterosexuality. Her religion is very strongly disapproving of homosexuality, for one thing. In this universe, I think it's more likely she'd end up with Skinner, who fits her "attraction to strong men" profile. Whatever she might eventually be to Dana, Sam is never going to be that.
Re: Still Not Quite a Gender Discussion, But We're Getting There.
I still think he initially insisted on last names to create professional distance, from a pretty coworker that he may or may not have been attracted to. I think it's rather wonderful how respectful Mulder is of Scully, how he allows her the distance she needs, even when he wants more, as even I believe he does, much sooner than she wants it. That's why in Momento Mori, when he gets a chance to get into her head by reading her journal, he can't resist.
I know MSR people resist the idea that Scully is identified in Mulder's mind with his sister, and is an emotional substitute for her. But how could he not feel something like that, especially after she is abducted and then returned. I think there is much more going on under the surface than conventional romantic feelings between Mulder and Scully, in part because of that tension. This is an element that is missing between Sam and Dana. Sam can't feel that quasi-incestuous attraction for her Dana, she's the wrong gender-type. I don't believe the reader can know what is there influencing the attraction because Naraht hasn't really shown us much.
As I always feel a little bit overprotective of Scully (one of the perils of over-identification), both reading fic and watching the show, I felt rather irritated by both Bill and Sam in this story. Back off, I hear myself thinking. Just let it be. I don't see any sign here so far that Scully is physically attracted to Sam, except perhaps that last line, where she is noticing "the curve of her long, pajama-clad back." And even in the long run, pushing Scully faster than she is ready to go is not going to get a potential lover very far. There are so many barriers to that in canon, even leaving aside Scully's evident heterosexuality. Her religion is very strongly disapproving of homosexuality, for one thing. In this universe, I think it's more likely she'd end up with Skinner, who fits her "attraction to strong men" profile. Whatever she might eventually be to Dana, Sam is never going to be that.