To be clear, I have no issue with Mulder being portrayed as very competent as he clearly is in canon. I think during my first read I had a harder time swallowing Scully's sudden utter swoon for him. My second reading I realized it was early seasons (more when I could imagine her swooning for him) and it all came together for me. Yes, of course Scully can't ski! The navy doesn't exactly pay a lot for a man with a family of 4 kids, and they weren't likely to be living far from the coast in a mountainous ski area. That part I bought perfectly.

Also, I too like the stories where Scully makes the first move and where there are communication errors. So good! 😊

The version I read was not the journal, but her website I think