Title: Mulder and Scully-The Scenic Route *Volume 3
"A CHANCE FOR SNOW"
Author: AllthingsX
Category: V
Archive: Yes-But ASK me FIRST!!
Keywords:MSR
Rating:PG-13/R
Summary: A Christmas story-Mulder and Scully prepare for the holidays, and test
the waters of their new relationship.
Disclaimer: Don't own em, not making any $$ from this. Mulder, Scully, and any
future mentioned characters from the show belong to CC and 1013, 20th Century
Fox.
Spoilers: Maybe several episodes by short reference only.

APARTMENT OF DANA SCULLY-Sometime in December.....
	November. Thanksgiving. December. Christmas. It seemed that only yesterday
they had been enduring extreme temperatures from an El Nino summer. The memory
of sitting in an FBI issue sedan, with the air conditioner on the blink was
still fresh in her mind, although it was now dipping below 40 degrees in D.C..
There were frost warnings issued for the next few days, and she shivered under
the chenille blanket as she listened to the forecast. The local meteorologist
didn't give her much hope for a white Christmas. The weather had been very
unpredictable lately. Although the temperatures were falling slightly, they
were due to rise again due to a warm front moving in.

	Warm. She smiled to herself at the thoughts that passed through her mind at
the mention of the word. Warm. Mulder. The words now went together more easily
than she thought. They fit. She had thought many times of spending the holidays
with someone special. That someone, however, was never supposed to be her
partner.

	Dana Scully had fallen, and fallen HARD. It had been a gradual fall, almost
continuous, for nearly six years. The realization of just how deeply her
feelings ran for him had come to light one night, shortly after a meeting with
OPR. It had been brief, but to the point. STOP STRAYING OUT OF THE PERIMETERS
OF ASSIGNED DUTIES-or suffer the consequences-dismissal from the bureau. She
had been called before the review board separately from Mulder, she guessed, to
make it clear to each agent what his/her violations had been. There were no
negotiations, no arguments. Just orders to be carried out to the letter. 

	The drive home from the meeting had given her a chance to mull over what she
might do if she broke the rules yet again-'they always need qualified
pathologists at Quantico' she told herself. It was just a distraction in her
mind to keep her from facing the real concern in being terminated:Losing
Mulder. Being separated from him. No longer having him as a partner. No chance
to......To what?? She hadn't let herself go there, too dangerous.

	As she sat there on the couch sipping the cammomile tea, she closed her eyes
at the memory of how that fateful night had ended up. It had been the LAST
thing she ever expected, but the thing she had most wanted to happen for 5
years. She had gone back to her apartment to find him waiting at her door. He
was sitting against the wall with his elbows resting on his knees. His face was
hidden in his hands. He knew she was there without even looking up. She had led
him into her home, into her heart, and into her bed. It had been a delicate
event, taking time to savor every sight, every sound, every smell, and every
detail of this most monumental occasion. She had felt, with her mind and body,
emotions she didn't know existed.

	That first night had led to many similar nights, in each other's arms, hiding
from the world outside. It had revealed feelings and words never before brought
to light......words that still had not been spoken.

	It was now almost 4:30 in the afternoon, and Scully was waiting for Mulder to
come and pick her up. She had agreed to go with him to pick out a Christmas
tree. Every year before this, she had put up her modest table-top version of
the famous symbol of the holiday. But this year, however, Mulder had poked and
prodded her until she caved in and agreed to go and pick out a real tree from a
local lot. She still couldn't believe that she had agreed to this. Tromping
around among a bunch of pre-cut spruce trees in sub-40s weather wasn't exactly
what she classified as a "good time". Then again, she had never done this with
Mulder either. As long as she was with him, she figured that anything could be
enjoyable.

	As she was lost in her thoughts of how the night might end, she was startled
back to the present by a key turning in the door.

	"Well, just come right in." Scully said as she turned to see Mulder stumbling
in the door.

	"Wha..Oh-sorry Scully." "I just thought that since I had a key, and I HAVE
seen you in, and out of, your underwear, I didn't think you'd mind." A sly grin
spread across his face.

	"Very funny, Mulder" " What if I had been in the bedroom and didn't hear you
come in. What if I  pulled my gun on you  before I saw who it was?"

	"Well, then I would just have to pull out MY "gun" and use it on YOU. Another
smile. "You haven't seemed to mind my weapon thus far." Yet another
smile-no,grin. And a mischievous on at that.

He fumbled with his key in the door, and put the bags he was juggling on the
table and crossed over to where she was seated on the couch. He leaned down so
that their eyes were but inches apart-"I missed you." With that, he leaned
further and felt her hands move around his neck as the warmth of her soft lips
melted what was left of the chill from being outside only moments before. It
was surreal, how this was now a familiar act them-as familiar as breathing. He
sank down next to her, wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to him.
She responded with a contented moan as his tongue found a sensitive spot inside
her mouth. Their bodies radiated heat between them, sparking a renewed energy
that permeated the room.

	Hands moving, caressing, massaging, manipulating. Eliciting sounds which
fueled their growing passion. The kiss became impossibly deeper-they took in
each others' breath, pulses synchronizing, heart beats matching in time.
Mulder's hands had managed to open her blouse, and were softly teasing her
breast through the silk bra she wore. One hand was woven into her fiery auburn
tresses, slanting her head to give better access to her mouth. He felt as if he
was moving through her, becoming meshed within her pores.

	Scully  felt the touch of his hand on her breast, and moaned loudly in spite
of herself. She had become quite uninhibited over the course of their new-found
intimacy. It was one area of her closely guarded life that she had no
difficulty giving up to another person. To Mulder. Her partner. Her lover. She
traced the length of his torso with her hands, stopping to insert two fingers
between the buttons of his shirt. Her nails drug slowly across the firm muscles
of his abdomen, and he flinched at the sensation. She smiled into against his
mouth as she surprised them both.....

	Breaking the kiss without warning, she left Mulder stunned. "Hey, G-Man-if we
are going to get this famous tree, we had better get moving." She smiled at the
look on his face. His eyes were heavy with desire, and his mouth was still
agape as he tried to snap out of the spell of her kiss. She reached up and
wiped away moisture from his chin. 

	"Scully.....Oh my God." "Warn a guy before you do that next time, okay?"
Mulder responded, still short of breath.

	"Next time, huh? 'A' guy?" she giggled.

	"You know what I mean." He snipped as he tried to hide the reason for his
chastising her. It was to no avail, she glanced down to the crotch of his
jeans, noticing that there seemed to be a pressing matter at hand.

	"The cold weather should take care of that, I think." "Come on tough guy,
let's go!" With that, she extricated herself from his arms and readjusted her 
clothes. She grabbed her coat and cast him a questioning glance.

	'I can't believe she just did that' Mulder thought to himself. With a groan of
protest and unfilled "tension", he slowly rose from the warmth of the couch and
gathered his own coat and gloves.
	"Ok-fine. Let's get this over with so we can get back to the more "pressing"
issues of the holidays." He smiled at her and dipped his head for a quick kiss
as he passed her and disappeared down the hall.

	'This aught to be fun' she thought as she locked the door behind her.

END PART I


Title: A Chance For Snow Pt II
AllthingsX <allthingsx@aol.com>




	Scully smiled to herself as she dropped her keys into her pocket, heading for
the front door of her building to meet Mulder on the front steps. She knew that
she had gotten him all worked up, and had left him to his own devices to hide
his new state of arousal. She smiled at her innate ability to do such things to
him, to invoke such a response in another human being by just touching. Ok,
well, maybe not "just" touching. 

	Mulder was standing at the edge of the steps, shivering as he hopped up and
down a bit in an attempt to generate a little body heat. The temperature change
between Scully's living room and the outside was drastic. This small point did,
however, help with the other "pressing" issue that had arisen just moments ago.

	He turned to see her coming out onto the landing with a slight smile spreading
over face as she glanced in the general direction of his midsection. The smile
faded quickly as she noticed the flagpole of her success bore no banner
anymore. It was HIS turn to smile. "Sorry, Scully. I'm just not in the mood
anymore." A broad grin took over his features.

	"Oh, I see. Well, don't expect any reenactment later tonight," she returned
with a disappointed stare.

	"I don't expect anything, dear." He continued his smiling as he descended the
steps toward the car.

	The afternoon had quickly passed into early evening, as they drove through
some older neighborhoods that were famous for their display of Christmas lights
for the holiday season. As they drove without conversation, just soft music
coming from the radio, a warm feeling settled inside both of them. Scully found
herself sliding closer to Mulder and slipping her hand onto his thigh. He
acknowledged the gesture by resting his right hand over hers. She turned her
palm up to inter-lock her fingers with his and squeezed as she felt a familiar
warmth travel from her fingertips to her heart.

	After casing the last section of town displaying a wealth of tacky lawn
decorations resembling one St. Nick, Mulder decided that it was time to go and
find the tree he had talked his partner into acquiring. She was lost in her
thoughts as he spotted a large lot containing endless rows of spruce and fur
trees. 'This is too perfect' he thought to himself.

	Scully was startled out of her daze as Mulder turned sharply into a driveway
framed by a large well-lit sign that read, "TINSEL TOWN". "Oh please, you can't
be serious?" she asked as she looked over at a beaming Fox Mulder.

	"What do you mean by that?" he asked in a feigned 'hurt' tone of voice.

	"Mulder, really." " 'Tinsel Town'?. That is so, so ,......

	"Oh Scully, lighten up and go with it." "It is Christmas for goodness sake."

	"Mulder, will you ever grow up?" she asked with a half smile on her delicate
features.

	"God, I hope not!" he answered as he exited the car.

	Scully  began to gather her gloves and scarf and was reaching for the door
handle when the door suddenly flew open. "Madam...." Mulder was standing there
offering his hand to help her out of the car.

	She smiled in spite of herself, and accepted with a poorly disguised giggle
escaping from her lips. She didn't have time to say anything before she felt
herself being pressed against the side of the vehicle as Mulder's body moved
heavily against her own. He pinned her lightly with his warmth as he leaned to
cover her mouth with his, his lips providing warmth against the chilled
December air. She felt his tongue slipping between her lips, and moving inside
her mouth as his arms encircled her body, pulling her deeper into the kiss.

Breathless, she pulled back for an instant. "Mulder.....what was that for?" she
asked, rather shocked at this public display of affection.

	"Oh, nothing in particular. Just want to make sure we stay warm." He was
smiling again. Grabbing her by the hand, he pulled her toward the maze of
trees, "Come on Scully, let's go."

	Scully was still a bit flushed from the kiss, and she felt warm all over as
they headed into the 'forest'. There were  countless trees to choose from-tall
ones, skinny ones, short ones, fat ones. Every possible shape and size, and
Mulder was determined to find just the right one.

	Many people noticed the handsome couple moving casually through the rows of
trees. They were a striking pair, he with his tall stature complimented by his
dark hair and eyes-she with her flaming auburn tresses framing a delicate,
beautiful face centered with incredible blue eyes. They laughed as they walked
arm in arm seeming to notice nothing but each other. "Newly weds", many of
their admirers thought.

	It had been nearly two hours, they had gone through the "how about this
one-not that one is not quite right" routine several  times. After noticing the
time, they had decided to split up to make their efforts more productive.
Scully had walked alone, noticing the families, the couples, sharing a ritual
that she had so long missed being a part of. Since leaving home, she had not
been to pick out a tree with anyone-'how odd, and how sad' she thought to
herself. She stopped in her path, and thought of how empty she had felt in
Christmases past, and how absolutely full her heart was this year. Mulder. She
smiled as his image crossed her mind. Just as that vision took over, she looked
to her left and spotted the most specacular tree she had seen thus far. She
admired it as she slowly moved toward it...........

	Mulder had engaged in a snowball fight with two young boys who had ambushed
him a  couple of rows back, and now was sopping wet from the flakes that had
begun to fall, as well as the remnants of the ammunition that had landed inside
his coat collar. He knew that Scully would be getting cold and she would want
to head home soon, so he began searching in earnest to find her the perfect
Christmas tree. He had nearly given up when a match to his mind's "perfect"tree
caught his eye several yards ahead. He moved toward it with a determined pace.

	Scully fingered the branches as she gave the tree a final once over. She
turned to move around it to see it from every angle, when, 'WHAM!' 

	"Hey!" "Could you watch where you're going, you nearly......" Her statement
was cut short as she wheeled on her assailant. 

	"Sorry lady, I was just trying to buy this tree."

	"Well, I'm sorry, but this particular tree is mine."

	"Oh?" "I don't see your name on it anywhere."

	"Well, if you would open your eyes, you would see that is says G-Woman' right
there on the tag." She smiled victoriously as her opponent relented. 

	"Have it your way, but good luck getting that thing to your car by yourself."
The man said this bluntly, and turned to walk away.

	"Mulder!" "Don't you dare leave me here to drag this thing by myself!" she
snapped. 

	Mulder turned to find a beatiful sight before him. Scully was standing 
between himself and a row of light bulbs strung to light the tree lot, and in
that instant, he saw an angel smiling back at him. Her petite figure was slight
next to the massive trees, and her face was framed by a halo of glowing light
that gave her hair the appearance of dancing flames surrounding her face. His
breath caught in his chest as a feeling of complete and utter love swept over
him. He felt a tear sting against the cold of the night, and his breath was
making quick, dense clouds of steam in front of his face. He had to touch her.
Too many times since their ordeal, before they had become lovers, and after
they returned to D.C, he had felt the overwhelming need to touch her, feel her.
To know that she was there. Sometimes during his worst nightmares, all he had
to do was reach out and touch her, and the torture would stop. She had an
effect on him that he couldn't explain. He didn't want to explain it, he didn't
even need to understand it. He simply needed HER. Nothing else.

	Mulder walked to Scully, stopping only before his body touched hers. He looked
into eyes, and saw everything that mattered to him all at once. He leaned
forward, his arms opened in a welcoming gesture. Scully walked one step
forward, and was in his embrace. She knew of his need to be close to her. She
had the same need toward him. Maybe her reasons were not the same as his,
exactly, but she felt the need, just the same. As they stood there, holding
each other and moving slightly back and forth, Scully felt a single tear roll
down her cheek as she thanked God for bringing Mulder into her life.

`	"Scully, I...I....." his voice trailed off, not able to complete the
sentence.

	"I know Mulder," was all she said. She squeezed him tighter, and felt his lips
come to rest on top of her head. He rubbed his hands up and down her back,
trying to convey his feelings through his touch. After several minutes, he
moved back far enough to look at her again, and once again, he leaned down to
kiss her. He met her lips softly, and moved his mouth along her jaw line before
finding her lips again. The kiss began slowly, intended to be innocent and
quick. Before long, however, there hands were wondering, touching, grasping.
Scully's hands had moved under the warmth of Mulder's trench coat, and had
found their favorite place resting on his chest, moving her fingers in between
the buttons of his dress shirt. Mulder hands also moved underneath Scully's
coat, his hands moving over her torso, coming to rest just above her buttocks.
She moaned slightly as he pulled her  to him and caressed the small swell of
her left cheek.

	"Hu-hummm..." "Can I help you folks with anything?" A foreign voice startled
the two back to reality. 

	Completely embarrassed, Scully looked at the gentleman for an instant, and
then retreated behind Mulder to wipe the moisture from their kiss from her
mouth. "Ummm, yeah, actually. We'll take this one. Right here." Mulder said to
the attendant.

	"Ok, then. I'll just meet you up at the front, and we can get this loaded onto
your vehicle." The older man was very nice, and seemed to sense Scully's state
of embarrassment. "I'll just see you folks up there" He walked off, the tree in
tow.

	"Oh my God, Mulder. I can't believe this!" Scully said, still blushing.

	"What, Scully?" "Don't you think he's ever seen two people........" He didn't
finish his sentence.

	"Mulder, he caught us, he saw us....."

	"Kissing, Scully. It's ok, I'm sure he has seen that before." Mulder smiled at
the reaction he was getting from Scully. She really didn't like being out of
control of a situation. Well, maybe she didn't mind in SOME situations. He
smiled to himself again at this thought.

	They walked back toward the front of the lot slowly, letting Scully dissolve
some of the embarrassment from her system. When they got to the register, the
attendant was just putting their tree on the "needle shaker" to remove any dead
needles. It vibrated and shook violently as the tree trembled in its grasp.
Mulder walked up behind Scully and opened his coat so he could wrap her in it
with him until they were ready to go. "OOOO, Scully, that machine could be a
lot of fun, ya think?" He grinned as he brought his mouth to her ear, and took
the soft lobe into his mouth.

	"Very funny, Mulder. Not here!" She pulled away from his suckling mouth. "But,
we always have the dryer and the spin cycle at my place." She turned in his
embrace to wrap her arms around his waist. She cast him a promising smile as
she stood on her tip toes to kiss him softly on the mouth. 

	" I have a lot of laundry to do Scully." "We may be up all night!" He smiled
again as she muffled her laugh in his chest. They payed and got the tree tied
to the roof of the car, and headed home. 

	As they drove off, "Man, I wish you had more trees like that to choose from."
Another customer had noticed the young couple throughout their browsing. "I
could use one of those myself." He smiled again.

	Somewhere in the cold December night, two people were beginning a new
tradition and ritual together....and all was right with the world.



End Part II


A Chance For Snow Pt III
Author: AllthingsX <allthingsx@aol.com>


	The ride home was spent in comfortable silence, both Mulder and 
Scully enjoying the unspoken feeling of contentment as the promise of an
unforgettable holiday was peeking over the horizon. The newness of their
recently developed intimacy was still a source of unending question and
speculation for each of them. Mulder was attempting to rationalize the fact
that this incredible woman, with whom he had spent the last several years of
his life, had chosen HIM. She had chosen him in so many ways-..She had chosen
him many times when leaving the X-Files had been an option. She had chosen him
in times of personal crisis, even over her own family. And now, she had chosen
him in the most intimate and personal way she could-She had chosen him to share
her life, her heart, and her bed.

	Mulder moved his hand slowly over the short distance on the seat between them,
and placed his hand over her own. He looked over to see her peering back at
him, her full lips turned up slightly in a half smile, as if she had heard his
every thought. His heart swelled in his chest as he realized that they could
convey such a volume of emotion with a simple touch. She took his breath away.
He could not remember such a feeling of completeness and utter happiness. She
had become his life, and his partner in every way possible.

	Scully turned back to the window, looking out into the night at nothing in
particular, her hand wrapped tightly in the strength of Mulder's. She had
turned away from him as to hide the sudden swell of tears that had found its
way to the edge of her eyes. She had not wanted him to misinterpret the emotion
that had crept its way into her heart at that moment. 

	She tried to tell herself that she was deserving of this man at her side, that
she had earned the right to be happy and to share her life with someone such as
Mulder. If asked 5 years ago, she would have never believed that she would be
at this point in her personal life. Involved in an intimate relationship with a
man-her PARTNER, no less. That was the kicker. Mulder. She had never even
considered that they would become involved outside of the parameters of their
professional relationship. Well, maybe she had thought about it once in a
while. Now, she could not imagine being with anyone else. He completed her in
every way. 

	Scully felt a soft squeeze on her hand as she realized that she had made a
sniffling noise while lost in thought.

	"Hey..you okay?" Mulder asked with concern.

	"Wha-" "Oh, yeah, I'm fine," she answered.

	"You sure?" " Is there anything I  can do?" he asked again.

	"No, Mulder." "Really, I'm fine. You do enough by just being here." She smiled
at him as she brought her other hand to rest atop the one enveloping her own.

	Mulder didn't know what to say. He wasn't sure that words were what Scully
wanted anyway. So he just held her hand, and caressed her skin with his thumb.
She returned his action by squeezing  his hand reassuringly.

	Suddenly, the ride was over, and the car came to a stop at the curb in front
of Scully's building. They unloaded the tree, with only a few moments of
exasperation, they hauled it into the living room and set it up in front of the
bay window facing the street. And then they saw it-. The tree was bent at the
top, with at least eight to ten inches hunched over in protest to the low
ceiling. Mulder looked like a little boy whose sailboat sunk in the large pool
in which it had been floating.

"Mulder, it's ok, we can just trim it a little. It will be fine" Scully was
stifling a laugh when she noticed that Mulder had caught sight of her repressed
grin.
	"Mulder, I'm sorry. It's just that the look on your face when-." She could
hold it in no longer, she entered into a fit of hysterical giggling. 

	"Oh, laugh it up Scully." " I tried to do something for you, for us, and look
at this!" He made a sweeping motion with his hand toward the strained tree
before him. "It looks like we dragged the Rockafellar Center Christmas tree
into your living room!" 

	"Mul-..Mulder-..It's-." She could not stop laughing. It seemed so fitting that
something like this would happen. Their first Christmas "together", and it
would be anything but dull!

	Noticing her lack of sympathy for his point of view, Mulder decided to play on
this moment for his own benefit. He took in a deep breath, and moved quickly to
the couch. He sank down into the cushions with an exasperated sigh, just in
time to see that Scully had noticed his act of self punishment. She quickly
regained her composure, and walked toward the couch to join him.

	He let her get almost to where he was sitting, and before she knew what was
happening, he had reached up and captured her wrists in his hands, and pulled
her down on top of him as he lay back to stretch out full length, pulling them
together and encircling her in his arms.

	Scully let out a gasp as she landed hard on top of Mulder when they impacted
the couch. She started to open her mouth, but noticing the look in his eyes,
she decided to speak with no words. She realized quickly the purpose of his
put-on pouting, and she had no objections with his motives. As she looked into
his hazel-green eyes, she saw a warmth and hunger there that caused a surge of
heat to radiate through her body. Her hands came out from between them to rest
on the cushion on either side of his face. She smiled down at him, letting him
know that this was okay. 

	She felt his arms tighten around her as he brought his left knee up and moved
his right leg to the edge of the couch, so that she sank comfortably between
his legs. He was warm and inviting, and she felt her pulse quicken at the
feeling that now occupied her body. She leaned down slowly, bringing her lips
but a whisper from his own, and lightly brushing her nose back and forth
against his. She then let her lips graze his, now moist and waiting for the
smallest movement from her to begin their magic-.

	Scully lowered her mouth to his, moving her warm wet tongue across his full
lower lip. She let out a groan of pleasure as she felt his hands move up and
down her back, as she covered his mouth with her own, and snaked her tongue
between his lips. The warmth of  the kiss radiated a line of heat from her
lips, down her body, settling just south of her belly button. She moved against
his body as his exploring hands moved knowingly over her back, caressing her as
they moved beneath her sweater. He began to knead the silky flesh at the small
of her back, all the while pulling her against his body and his ever-growing
arousal. She moved enticingly against him, as his mouth left hers only to move
over her jawline, finding her ear lobe and taking it in between his teeth.

	Mulder felt himself tighten as Scully moaned in response to his suckling her
lower ear. His mouth moved deftly down her slender neck, taking hold of the
skin at the junction of her neck and collar bone. He delayed his movements so
he could taste her while his mouth settled on her skin. 

	"Mulderrrr-.." Scully whispered, barely audible.

	She sucked in a breath as he bit down slightly before he continued his assault
of her now burning flesh. His mouth once again found hers with a renewed hunger
and intent. Their tongues dualed in a primal dance of desire and passion, and
their bodies became a tangle of limbs and muffled words.

	Scully felt herself dissolving into this man. This man who affected her like
no other human being ever had. None of her previous lovers had ever elicited
this kind of pleasure and uninhibited reaction to their actions. She was
overwhelmed with gratitude for whatever force saw fit to bring him into her
life.
She faintly heard Bing Crosby's voice in the background, " Have yourself a
merry little Christmas-."  

	With a smile against Mulder's assaulting lips, she thought to herself, "Merry
Christmas indeed."


End Part III


A Chance For Snow Pt IV (last of a 4 part story)
AllthingsX <allthingsx@aol.com>


	The night was moving into the late hour as Mulder and Scully untangled
themselves from one another, and had almost finished decorating the tree they
had wrestled into her apartment. The only thing left was the angel to be 
placed on the top. Scully brought a small step stool from the kitchen to make
reaching the top of the tree a bit easier. Mulder was picking bits of fuzz and
lint from the angel's hair and robe. Scully paused to watch him, and she was
touched by the tenderness with which he treated the delicate figure. He had
given it to her as a gift, and he had explained how it had been on his
families' tree for years.

	Scully knew that since his sister's abduction, Mulder had not had many happy
Christmases, if any at all. She hurt for him because of this. Her family had
always been so close during the holidays, and she could not imagine the degree
of loneliness that Mulder must have felt all those years. Tears stung her eyes
as she blinked to bring herself out of the daze caused by the thought of him
being alone on this most important of holidays.

	"Hey, are you going to put her on the tree, or are you just going to fondle
her all night??" Scully asked, hoping he wouldn't notice her momentary lapse of
Christmas cheer.

	"Huh?" "Oh, yeah, I was just cleaning her up a bit. She hasn't seen the light
of day for I don't know how long." Mulder replied.

	"Well, here's the stool, it'll make it easier."

	"I don't need a stool, I can just lift you up." Mulder smiled.

	"Lift me up?" "Are you crazy?" Scully looked at him with her famous
one-eyebrow-cocked smirk.

	"Oh, come on Scully." "I can hold you up so that YOU can put her up there. It
is your first real tree in a long time, and I think you should be the one to
finish it." He had a completely deliberate "please" look on his face.

	She let out a long sigh as her cheeks puffed out with the exaggerated effort.
"Ok, Mulder. Whatever." "But I warn  you-nothing funny!"

	"ME?" "Funny?" "Never." She thought his face might split with the enormity of
the grin that spread across his face.

	She moved the short distance to where he was standing, angel in hand. She
reached for it, but was caught short when he pulled his hand back and put it
behind his back. She shot him a look of warning, and he just stood in front of
her, looking into her eyes in silent conversation. 

	As if she could hear him with only her heart, she moved her hands around his
waist, and pulled him close. She buried her face in his chest, and took in his
scent again as she felt his arms come around her to return the gesture. They
stood like this for a short time, and when they parted to look at one another
again, Mulder  gave a slight smile and held the angel out to Scully.

	She glanced at the figure in his strong hand, and realized how similar she was
to this icon of the holiday. She, too, was often kept from harm by Mulder's
hand, and like the angel, she knew she was safe when wrapped in the cloak of
his strength. She looked into his eyes again, and stood up on tip-toe to kiss
him softly on the lips. She took the golden-haired maiden from him, and turned
to face the newly decorated tree.

	"Ready?" Mulder asked.

	"Ready," she answered. She felt Mulder's arms enfold her body once more, and
he stooped to wrap them around her just below her hips. He stood slowly, taking
her to eye level with the destination of the robed angel, and she reached over
carefully to place her at the top of the spruce that now called her living room
"home". When she was finished, she rested her hands on Mulder's arms at her
sides, and he gently lowered her to the floor. Without turning around to face
him, she reached and brought his arms around her like a warming shawl, and
leaned her head back against the gentle rise and fall of his chest.

	Mulder kissed the top of her auburn-clad head, and then rested his chin at the
crown. He closed his eyes as a warmth coursed through him at the awareness of
how absolutely happy he was at this moment. He never imagined being so content
with another human being. He had never played with the idea of having a
relationship that was satisfying in every way possible. He had found all of his
previously lost ideals in this one woman. In Scully.

	Mulder had gotten a bottle of wine from the kitchen, and Scully had plugged in
the lights from the tree. The apartment was filled with a warm glow that
enhanced the mood set by the gesture and acceptance of a gift so rarely offered
from both sides. Mulder had given Scully an important part of his family
history, and she had taken it without hesitation, knowing that it was somehow
right to start new family traditions. Scully had offered Mulder her heart, and
he had accepted this gesture knowing how very difficult it was for Dana
Katherine Scully to give any part of herself to anyone. He had been more
touched by this than he could ever tell her, so he decided that he would simply
SHOW her.

	There were few words spoken this night, as more was communicated through
touching, feeling, caressing, and just knowing. These two utterly complex souls
had found each other at the time fate had drawn the line. 

	Spooned together on Scully's couch, watching the faint twinkle of lights from
the tree joined by the tender dancing flames of candles around the room, Mulder
and Scully had no words that needed to be spoken. The wine almost gone, and the
candles burning low, Scully closed her eyes as she reveled in the feeling of
being surrounded by Mulder. He was leaning slightly against the end of the
couch, with one leg bent against the back. His other leg was resting along the
edge of the cushions as he cradled her petite form between his legs. He had
curled his lower leg over hers, thus enveloping her as they listened to the
silence created by the peace that had settled in both their hearts.

	Mulder felt her stir, and started to take his arms away from her shoulders.
"Don't. Don't move, please Mulder." "Just stay like this with me." Scully said
out of the silence.

	"I felt you move, and I just thought that you might need for me to give you
some space." Mulder sounded unaffected by the assumption. 

	"I don't want you to give me space, Mulder." "I was just enjoying the feeling
of having you around me."

	With that, Mulder pulled her even closer, and once again kissed the top of her
head. He breathed in the clean, winter-laden scent of her as she squeezed his
arms tighter around herself. Then he felt something different. Scully began to
move AGAINST him, moving her back into his groin. She pushed his hands down her
body until they rested just below her belly button. She took one hand  in her
own and moved it underneath her sweater, and brought it to rest just under her
left breast. Mulder sucked in a quick breath. He could see her nipples pressing
against the material of her sweater. He could suddenly feel a familiar heat
beginning to radiate from his center.

	Scully sensed that Mulder had noticed her change of mood. He was breathing a
bit faster now, his chest rising and falling with his effort to keep himself in
check. She did not want for him to keep himself in check. She wanted to make
him feel everything she was feeling, and she was succeeding.

	Without a word, Scully turned in Mulder's embrace, and came to rest sitting on
her heels with her legs folded underneath her between Mulder's thighs. She bent
forward, smiling at Mulder's expression of "I think I can, I think I can". She
ran her tongue across her lips to moisten them for the kiss she was about to
lay on him. He in turn wet his own lips as she moved closer. They met, moist
flesh joining in a slow, white-hot union that quickly broke into a ravenous
assault. Hunger traced the movements of their mouths as they opened onto one
another, tongues dancing and exploring. Scully moved her arms around his neck
as his arms encircled her waist. He pulled one hand back up to tangle it in her
hair as he pulled her mouth against his own. She let out a pleasured moan, and
this enflamed an awareness far below his mouth.

	They became lost in the kiss-reaching, grasping, licking, gasping. The need
for a breath was the only factor in the brief break in contact between their
devouring mouths. Scully felt her lips swollen and full against Mulder's 
actions, and she felt a welcome moisture pooling between her thighs. Her breath
was coming in quick, deep gasps as they continued on their journey to that
place. That beautiful place they had found together-that place of deafening
shouts, shooting stars, earth-moving tremors, and mind blowing rapture.

	It took no time for the clothes they had been wearing to find  a place on the
floor, piled randomly as the articles were removed in passion-ripped intervels.
Mulder was sitting upright, with Scully kneeling between his legs. His mouth
was making an intoxicating descent down her slender neck, sucking at her heated
flesh as he went. Small marks of red/purple pigment were left in his path. His
hands massaged the silken skin of her back, pulling her against him as his
mouth moved over her collar bone.

	Scully let out a loud groan, noticing her own state of arousal at what Mulder
was doing to her. She was completely lost in his movements, and his faint
murmurs of her name on his lips as he tasted and explored her body.

	Finally, Mulder had moved them so that Scully was beneath him, stretch full
length on the couch. He coaxed her thighs apart with his knee as he lowered
himself onto, and into her. 

	Whenever they made love, both were amazed at how they had learned to read the
other's signals. They almost always reached the point of ecstatic climax
together. It was never about the final destination, but about the journey to
reach that point together. Their minds and hearts became one, the rhythmic
beating of their hearts moving in sync. This night was no different. Well,
almost-.

	After recovering from their passionate efforts, they lay in contented silence,
wrapped in a warm blanket and watching the lights and tiny flames that set the
room aglow. It was so surreal. It was what every holiday song described- It was
a silent night, of quiet realization and recollection. It was a holy night,
celebrating the coming birthday of the unseen presence that had a large hand in
the destiny set out before them. It was a time for showing feelings and not
being afraid of the consequences, of putting your trust in the hands of
something higher than yourself. It was a night for remembering those who were
no longer with you in a physical sense, but who were with you in every moment
that you needed them to be. 

	For Scully and Mulder, it had become a night of new beginnings, releasing old
ghosts, and neutral ground. They were where fate had led them, with a gentle
push from those who knew the inevitable outcome before either of them had a
clue. It had taken nearly six long years, but they were finally right where
they had been going their entire lives-..They had found their way home.

	"Merry Christmas, Mulder."

	"Merry Christmas, Scully."


End part IV
I hope you enjoyed this story-I just wanted to write a happy "mood" piece for
our normally unrested agents. Thank  you for taking the time to read!

AllthingsX@aol.com
Angie