TITLE: And Finally

Author: Skinfull

Rating: PG 13

Classification: S/R

Spoilers: None (Nothing major only minor references to
episodes)

Keywords: MSR Shipper Alert so if you don't think it
should be so 
look away not today Disco Lady!!!

Summary: It's been a long time coming so after some
certain 
situations force them to confront their inner demons
it all comes 
to a head...

Feedback: skin_full@yahoo.ie  Always welcome, anything
to make me 
a better writer!

AND FINALLY 
by Skinfull
16-9-03

***

Scully watched the swat team that had hastily been
assembled 
follow Mulder with their eyes as he paced the confined
area in the 
bullpen.    He had removed his suit jacket before the
meeting and 
the blue/grey shirt he wore with the plain navy tie
only 
emphasised the muscles in his body as he stretched to
point out 
locations on the map, the thin material pulling across
his broad 
shoulders.  His voice was low but commanding as he
gave out points 
and orders to the different teams and she sat back and
listened to 
him.

"Okay we all know what we're up against.  Dawson is
armed, 
considered dangerous but let's not get into a
gunfight.  We want 
him alive and able to spend a long time in jail."
He let his words sink in with a measured silence and
even took a 
step closer to the teams. 
"Agent Williams is taking site charge so it's up to
you now," he 
continued stepping aside and taking a seat by Scully
as Williams 
stood up to the front and started barking out orders
and 
positions.  Soon afterwards the teams broke up leaving
Mulder and 
Scully alone in the bullpen to gather their notes.

"So where are we going?" she asked as she passed him
his jacket.
"I have a list of haunts that James Banner likes to
frequent."
"How long a list?"
"Eight places.  We need to get this statement before
the court 
will let us charge Dawson."
"Do you want to split up?" she asked as they walked
over to the 
elevator.
"Aww Scully I love working with you, but if you cant
handle the 
pace..." he replied, pushing the button for the car
park before he 
looked over to see her half scorn. "Okay, you take the
list," he 
said passing it to her.
"I'll start at the top."

"Call me when you get him.  The sooner we can get his
statement 
the sooner we can guarantee Dawson's arrest."
"Alright Mulder, happy hunting," she called as she
veered to the 
left to go to her car.
"Hey Scully!" he shouted after her making her turn.
"Dinner says I 
find him before you do!"  She just smiled and turned
back to her 
car laughing a little as she pulled out into the
street.

***
 
Mulder pushed past the heavy doors and sidestepped the
large man 
that stood guarding them.  He blinked a few times to
allow his 
eyes to adjust to the dim lighting, a stark contrast
to the 
evening's dying sun he'd left outside.  With a loose
smile he 
walked further into the bar his eyes scanning the
crowd for her 
familiar red hair.  The room was smoky and stank of
whiskey, just 
the kind of place he could loose himself in, he mused.
 He could 
almost see himself perched on the high stool at the
corner of the 
bar with the worn leather seat covering, allowing the
night pass 
in a haze thanks to the powers of Johnny Walker.  But
not tonight.  
It had been over an hour since the confusing call from
Scully 
telling him she found Banner but she didn't get a
chance to say 
where before her phone got cut off.  This was the last
place to 
check so he hoped she was still here.

Standing at the bar he glanced around the larger more
open area 
and finally spotted her next to the dartboard.  She
sat with her 
back to him and he took a moment to glance over her
slim figure as 
the light blue tee-shirt she wore hugged her body and
strayed 
maybe an inch or two over the waist line of her
trousers giving 
him a delicious glimpse of the small of her back with
it's 
tempting hollow that begged to be...
Shaking himself from his own reverie he walked over to
her, 
reaching out and touching her shoulder, giving it the
lightest 
squeeze.

"Scully," he said softly and it took a moment for her
to react.  
But slowly, as if a thread was pulling it she turned
her head 
around and found herself looking at his belt buckle. 
Languidly 
her eyes made a shaky journey up his torso, lingering
for a moment 
on his lips before meeting his clear hazel eyes.
"Mulder Hi!" she said like she only recognised him by
his eyes.
"Did you find him?" he asked lowering himself onto a
small stool 
next to her.
"Yes, he was here...is here," she corrected herself as
she let her 
head swing around to the jukebox where Mulder spotted
James Banner 
leaning heavily on the machine, barely able to stand.
"Did he talk?"

"Talk Mulder? Talk?" she said in astonishment,
twisting her head 
back around to him and he started to notice how much
her speech 
was slurred.  Looking down to the table in front of
them he spied 
the collection of empty shot glasses and smiled.  "He
wouldn't 
talk until I had a drink with him," she said
indignantly.
"A drink?"
"A whiskey," she corrected.
Mulder stopped his smile from spreading further and
had to reach 
up to his mouth to cover his lips, disguising the
gesture by 
scratching his chin.  But suddenly Banner found his
footing and 
clambered over to them, carrying a fresh bottle of
Whisky and two 
clean glasses.  Ignoring Mulders presence he clanked
the glasses 
onto the table and unscrewed the lid off the bottle.

"Now Dana," he began, "Time for the good stuff...no
more 
skimping."  He poured out two large shots and handed
one out to 
her with a shaky hand, which she took without
hesitation.
"To rules that beg to be broken," he said as he
swallowed the 
light brown liquid in one easy gulp.
Mulder felt his jaw open at the sight of his usually
reserved 
partner pouring a generous portion of whisky into her
mouth and 
swallow it with only the smallest grimace.
"And to us," Banner continued as he poured them each
another 
helping.  "For daring to break them."

Again he swallowed his share and slammed the glass
onto the table 
just as the music blared form the jukebox, shattering
whatever 
serenity the bar held.  Mulder watched fascinated as
Scully took a 
deep breath before gulping down her drink and slamming
her glass 
down beside the others.
"Maybe we should get out of here," Mulder suggested
tentatively 
and he watched in awe as her head swung round to meet
his, swaying 
lightly on her shoulders as she tried to concentrate
on his face.
"Mulder this investigation will not and cannot end
until that 
man's statement has been recorded for the record..."
she said 
surprising him with the length of her sentence as she
threw her 
thumb over her shoulder where Mulder could see Banner
gyrating 
badly to the loud music. But before he could tear his
eyes away 
from him a movement caught his attention and he looked
back to 
Scully only to see her head had fallen onto her folded
arms among 
the empty glasses.

The bad music seemed to suddenly get louder and Mulder
stood to 
approach Banner, fishing a card out of his pocket.  He
watched at 
he lifted the bottle of whiskey up to his lips and
tasted the sour 
liquid, spilling it down his cheeks and onto his
shirt.
"Mr Banner...Mr Banner," Mulder yelled trying to be
heard over the 
music but gave up when he got no reaction.  "We'll be
in touch," 
he said going back to Scully and leaving his business
card on the 
table.
"Come on Scully," he said shaking her softly and
sighing as she 
slowly sat up with a deep moan.  He lifted one of her
arms over 
his shoulder and half carried; half walked her back to
his car.

She slumped into the front seat and let her eyes close
over 
immediately letting her heavy lids lock her into a
cocoon of 
restless slumber.  The short journey back to her
apartment flew by 
her blissfully and she barely noticed when Mulder
walked her in 
through the door.

"Come on Scully, you gotta help me a little here," he
argued as he 
struggled to hold her up and close the door behind
them.  But her 
only response was to groan a little and lean in closer
to him.  He 
couldn't help but chuckle at the image of them
staggering through 
her apartment as he pushed open her bedroom door and
lay her down 
onto the soft bed.

He stood away from her to close the blinds and turned
back to see 
her sitting up on the edge of the bed.  He came round
to her side 
of the bed and bent down to pull off the shoes she was
trying to 
kick away from her feet.  But she didn't stop there as
if some 
part of her brain had started her nightly routine and
she stood to 
undo the strap at the waist of her linen trousers.  He
steadied 
her with one hand and looked away as she let the
flimsy material 
fall to the floor by her feet before sitting back onto
the bed.
"Lie down Scully," he urged putting a little pressure
onto her 
shoulders but she fought him with a low moan and
reached down to 
peel off her top.

"Okay so you wanna get comfy," he murmured, looking at
her ears, 
her hair, the ceiling.  Anywhere but the place he
wanted to look 
the most.  Just as he thought he could fight it no
more she gave 
into his push and leaned back on to the bed, sighing
into the cool 
sheets.

Mulder quickly covered her with the light duvet and
fetched a 
glass of water from the kitchen and two Alka-Seltzer
from the 
bathroom where he knew she kept them.  He left them by
her bedside 
and looked down at her for a moment, smiling at her
partially open 
mouth and tousled hair.
"Good night Scully," he said softly touching her cheek
with the 
tips of his fingers and letting them brush along her
jaw line 
before he left her apartment quietly.

***

"Okay, you're free to go," Mulder said and he reached
over to stop 
the tape and bundled up his notes.
"That's it?"
Looking up Mulder saw James Banner sitting opposite
him watching 
him carefully and throwing odd glances at the large
one-way mirror 
on the other wall.
"We've offered you protection with the witness
relocation 
programme which you flatly refused.  There is nothing
more we can 
do for you Mr. Banner.  We will need you when the case
goes to 
court but apart from that..."
"So in other words don't leave town?"
"Yeah, something like that."

Banner stood up from the table and put on his heavy
trench coat, 
despite the warm weather.  From the pockets he pulled
a scarf and 
draped it loosely around his neck.
"Goodbye Mr Mulder," he said smiling and he left the
room with a 
crooked smile.
Mulder pick up the rest of his notes and removed the
tape from the 
spool before he went back to his office.  Still
smiling from the 
statement he'd just collected from Banner he didn't
notice that 
the office door was ajar and the lights were on until
he entered 
and crossed the room to his desk.  Looking up at the
lights in 
confusion wondering momentarily if he had left them on
or not he 
glanced around and saw her sitting by her desk,
immersed in 
whatever work her screen was displaying.  She showed
no sign of 
the drunken mess he had put to bed the night before
and she was 
wearing that simple black skirt and jacket that she
knew he liked.  
Her blouse was startlingly white and the contrast in
colours 
really brought out the tone of her hair.  But upon
closer 
inspection he was sure he'd find a crack in her
spectacular 
veneer.  No body could have bounced back so quickly.

"Hey Scully," he said loudly and over
enthusiastically, catching 
the wince that pierced her eyes.
"Good morning Mulder."
"I just finished with Banners statement," he continued
as he 
approached her desk and perched himself onto the
corner, swinging 
his leg from the ledge.
"I was...eh, up with Skinner," she said trying to
ignore the blush 
she could feel creeping up her neck.
"Banner was asking for you."

Her eyes shot up to his meeting his amused gaze for
the first time 
that morning and immediately she was bombarded with
images of 
stumbling through her apartment with her arms around
his neck, of 
undressing in her room with him...in front of him, she
corrected 
herself.  He saw right through the fragile shield she
had erected 
and he witnessed the struggle she was undergoing to
keep her 
composure when she'd obviously prefer to be anywhere
else.

"Did they catch Dawson last night?" she asked hoping
he would give 
her the grace of ignoring her delicate guard.
"Yeah.  John Henderson's Team got him without
incident."
"So that case is over?"
"Pretty much.  I just have to transcribe the statement
and send it 
out to the DA.  But apart from that there is nothing
else for us 
to do."
"Do you want me to type it up?" she asked part of her
wanting to 
do it as she missed out on the actual taping and part
of her not 
wanting to be staring at the swirling words on the
screen for the 
next four hours.
He must have noticed her inner battle and he smiled a
knowing 
smile of a man who had lived through more than one
whiskey 
hangover.
"No Scully, I'll do it.  Besides I'll type most of it
out from 
memory anyway."

He stood away from her desk and finally she could
breathe and 
concentrate on something other than his black trouser
leg swinging 
lazily beside her, gently brushing her thigh with each
sway.  From 
his desk he got the earphones out and hung them around
her neck, 
preparing the PC before he started the tape.
"What did Skinner want?" 
"Skinner? He asked me to meet a pathologist from
Milwaukee who's 
flying out on Monday."
"How come?"
"To be honest I'm not sure.  Something about
jurisdiction.  Some 
new rules."
"Should be a hoot!"  She couldn't help but smile and
he returned 
it, glad to see the edge taken off her mood.  

They day passed slowly in silence as Mulder typed out
the 
statement and Scully busied herself with minimal
paperwork, 
relaxing as the hours went by and her head stopped
spinning.  She 
glanced up to look at him once during the day but as
her mind 
wandered back to the previous night she could feel the

incriminating blush shroud her face in a cloth of
colour and when 
she focused her eyes back on him he was watching her,
his smile 
curved across his lips showing more teeth than she
would have like 
to see.

At long last she spotted the clock as it crawled past
five and 
decided that enough was enough.  She switched off her
PC and sat 
back with an undisguised sigh of relief.
"Tired Scully?" he said without looking up and she
wondered how he 
could type out the statement and study her so intently
at the same 
time.  She was the woman, she was supposed to be able
to 
multitask, not him.  Although with the pounding in her
head she 
was surprised she could manage a single task.

"A little.  Been working too hard," she replied
provoking him to 
retort with another smart comment.
"Yes you have Scully," he said simply, throwing her
off guard.  He 
pulled the earphones off his head and matched her
position with 
one of his own.  "Plans for the weekend?"
"My mum invited me over for dinner tomorrow.  She said
she has a 
surprise for me."
"Oh?"
"I have no idea.  I just hope it's not a phone
number," she 
muttered as she slipped on her light coat and gathered
her 
briefcase.
" Phone number?"
"Blind date...you know what a date is Mulder, I know
it's been a 
while for you but you still remember right?"
"Vaguely, cheap dinner, bad conversation and awkward
kissing?"
"Something like that."
"Oh how I miss it so," he sat forward as she walked
towards the 
door as if he needed to stay close to her for as long
as he could 
before the vast expanse of the weekend came between
them.
"See you Monday, Mulder."

She left the office to the sound of the tape whirring
as she heard 
Mulder rewind it for parts he missed.  The drive home
was short 
and unconscious.  Without thought she discarded her
clothes and 
climbed straight into her bed, feeling like it had
been years 
since she had seen it.  Her slumber came fast and
uninterrupted 
and she welcomed it like a warm blanket on a cold
night.

Mulder had finished the transcription of the statement
hours 
earlier but he wanted to see how long she would last. 
If it was 
him, he would have caved around lunchtime.  And at one
point when 
she went for coffee, she was gone for so long that he
thought she 
went home.  But sure enough she walked in carrying two
cups of 
coffee and without a word she placed a donut onto the
table in 
front of him and returned to her desk.
  
He waited until he imagined she had left the building
and was on 
her way home before he placed the statement into a
sealed envelope 
and left the office, dropping the envelope into
Skinners office on 
the way.  His Friday night was spend crouched in front
of the VCR 
as he tried to figure out how to get the tape out.  It
had been 
lodged in there for over a month and tonight he
decided was the 
night he would win.  He would manage to force it out
and get to 
watch something other than bad prime time shows.  As
the clock 
told him it was half two he gave up, leaving the video
in the 
machine now accompanied by a spatula and a fork.  He
went to bed 
dejected and tired and lay awake foreseeing his
Saturday of 
basketball and little else.  He tried to think of some
inane 
excuse to ring her but he knew she'd be asleep so he
settled for 
lunch tomorrow.  He'd call her about a case...
Crop circles, he thought, they are so last minute. 
Somebody 
somewhere must have a crop circle in their field.

***

Scully woke slowly and found her eyes seemed to be
fused shut as 
she struggled to open them and swim through the fog in
her brain.  
Eventually the power came to her and she blinked
rapidly letting 
the sting settle as she rolled over in the bed with a
deep moan, 
releasing some of the tension she could still feel in
her muscles.  
Glancing at the clock she saw it was half past twelve
and a 
luxurious smile crept across her lips with the
knowledge that 
she'd had a great nights sleep.  Stretching beneath
the covers she 
kicked them off and made for the bathroom, letting the
water run 
while she fixed some toast and coffee. 
 
It all seemed to be timed so well she thought as she
stirred the 
bubbles into the water and heard the toast pop.  With
the food and 
her cup balancing on the toilet she sank below the
water dipping 
her head and holding it under for a moment.  Her back
rested 
comfortably against the bath and she bit into the
toast relishing 
the peace and quiet, punctured only by the soft music
she could 
hear coming from the stereo.  She was looking forward
to a free 
weekend with no cases.  Time apart from Mulder would
serve her 
well to get over her slight embarrassment at being
caught in more 
than an uncompromising situation, but it wasn't a
feeling she'd 
like to have linger between them.

The stillness seemed to last forever, time stopping in
her 
bathroom as the water lapped against her skin,
soothing the rough 
edges that had been left there by Johnny Walker and
Paddy Power 
and she loved it.  But the knocking that interrupted
her illusion 
was loud and instantly recognisable.  She sighed into
the empty 
room and briefly entertained the thought of ignoring
him but then 
she didn't want to go through getting another door
fitted so she 
climbed from the bath.  The shiver she emitted was
quickly 
suppressed as she wrapped into the cotton robe and got
to the door 
just as he knocked again.

"Okay Mulder," she called as she fastened her robe
belt and opened 
the door.
"Hey Scully," he said his face animated with
excitement.
"I don't care where you found the crop circles," she
said walking 
back into the room and heading for the kitchen to
switch on the 
kettle.  "I'm not going."
"Crop circles?" he said flustered by her cognition.
"What ever it is...Shamans, spirits, E.B.E.'s,
whatever I don't 
care."
"But Scully-," he began sitting into the table,
already glad to be 
here and have the battle of words begin.  He came for
this; he 
lived for this he loved this.
"No Mulder.  It's Saturday, I want to spend it in DC. 
I have to 
be at my mums in four hours."
"Oh right...the surprise."

"So whatever it is you came over for, forget it."
"Ok." She poured him his coffee and sat across from
him letting 
the silence grow bigger and bigger until she could
take it no 
more.  His purposefully blank face giving away nothing
for a 
change.
"So why did you come over?" she asked at last, trying
not to sound 
too curious.
"Just to see you," he said plainly, scaring her with
his 
frankness.
"Really?"
"Of course Scully.  What else would I do with a
Saturday?  There 
is a lull in the Xfiles at the moment and the game was
cancelled."
"Oh, so after work and sport you thought of me?" she
asked 
pretending to be insulted.
"Naturally," he answered playing her game, "after I
called the 
lone gunmen that is.  But they were busy with an
online hack or 
something equally boring."
"Gee Mulder thanks."

"Come on Scully, you know you come first," he said
reaching across 
and taking her arm, squeezing it lightly. She looked
at him 
sideways her smile broadening at the sight of his
expression.  
"Come on, let's do something.  Something so normal,
something so 
pedestrian, touristy even," he almost begged her.
"What? Visit the FBI Building?"
"That's not even funny."
"Capitol Hill? Smithsonian?" she suggested half
seriously not for 
a moment thinking he would take her up on the offer.
"Smithsonian lets go there."
"You've never been?"
"Of course I have, but never with you," he said adding
a depth to 
his voice and words as he stared into her eyes and
intensified his 
simple sentence.
"I have to be-."
"Don't worry we'll be back in time," he promised.
"But I..." her voice trailed off as she looked at him
and her 
shoulders slumped with the resignation that she
wouldn't get away.  
"Okay, let me grab some clothes and we'll go."
"Don't you know the song? Come as you are?"
"Yeah I'll look well driving around wearing nothing
but a robe," 
she called over her shoulder as she stepped into her
room to 
dress.
"I bet you would."

***

Scully kissed her mother goodbye and walked to her
car, settling 
in and driving off without a conscious thought, not
knowing where 
she was going, she just drove.  Not wanting to stop
driving she 
turned right when the light glared red at her and sped
up when 
they shone green.  It wasn't tears that she fought to
see through, 
but the clouded debris of her mind as her thoughts
swirled before 
her, dodging her grasp and avoiding her scrutiny.  So
she just 
drove.  She didn't know how she got there, not the
exact route, 
but she always knew she'd end up there.  She knew he'd
be there 
and she knew he'd answer so she stopped driving.

The elevator ride seemed to last an eternity and every
step she 
took towards his door seemed to send it two steps away
but 
eventually she made it.  Turing on her heel she faced
the covering 
of brown chipped paint and newly fixed numbers,
holding her breath 
as her hand rose shakily to knock.  Seconds later it
swung open 
and he stood there fumbling with a bundle of notes not
having seen 
her yet.
"Oh Scully, I thought you were my dinner," he said
when he saw her 
and he held the door open wider to let her in.  As she
grazed by 
him he noticed the faraway look in her eyes and the
blank 
expression on her face as she hovered by the couch,
unsure whether 
she would sit or not.  

"I thought you were having dinner with your mum?" he
said taking 
the collar of her coat in his hands and with a gentle
tug she 
released it to him, so he draped it over a chair. 
"Wasn't there a 
surprise?"
Slowly she lowered herself onto the couch and he sat
himself next 
to her, his mind reeling with the possibilities of
what could have 
happened.  After a wonderful day of shared memories
and stolen 
glances she left, he thought in a beautiful mood.  But
this 
distressed Scully sitting beside him was starting to
scare him.
"Yes...there was a surp-...surprise."
"Well what was it?" he asked needing to know what had
gotten her 
so upset.
"She wanted me to...to...meet someone," she mumbled
and Mulder's 
heart stopped at the image of a blind date. "A friend
of hers," 
she added almost intelligibly.
"A friend?" he said confused.
"A friend, a male friend...a boyfriend."
"For you?" he spluttered.
"No, for...for her."

A smile began to spread across his face and he had to
stifle a 
laugh but before she could tell him more a knock at
the door cut 
into the room.  Mulder stepped over her legs and
returned shortly 
with a pizza and a big bottle of coke.
"Have you eaten?" he asked knowing how much trouble
she had with 
food and tension.
"Not really," she admitted her voice sounding even
distant to 
herself as she began to focus on his small movements
in the 
kitchen where he searched for napkins and slowly the
fog began to 
lift, penetrated by the sweet smell of pineapple on
his large 
Hawaiian pizza.
"Well help yourself," he ordered as he stepped back
over her legs 
and dropped to the couch beside her.
"Thanks," she said as she reached for a slice and
leaning back 
next to him, her arm comfortably covered by his.

They stayed like that, shoulder-to-shoulder, crushed
together as 
if there was no more room on the couch and the room
filled with a 
pensive silence, pierced by satisfied chewing as they
both ate the 
pizza.  He opened the coke and swigged from the
bottle.  Offering 
her some he was surprised when she took it from his
hands an 
lifted the hefty 2ltr bottle to her lips and took a
long drink.  
She handed the coke back to him and claimed another
slice al the 
while saying nothing but the edges of her lips curved
into a 
smile.

The food was soon finished and Mulder discarded the
box before 
settling back next to her; again their shoulders, arms
and thighs 
meeting when he sat so close.  The silence between
them amplified 
for a moment and Mulder glanced over at her only to
find her eyes 
withdrawn and unfocused.
"Scully? You wanna talk about it?" he asked carefully.
"I'm just a little shocked," she admitted.
"About your mum's...boyfriend?"
"Yeah.  It's so out of the blue," she said looking up
at him, for 
the first time catching them and their concerned
spark.
"Aren't you...happy for her?"
"Happy?" she said as if the thought only occurred to
her.  "Yes 
I'm happy, but..." he voice trailed off.
"But what?" 
"But it's so depressing," she admitted finally with a
sigh.
"Why do you say that?" he asked her vague answers
confusing him.
"God Mulder," she said, suddenly exasperated with his
questions.  
"My mother has a better social life than me.  I'm 38
years old and 
I haven't had a date since...since...since I cant
remember.  And 
then tonight I find out that my mum has a boyfriend!"

He wasn't sure how to answer her and he knew any way
he did would 
be twisted into an argument.  An argument he was sure
he'd loose.
"They've been dating for over two months," she added
as if it were 
salt to an open wound.
"What's he like?" he asked tentatively, his curiosity
winning over 
his survival instincts.
"He seems nice.  He works at the university. 
Department head of 
English Literature," she said.
"Sounds...good, doesn't it?" he admitted neutrally.
"Good Mulder? It sounds great! Why can't I meet
someone like 
that?"
"Where did they meet?"
"At the library."
"Maybe you've been going to the wrong library?" he
said trying to 
lightened her mood or see her smile.
"The only library I get to visit is the FBI reference
or archive 
library.  And the only person I meet in there is you."
"Expand your horizons, Scully," he argued ignoring the
painful 
pang that spread across his chest.
"Yeah I intend to do that as soon as I solve all the
worlds 
conspiracy's and prove beyond a shadow of a doubt the
existence of 
extra terrestrial life!"
"Hey Scully, we have the same life plan, it must be
fate," he said 
nudging her with his arm and knee.
"Shut up Mulder."
He smiled a small smile and she reluctantly returned
it, secretly 
delighted that he was letting her moan and partially
embarrassed 
that she was sounding so blatantly female.
"Sorry Scully," he said looking away to hide the
seriousness of 
the moment.
"It's not fair, is it?"
"Aww Scully," he said moving his arm to drape it over
her shoulder 
and pull her closer.  "You'll always have me!"
"That's what I'm afraid of Mulder."

***

The week passed by with assured monotony.  All the
paperwork 
required for the court case kept them busy.  Mulder
trod 
tentatively around her aware that she was feeling
somewhat 
perturbed by her emotional display last weekend.  The
quick exit 
she made from his apartment did nothing to alleviate
the unease he 
felt and it only seemed to grow as the days went by. 
All 
conversations pertaining to anything remotely personal
were 
swiftly shunned and avoided, but at last he found
himself looking 
down the long end of a Friday night alone.

"Got any plans this weekend?" he asked cautiously as
she gathered 
her things that evening.
"Nothing beyond a relaxing time at home.  Some
research on a paper 
and a lot of sleep."
"Sounds exciting," he said smiling.
"Sounds perfect," she said hoping her tone would kill
any ideas he 
had on popping round.

With a cryptic smile she pulled her coat on and walked
out the 
door, leaving him bathed only in the light from his
desk lamp.  He 
sat back into the chair and propped his legs onto the
table as he 
followed her with his mind through the streets of
Washington and 
home to her apartment.  His thoughts shadowed her as
she stepped 
through her living room and into hr bedroom.  He
imagined the room 
flooded with the soft light from her bedside lamps as
she pulled 
of her jacket and kicked off her shoes.
Pushing himself away form the table he quickly stood
and grabbed 
his coat.  He had already promised himself he wouldn't
call by her 
place this weekend and had even gone so far as to work
late all 
week to stay away.  But now with the vast expanse of
an empty 
weekend ahead of him he needed to come up with a
distraction 
quickly.
Driving through the city he avoided her turnoff with
some 
difficulty and soon found himself parking outside the
Lone 
Gunman's Office.  After a few heavy knocks he gazed up
to the 
camera, offering it his cheesiest smile, he listened
for that 
familiar sound of the locks being undone.  Sure enough
the 
clanking of the chains began at his feet and ended
over his head 
before the door swung open.

"Is this a raid Mulder?" Frohike asked as he stepped
aside to let 
him in.  
"Only on your liquor cabinet."
"Well you picked a good night.  Langly just got back
from Tijuana 
and brought a stash of tequila and cigars!"
"Sounds perfect," he said mimicking Scully's words
from earlier as 
he fell rather than sat onto the couch.  Langly joined
him with a 
bottle of whiskey that seemed to be fused to his hand.
 "No 
tequila for you?"
"No, after two weeks down south I need to clean out my
system."
"With a bottle of Bushmills?" Mulder asked as he took
a shot of 
tequila from the heavily laden tray Frohike had just
left on the 
table.
"Yeah," Langly replied as if it were obvious and
watched as Mulder 
licked the salt from the back of his hand and finished
the gold 
liquid in one go before sucking on the lemon slice.

"Bad day Mulder?" Byers asked from his vantage point
at the PC as 
Mulder reached for another shot.
"Bad week."
"Where's the delectable Agent Scully?" Frohike asked
passing him 
the saltshaker.
"Home."
The three men exchanged glances above his head and
watched as he 
reached for a third shot.
"So how goes the underworld of America?" Mulder asked
the alcohol 
already taking affect as his speech slowed and his
frown dropped.
"Not bad Mulder, not bad," Langly said from behind the
bottle of 
Bushmills.  "Get this, down in Mexico-,"
"Why were you in Mexico?"
"I was researching," Langly began but Frohike let out
an almighty 
roar that drew all their attention.
"Researching my ass.  He was following a
chickadee...some babe he 
met at the comic Con last month," he shouted through
his laughter.
"A chickadee?" Mulder questioned turning to Langly who
was 
obviously uncomfortable.
"No way I was down there testing out a new tracking
system."
"You bugged her?" Byers said with an incredulous
smile.
"No...I was testing...the equipment."

Mulder laughed along with the others as he reached for
his fourth 
drink.  
Much better, he thought. Much better.  The haze fell
over his 
brain in slow succession as the night progressed in a
mixture of 
tequila and whiskey and he let it pass over him
releasing some of 
the tension he had been building up all week, removing
his need to 
think about her...much.
Dammit, his mind screamed as he pictured her lying on
her couch 
watching the Friday night prime time shows, but he
shook the image 
free and listened again to Byers as he explained the
new theory 
for implant usage.

***

Letting herself into her apartment Scully rushed into
the kitchen 
delighting in her decision to do the grocery shopping
on a 
Saturday at lunchtime.  She had heard stories of
people who met in 
the produce section but she never dreamed it would be
her.  But as 
she reached for the last pineapple, suddenly having
and urge for 
pineapple an ice cream a large hand covered her own. 
For a second 
she thought it was Mulder and that's why she turned
around with 
the warm smile but she found herself looking into a
pair of dark 
brown eyes not the amusing hazel ones she expected.

"Oh sorry," he said his voice a deep baritone, "I
didn't see you 
there."
"No problem," she got out looking up the expanse of
his chest to 
see his face smiling and open.
"You take it," he offered standing back with his hands
raised.
"No, please you," she said holding the fruit out.
They argued half-heartedly for a moment before he
laughed a 
nervous laughed and put his hand on the pineapple.
"How about we share it?"
"Share it?"
"I was just going to use with some ice-cream, would
you care to 
join me?"
She faltered at the invite but suddenly the picture of
her mother 
and her new friend flashed tauntingly into her mind so
she turned 
to the stranger with a smile.
"I'd love to."
"Tonight? I'll throw in some dinner too."
"Okay.  What time?" she asked unable to believe the
words as they 
spilled from her smiling lips.  He gave her his
address and phone 
number and told her to be by at around seven.  She
relinquished 
the pineapple and left him standing in the aisle as
she finished 
her shopping and made her way home.

Now alone in her apartment as she rushed to put the
food away and 
have enough time to shower and pick out clothes.  Most
of the 
shopping was pushed unceremoniously into the fridge
and while she 
started the water she mentally ran through all the
clothes in her 
wardrobe.  Pulling a towel from the hot press she
locked herself 
into the bathroom and quickly showered.  Dashing
through the 
apartment she had already decided what to wear and
patted herself 
dry quickly.  It was only quarter to six but she had
no idea how 
to get to his address so she wanted to leave time for
error.  
Slipping into the silky blue blouse, she loved the
feel of it 
against her skin, and couldn't help the ripple of
laughter she 
felt at the excitement building in her chest.  The
black trousers 
were long and slightly flared but she liked the way
they hugged 
her slim waist as she admired her choice in the
full-length 
mirror.  She fastened the sandals carefully and walked
around the 
room making sure they were going to be comfortable. 
As she walked 
backing into the living room she absently pressed the
answering 
machine to replay her messages but to her surprise
there was none.

She ignored the pang of disappointment and continued
into the 
kitchen to fetch a glass of water.  She was sure that
Mulder was 
going to call by last night and when he didn't she was
convinced 
he would be there at lunch today.  She had waited
around until 
nearly two o'clock before leaving to go shopping half
expecting a 
slew of messages to be waiting for her as he tried to
convince her 
to follow him to Costa Rica or Ohio or some other
place in search 
of the unknown.  But there was none.  She took her
keys out of her 
coat and grabbed her light jacket from the hall before
leaving.

***

Mulder woke to the incessant ringing of the alarm
clock and 
slammed his hand down onto it, only succeeding in
knocking it off 
the table and out of his reach.  With a muffled groan
he pulled 
his weary body out of the bed and kicked the clock to
switch it 
off on his way to the bathroom.  Ever since Friday
night his 
movements were measured in equal efforts and his
normal agility 
seemed to have vanished as he struggled to hold his
toothbrush 
still to put the paste on it.  The hot water from the
shower 
removed some of the haze but did nothing to heal the
pounding in 
his head.  Drying off he relished the clean taste of
the paste in 
his mouth but he knew it wouldn't last for long. 
Saturday had 
been a blur.  An alcoholic blur.

Once the tequila was finished on Friday night the
whiskey was 
started but even that didn't last long.  Langly left
in search of 
something stronger but didn't return until eleven am
on sat 
morning.  He hammered at the door until one of them
was able to 
answer.  Byers started to cook and Frohike stayed
sleeping but 
Mulder and Langly sat on the couch staring in
wonderment, albeit a 
drunken wonderment at the bottle he had produced, from
under his 
jacket once the door had been closed and locked behind
him.

"What is it?" Mulder asked picking up the large bottle
of clear 
liquid with no markings or labels.
"I got it in a bar on 3rd street.  It's called
Poit_n."
"Poit_n? I never heard of it," Mulder admitted.
"Did you say Poit_n?" Frohike's voice called from the
other room.
"Yeah, Langly got a bottle of it."
"No way, I haven't had that since back in the
sixties."
He emerged from the back bedroom and bee-lined his way
over to the 
couch, ignoring Byers insistence that they all eat
breakfast 
first.
"What is it?" Mulder asked again at the look of awe on
Frohike's 
face.
"It's a very old Irish drink.  Super potent.  If it's
made right 
it can last in your system for days."
"How?"
"I'm not sure exactly but one cupful of this will be
more than 
enough.  No hangovers but the more water you drink the
following 
day the more drunk you get as it flushes back into
your body."
"You're kidding?" Langly said already standing to get
clean 
glasses.
"It's actually illegal in Ireland.  You can get tamer
versions of 
it for sale but the real thing is...far out."

Langly held out the glasses and Frohike poured.  The
smell was 
forceful enough to make them all hold it away glancing
at each 
other.  Byers came over and stood watching them
shaking his head 
slowly from side to side.
Whatever it was Mulder had come here to forget he was
doing a good 
job of it he thought as he watched them hesitantly sip
from their 
glasses.
Now as Mulder struggled with his tie he rushed from
the building 
and hit the Monday morning traffic with a sigh.  It
was half past 
eight before he walked into the office, his tie loose
and his 
laces undone.

"Bad morning?" she called from her desk with a knowing
smile of 
someone who could still feel the remnants of a
hangover.
"Bad weekend," he muttered not wanting to divulge the
details of 
his drunken sordid weekend.
She didn't probe and he settled into his desk,
focusing on the 
swimming keys.  At eleven Skinner called Scully up to
his office 
and Mulder took the opportunity to contact Frohike.
"Hey Mulder, how's the head?"
"Terrible.  How do I get rid of it?"
"You didn't drink any water yesterday did you?"
"Yeah...why?"
"It's just starting all over again."
"So, no water."
"Yeah for the rest of the day.  Until your head
clears."
"Oh god.  Thanks."

He hung up and rested his head onto his arms before
the ringing 
from the telephone cut through the silence.  He
fumbled with the 
receiver before he managed to hold it up to his ear.
"Hello."
"Hello, Dana Scully please," the unfamiliar male voice
said.
"She's not here at the moment, can I take a message?"
Mulder asked 
his curiosity bursting through the fog on his brain.
"That's okay, I'll call her later."
Mulder sat back into his chair and locked his fingers
behind his 
head.  It wasn't long before she walked back into the
office and 
was surprised by the change in his mood and posture.
"Feeling better?"
"Not really."
"Want some coffee?"
"No thanks, you just missed a phone call."
"Oh? From who?" she asked her voice steady and her
face clear of 
the blush he was expecting.
"He didn't leave a name."
"If it was important I'm sure he'll call again."

Mulder watched her carefully as she crossed the small
room and 
slid into her desk, placing her glasses on she studied
the screen 
without affording him the slightest glance.  Inside
her mind was 
screaming with delight at the confused and curious
look on his 
face but she wasn't ready to tell him about the dinner
date she 
had.
A date, he thought traitorously.  She had a date.  He
wasn't sure 
what was worse.  The fact that she had a date or the
fact that she 
wasn't telling him about it.
The week passed in a series of phone calls and
clandestine 
meetings.  Or that's the way it felt to him.  She was
busy every 
evening with the research for her paper or so she
claimed, he 
sneered.  But the joy he felt at seeing her smile more
often and 
laugh a little freer made him guilty for feeling
jealous.

Jealous, I'm not jealous, he thought to himself
wondering where 
the stray thought had come from but the silent way she
packed up 
her case and slipped into her jacket, sending him only
the 
briefest farewell before leaving him in the office,
alone, again, 
on a Friday evening, stung him in more ways than it
had ever done.

It had taken him the best part of four days to get
over his last 
binge with the Lone Gunmen so tonight he drove home. 
Sitting in 
his empty apartment finding the VCR in his lap as he
unscrewed the 
top off he sighed a deep sigh and almost wished he had
convinced 
her to go to Idaho on Tuesday to check out the
sightings.  But she 
had convinced him otherwise.  No cases on the scene,
no excuses to 
call her up he lifted the lid of the machine and
carefully removed 
the spatula, fork and tape before fixing it back on. 
The phone 
rang loudly making him jump.  He left the VCR half
closed on the 
table and picked it up.

"Hello?"
"Karen Whyte, died today at approx 15.45," the
computer generated 
voice said.
"What? Hello?"
"She lies in Washington General Hospital."
"Who is this?"
"Hurry."
The voice was replaced by a dial tone and Mulder
quickly dialled 
the bureau for a trace.  He grabbed his trainers and
slipped into 
them racing out of his apartment while dialling her
number.
"Scully, I got a tip off. A Body in the morgue at
Washington Gen."
"Mulder I cant-," she began but he continued and she
could hear 
him closing a car door and the engine starting.
"I'm just leaving my place I'll pick you up in fifteen
minutes."
"Mulder," she argued but he had already hung up and
she replaced 
the phone and looked over to Jason.  After having
dinner at his 
place last weekend she had offered to return the
gesture.

"Work?" he asked as she sat next to him and sipped her
wine.
"Yeah.  I'm not sure what's going on but my partner is
on the way 
over here to pick me up."
"Oh the life of an FBI Agent."
"Yeah, it's all go."
"I better be leaving," he said with a small smile. 
"Don't want to 
get in the way."
"I'm sorry about this."
"Forget it Dana, It was a lovely dinner.  I'll take a
rain cheque 
on desert."
She walked him to the door and he dropped a soft kiss
onto her 
waiting lips before slowly making his way out to the
car.  Scully 
watched hi pull away before she went back to her
bedroom and 
changed out of her soft black cardigan and trousers
and threw on a 
pair of jeans and a top.  If Mulder was going to make
her perform 
an autopsy she wanted to be comfortable.  She was
sitting on the 
couch tying her laces when Mulders insistent knock
rang through 
the room.  Opening the door she found him barely able
to stand 
still as he walked past her and paced the room.

"What's going on?" she asked.
"I got a call from what seemed to be a computer
generated voice 
telling me about a Karen Whyte that died in hospital."
"And?"
"And I was to hurry to Washington General to see the
body."
"Mulder, Jesus.  If some one rang you and told you to
jump from 
the Hoover Dam would you rush over there too?"
"Was it a computer voice that told me?"
His attempt at humour only made her angrier and when
she turned 
away from him to get her badge and gun he noticed the
two glasses 
of wine on the table.  He was fairly sure that one of
them was 
Scully's from the faint traces of her dark lipstick
but he was 
also sure that the other wasn't for him.
"I had the call traced and it came from a payphone."
"Okay, so what are we going to find?" she asked
ignoring the anger 
and stepping into investigator mode as they walked out
to his car.
"I dunno.  That's why I called you in case we need to
do an 
autopsy."
"We?" she said with a laugh.  "That's rich."
"We both have out strengths and weakness," he said. 
"Yours are 
your ability to slice and dice so efficiently."
"You remember that Mulder."

They arrived at the hospital and were shown the body
without fuss 
once they flashed their badges.  As Karen Whyte was
listed with no 
next of kin the permission for an autopsy was obtained
from the 
Chief medical officer of the hospital, who after being
bombarded 
with FBI regulation by Mulder gladly handed the rights
over to 
them and provided them with a facility.

"It says here that she died of a heart attack," Scully
said as she 
placed the mask over her face and read the lady's
chart.
"Well did she?"
"Looking at the EKG she was attached to at the time
I'd say yes."
"So why are we here?"
"Mulder!" she exclaimed looking up to him. "You've got
to be 
kidding?"
"No Scully I still want you to do the autopsy, I'm
just thinking 
out loud."
"This is insane," she muttered as she started the
first Y-incision 
and Mulder stepped away from the body.
It was nearing 2am when she finally finished closing
the body off 
tightly and placing it back into the freezer.  She
changed back 
into her own clothes and discarded the scrubs.  Coming
out into 
the hallway she found Mulder sitting on one of the
chairs with a 
few pages on the floor by his feet.  Hi head had
tilted back to 
the wall and his mouth opened as he slept.  She
reached out and 
shook his shoulder.

"Mulder, wake up."
"I'm up, I'm up," he mumbled as he sat forward and
gathered the 
pages. "What did you find?"
"Nothing."
"Nothing?"
"Nothing."
"I don't understand."
"Neither do I."  They walked back to the car in
silence and he 
drove her back to the apartment.
"Do you want to come in for coffee?" she asked having
caught him 
nodding off twice on the trip back.
"No I better get going."
"Mulder if I hear about you falling asleep and
crashing you had 
better come back and haunt me."
"Okay, one coffee, a weak one."
Sitting on her couch he spied the incriminating wine
glasses and 
waited for her to bring over the coffee.
"Here," she handed him a cup and dropped a plate of
sandwiches on 
the table between them. "You haven't eaten have you?"
"Eh...no."
"Help yourself." She gathered the two glasses and left
them into 
the sink before joining him.
"Sorry for spoiling your evening," he admitted as she
reached 
across for a sandwich.
"Forget it Mulder."
"Was...was it..." he stammered unable to get the right
words out.
"What?" she asked knowing what he wanted to know but
needing him 
to ask her properly.

"Was it a date?"
"Something like that."
"With who?"
"A guy I met," she admitted unable to hold the blush
back any 
longer.
"Are you being cagey Scully?"
"No Mulder. But I dunno what it is so I never
mentioned it."
They sat in silence for a moment before she spoke up.
"So what about the body?"
"Karen Whyte? I don't know.  I'm going to do a
background check 
tomorrow and see if I can come up with something."
"Tomorrow at work? Do you want me to help you?"
"If you got plans-," he started but her smiling
shaking head 
stopped him.
"I don't."
"Okay."

He finished off the rest of the sandwiched and
swallowed what was 
left of his coffee.  Standing he stretched his arms up
high above 
his head letting out a deep moan.
"Thanks for the sustenance, Scully."
"Thanks for the diversion."
He wasn't sure what she meant so he ignored the
comment and walked 
over to the door.  Turning he didn't expect her to be
standing so 
close and he found his breath caught in his throat.
"Goodnight.  I'll see you tomorrow at ten-ish," she
said holding 
the door open for him.
"Yeah, tomorrow," he managed to get out and without
thought he 
bent down and kissed her cheek before disappearing
into the night.
Scully lay in bed that night thinking about the two
men that had 
kissed her that night.  Both standing in her doorway,
both saying 
goodnight with an air of expectance but only on made
her heart 
skip and only one made her wish for more.  Now all she
had to do 
was ask for more.

***

Mulder scratched his chest through the light material
of his navy 
blue t-shirt and yawned unashamedly.  The windows were
open to let 
a minimal breeze pass through the room but it did
little to get 
rid of the stuffy feel that clung to the basement
office walls.  
The sound of the elevator door opening threw a spark
of life into 
him and he sat forward to shuffle the papers on his
desk and work 
on the computer.  But the expected sound of her heels
didn't 
follow and when he risked a glance towards the door
she walked in 
wearing a pair of black jeans, a pale blue
long-sleeved top that 
was cut low just enough to tease and a smile.

He knew it was Sunday.  He knew he could have gained
remote access 
to the FBI files from his PC at home, but then he also
knew that 
she probably wouldn't have joined him there.  The
image of him 
working alone in the basement of the Hoover Building
was just 
enough to prompt her offer to help him.  He smiled
back, almost 
smugly as she approached the desk.

"Good morning, Scully," he said in a tone that he
hoped indicated 
he had been here for a while.
"Don't give me that tone Mulder, it's Sunday!"
"What tone?"
"The I've been here since quarter past dawn tone.  And
besides," 
she continued producing a large white paper bag from
behind her 
back.  "I saw you walking in five minutes ago."
From the bag she produced two cups of coffee and a
small box of 
mixed pastries.  Taking the coffee he recognised the
cup was 
branded by the diner across the street, but he refused
to give in 
so easily.
"I was stretching my legs," he argued, already knowing
he was 
beaten.
"Liar."
"Sceptic."

She let her smile loose.  She knew it was Sunday.  She
knew he 
could have gained remote access to the FBI files from
his PC at 
home, but then she knew he'd been avoiding her all
week.  
Restraining his late night phone calls and unexpected
visits since 
she appeared at his apartment two weeks ago
complaining about her 
lack of relationship prospects.  So he was giving her
the space he 
thought she needed, but the when he offered her the
option to join 
him with out blatantly asking she took it with relish.
 Reaching 
across him to take an apple Danish from the box she
caught the 
gleam in his eye.  

"So where do we start?"
"I left her medical file on your desk.  I'm going to
sift through 
Police and state records to see if I can track her,
get a birth 
cert or whatever."
She wandered over to her own desk and sipped her
coffee as she 
lazily fingered through the thin case file.
"This only goes back two weeks ago."
"Yeah, she was homeless so...well they don't tend to
file for 
taxes and medical insurance isn't a top priority."
"And some stranger just walked in with her and paid
for her 
medical bills?" she queried as she waited fro her PC
to boot up.
"Actually he dropped her in the ER with a bag of money
saying that 
it was for her medical care.  When they counted the
cash it came 
to $150, 000."
"You're kidding?"
"I'm trying to get hold of the video footage but the
response to 
my calls is less than enthusiastic."
"Imagine that, on a Sunday!"
"Well regardless I'll get hold of it," he said
ignoring her 
mocking tone, "and anything else she has."
"What do you make of all of this Mulder?" she asked
all amusement 
gone from her voice.
"I dunno Scully," he replied without looking up and
she could 
almost see the tension in the room as thoughts floated
between 
them that neither of them wanted to acknowledge for
fear of them 
becoming a reality.

The shadows in the room stretched slowly across the
floor away 
from the windows as the hours passed.  They worked
mostly in 
silence save for a few stray comments and thoughts
that passed 
between them almost unconsciously.  But finally as
Mulder noticed 
the clock was just stroking past seven pm he pushed
away from the 
desk and rubbed his eyes with the heel of his hands. 
Stretching 
back in his chair with a purposefully audible moan he
let his head 
roll around on his shoulders before looking over to
her.

"Got anything Scully?"
"Nothing of any consequence.  Severe medical history
should be 
here due to the extent of the injuries I witnessed at
the autopsy 
last night but so far...nothing."  She smiled tiredly
at him and 
returned his question with only the tiniest move in
her eyebrow.
"Karen Elizabeth Whyte born Aug 15th 1969 in Seattle,
to Trevor 
and Tracy Whyte both of whom died in a car accident in
November 
1981," he said reading from the screen.  "Only child,
five 
different foster homes and finally she disappeared in
June 1986.  
Ran away.  Re-appears again in 1991 arrested for
possession and 
prostitution, but used the name Liz Black, dots in the
Seattle 
City judicial system for a couple of years, disappears
then for 
five years only to turn up two weeks ago in Washington
Gen. ER."

"So you got nothing too?"
"I have a city...Seattle...a probation officer to
question."
"In Seattle? Shouldn't we talk to Skinner about our
little 
adventure over the weekend?"
"Sure," he said but she could already see the cogs
turning as he 
mentally booked the flights and hotel.
"I'll check for Medical files under all her alias' to
see if I 
cant understand the condition or how she got in it."
"We've all broken a few bones Scully."
"Mulder, I hardly see a bone she hasn't broken, from
her toes to 
her neck as well as a fractured skull."
"Living on the streets? Tough pimp?"
"Possibly," she conceded afraid to let her full
thoughts run 
rampant before him.
"There's nothing more we can do today.  For some
reason most of my 
calls went unanswered."
"I guess they're not all as dedicated as us."
"I guess not," he replied as she stood up and
stretched her arms 
out and then high above her head.  "Tired?"
"No, but I am hungry.  What are you going to treat me
to?"
"Treat you? What ever madam desires."
"Well I actually have a strange and compelling desire
for Italian 
food."
"Sounds good," he said laughing as he stood and
grabbed his jacket 
from the back of the chair and met her by the door.

The night was warm with only a hint of a cool breeze
as they 
stepped in to the small restaurant.  They were shown
to a table at 
a window near the back of the all but empty room and
that looked 
out onto an internal garden with a fountain.  After
ordering their 
food and a couple of glasses of wine Scully sat back
into her 
chair and let out a sigh as her thoughts travelled
away from the 
small room and her eyes gazed upon the falling water. 
He let her 
mind wander enjoying the rare opportunity to watch her
openly as 
the candlelight cast flickering shadows on her soft
skin.

But all too quickly she pulled herself back from her
reverie and 
caught him watching her.  Without asking him why he'd
been looking 
or what he'd been thinking she just smiled.  It was a
small smile 
that barely parted her lips and only displayed one of
her dimples 
but it was enough to make him blush at the thought
that he had 
been so transparent.

"You look lovely tonight," he said before he could
stop the words 
from tumbling past his lips.
"I do?" She looked down at her black jeans and simple
top and 
glanced back to him under the rim of her lashes.
"Of course you do," he murmured unable to stop himself
now that he 
started.
"Thanks Mulder, it took me ages to get ready."  They
shared 
another smile and he had to pull his eyes away.
"So what are you going to tell Skinner?" she asked
suddenly sober 
as the laughter disappeared.
"Tell him exactly what happened. The phone call, the
autopsy, the 
information.  I'll need to get clearance to book the
tickets."
"Tickets? For Seattle? Isn't that a bit premature?"
"Well after your cross checks come back and I get hold
of the 
hospital footage..."
"Mulder, calm down, we'll talk to Skinner first and
see."
"Right...and then I'll book the flights."

She shook her head at him and sat back as the waiter
left their 
starters on the table.
"So do you wanna tell me about your date?" he said
suddenly before 
biting into a piece of garlic bread and seeing the
wave of shock 
pass over her face.
"It wasn't a date."
"No cheap dinner? No bad conversation? No awkward
kissing?"
"Okay," she said with a laugh, this time a delicious
sound that 
travelled to his ears from her throat.  "Maybe it was
a date."
"Who is he?" He wasn't usually so intrusive into her
life but he 
couldn't help himself.  He was compelled to ask the
questions and 
there was nothing he could do to stop them from
pushing past his 
mouth.
"I don't know if I should tell you," she said with a
half smile.
"I'm just curious Scully," he said hoping to portray
an air of 
ease and not the desperate need he felt.
"No background checks?" she said teasingly.
"Moi?" he answered with exaggerated movements to show
his surprise 
at her suggestion.
"His name is Jason Banks.  He's a fireman."
"Oh a man in uniform," he mocked lightly.  "Where did
you meet 
him?"
"I eh..." she stalled knowing how clich_d it sounded. 
"I met him 
at the grocery store."

He stifled his smile and looked at her.  Really looked
at her.  
The pain and loneliness that had been so plain in her
eyes 
was...was it gone? He thought.  Or was it hidden
behind a fa_ade 
of what she would...or should keep her happy?
"He seems nice," she continued without prompting. "But
it's 
just..."
"But what?"
"To be honest, it was dinner and nothing more.  I
guess I liked 
the idea of been taking out without the fuss and
hassles of a 
relationship."
"The thrills without the spills?"
"Something like that."

He wanted to ask more.  He wanted to know more but he
let the 
silence fall between them for a while, silently
thanking the 
waiter for his good timing as he collected their now
empty plates.
"So are you going to see him again?" he asked casually
as their 
main course arrived.
She shot her eyes over to him to see if she could
gauge his 
thoughts but as usual he reined them in and showed her
nothing.  
For a man who constantly walked around with his heart
on his 
sleeve he always knew when to pull it in, she thought
making her 
wonder about what else he hide from her.

"I don't think so.  I wouldn't want him to think it
could be 
anything more than it already has."
He reached across the table and took her hand in his. 
With a 
little wink he smiled at her and leaned closer.
"Don't worry Scully, when you're ready I know the
right guy will 
be waiting for you."

She smiled at his jumbled thoughts and simple words
and returned 
the gentle squeeze on her hand.  She supposed to
anyone else in 
the room they looked like a couple enjoying a meal of
smiles and 
shared secrets.  Although of their platonic
relationship had been 
pushed and tested with his soft touches and light
kisses, it had 
never been broken.  With a sigh she watched him
struggle with the 
pasta and she wondered is that was a path she wanted
to take.

He felt her eye on him and the stillness of her hands
confirmed 
it.  Wanting to catch her eyes and demand to know what
she was 
thinking about he was about to look up but something
stopped him.  
The fear that it would be the first step down a long
and winding 
path that neither of them were ready for.  He fought
with the 
pasta and finally managed to eat some when he heard
her sigh.  So 
many thoughts he wanted to know, so many buttons he
wanted to 
press.  The restraint was becoming too much of a
struggle.
Their meal passed with a stifled and unfamiliar
silence that burst 
with unanswered questions and unspoken thoughts and it
was with 
some relief that they both stepped out into the
rapidly cooling 
night.
"Thanks for dinner," she said as they walked to her
car and he 
reached over to open her door.
"Anytime G-Woman."
She sat in and pulled away and he slowly made the
short walk to 
his own door.
"All the thrills and none of the skills," he muttered
to himself 
before driving away himself.  With a harsh chuckle he
admonished 
himself for pulling her into his circle of lies and
deceit when 
she deserved so much more.  But now she was so
involved he 
couldn't push her away if he tried so there was only
one choice 
left to do.  Offer her some thrills of his own and
lessen the 
amount of spills.
"Easy," he said unconvinced and turned his mind back
to the drive 
home.

***

Seattle airport was quieter than she expected.  Scully
looked over 
to his sleeping form and idly brushed his hair away
from his 
forehead.  It amazed her how well he could sleep in
airports, on 
planes, in waiting rooms and cars, but give the man a
bed in a 
room and his insomnia kicked in.  A fruitless trip to
Seattle and 
a two-hour wait for their return flight had prompted
his nap while 
she just sat and watched the travellers scroll by. 
She imagined 
lives for most of them as they wandered by, some with
luggage and 
some with families.  But the shrill ring from her
mobile dragged 
her back to the present as she pulled it out of her
pocket and 
stepped away from Mulder to answer it.

"Scully," she said as she leaned against the large
window and 
looked at the runway outside.
"Dana, hi it's Jason."
"Oh, hi!"
"I was wondering if I could cash in that cheque for
the desert you 
owe mw."
"Oh right, only I'm in Seattle at the moment."
"I didn't know, sorry."
"We flew out the day before yesterday, on Tuesday
morning.  I'll 
be late home tonight."
"How about tomorrow? Are you working over the
weekend?"
"Actually I'm on a case so its all over the place at
the moment."
"I understand," he said in a tone that told her he
did, fully."
"Maybe I'll call you when I'm done?"
"Okay Dana. Talk to you then." She hung the phone up
and watched 
the planes landing for a few moments.

"Was that your fireman?"  She didn't turn at the sound
of his 
voice not wanting to face him or see pity in his eyes.
"Not my fireman."

She could hear the soft rustle of his clothes and the
strain on 
the metal chairs as he got up and walked over to her. 
For a 
moment he said nothing only stood by her watching the
same planes 
and breathing the same air.
"I think this case is going to be a bust," he said
surprising her 
with his choice of topics.
"What are you going to tell Skinner?"
"Everything.  Put it down as a prank.  Move onwards
and upwards."
The call for their flight departure cut off any reply
she had so 
instead she followed him to the gate and settled in
for the long 
flight home.

***

Mulder stretched to the full length of his couch and
lamented not 
going to his bed where he could lie in relative
comfort.  Tonight 
the TV was dominated with re-runs of the Bounty Hunter
and without 
the desire or energy to get a drink he lay steadfast
looking at 
the flickering screen but seeing nothing.  Just as the
deserved 
sleep fell over his the phone rang loudly making him
jump.

"Hello?"
"Mulder?"
"Yeah," he said cautiously recognising the voice put
not giving it 
a name.
"Hey, it's Chuck here."
"Chuck, what can I do for you?"
"Well actually it's kind of embarrassing."
"Oh?" he said sitting up.  He'd worked with Chuck
Burks on many 
cases but wouldn't have gone so far as to call them
friends.  So 
for him to bring something of a personal nature to the
table was 
interesting.
"I have a bit f a problem.  A friend of mine asked me
to step into 
a role that I'm afraid I can no longer fulfil, and I
was hoping 
you might help me."
"What kind of role?"
"I need you to escort someone to a function with me."
"What?" was all Mulder could get out through his
surprise.
"I said I'd do it but then I kind of double booked
myself."
"You want me to take one of your dates?"
"Yeah."
"No way, Chuck," Mulder said with a laugh.
"Come on Mulder, just this once."
"What's the function?"
"It's a tech Conference and I'm presenting a new
development in 
micro circuitry.  Black tie too."
"When..." Mulder asked unable to believe that he was
contemplating 
going.
"Eh...tomorrow, Friday night?"
"Don't give me much notice do you?"
"Are you busy?" Chuck persisted glad to hear a
resigned tone in 
Mulder's voice.
"Well no but-,"
"Come on Mulder.  She's lovely I promise."
"Okay, okay.  Tell me where to meet you before I
change my mind."
"Great! We'll meet in the bar at the Jefferson hotel
on 16th 
Street.  Do you know it?"
"Yeah," Mulder said through a sigh that Chuck chose to
ignore.
"At seven thirty."
"Fine.  And Chuck, you owe me big."
"Oh I do Mulder I do," he said in a tone that made
Mulder already 
regret the decision.

***

The Friday night traffic was horrendous and Scully
cursed herself 
for leaving her laptop in the office.  Mulder had been
on edge all 
day for a reason he was unwilling to share and finally
when half 
five rolled by she packed her things and left the
basement office, 
leaving him to stew in whatever mood he choose for the
rest of the 
weekend for all she cared.  But half way home when her
case had 
tipped over on the passenger seat she noticed that it
was free of 
her laptop and she could mentally picture the
offending article 
neatly stacked away in the bottom drawer of her desk.

So after finally managing to turn the car around she
now found her 
self slowly sauntering through the empty halls of the
Federal 
building reluctant to rush back to the traffic.  As
she passed the 
security with their small smiles of acknowledgement it
saddened 
her to think that she had rushed back here to bring
home work for 
her weekend, work that could have waited had she other
engagements 
but work that she knew she'd have done before her
return here on 
Monday.

She fumbled with her keys to the office in the short
elevator 
journey as she was sure Mulder would have locked the
room.  But as 
she stepped out into the dimly lit hallway she noticed
the door 
was slightly ajar and the lights were on.  Cautiously
she pushed 
the door open hesitant to pull her gun and frighten a
cleaner, 
only to see Mulder standing by his desk with his back
to her and 
his head bent.

"Jesus Mulder you scared me," she said stepping
further into the 
room but stopping suddenly when he turned around to
greet her a 
guilty and embarrassed look on his face.
"Scully? What are you doing here?"
For a moment she stared at the tux unable to stop her
eyes from 
travelling the length of his lean body that fit so
well into the 
neat black trousers and sash that wrapped his slim
waist.  Looking 
back up to his tie she saw what he was fighting with
as it 
fluttered to the floor.

"I...I forgot to pick up my laptop before I went
home," she 
managed to get back but as the power of movement
returned to her 
legs she circled over to her desk, never taking her
eyes off him.  
"Why are you dressed like that?"
He stooped to pick up his tie and stalled for time as
he tried to 
fix it around his neck.
"I have...I'm meeting...someone."
Despite the pang of pain she felt in her chest she
managed to 
smile at the sight of him struggle to straighten his
tie.
"Here, let me."

She closed the small distance between them and brushed
his hands 
away as she fixed it into a neat knot, pulling on the
opposite 
side to make sure it was even.  With her fingers
brushing off the 
hot skin on his neck he felt his pulse quicken and
prayed that she 
wouldn't notice.  She straightened his collar not
missing the fast 
movement of his skin just below his jaw line.

"I didn't see you're car in the car park."
"Well I knew I'd be leaving straight from work so I
got a cab in 
this morning," he explained as he busied himself with
something on 
his desk turning from her and catching a faint smell
of her 
perfume that he knew would linger with him all night
and taint any 
experience he may have had.
"Oh," she replied simply afraid to say more.  Going
back to her 
desk she quickly retrieved her laptop and  turned to
face him 
again.  "Have a nice time."
"I eh, I will...thank you."
"See you on Monday."
"Hmmm...yeah, sure."
She left the office and slowly crossed the hallway to
the 
elevator.  The despondency she felt as she entered the
building 
had increased tenfold as she drove home realising that
despite his 
words she wouldn't always have him and they were
probably only 
words of comfort.

***

Mulder walked into the Jefferson resident bar and
scanned the room 
for Chuck's familiar head. He cursed himself in the
short cab ride 
over for not explaining to her where he was going and
who he was 
meeting and he still wasn't sure why he hadn't.  The
words seemed 
to get stuck in his throat, refusing to surface.  He
spotted Chuck 
sitting by the window with two women and he fixed a
smile on his 
uncooperative lips as he walked over.

"Mulder you made it," Chuck said standing to greet his
friend with 
some relief.
"Sorry to keep you waiting, I had some trouble at
work."
"Well you're here now, this is Charlotte Byrne," Chuck
said 
indicating a blonde that sat to his left.
"Hello," she said shaking his hand lightly with little
effort.
"And this young lady, who I want you to show a great
time," Chuck 
said turning to the other one, "Is Sarah Wilson."

"Hello Sarah," Mulder said approaching her with an
outstretched 
hand.
Sarah stood to meet him and shook his hand firmly and
Mulder found 
himself looking eye to eye with a deep pair of brown
eyes.  Her 
hair was a dirty blonde and fell in loose curls about
her 
shoulders and framed a face that was smiling warmly at
him.
"Hello."
"Can I get you a drink?" he asked eager to get the
night started 
so it could finish.
"Please, I'll have a Jack Daniels and Diet Coke," she
said 
surprising him with her choice.
"Chuck? Charlotte?"
"No thanks, Mulder, we're fine."

Mulder went over to the bar and ordered her whiskey
and coke and 
got himself a whiskey, neat. When he returned he sat
onto the 
small two-seater couch next to Sarah and passed her
the glass.
"Thanks," she said taking a small sip.
"No Problem."
"So Chuck says you're and FBI Agent."
"Yes."
"Interesting job.  It's one of those jobs that you
know people do 
but you never meet any."
"It is?" 
"You know like map drawer, or."
"I suppose," he admitted with a chuckle.  "But this is
Washington.  
You can't turn around without tripping over an FBI
Agent."
"I'm not from around here.  I just came into town for
the 
conference."
"Where are you from?" Mulder asked trying to
kick-start his brain 
into an interesting conversation.

"New York."
"I was born in New York."
"So you'd be a Knicks fan then?"
"Definitely!" he said suddenly relaxing into the chair
and easy 
conversation.  "So what do you do?"
"I'm an engineer.  Electronic engineer."
"Yeah?" he said surprised as he took in the long
fitting baby blue 
silk dress that hugged her slim figure.
"I know.  Most people think I'm just hanging on the
end of some 
nerd when in fact I'm just a nerd myself," she said
smiling.
Mulder found himself warming to her self-depreciatory
humour and 
tried to shake images of Scully's face before she
left, out of his 
mind and concentrate on Sarah's conversation.

"I went to university with Chuck and we always had
this agreement 
to go to these things together.  Protect ourselves
from the over 
exuberant engineers.  But Thursday night he rang me up
telling me 
that he actually managed to convince someone to go
with him, 
forgetting that I had already booked my flight down,"
she watched 
his face as she sipped her drink.  "So I guess you got
roped in to 
entertain me."
"Something like that."
"Well after we get to the conference you can leave, I
mean I'll be 
mingling all night with the other nerds, you'll only
be bored."
"Not at all. I couldn't do that," he said with a
crooked smile.  
"I wouldn't be a very good escort if I skipped out on
the first 
opportunity."
"Escort? More like victim!"  They both laughed making
Chuck and 
Charlotte look over.

Mulder surprised himself with the conversation and
Sarah surprised 
him with her charming unassuming personality.  He
supposed he had 
been expecting the worst and she was nothing like he
imagined so 
it was long before the hours slipped by.  The dinner
was bland and 
the speeches went over his head, but the wine was free
and the 
company was captivating.  Sarah made a running
commentary on 
people that wandered in her line of sight with a
humour he wasn't 
used to but was mesmerised by.

After the tables were cleared the music began and
Sarah excused 
herself to speak to some engineers and Chuck saw
Mulder sitting n 
his own.
"Hey Mulder, how's it going?" he asked as he sat down.
"Great, she's very nice."
"Thanks for doing this.  Sarah wanted to come alone
but I 
insisted."
"No problem Chuck.  I'm actually having a good time."
"I knew you would.  Sarah is one of a kind."
"She is," Mulder agreed as he spotted her being led
out to the 
dance floor by an old man that Mulder thought would be
better 
suited in a coffin.  He smiled at her rolling eyes and
jerking 
head movements as the man twirled her around the
floor.

"Looks like she needs rescuing," Chuck said with a
smile.
"I better get out there."  Mulder dodged his way past
the 
sidestepping couples and tapped her dancing partner's
shoulder.
"May I cut in?" he asked sweetly.
"Well...I..." the older man stumbled searching for the
right 
excuse to deny his request.
"It's just that my wife and I rarely get to dance
anymore."
"Oh, of course," he released her hand into Mulders and
stepped 
away."
She stepped fully into the circle of his arms and
Mulder 
immediately regretted his decision to join her.  Her
other hand 
rested on his shoulder as he placed his tentatively on
her waist.
"I'm not much of a dancer," he admitted avoiding her
eyes.
"Don't worry, it can only be an improvement."

Mulder thought back to the last time he had danced. 
It had been 
with Scully at that Cher cover concert and he
remembered looking 
down to her smiling face.  His own smile suddenly
changing from 
one of simple joy to a realisation that there was
where he 
belonged, drowning in the power of her gaze.  Focusing
his eyes 
again Mulder found his face aligned with Sarah's a
curious 
expression covering her smooth features.  He tried to
smile but 
she saw through it and knew that it wouldn't reach his
eyes no 
matter how hard he tried.

"Are you okay?"
"Yes I'm just trying not to stand in your toes!"
"You seemed to disappear there for a moment," she
commented hoping 
he'd continue but when he didn't she did.  "Its woman
trouble 
right?"
"Woman trouble?" he said hoping he was carrying off a
confused 
face well.  "No."
"Am I stepping on someone's toes?"
"No not al all.  It's nothing like that."
"Go on tell me.  It's always good to now I'm not the
only 
workaholic social outcast."
He chuckled softly and wondered briefly if he should
talk about 
it.  She was going back to New York in the morning and
a second 
opinion couldn't hurt.
"It's a friend.  My best friend, someone I work with."
"Your partner?"
"How did you know?" 
"Two and two Mulder," she said never surprised at the
blinkers men 
sometimes wore.  "So what's the problem?"
"I guess I'm just reluctant to press the issue in case
it destroys 
what we already have."
"A friendship is good Mulder but a relationship is
amazing.  
Anything worth while holds a certain amount of risk."
"A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush."
"As far as I can tell, your hands are empty."

He smiled at her words and she let him retreat again
to collect 
his thoughts but all too soon the music ended and the
band 
announced a ten minute break.
"There are some people over there that I really need
to talk to," 
she said.
"Okay, I'll go and get us some drinks."
He watched her glide over to the table of men all of
whom stood up 
at her approach and he smiled.  Standing at the bar he
waited for 
the bartender to pour their drinks when he felt a slap
on his back 
between his shoulders. He whipped around only to see
Byers and 
Frohike standing behind him their smiles wide and
knowing.

"Another raid Mulder?"
"No, I...what are you guys going here?"
"Are you kidding? The biggest Electronic show this
side of Tokyo? 
Wouldn't miss it for the world," Frohike said rubbing
his hands 
together.
"Is Langly here?"
"Not in person," he said showing Mulder a small pin
that he took 
to be a camera.
"So who's the chickadee Mulder?" he asked bluntly.
"A friend of a friend," he said neutrally.
"Is Special Agent Dana Scully here?" he asked fixing
his bow tie.
"No she's not," Mulder answered sharply taking the two
glasses 
from the bartender.
Byers and Frohike exchanged glances and turned back to
Mulder who 
was sipping his whiskey, relishing the taste of the
warm sharp 
liquid.  He held out one of the glasses to a tall
woman who seemed 
to appear by his side in a long blue dress.
"Thanks," she said taking a sip and eyeing Frohike and
Byers.
"Sarah this is John and Richard Campbell, two friends
of mine.  
Gentlemen, this is Sarah Wilson."
"Hello," Frohike said shaking her hand while Byers
made a small 
bow from the waist.
"So which company are you representing here today?"
she asked.
"I'm afraid it's a Government Institute, we're not at
liberty to 
say," Byers offered quickly.
"Oh right I understand," she said with only a hint of
a smile on 
her lips.
"Anyway we must get going," Frohike said slapping
Mulder forearm 
and following Byers into the crowd.

"Strange company you keep Mulder," she muttered and
smiled before 
she took another sip.
"You don know the half of it."
"I well believe it.  Chuck has told me a few stories."
"All good I hope."
"All good if a little bizarre."
"Story of my life."
"So tell me Mulder," she said suddenly, turning he
whole body 
towards him.  "Why were you free on this lovely Friday
evening?"
"I'm in the middle of a case," he said thinking of the
time wasted 
in Seattle.  "So everything else takes a back seat."
"Right," she said exaggerating the vowels to emphasis
her 
disbelief.

She could almost see his distant wandering thoughts
and wondered 
where he was going with, what she was sure was, a
detailed 
imagination.   Mulder cold still smell her perfume. 
The faint 
floral aroma mixed with soap and her herbal shampoo. 
It was a 
fragrance he associated with comfort and safety.  He
wondered what 
he might be doing and he pictured her sitting on the
floor by her 
couch studiously working on her laptop, oblivious to
the Friday 
might festivities going on in the bustling city around
her.  But 
all of a sudden she wasn't alone and strong fingers
reached for 
her face to turn her into a warm kiss.  He shook his
head and 
turned to see Sarah watching him.

"You haven't heard a word I just said."
"I'm sorry Sarah," he said not wanting to insult her
with 
platitudes.  "I guess I'm a little pre-occupied."
"Get out of here Mulder," she said taking the glass
out of his 
hand.  "And promise me something."
"What?"
"Go to her.  Please, for your sake and hers."
He smiled warmly at her and for the first time freely
as he let 
her know how much he appreciated it with only a simple
look.  He 
left mouthing his thanks as he pulled his jacket on
and rushed 
into the street to hail a cab.  Climbing into the back
seat his 
head whirled with thoughts and words he might use to
tell her all 
the while trying to calm his rapid heart beat.
"Georgetown please."

***

The laptop sat unopened and unused on the kitchen
table.  She felt 
like it had betrayed her, showing her the side of
Mulders weekend 
she didn't want to see.  It was much better when she
thought he 
was in a bad mood due to the long empty weekend ahead
of him which 
would almost definitely prompt a late night visit with
a movie and 
probably a bottle of wine.  But not tonight.  

She had changed immediately out of her suit and
decided on a light 
pair of black linen trousers and a white fitted long
sleeve.  
Wandering back to the kitchen she put the remainder of
the lasagne 
in the oven to heat up while she carried her laundry
down to the 
basement.  She swapped idle chat and building
complaints with the 
other tenants before rushing back up to rescue her
dinner from 
burning.  Eating it in front of the TV with the paper
opened in 
front of her she tried to catch up with the news as
the evening 
passed.  The image of him in the tuxedo was unexpected
and 
lingered in her thoughts popping to the forefront when
she didn't 
expect it.  She imagined what type of function he was
attending 
and tried not to imagine his company.  But regardless
of her 
thoughts her self-delusion was evident when she could
feel her 
pulse quicken at the sight of him and felt his beat
against her 
fingers when she'd fixed his tie.

Feeling restless now she spotted the time was nearing
ten o'clock 
and she couldn't take the stillness any longer. 
Rushing into her 
bedroom she discarded her clothes and changed into a
pair of 
shorts and a sweatshirt whose sleeves had long since
been ripped 
off.  Grabbing her house key she bounded into the cool
night 
welcoming the fresh breeze that caressed her skin. 
She set a pace 
and allowed the rhythm to pound through her body,
regulating her 
thoughts and her heart.  Random thoughts spun her mind
but the 
beat of the streets kept her going.

***

Mulder paid the driver and all but ran up to her door.
Standing 
still now he ran both of his hands through his hair
dislodging the 
wavy locks enough to make it fall over his forehead. 
He sucked in 
a deep breath and pushed it past his lips.
"Okay Scully, I hope you're ready for this," he said
before 
knocking loudly, urgently as if he was in danger of
changing his 
mind.
Taking a few more deep breaths he waited for her
familiar 
footfall, her familiar mock annoyance at the late hour
and her 
eventual smile at his presence.  He waited a few 
seconds...more...minutes, before knocking again.
"Come on Scully," he muttered.

He'd only taken his apartment keys out this evening so
he couldn't 
let himself in.  He knocked again and waited again but
finally he 
resigned himself to the fact that she wasn't here, or
worse she 
wasn't answering.  He slumped low onto the steps and
dropped his 
head into his hands.  His physical deflation soon
followed by an 
emotional one as he realised what little courage that
had pushed 
him this far was rapidly disappearing.


***

Her legs screamed for a rest and her arms felt as
though they were 
carrying two tonne weights.  Her lungs stung with
every intake of 
air but she felt alive.  She had been concentrating on
her pace so 
well that she hadn't realised how far she had run and
it was some 
relief that she finally made it back onto her own
street.  Slowing 
down she started to walk as she fished the key out of
her pocket, 
taking big steps to stretch out her muscles she
stopped in her 
tracks when she spotted him sitting on her doorstep. 
His figure 
instantly recognisable to her especially with the tux
he was 
wearing.

He heard the running footsteps and looked through his
fingers to 
see her jogging down the street.  Her hair had been
tied into a 
high ponytail exposing her neck and the shorts she
wore revealed 
more of her legs than any of her skirts ever did.  He
watched her 
pace slow down to a walk before she spotted him and
stopped 
completely.  Slowly he stood up to greet her, a
million witty 
thoughts and comments ready but the courage he thought
had 
abandoned him earlier surged through his body invading
his senses 
and taking control of his body.

He closed the distance between them in three steps and
grabbed her 
face with both hands.  His mouth fell over hers as he
spoke her 
name with a sigh.
"Scully..."

Their lips met in a stormy clash of a couple that had
been without 
for too long and he parted her lips with his probing
tongue with 
ease.  The feeling of her hands curling around his
waist under his 
jacket sent a wave of approval through his foggy
senses as he 
deepened the kiss, moving one hand to bury in her hair
while the 
other caressed it's way down her back to claim it's
usual spot as 
his own.  Her tongue matched his in a duel that jolted
the senses 
all over his body with every excited stroke until
finally they 
became languid and deep.

Eventually the need for air forced them apart and he
looked down 
to her swollen kissed lips as her tongue reappeared to
sooth them.  
She could taste the sour whiskey he'd been drinking a
stark 
remainder of their actions that she was sure she'd
never forget.  
They still clung together closely and his fingers
moved leisurely 
and gently on her neck.

"Mulder," she said in little more than a whisper but
the look in 
her eyes of fear and joy both battling for prominence
stopped him 
from kissing her again.  His courage took a step back
and he 
followed it with his body as he released her from his
grip, his 
eyes never leaving hers as they read the questions
that lurked 
behind them begging for answers.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't help it," he said as he reached
up to brush 
her cheek with the back of his fingers.  "I just
couldn't help 
it."
"I don't know what to say."
"It's okay, you don't need to say anything."  He
pulled his hand 
back and pushed them both in to his pockets before
they betrayed 
his need to touch her again.
"Oh okay then, see you Monday!" she said and the sound
of 
rejection screamed before him so loudly that he missed
her mocking 
tone.  "Are you crazy?" She took his arm and led him
into the 
apartment.
"Mulder you cant...do that..."
"Look-," he began the words finally returning to his
brain.
"No, you look," she all but shouted.  "What do you
think you were 
doing?"
"Kissing you?" he feebly, smiling sideways.
"Yeah I got that bit, but why?"

"Why?" he asked incredulously.  "Oh I suppose maybe
it's because 
you are the most beautiful, intelligent, funny,
tolerant and 
caring woman I've ever met.  And I've been wanting to
do that for 
so long...I was tired of hiding, of being scared, of
the 
restraint."
His eyes swarmed around her face gauging every
movement every 
twitch for a clue, an insight into her thoughts.  "I
know I went 
about it all wrong," he continued hurriedly, "but I
had a big 
speech prepared and you weren't here to hear it.  Then
when I saw 
you walking up the path in those gorgeous shorts my
vocabulary 
deserted me so I did the only thing I could think of."


"You kissed me."

"You kissed me back."

"I did, didn't I?" she admitted with a shy smile and
he nodded his 
head with a little chuckle.
"Do you want to talk about it?" he said with a small
grimace, 
making her smile wider.
"Couldn't we just pretend..." she began struggling to
find the 
words to the courage to continue.

His heart stopped and his mind reeled with the
possibilities of 
how she might finish that sentence.  Pretend it never
happened? 
Pretend he never kissed her?
"Pretend we're two normal people without the weight of
the world 
on our shoulders and just enjoy the moment?"
"I'd love to," he said breathing again and stepping
forward to 
enclose her in his arms relishing the feel of her head
resting on 
his chest and her arms wrapping tightly around his
waist.  A 
gentle kiss placed on the top of her head where he
could rest his 
chin showed him just how perfectly they fit together. 
They stood 
like that for a moment standing still their hands
holding on 
tightly for fear the other might leave.

"So what happens now?" he murmured into her hair.
"I need to take a shower and stretch before my legs
give out."
"Not the answer I was expecting but better than others
I thought 
of," he said laughing as he released her.  Shyly
almost demurely 
she backed away from him watching the smile cross his
lips as more 
and more of her short clad legs came into his view.  
"I'll be back in a minute."

She hurried to the bedroom and carried a change of
clothes into 
her bathroom to take a quick perfunctory shower. 
Slipping back 
into the linen black trousers and white long sleeve
she towel 
dried her hair before walking out to the living room
where she 
found Mulder sitting on the corner of the couch his
head bent in 
thought as his hands fumbled amongst themselves.  He
looked up as 
she approached and smiled softly.  She perched on the
opposite 
side of the couch turning her whole body side ways
curling one of 
her legs beneath her as she looked at him squarely a
smile tugging 
one end of her lips up into a half smile at the sight
of his tie 
undone and hanging loosely down his chest and the top
buttons of 
his shirt opened.

"Do you want to air out your speech or is it all a bit
moot now?"
"Well it was all based around good reasons for you to
let me kiss 
you but...I guess I showed them all to you with the
practical 
earlier."
Her soft laugh caressed his ears easing some of the
tension that 
he felt building while she was in the shower, and he
let out a 
slow shaky breath.  A wary hand reached out from his
lap and 
landed on her knee in a friendly gesture that all of a
sudden 
meant much more.  Their eyes locked and they froze
unexpectedly 
bombarded with uncertainties that passed between them
without 
words.

"I said I have been thinking about this for a long
time Scully," 
she said, his voice hoarse and uneven.  "But it's not
fair for me 
to expect you to accept everything as is."
She let him ramble on with the thoughts he'd developed
since she 
went to the shower and smiled at his unease as he
struggled to 
find the right words, the right feelings to make it
all easier for 
her.

"I understand that this is all a bit of a shock to
your system so 
maybe it would be best if I gave you some room to
digest as it 
were...everything I've said and done tonight."
She wanted him to stay but part of her needed him to
leave.   To 
give her the space he was offering to give her the
time to think 
about what he had done and where he was leading her. 
She nodded 
her head slowly and his shoulders slumped slightly as
if he hoped 
for a different answer.  

"You know where I'll be." 

He squeezed her knee gently and stood with an almost
silent groan.  
She followed him to the door and held it open, leaning
against it 
for strength.  He hesitated a moment considering his
options 
before capturing her lips with his own in a soft
tender kiss.  The 
type he imagined their first would be if his instincts
hadn't over 
run the fear in his brain.  Her hands suddenly
appeared on his 
neck pulling him lower as she stood on her tiptoes to
enable the 
kiss to deepen, rivalling the passion they discovered
earlier out 
side her apartment.  But with a firm grip on her hips
he pushed 
her back down to the ground and prised his mouth away
from hers.  
The crooked smile he wore spoke volumes to her and she
briefly 
wondered why he wasn't kissing her.

"Scully I only have so much will power and it is
draining me to 
walk out this door.  So you either stop and let me go
or...god 
help me...I can only refuse so much," his voice was
husky and rich 
with need but she knew she had to let him go.  She
wanted to go to 
him for the right reasons and not on a whim.  Her nod
was barely 
perceptible but as she released her grip on his neck
he stood to 
his full height and took a step back, afraid of the
power of their 
closeness.

"I'm going home.  I'll be there if you want to call
me...and 
talk," he said evenly and seemed about to walk away
but turned 
back to her swiftly. "Scully whatever you decide,
you're my best 
friend and you always will be.  Never forget that."
"I wont Mulder," she said looking him in the eye and
believing 
every word he said.
She watched him leave and listened to the heavy slam
of the outer 
door before going back to her couch and falling onto
its soft 
cushions.  A long shuddering sigh escaped past her
lips and her 
senses were suddenly filled with the aroma of familiar
aftershave 
he left in a lingering trap to lure her into following
him.  It 
worked.  She hurried into her bedroom and put on some
sandals 
before grabbing her car keys and rushing out of the
house.

Mulder drove easily through the empty streets and made
it to his 
place in no time.  The drudgingly slow journey up in
the elevator 
annoyed him in its ordinariness.  The night he kissed
her for the 
first time was supposed to achieve a level in his life
never felt 
before.  And although the sensation he felt on his
lips, could 
still feel on his lips, as they touched hers was
indescribable, 
the tremor of fear he could feel on his way home
growing 
uncontrollably in the pit of his stomach wasn't part
of the plan.  
He pulled the tie from his neck and threw it onto the
couch 
dropping the suit jacket next to it.  As he walked
into the 
bedroom he kicked of his shoes and slowly escaped the
confines of 
the formal tux in favour of a pair of jeans and a
t-shirt.  He 
padded out to the front room too wired to sleep and
slipped on a 
pair of socks.  With his feet propped up on the coffee
table and 
the remote control firmly encased in his hands he
settled for a 
long night of restless thoughts and broken desires.  
The old 
laurel and hardy movie did nothing to alleviate his
worries and it 
was all he could do not to call her, to beg her to
come over.  But 
he crossed his arms in defiance as if he could keep
them away from 
the phone and patiently waited for when she'd call
him.

His head rested back against the couch and his eyes
drifted closed 
but he was no closer to sleeping now than he ever was.
 With no 
lights on and the TV turned low he could hear a couple
across the 
hall arguing and caught the shadows moving passed his
door as one 
of them stormed off.  It was with some surprise that
he heard the 
knock on his door.  Too afraid to hope it was her, to
afraid not 
to, he tentatively walked over and rested his hand on
the handle.  
He took a deep breath and pulled the door open quickly
wanting to 
know straight away if it was her, as the smile spread
across his 
lips freely before she stepped in and covered them
with a kiss.

With their lips still locked in soft kisses he walked
backwards, 
holding her close and slammed the door behind her. 
Not wanting to 
break the spell and not wanting to question her
presence or 
motives he kept her lips connected with his in a
motion that 
stirred senses in both of them.  But her hands came up
to his 
chest and pushed him away.

"Mulder I've been thinking."
"Good news I take it by your greeting."
She chuckled softly as he took both her hands in both
of his and 
led her back to the couch.  They sat like teenagers
discovering 
their first relationship with secret smiles and stolen
glances 
until she closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"I've been thinking," she began with her eyes still
closed.  
"About what you did."
"You mean kissing you?" he said and with her eyes
still closed she 
didn't see him move in closer and touched his lips to
the corner 
of hers making her jump a little.
"Yes...and I don't want to change the dynamics of the
relationship 
we already have...but I don't want you to stop," she
added softly, 
so softly that he strained to hear her.
"I don't want to."
"Where are we going?" she asked suddenly opening her
eyes and he 
watched as her pupils settled in the dimly lit room.
"Does it matter? As long as we're together?"

"But Mulder...there is so much at stake, so much to
think about 
and factor in..."
"Listen to me Scully," he said cupping her chin with
one hand and 
pulling the other up to his chest.  "The only thing we
need to 
think about right now is us.  Whether we want to
travel down this 
path...nothing else matters now."  His voice was firm
and she let 
the strength sink into her ears covering her body with
a growing 
sense of certainty that she knew was lurking just
below her 
surface.
"Okay Mulder, I'm ready if you are."
"I've been ready Scully for a long...LONG time!"

He pulled her forward and she lined her small body
against his, 
sitting onto his lap to wrap herself in his warmth and
exploring 
touches.  When their lips met this time it was with a
feeling that 
it would not be the last time as his hand found the
rim of her top 
and slipped under it's flimsy cover to touch the soft
skin on her 
back. With a hushed whimper she squirmed beneath his
touch and 
pushed her body closer feeling his chest move with
laboured 
breaths as he struggled for air.

It was all happening so quickly and he couldn't
process the 
sensations quick enough as her hand found his skin and
her slender 
fingers pressed a gentle pressure onto the sensitive
point along 
his spine, astonishing him in the way that she found
his sensitive 
spot so quickly.  They pulled apart panting with need
as they both 
suddenly realised the power behind their desire.  

"This is going to be an interesting path Scully," he
whispered 
into the room whose silence was only punctured by
their short 
sharp breaths
"I know..." she said her eyes falling down to his lips
where they 
lay parted at wet.
"Do you know what you do to me Scully?" he asked
watching as her 
eyes devour him openly.
"I'm beginning to get an idea," she muttered throatily
making a 
delicious shiver rattle his spine.
"Well let me show you just to make sure."

He sat forward pushing her onto her back on the couch
and covered 
her with his body as his kisses began.  She relaxed
under his 
touch and let the sensations swarm over her body
following the 
trail of kisses he made from her lips to her jaw and
as low as he 
dared to take them.  A feeling of comfort and
belonging settled 
over her surprisingly quickly as if her body had been
waiting all 
this time for her to make her mind up and finally fall
into his 
waiting arms.  With that reassuring thought she met
his lips with 
a flurry of hot insistent kisses and switched of her
mind and let 
her body take over.

***

TWO WEEKS LATER...

She walked into his bathroom and was immediately hit
by the 
familiarity of it all.  The sight of his favourite
brand of 
aftershave, his shaving cream toothpaste and black
toothbrush that 
she knew was around longer than her.  Cupping her
hands loosely 
she reached them under the cool water and watched it
for a moment 
as it pooled in her palms before spilling over the
edge.  Lowering 
her face closer she splashed it against her skin,
slightly shocked 
by how cold it really was, but loving the invigorating
sensation.  

With a soft gasp she stood up fully, ignoring the cold
water that 
ran off her face in quick lines down her neck wetting
the collar 
of the t-shirt she wore.  She looked into the mirror,
his mirror; 
with a wicked smile she patted her face dry with a
towel and she 
could all but see him looking back at her, wearing a
smile that 
she couldn't place but with a gleam in his eyes that
was 
transparent enough to explain his intentions.  
She wandered back to the bedroom where he lay
motionless, the 
moonlight bouncing through the open blinds and
highlighting the 
smooth tanned skin on his back.  Standing at the foot
of the bed 
she watched him for a moment, letting the steady rise
and fall of 
his body as he breathed contentedly in his sleep,
sooth her 
worries.  But as she turned to walk away his back
stilled.

"Where are you going?" he asked his voice muffled by
the pillow.
"Home."
"So late?"
"It's Friday night Mulder.  Tomorrows Saturday.  I
intend in 
getting a long sleep in tomorrow," she said as she
took another 
step towards the door.
He exiting footsteps sent a rush of urgency through
him and he 
pushed himself off the soft mattress and followed her
into the 
living room where she was slipping on her sneakers.
"And before you say anything," she began without
looking up.  "Yes 
I know it's four thirty and I am going to plug out my
phone, so 
don't try any emergency ghost crap with me Mulder."

He smiled at her and she slapped her hands onto her
knees as she 
stood and turned to face him.  His arms were crossed
and he leant 
against the doorframe, his legs crossed at the ankles.
 Wearing 
only a pair of boxers and with his hair askew she
wasn't sure how 
she tore her eyes away from him and grabbed her light
jacket to 
fish her keys out of the pocket.

"Goodnight Scully," he muttered lowly.
"Goodnight Mulder."  He didn't move towards her as she
stepped out 
and locked the door behind her but she couldn't have
reached the 
ground floor when he grabbed the phone.

She stepped into the car and gripped the wheel as she
tried to 
steady her rampaging thoughts.  The image of him
leaning against 
the doorframe would haunt her for the rest of the
night.  But only 
in the most delicious way, she thought smiling as she
drove into 
the empty streets.  Her smile stuck as she made the
short distance 
home and still hadn't faded when she locked her door
behind her.  
Walking into the bathroom she brushed her teeth in a
futile effort 
to get rid of the stale taste of beer and as she went
back to the 
kitchen to grab a glass of water she noticed the light
flashing on 
her answering machine.  She pressed it and continued
her journey 
to the fridge to pour herself a cool glass of water.

"This message was left today at 4.35am," he metallic
false voice 
announced.
"Hey Scully," Mulder's voice flooded the room and she
turned to 
face the phone as she realised that she must have rang
as soon as 
she left his apartment.  "I just wanted to say thanks
for joining 
me for the Planet of the Apes Marathon tonight.  I had
a great 
time." He paused for a moment and she stepped closer
to the phone. 
"Goodnight," was all he said before the sharp beep
indicated the 
end of the message.

"This message was left today at 4.39am."
"Scully I was just wondering.  Do you really thing
Charlton 
Hesston could have survived on that planet? I mean
someone so used 
to civilisation to suddenly be immersed in a society
that wouldn't 
acknowledge his stance as a human being? What kind of
psyche would 
you need to survive? Just a thought."
Again the beep cut off his message and she stood buy
the machine 
waiting for the final message to play and let Mulder's
plan reveal 
itself in all it's intended glory.

"This message was left today at 4.51am."
"Hey Scully...open the door."
"You have no more messages.  If you would like to-."

She reached down and switched the machine off and
slowly walked to 
the window, where she couldn't spot his car.   With a
little 
laugh, an almost nervous chuckle she started to walk
back to her 
bed but something stopped her.  Some part of her
wanted to check 
the door if only because she wanted it to be true. 
Her first few 
steps were tentative but as she passed the kitchen she
placed the 
glass on the counter and walked a little quicker.  She
resisted 
the urge to look through the peephole, wanting to,
needing to, 
keep the minimal hope she felt alive.  She ran her
hands down the 
sides of her legs in a futile effort to dry them
before she 
reached for the handle.  Ever so slowly she pulled the
door opened 
and her smile broadened, her heart all but bursting in
her chest 
when she saw him standing there.  

Still clad in only his shorts but this time wearing a
pair of 
sneakers he pulled the same stance he was in when she
left him at 
his place with his ankles crossed and his arms, and
his hair still 
askew but this time she acknowledged his eyes with
their wicked 
gleam full of intentions.

"Mulder..." she said with a laugh that delighted his
ears telling 
him he didn't make a wasted journey.  But before she
could 
continue he stepped into the room, making her step
back and as he 
kicked the door closed behind him he gathered her into
his arms 
and caught her lips with his own.  She quickly melted
into his 
kiss and circled his neck with her arms making sure he
didn't move 
away.
"I missed you," he murmured against her lips never
breaking 
contact.
"I missed you too."
"I thought you might want some company for your sleep
in."
"I'd love some."

She ran her hands off his shoulders and traced her
fingers with 
feather like touches down his arms until she could
interlock them 
with his. Silently they walked into her room where she
undressed 
and he removed his shoes before they climbed into her
bed.  Lying 
on his side he draped and arm lazily over her as if it
were so 
natural when only two weeks ago he had been fretting
whether to 
kiss her or not.  So much had happened and yet so
little had 
changed.  Their relationship seemed to be heightened
by their 
closeness and the new discoveries were still amazing
them both as 
the shared an insatiable hunger for each other.  

"How long were you out there?" she said as she clasped
his arm and 
kissed it gentle in a series of soft kisses that sent
hot sparks 
though his skin.
"Only a few minutes.  I wanted to make sure I was
there when you 
opened the door."
"What if I didn't?"
"Then it would have been a long night with quite a
story to tell 
your neighbours."
"Imagine if you got pulled over?"
"I was driving like a maniac so it would serve me
right."
"Maybe next time you'll think about dressing first,"
she said 
smiling at the sensation of his hand curling under her
top and 
playing gently with her belly button, his fingers
teasingly and 
purposely brushing the rim of her underwear.

"And spoil the surprise?"
"It certainly was a surprise."
He was silent for a moment and the gentle motions of
his hands 
even stopped.  She wanted to know what he was thinking
about but 
preferred to leave him mull it over and share it in
his own time.
"Thanks for letting me in Scully," he whispered
meaning more than 
the entry she permitted into her apartment tonight.
"Thanks for coming over Mulder," she replied meaning
more than his 
stance by the front door.

Pulling her back against him he placed a few kisses
against her 
neck and shoulder before settling back onto the pillow
and holding 
her steady against him.  The steady rhythm her body
fell into as 
finally the sleep claimed her was relaxing to him and
soon he 
became a victim of it himself.