From: xfilers <dragonrider1@ntlworld.com>
Date: Wed, 10 Mar 2004 23:23:24 -0000
Subject: NEW FIC: ANGEL  book 1. MSR  Part two 
Source: atxc

Disclaimers in part one. Feedback to gabi_abi2003@yahoo.co.uk

He chuckled and then tipped his head upwards to capture her lips
briefly.

"It'll look even better when it's on you. You could wear it when we go
out to dinner tomorrow, thanks to your mom."

"That's right. It'll be perfect for our first date."

Maggie had given them a certificate of booking for a table for two at
a fancy restaurant at 7pm on Boxing Day. She told them that she had
been relieved that they had seen sense before she gave them it
because, although she wasn't adverse to some gentle coaxing, she
hadn't really wanted to force them to confront their feelings if they
weren't ready to. Mulder had been slightly shocked at realizing that
she had known about his feelings before he had told Scully and
possibly even before he had admitted them to himself. He had felt
better when Scully had reassured him that he wasn't the only one
who her mom had done that to - she also hadn't known until after her
mom. They both chuckled about it being an X-file and wondered if
Skinner would allow them to investigate it.

Now that all the present giving was over, it was time for everyone to
go and get dressed and then to show off all their presents. Maggie
took one final photo of them all before beginning to tidy up all the
wrapping paper from the floor before Matthew got hold of it. Bill had
not been impressed when his son had been more interested in the
sparkly wrapping paper Mulder and Scully's gift had been wrapped in
than his actual presents.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

1pm, Christmas Day

"Hey you two. Are you gonna come sledging with us?"

"Sure Charlie, just give us five minutes to get ready. We didn't think
you were going so soon."

"It has been an hour since we decided on it Day, or didn't you
notice?"

"Ha ha Charlie, you're so funny. C'mon Mulder, let's go get changed so
we're not too cold out there."

"Oh no ...You're not going up together are you. We'll never get
going!"

"Charlie...I'm warning you. Cut it out."

"Why do you guys need to get changed anyway...can't you keep each
other warm?"

"That's it Charlie...I'm gonna get you for that."

Scully dived at her brother who quickly spun out of her way, still
chuckling. She chased him round the room until he collapsed into one
of the chairs trying to catch his breath from all the laughing. She
pounced on him without giving him a chance to recover and began
tickling him relentlessly, obviously a tactic she had learnt from
their childhood. Charlie twisted round in his seat so he could reach
her and started to tickle her in return. The two of them continued to
laugh and squirm and tickle one another until Maggie came into the
room with Peter and the twins.

"Dana! Charlie! Stop it this instant!"

The two abruptly stopped at the sound of their mother's shout and
both sprung guiltily from the chair, avoiding Maggie's eyes. Dana
tried to sort out her hair and Charlie started to fix his shirt as if
they could pretend they weren't doing anything wrong, forgetting they
were adults. They eventually looked up at Maggie and caught the
twinkle in her eyes. They both released a short chuff of laughter and
then looked at each other, a gleam now in both of their eyes. They put
on serious faces and pointed at each other.

"He started it."

"She started it."

Maggie kept her face serious as her two adult children behaved exactly
as they had done when they were children.  She lost it though when
Scully and Charlie both pouted and started chortling at their antics.

"Oh my gosh. That's exactly the face they used to pull when they knew
they were in trouble, Fox. The two of you haven't changed a bit
really. Have you? You just pretend to be grown-ups, you're just big
kids though aren't you?

The two of them nodded happily whilst grinning at each other. Scully
caught Mulder's slightly astonished smile out of the corner of her eye
and, as she turned to face him, she saw that the three kids were all
staring at their dad and Auntie Day as if they had both gone nuts.
Turning back to Charlie, she saw that he too had noticed his
children's stares and was trying very hard not to laugh. Scully
crouched down and motioned for the twins to come to her. When they
did, she pulled them both close and stage-whispered to them.

"That's how you beat your big brother when he starts teasing you when
you're older."

"Excuse me...Beat your big brother, Day? When did you ever win?"

"I always won Charlie."

"Nuh uh. I don't think so Day. You always ended up on the floor
squealing for mercy."

"I did not."

"Did too."

"Did not."

"Children behave. We have guests present!"

"Mom, who won, me or Day?"
"I won Charlie, I always had to break you two up or you would have
never stopped. Anyway...shouldn't two of us in here be getting ready
for sledging. The snow will have melted by the time the two of you
finish arguing over who won so why don't you call a truce. Then Dana
and Fox can go get ready to join us."

"..."

"Not a word Charlie...not a word!"

After that warning, Dana turned to go up the stairs to get warmer
clothes on. She stopped half way up to wait for Mulder and, after
making sure Charlie was watching and the kids were still in the other
room, she jumped into his arms. She attacked him with a vicious kiss
and, realizing what she was doing, Mulder stopped walking and started
to lower them both onto the stairs without releasing her mouth.
Charlie laughed, then threw his hands up in mock despair and walked
back into the lounge shaking his head. They broke the kiss when they
realized he had gone and Scully began giggling. Mulder laughed too and
then brought their mouths together for a gentler kiss, both
still lying on the stairs.

They were interrupted by a loud cough and looked up to see Tara
gesturing frantically for them to get up. Instantly recognizing what
she was trying to tell them, they hastily stood and had started to
walk properly up the stairs before Bill came out of his room with
Matthew.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

2.30pm, Christmas Day

The whole lot of them had finally gotten out of the house and, all
dressed in sensible winter clothing, made their way to a nearby park.
There were not many children there and so the kids all quickly got a
shot on their sledges, the adults all taking turns to go with them.
They had rapidly chosen one hill as the best and the adults decided to
stay on that hill rather than traipse around between runs.

Maggie and Tara were both standing near the bottom of the hill off to
one side, taking photographs of the children as they came down the
hill and then as they lay in the snow at the bottom. Charlie had just
left them after giving his camera to his mom and was on his way back
up to join the others at the top. Bill had just returned from taking
Mattie down a smaller, less steep hill and was now being pestered by
his nephew.

"Uncle Bill. I wanna go with you. Will you go down the hill with me?
Please?"

"Here Dana. Can you take Mattie so I can go with Peter?"

"Sure Bill. No problem."

Bill handed Mattie to Scully and crossed to sit down on the sledge
that his nephew was holding onto. When he was settled he lifted Peter
onto the front of the sledge and shifted it into position at the top
of the hill. Scully had turned Mattie round in her arms so that he
could watch his daddy go down the hill and she waved his arm at the
two of them to say goodbye. Jess got on the second sledge along with
Abby, leaving Adele behind with Mulder, Mattie and Scully. The four of
them watched the two sledges fly down the hill and cheered when they
reached the bottom. Scully was then distracted by a sharp tug on her
trouser leg.

"Auntie Day. You said you'd go wif me."

"I need to hold Mattie just now Adele."

"But you said."

"I'll go down when Uncle Bill comes back okay?"

"No. Now! Auntie Day, please?"

"Umm... Mulder, can you hold Mattie."

"I really don't think I should Scully. I don't think Bill will be too
happy about it."

"Well Bill's not here and Adele will start to cry if I don't go with
her. Besides, Bill's not been too bad since yesterday has he? ...Has
he?"

"No ...It's just I don't think he'd want me to be holding his son."

"Mulder, just take him. It will only be for five minutes at the
most."

"Okay, give him here. Have fun...try not to fall off."

"Thanks Mulder, I'll try."

Mulder gave her a kiss for luck as she passed Mattie over to him and
she squeezed his shoulder gently. Picking up Adele, she sat down on
the sledge and scooted nearer to the edge so that she could push off
down the hill. By this time Bill and Peter had reached the bottom and
were making their way back up the hill but Jess and Abby had stopped
to talk to Tara and Maggie on their way. Mulder watched Scully and
Adele speed towards the bottom and jiggled Mattie gently in his arms.
He let out a chuff of laughter when the sledge overturned at the
bottom, leaving the two sitting in the snow. Mattie giggled, hearing
Mulder's merriment and clapped his hands as best he could
with his mittens on.

Charlie had taken a rather long detour around the hill so that he was
approaching from behind, a sneaky plan forming in his mind. He crept
up behind Mulder and packed a ball of snow, not realizing that Mulder
was holding his nephew. He threw it at Mulder, hitting him on the back
of the neck and continued walking as he laughed, ending up standing
beside him. Caught unawares, Mulder gave a surprised yell as the cold
snow trickled down his neck, startling Mattie in his arms. Mattie
began crying loudly and Bill came running quickly up the last stretch
of the hill, Peter following closely behind. Bill reached Mulder and;
knowing only that his son was upset, not the reason why, grabbed
Mattie from him.

"What did you do to my son? Give him to me!"
"Bill..."

"Charlie stay out of this! Now Mr. Mulder, I may not have a choice
when it comes to my sister but I do not want you anywhere near Mattie.
Is that clear?"

"Bill..."

"No, Mr. Mulder. I don't want him getting hurt like everyone else
who's ever known you. It's bad enough that you won't leave Dana alone,
to stop her getting hurt, but I will not have you hurting my son."

"Bill..."

"Charlie, it doesn't matter."

"But Mulder... Bill, it wasn't his fault Mattie was crying."

"Oh, no! Sorry, I forgot, nothing's ever his fault. So why is it he
leaves a trail of injuries and suffering wherever he goes, huh? And
why is it that no-one else seems to care, no-one else realizes that
Dana will be next and that this asshole doesn't give a damn?"

"Bill, watch your language please...Peter."

"Sorry Charlie. You say you love her, Mr. Mulder, but you don't seem
to care too much about her well-being. She's my sister, damn it, and I
will not sit idly by while you ruin her life, not caring whether she
lives or dies, as long as she's with you."

"I do care Bill. Scully..."

"Which one? Have you not realized that we're all 'Scully'...she has a
first name."

"God Bill. Are you just completely inventing excuses not to like him
now? Just calm down, there's no need to be shouting like this."

"There's every need Charlie because Mulder here doesn't seem to get
it. Fact is that everyone he comes in contact with gets hurt - even if
it is 'unintentional' as he says. I don't want that to happen to my
son. Come on Charlie - you have to think about Jess and your kids, do
you really want to realize too late that it's true?"

"Bill, you're being entirely unreasonable. Mulder, where are you
going?"

"I'm gonna head back to the house. Tell Scu...Dana when she gets back
for me would you, Charlie."

"Mulder, don't be stupid."

"Charlie, if the man wants to leave - good riddance to him."

"I really don't understand you Bill. You're my brother but you are
being such an a... idiot."

Mulder turned away from the two brothers then, leaving them to argue
and trudged down the hill towards the road. He met Maggie on his way,
who was also heading home, having things still to do for the evening
meal. She guessed from his demeanor that something had happened but
Mulder refused to talk about it so she let it be, planning on asking
her sons about it later. They walked home in almost complete silence,
Mulder answering her few questions with a variety of non-committal
grunts. After she had asked him the same question three times and
gotten no response, Maggie stopped trying to get him to talk, instead
mentally working out a list of what still needed to be done when she
got home.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

9.00pm

After dinner Mrs. Scully had invited her neighbors over along with
some of her relatives and they now were all gathered in the lounge.
Her two sisters had come, bringing with them their children and
grandchildren, who were asleep with her own grandchildren upstairs.
All of her neighbors had brought some food and drink so she had set up
a buffet in the kitchen for people to help themselves from. The noise
level was pretty high due to copious amounts of alcohol being consumed
and the vast number of conversations that were taking place at the
same time.

The only person in the room not joining in was Mulder who stood
silently by the door, politely ignoring Scully's frequent gestures to
go over to join her and her two second-cousins on the couch. Scully
was growing increasingly worried about him, as he had been distant
ever since she came back from sledging, gently but firmly pulling away
every time she tried to even hold his hand. He had not told her why he
had left the sledging early and, when she had asked Charlie about it,
he had told her that if Mulder wouldn't tell her it was not his place
to do so. She had also tried to ask Bill but he had denied any
knowledge of what had happened and swiftly changed the subject.
From that response she had realized that Bill had played a big part
in Mulder's current mood but still he would not tell her what had been
said. She watched Mulder as he made his way out of the lounge into the
hall and went to follow him but was intercepted by Mrs. Currie, her
mother's next-door neighbor. She saw Mulder meet Charlie and Peter,
who were coming down the stairs, and crouch down to Peter's height in
order to talk to him but she couldn't hear what was being said.

"Hey buddy, how are you doing? It's pretty late for you to be up.
Aren't you tired yet?"

"Daddy...don't let him. I want up."

"What's wrong? ...Don't let Mulder what, Peter?"

"Don't let him hurt me daddy. I don't wanna get hurt."

Mulder straightened up from his crouch hurriedly as Peter tried his
hardest to hide behind his father's legs. Charlie bent down to pick
him up and Peter burrowed his head into Charlie's chest, not wanting
to see Mulder. Trying to find out what was wrong, Charlie attempted to
pry his son away from him slightly to see his face but Peter clung
tightly to him and would not lift his head. Mulder looked away quickly
to mask his hurt feelings and started to move past Charlie to go up
the stairs.

"Mulder, he didn't mean anything by it. He must have heard Bill
earlier...I didn't realize...he just..."

"Leave it Charlie, it doesn't matter."

"Mulder...Mulder..."

Ignoring Charlie's calls, Mulder moved up the stairs, almost running
away from the two of them, and went into Scully's room. He came out
five minutes later dressed in jogging bottoms, a sweatshirt and
running shoes. He closed the door behind him and placed his hat on his
head, ready to go out running. Making his way back down the stairs he
opened the front door, hoping to escape without being noticed. Charlie
had been watching for him to come back however and caught his arm just
as he was about to leave. Mulder sighed and turned to face him,
desperately wanting to just get out of the house and be
left alone.

"Where are you going Mulder?"

"I'm going out for a run...would you tell Sc...Dana when you see her.
Tell her that I left my keys and wallet in her room - I'm not going
home, just for a run."

"I'll come with you if you give me a couple of minutes to get
changed."

"No, Charlie. You should stay here, it's where you're meant to be."

"You're meant to be here too, Mulder."

"It's your family Charlie, I don't belong in there. I don't even
belong in this house as your brother told me."

"My brother talks out his ass Mulder. You must know that by now."

"See that's the thing Charlie, he wasn't talking crap. That stuff he
said this afternoon - it's not as if it's never crossed my mind
before. It's not even the first time it's been said to me, I just
never really thought about it properly. Your sister usually made sure
I didn't - but now that I do..."

"Mulder, Day wouldn't want you to be thinking like this - you just
said so yourself. Bill was being an ass. He..."

"Forget it, Charlie. I'll be back in an hour or so, maybe more."

Charlie shook his head as he watched Mulder leave, silently cursing
his big brother's interference. He followed Mulder's progress down the
path with his eyes, only slightly shocked by the realization that he
was watching a broken man. Shutting the front door, he felt a hand on
his back and he turned to see his mother standing behind him. He saw
confusion in his mother's eyes and wished that he had told her what
had happened earlier. He realized that she would have probably been
able to handle it much better than he had, and that she would have
known whether to tell Dana or not.

"Was that Fox? Did he leave?"

"He's just gone for a run. He said he is coming back."

"Why did he go, Charlie? What happened this afternoon?"

"Mom..."

"I've been watching him grow more and more detached ever since I
walked him home from sledging and I heard what Peter just said to him,
Charlie. Dana doesn't have a clue what's going on and she's getting
pretty concerned about him - so am I. I let it go earlier and didn't
press for the details but I think it's time you told me what's going
on."

"I thought Mulder would tell Dana...or I thought he would just ignore
it - you know? Shake it off but..."

The two of them had been walking down the hall as they talked and had
reached the empty kitchen. Charlie pulled out a chair for his mother
to sit on and then sat down on the seat next to her. Staring out of
the window trying to collect his thoughts, he smiled as he remembered
seeing Mulder and Scully kissing on Christmas Eve through the window
whilst he was building a snowman with his children. Shaking away the
memory, he rubbed his hands over his face, trying to sort out how to
tell his mother what needed to be said. Maggie caught one of his hands
in hers, pulling it away from his face and recognized the reason
behind his hesitation.

"Charlie, the easiest way is to just go from the beginning. How did it
all start?"

"It was my fault. I threw a snowball at Mulder when he was holding
Mattie - I didn't realize, didn't even think... Anyway, Mattie began
to cry and Bill jumped to his own conclusion that Mulder had caused
him to cry."

"Of course. So... did Bill say something to him?"

"Did he ever! I never knew until this afternoon how much of an asshole
my brother could be...No offence, mom, but he has been acting like a
complete bastard to Mulder."

"As much as I hate to admit it about my own son, I actually realize
that Charlie, but what did he say to Fox this afternoon?"

"He said he didn't want Mulder holding Mattie - he told him that he
didn't want his son getting hurt."

"What? I don't understand - hurt how?"

"Hurt like 'everyone else Mulder's ever known' according to Bill.
Apparently he thinks that Dana's going to be the next to be hurt and
Mulder doesn't give a shit -sorry mom, didn't mean to swear."

"Nothing I haven't heard before. Anyway, that's a load of rubbish -
Fox cares more about Dana than he does about himself."

"I know that mom. I only met him two days ago and even I can see how
much he cares about her but Bill just can't see past his own hatred of
the guy."

"Everyone has their faults Charlie. Bill's just happens to be called
Fox Mulder - which doesn't excuse it though. I'm glad you told me
Charlie - even if it did take a while. When did Fox say he was coming
back - we need to get this fixed."

"He said about an hour but, in his mood, it could be a lot longer...
Are you going to tell Day?"

"I'm not sure. She really should know but, if we can sort it out,
then there's no reason to upset her. I think I'll wait a while unless
she gets really worried  - or if he doesn't come back."

"He said he left his keys and wallet upstairs - he's not going home."

"That's a relief. Okay Charlie - go put your son to bed and then
enjoy yourself. We can't do anything else until Fox comes back. I
don't particularly want to make a scene with Bill in front of all my
guests so that will have to wait until later as well."

"Okay mom."

Charlie let out a sigh of relief, feeling much better now that he knew
he wasn't alone, that his mother could help get this sorted out. He
stood up and walked into the lounge to get Peter from his wife and
take him to bed, leaving Maggie sitting alone in the kitchen. Looking
around, she caught sight of a photo on her fridge and stood to look at
it more closely. It was one off the reel she had had developed on
Christmas Eve and showed both Mulder and Scully playing out in the
snow. She thought of how happy they had been then, even after Bill's
first outburst and hoped that this second rift could be healed just as
quickly so that they could get back to being that happy once again.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

11.00pm, Christmas Day

It had been over two hours since Mulder had left to go jogging and
Maggie was beginning to grow quite worried. She said goodbye to her
guests at the door and thanked them for coming, all the while watching
for him to come running down the street. As the last of her guests
pulled out in their car, she looked through to the lounge and saw her
daughter standing in the now-empty, darkened room. Scully was peering
through the window, scanning the dark snow-covered street outside,
also waiting for him to get back. Maggie walked through to her and
laid her hand gently on her shoulder. Jumping slightly at the
unexpected contact, Scully turned away from the window for an instant
and then relaxed under her mother's hold.

"He promised he wouldn't run off, mom. He promised he would talk to
me." "He hasn't run off Dana. He left his keys and wallet upstairs...
remember. He probably just went out to clear his head...think about
things."

"Why couldn't he have thought about things with me? Why didn't he tell
me what was wrong?"

"Maybe he wanted to sort it out for himself. Maybe he thought it would
upset you if he told you what happened...Or maybe he thought you would
tell him it was true."

"What was true? You do know what happened, don't you? Mom, tell me.
Please, I need to know...was it me, did I do something or say
something wrong? Please mom."

"I..."

Maggie didn't know how to finish her sentence, now that her daughter
was looking at her as if she had betrayed her, so she stopped
speaking. Scully opened her mouth to ask her mother once again what
had happened to make Mulder go out when she caught sight of him
turning into the street. Shrugging her mother's hand on her shoulder
aside, she rushed to open the door for him, frantic to know that he
was all right. She walked out of the door and part of the way down the
path as he approached her. When he reached the bottom of the driveway
she could remain silent no more and called out to him.

"Mulder."

"Oh, hey S...Dana."

"Dana...since when do you call me Dana, Mulder?"

"It's your name isn't it?"

"Yes but..."

Scully stopped abruptly and looked on in shock as Mulder brushed past
her and walked into the house. He had started to head up the stairs
before she could close the door and had nearly reached the top by the
time she caught up with him. He didn't acknowledge her presence and
kept walking until he was in her room, rummaging through his bag. She
watched as he removed shower gel and his pyjama bottoms from his bag
and picked up a towel from the pile on her dresser.

"I'm gonna take a shower and go to bed if that's okay. I'm beat."

"Sure Mulder, that's fine. I'm ready to hit the sack as well."

"Okay then. Goodnight, I'll see you in the morning."

"Wh..."

She had been going to ask why he was acting like he was and why he
wasn't going to sleep with her as he had done for the past two nights.
The door to the bathroom in the hall closed between them however,
cutting off her question before it had begun. Bewildered at his
obvious brush-off, she raised her fist to knock on the door but
dropped it back down to her side as she heard the shower start up.
Still puzzled, she made her way back to her room to get ready for bed,
intending on finishing her conversation with him when he brought his
stuff back after his shower. After changing into her pajamas, she lay
down in her bed to wait for him, wishing that he was lying
there with her and holding her as he had done the two nights
previously. After a long while, she realized that he was not going to
come back in and got up off her bed, putting her robe on to go
downstairs to find him.

She searched the whole of the downstairs but Mulder wasn't in any of
the rooms. Just as she was about to go back upstairs, she heard a
quiet murmur that came from the direction of the back door. Walking
back through to the kitchen, she looked out of the foggy window and
saw Mulder sitting on the porch swing with her mother. They both had
blankets wrapped around them and had obviously taken cushions from the
lounge out to sit on, rather than sit on the snow-free but frosty
seat. Deep in conversation, they had not heard her moving about in the
kitchen and were unaware of her presence. She moved closer to the
door, anxious to hear what they were saying, yet aware that
she really should not be eavesdropping.

"Fox, you can't take what Bill said to heart. He has never liked any
guy Dana has ever even spoken to - I'm not excusing his behavior, just
trying to explain it a bit. You can't let him come in the way of you
and Dana. Just think of how happy you both were and now look at the
two of you. You need to talk to her Fox, she thinks she's done
something wrong. We didn't tell her what happened earlier so she
doesn't know that you're upset because of something Bill said. Dana
wouldn't want you to think it was true - it's not."

"But you see Maggie, it is true. Dana told me the very same thing
once."

"What? I'm sure she didn't or, if she did, she can't have meant it."

"She might not have meant it exactly the way Bill meant it but the
words were all there."

"When was this, Fox?"

"It was about a year ago - we were on a missing-persons case. She told
me that I was just like Ahab in 'Moby Dick', continuing my quest until
everyone around me was dead."

"That's not exactly how I said it Mulder and it's definitely not what
I meant."

"Dana, I didn't hear you come down. ...I'll leave you two alone - you
need to talk."

"Indeed we do...thanks mom."

"No problem sweetie. Night, Fox."

"Goodnight Maggie."

Scully pushed the door fully open and walked out onto the porch,
holding the door for her mother before closing it once more. She
shivered as she made her way over to the swing and pulled her robe
more tightly around her. Sitting down beside Mulder, she took the
blanket that her mother had left and wrapped it snugly about her body,
tucking her legs up beneath her on the cushions. Mulder did not look
up at her until she gently eased his chin round to face her with her
hand. He leant into her gently cupping hand and reached out for her
with both of his arms. She gladly moved into his embrace
and held him tightly for a long moment, then pulled away slightly so
that she could sit comfortably in his arms whilst not falling off the
swing. Twisting round on the seat, Mulder shifted both of them so that
their legs were straight out along the length of the swing and she sat
on his lap, her back against his chest. He opened his blanket and
wrapped it around her as well, holding it tightly in place with his
arms.

"Scully..."

"So we're back to 'Scully' now are we?"

"I apologize for before - I was confused."

"I was confused too Mulder, in fact I kind of still am. Was this -
your distant attitude, going running and then almost ignoring me - all
because of something Bill said? I thought we agreed you would talk to
me if he said anything else."

"I thought you would agree with him and I wasn't sure whether I could
handle you telling me that again."

"What exactly did he say? ... No one seems to want to tell me."

"He said basically what you said in the middle of that lake - that I
get everyone around me hurt and I don't give a toss."

"That's not true, I know it's not - and it's not exactly what I said.
I already told you that that's not what I meant when I said what I did
on that rock."

"Well, what did you mean then Scully?"

"If you think back, you'll remember that the first thing that I said
was that you would get yourself killed - that was the important part
to me. That's the part that I didn't want to happen. The rest of what
I said was just about Ahab in the book, I didn't want you to know how
strongly I felt about your seemingly self-destructive mission."

"What? Sorry...I don't really understand."

"I loved you way back then - was in love with you, even though I
didn't really know it. I was scared that, if I stopped speaking after
I had said about you getting yourself killed, you would be able to see
my feelings too well so I covered by going back to the book - back to
what I knew. I didn't think you felt the same way about me so it was
better, easier I suppose, to just keep going. I didn't even stop to
think about what I was saying - what effect it might have on you. You
didn't say anything about it, so I didn't think about it anymore until
I heard you telling my mom what you remembered me saying."

"I didn't realize...so you don't think it's my fault - my quest that
has been the cause of everything? I mean Bill's right, a lot of people
have been hurt."

"Yes, people have gotten hurt along the way - you and me both included
- but it's hardly your fault. The people to blame are the
men...aliens...whatever...behind the conspiracy - they're the ones
who've hurt you, me and countless others along the way. They're the
ones that Bill should be mad at, not you - never you."

"I love you Scully. You know that, right?"

"I know. I love you too."

Scully turned in Mulder's arms and sought out his lips with her own,
her hands still encased in the blanket surrounding her. He released
his hold slightly so that she could move her arms free and then pulled
her back to him as they kissed hungrily. She sat up properly so that
she was straddling Mulder's waist and her legs dangled over the arm of
the swing. Their heated embrace caused the swing to rock slightly and,
when it tilted just a little too far, they broke the kiss. Both
panting for breath they giggled as they realized that they had nearly
fallen right off the swing onto the cold porch floor. Standing up,
Scully picked the blankets and cushions up and put them
in the kitchen, returning to the porch and Mulder who was still
sitting somewhat dazed on the swing. Moving to stand in front of him,
she held out her hand for him to take as she spoke.

"Bill and Tara are leaving on the 27th so we only have to deal with
him for one more whole day. We can do it ... right?"

"Sure we can Scully. Not that it matters too much, but why are they
leaving?"

"The three of them are going to visit Tara's parents for a couple of
days. They're coming back on New Year's Eve though."

"Oh...right."

"Anyway...I think it's about time we went to bed, don't you? I'm
totally exhausted and we're gonna have another long day tomorrow. The
kids will probably get us up early again and then we have our date at
night."

"That's right - our very first date. So...sofa-bed?"

"No. Why don't we go up and sleep in my bed, it's warmer and more
comfortable."

"Scully..."

"I just want to cuddle - nothing else. Also, this way we won't get any
early visitors tomorrow morning hopefully. Is that okay?"

"Of course. Let's go snuggle, Angel."

"You haven't called me that since this morning. ...I missed it."

"Well I'll just have to make up for it then, won't I Angel?"

"You bet you are and you'll have plenty of time to do it."

The two of them made their way inside and walked upstairs hand in
hand, both happy again now that things were right between them once
more. Once they got to Scully's room, they let go of each other's
hands so that they could get in opposite sides of the bed. Once they
were under the covers though, they both moved straight to the middle
of the bed and cuddled as close together as they could. Scully lifted
her head to give Mulder a kiss and then lay her head back down on his
chest as he pulled her body even tighter to his. They moved their legs
so that they were completely entangled and, feeling comforted and
secure, they both closed their eyes and drifted quickly off to
sleep.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

9.00am, Boxing Day

Mulder woke well rested, finding that he was still cuddled right up
to Scully and realized that he had been nuzzling against her chest in
his sleep. Just as he was about to pull away, he felt her small hand
on the back of his neck, urging him closer to her breast. He sneaked a
look at her face and found himself looking into half-open, still
sleepy eyes that were full of desire. He moved closer to her and heard
her give a soft sigh as he neared the place of her longing. She moaned
as his mouth closed over the tip of her right nipple through her
pyjama top and brought her other hand to his head to keep him from
leaving. He moved his hand up to separate the two sides of her top,
unbuttoning the only still-fastened button on his way past
it. He was just starting to edge the silky fabric away, exposing bare
skin to his eager mouth when a loud knocking at the bedroom door
interrupted him. Scully hastily redid the buttons on her top whilst
Mulder scooted up the bed so his head rested on the pillow. They just
managed to get themselves settled so that they didn't look
'interrupted' when Maggie popped her head round the door.

"Sorry if I woke you. Do you have Mattie in here with you?"

"No, Mom. Why would we have Mattie? ...What's wrong?"

"We can't find him...he's gone. He was in his crib sleeping and now
he's not. Bill and Tara are frantic, they only left him for a couple
of minutes to get some breakfast and when they came back up to get him
he wasn't there."

"Oh my God. Give us two minutes and we'll be right down."

Nodding, Maggie left the room as Scully got swiftly out of bed and,
picking up some clothes, went into the bathroom to get dressed. Mulder
grabbed clean clothes from his bag and hurriedly dressed whilst she
was in the bathroom, sitting down on the bed to wait impatiently for
her to finish. He left without her though when he heard a panicky yell
come from Jessica, and he rushed downstairs, calling to Scully that
she needed to hurry.

When he reached the den he found Charlie and Jessica cuddled together,
Jess trying very hard to calm down. Looking around he saw Maggie
sitting on the sofa with the twins, holding them close and trying to
soothe their frightened cries. He opened his mouth to ask what was
wrong but recognized that no one was in a state to answer him at that
moment. He waited for a long moment as he watched Charlie try to force
words out of his mouth to explain what was going on and then turned
towards the door expecting Scully to walk in. Instead he saw Bill and
Tara walking into the room alone, tears running down Tara's face, and
he realized that someone else was missing.

"Peter. Where's Peter?"

"He was in here watching cartoons on the T.V. with the girls but when
Jess came in she found only the girls here. She called out and gave
the girls a fright but they're okay. He was here...where could he have
gone? How..."

Charlie broke off, unable to speak for fear of breaking down
completely, instead concentrating on holding Jessica tightly in his
arms. She had started to sob in her husband's arms whilst he was
explaining the circumstance to the others and Tara had hidden her face
in Bill's chest as she heard Charlie speak. Mulder turned towards the
doorway, averting his eyes from the two distraught couples, and found
Scully standing there with a questioning look on her face. She had
come in after Charlie had spoken and so didn't know the newest
update.

Mulder saw her begin to ask what was going on so he crossed to her
quickly and quietly explained the situation, not wanting to upset the
parents anymore than they already were. She gasped as she realized the
seriousness of the situation and tears welled in her eyes too. Mulder
pulled her into his arms and whispered gently in her ear that they
needed to be the strong ones - they needed to keep their heads. She
nodded into his chest and, after one last squeeze she pulled away and
wiped her eyes dry. Taking a deep breath she asked her mother where
they had looked for them and if there was anywhere in the house they
could have missed.

"Dana we looked everywhere for Mattie - we didn't see Peter while we
were looking either. We all thought he was in here though, with the
girls."

"Jess, Charlie...sorry but when did you guys last see Peter? Was it
before or after you knew Mattie was missing?"

"Umm...before I think Day. The kids were watching cartoons while we
had breakfast with Tara and Bill and then they went upstairs. When
they came down they told us Mattie was gone. We helped look - the kids
were all still in the den as far as we knew until Jess came in
...then..."

"It's okay, Charlie. We'll find them."

Scully watched as her brothers both comforted their wives, trying to
be strong for them but failing miserably. She made sure her mother was
going to stay with the girls and pulled Mulder gently by the arm until
he followed her out into the lounge. She started to tell him what she
was planning to do but realized that Mulder was staring at the wall
blankly and wasn't paying any attention to her. She tugged on his
sleeve but all that did was make him put his arms around and hold her
close, swaying them both slightly. She eased gently away from his
tight hold and tilted his head down toward her until she was looking
straight into his eyes.

"Mulder...Mulder...you with me?"

"Oh, sorry. Sure I'm with you, Scully."

"What's wrong? You looked like you were somewhere else."

"It's just it reminds me of Sam ... of how my parents were...I don't
want anything to happen to those little guys...they're so small...what
if its happened again...I couldn't bear...Scully... she...they...I..."

"Oh, Mulder..."

"I'm fine Scully...I'm fine."

"No you're not."

"No ... but I will be. We need to find the kids - that's what's
important. I just can't help thinking that it's my fault. I couldn't
save HER and now...Bill's right - people I know do get hurt, or go
missing. I...I..."

"Come on Mulder, like you said - you need to keep it together. Tara
and Jess are already a mess and Bill and Charlie aren't far off it. We
both need to keep calm about this - how else are we going to find
them?"

"You're right Scully. I'm sorry, I just..."

"I know Mulder. I know it's hard but you've got to try. There's no
need to apologize either, I understand what's wrong but we can't
afford personal feelings just now."

"I know. So what do we do?"

"Let's search the house once more...it won't take too long and it
might solve this quickly and easily."

"Okay. I'll take upstairs, you take down."

"No problem. Mulder...just...hurry would you?"

"Of course."

Mulder bent down to give her a quick peck on the lips and she squeezed
him gently before letting him go completely. She watched as he bounded
off to go upstairs and then set out to search the downstairs
thoroughly. She went through the rooms one by one, checking in every
single cupboard and behind every piece of furniture. Calling out
Peter's name as she went, she heard Jessica's sobbing increase in
volume from n the den, soon joined by Tara's. She quickly realized
that there was nowhere that they could be downstairs and so went
through to the hall, intending to go upstairs to help Mulder.
When she got to the bottom of the stairs however, Mulder was just
coming down them, shaking his head at her hopeful glance. Her face
fell as did her hopes and she stood still, momentarily paralyzed by
her fear for her nephews. She knew that, as a trained FBI agent, she
should know exactly what to do but she found that her mind had gone
blank in the panic that was overtaking her. As she thought of her job
her thoughts cleared, letting her think rationally about what she had
to do and she headed towards the phone on the hall table. As she
lifted the receiver, Mulder put his hand over the hand that was
getting ready to dial the emergency number and closed his
fingers around hers, stopping her from doing just that.

"What are you doing Scully?"

"I'm calling the police."

"No Scully, wait. Isn't it a bit too soon to involve the police?
They've only been gone twenty minutes at the most."

"Mattie's only five-months old Mulder. There's no way he could have
got out of his crib, never mind been able to hide from us for this
long."

"I suppose you're right. He can't have gotten out, not on his own at
least. ...Scully, what if Peter took him out? Could he have done
that?"

"Probably...yes, that could have happened. But where are they now
Mulder. If that's what actually happened - where did they go? We've
checked everywhere."

"I don't know Sc ... wait a minute. Peter said something about taking
Mattie out into the snow when we were out sledging yesterday. He got
upset when we told him that Mattie was too little to play with them,
remember? Peter might have just taken Mattie to play in the snow with
him. Did anyone check the garden?"

"I'm not sure...I think so."

"Let's check it again."

Mulder pulled Scully by the hand he was still clutching and they both
rushed through the kitchen, bursting hastily through the back door.
Their eyes quickly scanned Mrs. Scully's pretty extensive garden for
the two boys but neither could see any sign of them. The snow had been
falling heavily for most of the morning and would already have covered
any tracks that Peter's little feet would have made. Scully had just
turned to Mulder to tell him that they should go back in when a sudden
movement caught her eye. Her head whipped back round and she searched
the garden for the motion she had detected and, just as she was
beginning to think that she had been mistaken, she saw it again.
Mulder had looked at her curiously when she had spun back
round and was trying to follow her gaze to determine what she had
spotted. He didn't see anything in the snowy garden and was confused
when she tugged on his hand and started running across the snow, hope
replacing the fear and worry that had been in her eyes. He followed
her anyway, trusting that she was right and soon he saw what she had
already noticed. There on the stark landscape of the garden he could
see a splash of color, which was moving slightly in the wind. As he
looked more closely, he could see that it was the same color and shape
as the hat that Peter had been wearing when they had gone sledging the
day before. Near the hat, in the far corner of the garden, there was a
mound of snow that looked very much like the beginnings of a snowman.
He suddenly remembered Charlie telling them that, the day before he
had arrived, they had built a small igloo in the garden for Peter to
play in.  Still hand in hand, he quickened their pace and they quickly
arrived at the entrance to the small snow building. Scully
crouched down in the snow in front of the igloo and peered in, not
caring that the wet snow was seeping through her clothes.

"Peter? ... Peter honey?"

"Scully, is he there? You're blocking the entrance and I can't see.
Talk to me Scully?"

"Mulder...he's asleep. They both are."

"Asleep?"

"Yeah, completely fast asleep. Thank God. Awww, Peter must have put
Mattie's snowsuit on him...backwards."

"C'mon Scully, let's get them out of there. I think your brothers and
their wives might just like to see them."

"Of course. Let me get Mattie and you can get Peter. Okay?"

"Sure...I don't know if Peter will really appreciate this though."

"Why not Mulder?"

"It doesn't matter. Have you got Mattie?"

"Yes. On you go in for Peter, I think he's beginning to wake
up...Mulder, I know you said it doesn't matter but I want to know what
you meant...Mulder?"

"Let's just get them inside Scully. I'll tell you later if you really
need to know."

"I do. Ready?"

"Yes, let's go return these two rascals to their parents."

Mulder and Scully carried the two boys close to their chests to
protect them from the snow, which was pelting them relentlessly. The
wind had picked up as well and Scully's hair blew in her eyes,
blocking her view. She stopped moving to try and clear her vision but
her hair kept blowing straight back as soon as she had swiped it away.
Mulder noticed that she was no longer beside him and turned back to
grab her free hand and they made their way across the garden to the
house together. Pushing the door open, Mulder placed his hand on
Scully's back to guide her in and followed her through.
They hurried to knock the snow off their shoes and went straight to
the den where everyone was still gathered.

Jess and Tara's tears had stopped and they were both now sitting in
their husband's arms staring blankly at the floor. All five adults
looked up expectantly at Mulder and Scully as they entered and they
all rushed to them when they saw the two boys in their arms. They
handed them over to their gratified and relieved parents and took a
step back so that Scully was in Mulder's arms and they were both out
of the way. The two boys were hugged by all of them, which caused
Mattie to wake up but Peter slept through it all. Once all the hugging
was over, Jess and Tara sat back down with their sons in their laps,
holding them as close to them as they could. Charlie was
choked up with emotion so when he turned to speak to Mulder and
Scully, he found himself unable to say a word, instead letting his
brother take over.

"Where were they Dana?"

"We found them fast asleep in the igloo that you and Charlie built for
Peter yesterday. Peter thought Mattie would enjoy playing in the snow
so he took him out and then they must have been tired so he took him
into the igloo to sleep."

"What on earth made you think to look there, Dana? I had forgotten all
about that."

"It was Mulder who thought of it really, mom. He remembered something
Peter had said yesterday about wanting to play with Mattie in the
snow. We thought it was worth a shot so we both went to look outside
and saw Peter's hat lying on the snow - it must have fallen off when
he was getting to the igloo. Then we saw the snow heap and remembered
about the igloo."

"Thanks Day. Thanks Mulder. I don't know what I ...thank you both so
much."

"No problem Charlie. We're both just so glad that we found them and
that they're both okay."

"We're going to take Mattie up to his crib. He's still tired and
should really get some more sleep if we're going out later."

"Okay Bill."

Bill and Tara made their way across the room and went through the door
to the lounge, heading upstairs. Scully twisted round to face Mulder
who had bent down somewhat and was resting his chin on her shoulder,
his arms tightly wrapped around her. She was just about to ask him
about what he had meant outside when he caught her lips with his own,
slightly smirking into the kiss since he knew exactly what she had
been going to ask. Peter chose that moment to wake up and, after a
brief instant of confusion, he smiled up at his mom from where he was
sitting on her lap and then turned round to face the room. He spotted
Mulder standing near the doorway into the kitchen still cuddling
Scully and pushed himself off his mother's lap. He walked
over to the two of them and held his arms out to Mulder, demanding,
without saying a word, to be picked up. Mulder looked unsure,
remembering the boy's comments and frightened behavior the day before
but when he looked over to Charlie he found him nodding that it was
okay. He let go of Scully after giving her a quick squeeze and a light
kiss placed on her brow, which was furrowed in confusion.

Mulder bent down to reach Peter's level and was taken aback at the
force of the hug that Peter bestowed upon him. He straightened up
taking Peter, whose arms were still wound tightly around his neck,
with him. He stood for a long moment just cradling him in his arms and
wondering what Peter would do next. Hearing him mumbling something
into his neck, he leaned his head backwards so that Peter was no
longer speaking into his neck.

"What is it Peter?"

"I'm sorry Mr. Fox. I didn't mean to make you sad. I 'm sorry."

"Hey that's okay kiddo. It's alright now."

"Daddy told me Uncle Bill wasn't telling the truth - but I never knew.
I'm sorry. Will you be my friend again?"

"Course I will Peter."

"Thank you. Mr. Fox ... will you come ice-skating with us later? Daddy
says you'll come if I ask nicely. Please?"

"Uh...Scully? Are we going skating?"

"Yup. Didn't I tell you before? We hired skates when we went to the
Mall on Christmas Eve and Charlie's going to pick them up. We're all
going but mom and Bill aren't going to skate - they'll just watch all
of us make fools of ourselves."

"Okay...well then Peter, I guess I'll be going skating with you.
You'll need to help me though - it's been a long time since I've done
any ice-skating."

"Don't worry Mr. Fox. Daddy taught me how to skate last year - I won't
let you fall."

"Thank you Peter. I wouldn't want to fall and embarrass your Auntie
Day now would I?"

"How are you going to embarrass me Mulder? If you fall you'll only
embarrass yourself."

"Oh no Scully. If I go down, you're going down with me."

"You wouldn't."

Mulder just smiled a cheeky grin at her and when Peter started
laughing he joined in, glad that the little boy was no longer afraid
of him. Scully glared at him for a moment but she too started
laughing, unable to keep her face straight when the two of them were
laughing so hard. As all three calmed down, Scully wrapped her arm
around the back of Mulder and leaned against him on the opposite side
to where Peter was. He pulled her tighter to him with his free arm and
she tilted her head up for a kiss. Peter wriggled in Mulder's arms as
he became bored with watching them smooch and Mulder reluctantly
released her mouth so he could set him back on the floor.
Once he was standing tall again and Peter had gone back to his
parents, they both edged backwards into the kitchen, closing the door
so that they could kiss in private. Mulder bent his knees slightly,
wrapping his arms around Scully's thighs so that he lifted her when he
stood up properly again. Their mouths were now on the same level as
each other and they wasted no time in joining them firmly, and
passionately, together again. Scully eventually pulled out of their
kiss in order to breathe and they rested their foreheads
against one another.

"So what did Peter hear Bill say? Is this something else you've been
keeping secret from me?"

"No...he heard what Bill said to me when we were sledging yesterday.
He thought I would hurt him so he didn't want to be near me."

"Oh, Mulder..."

"It's alright. It's over with now and he's not scared of me anymore as
I think you saw just there. I do think I'm going to have bruises from
that bear hug of his though."

"Well maybe your doctor should take a look - just to be sure there's
no permanent damage."

"Maybe she should - you haven't seen her anywhere lately have you?"

"Hey!"

"I'm only kidding Scully. You know that I wouldn't want to play doctor
with anyone but you."

"Glad to hear it. I suppose I'll just have to take a look then."

"I suppose you will."

Mulder walked backwards further into the kitchen and sank into one of
the kitchen chairs bringing Scully down with him to sit in his lap.
She tugged on his jacket until it fell away onto the floor and started
pressing gentle kisses to his neck at the site of the 'bruises'. While
she was busy examining his neck he pushed her coat off her shoulders
and she let it drop off her arms until it lay beside his on the floor.
One of his hands slid down her back and underneath her sweater,
warming his cool fingers with the heat of her bare skin. He stroked
her hair gently with his other hand as she trailed kisses from his
neck and over his jaw, her mouth finally coming to rest back at his
mouth. His hand on her head kept her lips pressed tightly
to his as they fought with their tongues between their two mouths. His
other hand drew light circles across her back, his fingers dancing
across her spine and then coming to rest with the tips of them laying
just under the waist of her pants. She moaned softly, breaking the
kiss for an instant and he became aware of their surroundings,
realizing that they were sitting in a room where anyone could enter at
any moment. Still kissing, he returned his hand to her upper back and
crushed her to his chest, making her gasp and break their kiss once
more. Once they parted they sat in comfortable silence, listening to
the kids playing in the lounge and contentedly staring into each
other's eyes.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The Pond
1pm, Boxing Day

After all the drama of the morning, everyone was glad to get out of
the house and go ice-skating on the nearby pond that had frozen over.
Tara had rented an ice-buggy for Mattie, which was basically a baby's
car seat on skates that Charlie pulled round behind him for the first
twenty minutes. Tara and Jess took a twin each with them as they
skated and Peter went with Mulder and Scully, holding both of their
hands tightly as they pulled him fast across the pond. When Mattie
fell asleep in the ice-buggy, Charlie took him over to where Maggie
and Bill had found seats on a bench at the side of the pond. Charlie
then caught up with Mulder and Scully, taking his son from
them and letting them be on their own for a while.

They skated round the sides together, and each took off one of their
gloves so they could hold hands properly. After a long while of
skating in contented silence, Scully pulled Mulder so that they were
headed into the middle of the pond. Mulder looked down at her beside
him and chuckled when he saw her child-like expression, delighted to
be out skating with him.

"What are you laughing at Mulder?"

"Your nose is all red Scully."

"That's because it's cold."

"Well come here then and let me kiss it warm. I can't have my Angel's
nose being cold now, can I?"

They stopped moving forward so that he could kiss her nose and then
Mulder wrapped his arms tightly around her, holding her as close to
him as he could. As their mouths met, Scully snaked her arms inside
his open jacket and round to his back where she slipped her hands
under his sweater. He jumped slightly at the cold touch of her bare
hand and the wetness of the one glove she still had on. Smiling into
the kiss, she removed her gloved hand so that he wouldn't get too wet
but kept her other hand where it was, enjoying the feel of his smooth,
warm skin. As the kiss intensified Scully slightly wobbled on her
skates and Mulder drew back from the kiss in order to keep their
balance. He grinned at her and they moved to connect their
mouths once more but a shout interrupted them.

"Day."

Scully reluctantly pulled away from Mulder's embrace at the sound of
her brother calling her name. Carefully releasing his tight hold,
Mulder didn't fully let go until he was sure she was completely
balanced. Scully slowly turned round and saw Charlie skating with
Peter at the edge of the pond near to where her mother and Bill were
sitting.

"What's up, Charlie?"

"Mom wants to talk to you."

"Okay. I'll be right there."

Scully gave Mulder a kiss and squeezed his hand before going to talk
to her mother, leaving Mulder in the middle of the pond. He was so
caught up in watching her glide across the ice that he didn't notice a
man being dragged by a girl who was roughly 9 years old. They sped
towards him and he didn't have time to move out of their way before
they crashed right into him. He managed to catch the girl before she
fell but the man went down, falling right on his backside. The girl
dissolved into giggles at the sight but Mulder kept a straight face
and turned to see if the man was okay. He put a hand out to help the
man up, which the man took, pushing himself up off the ice with his
other hand.

"I'm really sorry. We weren't looking where we were going. I hope we
didn't hurt you when we... Agent Mulder?"

"A.D. Skinner, nice to see you sir. Are you...o...okay?"

"Quit laughing Mulder."

"I'm so...sorry...sir...I..."

"Mulder!"

"Okay, okay, I've stopped. Sorry sir, I didn't recognize you with your
hat on."

"Uncle Walter. Who's this?"

"This is Mr. Mulder, he works with me. Mulder, this is my niece
Lucy."

"Nice to meet you Lucy."

"You too, Mr Mulder. I'm going to go back to dad if that's okay Uncle
Walter."

"Sure Lucy. Go easy on him though - I think he's still recovering from
your last trip with him in tow."

"Okay Uncle Walter. See you Mr Mulder"

"Bye Lucy."

The two men watched her skate back to where her dad was sitting at the
side of the pond, her long blonde hair flying wildly behind her.
Mulder had nearly gotten over the shock at meeting his boss and seeing
him fall on the ice but he was still very proud of himself when he
managed to enquire politely about his holiday without laughing again.
He was still talking to Skinner when Scully skated over to him and
wrapped her arms tightly around his neck, pulling his head down to
hers for a gentle kiss. Skinner's eyes popped out at the sight and he
stifled a chuckle when he looked at Mulder's face; pleased about the
kiss, nervous about his reaction.

"Hey Mulder. Aren't you going to introduce me to your friend?"

"Agent Scully."

"A... A.D. Skinner. ...Hi...um."

"Hello. Enjoying yourself Agent Scully?"

"Um...yes sir...thank you."

Scully was completely flustered at meeting her boss and was worried
about what he was going to say about the very obvious fact that she
and Mulder were now a couple. Skinner put on a stern expression and
looked at the two of them seriously until both started to squirm under
his intense scrutiny. They started to speak at the same time,
attempting to explain themselves to him but their mouths dropped open
when he started to grin at the pair of them.

"It's about time. I thought you two would never open your eyes."

"Sir?"

"Mulder, for all your searching for the truth, you both were pretty
blind to the truth that was right in front of you."

"Um...sir?"

"Scully, everyone and their mother has known for a long time that this
clown has been in love with you for a LONG time. We weren't quite so
sure about you for a while but it soon became pretty obvious."

"O...Obvious?"

"Yes agents, obvious. It's good to see you're not completely
oblivious though."

"Good? ...Doesn't the bureau have rules against this? Shouldn't you
be telling us that it's not allowed?"

"It's not encouraged Scully but it's not forbidden. The thinking
behind it is that if partners are involved it makes them less
effective but you two, although not technically involved, have
performed admirably for the whole time you've been together. Your
solve rate for your cases is well above average and the bureau isn't
going to split you up now."

"Really?"

"Yes, really. I don't think it will affect your work since you have
been closer than most couples for a long time. However if you do allow
your relationship to interfere with your jobs then something will have
to be done."

"Of course sir. Thank you."
"No problem Agent Scully. I'm glad the two of you are happy; you
deserve it after all you've both been through."

"Yes...I think we do."

"Uh, sir?"

"Yes Mulder?"

"You might want to duck and cover. Your niece is coming back this way
with someone in tow and I'm not sure she'll be able to stop this time
either."

"What..."

Skinner turned round and saw that Lucy was indeed heading straight
towards them with her father, both going full-speed. Lucy's face was
happy and carefree while her father's was slightly less pleased and
quite a bit worried. They crashed into the stationary group of three
but this time Mulder and Skinner caught Lucy's dad and Scully caught
Lucy before either of them fell onto the ice. The man heaved a huge
sigh of relief and, after thanking Mulder; he turned to Skinner to
tell him that they were leaving. Skinner said his goodbyes to Mulder
and Scully and then skated off, Lucy held back this time with both men
holding her hands and slowing her down. Mulder put his arm around
Scully as they watched and, just as he was about to lean down and kiss
her, he remembered why he had been alone when he had met Skinner in
the first place.

"What did your mom want Scully?"

"She was just letting us know that we'll have to head off soon if we
want to go get your tux hired for our dinner tonight."

"How soon do we need to go?"

"About now. We need to have enough time for you to try it on and then
I need to go and get some shoes to go with my dress."

"Okay then. Let's go."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

6:15pm, Boxing Day

Mulder stood impatiently at the bottom of the stairs, fidgeting
nervously with the sleeves of his suit jacket as he waited for Scully
to come down. She had been getting ready for the past hour and a half
and now had all the women helping put the 'finishing touches' to her
outfit. Bill and Charlie had taken the children out for a walk in the
snow before dinner; Bill not really wanting to have to watch them go
out and Charlie not wanting Bill to be there to ruin it for them. Bill
had kept quiet since his outburst on Christmas Day and Mulder hoped
that they would make it through the next twenty-four hour without a
repeat. Bill, Tara and Mattie were leaving to visit Tara's parents
tomorrow afternoon for four days, coming back on New-Years Eve.

Looking at his watch, he sighed as he realized that only three minutes
had gone past since he had last checked the time. He glanced up at the
stairs hoping that she would be there but she wasn't and instead he
was distracted by a beep from the taxi outside.  Opening the door he
shouted to the driver that they would be out soon. Noticing that his
sleeves were messed up again from looking at his watch, he hastily
sorted them out. He smiled to himself as he caught sight of his
cufflinks, the elegant silver not quite covering up the fact that they
were alien heads. He remembered the words she had spoken when she gave
them to him and thought back to a conversation they'd had in his - no,
their - office almost three years ago.

It had taken place during the time that the X-files had been closed
and the two of them had stopped officially being partners although
they consulted each other on nearly every case. They had gone down to
the now-empty basement office together to discuss the case he had been
working on at the time with Alex Krycek, long before they had found
out that he was working for the consortium. Once they had gone over
the case notes, neither of them had been very keen to leave so they
had stayed down there, talking. Scully had asked him about his new
partner and he had told her that she would always be his partner,
official or not. Smiling shyly but looking pleased she had told him
the same back and they had sat in silence for a moment,
considering the other's words.

Realizing that they had been staring deeply into each other's eyes,
Scully had shook her head and asked him once again about Krycek.
Laughing, he had ridiculed his floppy haircut and too-eager attitude
to get everything done. He had then told her for a second time how
believing he was in the paranormal and, as he was talking, he watched
her face fall imperceptibly to everyone but those that knew her well.
He had hurriedly gone on to tell her that believing in the same things
he did wasn't the most important attribute to him in a partner. Her
face had brightened slightly at that and she had asked him what he did
consider to be the most important quality in a partner.

'Trust', he had told her. 'Trust and respect.'

He had never trusted Krycek, which turned out to be a very good thing
considering, but he had told her then that he had trusted her from
almost the very beginning. Her good mood restored, she had given him
one of her rare smiles that showed her teeth and returned the
sentiment. He had then told her that what he valued most about her was
that she at least respected his beliefs and was willing to listen to
his crazy theories; the fact that she required proof before she would
change her own theory only made him respect her. Once again they had
become silent, moving to sit closer together and thinking about the
'good old days' they had had in that office.

He realized that; although they had seen a lot and been through a lot
of crazy things together, he still admired her most for being able to
stick to her beliefs unless there was evidence to the contrary, just
like he was able to. Still lost in thought, he didn't realize that
Scully was standing at the top of the stairs until he heard a polite
cough and a few giggles. He looked up and saw her standing there, with
her hair all done up and wearing the dress he had bought her. The
satin fabric of the dress skimmed over her hips and swept down her
legs to the floor emphasizing her stunning figure. He could see a
tantalizing amount of her thigh where the dress was slit at one
side and the neckline, although rather modest comparatively speaking,
caused him to gasp out loud. The bodice was lightly decorated with a
very fine beaded pattern across one side and the delicate straps were
adorned with the same beads. Her earrings sparkled in the dim light of
the hall and, as she made her way down the stairs, he could see that
she had pinned her hair up with clips that also glittered. He opened
his mouth as if to speak but no words came out and instead just stood
there gazing in wonder at the beautiful sight in front of him. She
smiled shyly as she approached him and was blushing deeply by the time
she came to a halt in front of him. Maggie, Tara and Jess were all
standing behind her waiting to see and hear his reaction to how she
looked.

"Wow! ...Scully, you look..."

"Fox Mulder speechless - there's a sight I never thought I'd see."

"Scully, there are no words. You are indescribable."

"In a good way I hope."

"In the best way there is. You're too stunning for words, I...am I
dreaming?"

"Nope, but thank you. You look pretty amazing yourself."

"Why, thank you. May I help you with your coat?"

"Sure. Is the taxi here already?"

"Your chariot awaits."

"Bye Mom. Bye Tara. Bye Jess."

"Bye Dana. Have a good time both of you."

"We will, Maggie. Goodbye."

Mulder helped her on with her coat and then held out his arm for her
to take while Maggie opened the front door for them. The pair made
their way carefully down the slippery path and Mulder opened the taxi
door for her before making his way round to the other side and getting
in himself. They waved to the three women standing in the doorway as
the taxi pulled out and then settled close together whilst they drove
to the restaurant.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The taxi pulled up outside the restaurant and, after paying and
generously tipping the driver, Mulder opened the door and got out of
the car. Hurrying round to the other side, he got there in time to
open the door for Scully and he offered her his right hand to help her
get out. She happily grasped his outstretched hand with her own right
hand and elegantly exited the car, stopping to thank the driver before
she was fully out. Mulder kept hold of her hand and wrapped his other
arm around her back, guiding her towards the restaurant entrance. She
relaxed contentedly into his casual embrace and they walked through
the front doors to be greeted by the maitre d'.

Scully gasped almost inaudibly and tightened her grip on Mulder's hand
as they were led through the restaurant to their table, marveling at
the beauty of it all. Individual candles on each table softly lighted
the room and their chairs, instead of facing each other across the
table, were turned at a slight angle so that they could easily hold
hands when they were seated. They sat down on the chairs pulled out
for them by the waiters and immediately a bottle of champagne was
brought to the table and glasses poured for both of them. Mulder
lifted his glass as Scully did the same and, reaching for her hand
with his, he tilted his glass towards her.

"May I propose a toast?"

"To what?"

"To my wonderful, dazzling, beautiful angel. To your continued health
and happiness for they are the most important things to me - if you
didn't have them Scully, I would search the world over in order to
give you them back or I would die trying."

"Mulder, that's so sweet...but I can't drink a toast that's just to
me."

"Well then, here's to us - you and me Scully, together always. May we
never be parted by anything that this oftentimes-cruel world can throw
at us. We've conquered so many things in our partnership already - may
we continue to do so now that our partnership has been extended in the
most fantastic and brilliant way ever possible."

"Yes - here's to all of that. Forever."

"Forever."

They clinked glasses and took their first sips of champagne, neither
looking away from the other, both unwilling to break the loving
connection held between their eyes. Mulder set his glass back down on
the table and reached across to catch the single tear that had fallen
from her eyes as he had spoken. She leaned her cheek into his palm and
he caught her chin between his fingers and thumb and pulled her gently
back towards him. Her lips sought out his and they shared a chaste
kiss until they were politely interrupted by the arrival of the waiter
with their starters. Scully stretched out her leg so that it lay
alongside his and, after a brief moment of surprise, Mulder linked
their ankles together and they remained like that for the rest of the
meal. They remained mostly silent as they consumed their
starter and main course, content just to be in each other's company.
They shared meals between the two of them, both lovingly feeding the
other with and giggling when they accidentally allowed sauce to drip
down their chin. Scully cleaned Mulder's chin with her napkin but
Mulder decided to try a more direct approach and carefully licked up
the dribble straight off her chin causing her to gasp and then giggle
more. As they were waiting for their dessert to arrive Mulder caught
Scully looking at the dance floor and he got up out of his seat and
held out a hand to her.

"Would you care to dance?"

"I'd love to."

"Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight Scully?"

"I think you might have mentioned it a few times."

"Well then let me mention it some more. You look so stunning and
radiant that you put the angels in heaven to shame and I can't believe
I'm really standing here with you."

"Mulder..."

"I know I AM here...but it's still pretty unbelievable that the most
beautiful woman in the room - no, the world - is here with me."

"There's no one I'd rather be here with - no one I'd even want to be
here with."

"I don't know what I ever did to deserve you but I'm glad I did it."

"Mulder...it's me that's undeserving of you...you opened my eyes up to
the world, stood by me when I was weak and held me when I was in pain.
You gave me everything I wanted or needed and asked for nothing
back...you..."

"Ssshh, don't cry Scully. I don't want you to cry."

"But they're happy tears Mulder; happy that I'm here with you - that
we're together, really together."

"Yes we are...I'm so glad."

"Me too Mulder, me too."

They had been swaying gently to the music as they talked and now
Mulder bent to press a light kiss on her lips as they finished their
conversation. Pulling out of the kiss, they both gazed into the
other's eyes as they danced, oblivious to the world around them -
truly contented to be in each other's arms. They danced in silence,
enjoying the soft beat of the music but, when the song changed, Mulder
listened more carefully to the words of the song as he recognized the
tune. He bent his head down so that his mouth was right next to her
ear and, after placing a gentle kiss to her earlobe; he began to
softly sing along to the music.

When there's darkness all around me,
You're the light I see.
When I need someone to ease my troubled mind.

You're the answer to my prayer,
And you're with me everywhere.
You're my angel, miracle, you're all I need tonight.

Give me shelter from the rain,
You breathe life in me again.
You're my angel, miracle,
You're all I need to know, tonight.

Scully shivered at the sound of his husky, love-laden voice singing
the perfect words to her and was disappointed when the song ended. She
was not disappointed for long though for, as a new song began, Mulder
kissed down her jaw line from her ear to her mouth. Flushing as his
lips touched hers, her moment of embarrassment from kissing him in
public soon turned to excitement as she reveled in the roughness of
his tongue stroking along her own. He pulled away and they danced
closely for the remainder of the new song and then he led her back to
the table where the waiters soon brought them their dessert.

They ate their dessert rather quickly and Scully was slightly
disappointed that the end of the meal meant the end of their evening
before remembering that they were both going back to the same place.
Her smile brightened as she watched Mulder settle the bill and then
turn to her with a single rose in his hand that he had bought from a
lady selling them. The pair of them left the restaurant intending to
get in a taxi and go straight home but, before Mulder could hail a
taxi, Scully grabbed his arm. Turning around quickly to see what was
wrong, Mulder was surprised when he found Scully's lips pressed
immediately against his. He pulled away and looked at her with
questioning eyes, wondering what had brought that on. She smiled up at
him and snuggled into his chest so that she was tucked tightly under
his arm.

"Can we walk home Mulder? It's not far and it's such a nice night."

"Of course, I'd love to escort you home milady."

"Mulder..."

"What? ...I would. I would do anything for my Angel - I hope you know
that. ...Are you sure you won't get cold though - it is a bit nippy."

"I won't get cold as long as you're here."

"Well okay then. Off we go."

They walked all the way home in the clear, moonlit night, Mulder
keeping Scully warm by opening his trench coat and tucking her inside
it. It was so large and she so small that both of them fitted in it
quite comfortably, especially when Scully snaked her arm around his
back and held tightly to him around his waist. They strolled along the
streets in comfortable silence stopping only a few times on the way so
they could kiss once more. After about twenty minutes of walking they
turned into Maggie's street and stopped at the foot of her driveway.
Scully looked up at Mulder from her cozy nest in his coat and gave him
a tight squeeze around his waist.

"Thank you for tonight Mulder."

"It's your mom we need to thank - she's the one who organized it."

"Yes, but you're the one who was with me, making it the most perfect
night I've ever had."
"It was perfect for me too - just because you were there. That you
were there with me - actually WITH me - that turned my night into
heaven."

"Oh Mulder...I love you so much."

"Love you too Angel. I'll never stop loving you."

"Nor I, you."

After sharing a soft kiss, the two of them made there way up the
path, careful not to slip on the frost that now covered the snow. When
they reached the front porch Mulder paused and, as she turned to see
if he was okay, he dipped his head to capture her lips beneath his.
The kiss was heated and the passion escalated until, breathless,
Scully pulled away and rested their foreheads together as they both
tried to catch their breath.

"You know Mulder - my room's right at the end of the house and the
bathroom blocks any sounds being transmitted through the other wall."

"Are you sure you want to...?"

"Mulder, it's the only thing that could make this night any better
than it already is."

"Well then Angel..."

With that they hurried through the front door and, as Mulder locked it
and removed his trench coat, Scully waited impatiently at the bottom
of the stairs. Mulder finally turned to her and brought his hand up to
caress the back of her neck while his mouth descended on hers. She
surrendered to the kiss and brought her own hands up to run her
fingers through his hair whilst their tongues danced. Soon her urgency
overtook her and she grabbed at the lapels of his suit jacket, tugging
him up the stairs after her without removing her mouth from his. They
made their way awkwardly up the stairs and along the hall until they
went through the door into Scully's bedroom where they finally parted
so they could remove her dress together. Clothing was scattered around
the room as they uncovered more and more of the other's
bare skin until, both fully undressed, they collapsed in a tangled
heap on the bed. After one last questioning look from Mulder and an
answering assurance from Scully, they began the intimate dance that
only lovers do. They made love until dawn and then, exhausted, they
both fell fast asleep, arms and legs entwined.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

9:30am, 27th December

"Mummy where's Auntie Day?"

"She's still asleep Peter. I'm sure she'll be down soon."

"Are you kidding Jess - do you really think they're going to make it
out of bed before noon?"

"Charlie sssh!"
"What? It's not like Peter understands what I'm talking about."

"Still..."

"Understand what, daddy?"

"Nothing Peter. Where are Abby and Adele?"

"They're both in the den playing with their Christmas present from
Gamma."

"Could you go and get them for breakfast, please? We're all eating
together this morning since it's Uncle Bill and Auntie Tara's last
day. Tell them to clean their hands because it's almost ready to be
eaten."

"Okay daddy."

Peter went off to find his sisters and, once he had told them to go
through to the kitchen, he went to do the same himself. When he passed
the stairs though, he paused and looked up at the upstairs landing
where he could see that his Auntie Day's door was still closed. Mulder
and Scully were still fast asleep and Peter was getting tired of
waiting for them to come down. Remembering that his father had told
him that they were all going to eat breakfast together, he thought
that they should be included in the family meal. He decided that he
would wake them up for breakfast so he climbed the stairs and pushed
open the door to their room. Charlie had just come out of
the kitchen to see what was taking his son so long when he saw that he
had made his way upstairs. He followed Peter up the stairs to stop him
from disturbing them and just caught up to him as he got the door
fully opened. Charlie picked Peter up quickly and shut the bedroom
door before Mulder or Scully woke up - but not before he and his son
had both seen the pair entangled on the bed. The covers had concealed
very little and it was incredibly obvious that neither had any clothes
on.

"Daddy why's Auntie Day got no clothes on? And how come Mr. Fox is
cuddling with her?"

"They're just sleeping Charlie."

"But how come Mr. Fox is sleeping with Auntie Day - doesn't he got his
own bed?"

"Yes but..."

"Where was their jammies Daddy? They should have jammies on to go to
bed."

"Well Peter...you know that Mommy and Daddy love each other and we
sleep in the same bed - that's what Auntie Day and Mulder are doing."

"Do they love each other too?"

"Yes Peter, they do - very much."

"What about Uncle Bill and Auntie Tara?"

"Yes they love each other as well."

"So..."

"Peter, let's just go downstairs and get your breakfast, okay? That's
enough questions for just now."

"Okay daddy."

"Oh and Peter - this isn't something we should be telling everyone
okay?"

"Why not Daddy?"

"It's private - just like sometimes you need to knock when our door
is closed, you should have knocked on Auntie Day's door too."

"I'm sorry daddy. I didn't know - I didn't mean to."

"I know you didn't Peter. Just make sure you knock next time okay?"

"Yes Daddy."

"Right, Lets go back downstairs - I think Gamma is just about to
serve breakfast and you wouldn't want your toast to get cold now,
would you."

"No. Cold toast is yucky."

"Well then, let's go."

Father and son made their way back down stairs to rejoin the others
who were all seated at the kitchen table. Maggie had just begun
serving the bacon and eggs when they got down and so she missed the
look that Charlie gave Jess. Jess understood what her husband was
trying to communicate to her though and smiled widely at the knowledge
that Mulder and Scully had indeed had a very good evening. Catching
the smile on Jess' face, Maggie looked questioningly at the pair of
them but let it rest for fear that Bill would start an argument if it
was anything to do with Mulder and Scully like she suspected.
The whole family dug into their breakfast while, upstairs, the pair
slumbered on, oblivious to their very brief audience.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

10:30am, 27th December

Scully awoke to a soft tickling sensation across her back and smiled
as the memories of the previous night flooded back to her. She lifted
her head from Mulder's chest and squirmed up his body to kiss him, his
hands all the while stroking her back. Mulder turned them over so that
they were both lying on their sides facing each other, not breaking
the kiss. He moved one hand up to her neck to pull her closer to him
and the other hand remained where it was, rubbing the small of her
back gently. One of Scully's arms was trapped between them so she laid
her open palm on his bare chest, stroking it softly as they continued
their kisses. They finally broke away and rested their heads on the
pillows, their faces only centimeters away from each other.

"Morning Angel."

"Good morning."

"I like waking up next to you - or 'under you', I should say."

"I like it too. It feels...right. It just feels right."

"It does that. I don't believe I've gone so long in my life without
knowing how perfect this is."

"Me too. ...Well, I suppose we don't need to worry about that - we're
here now together and that's what matters."

"Yes it is. We should really get up soon - wouldn't want anyone coming
in to wake us. We are staying in a house with three small children -
oh and Charlie - we shouldn't really let them find us like this."

"Like what? ...Oh, you mean in our birthday suits?"

"Yes I mean that. It would be a hard one to explain to the kids -
Charlie will know fine what it means though."

"Shower?"

"That sounds good. Let's go."

Their shower took a good deal longer than separate showers would have
done but they didn't care, they were enjoying their newfound closeness
far too much too worry about things like that. When they were dried
and dressed, Mulder sat Scully between his legs on the bed to comb the
tangles out of her still wet hair. He stole kisses from her between
each stroke of the brush and, after a while, Scully decided just to do
it herself so that it would be dry sometime that day. After her hair
was dry and they had shared a lot more passionate kisses, they
eventually decided to go downstairs to say good morning to the rest of
the household. When they reached the lounge, Mulder told Scully he was
going to get them some breakfast and that he would be back in a
minute. He met Charlie in the kitchen who gave him a strange look
as he passed by him to toast some bread.

"What's up, Charlie?"

"Um...nothing. It's nothing."

"C'mon, what is it? You're looking at me funny."

"I'm sorry Mulder. I've just got this image imprinted on my brain and
it refuses to go away."

"Image? ...What do you mean?"

"Umm...well you see...Peter went to wake you guys up this morning for
breakfast and he...we...uh...we kind of saw you and Day."

"Aha. ...Oh my God."
"I'm really sorry, I thought I would catch him before he got there or
you guys would have blocked the door or something if..."

"We...um...we weren't exactly thinking about that kind of thing...we
didn't expect anyone would come in without knocking."

"The joys of living with kids. I'm really sorry; Peter will just barge
in anywhere if he wants to get in unless he's been specifically told
not to and even then... I apologize..."

"Don't worry about it Charlie. It wasn't your fault. ...You okay with
it?"

"Sure. I mean, I'm an adult, I know what goes on in the bedroom. I
didn't expect to actually SEE you two like that but I'll survive."

"Right...well...I'd better take this through to Scully."

"No problem. Catch you later. Jess, Tara and I are going to take the
kids sledging again in a bit."

"Cool. Have fun."

While Mulder had been talking to Charlie, Scully had gone into the
lounge to find her mom with Peter in her lap. Maggie had asked about
how the date had gone straightaway and Scully had blushed whilst
telling her mom some - but not all - of the details of the evening
before. She had just begun telling her mom about the walk home when
Peter wiggled around on his Gamma's knee, trying to get down. Thinking
that he was bored and wanted to go see his father, Maggie lifted him
off her knee and put him on the floor. Instead of leaving the room
however, Peter walked over to his Auntie Day and began tugging on her
sleeve to gain her attention.

"Auntie Day, is Mr. Fox my Uncle?"

"No honey."

"But if it's Auntie Tara and Uncle Bill - why isn't it Auntie Day and
Uncle Fox?"

"That's because Auntie Tara and Uncle Bill are married - Mulder and I
aren't married."

"But you loves each other, right?"

"Yes Peter. We do."

"But he's not my uncle."

"That's right."

"Oh. ...So how come you was sleeping with him?"

"We were cuddling Peter, you like cuddles don't you? We were cold so
we snuggled together."

"If you were cold why didn't you use the covers?"

"When are you talking about, honey?"

"This morning. You didn't have the covers on and you and Mr. Fox
weren't wearing any jammies. You can't have been that cold if you
didn't need jammies."

"Dana?"

"Oh my gosh, I don't believe this. I'm so embarrassed."

Just then Mulder came through the door with Scully's toast on a plate
along with butter and jam, which he placed on the coffee table in
front of her. Seeing her red face, Maggie's broad smirk and Peter's
puzzled expression, he understood immediately what had just been said.
He sat down beside Scully, pulling her into his arms and whispered to
her what Charlie had told him, confirming what she had already
realized and making her blush even deeper. Maggie stood up to go into
the kitchen, still half-smiling and purposefully 'invited' her
daughter to accompany her. They met Charlie in the hall and he
collected Peter to take him upstairs to get ready for going sledging,
leaving Mulder alone in the lounge.

Bill stormed into the room from the den, obviously having just heard
every word of the conversation. He crossed to Mulder and pulled him up
off his chair by the collar of his shirt and pushed him out of the
door into the hall. While Mulder was trying to regain his balance, he
opened the front door and, grabbing Mulder again, shoved him through
it into the front garden.

"What the hell, Bill?"

"Stay away from my sister. You've got a nerve coming here and screwing
her under her mother's roof. I should never have let you step a foot
into the house but I was outnumbered. I held my tongue as my mother
asked because I respect her and how do you repay her kindness? By
banging her daughter - her only daughter now thanks to you. Get the
hell out of here and stay away."

"Bill, I..."

"Shut it. I don't want to hear any of your crap. Get out of
here...GO!!"

When Mulder didn't make a move, Bill swung for him, his fist catching
him in the corner of his eye. Mulder was knocked off balance and
stumbled backwards, giving Bill plenty of time to strike his next
blow, this one to his stomach. The strength of the punch forced the
air out of Mulder's lungs, causing him to double over. Bill followed
up with a knee to Mulder's face from which blood ran free.

"BILL! What the hell are you doing? Get away from him!"

"Dana, go back inside."

"Like hell I will! Bill, what have you done? Mulder, are you
alright?"

Scully ran down the steps to Mulder and pulled his head down to her
level, brushing his hair gently back from his eyes to get a closer
look at his injuries. He let her look, wincing when she pressed too
hard around his eye or along his nose. She turned to take him back
indoors to get some ice for his bruises but found her way blocked by
her brother.

"Move, Bill!"

"He's not coming back in this house."

"Yes he is Bill. Now move."

"No."

"Bill, please. I didn't mean to cause trouble but I kind of need some
ice for my face."

"You are not getting back in here Mr. Mulder. Put some snow on it and
get lost or you really will have some injuries."

"Look Bill..."

Realizing that Mulder was not going to listen to his threats, Bill
decided to use brute force again. He pulled his fist back once again
and punched Mulder over Scully's head, striking him on the side of his
jaw. Scully screamed at him to stop and flung herself forward onto her
brother, trying to prevent him from hitting Mulder again. Bill didn't
listen and continued to swing, pushing his sister along with him as he
moved towards Mulder. Scully began crying as she used all of her
strength to try and stop him from moving any nearer.

Hearing the commotion, Charlie came out to investigate and was shocked
as he saw his sister's tears, Mulder's bleeding and bruised face and
his brother's rage. He swiftly moved behind Bill and wrapped both arms
around him, pinning Bill's arms to his side. Bill struggled to
extricate himself but Charlie held fast, stopping him from escaping.
Scully took a step back from her brothers and, after checking that
Mulder was still standing, she turned to Bill and slapped him hard
across the face. She half-smirked at his shocked expression but her
rage had not disappeared and she raised her other hand to
deliver another slap across his other cheek. Before she struck him
again however, Mulder caught her hand, turning her towards him and
holding her hand close to his chest. She tried to pull it free but
Mulder held fast and she relented, allowing him to pull her into his
arms.

"Scully don't."

"Mulder..."

"I'm fine Scully. I don't want you to hit your brother because of
me."

"But..."

"No Scully. I won't let you do it - not for me, I'm not worth it."
"Yes you are Mulder. But if you don't want me to...okay, I won't.
...Are you okay Mulder, really?"

"Yeah. I don't think any bones were broken."

"Let's get you inside to get it checked out. We need to get some ice
to bring down the swelling."

"But Bill..."

"Charlie's got him. Haven't you?"

"Sure Day. ...You're not going anywhere until you've calmed down
Bill."

Bill struggled once more in his brother's grip but Charlie did not
loosen his hold so Bill was trapped in his arms, letting Mulder and
Scully get past them into the house. Scully led Mulder into the
kitchen where she sat him down on a chair while she went to get ice
from the freezer. She brought tissues to stem the blood running from
his nose as well and tenderly saw to his injuries. They could hear
Charlie and Bill shouting in the garden and the longer the shouting
continued the quieter Mulder became. His shoulders had slumped by the
time Scully had finished tending to his wounds but she was too busy
trying to hear what her brothers were saying to notice his
depressed attitude.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

2pm, 27th December

The argument between Bill and Charlie had lasted for over half an hour
- both sticking to their opinions and not allowing the other to sway
them. It had stopped for about five minutes while Jess and the kids
had come out to go sledging, Charlie telling them that he would catch
them up later. The two men had waited for them to move out of earshot
and had then begun their argument once again. Mulder and Scully had
moved from the kitchen to the lounge and had been able to hear most of
the brothers' quarrel. Scully had smiled in gratitude every time
Charlie had stood up for them both and smirked whenever he insulted
Bill. Her face had quickly fallen however, when Bill had always
answered him straight back, not deterred from his hatred of
Mulder. Mulder hadn't smiled when Charlie had spoken; instead he had
retreated into himself and not heard the content of what they were
saying. He only knew that they were arguing because of him and he had
ignored the concerned glances Scully kept throwing his way, pretending
that he was busy with his still-bleeding nose.

The shouting had eventually stopped and Bill had stormed into the
house and gone right past the pair of them into the den. After
checking that Mulder was okay and renewing his ice pack, Maggie had
joined her son in the den and they had had heated words as well.
Mindful of the pair sitting in the next room, as well as Mattie
sleeping upstairs, they had kept the volume down which meant that
Mulder and Scully hadn't been able to hear most of what was
being said. They had argued for a much shorter time than the two
brothers had done and it had ended with Maggie leaving the room,
telling him that she was thankful that he was leaving since she didn't
want anymore of his hateful attitude in her house. She had then walked
through the lounge and up the stairs to watch Mattie whilst Tara
packed for the trip up to her parents.

Bill was still sulking in the den, unwilling to come out and face the
wrath of yet another family member so soon. Mulder and Scully were
still sitting on the sofa side by side, the ice pack and towels lying
on the table in front of them, no longer needed. Scully took their
clasped hands and raised them over her head and across her shoulder,
snuggling under Mulder's arm to rest her head on his chest. He allowed
her to do so but made no move to pull her closer like he usually did.
Instead he remained stiff, his arm hanging limply on her shoulder
after she released his hand from hers. Thinking that he was still
upset about the fight, Scully tilted her head so that she could
press her lips against his in an effort to comfort him. Mulder didn't
push her away but he did not respond either, keeping his mouth shut so
that her seeking tongue was denied entry. Noticing his obvious lack of
response, Scully pulled away slightly to look at him properly, forcing
him to meet her gaze.

"Mulder are your bruises still sore? Do you need more painkillers?"

"My face is fine Scully. I don't need anything."

"Then what's wrong, Mulder? Why won't you kiss me?"

"I...I need to go Scully."

"Mulder, no!"

"I'm sorry, I...I need to leave."

"Why Mulder...what's up?"

"Scully, I can't do this anymore. I...can't be with you."

"You're leaving me? ... For good?"

"Yes...I..."

"Mulder...What about everything you said last night? ...What about
the 'forever' we drank to?"

"I don't want to leave Scully...but I told you before, I don't want to
come between you and your brother. Now Charlie and him are fighting as
well as him and your mother. I can't split up your family, I just
can't. If that means I can't be with you then...so be it. I'll request
reassignment when we get back to work...I'll do profiling or
something. I...I'm sorry. "

"Mulder...stop...Mulder, please."

Mulder took no notice of her pleas, walking out of the room and up
the stairs, leaving her standing in the middle of the lounge frozen in
shock. He made it to her room before breaking down; sinking to his
knees on the floor by the bed as heaving sobs wracked his body.
Burying his face in the duvet, he continued to weep in anguish as he
realized what leaving Scully would mean for him. Maggie had heard him
come up stairs after speaking with her daughter and, only hearing one
set of footsteps, she came out of Tara's bedroom to see what was going
on. After hearing muffled sobs from inside her daughter's room and
getting no answer to her knock, she opened the door and
found Mulder still kneeling on the floor beside the bed.

"Fox...what's wrong? What's happened?"

"I...I can't...I can't."

"Can't what Fox? What can't you do?"

"I can't le...leave her."

"Dana? Why would you want to leave her?"

"Never wanted to...I can't."

"Fox you're not making any sense."

"I didn't want to...to hurt her...thought I...could leave...make it
all better...but I can't...I can't leave her...I need her too much."

"Fox. You need to calm down. I don't understand what you're saying."

Taking a deep breath, Mulder tried to start explaining what was wrong
but again he found himself unable to form a coherent sentence. As
Maggie waited for him to collect himself she rubbed his back gently,
trying to comfort him even though she didn't know the reason behind
his grief. At last his sobs subsided, only the odd tear escaping his
eyes now and then. Maggie stood up and held out her hand to him in
order to get him up off the floor. He took her hand and stood up
beside her but soon his knees gave way and he ended up sitting on the
bed, head in hands. Maggie sat down beside him and listened
to his muffled voice as he spoke of the conversation he had just had
with Scully. His tears began to fall more rapidly again as he
explained to her how he couldn't bear to leave her; how he felt so
selfish because he couldn't do it - even to keep her family together.
Maggie put her arm around his shoulders and rocked him tenderly as his
grief overcame him and he was once more unable to speak.

As Maggie comforted Mulder, Scully remained standing in the lounge,
mouth open as she stared in shock at the stairs that he had long since
gone up. Bill chose that moment to come out of the den and, seeing his
sister standing motionless in the middle of the room, alone, he smiled
to himself in the knowledge that he had completed his mission to get
rid of Mulder. His elation fell slightly though when, after realizing
that she was no longer alone, Scully turned to face him. Her
expression was one of anguish and he was slightly taken aback at the
level of loathing he saw in her eyes when she saw who had entered the
room.

"I hope you're happy Bill. I hope you're proud of yourself."

"Dana, what are you talking about?"

"He's leaving. He's going because of you. You Bastard!"

"I can't say I'm very sorry about that Dana."

"Well I hope you're glad. You've just destroyed my life."

"What? Dana it's for the best. Your life's not ruined because he's
going."

"Oh but it is Bill. Don't you see? ...Mulder is my life. Without him I
have nothing."

"Dana, don't be ridiculous."

"Ridiculous? You want to talk about ridiculous? What about a grown
woman being told what to do by her brother? What about you thinking
that you know what's best for everyone? What about you having your
head stuck so far up your ass that you couldn't see how happy we are
when we're together? What about you destroying the best thing in my
life because of your blindness?"

"Dana, calm down. You don't know what you're saying."

"I know exactly what I'm saying so don't tell me to calm down! I can
be as mad at you as I want because you've made him leave...he's
leaving me...he...I..."

Scully collapsed to her knees on the floor in floods of tears, unable
to finish her sentence, just as Charlie walked through the front door.
The instant he saw his sister lying in a heap, he ran to her and
pulled her into his arms, cradling her like she was one of his kids. 
He tried to ask her what was wrong but she could barely breath through
her sobs so he turned to his brother for an answer. Bill shrugged his
shoulders and muttered something about her overreacting and getting
hysterical over nothing. Scully struggled to shout at her brother for
his comment but found that she couldn't catch her breath and instead
could only gasp for much needed oxygen. Charlie sensed his sisters
growing panic and, helping her to her feet and placing an arm around
her shoulders, he guided her to the kitchen away from Bill. After
sitting her down on one of the chairs, he rummaged in a drawer and
found a paper bag for her to breathe into, realizing that she
was breathing too quickly and was in danger of hyperventilating. Even
with the bag, Scully could not calm down enough to take deep enough
breaths and she soon found that there were spots dancing in front of
her eyes as her oxygen level became too low. The dots grew larger and
darker until her vision was totally swamped in an inky-blackness and
she fell forward, passing out into an unprepared Charlie's arms.

"Mom! Mom, I need you in the kitchen. Mom!"

"Charlie what is it. Oh my God, what's happened to Dana?"

"Jess...umm...She was crying and then she just passed out. Can you
keep Peter and the girls out of here and ask Tara to find my mom. Ask
her to tell her that Dana needs her down here, now."

"Sure Charlie. I'll go tell her."

"Thanks Jess. Day...Dana...wake up. Please, I don't know what to do. I
need you to wake up and tell me, Day."

Confused and worried, Jess hurried out of the kitchen into the hall
where she met Tara coming down the stairs with a suitcase in each
hand. Giving her the few details that she had been given by Charlie,
she then went into the lounge where she had left the kids to entertain
themselves when Charlie had called out for Maggie's help. She ushered
them all past their Uncle Bill into the den, closing both of the doors
firmly and switching on the television. Tara was still standing where
Jess had left her, shocked at what her sister-in-law had told her and
worried that it had something to do with her husband's earlier rage.
She quickly placed the suitcases beside the front door and, as she
made her way quickly upstairs, she saw Bill come out of the lounge and
pick them up to take them out to their car. She hurried
along the corridor checking in every room for Maggie, finally hearing
a quiet murmuring coming from Scully's room. She knocked gently on the
door, not really wanting to interrupt the conversation but, after
knocking once more, she heard Maggie call out.

"Who is it?"

"Maggie, it's Tara. Can I come in? It's important."

"Sure Tara. What's up?"

"Maggie...what's going on? Why's Fox crying as well?"

"As well?"

"Sorry, Dana needs you Maggie. Charlie's got her in the kitchen. He
says she was crying and now she's passed out. He needs some help."

"Oh my goodness, go tell him I'm coming Tara - I'll be right down.
Fox, I need to go - Dana's not well."

"Scu...lee! I...I need to..."

"Yes - yes you do, Fox. Come on, we need to go help Dana and get all
of this sorted out."


XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Mulder looked in shock as he realized that Scully wasn't well and it
took a lot of tugging on his arm by Maggie before he came back to
himself. He immediately got up off the bed and followed Tara out of
the door, wanting to get to Scully as quickly as possible. All three
rushed down the stairs heading for the kitchen with Tara leading the
way and Maggie holding Mulder's arm. They all rushed through the door
and Maggie gasped out loud seeing her baby girl lying motionless on
the floor. Mulder sank to his knees beside her head and gently
caressed her cheek, speaking to her in a soothing voice. Maggie
quickly recovered from the shock of seeing Dana so still and
rolled up her sleeves with a determined look on her face.

"Charlie can you lay her head down and come round to this end of her.
We need to elevate her feet to get the blood flowing to her head
again. Tara could you fetch me the blanket from over the couch, she's
pretty cold."

"Sure Mom."

"Yes Maggie."

Both of them did as she had asked and Mulder continued his loving
whispers and gently rubbed his thumb across the back of her hand that
he held. Maggie got a washcloth and wet it in the sink before coming
to kneel on the other side of Dana's head. She made to wipe her face
with it but, seeing Mulder's distraught expression, she instead handed
it to him to do. He looked at it strangely as if it were foreign to
him but then shook himself out of the trance he was in and began
bathing her face. Maggie picked up one of the cushions from the
kitchen chairs and placed it on the floor underneath Scully's head
while Mulder tenderly lifted her head up off the floor. Tara
came back in with the blanket in her hands and held it out to Maggie.

"Here you go Maggie...is there anything else I can do?"

"Thanks Tara. I don't think there's anything to be done but wait.
She'll come back round when she's good and ready...she didn't hit her
head did she Charlie?"

"No, she fell straight into my arms...she just slumped over in the
chair and I caught her. I did fall onto my backside once I caught her
but I'm pretty sure she didn't hit anything."

"Good...that means she has just simply fainted."

Maggie draped the blanket over her daughter's body and tucked it in
around her sides, leaving her arm free for Mulder to hold onto her
hand. Tara excused herself when she heard Bill come back in the front
door having finished putting their entire luggage in the car. Maggie
asked her to keep him out of the kitchen whilst Dana recovered so as
not to upset her again and she readily agreed. Maggie watched her go
and shook her head as she thought of what her son had caused this
time.

"Maggie...Maggie? I think she's starting to come round."

Maggie was jolted from her thoughts by Mulder's happy announcement.
She turned her attention once more to Scully who was indeed beginning
to stir. Her head moved slightly from side to side and her fingers
clutched at Mulder's hand before her eyelids began to flutter. Mulder
ceased movement with the washcloth and instead stroked his fingers
along one of her cheeks. She turned into his caress as her eyes opened
fully and looked confused to see his face looming above her. She
looked around the kitchen at the three others, still disorientated and
wondering what on earth had happened to cause her to be lying on the
floor.

"Wh...what happened."

"You passed out Scully...you fainted. Are you feeling okay?"
"Yes...I think so anyway."

She scrunched up her brow in concentration as she tried to recall the
events leading up to her collapse. When she remembered, she suddenly
closed her eyes against the tears that had instantly sprung into her
eyes and turned her face away from Mulder. Realizing immediately that
she had just remembered their conversation, Mulder rushed to rectify
the situation.

"Scully...Scully. Please look at me Scully."

"Why should I Mulder...for one last look before you disappear out of
my life? I can't...it's too..."

"No Scully...please, would you just look at me?"

"Fine...Mulder, are they tears on your face? Were you crying?"

"Yes Scully...I started to cry just as soon as I walked away. I
realized what a stupid thing I had just done...I can't do it."

Charlie and Maggie both looked away as the two began to cry together
while Mulder finished his explanation in hushed, private whispers.
Maggie had already gotten up from the floor and Charlie was just about
to do the same, intending to leave the two alone for some much needed
privacy, when suddenly the kitchen door flew open. Bill stood on the
other side, glaring at the sight of Mulder embracing Scully while she
lay on the floor and cried. Tara looked over at Maggie apologetically
and then tried to prevent her husband from getting any closer to the
pair of them by laying a hand on his arm. He swept her arm aside
however and crossed to stand right behind Mulder, his fury evident on
his face.

"What the hell have you done to Dana now?!"

"Bill..."

"No Mom...that's it, I've had it with him. Get out of this house
now!"

Bill jerked Mulder up to his feet by his collar and started to push
him out into the hall. Mulder didn't resist but rather helped Bill on
their way through. As they got to the front door though, Mulder shook
himself free of Bill's grasp and walked into the lounge instead of
going out the front door as Bill had expected him to do. Surprised,
Bill didn't have time to react before Mulder was completely inside the
lounge and he had no choice but to follow him in there. Expecting
Mulder obey his command to leave the room, Bill was again surprised
when Mulder turned round to face him and began to speak.

"Bill I've sat by ever since I arrived on Friday whilst you took shots
at me. I've allowed Dana, Maggie and Charlie all to fight back for me,
myself instead agreeing with most of what you had to stay and not
thinking I had a reason to argue. They've been fighting my battle for
me and I have just stepped back and let them but this time...this time
I'm not going to do that. I'm not going to go and hide in a corner and
hope someone will stand up for me or you'll get bored and go away. No,
this time I'm standing up for myself because now I can see how much
all this is hurting Scully."

"How much YOU are hurting her you mean."

Tara, Charlie, Maggie and Scully had all followed the two of them
through to the lounge, expecting there to be more violence and now
stood listening to what they were saying. Still slightly shaky, Scully
had leaned on Charlie for support as they walked through and now sat
perched on one of the arms of the sofa, the others all standing beside
her. All four mouths dropped open when they heard Bill's last
statement and all tried to object but Maggie was the only one who had
recovered from her shock sufficiently to make any noise.

"Bill!"

"Maggie no, let me. ...See Bill, that's where you're wrong. It's not
me who's causing her all this pain. It's taken me a while to realize
that. Every time you've said anything to me I've agreed with you -
I've taken it as the truth but when I walked into that kitchen just
now and saw her lying there...I know that it was because I was going
to leave."

"There, you admitted it...it was because of you."

"Yes it was, but not because I'm IN her life but because I was about
to do as YOU wanted and step out of it for good. That would have hurt
her far more than you think that I have already done as was evident by
her distress. I was going by what you thought was best for her but now
I realize that it's not your decision to make. You don't get to make
the choice of whom Scully spends her time with - she does! Why are
both you and Charlie allowed to choose whom you want to be with and be
happy with but you refuse Dana that same privilege? ...It's actually
not even a privilege, it's a right - her right."

"Mulder you don't get to choose that either...Dana is my sister and I
have the right - the duty - to look out for her; to stop her from
making such a big mistake as to go out with you."

"Well Bill, Scully is a big girl and she can make her own decisions
and I would never again assume to make them for her as you have done.
I was leaving because I thought it would be best but I can see that I
was doing the same as you were and taking her right to choose away
from her. And as for me being a mistake - surely you're not suggesting
that she was in that state before because she wanted me to leave, or
that she was glad I was going?"

"Who knows Mulder...maybe she was. I mean how much can you really want
to be with her if you gave up so easily? You were just about to leave
her Mulder...and we are supposed to believe that you LOVE her?"

"I DO love her Bill...and I could never leave her. ...I could never
leave you Scully, even though I said that I could. I was wrong...it
would kill me to walk away and I promise you now that I will never
even consider going. I'm so sorry...I thought that I was doing what
was best for you...but I know I was wrong. I am so, so sorry Scully."

Mulder had turned away from Bill and instead faced Sully as he spoke
his last part. A solitary tear slid from his eye and ran all the way
down his cheeks as he looked at her, pleading with his eyes that she
would understand. Hoping that she would be able to forgive him his
earlier cowardice, he stood absolutely still in wait for her to make a
move. She reached out her hand to him and beckoned him closer, taking
his hand in hers as soon as they were near enough for their fingers to
touch. His fingers trembled and she laced hers through them but his
faltering steps grew more sure as she pulled him across to her. Soon
they were in each other's arms, embracing and smiling through the
tears that were falling from both pairs of eyes.

"Oh Mulder."

"Scully I'm so sorry...will you forgive me?"

"Of course I will but never...and I mean NEVER do that to me again. I
couldn't bear it Mulder...I just couldn't."

"Ssshh. Don't cry anymore. I promise I'll never even think about it
again, okay? I couldn't do it either...I barely even made it to your
room before I broke. I would never be able to survive without you."

Scully buried her face in his neck as she pulled him even more tightly
to her and he hid his face in her hair, concealing the tears that he
had shed whilst they were talking. They rocked each other gently as
they continued to embrace and then pulled back so that they could look
into the other's eyes. Mulder wiped her tears away from her cheeks
with his thumbs just as she was doing the same to his. He leant in and
pressed a tender kiss onto her lips before pulling back and once more
turning to face Bill. Bill's face had grown stony as he had watched
the reconciliation taking place and he was now glaring in disgust at
the two of them. He opened his mouth to speak but before he got a word
out, Tara crossed over to him and silenced him with a look.

"Bill, I know you don't like me and probably never will but you have
to believe me when I say I love your sister. I love her more than
anything in the world and I could never - EVER - do anything that
would harm her intentionally. My life is worthless without her and if
you can't see and accept that then..."

"Then nothing Mulder, he will just have to accept it. Yes Bill, you
will because I love him too and no matter what you say, he isn't the
cause of any of the bad things that have happened to me or to this
family. The only thing that he has ever done to hurt me was to tell me
he was leaving and that was all because of you. See he loves me so
much that he was willing to sacrifice his own happiness in order to
keep this family together - he was only leaving because he thought
that it was what I wanted, or needed."

"Dana..."

"No, Bill...I don't want to hear anymore of what you have to say. I'm
sorry that you can't see how much we love each other, how much we need
each other and how happy we are when we're together but we have tried
to show you, explain it to you and if you still can't see it then it's
only because you're too selfish to see it."

Bill once again opened his mouth to comment but as he did so, he
finally became aware that the rest of his family were all standing
waiting for the next thing he said. He looked from his mom to his
brother, from his sister to his wife and shook his head in defeat,
knowing that he would not win if he continued arguing with Mulder and
Scully. He shrugged his shoulders and let his arms drop from being
folded across his chest to fall by his sides.

"We better get going Tara...can you go get Mattie."

Mulder looked a little relieved that he was just going to go but the
others all breathed small sighs of disappointment. They had all be
hoping that what Scully had just said to him would finally make him
see sense but it was obvious that he was not going to change his mind
about Mulder. Tara left to get Mattie and the room remained in awkward
silence as they waited for her to get back downstairs. Charlie went
though to the den to get Jess and his kids so that they could all say
goodbye. All of them traipsed outside to watch the three of them get
into their car and, as they pulled out of their parking space, Bill
rolled down the window to say his final goodbyes.

"Bye Mom...see you on Saturday."

"Have a safe trip Bill, Tara. Give your parents all the best from all
of us."

"Sure Maggie...see you all on Saturday."

"Bye."

They all waved as the car turned the corner and disappeared from
sight, all then turning to go back into the house. Mulder caught hold
of Scully's arm just as she turned to follow them and tugged on it
slightly so that she moved nearer to him. She came willingly into his
arms, wrapping her own around his neck and staring up at him. With one
arm remaining around her waist, he brought his other hand up to her
cheek and caressed it as he began to speak.

"Scully...I just wanted to apologize again...I..."

"Mulder it's okay. You already said that you made a mistake and we're
okay now."

"Scully...what did I ever do to deserve you?"

"Mulder..."

"No...I know I don't really deserve you so to have you here with
me...I must have done something. I told you before; whatever it
was...I'm so glad I did it. So glad."

"Mulder..."

Finding herself at a loss for words, Scully instead made her point by
pulling Mulder down towards her upturned face and joining their lips
together. They stood outside for a long time, kissing and talking and
reassuring each other that they were going to be okay. Eventually,
Scully began to shiver from the cold and Mulder picked her up in his
arms and began carrying her into the house.

"Mulder...put me down. I can walk."

"Yes, yes you can. But you don't have to...don't think I've forgotten
that you weren't very well earlier. You should be in your bed and
that's where I'm taking you."

"I'm fine now Mulder...but I suppose if you want to join me there then
I could put up with going to bed for a couple of hours..."

"You wicked woman you..."

They reached the doorway and Mulder trailed off as he turned back
round, taking one last look at the end of the street where Bill's car
had vanished from sight. Scully turned her head to see what he was
looking at, and she immediately realized what had made him pause and
grow quiet. She gave him a soft squeeze and planted a small kiss on
his cheek before turning his head so that he was looking into her
eyes.

"He's gone now Mulder...let's just enjoy the rest of the holiday
together."

Mulder nodded in agreement and carried her up the stairs to the
bedroom, determined to make the most of their free time. He knew that
there was nowhere he would rather be and that the holiday would be one
of the best he'd ever had...well, at least until Bill returned for the
New Year's celebrations.

THE END!!!!

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