From: S Hunt <ibelievex@hotmail.com>
Date: Thu, 22 Jul 1999 12:02:08 -0400
Subject: Confessions II - Part 1/4
Source: direct

Title: Confessions ( 8/ ? )
Author: Sabrina Hunt < ibelievex@hotmail.com >
Rating: PG-13
Classification: S/H/A
Spoilers:  Latest episode ?!?
Dedication:  This section of my story is dedicated to my friends Jen C. and
Jen L. both whom greatly helped me with next part. Jen C. banished my
writers block, with a very, um, " inspiring " idea... and Jen L. helped me
with all the background info. THANKX JEN&JEN!!!!! : )
Summary:  Mulder. Scully. Camping. Need I say more ?!?

Read on ! Later dudes ! Feedback, is welcome ! < ibelievex@hotmail.com >


Confessions - 8/? 
by Sabrina Hunt

	~ "  The course of true love never did run smoothly..." - William
 Shakespeare
**************************************************************************

	The bright June sun hung high in the sky, as it had for many days now. It
was pure, dry heat, and it sucked the moisture and life out of many living
things that call the surface of the planet Earth, home. Many creatures
sought out relief from the intense heat under the shade of nearby shadows,
or in the local pools of water.  Others chose to remain to remain indoors,
reveling in the comfort of a man made climate. However, all who moved
outside moved at slowed paces, trying to conserve as much energy as
possible. Deep in the heart of the concrete jungle, a small, red headed
woman set out on a mission of her own. Armed with only her water bottle she
trekked down many along street, determined to make it to her partner. It
was hard. The smog hung in the air, the exhaust pipes from nearby vehicles
spewing toxic fumes into the atmosphere. But the red headed warrior hardly
noticed. She was driven by love. Onward she marched, then ascended the
stairs, up into the world renown justice building entitled J. Edgar
 Hoover...
	Relief washed over Scully, as she passed through the external doors, into
the familiar, air conditioned building. With a sigh, she made her way
through the crowd of tourists, and over to the front desk. There stood a
tall, muscular, African American man, with a bald head, and innocent brown
eyes. An endearing smile spread across his face, as he saw an old friend
approaching.
	" My, my... If it isn't Agent Dana Scully !" He asked, putting his hands
on his hips. He had a warm, rich, friendly voice.
	" Hi Benny."
	" Where've you been girl ?"
	She passed him the navy, canvas knapsack that had previously been on her
shoulders. He ran it through the gate for her, as she passed under the
metal detector.
	" I was sick for a while... Really sick." She said, referring to her
amnesia." I've got a new job now though, so I'm only here for a visit."
	" Really ? What are you now, DEA ? CIA ?"
	" Actually, I'm the head doctor at a clinic." She said, reaching for her
knapsack. As she did so, Benny's sharp eyes caught the glint of gold on her
left hand.
	" Whoa, woman, I don't think those were there before ?!? Check out the
rocks!"
	Scully smiled, and extended her hand, so he could inspect the rings that
adorned her finger.
	" These the real things ? This for real ? You're not undercover ?"
	She shook her head. " Nope. I'm married now."
	He smiled. " Congratulations! Do I know him ?"
	" Maybe...?!?" Scully replied, purposely being mysterious.
	" What you're not going to tell me ?"
	She shook her head, pulling on her bag, and clipping on her visitor ID.
	" Well you're still Scully right ?"
	His question caught her off guard, and she had to consider for a moment.
She hadn't thought about her last name at all, and Mulder hadn't mentioned
it... She'd just always been "Scully" to herself, and to him. Besides, how
would she explain her partner's name for her, to anyone, if she changed it
? ... Dana Mulder... A small shiver of excitement traveled down her spine...=
 
	" Yeah, for now. But you've given me something to think about..." She
headed off, down the somewhat quieter hall, giving Benny a wave, which he
returned, as she went.
	The long halls were so familiar to her, she found she didn't have to think
about which way she was going... She just went. And her mind traveled back
to her last thought... Dana Mulder... It sounded so funny to her. The names
didn't go at all, but they were so right... She supposed they reflected her
relationship with Mulder... Dana Mulder, Dana Scully-Mulder, Mrs. Mulder,
Ms. Scully-Mulder, Mrs. Fox Mulder... None of the names seemed to fit
together, but they belonged beside each other... And what if she did change
her name ? She'd be Mrs. Mulder. Part of her liked the idea... Take his
name and prove all the pompous jerks in this building wrong... Show him
that she loved him enough to take on his name, and reputation. But part of
her didn't like the idea. It reminded her too much of Mulder's mom, the
woman who had dumped all the guilt of Samantha's disappearance, onto her
son... She'd never actually met the woman. The one and only time they'd met
had been in the cemetery, when she'd told Tina Mulder that Fox Mulder
wasn't dead. And then, one year later, the old woman had died in the
hospital, of a mysterious heart attack... And if she did take his name,
some small part of herself made her acknowledge that she was afraid of
losing her professional reputation. She was doctor Scully to all her
patients and colleagues, to the professional world... Even to Mulder... And
she didn't want to lose her professional identity. But the only way to
compromise, that she could see, would be to be Dana Scully-Mulder, which
sounded like gibberish...
	It took her a minute to realize she'd reached the old, basement office
door. Nothing had changed down there since she'd left... A light shone on
the other side of the shut door, and seeped out from under the crack.
Inside, she could hear the scratching of a pen against paper, and a
frustrated sigh as something was scribbled out. It sounded like he needed
rescuing. She knocked, and heard him yell to come in... So she did. She
opened the door, then closed it behind her, seeing he was hunched over his
relocated desk, back to her. He didn't know it was her.
	" Working hard Mulder ?" she asked, bringing back many fond memories.
	She wished she had a camera to capture the look on his face, when his
chair swiveled around to her. His bored expression lifted away completely
leaving in it's place a huge grin. His eyes lightened and regained their
sparkle under the reading glasses he wore. She loved those glasses. He
looked so young and sexy and smart in them... And a small smile appeared on
her lips, as she realized what she'd just thought... It was so very unlike
her. She never thought those kind of things about anyone, let alone
Mulder... But then again, he wasn't just Mulder anymore, he was also her
husband... They'd been married just over two weeks now, but still their
post-marital bliss hadn't worn off yet. They'd taken a couple days off,
after the wedding, but hadn't gone on a honeymoon yet. They were saving
that for summer vacation...
	" I knew that paperwork was going to kill me, and look, an angel has come
to take me away." Mulder smiled at his wife. She was wearing jean shorts
and a baby blue sleeveless shirt style tank top, flat leather sandals on
her feet, her hair pulled up into a ponytail. However, the heat was getting
the better of her loose wisps of hair, causing them to curl. She had no
makeup on, save some lipstick, and her freckles were starting to show. She
looked like she could be twenty eight. A line from a song came drifting
into his head... " You're young, you're beautiful, and you're mine..."
	" That doesn't look like regulation dress code to me, Agent Scully ?!?
What happened to the clothes you were wearing this morning ?"
	She held up her knapsack, then put it on the floor, coming over to his
desk where she put her arms around his neck, bending down so her chin could
rest on his head. " What are you working on ?"
	" Nothing much, just paper work. I could use a break anyhow." He swiveled
in his chair, so he could face her. As he turned, she was forced to let go
of him, but as soon as he was turned around, he reached up and pulled her
down, so that she was sitting, side ways, across his knees. He hooked on
arm around her waist, holding her in place. " So what are you doing off
work so early ?"
	" I'm off for the rest of the summer now... I don't have to be back until
August."
	He smiled. " Really ?"
	She nodded. " When do you get off ?"
	" End of this week... Then it's honeymoon time!!!" He wiggled his eyebrows
at her.
	She tried to make a shocked, serious face, but it didn't work. " Where are
we going ?"
	" Crazy ?"
	She smiled at his lame joke.
	" Actually, I was hoping that you had an idea, because I don't."
	" Well, I have an idea... but it's not exactly a normal honeymoon."
	He took off his glasses, and put them on his desk, rubbing his eyes.
         " What ?"
	" I was wondering about camping..."
	The idea of him and her alone in nature was intriguing... " Hmm. I could
go for that... Where do you want to go ? Lake Okobogee ?"
	She shook her head. " It's kind of far, but the park is really beautiful."
	" What ? Yellowstone ?"
	" Not that far. It's called Algonquin. Ever heard of it ?"
	He shook his head. " How long does it take to get there ?"
	" A full four days of driving..."
	He nodded, trying to figure out where exactly this park was. " What state
 ?"
	" It's not in a state..."
	His eyebrows went up and his forehead creased, confused. 
	" It's in Canada." 
	His eyes grew wide, with surprise. " Canada ? Isn't it freezing up there ?
We'll be attacked by polar bears!"
	Scully rolled her eyes at him. " It's only freezing this time of year in
the North West Territories, and polar bears don't inhabit most of the
provinces. "
	He looked at her, mock skeptically. " Promise ?"
	She nodded.
	" How do you know about this place anyway ?"
	" My grandparents used to live in Buffalo, New York, so my brothers and
Missy and I used to go visit them for a couple weeks every summer. One
year, my grandparents went on a road trip, and came back that summer
talking about their wonderful time in this park in Canada. Soon we were
registered at a summer camp there. As a part of the four week camp, we went
to Ottawa, and I made a lot of friends who were from there...  I think we
went back for five years running... then we moved to California, and I
haven't been back since."
	He smiled thoughtfully, imagining Scully as a little girl. " I think
camping would be fun... I'm assuming we'd stop in Ottawa..."
	She nodded. " Yeah, we'd have to pick up our food supplies across the
border, but that's OK... Are you sure this is OK with you ?"
	He nodded. " As long as we only bring one sleeping bag, I'm all for it !"
	She gave him a sly look. " No, we bring two sleeping bags... but we zip
them together to make one large one."
	" Ooh, I can hardly wait !" He exclaimed, tightening his arm around her
waist. She smiled, but was strangely quiet, thinking about something. He
watched as she looked at him, eyes far off...
	" What's on your mind ?"
	"This... This is so weird... It wasn't supposed to be like this..."
	Mulder grew serious. " What wasn't ?"
	" Us... God! Look at us, Mulder! How did we ever end up this far ? We're
married... I'm married, to you..."
	He didn't like the words he was hearing, but she said them so lightly, as
if he was interpreting them wrong. " Is everything OK ?"
	Suddenly her attention snapped back to him, and her eyes softened,
realizing what she'd just said had gone over the wrong way.
	" Oh, no Mulder... I didn't mean in the sense that we shouldn't have
gotten married... Just that everything has changed so much... I've
changed... You've changed... Look at us !" She laughed lightly. " We've
gone soft... All dew-eyed, lovey-dovey !"
	He smiled. " So ?"
	She looked at him. " It's just different. I've never been this way in my
life ! I just feel like I've been picked up by a tornado and put down in a
whole new world..."
	" Yes, but have you gone from color, to black and white, or vice versa ?"
	She smiled. " Black and white to color."
	He nodded, not totally understanding what she was saying, but not feeling
in danger anymore.
	" I mean, this time last year, we never would have sat on each other..."
	Mulder stood up, causing her to stand up with him. " Do you want to see
what we would have been doing this time last year ? Sit on the edge of my
desk, and cross your legs..." 
	She complied.
	" And I would have been sitting this chair, " He sat down. "...not two
feet from you. Now, I don't know about you, but I know this time, as far
back as four years ago, I would have been pretending to listen to you,
while really I'm thinking to myself... << Whoa, Fox, check out those
legs...>> And I would have followed them all the way up, yadda, yadda,
yadda, until I got to your face, and your unbelievable blue eyes, and I'd
just hear the end of one of your long lectures about ditching, or risking
myself... You usually say the most dangerous things at the end of those,
usually about our partnership, and I'd think, << God she's beautiful... and
what's this she's saying... she believes in me, and that we can find the
truth together, without getting killed ? Does she love me, like I love her
? I love you Scully, I wish I could tell you !>>..."
	Scully was close to tears. " That sounds familiar."
	" See, the feelings have always been there, we just couldn't face it... We
weren't allowed to face it."
	" We weren't allowed to face the truth..."
	Mulder smiled appreciatively. He would have said more, but just as he
opened his mouth to speak, the telephone rang. Mulder grabbed the receive.
	" Mulder... Yes... Yes sir... Now?... Yes sir."
	Mulder hung up the phone and sighed. " The temp AD wants me in his office,
now."
	Scully stood up, shaking her thoughts back to reality. " Is there
something I can work on for you ? Type something up ?"
	He headed for the door. " I don't think so... Listen, you can go home, if
you want. You don't have to stay here..."
	She shook her head. " And what would I do there ? Laundry ? I'm kind of
getting used to having the basket overflowing..."
	Mulder smiled, and waved his hand over his shoulder, closing the door
behind him...

	... When he came back down, and opened the door again, he found Scully
absorbed with filling in his expense reports, covering the form with her
neat, precise hand writing. She had that determined look on her face. He
didn't think she'd noticed he'd entered, until she spoke up.
	" How many bags of sunflower seeds did you consume ?"
	" Four."
	She slowly rolled her eyes from the paper to his face. " You're getting
worse, Mulder. This could be an addiction."
	He smiled. " Well, if you're part of the cure, then sober me up, doc!"
	She went back to the papers, and Mulder followed her lead, hoping to be
able to take a break for dinner. As it turned out, because of their
combined efforts, by the time five thirty came around, he was ahead of
where he'd hoped to  be at that given time. Besides, he was losing
concentration, he needed food.
	" Scully, you want to get dinner ?"
	She put down her pan and rubbed her sore wrist. " Yeah. Do you want me to
go pick us up something ?"
	He shook his head. " Nah. I could use a break. Want to get a pizza and eat
in the park ?"
	She nodded, and they both stood up, heading for the door.
	" So, do you have camping equipment ?" Mulder asked, as he locked the
office door.
	" No, but Mom kept our old tent, and I have a sleeping bag... I think I
saw a portable stove in the attic, at Mom's, when we did the spring
cleanup..."
	" I have a fuel lantern, and of course a sleeping bag, but that's about
it..."
	Scully gave him a quizzical look. " You have a lantern ?"
	He nodded. " You just never know when you'll need one... I think I might
have a mini barbecue, from Martha's Vineyard." 
	Mulder untangled his hand from Scully's as they approached the front gates
of the building. Though they didn't see it happening anytime in the near
future, Mulder and Scully had kept their change in relationship low key, so
that if Scully ever tried to return to the x-files, the officials would,
hopefully, be unaware of their circumstances, and allow the partnership.
However, just as they were heading for the front doors, Benny saw his
friend, and called after her.
	" Hey ! Scully ! I figured it out ! It's got to be..."
	But she was through the doors and outside before he could yell the name of
who he guessed was her husband. 
	" ...Mulder." He finished quietly to himself.    

	The park was beautiful at that time of day. There was a secure sense of
chaos as a close mix of locals and tourists wandered around through the
luscious green grass, and along the paved pathways. 
	Mulder and Scully sat down, with their pizza, under the shade of a big
tree, near the reflecting pool, and watched the commotion in a comfortable
silence. Somewhere down past the Washington Needle someone was playing
upbeat music on an accordion. Street vendors were trying to hustle their
goods to the tourists. Both young and old couples biked, bladed and walked
along the paths. Scully watched as one middle-aged couple stopped at a
drinking fountain, not to far from where she sat. The father had a five
year old boy on his shoulders, and was showing him the high jinx of a
squirrel, while the mom lifted a three year old girl out of her stroller,
and held her up so she could drink like a " big girl". when she had
quenched her thirst, the mom held her for a few minutes as the boy took his
turn. Scully heard the little girl thank her mother, in a sweet little
voice, and watched as she puckered up and pecked her mom childishly,
wrapping her chubby arms around her mother's neck, and giving her a hug...
	Scully looked away, not wanting to be impolite, by staring.  Over on the
other side of the pool, a very pregnant woman sat on a blanket next to her
husband. Scully watched as they talked to each other, not giving any
indication that the rest of the world existed. The man lifted his hands and
put them on her protruding belly, affectionately, as he kissed his wife...
And suddenly, a deep longing sensation filled Scully's heart... She wanted
to fill her maternal need. She wanted to have kids with Mulder, carry his
baby, have him pamper her in her bloated condition. She interrupted their
silence by speaking.
	" Mulder, can I ask you something... seriously ?"
	He looked at her, knowing by the concentrated look on her face, that she
was going to ask him something very important.
	" Yes."
	" You have to be totally honest with me, and you don't have to answer
right away..."
	He nodded. " Do you want to have children ?"
	He looked at her, her coppery red hair being blown by the southerly
breeze, her freckles peppering her cheeks, her blue eyes serious... " Yes."
	" Don't just say yes because you think it'll make me happy, OK ? I need to
know that you want to have kids because you want to be a father and shape
someone's life, share the responsibilities. Not because you want to make me
happy, and show me you love me. You have to share with me, fifty/fifty..."
	He would have said yes again, right away, because he wanted to for all of
the right reasons, as well as some of the wrong ones, but he knew she
wanted him to think about it. So he did, for five minutes.
	" I want to be the father of our baby, Scully. I want to share that with
you. Yes, I want that."
	She was quiet, examining him to make sure he was being honest. Then,
concluding that he was, she went on.
	" Do you think it's too soon to start a family ?"
	He'd been expecting her to bring that up. " Well, we aren't getting any
younger..."
	Scully nodded, knowing she had limited time left on her biological clock.=
 
	"... and most of the time it's not a one try and you're pregnant thing..."
	" Mulder... what if I can't have babies ?"
	" We know it's possible, because of your abduction..." He hated saying it.
	" What would we do ?" Scully asked, feeling more than a little bit worried.
	Mulder sensed this and saw that she was avoiding his gaze. She had that
look on her face... The one he'd come to know and label as my-great
est-fear-is-letting-you-. And though she'd never actually said that to him,
whenever she got that look on her face, he always interpreted it that way,
and so far he'd never been wrong. He reached up and put his hand on her
cheek, turning her face up until he could see into her eyes.
	" You're my wife... And I look forward to spending the rest of my life
with you. I'd like to share part of that life with our kids, but if it
doesn't work out, then there's probably a reason. I can be just as happy
either way. You are the most important part of my life... Everything else
is just a detail."
	Tears stung Scully's eyes, but she held them at bay. She couldn't find her
voice to answer him right away, but when he offered her a small, gentle
smile, the look on her face told him how she was feeling... Her voice broke
when she finally spoke up. " I'm so lucky to have you... "
	Mulder nodded and lifted his hand from her cheek, and instead held her
hand, as they turned back to their dinner. Several minutes were passed in
silence, but Mulder could tell something was still bothering his fair
partner... and he had a good idea what that was too...
	" You're thinking about Her, aren't you ?"
	It was an unspoken agreement between them to never mention Emily Simm's
name, unless Scully brought it up.
	Scully nodded. " There's just so many things I don't know... will probably
never know... She may be the only child I'll ever have... And I don't even
know... Was I pregnant ? Did I give birth ? Or did they just..." She
couldn't finish the sentence.
	Mulder spoke, filling her silence. " I don't know if it'll make you feel
any better, but as far as I'm concerned, you've never had a baby. They took
a part of you, a part you will never get back, against your will; scrambled
the DNA and mixed it with god knows what, to create something, someone,
that's used for evil... She's not your child, Scully, in all the ways that
matter. There's no love involved."
	Scully nodded. " You're right... It's just so hard. I feel so robbed. And
I guess one of the reasons I want to have children is so that I can make it
right... Mulder, I don't want to die knowing that a part of myself is still
out there, undoing everything that you and I conquered. I want to die
knowing that someone out there is still our truth, we're still together in
some small remote part of some creature we created together..." She shook
her head, laughing at herself. " I sound so stupid..."
	" No you don't. You sound human. It's something we all share, a common
bond, the desire to live forever. We find immortality in our children, and
their children after them... Not the immortality of our bodies, but that of
the meaning of our lives. We need to know we accomplished something for our
seventy years of life..."
	Scully interrupted his monologue. " I'm counting on you living to be a lot
older than seventy, mister."
	Mulder smiled. " I love you Dana."
	Scully still found herself being caught by surprise whenever he called her
by her first name. And those rare times when he did, she always knew it was
because he was trying to tell her how important what they'd just said was.
Or how important she was. " I love you too, Fox."
	He gave her a sly look, but didn't say anything at all.

**************************************************************************

	The week seemed to drag on forever. Scully came into the office twice,
once in the morning, bringing Mulder food, and once near dinner time,
bringing Mulder food, again. He'd been working extra long hours in the
hopes of being able to take a nice long vacation, without any hassles.
Once, Scully had stayed at the office to type a sixty page report for him,
while he finished all the other paperwork. At around midnight he'd left her
to go relieve himself, and when he came back, he'd found Scully asleep.
That's when he'd decided it was time to call it a night, and go home. For
the rest of the week, Scully cleaned up the apartment and got everything
arranged for their camping trip. Three weeks in the wild, Canadian
outdoors, no laptops, cell phones or televisions. Just him and her and
nature. She was pretty sure Mulder was going to go into withdrawal...
	Finally, Mulder was freed for almost a whole two months from the office,
and their journey began, on a bright and sunny Saturday morning...

	..." Muuulllderrr..." Scully crooned in his ear, trying to wake the
sleeping giant. " Muuuuulllllderrrrr..." 
	He lifted a hand and limply flopped it around, as if shooing a fly.
	" Come on, honey, wake up."
	And suddenly he was wide awake.
	" What did you call me ?" he asked, sleepily, as he watched her disappear
into the hall, having accomplished one task, and setting off for another.
	" Mulder." She yelled back in his general direction.
	" No, you said something else..."
	She wandered back into the room, empty laundry basket in hand. 
	" Did I ?"
	She was being bad. She knew she'd said something else, but was making him
pry it out of her. He got up out of bed, hair rumpled, in only his boxers,
and put his arms around her, pulling her into a hug. He nestled his face
into the soft hair on her head, and drank in her scent as if an addict
sniffing drugs.
	" Good morning, wife."
	She smiled. He still wasn't over that. " About time !"
	" What did you call me a minute ago ?"	
	She squirmed as he tightened his grip of her. 
	" I told you ! I called you Mulder !"
	He squished her, and lifted her off the ground. " Not bad for having just
woken up ?!? Now tell me or you're never coming down."
	She shook her head.
	" Then you leave me no choice !" He walked over to the bed, and threw her
down. Then he pinned her, after a short struggle, and while one hand held
her wrists over her head, the other explored her ticklish spots.
	" Mulder... Muh... Muh... STOP! This is so... oh... oh... UNFAIR!"
	" Tell me all of your secrets !"
	She fought with him for only a few more minutes, and then she couldn't
handle it anymore. " All right, all right... I called you Honey."
	Mulder smiled triumphantly. " Why ?"
	" Because it came out... I just said it."
	" Why did it come out ?"
	" Because I love you ?!?" She had that D'uh-Mulder look on her face.
	" I think now would be a very good time to start a family Scully."
	She shook her head. " Come here."
	He complied, and leaned down closer to her.
	" No closer."
	And then to his surprise, she kissed him. Defenses weakened, she flipped
him, and managed to escape. 
	" I don't think this moment is good. Wait till we have the tent set up."
	And so, with that lingering between them, he had no choice but to get up,
and get going...

**************************************************************************=
 

	Mulder sighed, and leaned his head back against the soft seat that he'd
been sitting in for almost three hours now. Normally, three hours in the
car wouldn't have bothered him, but after having spent four days in the
car, he was getting tired of watching the Great Canadian scenery. Scully
noticed her husband's discomfort, and couldn't help but share his pain. She
was driving, because she was the one who knew where they were going , but
would have preferred to be the one relaxing. Her backside was numb from
siting up straight, in the same position, for three hours. And unlike
Mulder, with his long limbs, she couldn't sink down into a relaxed
position, and still see enough to drive safely. She sighed, as well, and
Mulder looked over at her.
	" Is there an echo in here ?"
	She smiled, and glanced at him, before turning her eyes back to the road.
	" No, just an agreement."
	" How much longer is it Scully ?" He asked, his tone slightly more whiny
than usual.
	She leaned forward and squinted at the bushes to the right of the road. 
	" Not long..." She replied, turning down a single paved road. 
	And it wasn't long. Within minutes they were pulling up into a parking
lot, outside a large Provincial Park Lodge, where visitors signed in. When
Scully pulled up, Mulder was out of the car and stretching, so fast, you
would have missed his exits, had you blinked. Scully shut off the engine,
and eagerly emerged from the vehicle as well. Together, they walked over to
the sign in station.
	As Mulder pulled open the door, a small set of bells, that hung against
the frame, rang, and a twenty something year old female appeared.
	" Can I help you guys ?"
	As Mulder examined the maps on the walls, Scully spoke with the girl. She
was approximately five foot five, with shoulder length, straight, dark
brown hair, and dark eyes, but a welcoming smile. 
	" We're her for almost two weeks, and we need a campsite..."
	The girl, Jen as her name tag dubbed her, smiled. " You're from out of
town, eh ? Well, we're pretty full right now, but we have a few sites left
in Kea Lake..."
	Scully nodded. " Sounds good."
	Jen gave her a questioning smile. " No flush toilets, showers, laundry...
Still sound good ?"
	Scully smiled. " Thanks for the warning, but I think we can manage..." She
looked over her shoulder, at her husband, who had a horrified expression on
his face. He'd obviously never been aquatinted with pit toilets. She smiled.
	Jen passed Scully the forms to fill in, and she did so, signing the
bottom. For some odd reason, Mulder had to sign the papers too, so she
passed the sheet to him. He was about to touch the pen to the paper, when
something about her signature caught his eye. It was indeed in her hand,
but she had signed it differently. It read, Dana Mulder. A small, joy
filled smile slowly lighted itself upon Mulder's lips as he signed Fox
Mulder beside it. Then he glanced at Scully, as he passed the papers to Jen.
	She was pretending to be looking at the pictures on the wall, but  he
could tell she'd seen his reaction to her signature. He would have said
something to her just then, but Jen spoke up, passing him their car
sticker, and paper permit.
	" All right, you're at sight number 24, near the water... Have a good
 time."
	Mulder nodded, and snagged Scully's hand, leading her out of the post,
towards the car.
	" I noticed." He stated, as nonchalantly as possible. He didn't look at
 her.
	" Noticed what ?" She asked, innocently.
	He let go of her hand, and instead put his arm across her shoulders,
giving her a small, sideways hug. " Your signature, Mrs. Mulder."
	She couldn't help it. She smiled.
	" Looks pretty weird, doesn't it ?"
	He smiled, and agreed. " Weird, but wonderful."
	" Now how are we going to explain why you call me Scully ?"
	" I don't know..."...
	
	... However, what he did know was that they were going to have a wonderful
two weeks together. As the car pulled up at the sight marked 24, Mulder
examined their temporary dwellings. The campsite was surrounded on three
sides by thick, lush green vegetation, making the site fairly private. The
lower vegetation consisted mostly of leafy shrubs and bushes, which gave
way to smaller conifer trees, then very high, leafy maples, which made a
canopy over the open parts of the site. Sunlight filtered through the
spaces between the leaves, and golden beams of light shone to the ground...
The right side of the campsite was slightly higher than the left, and sat
obviously open, as the place to pitch their tent. In the middle of the
site, set towards the back was a picnic bench, and about ten feet forward
from there was the fire pit. Along the left side of the site stood two
trees, perfecting for slinging a hammock between. Scully parked the car,
just off the road, in the opening to their site, giving their new abode a
sense of closure.
	" You were right... this is nice." Mulder nodded approvingly at his wife.
	" Have I ever been wrong ?" 
	Mulder opened his mouth to object, but closed it, reformulating his idea.
	" I choose to remain silent on the grounds that it may incriminate me." He
deadpanned, then got out of the car.
	Scully reached down to the side of the seat, and popped the trunk open,
before joining Mulder in removing their camping propaganda.
	" Well, you'll have to pardon the expression, but you're not out of the
woods yet, mister. We still have to put up the tent..."
	" No problem." Mulder stated casually, as he pulled the canvas bag and
poles out of the trunk.
	However, it did turn out to be a problem. Half an hour later, any
passer-byes would have seen a small red headed woman straddling a canvas
mass, as she tried to hold the poles in their proper spots, while a tall,
lanky man tried in vain to figure out where they went. 
	" Mulder, I can't hold these up much longer..." She warned.
	" Just... hold on a minute, I think I've almost got it.." He mumbled,
joining the poles together... " Haha! Here we go..."
	He cockily brought the mismatched poles over to Scully, and tried to stick
them through the canvas slots.  They teetered, but held up the others, and
so Scully carefully extracted herself from the construction. 
	" I don't think the door's supposed to be at the roof, Mulder."
	He smiled sheepishly, and opened his mouth to say something, when somebody
else's words were heard.
	" I don't think you've quite figured that out."
	" Shall we help them, Carrie ?"
	Mulder and Scully turned around and saw two teenage girls sitting on the
trunk of their car, observing them. The first girl, who's name apparently
was Carrie, was a tall girl, who looked to be about five foot seven. She
had an average body structure, lean, though you could hardly be able to
tell because of the oversized camouflage army brat jacket she wore, with
matching green khaki shorts. Dark brown, almost black curly wisps of hair
could just be seen hanging out from underneath a cap she wore which read, "
CCM Canadian Hockey". A short ponytail hung out the cap window at the back
of her head. Under the brim of the hat, two mocking, playful hazel eyes
peered out, and a twisted smile lighted upon her mouth.
	" Who are you ?" Mulder and Scully asked in unison.
	Carrie jumped off the car and lopped over to the agents, dragging her
slightly shier, and more embarrassed friend with her.
	" I'm Carrie, and this is Hope." She stated, in a baritone voice.
	They both gave the couple firm handshakes.
	Hope was a smaller female, only a couple inches taller than Scully.
However, like Scully, she carried herself with an air of self confidence
that made her feel taller. She had an average bone structure, and a slim
body, which was easier to see than her friend's because she wore a dark
blue tank top, and white shorts. Her straight, shoulder length, red-auburn
hair was pulled back into a ponytail, but one stubborn lock fell down in
front of her intelligent green eyes. She smiled, with hesitation. When she
spoke, her words came out with the flow of a writer's hand.
	" Can we help you ?"
	Mulder inspected the girls, who seemed to have good intentions.
	" Thanks, but we're OK..."
	Carrie began to laugh, an insane tone underlying her lighthearted chuckle.
Hope simply smiled.
	" Trust no one, eh ?" Carrie proclaimed, more than questioned.
	Mulder's hazel eyes lit up with intrigue, and Scully saw the mischievous
gleam they gained. " Do you believe in the existence of extra-terrestrials
 ?"
	Scully began to laugh. Carrie was about to speak, but Hope's words were
faster.
	" My best friend here is proof undeniable !"
	Carrie made an offended snort, and whacked her friend's arm. " Dolt!"
	Hope grinned, pleased by her quick remark.
	" I'm Mulder, and this is my wife, Scully... and if you insist, we could
use the help."
	" No shit sherlock !" Carrie quipped.
	" Oh, come on. We didn't do that badly..."
	And then a muffled crash was heard, and all eyes turned to the newly
collapsed tent. Hope and Carrie laughed, Mulder sighed, and Scully's
eyebrows reached new heights...
	Less than ten minutes later, the tent was up and pegged into the ground,
this time it's frame securely set up. With a bit of help from the girls,
Mulder and Scully stretched a large tarpaulin over their tent to keep off
any rain and dew. Soon, their whole camp was set up, and with a certain
amount of reluctance, the girls left the couple in peace.
	" See you 'round !" Hope called, waving.
	Scully sighed. " I'm sure we will..." She mumbled under her breath. And
once again, she wouldn't be wrong...

	Not long after camp was set up, Mulder pulled out the mini barbecue, and
declared that it was time for dinner. Scully pulled herself up out of the
hammock they'd put up, and deposited her book in her spot. Then she dragged
her relaxed body over to Mulder, who was crouching on the ground, trying to
light the barbecue.
	" What are we making ?" She asked, leaning against the end of the table,
opposite to where the cook was working.
	" WE are not making anything... I am making dinner, for you, while you sit
and read."
	She gave him a sweet smile. " Mulder, you always cook... Let me help."
	He shook his head. " You can do breakfast, or lunch tomorrow. I want to do
this."
	He gave her a confident grin.
	She smiled at him, giving him a sly look out of the corner of her eyes.
	" Mulder, you better stop soon... You're turning into a sweetheart..."
	She walked over to him, and he opened his arms, which she walked into.
She felt so small in his embrace. He rested his cheek against her soft
hair. And she felt so safe, so protected. She stirred and pulled her head
up, so she was looking up at him, her chin resting against his chest.
	" You're wonderful, Mulder."
	He smiled. " I know." And then he lowered his lips to hers, and kissed her
tenderly. He held the kiss for several minutes, before realizing he was
becoming distracted, then broke it, ordering her to go relax. She obeyed.
However, she didn't read, or when she did, she kept reading the same couple
of paragraphs over and over again. She was distracted by watching her mate
slave over the barbecue, and make salad. She smiled, wondering how on earth
it was possible for such a change to occur. A once sad, haunted man, driven
by his determination to find his missing sister, was now the same man who
stood before her, humming to himself as he slathered barbecue sauce on
their dinner, a concentrated, but pleased look on his face. She wondered
how long his happiness would last. Was it permanent, or a cloud nine thing
? What would happen when he reverted, if he did ? What would happen to
their marriage ? For a fleeting moment, she feared her decision to promise
forever to him, but that passed. She loved Mulder. She'd loved him before
he'd converted to the Cheshire Cat, and she knew she'd love him if he went
back. It was easier to love him now, but no one ever said his complete
happiness would last forever. The important part was that their love lasted.
	Mulder felt eyes on him, as he prepared their dinner, and gazed over his
shoulder, at Scully. There she was, hanging in the hammock, her blue eyes
watching him. He looked back at the steaks, was satisfied, and put down the
lid. Then he shuffled over to Scully , a smile on his face. He reached out
and put a big hand a top her head, as he crouched down next to her.
	" What's on your mind ?" He asked, gently.
	" You." She replied. 
	He pointed to himself questioningly.
	" Yeah..." She looked at the book in her hands. " Are you going to love
me, forever ?"
	He was shocked by her question. " Of course I am... I love you, Scully.
You know that."
	She nodded, still not looking at him. " You're happy, now. But will you
still be happy tomorrow, or the next day, or twenty years from now ?"
	He felt sad that she was concerned about the depth of the love he felt for
her. " Scully... Dana... I know I'm not always as open as I want to be, as
you need me to be..."
	She cut him off. " No, that's the thing. You are SO much more open now...
now that we have this... " She waved back and forth between them. " But you
weren't before... You ran away from me... You shut me out. When the bliss
of I Do's has worn off, will you do it again ?"
	Mulder was crushed. " Do you trust me, Dana ?"
	Scully's eyes shot up from her book. " You're questioning that ?"
	He shook his head. " No. I mean, I know you trust me, but do YOU know you
trust me ?"
	" I do." She said with a small smile.
	" Good, then you know I would never lie to you. And you know I'm not lying
now when I say I will love you forever... I would never abandon you. "
	The corners of her mouth twitched. " Have you given up on Samantha ?"
	Mulder was visibly surprised by her question. He was silent for a minute,
considering his words carefully. When he spoke up, he spoke in a careful
voice.
	" The truth is that I haven't. But I have set my priorities."
	" Which are ?" She asked, curiously.	
	" First of all to my wife..." He smiled at her, lovingly. " Then to our
relationship, our children, if we have any, then finding Samantha, and
blowing out the conspiracy."
	She half smiled. " Today my heart, tomorrow the world..."
	Mulder nodded. " You OK ?"
	She acquiesced. " Yeah, I was just watching you make dinner, humming to
yourself, and wondered whatever happened to the dark, driven man I met six,
almost seven years ago..."
	" You drove him away, you made me a better person."
	She laughed quietly, but said nothing.
	 " You're afraid he might come back..."
	She nodded, silently.
	" Scully, for the first time in my life, I'm completely happy. With or
without Samantha or the x-files. I'm happy with my life, with myself, I'm
have a beautiful woman, who I am very much in love with..." He rubbed her
head with the hand he'd placed there. Then he slowly stood up, to go tend
to the steaks, but before leaving her he added, " Stop worrying Scully.
It's not good for you."
	She smiled and watched him return to his cooking. And she felt better for
having talked to him. There was no way he could promise her he'd never
change, but she knew now that no matter what happened, he'd still love her.
That much he could promise her.
	She only had time to read half a chapter, before Mulder stated that dinner
was ready. With a sigh, she once again abandoned her book to go join Mulder
at the table. She laughed when she saw what he'd done.
	Laid out on the wooden table top was a plastic table cloth, on top of
which sat two, colorful plastic plates, topped with steak, garden and
potato salad. It didn't sound like anything elegant, but he'd laid it out
elegantly, and topped it with parsley in the attempts to spruce it up. It
looked delicious and fancy, despite the flatware.
	" You've outdone yourself !" She said with a smile, as she seated herself
on the hard, wood bench. He smiled and sat down as well, before reaching
under the table, and surprising Scully by pulling out a bottle of red wine.
	" Ooh, Mulder..." She raised her eyebrows at him.
	" Hey, it's our honeymoon !" He said, with a charming smile, as he poured
the dark liquid into plastic cups. He handed one to her, and lifted hid up.
" To my angel."
	She smiled. " To my wonderful husband."
	And she laughed as they sipped from each other's cups.

	Dinner was delicious, as had been suspected. Years of bachelor hood had
made Mulder quite the chef. She only hoped one day she'd be able to repay
him, but making something edible for him...
	After dinner was finished and cleared up, Mulder and  Scully had gone for
a walk around the campground. There were campfires and barbecues burning,
children running around... It was wonderful. As they walked along the dirt
road, past a small beach, Scully slowed for a minute and stopped, looking
out across the water, as the sun descended with it's rosy glory to the
gentle lake. It was beautiful, life was beautiful. She felt so relaxed and
happy... For the first time in years she felt no rush, no push, just
peace... She tightened her hold on Mulder's hand, and he stepped closer to
her, pulling her back against his chest as they watched twilight set in.
The sky melted into a soft gray purplish tone, and gently one by one, the
stars came out. She was glad she'd set up their fire before they'd left
camp. If she hadn't, they wouldn't have been able to linger at the small
beach watching the night sky's thousand eyes open and shine back at them...
And with a reluctant sigh they moved on, heading back to camp. Not a word
was said between them, but words were not needed. 
	Once back at camp, Mulder changed into sweat pants and a sweat shirt as
Scully lit the fire. When he emerged several minutes later, total darkness
had descended, and a roaring fire burned and crackled, sending luminous
sparks up into the all ready light speckled sky. Scully, who had changed
into her sweat clothes earlier was in one of the woven chairs they'd
brought, feeding the fire. when Mulder exited the tent and saw her sitting
on the other side of the fire, her hair matching the flame's shade, her
eyes focused far off into the blaze, he was sure he'd never know just what
he'd done to deserve such a beauty. Quietly, he shuffled over to the chaise
lounge they'd set up opposite her, and kicked his feet up. Neither of them
spoke, once again finding comfort in silence. Many minutes went by like
that, before either of them felt the need to speak. Mulder was the first to
interrupt their silence. 
	" When I was little, Scully, Samantha and I used to have these camp-outs,
at the Vineyard... We used to build huge bonfires, and then tell stories
around them..."
	Scully imagined Mulder in happier times, with his kid sister. " What kind
of stories ?"
	" Sam was still pretty little at the time, so nothing overly gory, like
most stories told at a fire pit... I remember she had this one favorite
one. Every time we camped out she asked me to tell it to her..." Mulder
smiled, remembering old ghosts.
	" Tell me." Scully said, wanting to hear the story.
	Mulder smiled at her. " I don't remember it, just bits and pieces... There
was a princess, and she always had all the attention of the kingdom.
Unfortunately, she had a brother who was always up to no good... One day
the prince broke his sister's favorite mirror, but instead of yelling, she
dubbed him a knight, because he had rescued her from her own vanity. And
together they lived in harmony, happily ever after." His eyes looked up to
Scully, a small smile on his face.
	" We'll find her Mulder." Scully began, her eyes speaking to him over the
fire.
	" Not if it means risking you. " He stated. " I love her Scully, but I
love you more. In you I've found my strength and my weakness..."
	And she knew he felt no more pain in recalling his sister. She smiled at
him understandingly as their eyes met over the fire...
	" INCOMING!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
	Carrie's voice broke the stillness of the night, as a package of
marshmallows flew through the air and landed in Mulder's lap. Startled,
they both looked up and saw the two girls had come to join them.
	" Hi! " Hope said, a cheerful tone in her voice. In her hand she held a
couple chocolate bars, and four, long, pointed sticks. She smiled at Scully.
	" We're here to help liven up your campfire!" Carrie declared, flopping
down onto the ground. Hope followed suit.
	" Have you ever made s'mores ?"
	Scully rolled her eyes and shook her head, knowing they were never going
to get rid of the girls. " No."
	Hope and Carrie turned to each other and grinned, devilishly. " We're
going to teach you !"
	Mulder, who was enjoying trying to psychoanalyze the girls, smiled.
	" So what do we do ?"
	Hope handed out sticks, as Carrie opened the box of graham crackers, and
broke up the chunks of chocolate. Scully was slightly more cooperative once
she saw that chocolate was involved...
	" OK, stick a marshmallow on the end of the stick, then put it in the
fire, just above the coals until it's brown and fluffy."
	Scully, surprisingly, managed to cook hers to perfection, where as
Mulder's went up in flames. Scully laughed as he desperately blew it out,
then looked at it's blackened, crispy surface.
	" Looks like Cecil L'Ively!" He deadpanned.
	Scully laughed. " I wonder what's become of Phoebe ?"
	Mulder gave her a questioning look. " I could honestly care less. She
probably has HIV from sleeping her way around London's upper class."
	Scully smiled. " I was so mad at her..."
	Mulder grinned. " Dana Scully, jealous ?"
	Scully pursed her lips. " Well, she was throwing herself all over you !"
	Mulder's grin spread. " But I was imagining it was you I was dancing,
kissing..."
	She held his eyes over the fire, again, and again they spoke volumes in
silence. Meanwhile, Hope and Carrie watched, intrigued, as Mulder and
Scully got lost in each other's stare. 
	Hope leaned over and whispered in her friend's ear. " I think we better
teach them fast and split, or we might end up witnessing indecent acts..."
	Carrie gave her friend a disgusted, but acquiescing look.
	" Hey, guys! Scully your marshmallow is on fire !" Carrie screeched,
grabbing the couple's attention.
	Scully pulled the burning sugar ball from the fire, and blew it out.
	" OK, now carefully put you marshmallow down on top of this cracker and
chocolate..."
	Scully did as commanded, while Hope sandwiched the goo ball with another
cracker, then told Scully to retract the stick.
	" Here you go !" Hope handed Scully her s'more as Hope helped Mulder
construct his.
	Scully smiled a tight lipped smile, before sinking her teeth into the
cracker sandwich.
	" My gog! Dis is..." She swallowed, trying to detach her tongue from the
roof of her mouth. " This is really good!"
	Mulder nodded his approval, and agreement, because he was not able to
 speak.
	 Hope smiled, and stood up, pulling her friend up as well. " Mission
accomplished. Have fun!"
	Carrie smiled at her friend, and then they both waved, heading off.
	Scully raised her eyebrows at Mulder, as they left. " That was too easy..."
	Mulder nodded, but neither of them saw the girls for the rest of the
 night...
	... However, the girls saw them. Once they were out of sight, they crept
down behind some leafy green shrubs which provided adequate camouflage.
then they carefully parted the bows, and watched the partners in action. It
was nosy, it was intruding, but god, was it fun...

	Hope smiled at Carrie and whispered. " I swear, they're so cute ! I never
thought that two people could love each other so much! They've got soul
mates written all over them !" 
	Carrie gave her friend an amused expression, but said nothing. So Hope,
being the garrulous one of the duo, continued.
	" I mean, you always read about it, see it in movies... But this is the
real thing!" She squeaked delightedly, then let out a satisfied sigh.
	" You are so pathetic !" Carrie shook her head.
	" What ?"
	" Umm... <<True love, sigh. Soul mates, sigh. If only it would happen to
me, sigh.>> Sound familiar ?"
	Hope glared at her friend, but couldn't argue with her about it. She was a
hopeless romantic, and both of them knew it. Carrie was about to elaborate
on her views of Hope, when the latter declared, " Action on the set..." And
both turned their eyes back to the adults...

	Mulder silently watched as Scully fidgeted in her seat as she swatted at
mosquitoes. She looked so little, as the sleeves of her shirt whipped back
and forth, trying to dissuade the insects.
	" Scully, you got ants in your pants ?" He inquired mischievously.
	She frowned, miserably. " No, I've got mosquitoes all over me !" She
sighed exasperated.
	He smiled. " Come here." He ordered, pointing to the end of the lounge
 chair.
	Not wanting to remain under the cloud of bugs, she complied, seating
herself in front of him. However, as she sat down, he stood up.
	" Where are you going ?" She asked.
	He smiled cryptically. " Close your eyes." 
	She did as instructed and listened to him as he opened the trunk of the
car and got something out, then shuffled back over to her vicinity. Her
curiosity peaked when she heard him light a match, and walk around her.
Finally, she felt him sit down behind her, as he instructed her to open her
eyes.
	Her mouth fell open in surprise as she saw that he'd surrounded the chair
in citronella candles, which were driving away the insects, but were
appealing to her. She twisted around so she could see his face, and was
greeted by his playful eyes and his lips puled into a triumphant smile.
	" Surprise." He whispered.
	She smiled her cute little smile, touched that he was always trying so
hard to please her. She reached her hands up and rested them on his cheeks,
holding his face in her hands.
	" You are unbelievable."
	" That's what everyone's said all along!" He joked. Then he reached
forward, and pulled her back towards him, so they were both reclining,
Mulder against the chair, Scully against him. He rested his head gently a
top hers, and wrapped his arms securely around her, as they both fell back
into a comfortable silence, each one thinking about the other...

	" Awe, look at them!" Hope whispered, happily.
	Carrie was trying to keep a straight face to shame her friend, but she
couldn't. A wide grin spread across her face. " Come, let's stop spying on
them..."
	Carrie was about to stand up, but Hope held her down.
	" No Carrie... They're so inspiring... I'm going to write a story about
them !" 
	Carrie looked at her friend, blinked, then stated, " Nut ball".
	Hope smiled, and reluctantly stood up, following her friend back towards
their campsite. Just as they left, they stole one more glance towards their
favorite couple. And once again, Hope let out a contented, but wishful
 sigh...

	Mulder watched the fire leap and dance, it's orange tongues licking the
darkened sky. Sparks flew out of the snapping dancers like a million
fireflies... He thought about the first time they'd been in the woods
together, when she'd first joined him in the x-files. He hadn't known, and
still didn't, what it was about her that made him open up to her, so
quickly. Though he had remained guarded about exactly what he disclosed to
her, by the time they were on their next trip to the woods, he had grown to
love her, if only as a friend. He could distinctly remember the feeling of
desperation that had overcome him, when he'd woken up in quarantine, and
seen her lying so still... And then their was their more recent outdoor
investigation, when they were supposed to have been at an FBI conference on
communication. Of course he'd convinced her to stay and investigate with
him, but for once it had been him that had gotten hurt, and he was glad
she'd been there for him. He smiled remembering the good time they'd had,
despite their situation. He was lucky to have her...
	Scully felt him moving behind her, as his head came up off of hers, then
went over to the left, resting his chin against her ear. And he deposited a
sweet and gentle kiss just on her hair line, at the sensitive spot on her
temple.
	" I love you so much, Dana." He whispered into her ear.
	Surprised by his sudden show of emotion, she looked up over her left
shoulder, to look at him. And he was looking straight back at her, no
tears, no grin, dead serious.
	" Where did that come from ?" She asked, puzzled.
	" My heart."
	She smiled coyly at him. " You're a sweet-talker."
	But her flirty banter didn't shake his serious expression. his eyes
searched her face, and she felt herself growing serious too.
	" Is something wrong, Mulder?"
	He shook his head. " No."
	" Then why are you acting so serious ?" She asked, as her right hand went
up to touch his slightly stubble laden cheek. He put his hand on hers,
squeezing it, then gently pulled it off, leading it to his face, where he
kissed her palm.
	" I need you to know that I seriously love you."
	She smiled, confused. " Mulder, I wouldn't have married you if I hadn't
known that. I know. And I seriously love you too."
	Then she twisted herself in his arms, so her lips could tease his gently,
sweetly. However, she made a small sound of surprise when he held the kiss
and intensified it, her eyebrows shooting up.
	" What do you say we blow out the candles, put out the fire and call it a
night ?" He asked lowly, as his lips brushed hers, his face not an inch
away. She smiled and stood up heading for the pail of water. One fire was
put out, but another would burn for the rest of their lives. 
**************************************************************************

	The following day was as beautiful as it's predecessor. Mulder was woken
bright and early, a little after six, by the chirping of birds and the
glare of the sun through the green canvas. Silhouettes of branches that
were waving outside in the gentle breeze fell against the walls of the
tent, and Mulder watched as they moved rhythmically. Slowly, he rolled over
in the super large sleeping bag to face his sleeping wife, or at least the
spot where she was supposed to be. All he could see of her was a large bump
under the cover, no part of her visible with the exception of a few strands
of red hair. Carefully he reached out and folded back the cover, exposing
her peaceful face. He smiled. He couldn't believe he'd held back his
emotions from her for so long. It was so much easier and so much more fun,
when he could surprise her with little affectionate things, like candles
and wine from plastic cups. He loved the reaction he always got out of her;
the small, touched smiles, the eyebrows raising, the little sounds of
surprise... He gently brushed her soft cheek with the back of his hand. She
smiled in her slumber, then stirred, opening her sleepy eyes. 
	" Good morning." He said quietly.
	" Hi." She yawned. " What time is it ?"
	Mulder looked at his watch. " Quarter after six."
	She groaned and closed her eyes. " You're supposed to sleep in when you're
on vacation Mulder!"
	He grinned and sat up, taking the covers with him. " Who are you kidding ?
We have so much to do!"
	" Like ?" She sighed, rubbing her eyes.
	" Go on a hike, go canoeing, go fishing, go swimming..."
	" Relaxing?"
	" Yeah, that too, but we can do that later..."
	" We can do ALL that later. Now..." She said, pulling him back down by the
arm, "...we sleep."
	  And with that she put her head on his chest, and closed her eyes, fading
back into sleep.

	It was several hours later that she woke up, alone. Mulder had vacated the
tent, and she had no idea where he'd gone. Curious, she unzipped the tent
door flap, and peered out. The day was bright and beautiful, and it took
her eyes a couple minutes to adjust. However, when they did, there was
still no Mulder to be seen. Slowly, she herself emerged from the tent, clad
only in her gray satin boxer shorts and matching shirt top that Mulder had
bought her for her birthday. As she did so, she noticed that the car was
also missing, and wondered where he'd gone without her. As if in response,
the sound of tires on gravel was heard, and their car rounded the corner
and pulled up, Mulder behind the wheel. He smiled when he saw her and
parallel parked the car.
	" Hey Firefly..." He said out the rolled down window, as he shut off the
engine.
	She smiled at his nickname for her, and ran her fingers back through her
messy hair, as she waited for him to get out of the car. When he did, he
brought with him two canoe paddles and a bag of groceries. He walked over
to her, and despite his loaded arms, gave her a quick kiss, before putting
the bag of groceries on the table.
	She watched him, hand son her hips, as he deposited the canoe paddles,
then walked back over to her.
	" Where did you go ?" She asked, curiously eyeing the paddles.
	He put his hands on her shoulders, smiling down at her. " I went to the
camp store, and bought some food for during our hike, which we are going to
take as soon as you're ready to go."
	She noticed he conveniently left out the reason for the paddles.
	" What are those for ?"
	He smiled. " A canoe."
	She shook her head at him, smirking. " Yeah, but where's the canoe ?"
	He grinned. " At the docks. I rented one, so that we could go fishing for
our dinner."
	She smiled. " You have everything planned out, don't you ?"
	He nodded. " You. Me. Alone. Nature. Endless possibilities Scully!"
	She turned and flopped her hand at him, as she silently walked back to the
tent, to get dressed.
	When she came out, she was wearing a forest green T-shirt, beige khaki
cargo pants, and had a black sweatshirt tied around her waist. Like Mulder,
she wore Nike hikers on her feet. Her hair was put up into a clip at the
back of her head, in a messy twist. In her hands she held two canvas
knapsacks, and a bottle of bug repellent, which she sprayed upon herself.
	" Want some ?" She asked, showing him the bottle.
	He nodded, and she covered his skin.
	With that accomplished, they packed the knapsacks with the food Mulder had
bought. In went a couple apples, bottles of water, pre-wrapped sandwiches,
and in Mulder's, secretly, some trail mix and chocolate bars he planned to
feed to her later on. Then they set off for the trails...

	... Twigs snapped underfoot. as birds chirped overhead, and Mulder and
Scully trampled the underbrush. They'd been hiking for almost two hours
now, in almost complete silence, each one taking in nature. Scully walked
just ahead of Mulder, her hair falling out of it's clip. As they started
going uphill she pulled herself up the steep edges by tugging on rocks and
roots. It was hard work, so few words were said, to spare breath. As she
climbed up and up, though, she was reminded of another time, another
mountain. Skyland mountain. When Duane Barry had pulled her out of the
trunk and dragged her up the hill. The whole time she'd been hopping,
praying, that Mulder would reach her... But he'd never come. She'd been
terrified and calling him. And he hadn't been there... Suddenly, when she
was at the top of the hill they'd been climbing, a blind panic filled her.=
 
	" Mulder!" She spun around, and looked behind her. He had to be behind
her... And there he was, pulling himself up over the last steep edge. He
heard the strain in her voice and looked up at her, concerned. His eyes met
hers, and what he saw there scared him very much. He saw fear.
	She looked at him, and she knew he could see her fear. She didn't want him
to see it, didn't want him to see her weak or afraid. She looked away from
him, biting her lower lip. 
	" Oh God." She gasped as she looked away. She crossed her arms in front of
her, to keep herself from shaking. She felt Mulder come up behind her, and
place a steadying hand on her back. She closed her eyes, trying to calm
herself. Where had that panic attack come from ?
	" Dana, what's wrong ?" He demanded. He stepped in front of her, and left
one hand on her shoulder, the other turning her face up to him.
	" I'm fine..." She lied.
	She didn't have to look up to know that Mulder was shaking his head at
her. They'd been together far too long for him to be deceived by her faked
emotions. As if simply being her partner wasn't enough for him to have
learned the difference, they spent all their time together now, as a
couple, and he was surprised by how much more he'd learned about her, in
their few months of togetherness. He could see through most of her walls
now, just as he could see through this one.
	In his silence, she opened her eyes, and slowly looked up to him. Seeing
the warmth and care there, she went out on a limb. As if she was fooling
anyone but herself anyhow. " I had the most frightening feeling you weren't
behind me..."
	His face grew semi-sad, as he uncrossed her arms in front of her, and held
her small hands up in his. She followed his gaze down to her hands, which
were shaking like leaves.
	" You're shaking." He stated the obvious.
	She nodded.
	" Are you all right ?"
	She nodded again, unsure if she actually was or not. She wouldn't look at
him.
	" Hey..." He said, making her face him. " I'm here. Talk to me."
	She smiled weakly. " I need a hug."
	He chuckled, and pulled her close to him. One hand on the small of her
back, one resting on the back of her head, he held her for several minutes.
Then, kissing the top of her head, he released her, and was pleased to see
that she did look better.
	" You OK now?"
	She smiled, and nodded gratefully.
	He leaned in and kissed her, quickly, before pulling back, and swinging
the knapsack off his shoulders, extracting a camera.
	" See the field down there ?" He asked, pointy to a small field filled
with long grass and wild flowers. 
	She looked down and was surprised. " No, I hadn't noticed it before... I
was kind of distracted."
	He smiled. " I want to take some pictures of us down there."
	She nodded, and set off down the steep slope. Mulder followed close behind
her. Upon reaching the bottom, they took a couple minutes to explore,
Mulder scanning out the picture possibilities, Scully checking out the
flowers. 
	" Hey Scully!" She looked up upon hearing her name. She had been crouching
down, inspecting a flower. When she looked up, Mulder snapped a photo
	" MULDER!?!" She stood up. " No fair! No taking pictures of ME!"
	He grinned, mischievously, and held up the camera again, ready to snap
 away. 
	She cocked her head and put her hands on her hips, raising her eyebrows at
him. " You wouldn't..."
	But he did. The camera clicked again. 
	Her mouth fell open in surprise and she walked towards him, hand
outstretched. " Give me the camera Mulder."
	He grinned and ran backwards, away from her.
	" Mulder, I'm warning you..."
	" Come and get it!" He challenged.
	So she took off running after him. He kept turning around, looking back at
her, but when he did so he couldn't see where he was going, so he tripped
over a log, falling onto his backside.
	Scully laughed as she caught up to him, finding him sprawled on his back,
smiling like a happy cat. 
	" Give me that!" She said, taking the camera. Then she backed up and took
a picture of him, in the flower filled field, before joining him on the
ground.
	" Maybe we should have some food." She stated, pulling of her backpack.
	He nodded and sat up, picking up his own bag. He rubbed a huge green apple
against his shirt before sinking his beautiful, white teeth into it. It was
juicy, and it dripped down his chin, until it met Scully's finger, which
wiped it off.
	" Thanks." He said, as she ate her own apple.
	They ate mostly in silence, enjoying the scenery. But as they were
finishing off, Mulder spoke up.
	" I want to take some pictures of you, before we head back." It was more
of a statement than a question.
	" Of me ?"
	He nodded.
	She rolled her eyes. " Why ?"
	He smiled. " Because you're beautiful."
	She smiled, sweetly. " Oh, all right."
	He grinned, standing up. She was going to follow him, but he told her to
lie down.
	" If this in any way involves me removing my clothing, forget it."
	He grinned again, but shook his head. " Just lay there and smile like you
do when I tell you you're beautiful."
	She did as commanded.
	" Thanks, now roll over onto your stomach, and put your head in your
hands... Yeah, like that..."
	He got down on the ground and parted the grass, so the camera was peaking
through it, to capture her.
	" OK, stand up, and put this in your hair..."
	He plucked, then handed her a violet.
	" I've got one..." She said, after he took the picture. She turned herself
square on to the camera, and held a couple flowers in front of her face, as
if smelling them. But she turned her head down slightly and the flowers
covered most of her nose, and all of her heart shaped mouth. Her eyes were
the most prominent features in the photo. Mulder whistled before snapping
some more.
	Finally, he paused, and she commanded him to give her the camera. He did
so, and she put it in her bag.
	" I get it for the trip back..."
	He eyed her suspiciously but said nothing, as they headed back towards the
hill...    

	It was just after one o'clock when Mulder and Scully got back to camp.
They were both hot, but the hike had done them quite a bit of good. Scully
knew she hadn't been pushing herself to stay in shape, as hard as she had
been when she was with the bureau, but the hike had felt nice.
	" So, what are we up to next ?" Scully asked, as she emerged from the
tent, with her hairbrush in hand. 
	Mulder was seated in one of the chairs surrounding the fire pit, nursing a
can of root beer. " We should go fishing." He stated, not directly asking
her for her opinion.
	She sat down in the chair beside him, and pulled the clip out of her hair,
then reached out, capturing his drink. " Sounds good."
	" What are you doing ?" He asked, watching her sip out of the can.
	She swallowed. " Stealing your drink."
	He smiled, and shook his head at her.
	" What ?"
	" You're so good and straight laced, down to earth. You follow all the
rules. Then you pull something like that..."
	" I'm not breaking any rules by stealing my husband's drink."
	He just shook his head.
	" Fine." She extended him his drink.
	" Nah, I didn't want the rest anyhow." He said, not taking it from her.
	She rolled her eyes at him, and emptied the can in one long chug.
Meanwhile, he took her hairbrush and came up behind her.
	" What are you doing ?" she asked, putting the can on the ground.
	" Stealing your hairbrush."
	She gave him the patented eyebrow look.
	" What ?"
	" What are you going to do with my hairbrush ?"
	" Brush your hair."
	She gave him a puzzled look, but he paid it little heed. instead, he
carefully ran the bristles through her hair, marveling at it's luster. And
despite her reservations, she found it extremely relaxing.
	Mulder ran his hand over her silky hair, after he was finished.
	" Your hair has grown, Scully." He commented, surprised that her red gold
locks were as long as they had been the first day he met her.
	" Yeah, I haven't cut it since... I guess since I had amnesia."
	Mulder put his arms down, over her shoulders, then crossed them in front
of her, giving her a small hug. " I can't believe that happened..."
	" Neither can I... It seems like we've been together, forever."
	" But that's a good thing, isn't it ?"
	She smiled. " Mmmhmm. I can't remember  time when I didn't love you."
	Now it was his turn to smile. " Really ?"
	" Well, except when I walked in on you and Detective White. I could have
killed you then..."
	He groaned. " She was such a dog..."
	" I know." She assured him.
	He snorted and gave her a playful slap, then stood up, taking her brush
back to the tent. " Come on, Scully. We should get moving."
	She nodded and stood up as well, pulling her freshly brushed hair back,
into a ponytail.
	" So where's the canoe ?"
	Mulder closed down the tent, and fished the car keys out of his pocket,
opening the trunk in order to retrieve their fishing poles. " Not far from
here, supposedly. Just over the hill there, and down to the right." He
said, pointing. As he took out the fishing poles, she extracted her tackle
box. Then they headed up the road together.
	" Where did this stuff come from, anyway ?" He asked.
	" From Mom's attic... It's Ahab's old stuff... I used to go fishing with
him all the time. We'd go out in the rain, because the fishing was always
best then... Once, he woke me up at two in the morning and we snuck outside
to go find dew worms. Mom caught us coming back into the house, hands
covered in dirt... I'm not sure who received the most severe punishment.
Myself or my father..." she smiled, reminiscent.
	" I wish I had met him..." Mulder stated, sincerely
	Scully looked up at him, surprised. " Really ?"
	Mulder nodded. " But somehow I get the feeling I wouldn't have been good
enough."
	She shook her head. " That's just because of Billy... Besides, NO ONE was
ever good enough, in his eyes, for his little girls. "
	Mulder looked away, sadly.
	" Mulder... I know he would have approved of you. Mom approves of you...
She thinks so much more of you than just approval... And if Mom likes you,
that's all my dad would have needed." 
	Mulder nodded, but didn't speak.
	" What's bothering you ?"
	" I wish I had had a friend as good as you when I was younger..."
	Scully's brow caved. " What do you mean ?"
	" I mean, if I had had someone like you to talk to, after Samantha's
disappearance, after my parents split up, I could have become a better
person."
	" Mulder, don't say that. You're the most wonderful man in the world.
You're sweet and gentle, but driven and determined. You're passionate and
focused, but you don't push. You're smart and funny, and you always make me
smile, but you're serious when I need you to be..." She smiled adoringly at
him.
	" I don't deserve you." He stated.
	She surprised him by frowning. " Don't ever say that!" She scolded him.
     " Don't ever think for a minute that you don't deserve me. I love you."
	" you can tell me not to say it, but you can't stop me from thinking it.
You can't stop me from believing it."
	" No, no I can't." She stated, looking at him angrily.
	" You're so good to me, Scully..."
	she shook her head at him. " When will you see, I'm not married to you
because I think you need me. I don't run all over hell's half acre because
I think you need my help. I do it because I want to. I do it because I want
to do it for you. I would do anything for you. I'm in love with you, trust
me."
	He looked at her. At her beautiful, scornful face. " I've made you mad.
I'm sorry."
	She sighed, heavily. " Stop apologizing!"
	" I can't stop if I can't stop hurting you."
	She shut her eyes, and took a deep breath. " Stop right now. Stop feeling
sorry for yourself, and to me. Just, for once, listen to me. I love you,
Mulder. I love you so much sometimes it hurts, but now you're pissing me
off. You have to learn when is enough, when to shut up and jut say "I love
you". If I say I trust you it's because I trust you. Don't disbelieve my
words."
	" But I don't want you to be unhappy, with me, or with the life I've
forced you into." He said the words slowly, lowly.
	She felt like she waned to punch him, to smarten him up. But she knew if
she did so, she'd just be trying to kiss it better a minute later. "
Mulder, you haven't forced me into anything. You've never made me do or
give you anything I wasn't willing to give you myself. But then again, you
probably don't believe me when I say that, do you ? What do you want to
hear me say ? Do you want me to lie to you, and say that I hate you, that I
married you out of obligation ? I can say those things if you want, if
that's what you want to hear, but there's not an inkling of truth behind
them, and you know it. "
	Mulder looked at her long and hard, the hands that were carrying the
paddle and tackle box were balled into fists, her knuckles white. She was
breathing rapidly, and her eyes were piercing him like knives. A crooked
smile appeared on his face, and he choked out a laugh. " After all these
years, I can still push your buttons, make your hair stand on end..."
	She took a deep breath and rolled her eyes, before shutting them, and
dropping her head, shaking it. When she looked up, he was still smiling.
And against all her willpower, she smiled too. " Yes you can, Mulder. I
suspect you will always be the one and only person who can do that. And I
don't think you'll ever forget how to do it either."
	Mulder grinned. " Too many years of practice..."
	Scully smiled. " ...and many more to come."
	That's when they realized that they'd reached the docks. In front of them,
stretched along the grassy shore, were rows of canoes, padlocked to their
frames, waiting to be lifted into the water.
	" We have number 16." Mulder stated, depositing the fishing gear near the
shore. Scully put down the tackle box and followed him over to their rented
boat. Then together they carried it to the water, and set it afloat. It
wasn't long until they were a good ways into the lake, paddling upstream,
watching the weeds off the shore, looking for a nice place to drift, as
they fished. Soon they'd found a weed bed in a quiet corner of the lake,
and cast out.
	" I haven't done this in years!" Scully exclaimed, happily, as she dropped
the bail, and released the line, watching it fall with a plop into the
 water.
	" Me neither." Mulder contributed, almost wistfully.
	Scully looked over at him, concerned by his sad demeanor. " Talk to me."
	He looked up at her eager to listen face, and decided it wouldn't hurt to
talk. 	" I used to go up to the ocean with my dad... To creeks when we were
in Chillmark. We always had a bonding thing going on... We'd drink Dr.
Pepper and talk about the World Series. Once he gave me this one really
special lure... I lost it somewhere along the way, on our last fishing
trip. We never went after the divorce... I guess I lost him too... And
then, all those years of holding my life against him seemed so short after
he died. He couldn't tell me himself, the truth about the past, his past,
his lie. He was a coward. But still I wish I could go back."	
	Scully was deeply touched by Mulder's unbound words. " You know no matter
what happened Mulder, he loved you..."	
	Mulder looked at her. " How do you know ?"
	" The same way that I know that my father was proud of me. He was my
 father."
	Mulder nodded, and looked away from her. " But what if I turn into him ?"
	Scully was surprised he was thinking about that. It hadn't occurred to her
that he was thinking as much about being a father as she was about being a
mother, which was quite a bit more than she was admitting...
	" What if I have to make the same choices he did ? Between children, or
you ? What if..."
	Scully cut him off. " You will be a wonderful father, just like you're a
wonderful husband, and we'll never get a divorce, and you'll never have to
make that decision. No one could chose..."
	" My father did..."
	" And we ended up together. You learned from it. Mulder, everything bad
that has happened to you, to us, we have learned from. It doesn't darken
ourselves to know what was done wrong. It helps us make sure that it never
happens again."
	He nodded. " You know I could never chose anyone, including our children,
over you..."
	She watched him, carefully reading him. " Mulder..."
	" Before we have a family, you have to know that. No one is more important
to me then you. Nothing. No one."
	She shook her head. " Mulder, I..."
	" I'd die without you. There's no way, not a chance in hell, I could raise
a child, our child, without you."
	She looked at him sadly, attempting a stern look, but failing. " You'd
have to. For me."
	Mulder eyed her, saying nothing.
	" Promise me, Mulder, you won't just abandon our child if something
happens to me."
	He swallowed hard.
	" If something happens to me, I'm still alive in a piece of that child. If
that should turn out to be all you have left of me..."
	" I promise."
	" You promise what ?"
	" To never give up on our child, or you."
	She nodded. " Remember that."
	He nodded.
	And all was silent.

	An hour later, they were still fishing. They'd caught very few fish, and
those which had been caught were too small to eat.
	Now Scully sat reading her book, dripping water on herself every now and
then to cool off. She'd attached a bobber to her line, and a bell to the
line, so she didn't have to pay attention. She was quite relaxed and
 peaceful.
	Mulder, however, was bored to tears. His book wasn't holding his
attention, and he kept getting distracted by mindlessly watching the tiny
drops of water Scully splashed on herself, drip down her chest, and
disappear under her shirt.
	" Too hot Scully ?" He asked, trying to start a conversation.
	She just nodded and kept reading.
	" Scully ?"
	" Uh huh ?"
	" Are you having fun ?"
	" Uh huh."
	" Really ?"	
	" Uh huh."
	" Oh... Good book ?"
	" Yup."
	" What's it about ?"	
	" Love."
	" Sound like us ?"
	" No."
	" It doesn't ?"
	" No."
	" Why not ?"
	" Sad."
	" Oh. Then I'm glad it doesn't sound like us."
	" Uh huh."
	" Why is it sad ?"
	" Fights."
	" I'm glad we don't fight."
	" Uh huh."
	" I love you."
	" Uh huh."
	" Uh huh ? What does that mean ?"
	" Ditto."
	" Okay... Scully ?"
	" Uh..."
	" Want to play a game ?"
	" Nuh uh."
	" No ? Want to go swimming ?"
	" Nuh Uh."
	" Too bad!"
	Mulder began to rock back and forth, trying to tip the boat. That got
Scully's attention, immediately.
	" WHAT THE HELL?!?"
	Mulder grinned. " We're going swimming!"
	" MULDER!"
	He stood up, beginning to rock harder.
	" STOP!"
	She stood up, trying to counter weigh his actions. The boat dipped
dramatically. Finally, having no other choice, in one quick motion, she sat
down in the middle of the canoe, and pushed him out. Thankfully he was the
only thing to fall in.
	Mulder resurfaced, sputtering.
	" Scully, you pushed me!"
	" You left me little choice. It was you or everything."
	He stuck out his tongue.
	She mimicked him, and extended him a paddle, to haul his water logged body
back into the boat.
	" Well now at least I have your attention." He stated, as he slunk into
the boat.
	She shook her head. " Such a little boy sometimes... Let's get you home
and dried off."
	She picked up a paddle, and headed for the docks.
	Somewhere between the weeds and docks, he trailing lure must have caught
some fish's attention, because her pole and it's attention line began to
unwind. Mulder jumped at the sound of the bell and wound in, with some
difficulty. He was amazed when he pulled in a twelve inch fat mother of a
bass.
	" There's dinner." Scully stated.

	It wasn't long before they were back at camp, Mulder being dried off and
scolded by Scully , Scully being irritated by the fact that Mulder was
enjoying her reprimand.  She considered the fact that though they were
married, nothing had really changed between them. They were still just
Mulder and Scully, to each other. She smiled to herself, picking up
Mulder's wet clothes, to go hang them on the drying line they'd strung. She
really, really, really missed being his partner. she missed their work
together. They'd been such a good team, probably for the same reasons they
made such a good couple. They equaled each other out. Her rigid scientific
faith was counter balanced by his extreme beliefs.
	Mulder noticed the smile on her face, and hoped it was of his doing. He
liked making her smile. No. He LOVED making her smile. He loved her. He
adored the challenge she put up, making the times when he succeeded all the
more rewarding. Lately though, he found it was becoming easier and easier
to convince her to smile. Her happiness meant a great deal to him, but he
missed the times in the past when her smiles were few and not often
bestowed upon the likes of him. That fact was what made him cherish them
so. And he had to admit, he missed having to clear a space on the desk for
her. His job wasn't nearly as interesting as it had been, when she was
constantly beside him.
	And they both thought that even though they'd gained so much together,
they'd lost something as well. The base of their relationship. the very
thing that had made them, so strong...
	" Scully ?"
	She was ripped from her thoughts by the very person she'd been thinking
about. " Yeah ?"
	" Do you ever regret anything we've done ?"
	" I regret it when we fight about stupid things..."
	" Yeah, but I mean things like..."
	" Kissing at Christmas ? Getting engaged ? Saying " I love you" ?"
	He nodded.
	" No. Do you?"
	" No."
	" Then why did you ask ?"	
	" Because I miss you as a friend."
	Scully looked at him, seriously considering his statement. Her brow
descended in worry, but then relaxed again. " Haven't you learned that I
can be your wife, and your friend... " She questioned. " And your partner,
and your lover, and your enemy, and your pain in the ass...?"  She added,
trying to keep her face serious.
	Mulder shook his head, smiling slightly.
	" I can be everything and anything you need me to be."
	Mulder smiled, reaching out and touching her cheek.
	" I know, it's just..." He shrugged, but Scully wasn't going to let it
 drop.
	" Just what ?"
	" Well, if we were having problems, with our marriage..." Mulder cut off
his own sentence at the trying-to-be-concealed look of shock on Scully's
face. " IF Dana. We're not having problems. I love you. But if I had been
married to someone else, and was having those problems, I would have turned
to you. Now, because it's YOU I'm married to, I can't..." He looked in her
eyes, trying to find some kind of assurance that she understood him. " Do
you understand, at all ?"
	Slowly she nodded.
	" Sometimes I just feel we had more when we were less..."
	She shook her head at him. " No, we have more now, there's just more at
risk. You..." She poked him with her index finger, and left it against his
chest. "...have to learn to be secure with yourself, AND me. That's
marriage. You have to trust me enough to be able to tell me anything, good
or bad, and not be afraid that I'm going to run."
	Mulder objected. " But I do trust you Scully, you're the ONLY one I
 trust..."
	She decided to challenge him. " OK, so tell me one thing that you hate
about me."
	Mulder hesitated. " I don't hate anything about you..."
	Scully raised her eyebrow. " You see, you won't tell me because you're
afraid of my reaction. Now tell me..."
	Mulder thought for a minute, then tentatively began. " I don't like it
when you won't admit to being wrong." He waited for the outburst he was
sure was coming, but didn't. Instead the tent was filled with her laughter.
	" Why's that funny ?"
	" Because you're right. I hardly ever admit defeat..."
	Mulder looked at her, shocked. " You're not mad at me ?"
	She shook her head. " No, because I'm human. I have flaws. I wouldn't want
to have them pointed out 24/7 but there's no one I'd rather hear them from
than you."
	Mulder's jaw dropped. 
	Scully smiled, again.
	Mulder decided to change the subject. " Why do you smile so much more  now
 ?"
	Scully straightened her face, but her eyes were still glowing. " Because
I'm happy."
	" Weren't you happy before ?"
	She nodded. 
	" Why didn't you smile then ?"
	" She shrugged. " I don't smile all that often for people. Hence the
nickname, Ice Queen."
	Mulder shook his head. " It's not rue at all though. Why don't you ever
prove them wrong ?"	
	She shrugged again. " I'm not worried about it. I save my smiles for
important people."
	She gave him a well placed grin.
	" It's just that I used to have to work so hard to get you to smile. Now
you give them to me for free."
	" Would you rather I didn't smile ?" Her face melted into the FBI
emotionless mask that had been his main view of her for a long time.
	" NO! Don't ever stop smiling Scully." He was shaken by how fast and how
well she could change her face and hide her emotions. It just helped
compound the all ready well known fact that she was a complicated woman. "
It's just that  your smile seemed to mean so much more back then."
	She shook her head at him. " That's just because that was the most
affection I could show for you, the most happiness I could let you see. Now
I can do so much more... You make me very, very happy in many other ways..."
	Mulder imitated her skeptical look. " Like how ?"
	" Like when you make me breakfast in bed, or when you hold me and tell me
I'm beautiful, or today, when you brushed my hair..."
	Mulder looked at her incredulously. " Brushing your hair made you happy ?"
	She smiled.
	" Scully, I found another fault, though it's hardly something I abhor..."
	" What's that ?"
	" You look like a chipmunk when you grin."
	Scully let her mouth fall open in mock indignation, before she took his
clothes, and zipped open the tent door flap. " Get decent Mulder. We're
going swimming."
	" I all ready did that..." He whined, trying to get her to come back.
	" We're going to go swimming Mulder, real swimming."
	" Are you going to wear a bikini ?"
	Her head stuck back into the tent. " Do I own one ?"
	" No, I don't think so..." He said, dismayed.
	" Are you sure about that ?"
	His eyes shot up from his bag to her face, which was smiling at him
devilishly.
	" Did you buy a bikini Scully ?" He asked, surprised.
	" You just never know, do you ? I had that whole week off before we
 left..."
She said, innocently, before backing out again. And suddenly Mulder was in
a rush to get to that beach...
	
	Luckily, the beach wasn't too busy. Mulder was thankful, because could
think of a million things he'd want to do to Scully, if she was indeed
wearing a bikini... But the innocent laughs of a few five year olds
building sand castles, reminded him that this was a public area.
	Scully laid her towel out across a dune of sand, under a big tree. She
thought it was odd to find a tree on a beach, but then again, this wasn't a
natural beach. Either way, the shade would keep her from burning. It also
meant that she could stretch out for a while, antagonizing Mulder because
she was indeed wearing a bikini, and wouldn't need sunscreen right away...
She sat down on her towel, and pulled her brush out of her bag, quickly
pulling her hair up into a ponytail. Meanwhile, Mulder laid his towel out
beside hers, and sat down, looking at her expectantly.
	" What ?" She asked, trying not to smile. For once she was successful.
	" Aren't you going to show me what you've got on under that T-shirt and
sarong ?"
	She shook her head, pulling her book out. She spoke to him as she tried to
find her page. " Nah, I'm not warm enough yet."
	Mulder sighed, frustrated. Now he was more sure than ever that she was
wearing a bikini...  He closed his eyes, sulking, but must have dozed off
because he was quite a bit warmer when he woke up.
	" Scully ?"
	She put down her book, and looked at him. " Yes ?"
	" Are you warm yet ?"
	She considered his question than nodded. " Actually, I am..." And off came
the clothes that had been covering her.
	It was worse, or better, than he ever could have imagined. It was your
typical style bikini, dark blue and skimpy, and it showed off so much of
her creamy skin and well toned body. 
	" You look like a Goddess Scully." Was all Mulder could manage. His jaw
was way too lose to work.
	She just smirked at him, and lay down, putting her sunglasses on. All was
quiet for a few minutes, before Scully spoke up. " It's not polite to stare
Mulder. Pull your tongue back into your mouth and stop that tail from
wagging."
	Mulder groaned.  He was being punished for something, maybe just for fun...
	" You're going to burn Scully." He warned, realizing she didn't have
sunscreen on yet.
	" But oh, it's worth the pain to see that look on your face..."
	Mulder sighed again. " Scully, you're driving me crazy!"
	She smiled sweetly. " I know."
	Mulder had exhausted his every means of convincing Scully to let him touch
her godly image... All that is, except one.
	" No! No puppy dog faces!"
	But he showed no mercy, just as she had. And she finally gave in.
	" Fine, fine, fine... I have to get out from under this tree at some
point..."
	Mulder grinned like an idiot, and scooted over behind her, squeezing sun
cream onto his hands. He did a deliberately slow, but subtle job of
covering all her exposed skin, paying due attention to her fine facial
features. When he was don painting her, they decided the water looked very
inviting. It welcomed them very nicely too.
	" The water is cool..." Scully commented, slowly walking out into it,
letting her body adjust to it's coolness. Mulder, however, dove right
under, then came up with a splash beside his wife.
	" The water is great!" He exclaimed watching as it's level rose to her
belly button. " Come in." He lunged for her, and she shrieked, as she was
submerged. She opened her eyes underwater and found him grinning at her.
She smirked and resurfaced.
	" MULDER!!!"
	But it was hard to be mad at a man who looked like a little boy, with his
pouty lips, oversized nose, soft eyes and wet hair dripping and hanging
into his face.
	" You're so bad..."
	He grinned. " But you love me anyhow ?"
	Scully nodded, before plunging under and swimming away.
	They swam for close to an hour, just going back and forth, chasing each
other or floating around. Finally, when Scully's fingers began to resemble
raisins, they decided it was time to come in. They hadn't been drying off,
baking in the sun for long, before loud music was heard coming from the
park road. Accompanying the music were the laughs and chattering voices of
a dozen or so teenagers... Two of which were Hope and Carrie.
	" Hi Scully ! Hi Mulder!" Carrie called, waving.
	Mulder grinned and waved back. Maybe the forces unknown were punishing
Scully for her bikini punishment on him. 
	Carrie and Hope lead the pack of rowdies over to their favorite couple.
Upon closer inspection, Mulder learned that there were ten young adults,
four of which were boys.
	" Hi Scully !" Hope said, smiling at her.
	" Nice bikini." Carrie deadpanned, wiggling her eyebrows at Mulder.
	" I want you two to meet my friends. " Hope said. " Guys, GUYS!" All her
friends shut up. " This is Scully and her husband Mulder."
	Everyone mumbled something to the effect of hello.
	" This is D'Arcy." Hope said, pulling a tall, lanky girl who looked like a
rower, over to the couple. She had blue gray eyes and long, straight brown
hair, as well as a goofy grin. Despite the heat she wore pants and a black
T-shirt.
	" This is Elizabeth !" She stated, opening her fist to show Mulder a
paralyzed ant. " He's a boy."
	Hope began to laugh and told D'Arcy to put "Elizabeth" away.
	While Mulder was trying to figure out how Elizabeth could possibly be a
boys name, and what the hell was wrong with D'Arcy, Hope introduced Dora.
	Dora was taller than Hope, but not that much. She had a cute smile and
spiked up , gelled blondish brown hair.  She was wearing big, baggy shorts
and an Econoline Crush T-shirt. 
	" Do you have any sugar ?" She asked, pleadingly. 
	Hope handed her a pixie stick and satisfied her friend.
	Next came Amy, who would have been shorter than Hope, except for the fact
that she was wearing Spice Girls style sandals. Scully couldn't imagine
walking on sand in those, without twisting an ankle, but Amy seemed to be
managing. She had short blond hair and hazel eyes which were working in
harmony with glasses, as well as a smile that could be interpreted as sweet
and insane at the same time. 
	With Amy stood Ness. She was taller than both girls, but not as tall as
D'Arcy. She had blue gray eyes and blondish auburn hair. Tucked between her
hip and arm was a volleyball, as it was evident that she was a sports
enthusiast. However, contradicting her previous image was a face she kept
making at Hope which resembled a drug abuser sniffing away...
	All the boys, despite the fact that they were called upon individually,
came up together. They were obviously feeling outnumbered in a negative
sense, by the more numerous females.
	Billy, who was introduced as D'Arcy's boyfriend was as tall  as Mulder, if
not taller, and had absolutely no hair. He said hello in a  bored manner,
bringing to light his apathetic nature. And no he did not care to elaborate
upon how he had ended up bald.
	Scott was as tall as Ness, with medium brown hair and what could only be
called fascinating eyes. They were a varying shade of turquoise blue, but
one had a large section of light brown in it. It looked as if someone had
spilled iodine in it. He waved, as he looked for a way out of the
situation. Also conspiring to escape from the over enthusiastic girls were
Chris and Caleb.
	Chris was shorter than Hope, but not much. And it was evident that his
height was the bane of his existence. He had blue eyes and floppy,
strawberry blond hair. He greeted the duo in almost a shy manner, as did
his friend Caleb.
	Caleb was much taller than Chris, shorter only than Billy. He had floppy,
slightly curly dark brown hair and dark brown eyes. It was obvious to
Mulder immediately that neither of the two boys were as calm as they led on.
	When Hope was done her introductions, she invited the two adults to
participate in a game of beach volleyball. Persuading them by bringing to
light the fact that they were two players short of a two full, six a side
teams. Mulder and Scully reluctantly agreed. However, when it was over, and
they all journeyed to the water to rinse the sand away, Mulder confronted
Scully on her obvious enjoyment of the game.
	" See, that wasn't too bad, was it ?"
	Scully looked over at the pack of animals, commonly known as teenagers,
who were yelling and splashing.
	" Nah. It was fun."
	Mulder smiled. " You looked pretty hot up there, digging for the ball."
	" I used to be on the volleyball team in high school... I think there's a
picture of us in my yearbook."
	Mulder grinned. " I didn't mean "hot" like that..."
	Scully blushed and dunked him underwater, until she knew he was
sufficiently out of breath.
	" SCULLY! What are you trying to do, kill me ? Jesus!"
	She smiled and swam away, but he was close on her tail.
	" Yearbook photos... Now THAT sounds interesting..."
	Scully rolled her eyes. " Honestly, they're scary."
	Mulder grinned. " Scary or Spooky ?"
	Together they headed into shore, passing the teenagers, only getting
caught in two monster splashes.
	" Well... I'm glad that experience didn't totally turn you off kids..."
She stated, lightly.
	Mulder smiled, knowingly. " Don't worry Scully. You'll have your chance."
He snagged her hand and pulled her down onto his towel, so they were
sitting, crossed legged, face to face.
	" Mulder..."
	" Well, we haven't been using anything to prevent it..."
	She smiled, and shook her head, but was still quiet.
	" You're really worried about it, aren't you ?"
	She turned her face up to look at him, to find some sort of reassurance in
him. Finally she spoke. " Yes." She stated, nodding. " I never really
realized that it was something I wanted, until it turned out that I might
not be able to have it."
	Mulder nodded, taking her hands in his. " What would you rather have,
Scully, a boy or a girl ?"	
	She considered his question seriously. " I don't know... Right now either
would seem like a blessing."
	Mulder nodded.
	" How about you ?"
	Mulder smiled. " I would love both, but I'm partial to little girls..."
	That made Scully smile. " Really ?"
	He nodded. " Especially if they look like you."
	She smiled sadly, thinking of Emily.
	" Scully, if we have a little girl, do you want to call her Emily ?"
	Scully's eyes shot up from their hands to his eyes. " No."
	She looked upset by his innocent and well meaning question, and he felt
bad. He hadn't meant to cause her more pain.
	She knew he felt bad, so she opened up a little. " I wouldn't want to name
her Emily for the same reasons you wouldn't want to name her Samantha..."
	Mulder nodded in understanding. " Tell you what, when we get back home and
settled in again, we'll go to a fertility clinic, OK?"
	Scully nodded. " Thank you, Mulder."
	" For what ?"
	" For being supportive, for being my wall to lean on."
	He pulled her into his arms. " God only knows how long you've been doing
the same for me... I've always needed you Scully."
	She nodded against his chest. " As I have you, Mulder."

**************************************************************************=
 

	Night had fallen, and the fires were burning, Mulder and Scully's being no
exception. Scully was lazing in the hammock, feeling like a happy cat,
after the excellent dinner of fish they'd made together. She had the
feeling that dinner had been excellent because she'd been able to help him.
It had felt right, like she was breaking even for all the times he'd cooked
for her. She rolled over onto her stomach, letting her arms fall over the
sides, and smiled. She'd been the one who'd filleted the fish. Mulder had
winced and turned away when she'd chopped off the head, gills still
moving... And when she had nothing left but two slabs of white fish, she'd
tossed them on the barbecue, quite pleased with herself. Mulder was giving
her that disgusted, I'm-happy-I-have-you face. Otherwise, he'd have had to
have been the one to get scales all over himself. The only downside was
that her hands still smelled vaguely of fish...
	Scully heard him come over beside her, then felt his hands come down onto
her back, where they started scratching.
	" Ooh... Oh.. up a bit." She sighed.
	Mulder laughed and continued scratching for a few minutes, before his
claws turned into feathers and began to tickle her.  She wiggled and tried
to escape, but her attempts were in vain, for the hammock held her like a
fish in a net.
	" Mulder... stop... please..." She begged him through fits of laughter.
	" No way. This is too much fun!"
	And then, the inevitable happened. She wiggled to hard to the right, and
fell out of the hammock, at his feet.
	" Oh my god, Scully ?" He crouched down over top of her, a slight laugh
still in his voice. When she didn't respond, he reached out and gently
touched her back, pulling the hair away from her down turned face. " Scully
 ?"
	She groaned a bit. He knew she was trying to fake him out, so he decided
to keep the upper hand. He stood up, and bent over from the waist, wrapping
his arms around her own waist. And before she knew what was happening, she
was slung over his shoulder, being carried over to the campfire.
	" MULDER!"
	He carefully laid her down on the lounge before kissing her like he was
crazy.
	" Mmm... Mulder... what are... you... doing ?"
	" Loving you." He mumbled.
	" Mulder..."
	But before she could finish her sentence, music was heard, coming from
somewhere in the bushes...
	
	Hope smiled, as she pushed play on the portable stereo her and Carrie had
lugged over.
	" This is absolutely the BEST idea you've come up with in ages !" Hope
stated to Carrie.
	" What about the s'more bit ?"
	" Yeah, that was good too... But now I get to really rib you for thinking
up this!"
	" What did you put on ?" Carrie whispered, wondering at Hope's smile.
	" Only You..."

	The old music flooded into the campsite, and Mulder smiled at Scully,
pulling her up close to him. She smiled back, and watched him with
fascination, as he mouthed the words of the song to her.

Only you    
Can make this world seem right
Only you
Can make the darkness bright
Only you
And you alone
Can thrill me like you do
And fill my heart with love
For only you...

	Mulder leaned forwards a bit, and whispered into her ear. " You know we
haven't danced since our wedding..."
	She smiled. " Our wedding... OUR wedding... I can't believe we're
 married..."
	" It's weird, isn't it Agent Scully."
	" Yes. "
	" Who would have thought we'd end up here ?"
	" I walked in to that office, so many years ago..."
	" ... Not knowing whether I could trust you, not wanting you with me..."
	" ... And now, I wouldn't change a day."
	" You looked so fresh, so smart. You came in, cleaned up, and saved me
from myself..."
	" And you, sitting there, looking so smart, in both senses, not wanting me
with you, at all... Now we can't live without each other..."
	Mulder laughed. " I can't believe that you, my beautiful, wonderful, Dana
Scully, married me."
	" Correction. Dana Mulder."
	
Only you
Can make this change in me
For it's true
You are my destiny
When I hold your hand
I understand
The magic that you do
You're my dream come true
My one and only you

	Hope clapped, quietly but delightedly. And for once, Carrie was just as
enthusiastic as her partner in crime. But then again, this had been her
idea...

	Mulder bent Scully over his arm, as he had at their wedding, and kissed
her with no less intensity as well. Completely spellbound, she felt like
Jell-O in his arms. He pulled her back up and smiled, noticing her dizzied
expression.
	" Feeling OK, Firefly ?"
	She nodded and leaned in closer, resting her head against his chest. As
she did so, he whispered the last line in her ear. " You're my dream come
true, my one, and only you..."
	The song ended, and he peacefully held her in his arms.
	" You want to pack it in ?" He asked, noticing how tired she looked.
	She nodded. " I'm beat..." And she yawned... then jumped out of her skin
as very loud, very raucous music came on.
	Suddenly, fierce whispering was heard from the bushes.
	" Hope ! What the hell is that ?"
	" I don't know !?! Blur..."
	" Turn it off!"
	There was a loud scuffle, and Mulder smiled at Scully.
	" Don't bother, girls. We're packing it in."
	And suddenly, everything was quiet. The girls had silenced the music, as
well as themselves, not even breathing for fear of being caught.
	" Goodnight girls." Scully said.
	Then the sound of tent zippers were heard, and Mulder and Scully's voices
talking softly, before silence fell again.

**************************************************************************=
 

	Scully was woken, in the morning, by the sound of raindrops pelting
against the tarp they'd put over top of the tent, to keep off the water.
She was glad because it sounded like it was really coming down, and wasn't
going to let up for quite a while. The air had turned cold and damp, the
kind of weather that had coined the phrase, " Chilled to the bone." She
shivered in the sleeping bag, and shinnied closer to Mulder. After several
minutes of just laying there, listening to the sound of rain and his
heartbeat, she pulled out her book, and began to read. No sooner than when
she was just getting into it, did Mulder wake up and tear her away from her
reading.
	" Rain." He stated, before even opening his eyes.
	She put down her book and rolled onto her side, watching him. He had
stubble along his jaw, and his hair was rumpled, sticking up every which
way. His eyes were bored and tired, as he also rolled over to look at her.=
 
	" Are you feeling all right, Mulder ?" She asked, thinking he looked under
the weather.
	He sighed. " Yeah, I don't know... Maybe I don't feel so great..." 
	She nodded and could tell by his irritable behavior that he was coming
down with something. 
	" Hungry ?" She asked, sitting up.
	When he nodded, she crawled over to the storage attachment flap that had
come with the tent, and pulled out their dry foods cooler. She proceeded to
remove all the fixings for peanut butter and jam sandwiches, then made
them. Mulder sat up and smiled, for the first time that morning, gratefully
accepting Scully's breakfast. 
	" Hmm, delicious." He declared after sinking his teeth into it.
	Scully smirked. " Mulder, a Neanderthal could make these."
	He smiled. " Well, yours are the best PBJs I've ever tasted."
	She rolled her eyes at him. " Don't think you can slack off on the
cooking, now. You know the deal. You do dinner, I do laundry."
	He nodded. " I promise."
	She shook her head at him...

	Five hours, seven chapters, four hands of crazy eight's and a game of
strip poker later, it was time for lunch. Scully was dressed in her sweats
and cold, and Mulder, who had lost the game of poker was sitting in his
boxers, had a fever and was boiling. However, when it came time for lunch,
Scully insisted she be the one to suit up, and go heat the soup. She didn't
want Mulder to catch pneumonia.
	So now she stood in the cold, wet rain, and stayed warm by jumping up and
down on spot, as she waited fort he soup to boil. Mulder watched her from
the tent door screen, and smiled. She looked like she was six years old.
She was wearing big, black Wellington rubber boots, sweat pants and a
bright yellow rain slicker, with the hood pulled up over her head. Despite
the protection of the hood,  her hair was getting wet, curling with the
dampness and humidity.
	" Scully ?" He called from the . She looked at him, waiting to hear his
statement.
	" You're the only person who can make that yellow thing look sexy..." He
grinned.
	She smirked at him, and shut off the portable oven, bringing over the
soup. She handed the pot to him, as she stripped out of the wet garments.
When she came into the tent, she discovered that he'd pulled the cooler out
to use a table, and had stuck two spoons into the hot liquid. She smiled
and shivered.
	" Here. Put these on." Mulder said, passing Scully his sweat clothes, when
he noticed hers had been soaked by the rain, despite the rain  gear.
	She took them, and put them on, but only felt slightly warmer. Of course,
eating the soup helped, but her chilled bones and cold spirit lasted all
day, and well into the night. Through the afternoon they once again spoke
of children and Emily. And despite the fact that as they spoke, he was
gentle as ever, that night, sleeping in his arms, her heart froze over.

	At first it just started as a dream. Everything was black and hollow,
echoes of her title that were being called bouncing off unseen walls. Her
tiny gentle voice, calling to her, begging her for help, but she couldn't
move, she couldn't see her daughter. Her only daughter. The one who
reminded her so much of her sister. Emily called her mother, in her dream,
over and over. But Dana Scully was bound by unseen chains. She couldn't see
her little girl, or feel her.  She could only listen as her once gentle
calls turned into high pitched screams... " Mooooommmmy... Mooommy...
Mommy... Mommy... Mommy... MOmmy... MOMmy... MOMMy... MOMMY!... MOMMY!!...
MOMMYYYYYYY!!!!"

	Scully shot straight up in bed, panicked, a cold sweat covering her. tears
streamed down her face and her hands shot up, to cover her mouth silently
screaming. How could they have been so cruel ? She looked down at her
sleeping husband, wondering if her ever dreamed of children. She doubted
it. The only child he ever thought of was Samantha. His words traveled back
into her mind as her thoughts traveled in circles. " It's very likely Miss
Scully will never conceive a child..."          
	Scully unzipped the tent, and walked out. Some time during the dark hours
the rain had stopped, but the world outside was still wet. The clouds had
vanished, leaving in their place a beautiful crescent moon. She sat down on
the lounge, in the moonlight and began to cry.
	Mulder woke up about five minutes after her exit. He couldn't say what had
woken him, just a feeling that something was wrong. And he realized
something was wrong when he heard his wife crying, outside. His first
impulse was to go to her, but he held himself back, deciding that she might
need a minute. He lay in the sleeping bag, listening to her heartbreaking
sobs, wondering why she was crying, and why she wasn't coming to him.
Having the mind of a psychologist, he began to weigh things out. A
beautiful, smart woman marries a Spooky man. Not a month after their
wedding she's crying at night, not letting him know. She's unhappy with the
marriage... Mulder chided himself, Scully's voice coming into his head,
reminding him of their earlier conversation about not being good enough.
She'd said she loved him a million times. Surely she'd tell him if
something wasn't right ?
	Finally, not hearing her tears subsiding and not being able to stand
listening to her cry any longer, he got out of the tent and saw her. She
was sitting in the moonlight, tears falling off her face like stars in the
night sky. Mulder came to her, and sat down behind her, pulling her to him.
He gently caressed her back, arms and head, comforting her, slowing her
sobs. He whispered reassurances in her ears. And eventually they went back
into the tent, and back to sleep.
	Mulder thought he'd ended her crying that night, when her tears had
stopped falling. He thought her nightmare had been vanquished. But it
hadn't. It was a long ways from being over. This was just the beginning...

**************************************************************************

End   
Part 9.... < geez this is getting long >... is on the way.
ibelievex@hotmail.com	         
	
	       

			Disclaimer

	None of the characters you recognize are mine. Most likely they are
property of Chris Carter and 1013 Productions for the Fox television
network. If you don't recognize the characters, then they are mine. No
infringement of any sort to anybody was intended in the making of this
story. Though you could sue, imagine how many x-philes you'd lose if they
could no longer fantasize over their favorite characters??
	
All full set of song lyrics, and parts of songs, are property of their
artists and their record label. They are in no way mine, I just used them
to enhance the moods in my story.

NO COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENT WAS INTENDED IN THE MAKING OF THIS STORY

All characters and related subjects are property of  Chris Carter for his
TV show "The X-Files"	20th Century Fox Television Network and Ten Thirteen
Productions =E3 1992
	"The X-Files" is a trademark of Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation.
All rights reserved.