From: Julia Rosebush Date: Sun, 9 Jul 2000 07:24:42 -0700 (PDT) Subject: Fan Fiction Submission: 07/09/00: "I Love You" Source: direct Title: I Love You Category: PG, MSR Spoilers: Seasons 1-6 and FTF Disclaimers: The characters of Fox Mulder and Dana Scully belong to Chris Carter and 1013 productions. I am using them for the sole purpose of entertainment and do not intend in any way to profit from use of these characters. Summary: After the events of a particularly harsh case, Dana Scully decides that it is time to confront her feelings regarding her relationship with Mulder. How will he react? I would appreciate ANY comments or opinions that you have on this story. This is my first attempt, so please don't be too harsh. =) Enjoy! P.S. If you do not believe that Mulder and Scully should commit to anything other than a platonic relationship, please do not proceed. Much of the fan fiction published is considered 'shipper friendly and this one is definitely that! ;-) Julia Catherine (a.k.a. xscullyx1013) I Love You by Sarah McLachlan I have a smile stretched from ear to ear I see you walking down the road, We meet at the lights, I stare for awhile, The world around us disappears, Just you and me, on my island of hope, A breath between us could be miles, Let me surround you, my sea to your shore, Let me be the calm you seek, Oh and every time I'm close to you, there's too much I can't say And you just walk away, And I forgot to tell you, I Love You And the night is too long and cold here without you, I grieve in my condition, for I cannot find the words to say I need you so Author's Note: This story was inspired by the lyrics to Sarah McLachlan's ballad, "I Love You" which debuted on her CD entitled Surfacing. Upon hearing the song, I found it coincidentally symbolic of the way in which I perceive the relationship shared by characters Fox Mulder and Dana Scully of the X-Files. This was my first attempt at producing my very own fanfiction, and I must say that a lot of preparation went into producing this final piece. Comments and suggestions are encouraged and welcomed at xscullyx1013@yahoo.com . I hope that you enjoy the story and I look forward to receiving your comments. November 29, 1999 2:30a.m. Georgetown Dana Scully awoke with a start, staring blindly into the darkness which surrounded her. She habitually glanced toward the right side of her room where she kept her alarm clock, in an attempt to try and read the large, luminous red digits. Her vision still fuzzy, Dana groped around on her bedside table searching for her eyeglasses. Successfully retrieving them from atop her Bible allowed her to view the numbers more precisely. 2:32. It was 2:30 in the morning and Dana Scully was wide awake and feeling strangely disturbed. She removed her glasses and sighed heavily, sinking back down into the warm covers from which she had emerged just minutes ago, trying to dispel the haunting images which played out in her mind from the case that she and her partner, Fox Mulder, had closed only two days earlier. It had been terrible. A multitude of mysterious infant kidnappings which had ultimately been tracked to a religious cult situated outside the small town of Brunfordshire, Maine. "So much for being the safest place in the United States in which to raise your kids", Scully thought half-aloud. The most difficult part for her, of course, had been questioning the mothers. For some unknown reason, the despair and helplessness that was evident within their eyes and the choked up emotion that was apparent in their voices remained with her during and even now after their three day long investigation. Cases involving children, particularly infants, were especially difficult for Scully, as she was continually reminded of her own inability to conceive and bear a child. Blinking back fresh tears, Scully tried to imagine what it felt like to create a child out of love and then to have it taken from you without warning, without knowing, without getting a chance to make sure that you loved that child as much as you possibly could while they were there. Forcing herself to push her maternal thoughts aside, Dana shifted underneath her covers and tried to think of those things that made her happy in life, things that she did have, things that she should be thankful for. Like making it back to DC in time to be able to sleep in her own bed, like being able to take the day off tomorrow to relax and recuperate, like... As if on cue, her bedroom door was suddenly pushed ajar. A voice whispered in the darkness, a voice that had come to mean comfort and resolve, although she had never wanted to admit it to herself. "Scully...Scully, are you okay?" The source of the voice came nearer and nearer and soon it was perched on the edge of her bed, staring intently down at her. "Mul..." Scully started to sit up, but was restrained by one of Fox Mulder's strong, tender hands. "Shhhh," he whispered in quiet tones. Too tired to fight back, Scully sank back against her feather pillows, surrendering to Mulder's command. He had been so kind to stay with her over the last several nights. Mulder... sleeping on her tiny blue- and-white striped sofa, ready to be there in case she needed him. He reached out to tuck a strand of fiery auburn hair behind her ear, a gesture that was common yet comforting and intimate at the same time. Scully closed her eyes slowly, trying to relax and ease herself back into a peaceful sleep. "Scully, I heard you from out in the living room. I haven't been sleeping well myself. I...I just wanted to make sure that you were okay." Mulder's voice, so filled with worry and concern for his partner's well-being, caused Scully's eyes to flutter open, seeking his in the darkness. "I'm sorry Mulder," Scully sighed, "I didn't mean to wake you. I'm fine. Honestly, you can leave if you'd like... I was just thinking and I..." Scully had no sooner finished her statement when she realized that Mulder had disappeared from his place beside her bed. Without any time to question his whereabouts, she instantly felt two large arms wrap around her from behind and Mulder's warm breath on her ear. "I don't know if you haven't figured this out yet Scully, but I'm not going anywhere." His soothing, promising tone and the protectiveness which his embrace emanated caused a chill to run down her spine and a small smile to tug at the corner of her mouth. These responses were not at all characteristic of the enigmatic Dr. Dana Scully. Dana...what are you doing? Are you actually going to give into him? Are you going to let that wall that you've built up around you, that wall which allows you to do anything, to say anything, to feel anything without needing assistance...are you going to let it down? Are you going to let him see you vulnerable this time? These voices were always present within her mind when she was with Mulder. It was inevitable, the two of them growing closer after years upon years of work with one another. It was undeniable that she was attracted to him, she had been so from the first day that she had stepped foot in that basement office seven years ago. Mulder was her best friend, her complement, her mainstay; her sanity, and she was the same to him, his "constant" as he had called it. He kept her open to extreme possibilities when her scientific rationale became almost too much to bear and she tried her best to put her science aside and listen to his brilliant mind while it was at work on some crazy theory. He did things like this when he knew that she needed comforting and she knew when it was her turn to hold him during his recurring nightmares about Samantha's disappearance. He helped to preserve her faith and he placed his trust within her. She helped to investigate his beliefs while placing all of her trust within him. In ways such as these, they had committed themselves to one another in ways that were uniquely theirs, but had never been able to openly discuss commitment outside the professional realm. Ultimately deciding to forego her logical and rational being in exchange for small pleasures, Scully turned around to face him, leaned forward, and responded breathily, "Says who?" "Says ME," Mulder responded in a playful tone drawing Scully in closer to his being. Scully's head rested delightfully against his chest as she breathed in the scent that was distinctly Mulder. A mixture of aftershave and cologne, she had come to recognize it as his and his only. Tucking her head underneath his chin, Scully realized, perhaps really realized for the first time, just how small she felt in comparison to Mulder. His large hands seemed to cover her entire back and her feet barely reached his calves. How had she not ever noticed this before? Burrowing deeper into his chest in order to feel the full effect of his warmth, Mulder responded by softly stroking her silky hair and kissing the top of her head. His arms still curled tightly around her after several minutes, Mulder was able to recognize the deep and easy sleeping pattern of his tiny partner while vowing to himself to never let her go again. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 8:00am Early morning sunlight filtered through Dana Scully's bedroom window, causing flecks of gold to dance on her ivory colored walls. A harsh wind could be heard outside in the cold Georgetown streets and tiny crystalline flakes were beginning to fall, signaling the early arrival of the winter season. Dana, beginning to awaken, shifted slightly in her bed, feeling unusually content and warm, a stark contrast to the weather that awaited her right outside her window. Opening one eye sleepily, she cast a glance at Mulder who was still sleeping soundly, his arms not having moved from their position the previous night. It was rare that she was able to watch Mulder in this way. Usually, when she watched him sleep it was because he was sick or wounded and lying in a hospital bed. During those times, Dana felt more like a night watchman or an on-call doctor, full of worry and concern and ready to take care of him at a moment's notice. But now Mulder wasn't sick or wounded, he was just lying there beside her and she decided to take advantage of the situation and watch him sleep. The gentle rise and fall of his well-muscled chest through his fitted gray T-shirt and the way that his hair fell lazily in his eyes made Dana smile to herself. She had never really thought much about it before this moment, but she really liked Mulder in the color gray. It was the perfect shade for him; a complement to his brooding hazel eyes. Scully gave into her temptation and reached out with one gentle hand to brush the hair away from his eyes. As she did so, Mulder's eyes fluttered open and a smile played across his full lips. " Morning Sunshine," he said, his voice still husky and full of sleep. Dana responded with a small smile and replied ever so rationally, "I hope I didn't wake you. I know that you haven't been sleeping well, Mul..." Once again, Mulder gently quieted her, this time by placing an index finger over her soft lips and then pulling her into a bear hug. "How did you sleep last night?," he questioned, letting her go just a little in order to see her face and hear her response. "I've got to hand it to you Mulder," Scully quipped, "You do know how to work miracles." Smiling, they searched each other's eyes for a moment, blue engulfing hazel, hazel engulfing blue. "Well, what can I say? When you've got it, you've got it," he replied, jokingly, trying to decode within his mind the messages that were being conveyed from behind her ocean-colored irises. "So Mulder, what are your big plans for the day now that we've been given 24 hours of ultimate freedom?" Scully asked, bemusedly. "Well," Mulder responded, "I was actually thinking of spending some time with you, that is, if you didn't have anything planned. I figured that we could maybe catch up on a little bit of our paperwork and then go out for a quiet dinner later on." Scully's heart did flip-flops without intent in her chest. Mulder was offering to spend the day with her. He was offering even after she had awoken him in the middle of the night, several times over the past three evenings, wanting to discuss even further this terrible case. He was offering even after she had practically confined him to her short sofa until last night. He was offering even after she had tried pushing him away so often during and after the case. "Actually, Mulder, I..." Scully began to say in an uneasy tone, but she was interrupted by Mulder disengaging his arms from around her. "It's okay, Scully, I know you've been through a lot with this case and maybe you need this day off to just be by yourself, or to go and visit with your mom. You haven't seen her in awhile, have you?" He sat up and looked around the room nervously, as if there was something he was searching for and had somehow misplaced. Almost instinctively, Scully encircled his chest, her tiny arms barely big enough to wrap themselves completely around his upper body. "Mulder. You didn't let me finish. Aren't you even going to wait and hear what I have to say?" A lopsided grin formed on Mulder's chiseled face as he took in her gentle yet reprimanding tone and then glanced at her arms and replied, "Scully...I never knew just how tiny those arms of yours really were." "Mul-der," Scully groaned with a hint of intolerance in her voice as she threw herself back into the mass of pillows that were right beside her. "Okay, okay, okay, I'm sorry, Scully. Geez. You really aren't a morning person, are you?" One arched eyebrow was all he got as a response, and that was enough to convince him to keep his mouth shut. "Okay, I'm being serious now," Mulder said in mock- serious tone. His puppy dog eyes and slightly mussed hair couldn't keep Scully from staring at him just then. "What did you want to tell me?" Scully looked down for a moment as if to gather her thoughts, as if to double check with herself that what she was about to say was the absolute truth. Before she could glance back up, Mulder reached out and cupped her face with one hand, turning it upward so their eyes could meet. Scully could feel the strength and tenderness which his hand possessed and the immediate safety which accompanied his touch. He brushed his thumbs against the tops of her cheekbones noticing how perfectly her soft porcelain skin complemented his darker complexion. "Scully?" Mulder questioned, now wondering if there was really something wrong. "Mulder, I'd love for you to stay, but..." "But what, Scully? What is it?," Mulder replied, desperately wanting to know what was troubling her. "But, I think we need to talk about...about... " Scully wanted to kick herself just then. Here she was trying to talk to Mulder, just plain old Fox Mulder whom she had practically lived with for seven years and she was failing miserably like a high school adolescent on her first date. Her best friend, her confidante, someone that she could discuss anything with, Fox Mulder had proven himself to her time and time again. Couldn't she at least allow herself to be honest with him, to let him know exactly what she thought of their relationship, or would that be too difficult for someone who tried to remain so detached and so professional? It was a choice between being Dr. Dana K. Scully, Special Agent with the Federal Bureau or being Dana Scully, the woman who longed to have somewhat of a "normal" life, a "normal" relationship, and most of all, happiness. In a somewhat hurried fashion, Scully continued, "...about us, about our relationship, about our feelings. Look, I'm sorry Mulder. I'm sorry if this is a bad time to bring this up, but I've done a lot of thinking and I don't think that there is any other logical way to discuss this or any other suitable time for that matter." Having been looking everywhere else but directly at the recipient of her rational address, she looked up just in time to catch Mulder trying to suppress a laugh, a huge smile splayed across his face. Looking rather annoyed and feeling rather sheepish, Scully sat up and quickly began to gather her slippers from beside the bed, signaling the end of the conversation. Mulder reacted instantly by placing a lingering kiss on her forehead, startling her in the process. "Hey," he whispered. "How about you go and draw yourself a terrifically hot bubble bath and I'll make us some bagels smothered with your favorite strawberry cream cheese and we'll talk after breakfast, okay?" Completely stunned at her partner's ability to make her feel both sheepish and incredible at the same time was almost too much to bear. Fox Mulder grabbed his glasses from atop the other bedside table, smiled at her, and exited the room leaving a speechless Dana Scully to ponder the events which had taken place and those which were to follow. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 10:00am Freshly bathed, Dana stepped out of the bathroom, covered in her warm, fluffy blue robe. Patting her damp hair with a towel, she walked into the kitchen and was greeted by a very unfamiliar sight, Mulder making breakfast. Even if it was just bagels and cream cheese, it was a sweet gesture and besides, she'd rather play it safe and not eat something that he had made himself. As soon as he heard her enter the kitchen, Mulder glanced over his shoulder while busily burying the bagels in mounds of cream cheese and said, "Gosh Scully, I was beginning to wonder if the Flukeman had emerged from your bathtub drain and carried you down to the depths of the sewer." Scully shook her head and smiled at his teasing comment before replying, "What's the matter? Did you miss me Mulder?" The tinge of playful sarcasm apparent within her voice had Mulder over to her side in seconds bearing a plate of bagels upon which was heaped a mound of cream cheese. "Oh, more than you'll ever know, Scully," Mulder replied with the same intonation. Scully glanced at the plate, eyeing the decorating job he had done. "Mulder...were you trying to render me speechless throughout breakfast, because I'm sure that my tongue and palate will become permanently fused after one bite of that thing." Looking as if he were seriously considering her comment, Mulder turned his head to one side and scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Well, I did say we'd talk after breakfast, didn't I?" He displayed that lopsided grin again, the one that drove Scully wild and made her furious at the same time. "Well, I know you love cream cheese Scully, and honestly, after what you've been through in this past week, I should've put the whole container on top. Just for you." He held her eyes in his for a few seconds before returning to the counter to grab his bagels, equally heaped with the gooey strawberry flavored topping. Upon returning to the table, Scully smiled and motioned toward his plate. "So, what's your excuse?" "This is my reward for putting up with you over the past week, Scully," Mulder replied teasingly. Her response was the Mulder-what-am-I-going-to-do- with-you-now look, complete with the toss of her head that had "Scully" patented all over it. Before Scully could reply with her own clever comeback, Mulder reached out to wipe away a tiny smudge of pink goo on her lower lip with his thumb, placing it in his mouth to see how good the stuff actually was. "Mmmmm... It's very sweet, very good...nice choice, Scully." Scully's cheeks became flushed in comparison to her pale skin as she tried to divert her gaze from Mulder's entrancing stare. "Bon Appetit," Mulder exclaimed with a sexy smile, chuckling to himself at the blushing Dana Scully that sat only inches away. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 10:30am After the breakfast dishes had been cleared, Scully walked into the living room, drew back her ivory curtains and looked out onto the snow dusted Georgetown streets. A sense of calm suddenly overwhelmed her and she closed her eyes momentarily, trying to wrap herself up in this very rare feeling. Snowflakes meant the holidays, and although the holidays weren't the same as when she was a young girl growing up in California, they still carried with them a sense of family and a sense of peace, a chance to rekindle her beliefs and her faith, a chance to... "Scully?" Mulder whispered softly from directly behind her. "Jesus, Mulder!" Scully explained, trying to calm herself after the brief scare and come back to reality after her reverie. "Sorry," Mulder replied sheepishly. "I didn't mean to scare you." With his last few words, he placed both of his hands on her robed shoulders and squeezed gently. "Penny for your thoughts, Scully?" he asked, looking deeply into her eyes. Wanting to initiate the conversation, but feeling somewhat restrained, she turned away from him and motioned toward the streets outside her window. "Look Mulder," she said, "It's snowing..." Her voice, soft and wistful, in combination with the radiant sunlight which highlighted her auburn hair struck Mulder as angelic. He took two steps toward Scully to peer out the window with her, not only noticing the falling snowflakes but also how her shampoo smelled somewhat like that strawberry cream cheese they had eaten minutes earlier. "Yes Scully, it is," Mulder replied with a gentle smile. "Would you like to take a walk in it or would you rather me build you a fire in your fireplace and we could talk here?" Scully stared at him in disbelief. "You would build a fire for me, Mulder? I thought that..." "Yeah, I know what you're thinking Scully, you're thinking about my phobia. The fact of the matter is, however, if you're here to help me light the match, I shouldn't have anything to worry about, should I?" The way in which his voice danced around his words had Scully instantly convinced that the latter of the two ideas was the best one for the time being. "Sure, Mulder," she quipped with a slight smile, "I'll help you, but you're to blame if this place burns down. I don't trust that old thing anymore." "Well," Mulder shot back, "if a medical doctor and an Oxford-trained psychologist can't light a fire, who can?" "Good question Mulder, good question," Scully offered, the sunlight now reflecting off of Mulder's intense hazel eyes. "Let's get to work, G-man." "Your wish is my command, G-woman." "And then we'll talk," Scully insisted. "And then we'll talk," Mulder repeated matter-of- factly with a tender smile before saying "This had better be good Scully, I don't build fires for chats about our long overdue expense reports you know." The truthfulness of his last statement caused Scully to stand up and look him right back in the eye saying, "Oh, trust me, it's not about our paperwork, Mulder..." Leaving him wondering she gracefully walked out of the room, trying to suppress both her amusement and perhaps even more so, her apprehension. XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX 11:30am Snap, crackle, pop! The fire burned brightly in Dana Scully's fireplace, radiating a warmth which seemed to breathe life upon every object in the room. Scully grabbed her favorite afghan from the back of her sofa, and curled it around her tiny frame, finally situating herself on the sofa, her knees tucked underneath her. Mulder, content with the warmth from the fireplace alone, took the spot opposite her on the couch and smiled appreciatively at the fire. "Wow, Scully, that sure is a great fire, isn't it?" "Sure is Mulder, and hey, we did it without killing or injuring anything in the process. I'd say that's a pretty successful task we completed, wouldn't you?" "Mission accomplished, Captain," Mulder replied with a wink. An awkward silence suddenly filled the room, with only the roaring fire to be heard in the background. Gathering every ounce of her rational being, Scully turned to face Mulder and said, "Mulder, you know that our last case was and remains particularly difficult for me to deal with emotionally. I've seen and encountered many unpleasant things while working as a pathologist and for the FBI, but this, the infant kidnappings and the connections with that cult, it has been very troubling and there are still a lot of misplaced feelings which I'm trying to deal with at the present time." ] She glanced around the room, trying to avoid Mulder's penetrating stare and the sudden seriousness which his features now possessed. "I'm sorry Scully. I should have known. I should have handled this case by myself and told you to stay where you'd be safe, away from the pain and the guilt that those mothers were feeling but couldn't have prevented no matter how hard they tried. The idea of children, of losing children...what you have been through with the abduction and, and Emily. Gosh, I should have realized sooner." His hands momentarily sought his face, providing a darkness for his eyes so they could temporarily avert themselves from Scully's piercing gaze. Scully's voice, thick with emotion responded, "Mulder. Don't you for one second place any blame on yourself. I wanted to help you out with this case. It was my decision to take on the responsibility. Even if you would have suggested that I remain in DC and stick with the routine background checks and...and... financial reports I would have forced myself into the picture in some way, shape or form." She was now beginning to become slightly defensive over Mulder's apparent need to protect her and keep her safe, but there were other reasons for her sudden urge to speak out. "After all of these years, I thought that you'd finally realize, I thought you could make the connection that we were that we are a team. That our work is here together and that working on these cases as individuals would lead us to inaccurate conclusions or...or biased assumptions. I thought that perhaps you could realize that trying to keep me from my job, my work, the life I devote myself to completely twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, is something that I don't want, something that I would never feel right about." Scully's cheeks were fully flushed and Mulder couldn't decide whether it was due to her progressive defensiveness or the heat radiating from the fireplace. "I can handle this Mulder. This is what I choose to do. This is what I want to do, otherwise I'd be off somewhere else, working a 9 to 5 job at a county morgue in some random city and then going home in the evenings and forgetting that I even had a job at all." Mulder took advantage of Scully's constant rambling and shifted all the way down to the other end of the sofa until he was within inches of her face. "Scully?" he questioned. Scully's eyes looked startled as she glanced up and realized how close he had become. How had she not noticed? Her heart suddenly quickened its pace and she felt even warmer than usual as she noticed the combination of intensity and sorrow within his eyes. "This doesn't have anything to do with the case, does it?" Mulder placed a tender hand on her upper arm and held it there gently, a nonverbal request for a positive affirmation. Choosing not to reply, Scully instead turned her head away from Mulder and looked toward the window where the snowfall had apparently ceased within the past hour. "Damn it, Scully!" "Why won't you talk to me? Why won't you let me care about you? Why won't you tell me what is wrong?" The mixture of anger and frustration in his voice was enough for Scully to snap her head back to face him instantly. "Why do you always act as if you're invisible, as if nothing can ever get to you? Why, after all of these years, do you still add bricks to that wall that you try so desperately to hold up for me, but realize that sometimes it's just easier if you knock it down and let me know that you can't do it all by yourself one-hundred percent of the time?" "Mul..." Scully started, but Mulder held one finger up in the air, indicating that he wasn't finished with his side of the story. "Why did you want me to stay with you this week, why did you let me stay with you this week if you didn't need me? If you could've handled this by yourself, why did you knock down that wall Scully, and let me cross the boundary line?" By that time, the angsty intonation of Mulder's voice had changed to one of sorrow and almost that of despair, his eyes pleading for an explanation from his partner. Try as she might, it became impossible for Scully to hold back the fresh tears that were welling in the corners of her eyes. Solitary tears fell one by one down her smooth face. Mulder reached up to brush each of them away before attempting to engulf Scully in a hug. No sooner had he gotten his arms halfway around her when Scully interjected, "this Mulder...this is what I'm referring to." Mulder's confused expression caused him to reverse his action and further compelled her to finish the route which her statement was taking. "Mulder... I don't know how to say this. I don't even know if what I'm saying is making any sense to you, or if I make any sense to you anymore." Taking a deep breath and blinking back tears, Scully managed to explain what she had been attempting to convey since last evening, and perhaps since she first stepped foot into that fateful basement office seven years ago. "Having you here with me this week, having you near me, holding me last night, never have I felt safer. Never have I felt more protected. Never have I felt happier in my entire life. Whether you know it or not, this wall that you speak of, this wall that you think I erected purposely for you...it's been there with me ever since I can remember. It's my way of trying to remain detached, trying to remain professional. It's my way of not letting people in so I don't get hurt when they decide to leave me." Mulder reached out and grasped her tiny hands, fitting them perfectly inside his own, never losing eye contact, while she continued. "I have come to trust you, to respect you to a degree, over these past seven years, to which no one else could compare. You are my constant, you keep me sane, you make me a whole person; just like you said in your hallway to me before Antarctica. I have tried so many times to break down that wall once and for all, Mulder. For you. Just for you, but it's been harder than what I thought. It's been hard to admit that I can't have it all figured out by myself one-hundred percent of the time and it's been even harder to admit that sometimes I need to rely on other people to help me get my job done. But you, Mulder, you've helped me through that, and you've shown me that it's easier when both our hearts and souls work together. It's amazing, but looking back over the years, we've conquered a lot together, and there is nothing that I would ever regret, nothing involving you, involving us, not for a second." It was now Mulder's turn to blink back the tears. Grasping her hands even tighter, he replied, "Dana Katherine Scully, I love you and I'm not going to leave you...ever." Before she could reply, Scully found herself locked within Fox Mulder's embrace. What seemed like an eternity had passed before he broke the hug and added, "And by the way, you might not regret anything, but I regret never getting the chance to do this..." With that, he tipped her chin upward so he could look directly into her eyes before placing his lips gently over hers. A warm feeling ran throughout Scully's body as she realized what she was doing and who she was with, something that she had dreamt about many times. She relaxed into his touch and allowed herself to revel in the pleasure that this man brought her. His lips felt perfect against hers, strong yet tender, free yet possessive, a kiss that started tentatively at first but quickly evolved to one bearing semblance to seven years of unresolved sexual tension. Breaking free of his embrace, Scully breathlessly whispered, "Mulder...we...." Mulder smiled, "I've got to hand it to you Scully, I definitely thought that I'd be the first one to bring this up, but you beat me to the punch." He punctuated the end of his statement with a tiny kiss on her neck. Flashing him a rare and radiant smile, Scully added, "But Mulder...where do we...?" "Where do we go from here Scully? Why don't we take it one day at a time, one day at a time. As far as I'm concerned, we've got all the time in the world." Mulder looked over her head toward the window, "Hey Scully, look, it's snowing..." The boyish grin upon his handsome features caused Scully's head to spin with happiness as she turned her head to watch the large flakes tumble from the sky, past her window and down onto the asphalted streets. Turning her head back toward his, Scully whispered, "Hey Mulder..." "Yeah?" he responded, reaching out to brush the auburn locks that masked the ocean blue of her eyes. "I forgot to tell you... I love you." ~Al Finis