Date: Wed, 18 Jun 1997 17:16:36 -0400 (EDT) From: (smythja@aston.ac.uk). This is a fiction story based on the characters created by Chris Carter. No infringement of copyrights held by 10/13 Productions, Twentieth Century Productions, or Fox Broadcasting is intended. All unrecognised characters and plot-lines belong to me. Names, characters, and places exist solely within my imagination, or are used fictitiously. No connection to any person, living or dead, is intended, and any resemblance is entirely coincidental. Feel free to distribute, but please keep me as the author. Rating - 15 (for sexual content). Classification - S, R, (T). No post- "Paper-clip" spoilers. This story was written in response to a lot of suggestions that I write a sequel to "Rapport", - in particular the suggestion from Jerian Moeller, to whom I'm dedicating this work. Also for Gerry Hill, whose constant pestering and encouragement keeps me writing. Note - If you haven't already read my story "Rapport", you WON'T UNDERSTAND THIS. - "Rapport" is available in the Gossamer Archives, or I can mail it directly to you if you need a copy. Danielle Culverson. Intimacy. Part 1/2. Dimension 1. Scully sat at her dressing table in her apartment bedroom, and applied the finishing touches to her make-up. Glancing at her watch, she picked up a bottle of her favourite perfume, and sprayed her neck and wrists. Rising to her feet, Scully contemplated her image in the full length mirror at the side of her wardrobe. The dark green velvet cocktail dress she wore reached down to just past her knees, and was low enough at the neck to be enticing, without seeming common. She wore an emerald and diamond necklace which lay softly around her neck, and small matching earrings. A silver ring on her right hand, and a silver bracelet added just the right amount of sparkle to compliment the dress. She wore black suede high-heeled shoes on her feet. Her hair was pinned back on one side with a silver barrette. She wore a touch more make-up than she did during the day, - light green eyeshadow, and a touch of lipstick. Scully smiled at her image. She didn't often get to dress up and go "out". There was a knock at the front door, and she went to open it. Mulder was standing there, looking incredibly handsome in his light grey suit. His hair was neatly combed to one side, the parting on the left side of his head. His eyes swept over her when she opened the door, and a smile came to his face. "You look beautiful." he murmured, almost stunned into silence by the sight of his partner when she had gone all out to look good for him. He had seen her dressed up on occasion in the past, but it had never had as much effect on him as it did now when he knew her time had been spent for him. He held out his arm for her to take. "Are you ready to go to the restaurant?" he asked. Scully smiled, and picked up the black handbag and jacket she had left just inside the door. Slipping the jacket on, she took Mulder's arm, and closed the door behind her as he led her to his car. Mulder drove them to his apartment. They were both looking forward to the special evening they had planned to have together. They didn't dare to go out for a proper meal as they might be seen, so they were going to have their meal at Mulder's apartment. They would treat everything as though they were really eating at a posh restaurant. They had both switched off their mobile phones, and the answering machine at Mulder's apartment had been left on. Nothing was going to disturb them tonight. Mulder drew up in a street near to his apartment building, and parked his car. Hopping out of the car quickly, he hurried around to Scully's side, and helped her out. She smiled gratefully, and they walked back to his apartment. Once inside, Mulder took Scully's jacket, and sat her down in front of the fake log fire which stood at the side of his main room. The lights were turned down to create a romantic atmosphere, and as he moved through to the kitchenette to check on the joint he had left roasting in the oven, he turned on a classical CD which he knew Scully liked. The music drifted quietly through the apartment, and Scully laid her head back against the back of the couch as she listened to it. After a few moments in the kitchenette, Mulder returned to the main room. He held two crystal glasses full of a clear, sparkling liquid. "Champagne, Dana?" he offered, and passed her one of the two. He sat down carefully next to her, and their eyes met. Scully smiled. They were both holding their glasses in their right hands, so she linked her arm around Mulder's, and they drank with their arms interlocked. They talked in low voices until the meal was ready, and then Mulder led Scully over to the dining table, - which was already set, with a lace table-cloth, and two white candlesticks in silver holders. - After seating Scully, Mulder went into the kitchenette to serve the food. He brought back the chilled champagne bottle with the two plates to refill Scully's glass. The first course was melon, which had been chopped and arranged in glass bowls, and was garnished with mandarin oranges. The main meal was roast lamb, served with roast and boiled potatoes, broccoli, haricot verts, and a homemade mint sauce. There was a silence as the two ate. Only the gently clink and clatter of the silver-ware on the china crockery broke the quietness. Their eyes were constantly lifting from their plates, and searching each other out, but neither of them broke the hush that had fallen between them, until they had finished the main course. Scully sighed, and sat back on her chair. She closed her eyes momentarily, and a faint smile rose to her lips. "That was... exquisite." she said quietly. Mulder smiled, said nothing, and got to his feet to clear the table and fetch desert. He returned with a home-baked apple pie, and a jug of fresh cream. Scully's eyes widened as he served a large slice into her bowl. "Mulder, how do you expect me to keep my figure if I eat that?!" But she fell silent quickly enough when he sat down to eat again, and there was little of the pie left when they finished the meal. Having finished, they resolved to ignore the washing up, and moved to the couch to sit down. The music was still playing quietly in the background, and Scully laid her head on Mulder's shoulder and gave a contented sigh as she relaxed against him. He put his arm around her shoulders, and let his mind drift, enjoying having her close to him, and the aftermath of a good meal. When the CD playing came to it's end, Mulder got to his feet and changed it for a different one. Returning to the couch, he took Scully's hands in his. She met his eyes, and they sat for several moments just staring at each other. Then Mulder broke the silence to say the words that had been in his mind all evening. "Dana, I love you." "I love you too, Fox." she responded quietly. His arm slipped around her waist, and he lowered his head to kiss her lips, first gently, and then more firmly. Her arms wrapped around him, pulling him closer to her, and they intensified the kiss. Mulder's hands traced the contours of Scully's body through the soft material of her velvet dress. Her hands took hold of the lapels of his jacket, and slid it slowly off his shoulders, and down his arms. The room around them was dim, the lights turned down. The two candles on the table were still lit, and made the shadows flicker on the walls. The flickering lights of the fake log fire added to this effect. Pan pipe music played quietly through the two speakers. The scene had been set for lovers. Mulder raised his hand to Scully's hair, and he released the silver barrette, and combed her hair with his fingers. Scully took his left hand in both of hers, and pressed it against her face, running it slowly down the skin her dress revealed, and then over the swell of her right breast, until his fingers softly cupped it. Moving her mouth to his again, Scully kissed him, and the gentle pressure of his fingers on her breast increased her desire for him. She deepened the kiss, and let her hands slide gently down his back, and along the sides of his thighs. Mulder moved the hand combing through Scully's hair to the zip at the back of her dress. Tugging it carefully down, he slid the top of the dress off her shoulders, and lowered his head to kiss her creamy skin in a circle around her neck. She let her head fall back as he did so, murmuring his name. "Fox..." The dress continued to slide, and Mulder suddenly found himself cupping Scully's bare breast. She wasn't wearing a bra beneath her dress as it's straps would have shown. His fingers traced lightly over and under the soft mound of flesh, before settling gently around it again. Scully reached to undo Mulder's tie. Dropping it to the floor, she stood up and urged him to his feet. Her dress dropped to the floor as she stood, and she stepped carefully out of it and tugged Mulder over towards the fake log fire. Sinking to her knees there, Scully pulled Mulder down next to her, and their lips met in a kiss again. "Make love to me, Fox." she whispered. He needed no further urging. Scully undid the buttons of his shirt as he unfastened his trousers. His shirt off, he pulled her close to him again, savouring the touch of her skin against his. She wrapped her arms around him, and they sank to the floor together, already drowning in the tide of their overflowing emotions. * * * Scully awoke with a start, and stared around in surprise at Mulder's apartment bedroom. Lifting the sheet, she checked her apparel, and found that she was dressed in her nightclothes. - But it seemed only a moment ago that she and Mulder had been lying on the rug in front of the fake log fire in his apartment. Scully frowned, and sat up in bed. The sheet which had been covering her fell around her waist, but she barely noticed. It really seemed like no time had passed at all since she and Mulder had been making love in front of his fire, and indeed her body was still singing from the experience. - So what had happened? There was a groan from the bathroom, the door to which led off from the bedroom. Swinging her legs out of bed, she got to her feet, and moved slowly towards the door. The groaning sound came again, and Scully distinctly recognised the sound of her partner and lover in pain. She moved forward quickly, and pushed the bathroom door open. The room was full of steam, and she was immediately enveloped in a hot mist. She could hear the shower still drumming down onto the white tiles on the floor of it's cubicle. And on the floor of the bathroom, her eyes fell upon her partner. "Mulder?" Kneeling down at his side, she saw that he was only semi-consciouss. She slipped her slender hands beneath his shoulders, and hauled him out of the shower, and through to the bedroom, finally managing to get him onto the bed. Something seemed very familiar about all this, she reflected as she looked down on the prone form of her partner. - Then it struck her that Mulder had slipped and fallen in the shower on the first day she had met the "new" Mulder. - The time when he had claimed not to remember having a relationship with her, and that the Scully he worked with was completely professional with him, and would never consider getting involved in anything beyond work. True, with time they had both come to accept the relationship as it had stood previously, - at least in her memory, - as the previous night had proved. But now... "Scully?" the man on the bed murmured, and opened his eyes, blinking several times to clear them. "Yes, Mulder, I'm here." He smiled when he managed to focus on her, and spoke her name again, "Dana..." "You fell over in the shower again, Mulder." she scolded. "Again?" Mulder raised an eyebrow. Scully peered at the lump which was forming on his temple. "Um-hm, but I think you'll be okay." she leaned over him, and kissed him briefly on the lips. One of his arms snaked out and encircled her waist, pulling her down on top of him, and kissing her back, harder. She hit him playfully. "Come on, - *I've* got to get to work, even if you don't." "I don't?" Mulder seemed surprised. "I'll let Skinner know that you're not well. - Just come in later when you're up to it." Extricating herself from his clutches, she got up from the bed again, and hurried out of the room. - Mulder was Mulder. Whoever he was. * * * Dimension 2. Mulder smiled as Scully opened the door and invited him inside. She was still dressed in the maroon skirt and jacket she had worn to work that day, but he still thought she looked beautiful. He stepped inside, and closed the door behind him. "Take a seat in the main room." Scully said, "Dinner's nearly ready." She hurried back to the kitchen, and Mulder obediently went to sit in the main room. It seemed only moments later when Scully returned to tell him she was about to serve. He moved to the table, and sat down. She entered the room with two plates held in oven-gloved hands. Mulder's eyes widened in appreciation at the roast chicken dinner she set before him. Scully stripped off the oven gloves, and took her seat opposite Mulder. She carefully laid the serviette across her knees, as he tucked his into his shirt, and they began the meal. They ate in silence, both watching the other almost constantly. Time after time their eyes met, and they drew pleasure just from watching each other. The food disappeared without them even noticing, and before they realised they had even started, the meal was over. Mulder helped Scully to clear away the dirty dishes in a comfortable silence. They returned to the main room without bothering to wash up the used plates. Standing on the rug in front of the fire, Mulder took Scully in his arms, and kissed her softly on the lips. When he drew back to look down into her eyes, he felt her hands reaching up to pull him down to her again, and she kissed him with an urgent need he hadn't felt from her before. He responded to her advances, his desire for her increasing as her hands touched and caressed his body. When their lips parted again, she met his eyes, and whispered, "Make love to me, Fox." He needed no further invitation. Sweeping her light form up in his arms, he carried her through to the bedroom, and laid her down on the bed. She sat up, and stripped off her jacket and skirt, and then began to undo the buttons of her blouse. Mulder followed suit, removing his own jacket, shirt, and trousers without taking his eyes from hers. Sitting down on the bed, he embraced her, and drew her close against him, letting his fingers run over her skin, reaffirming the intimate knowledge he already had of her body. She kissed him passionately, pressing against his body, and drawing him back until they were both lying on the bed, consumed in their emotions. Scully closed her eyes as Mulder stripped away her underclothing, enjoying the sensations she was feeling without the bias of sight. Mulder however, kept his eyes open and fixed on her face, needing to know that it was really Scully he was with. She arched her back as he ran his hands up and down her torso, and whispered his name. Finally they came together, tender and beautiful, and she cried out his name when they climaxed simultaneously. * * * Scully swam up from the haze of sleep, and turned over in bed, reaching for Mulder in the bed beside her. Her questing hand found only empty air. Surprised out of the last of her sleep, she opened her eyes and stared at the unoccupied side of the bed. The bed looked like someone had slept in it, but that person had obviously long gone, - the sheets weren't even warm. Turning over again, Scully looked at the alarm clock which stood on her bedside table. - It showed the early morning time to be 6.27am. - And yet it seemed only minutes since she and Mulder had made love together for the first time. For the first time. - It seemed that she had been waiting for that final barrier to come down from between them for the last few weeks, but in the end the wait had definitely been worth it. She still didn't know why "Spooky" Mulder had suddenly started to take an interest in her over the last couple of months, but there was definitely a powerful spark between them. Everyone had told her that "Spooky" Mulder was only interested in chasing "little green men", and until she had first met him face to face just after the Dionkowitz case, she had accepted the idle gossip without really paying attention to it. But he had suddenly started paying attention to her. And since the time when he had somewhat hesitantly first asked her out she had known they had something special. - Despite the fact that he had taken her to a somewhat dubious diner, and spent the whole lunch explaining his theories about spirit manifestation, and how he believed it was involved in the murder case they had both been working on. Scully frowned, and then tried to smooth the expression from her face. - He had spent all these weeks chasing after her, buying her flowers, pestering her to have meals with him, taking her to the theatre and the cinema. - And admittedly, she had been happy to encourage him. - But now he left before she awoke in the morning after the first night they slept together? She wanted to be angry with him for being so thoughtless, but she somehow knew inside that there was more to this situation than just appearances. Normally she discounted such "hunches", but this one just wouldn't go away, and so for once she listened to what her inner self was trying to tell her. Getting out of bed, and discovering her body to be surprisingly stiff, she headed for the wardrobe to select something to wear. - She would face Mulder at work, and see what he had to say for himself. End of part 1. I'd greatly appreciate any comments or constructive criticism from fellow X-Philes. Email me at . Danielle Culverson. Part 2/2. * * * Scully stepped out of the elevator, and hurried down the corridor she had come to know well over the last couple of weeks to the X-files office. She felt half-sorry for Mulder being hidden down in the basement of the Bureau building, but he seemed to actually like it. - He preferred to be out of the way of his teasing colleagues, and the disapproving eyes of his superiors. Reaching the door, she pushed it open without bothering to knock, and stepped inside. Mulder was at his desk already, despite the early hour. A spotlight on the desk shone on the back of his head, and he was working on a case-file which was headed "Violent Crimes Unit". - Probably one of the cases he was routinely sent to give advice on. Mulder looked up when he heard her enter the office, and stared at her in surprise for a moment. Then he raised an enquiring eyebrow, and asked, "Yes?" Scully was taken aback. - He sounded as though he didn't even want to know her any more. - Or possibly even like he never had known her. "Mulder, you left without even bothering to say goodbye." she said, as sternly as she could manage. His other eyebrow rose to join the first, and she was certain that if he looked any more surprised his mouth would literally drop open. "I'm sorry..." he said carefully, "I don't believe I know you?" "Yes you do, - and you have a photographic memory, so you can't have managed to forget what we did last night." "I *do* have a photographic memory." Mulder agreed, coming to look somewhat intrigued now, "And it's telling me that I definitely *don't* know you. - And what is supposed to have happened last night? I was working here until long past midnight, and then I went home and straight to bed. I didn't even see anyone on the way." "Mulder!" Scully exclaimed, "How can you be so cruel? - I thought you really liked me. What right do you have to sleep with me and then turn around and act like nothing happened?" Mulder stood up suddenly, and moved around his desk to come closer to her. He stood just in front of her, invading her personal space as usual, and looked down into her blue eyes. defiant, she met his hazel gaze. "What did you say?" he asked in a calm, low voice. "I said, what right do you have to make love to me and then pretend nothing happened?" Scully repeated. A slight frown came to Mulder's face, mixed with a look of bemusement. "Now I know you can't be somebody from within the Bureau playing a trick." he said slowly, "Because I don't think any of them would be able to even pretend to believe they had slept with me. - They all think it's too impossible for me to ever have a close relationship like that. - Which leads me to conclude..." "That I'm telling the truth." Scully finished for him, and looked up at him in concern, "Mulder, don't you remember?" He shook his head. "What I remember about last night is what I told you. - I worked late here, and then went straight home." "Don't you remember anything about what's happened between us over the last two months?" He shook his head. "What about the Dionkowitz case?" "A very satisfactory result, - what about it?" "Do you recall how the final link was made?" Scully asked. "Sure. - The case file is still around here somewhere if you want to look, I haven't taken it up to Assistant Director Skinner yet." "You haven't? - That case was completed two months ago!" "I only finished writing up the report yesterday." Mulder said in surprise. Scully stared at him in surprise, and he continued, "As I recall, the final piece of the jigsaw was put together by someone from Forensic Sciences. - She linked retinoic acid to the perp., and solved the case. Now there is a woman who can look beyond the conventional, even if she is grounded in science. Someone I could really get to know." "Do you remember her name?" "Sure. - Dana Scully." As he said the words, Scully pulled her FBI badge out of her pocket, and held it up for his inspection. When he saw the name, his mouth really did drop open. "You already have got to know me once." she said quietly, "But if you'd like to do it again..." He met her gaze, and nodded silently. * * * Dimension 3. Mulder knocked hard on Scully's front door, his fingers firmly clasped around the tape in his suit jacket pocket, his heart beating hard as he desperately hoped she would let him in. He glanced at his watch in the light thrown by the street-lights, and saw that it was 11.21pm. After what seemed like forever to Mulder, the door opened a little way. "Scully, it's me," he began, "I've something to show you." "Mulder, I don't want to know..." the familiar voice replied from the other side of the door. "I've got the proof you said you wanted," Mulder persisted, "Please, Scully, let me in for a few minutes." Reluctantly, Scully allowed the door to swing open. Mulder stepped inside quickly before she could change her mind. He ushered her into the main room, and moved confidently towards her hi-fi as he removed the precious tape from his pocket. "I'm sorry it's taken so long for me to do this, Scully." Mulder said carefully as he slotted the tape into the cassette deck, "I should have done it a long time ago." "What is that?" Scully asked, her curiosity getting the better of her. "Proof." Mulder said simply, and switched on the tape. Scully stared at him for a moment as the tape began, and then her eyes widened at the start of the conversation. She listened intently to the recording. "I want to know who you sent to kill Scully's sister, you black-lunged son of a bitch." Mulder's unmistakable voice growled. "I didn't send anyone to kill her." Scully tilted her head slightly at the sound of Cancerman's voice. "No, - you sent someone to kill Scully, only they messed up, and shot Melissa instead. - Who was it?" "I don't know what you're talking about. - This is becoming a bit of a habit you know." There was the sound of a gunshot, which made Scully raise her head, and look at Mulder in shock, "You didn't...?" Mulder shook his head, and indicated the tape. "You're not going to get away with this. You may have thought I wasn't a threat any more since Scully left, but I've changed, and if you don't tell me what I want to know you're going to live just long enough to be one very sorry son of a bitch." "Krycek. - It was a mistake. He wasn't supposed to kill either of them." Mulder switched off the tape player, and turned towards Scully. She stood staring at him, a dazed look in her eyes. He moved closer to her, until they were standing only a foot apart. She looked up to meet his gaze, and sudden tears filled her eyes. She threw her arms around his shoulders as her sorrow broke free, and cried against his chest. "Oh Mulder, I'm so sorry. - I always wanted to believe you didn't... but you were so sick, and..." She broke off, her tears choking her voice. She looked up into his eyes, and a moment later their lips met. Mulder wasn't sure who had initiated the kiss, but, born out of sorrow and desperation, it intensified rapidly as they clung onto each other. Scully's hands roamed across his back, and reached to pull his jacket off. Their separation had raised a barrier between them, and now that that barrier was coming down, so too were the emotional barriers they had both erected at the beginning of their partnership. Scully caught hold of Mulder's right hand, and rested it over her left breast, without breaking the kiss. He ran his other hand through her thick auburn hair, his need growing in the tremendous relief of having been able to prove his innocence, and remove the distrust between them. Mulder's hands strayed to the collar of Scully's blouse, and began undoing the buttons. She copied his movements, releasing the buttons of his shirt. Her sobs burst through suddenly again, and she pressed her face against his bare chest as the pain worked out of her. He held her head against him, and gently lowered them both to the floor. After a few minutes, Scully looked up at Mulder again, and opened her mouth to apologise once again. He put a finger to her lips to stop her words. "Shh, don't say anything." he said, "Don't break the spell." Then he lowered his lips to hers again, and she responded to him. Their clothes fell away from them unnoticed as their passion grew, until they were lying naked in each others arms in front of Scully's fire, each taking pleasure in the other. With Scully's tears still damp on both their bodies, they consummated a love they had never admitted to each other. * * * Scully surfaced from sleep, to realise with surprise that she was in her own bed. - And yet it felt like she had only just that moment finished making love with her ex-partner in front of the fire. But she couldn't have. - Her eyelids were gummed together with sleep. Her body was heavy. And her head was fuzzy with the remains of dreams. Dreams. - Had all that just been a dream? Or had it been some sort of a vision to tell her what had truly happened to her sister during that terrible time before she had left the X-files department? But she didn't believe in dreams and visions. Did she? Suddenly she wasn't sure. What she was sure of, was that she needed to go and see her ex-partner. Whether what she remembered had really happened, or whether it had only been dream, she felt that it was about time she tried to clear the air between them. After Melissa's death they had both withdrawn from each other. She had been nervous of him because of the way he had been acting while the drug which had been filtered into his water had been affecting him, and then later because she believed he might have been responsible for her sister's death. He had allowed himself to distance from her because she hadn't accepted without reservation his denial of her fears. She also wondered if perhaps he had blamed her for allowing Skinner to make the trade with the digital tape, losing them the best evidence they had ever had that the government knew of the existence of extraterrestrials, and had done for over fifty years. The lack of trust had grown between them, escalating into arguments, and them each splitting away from the other to do things alone. It had reached the point where they couldn't rely on each other under pressure, and she had decided that she couldn't live with that, and had applied for a transfer out of the X-files. But what had happened the previous day, or her vision, or whatever it was that she had just experienced, seemed to suggest that she had been wrong to suspect her ex-partner. She knew how vulnerable he was to things like that, and should have known better than to withdraw her trust from him at a time when he needed it most. She also should have known that he would never lie to her, no matter how bad the situation was, and what he had done. It seemed that they had both been blinded by their emotions. She took a deep breath, and prepared to return to the basement office for the first time in nearly a year. * * * Scully knocked cautiously on the X-files office door in the Bureau building basement. From inside she heard a muffled but familiar voice call out, "Come in?" She pushed the door open, and stepped inside. The basement office appeared to be pretty much how she had left it nearly a year earlier. An extra filing cabinet had joined the three by the side wall, although as it's drawers were open, Scully could see that there was very little work in it. Her desk still stood alongside Mulder's, and was still clear of any of the clutter which seemed to fill the rest of the office. It was even free of dust, as though someone had been keeping it clean for her. - She might have only left the previous day. Mulder's desk was in it's usual disarray, and the man sitting behind it looked hassled and tired. He lifted his head to see who had entered, and his eyes hardened when he saw her. Scully swallowed, hating to see his defenses going up when he saw her. - They had used to be so close. "Scully? What are you doing down here?" he asked in a low voice. She stepped into the room properly, and closed the door behind her. "I need to talk to you." she answered. "Really?" he looked down at his work again, showing as little interest as possible, "Why now? - You're the one who wanted to leave." "You made me feel I was no longer welcome." she replied in a low voice, pain welling inside her when she remembered the uncomfortable weeks they had spent barely talking. "Well how do you think I felt?" he asked, his voice suddenly angry as he raised his face to look at her, "You thought I killed your sister. - I can sort of understand that, given my actions at the time, but you didn't even believe me when I told you that I hadn't even seen Melissa that day. - My mind had been solely on finding Krycek, and killing the man responsible for my father's death." Scully looked down. "I know that now." she said quietly, and the calmness of her voice seemed to calm her partner, "I know you didn't kill Melissa, and I guess I have for a long time. - And I know who did kill her." "How do you know?" Mulder asked tiredly. "I... had a dream. - I think." Scully answered. Mulder looked up at her in surprise, and stared at her for a long time without saying anything. Finally he got the words out. "Dream?" "Yes, I think that's what it was. - You came over to my apartment, saying that you didn't know why I would no longer talk to you, or why I had left the X-files. Then you went away, and came back with a tape. - You'd been to see "Cancerman", and forced him to tell you who'd been responsible for killing my sister." "Krycek?" Mulder asked. Scully nodded. "I thought so. - So what happened then?" "Then?" Scully looked down, and found herself blushing furiously, "Umm... nothing really." Mulder looked at her closely. "Scully, if we're going to try and return to something like we once had, or hopefully something better, which is why I believe you've come here today, we need to start being honest with each other again." Scully nodded. She opened her mouth to try and say the words, but couldn't force them out. With her eyes on the floor by her feet, she didn't see Mulder get up from his desk and walk over to her. He took her hands in his, startling her, and she looked up and met his eyes. Seeing something like understanding in them, she blurted, "We made love." Mulder stared at her for a long moment, as she continued, tears filling her eyes. "I was so relieved that you finally seemed to care that I'd left, and that you'd got the proof I needed to know that you hadn't killed Melissa... - It was just like a wall falling, and we just came together..." A tear escaped one eye as she looked up into his eyes again. Almost unconsciously, he responded to her need as he always had before they had split up, and moved closer to her. Drawing her against him, and embracing her, he closed his eyes when she could no longer see them. And wished. The End. I'd greatly appreciate any comments or constructive criticism from fellow X-Philes. Email me at . Danielle Culverson.