From: ephemeral@ephemeralfic.org
Date: 10 Nov 2002 19:48:04 -0000
Subject: Not So Bad  by b.fat  (1/1) by B.Fat
Source: direct

Reply To: Starbuck70@aol.com


Title:  Not So Bad

Author:  b.fat

Rating:  NC-17

Spoilers:  Bad Blood

Category:  VRH

Keywords: Mulder/Scully romance.  Post-ep.

Summary:  Post-ep for Bad Blood.  Mulder and Scully 
consider their stories.

Archive:  Not to Ephemeral or Gossamer, I'll do 
those myself.  Anywhere else is fine.  :)

Feedback:  Pleeeeeeease?

Thanks:  To Sallie, Donna3, and Sandra for great 
beta.  I am hopelessly insecure without it... and
for good reason.  :)  Thank you!!!

Notes:  I hate titles... absolutely hate them.  
This originally had a completely different title,
which I haven't completely given up on, but it 
really didn't fit this story (thanks to Sallie for
pointing that out).  I fought with it for about an 
hour, and I'm not entirely satisfied, but what's in
a name, right?  :)

My other stories, etc. can be found at my website:
http://shipperstarbuck.tripod.com


*** Not So Bad ***

"Except for the part about the buck teeth," Mulder 
tacked on, purposely avoiding eye contact with 
Scully. 

She glared at him.

Skinner's expression was somewhere between anger and 
amusement, though there seemed to be far less anger 
now that the whole law suit business had blown over.  
He glanced down one more time at the report in front 
of him before closing the folder and looking up at 
the two Agents in front of him.  

"Thank you, Agents.  You can go,"  He said tersely.

Mulder and Scully looked at each other in puzzlement.

"That's it?" Mulder asked.  

Skinner's expression didn't change, but remained 
blank and emotionless.  "There's nothing more that 
can be said or done about this case.  You're free to 
go."  

The two confused Agents stood slowly, as if they 
expected Skinner to command them to sit back down at 
any second.  They headed toward the door, still 
looking at each other confusedly.  

"Please close the door on your way out," Skinner 
added. 

They did so and moved hastily out of the outer-office 
where Skinner's secretary sat tapping her pencil 
against the desk, the phone tucked against her ear.  

Once they had closed the second door and were out of 
earshot from anyone who would be listening, Mulder 
and Scully let out breaths of relief and then burst 
into laughter.

"I thought for sure he was going to go ballistic 
right there at the end."  Scully noted.

"I can't believe he didn't chew us out!"  

"It would have been your fault."

"Fault schmault.  We both would have been chewed 
out."

"Yeah..."  She nodded her head in agreement and 
looked to her partner for a few moments.

"So, you wanna go get some coffee?"  Mulder asked as 
they began walking toward the elevator.

"Sure.  You're buying."

"Just as long as you don't order that double tall 
cafe mocha caramel raspberry iced foamy eighteen 
dollar concoction, or whatever the hell it is that 
you usually get."  

"You can't put a price on good coffee, Mulder.  And 
it's a five dollar nonfat iced caramel mocciato."

"Whatever you say, Scully."  

"That's what I like to hear."  The two stepped out of 
the elevator and into the parking garage.

***

After coffee, they parted  and went their separate 
ways, both deciding to start the weekend early and 
get some much-needed rest.  Two trips to Texas in as 
many days was both nerve-wracking and exhausting.

Mulder sat alone in his apartment, flipping channels 
and sipping at an iced tea.  His mind, however, was 
far away from the game shows and soap operas that 
were flying past on the screen.  He couldn't get 
Scully's story out of his head.  Namely what he 
couldn't quite let drop was her reaction to one 
Sheriff Hartwell.  Mulder supposed that it could have 
been his vampiric inclinations that made him so 
attractive, but still ... what he wouldn't give to 
have Scully gaze up at him the way she looked at Mr. 
Buck Teeth once and a while.

He suddenly understood how Scully had felt during 
that case in Millers Grove, and the one in Comity, 
and the one ... aw, hell, the important thing was 
that he understood.  

Some days, when she looked at him with that 'I dare 
you to elaborate on *that* theory' face, he wanted to 
kiss her so badly he actually had to bite his lip to 
stop himself.  Still, he had decided a long time ago 
that a romantic relationship with her was a bad idea.  
Bad.

That didn't mean that he didn't get angry when 
Sheriff *Hartwell* got to call her Dana, even if it 
was only in her imagination.  He had tried it a few 
times, tested the name out on his lips.  Each time it 
had sounded just a little bit awkward and earned him 
a raised eyebrow or a surprised look.  'Scully' 
sounded better.  He supposed he could live with it; 
it was kind of like his own little pet name for her-- 
she'd slap him if he ever mentioned that in front of 
her.

Mulder sighed.  This whole unresolved tension thing 
was getting irritating.

Screw it, he thought, maybe I should just kiss her 
and get it over with.  He could just go over to her 
apartment, knock on her door, and before she can even 
invite him inside, bend forward, grab her face and 
plant a big one on her.  Then she'd slap him, and he 
would apologize, and the ordeal would be over with 
and he'd never have to wonder how kissing her would 
feel again.

Either that or he'd start kissing her and never be 
able to stop, and she'd have to call in the sexual 
harassment report with his lips still stuck to her 
face.

The question was whether or not that would be better 
than living with the agony of never knowing what it 
would be like to kiss her, better than never telling 
her how he felt. 

Mulder grunted in frustration and wiped his hands 
over his cheeks, leaning forward with his elbows on 
his knees.  He didn't know.  He really didn't know.  

And that, he thought, was the real problem.  

***

Scully had slipped into her pajamas and was now 
curled up on her couch with a good book, flipping 
through the dog-eared pages of one of her oldest 
favorites.  It was still the middle of the day, but 
she didn't care.  She had nowhere to be and for once 
she just wanted to lay around in her most comfortable 
clothes.

Her mind, however, was having trouble staying focused 
on the novel.  The thing it kept returning to, 
producing much irritation in the already stressed 
Dana Scully, was Mulder.  Specifically the way he had 
described her in his "version" of what happened to 
them in Texas.  He had made her seem whiny and mean, 
and she couldn't help but wonder if that was how he 
really saw her.  She wasn't *mean* to him, was she?  
She admitted that occasionally she was a bit 
reluctant to follow him on a lead, but she was never 
outright *mean* about it.  

She picked up the bookmark that was on the table 
beside the couch and carefully slid it between the 
worn pages.  She wasn't going to get any more reading 
done so there was no use trying; she'd just end up 
rereading the same two paragraphs over and over 
again.  She placed the book on the coffee table and 
stood up, but as she was heading towards the kitchen, 
she heard a knock at the door.  

She sighed in resignation as she walked over to open 
it; she figured it could only be one person.

She was surprised by what she saw when she glanced 
through the peep hole.

"Mom!"  she said, after pulling open the door, a 
startled expression on her face.  Maggie Scully just 
smiled, taking in her daughter's appearance.

"Dana, you're in your pajamas," she stated matter of 
factly.  Then her expression became serious.  "You're 
not sick, are you?"  Scully shook her head and 
motioned for her mother to enter.

"No, mom, I'm fine."  She closed the door behind her 
mother.  "What's the occasion?" She asked, noticing 
for the first time the brown paper bag that her 
mother was carrying with her.

"I just came by to drop off some things and say 'hi.'  
I tried to call you at work, but I didn't get an 
answer.  I figured I'd check here."  Mrs. Scully 
moved into the kitchen and set the bag on the table 
before turning to face her daughter who was eyeing 
the parcel curiously.

"What's in the bag?" She asked.

"A lemon meringue pie and some brownies that your 
aunt Doris made."  At Scully's questioning glance, 
her mother expounded.  "They were for a bake sale 
that got canceled."  Mrs. Scully reached into the bag 
and pulled out first the brownies and then the pie.

"You trying to fatten me up, mom?"  Scully asked with 
a smile.  

"Oh Dana, for heaven's sake," Maggie said, looking at 
her daughter's trim figure, "it's not like you 
couldn't use a few extra pounds."  Scully sighed.  
"And no, I'm not.  There were 2 other pies that I 
already got rid of, not to mention some cookies and a 
little pound cake.  When Doris decides to bake, she 
really goes all out."  Scully shook her head and 
chuckled then moved to give her mother a hug.

"Thanks, mom.  I'm sure if I can't finish it off, 
Mulder will give me a hand."  Her mother returned the 
hug and then looked at the slightly shorter woman 
with curiosity.  

"How is Fox, anyway?"  She asked.

"He's fine.  Crazy as usual," Scully said 
affectionately.  Mrs. Scully nodded, a little smirk 
playing on her face. 

"Well let him know that I hope he's doing well.  I 
should be going.  Mind if I use your bathroom before 
I go?"  She asked.  Scully waved a hand in the 
direction of the bathroom.

"Go right ahead," she said as her mother walked 
toward the hallway.  Scully moved back over to the 
pie and brownies, lifting up the lid that covered the 
fluffy pie.  She couldn't resist dipping a finger in 
it and licking it off.  Lemon meringue had always 
been one of her favorites.  Next she broke a little 
piece of brownie off and placed it in her mouth, 
letting the fudgy chocolate melt on her tongue.  She 
would have to send aunt Doris a thank-you note.  When 
she had sucked the last bit of fudge from her finger, 
she noticed that her mother was coming back down the 
hall with a puzzled expression on her face.

"Dana, why do you have two toothbrushes?"  She asked 
curiously.  Scully furrowed her brow for a moment 
before she remembered.

"One of them is Mulder's," she explained.  "He keeps 
it here just in case."  She began moving towards the 
door but stopped when she realized that Maggie was 
not following her.  She turned to look and found an 
amused expression on her mother's face.

"In case of what?  A sleepover?" Maggie asked.  
Scully blushed and then sighed in frustration.  
Having to deal with her own rampant thoughts about 
Mulder was bad enough without her mother making 
meddling inquiries.

"Mom, please ..." she started.  "There's nothing to 
tell.  I promise."  Maggie nodded, though she was 
still smiling.  Scully just shook her head.  "I'll 
see you later," she said by way of dismissal.  "Thank 
you for the pie and the brownies.  They won't go to 
waste."  With that, she ushered her mother toward the 
door.  They exchanged a quick hug and a kiss before 
Mrs. Scully slipped out and Scully closed the door 
behind her.  

Alone again, Scully sank down onto her couch and 
picked up her book, trying not to think about that 
little twinkle in her mother's eye when she had told 
her whom the toothbrush belonged to.

***

Mulder spent a good 10 minutes considering this 
Scully situation.  He had spent the better part of 
the last 5 years trying *not* to consider it, but 
now, for whatever reason he decided that it was time.  
Maybe it was because he'd gotten the taste of 
jealousy in his mouth, and he didn't like it at all.  

He'd thought about being with her before, of course- 
it was hard not to.  Usually he just pondered what a 
difference she had made in his life or how nice it 
would feel to wake up with her warm little body 
pressed up against his.  His thoughts generally 
didn't cover how he would begin the first real 
conversation they would have about their 
relationship, whatever that was ... whether he should 
just grab her and kiss her or if he should start with 
that age-old phrase "we need to talk."  

One thing he was sure about, the conversation would 
be tough as hell to start up.  He supposed that's why 
he'd been avoiding it, why they both had.  It was so 
much easier to pretend that there was nothing 
unspoken between them, that he wasn't completely in 
love with her, that they had a normal, healthy, 
working relationship.

Right.  

Sometimes he wondered if every set of partners in the 
bureau occasionally gave each other warm wet kisses 
on the forehead or hugged each other as if their 
lives depended on it.  Or maybe if they called each 
other at all hours of the night and morning and on 
weekends and during vacation time and any other time 
he could think of.

Suddenly, Mulder found himself in a pencil-throwing 
mood and silently cursed his stucco ceiling.

It was time to face the facts.  He considered them 
closely:  1. He was truly and honestly in love with 
his partner, more so than he had been with anyone 
else, which wasn't saying much considering the 
quality of his past relationships, but he felt that 
it was nevertheless noteworthy.  2. He wanted to be 
with her, and unless she felt in no way shape or form 
even remotely the way that he did, he couldn't 
conceive of a reason *not* to be with her.  3. Unless 
he really sucked at reading people (which he didn't 
think he did, being that he was a profiler and all) 
there was at least a distant chance that she felt 
similarly.

He decided that the first thing he needed to do was 
call her.  It was something familiar, and it would be 
slightly more typical than just showing up at her 
door, though not by much.  He picked up his phone and 
began to dial.

***

Scully was finally getting into her book again 
without thoughts of Mulder interrupting her when the 
phone rang.  With a growl of frustration she picked 
up the receiver and pressed the "talk" button.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Scully, it's me."  

She wanted to be annoyed, she really did.

"What's up, Mulder?" she asked, trying to sound the 
least bit irritated, but not doing a very good job.

"Nothing much...  just sitting around.  Kind of 
bored.  What are you doing?"  He sounded almost 
nervous, which Scully found odd.

"Nothing.  Reading."

"Oh," he said and then cleared his throat.  There was 
a slight pause.  

"Mulder, what's on your mind?"  

He had the strongest desire to say 'you,' but he 
stopped himself.  "I've just been thinking.  You 
know, we don't talk a whole lot about things that are 
really important ..."

A shock of fear shot through Scully as she remembered 
a similar conversation with Eddie VanBlundht who at 
the time bore a remarkable resemblance to her 
partner.  "What do you mean?" she asked warily.

"I don't know, Scully, I just wanted to talk to you 
about things that normal people talk about."

"Normal people?  Who are you and what have you done 
with my partner?" she asked, only half joking.  
Mulder chuckled on the other end of the line.

"It's me, Scully, I swear."  At her reluctance to 
answer, he continued.  "Test me."  

She thought for a few moments and then, remembering 
her mother's earlier visit, asked "What color is your 
toothbrush?"  

At first Mulder was confused, but then he picked up 
on where she was going with the question.  "The one 
in your apartment?  Blue with those little white 
grippy things.  And I think some of the bristles are 
green, but you know, it's hard for me to tell."  

Scully laughed into the telephone, relieved and 
embarrassed by her own paranoia.  Yes, it was 
definitely Mulder.  "All right.  I believe you."

"Good," he said.  There was another little pause 
before he spoke again.  "We should do something, 
Scully.  Let's rent a movie or get something to eat.  
I'm bored and I'm sick of being alone."  There, he'd 
said it.  He'd gotten it out there.

"Um ... okay, sure."  Scully fiddled with the edge of 
her blanket.  "My mother dropped off some brownies 
and pie if you're in the mood for junk food."  Though 
somewhat taken aback by his request, she decided to 
just go with it.  She had nothing to lose.  And 
besides, a little pie brownies never hurt anyone.

"Excellent," he said.  "I'll bring over some movies 
and Chinese and we can pig out."  

Scully smiled on her end of the phone.  "Okay.  I'll 
see you in a little bit."  

They hung up without saying goodbye, as always.

Scully stared at her phone for a few moments, not 
entirely sure what had happened.  Was this Mulder's 
attempt at a date?

She had no idea but she decided that whether it was 
or not, she didn't want to be hanging around in her 
pajamas when Mulder showed up.  She headed into her 
bedroom to change into some real clothes.

She emerged in the living room wearing jeans and a 
long-sleeved gray cashmere sweater.  She wandered 
into the kitchen, picking up the pie and the plate of 
brownies before carrying them into the living room 
and setting them on the coffee table.  This was where 
they usually ate on the rare occasions that he stayed 
long enough for them to get hungry and order some 
food.

She flipped on the TV as a distraction until finally, 
after what seemed like hours, there was a knock at 
the door.  She rose quickly, calling out that she was 
coming, and tried not to look nervous as she turned 
the handle and pulled open the door.  

The expression on Mulder's face was ... interesting.  
To say the least.  

"Hey," he said, trying to sound nonchalant.  He 
looked terrified, like a deer caught in headlights.  
He said nothing else but instead lifted a brown paper 
bag with grease stains covering the bottom.  Scully 
tried not to laugh and reached up for the proffered 
bag.

"Come on in," she said, backing up to give him room 
to enter.  She closed the door behind him and moved 
to the kitchen, calling out over her shoulder as she 
walked.  "I'll get us some plates.  Sit on the couch 
or wherever."  She heard him shuffling around with 
another bag of what she presumed was videotapes 
before she heard the muffled thump of him slumping 
onto the couch.  

When she came back in, carrying two enormous mounds 
of Chinese food, Mulder was trying to look relaxed, 
flipping through channels, all nervous energy.  
Scully sat beside him and handed him one of the 
plates, taking in his less than comfortable 
appearance.

"Mulder ..." she began, "What's wrong?  You seem a 
little on-edge."  

He shoved a mouthful of food into his mouth to delay 
his response time and glanced at her quickly with 
wide eyes.  Panicked.  He looked panicked.  He took 
his time chewing, she noticed, as she scooped a 
forkful of her own noodles into her mouth.  Finally 
he swallowed, and looked up at her again.  Her 
eyebrows were raised nearly to her hairline.  

"Scully, um ..."  He ran his tongue over his bottom 
lip and took a deep breath before continuing.  "How 
come when you told your story Sheriff Hartwell got to 
call you Dana?"

Scully's face went blank with confusion, then her 
eyebrows furrowed and her mouth turned down into a 
frown.

"Wait ... what?"  she asked, completely baffled.

"Was he really that attractive?  I mean ..."  he 
trailed off, frustrated.  "Scully, I've known you for 
five years and I barely ever get away with calling 
you by your first name.  Why is that?"  

Sensing that there were deeper issues that he was 
trying to get at, she thought carefully before 
answering his question.  "Well ...  why don't I get 
to call you Fox?"  Mulder grimaced at the sound of 
his name on her lips.

"Scully, please.  I think it's perfectly obvious 
why."  He shoveled in another mouthful of food and 
began chewing loudly.

"I'm serious, Mulder."  He looked up at her, still 
chewing, and she followed suit, scooping up some lo 
mein.  "*Bambi* got to call you Fox."  

Mulder swallowed.  Loudly.

"She, uh ... she wasn't important enough to correct."  
He said quickly, trying not to look as panicked as he 
felt.  Apparently, he wasn't doing a very good job.

"You wanted her though."  Scully said, stabbing her 
fork at a piece of broccoli hidden between two 
noodles.  She looked up at a shocked and wide-eyed 
Mulder.

"Well, I ..."  He sighed in frustration.  "Damnit, 
Scully, that was a long time ago."  

Scully snorted, bringing the speared broccoli to her 
mouth.  

He watched her, a contemplative look on his face.  
"Do you want me to call you Dana?"  

"No ... well, I don't know ... Do you want me to call 
you Fox?"

"Hell no."  There was a pause as she looked at him.

"Why not?" 

Mulder thought carefully before answering the 
question, not wanting to give off the wrong 
impression, or downplay his feelings for her.

"Because it reminds me of things I'd rather not think 
about."

Scully nodded in acceptance and they ate their food 
in silence for a few minutes.  Mulder made a slight 
slurping sound when he sipped from his bottle of 
iced-tea.

After a while, Scully spoke again.  "It's strange 
that we use our last names, considering how close we 
are," she observed.

"How close is that?"  Mulder asked lasciviously, 
wagging his eyebrows.

"Mulder ..." she said in a mock-scolding tone, her 
voice falling on the second syllable.

"Yeah, well, I guess it's a little weird, but if you 
haven't noticed, I'm not exactly the pinnacle of 
normalcy."

"This is true."  Scully nodded.  "Very true."

"So what'll it be?" He asked.  "Scully or Dana?"  He 
scooped up a blob of sauce-covered meat and dropped 
it into his mouth.  He looked to her as he chewed.

"Well, if I'm going to call you 'Mulder,' I guess 
it's only fair that you call me Scully.  I mean, if 
we're going to go for weird, we might as well go all 
the way, right?"  

Mulder smiled brightly at her, brown sauce on his 
full lower lip.  She smiled back and thought how 
she'd like to lick that sauce off slowly and 
deliberately.  He did it for her though, and she 
turned back to her own plate, which she found far 
less appetizing.

"Scully, I was thinking ..."  he trailed off.

"Hm?"  She looked up at him, her mouth full.

"Would you, ah ... would you shoot me and sue me for 
sexual harassment if I wanted to kiss you right now?"  
Mulder diverted his eyes nervously.

Scully's mouth nearly fell open, but she caught 
herself in time, swallowed her food, and stared 
dumbfoundedly at him.  Mulder chanced a glance toward 
his shocked partner.  Seeing that he probably 
wouldn't get a response out of her, he continued.

"I mean, it's been five years, Scully.  Aren't you 
the least bit curious as to what it would be like?"

Scully composed herself before responding.  "Well, 
yes, but that doesn't mean that I want to experiment 
just for the hell of it."  

Mulder looked at her curiously.  "Why not?"

"Because, Mulder, it ... it means a lot more to me 
than just thoughtless curiosity," she said matter-of-
factly, trying not sound too pathetically in love 
with him.  She blushed, despite her best efforts to 
hold it back.  

Mulder's heart was pounding heavily in his chest, and 
he feared for a moment that she'd be able to hear it.

"Really?"  He asked, sounding incredulous.  Maybe a 
bit too incredulous, he thought, because Scully's 
face turned away in embarrassment and flushed even 
further.  He reached out a hand to her, but she moved 
away from him.  "No, Scully, that's not what I meant.  
I mean that's good, because it's important to me too.  
I think we're actually on the same level here, for 
once.  I just think that it's been a long time for us 
to be still wondering and worrying about it."  She 
looked up at him finally, her blue eyes sharp and 
inquiring.

"So what are you suggesting, Mulder?"

He sighed.  "I'm not sure.  Maybe if we just took a 
step forward, tried something new." 

Scully pursed her lips in thought, regarding her 
partner determinedly.  "Like what?"  She asked.

Mulder said nothing, but took her mostly empty plate 
from her lap and moved it, along with his, to the 
coffee table.  She noticed that his hands were 
trembling slightly as he set them down.  He reached 
one hand out to hers where it rested on her thigh and 
she gripped it tightly.  The other he moved up to her 
shoulder where he guided her toward him slightly.  
Very slowly, he leaned in, locking eyes with her, 
checking to see that she was okay with this, until he 
could feel her breath against his cheek.  Her eyes 
slipped shut; he let his do the same.

He brushed his lips gently against hers, barely 
making contact at all for a few moments before 
increasing the pressure.  He felt her pulse quicken 
against his fingers as he slid his hand from her 
shoulder to her neck, brushing his thumb across her 
cheek.  She leaned into him further, letting go of 
his other hand to bring both of hers up on either 
side of his head.  His hair was thick and smooth 
between her fingers and she felt a shudder of 
pleasure rush through her as he ran his tongue along 
her lower lip.  She opened her mouth to him, letting 
him slip his tongue inside where it met hers in a 
slippery caress.  

It would have been breathtaking, had her mouth been 
free to take a breath.  Instead, she just felt dizzy 
with pleasure, blood thrumming in her veins, lungs 
working to keep up.

Her back arched beneath his hand as she pressed up 
tightly against him, curling her fingers in his hair.  
He moaned helplessly as he felt her breasts push up 
against his chest.  Their tongues and lips moved 
rhythmically against each other, rocking in a primal 
motion that Scully could feel pulsing all the way 
down to her toes.  Eventually Mulder pulled back from 
her mouth, not without some reluctance, then dove in 
for a few more quick kisses before moving far enough 
back to look at her. 

They stared at each other for a few moments until 
Scully was able to speak.

"Alright," she said thickly.  "I can live with that."  
A smile crept up slowly to the corners of her mouth.  
Mulder breathed out a laugh and let his head fall 
against her shoulder.  

"You can live with that?"  He asked, and Scully 
laughed in response.

"Yes," she said with a firm nod of her head.  

Smiling, Mulder ran his thumb across her cheek again 
and leaned his face in close to hers.  "Does that 
mean I get to do it again?"  He asked in a deep 
throaty voice.  The gleam in Scully's eyes and the 
smile on her lips was all the answer that he needed.  
Mulder grinned and moved in to kiss her again.

There was no hesitancy as he pressed his lips to 
hers.  The inside of her mouth was smooth and soft 
and wet and hot and everything that he could have 
wished for.  She tasted slightly of Chinese food and 
coffee and Mulder imagined that he could taste 
something else there as well, something more 
essential.  

He slid his hands to her waist, letting a few fingers 
move under the material of her shirt to touch the 
heated skin beneath.  She gasped into his mouth as 
she felt his fingers touch her, and wrapped both arms 
around his neck.  Wanting to get as close to him as 
she could, she scooted over, and Mulder pulled her up 
onto his lap.  Mulder guided her hips, bringing them 
closer to his own so that one leg went on either side 
of him.  He groaned into her mouth at the feel of her 
pressed up against his erection and she moaned back 
at the contact.  Their lips and tongues clashed 
furiously, their breathing quick and strained.  

Mulder pulled his lips away from Scully's and buried 
his face in her neck, wrapping his arms tightly 
around her back.  They sat for a moment, breathing 
heavily as Mulder rubbed his partner's back.

"God damn, Scully," he whispered hoarsely, placing a 
kiss just below her jaw line.  She just smiled and 
wriggled her hips closer to his.  Mulder groaned and 
placed his hands on her hips to stop their movement.  
"Please, Scully, have mercy."

She kissed his neck and pulled back to look at him.

His eyelids were drooped with desire and his pupils 
were dilated.  She slid her right hand around to cup 
his jaw and ran her thumb across his lips, then 
leaned up to kiss softly the place that she had just 
touched.

"That was a step forward."  She said, her voice the 
slightest bit rough.  

Mulder just nodded in response.

"So now we get to do that all the time?"  She asked 
hopefully.

Mulder nodded again, a lazy smile curling his lips 
upward.

"Good," she said, and then sighed deeply before 
sliding off his lap.  He grunted at the loss but did 
not complain.  "I think that we should try to move 
one step at a time," she explained.  Mulder, still 
seemingly unable to form words, just nodded again.

"Movie?" He said finally.  Scully smiled at him and 
ruffled his hair before moving to the stack of tapes 
that Mulder had removed from the blue and white 
Blockbuster bag.  She looked at the titles and then 
eyed Mulder with that look he was so familiar with.

"'Planet of the Apes' and 'When Harry Met Sally'... 
Mulder, what the hell?"

He gave her an innocent look.  "What?  I was just 
trying to cater to both of our tastes."

"Mulder, are you stereotyping me by making 
assumptions about my movie preferences based on my 
sex?"

Mulder's expression remained completely serious.  
"Not at all, Scully.  I brought 'Planet of the Apes' 
for you." 

She looked at him blankly and then put 'When Harry 
met Sally' into the VCR.

"Are you done with your food?"  She asked, indicating 
the small amount of Kung Pao chicken still on his 
plate.  He nodded and grabbed for the remote as 
Scully picked up the two plates and took them into 
the kitchen.  

When she came back, the tape was paused at the 
opening scene and Mulder was eyeing the plate of 
brownies not-too-subtly.  After flicking off the 
lights in the room, she sat down next to him.  Mulder 
pressed the 'play' button on the remote control.  

After a few minutes of sitting without touching, 
Scully leaned into Mulder's side and he immediately 
put his arm around her.  She let her head fall 
against his shoulder and one hand rest on his chest, 
feeling his steady breathing in the rise and fall 
beneath her fingers.

She wanted to kiss him again, wanted to do more than 
that, despite her decision to take things slowly, but 
she remained still for now.  Watching his subtle 
movements in the glow from the TV and feeling his 
hand draw lazily across her back, Scully contemplated 
just picking up the remote, snapping off the 
television, and dragging him into her bedroom.  But 
she stayed still, halfheartedly watching the film.  
It was one she had seen many times before, but with 
Mulder in front of her, she found it difficult to pay 
attention.  She was comfortable, curled up against 
him like this.  She figured she'd at least wait out 
the end of the film before jumping his bones, 
something she fully intended to do in the near 
future. 

Mulder stirred against her, moving his other hand to 
her back so that his arms encircled her fully, and he 
squeezed her tightly, as if he had been reading her 
mind.  Scully just sighed in contentment and leaned 
up to place a kiss against his neck.  He reciprocated 
by bending forward and kissing her lips softly.  They 
looked at each other for a moment and smiled, the 
tension humming pleasantly around them.  Suddenly, 
Scully had an idea.

"Do you want a brownie?" she asked, somewhat 
incongruously, considering the general theme of the 
evening thus far.  Catching her drift, Mulder smiled 
wickedly and nodded.  She reached forward and folded 
back the wrapping from the top of the pile, sliding 
one out before replacing the thin layer of clear 
plastic.  Brownie in hand, Scully scooted back to her 
original position and tucked her legs up against her 
on the couch.

She broke off a corner of the brownie and held it up 
to him.  Bending forward slightly, he took her hand 
in his and brought it to his mouth, letting the 
chocolate and two of her fingers slip between his 
lips.  Scully gasped at the feeling of his tongue 
swirling around the pads of her fingers.  She was 
surprised at herself, momentarily, for thinking of 
this rather un-Scully-like game.  She pulled her hand 
away and leaned up to kiss him, receiving a mouthful 
of fudge as her lips opened to his.  They shared the 
chocolate, letting it slide back and forth between 
their mouths on their tongues.  

Finally, Mulder swallowed loudly and they broke 
apart, laughing, their lips smudged brown from the 
rich chocolate.  He reached up, his hand shaking from 
the laughter and wiped a smear from Scully's chin.  
She was still giggling as she dropped her head to his 
shoulder and licked her lips, offering him the rest 
of the brownie.  He took it from her and finished it 
in a few more bites, still chuckling.  

"Oh, Scully," he said with a sigh.  She looked up at 
him, smiling brightly.

"Was the brownie good?" She asked innocently.  This 
started them laughing again, and he reveled in their 
merriment, thinking how really rare it was for them 
to laugh together.  It wasn't even all that funny, he 
thought idly.  But the sound of her laughter was 
contagious.  

"Yeah, it was good," he said as they calmed down, 
letting their laughter trail off.  They settled back 
into the cushions of the couch to finish the movie.

***

Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan were singing 'Surry with a 
Fringe on Top,' and Mulder was trying desperately to 
pay attention to the movie.  But with Scully curled 
up against him, running her hand up and down his 
chest the way she was, it was becoming increasingly 
difficult.  He caught her hand on its upstroke and 
brought it to his lips, kissing the back of her 
knuckles softly.

The events of the evening had gone better than he 
could have ever dreamed, despite his initial 
nervousness.  Taking things one step at a time, 
that's what they were doing.  One slow, agonizing 
step at a time.  Not that he was complaining, not at 
all.  Being with her like this was divine, better 
than he'd dared to hope.  

But five years is a looong time.

His current... physical predicament... could be dealt 
with at home, as usual.  But the problem wasn't 
getting any smaller, so to speak, with her warmth 
curled tightly against him and her hand sliding down 
all the way to his belly-button every few seconds.

He placed her hand back on his chest, over his heart, 
and held it there for a few seconds, hoping she would 
take the hint and spare him her agonizingly 
pleasurable touch.  Instead, she kissed him.  Hard.

She pulled his face down to hers and kissed him 
soundly on the lips.  

Though startled at first, Mulder quickly recovered 
and responded in turn, gripping her cheeks in his 
palms and kissing her back just as fervently.  She 
slid one leg over his lap and he moved his hands to 
her hips, squeezing them tightly as she rocked 
against him, causing him to make a noise in the back 
of his throat that sounded like a cross between a 
whimper and a moan.  He couldn't remember ever having 
kissed anyone like this before; able to feel his 
heart beating against hers, feeling lightheaded 
before she even touched him.  His mind reeled at what 
this woman could do to him.

She pulled away to look at his face.  His expression 
was a mixture of wonder and arousal.  Somewhere in 
there, there was surprise at her bold and sudden 
move.

"Sorry," she said huskily.  "I've just been waiting 
to do that."  She smiled at him and he laughed.  
Never taking her eyes off his, she backed off of him 
and stood up, reaching behind her to grab the remote 
control and turn off the TV and VCR.  She held her 
hand out to him and when he took it, she pulled him 
up to stand before her.

"Scully ..." he said questioningly, instantly 
sobered.  

She looked at him seriously.  "I've been thinking, 
Mulder."

It was his turn to raise his eyebrows at her.  She 
squeezed his hand in hers and began backing towards 
the bedroom.

"Five years is a long time," she said.

Mulder moved with her, but his expression was 
hesitant.  "What about taking it one step at a time?" 
he asked.

She shrugged.  "I changed my mind."  

Needing no further encouragement, Mulder went with 
her quickly into the bedroom where it was dark and 
smelled of clean laundry and Scully.  She broke 
contact with him, letting go of his hand and moving 
to the bedside table to turn on the light.  He was 
glad for that; he wanted to be able to see everything 
clearly tonight, wanted to be able to recall it all 
later, preferably in vivid detail.

She turned toward him then, nervousness on her face 
despite her earlier boldness.  He wanted to tell her 
not to be nervous, but he had butterflies in his own 
stomach to contend with.  He went to her, his steps 
punctuated by the sound of his boots on the hardwood.  
The only other sound in the room was that of their 
rapid breathing, nearly in sync.  Her skin was warm 
and soft beneath the pads of his fingers as he let 
them drift over her face, memorizing her features 
like a blind man.  Her lips were extraordinarily soft 
under his thumbs and they begged to be kissed.  He 
answered their call, dropping his hands to her waist 
and pulling her to him.  She leaned up on her tiptoes 
and he realized that this was the first time that 
they had kissed standing up.  He made a silent vow to 
do it again, every day for the rest of his life.

Their mouths melded together in liquid heat, tongues 
greeting each other again with enthusiasm.  She still 
tasted of chocolate from the brownie, he noted, 
nipping her bottom lip then soothing it with a long 
sweep of his tongue.  Scully brought her arms up 
around his neck and leaned into his hands which were 
skimming around her hips and up her sides, under the 
thin fabric of her sweater. 

"Can I take this off?"  He asked, tentatively lifting 
the edges of her shirt.

She nodded, lifting her arms to make it easier for 
him.  "Please."

The soft cashmere hit the floor with a whisper of 
sound, leaving her before him in only her bra and 
jeans.  She moved into his arms again and now there 
was nothing but skin beneath his hands when he 
reached to touch her back.

Scully tilted her face up to his for another kiss and 
he brought his mouth down to hers greedily, drinking 
of her lips as she began pulling his shirt up over 
his chest.  They broke apart only long enough to slip 
his shirt over his head and let it drop to the floor 
beside hers.  Scully let her fingers trail over the 
tight muscles of his abdomen, his chest, his back.  
Her breathing grew more rapid as she felt his fingers 
mimic hers on her own body.

Wordlessly, Mulder reached around her back and 
unhooked her bra, leaving the material to hang from 
her shoulders, and met her eyes in a silent question.  
She answered him by raising her hands to her 
shoulders and pushing the straps down so that the 
garment fell to the floor between them.

The room was silent, buzzing with tension, but Mulder 
moved neither his eyes nor his body for a few seconds 
while he studied her face, his hands respectfully 
dangling at his sides.  Finally, he let his eyes roam 
downward, taking his time as he moved his gaze 
reverently across her newly exposed skin.  Scully 
felt a blush creeping up over her face and neck in 
response to his perusal.  Noticing her reaction, 
Mulder reached out and lifted her chin with his 
fingers, bending down to brush a slow and soft kiss 
against her lips.

"You're beautiful, Scully," he whispered.  She slid 
her fingers through his hair and kissed him back.

"So are you," she replied quietly.

He scooped her up then, much to her surprise, and 
carried her over to the bed where he deposited her on 
top of the comforter and settled in beside her.  

"Easier to reach this way," he explained, going for 
her breasts with his hands and mouth simultaneously.

"Oh!" She yelped at the feel of his more-than-welcome 
assault.  He cupped both breasts in his hands, 
letting his fingers graze and caress the undersides 
as his lips attached themselves to her left nipple.

Perfect, he thought.  The skin was satiny smooth, 
supple, beneath his exploring mouth and hands.  He 
grazed her now-taut nipple with his teeth, delighting 
in the gasp that came from above him.  He moved 
quickly to the other, giving it the same treatment as 
the first while her fingers entwined themselves in 
his hair, begging him not to stop.

"Mulder," she breathed heavily, and he kissed his way 
back up to her mouth.

She was starving for him, and as his lips made 
contact with hers again, she opened her mouth to take 
her fill.  She pulled him flush against her, on top 
of her, and arched against his body, desperate for 
the feel of him fully against her.  Mulder was 
equally as hungry, and found himself grinding against 
her heat, though still fully clothed.

When he was able, he broke away from her lips and 
looked into her eyes, their bodies momentarily 
stilled.  "Scully..."  he trailed off, but the rest 
of his words were spoken silently.

Scully ran a hand through his hair, kissed him softly 
once on the lips, and then arched against him.  "Take 
these off," she whispered, tugging at her jeans and 
then his.

Mulder slid down her body, unfastening the top button 
and the zipper of her pants as he went.  He hooked 
his fingers beneath both layers of material and slid 
them down, placing a soft, open-mouthed kiss just 
below her belly button as he pushed the clothing as 
far as it would go.  With a grunt of frustration, he 
sat back on his heels and pulled both her jeans and 
her underwear the rest of the way off.

"Better," he mumbled.

Scully was now exposed before him, completely naked.  
She flushed in sudden modesty, realizing that Mulder 
was still mostly clothed.  "Now you," she said, 
reaching out for his own button fly.

But Mulder just shook his head.  "In a minute," was 
all he said as he leaned forward again to place 
another kiss on her lower abdomen.

Suddenly, Scully realized what he was about to do, 
and released a small squeak of surprise before she 
was able to speak.  "Mulder, it's okay, you don't-"

"Please, Scully," he cut her off, "I want to, so 
badly."  His expression was so pleading, so filled 
with desire that she nodded, held her breath in 
anticipation.

She had only let this happen twice before, and both 
times had been awkward and slightly embarrassing.  
But when Mulder parted her folds, tested her first 
with one finger and then two, then dropped his mouth 
to her with such passion, Scully moaned with delight.  
There was no awkwardness in Mulder's touch, no 
hesitancy.  He made quiet humming sounds against her, 
as if he was enjoying this as much as she.

"Mmm, Scully," she thought she heard him say.

The sensation of being loved this way was utterly new 
to her and she thought she might ignite from the 
feelings he was eliciting.  His tongue was wet and 
soft, but became hard as it moved upward against her, 
causing her to grip the bed sheets tightly in her 
hands to avoid calling out.  Instead, she let out 
little grunts of pleasure, writhed against him, and 
gasped sharply before letting out a long "ooohhh" as 
he pulled her over the edge.

She lay there afterward, tingling and boneless as 
Mulder climbed up her body and dropped a kiss onto 
her mouth.  She could taste herself on his lips and 
was surprised to find that it wasn't entirely 
unpleasant.  He nuzzled against her hair, placed a 
kiss just below her ear.

"Thank you," he whispered.

Scully let out a whoosh of air that was almost a 
laugh as she tangled her fingers in his own hair.  
"*You're* thanking *me*?"

He pulled back from her then and looked into her 
eyes, a huge grin plastered on his face.  "Yeah, 
well..."  He trailed off and bent down to kiss her 
again.  Scully realized as she began to feel the 
stirrings of arousal build in her again that Mulder 
was still wearing his jeans.  She broke the kiss and 
frowned at him.

"Mulder," she said.

His eyebrows rose at her.  "Hmm?"

"Take these *off*."  She pushed at his jeans again 
and Mulder chuckled at her before sliding off the bed 
to pull off both of the layers of clothing that still 
separated them.  He stood naked before her finally 
and Scully's eyes went wide at the sight of him.  She 
held out her arms.  "C'mere," was all she was able to 
get out.

Without another word, Mulder moved into her arms, 
settling his weight over her fully.  When their eyes 
met, they smiled at each other and Mulder bent 
forward to rub his nose against hers.  Scully laughed 
and the shaking motion caused a delicious friction 
between their bodies.  She sobered immediately, 
reaching up to pull Mulder's mouth down onto hers.

The kiss was hungry, passionate, and within seconds, 
Scully found herself fully aroused again and ready 
for him.  She arched under him, reached a hand 
between their bodies, and wrapped her fingers around 
his erection.  He groaned into her mouth with an 
involuntary thrust of his hips.

Scully broke the kiss and turned her head so her lips 
gently brushed Mulder's ear as she whispered to him.  
"Now," she said, drawing her feet up on the bed to 
help position their bodies.

Mulder supported himself with one arm as he brought 
his other hand up to brush across her cheek.  Scully 
smiled at him, her eyes heavy lidded and dilated with 
desire as she took him in her hand and guided him 
into her body.  He groaned at the sensation, letting 
his head fall to the pillow beside hers.  Scully 
wrapped her legs around his waist, squeezed her to 
him, and for a few moments neither of them moved.

"God," Mulder whispered.  The sensation was familiar, 
yet wonderfully new.  He had never felt such awe 
toward lovemaking, such passion.  He nuzzled against 
her hair, placed a kiss where he could, and then 
began moving, slowly in and out.

Scully gasped as he moved, arched against him, 
gripped his biceps as waves of pleasure coursed 
through her.  When she opened her eyes to look at 
him, the passion in his eyes nearly sent her crashing 
over the edge for the second time that night.  Such 
love, such tenderness.

After a moment, Mulder buried his face against her 
neck, whispered nonsense into her ear, and began a 
smooth rhythm.  She could make out some of the things 
he was saying, some of the words, but it was 
difficult in her nearly crazed state of desperate 
arousal.  "Mmscullyloveyouohgodyesmmsogood," was what 
she heard, but the distinction of words was 
impossible to make.

Soon, his control began to slip and he started 
pumping into her rapidly, wildly, and the uninhibited 
passion of his thrusts sent Scully spiraling over the 
edge, tidal waves of pleasure crashing over her again 
and again.  Mulder followed shortly, moaning her name 
into her hair as he came, jerking against her in 
ecstasy before he finally let his exhausted weight 
settle on her fully.  Scully squeezed him tightly to 
her, running her hands over his back as their hearts 
struggled to resume a normal beat.  She kissed his 
neck softly, then nudged his jaw gently with her nose 
when his weight became too much for her.

"Over," she mumbled halfheartedly.

Mulder rolled, bringing Scully with him, and fought 
to get them both under the comforter before the first 
chills reached their skin.  She was tucked against 
his side, her limbs curled around his body, ready to 
fall asleep when he finally spoke.

"Scully," he breathed.

She rubbed her face against his chest sleepily.  
"Hmm?"

"I think we skipped taking it one step at a time and 
just hopped on the elevator."  He brought his arms 
around her and began rubbing her bare back beneath 
the covers.  

Scully laughed against his chest before turning her 
head to look at him.  "Yeah, I think we did."  He was 
grinning at her through his exhaustion, and she 
leaned up to kiss his smiling lips.  "Go to sleep," 
she murmured as she settled back against him.

Yawning, Mulder gave his partner one last squeeze 
before drifting off.

***

They both woke late, after nine, which was nearly 
unthinkable for them.  Scully came awake first, 
shocked when she found her head pillowed not on 
cotton, but on soft Mulder-skin.  Then she smiled, 
remembering, and tilted her head to watch Mulder's 
still slumbering face.  Slowly, she watched his eyes 
come open, felt his body stiffen as he took in his 
unusual surroundings then relax as he too recalled 
the events of the past night.

"Good morning," she said quietly.

A tired smile crept over his face.  "Mm... morning."

Scully placed a kiss on the exposed skin of his chest 
before curling herself against him again.  "Did you 
sleep well?"

"Wonderfully."  He dragged her body up to kiss her on 
the lips.  He felt his arousal begin to stir as the 
kiss deepened, grew more passionate, and he slipped 
his hands down the length of her body, caressing her 
hips and what he could reach of her breasts.

It was Scully who broke away first, meeting his eyes 
with a devilish glimmer.  "Shower?" she asked.

Mulder's eyes widened slightly and Scully felt the 
effects of her question beneath the thigh draped 
across his body.  "God, yes," he croaked.

She smiled and sat up, pulling him with her into the 
bathroom where they shared an exceptionally long 
shower.

Afterward, Scully went into the kitchen to make 
coffee while Mulder flopped back down onto the bed, 
stretching and putting off getting dressed for as 
long as possible.  Amazing, he thought, that just 
yesterday he had sat, terrified, in his own apartment 
and wondered how on earth he was going to talk to 
Scully about whatever the hell was going on between 
them.  And now here he was lying on her bed.  Naked.  
Bill Scully was wrong; he was one lucky son of a 
bitch.

In the kitchen, Scully dropped two slices of bread 
into the toaster as she waited for the coffee maker 
to finish doing its thing.  However, just as the 
machine gurgled and let out its last drip, there was 
a knock at the door.  Scully sighed in frustration 
and went to see who could possibly be stopping by at 
ten thirty on a Saturday morning.  For the second 
time in as many days, she was surprised to see her 
mother waiting in the hallway.

She pulled her robe more tightly closed around her 
and opened the door, wearing a slightly nervous 
expression.  "Hi, mom," she said.

Mrs. Scully smiled at her daughter.  "Hello, Dana.  
Can I come in for a minute?"

Embarrassed, Scully stepped back and let her mother 
into the apartment, praying that there was no 
evidence of what had happened the night before lying 
within plain sight.  "Sure.  What's up?"  She closed 
the door behind her mother who headed directly for 
the kitchen, as she had the day before.

"I talked to your Aunt Doris, and apparently they've 
rescheduled the bake sale so she asked me to bring 
back her dishes."  Maggie Scully offered a slightly 
sheepish smile.  "I'm sorry to just barge in again."

Scully shook her head, indescribably relieved that 
her mother had just stopped in again and hadn't 
planned on a longer visit.  As it was, she was 
already terrified that Mulder would walk out of her 
bedroom naked and make this situation *really* 
embarrassing.  "It's no trouble.  The pie is in the 
fridge, I'll go get the brownies."  She hurried into 
the living room and picked up the plate of brownies 
from the table, carrying them back into the kitchen.  
Maggie was already transferring the pie onto one of 
her daughter's plates, and Scully quickly got out 
another plate and began transferring the brownies.

"Dana, are you in a hurry?" her mother asked.

Unable to conceal the blush that was betraying her, 
Scully shook her head again.  "No ... no."

Maggie made a disapproving face and picked up the two 
plates that belonged to her sister.  "Okay, well, I'm 
headed out.  Just wanted to pick these up on my way 
over to see Doris."

Scully nodded and tried not to look petrified when 
she smiled.  "All right.  I'll see you soon, mom.  We 
should have lunch.  Next week maybe?"  She felt awful 
for rushing her mother out, but she wanted to avoid 
any and all confrontations between herself, her 
mother, and a naked Mulder, if at all possible.

Three feet from the door, she heard the sound she had 
been dreading for a good five minutes.

"Hey, Scully, what-"  Mulder stopped dead when he saw 
Maggie Scully standing by the door.

Scully went white as a sheet and glanced over at her 
partner.  Thank God.  He was at least wearing pants.

Maggie Scully's eyes widened in surprise when she saw 
who had emerged from her daughter's bedroom.  "Hello, 
Fox," she said with a blush.

"Hi, Mrs. Scully," he said nervously.  His jeans hung 
haphazardly from his hips, and his hair was still wet 
and tousled from the shower.

Margaret Scully looked between the wet hair of her 
daughter and the half-clothed man on the other side 
of the room.  "Well," she began, "I hope to see you 
sometime this week Dana."  She said with a barely 
hidden smile as she walked to the door.  Just before 
she stepped out into the hallway, she turned back to 
her daughter.  "'Just in case' indeed!"  With that 
she slipped, dishes in hand, into the hallway, and 
closed the door behind her.

Scully was left dumbfounded and red-faced, staring at 
the door.  Mulder came up behind her and wrapped his 
arms around her waist, before placing a kiss on the 
top of her head.

"What was that about?" he asked.

Scully's face just reddened even further and dropped 
into her hands.  "Nothing," she groaned.  Mulder gave 
her a squeeze before they both broke into laughter.

"Come on," he said, taking her hand and leading her 
back into the bedroom.

~*~ End ~*~