"All right, Mulder. No more hiding. Whatever you're trying to keep from me can't be as scary as what I'm imagining, so you might as well tell me."

He took some slow breaths, as deep as he could manage. Then he locked his eyes with hers. "I guess you're right. It's time to talk."

She placed her hand over his and rubbed her thumb softly over the tender skin around the IV, watching him struggle with eyelids that seemed suddenly to have grown too heavy to lift. "Mulder, it looks more like it's time to sleep."

With what looked like a monumental effort, he opened one eye wide enough to get a good look at her. She gave him the smile she knew he loved and gently squeezed his fingers. "It's okay, Mulder."

His voice was fading fast. "You need to sleep as much as *I* do. Go back to the hotel. I'm not going anywhere." His eyes closed as her thumb resumed its gentle massage.

*No, thank God. You're not.* She leaned back into the chair and watched him sleep.

***

Detroit Metro Airport
April 29, 2000 11:34 AM

Less than a month ago, she had watched him die. It put her current irritation with him in a whole new light.

"Mulder, I don't think sprinting to the gate is what Dr. Lassiter had in mind when he recommended moderate exercise." She was panting slightly under the weight of her carry-on and computer bag, suddenly very glad that she had chosen to wear jeans and sneakers rather than a suit and heels. He was moving briskly down the concourse, forcing her into a near-jog just to keep up. They had spent the last six days since Mulder's release from the hospital doing nothing more strenuous than dog paddling in the hotel pool. His burst of adrenaline was alarming her.

He shortened his stride, smiling broadly at her over his shoulder. "Those little legs giving you trouble, Scully?" She glared at him but he could tell that her heart wasn't in it.

"Don't patronize me, Mulder. You're on thin ice as it is."

He slowed to a walk and shifted the suitcase to his left hand so he could touch the small of her back with his right. "I'm fine. I feel really good, Scully. And while I have nothing against the city of Detroit, I would like to get the hell out of here as quickly as possible."

"The plane isn't even at the gate yet so there's no need to run yourself into a relapse. I'd like to *keep* you feeling good."

The power of habit was so strong that he almost let the automatic innuendo escape. Instead, he came to a complete stop. Scully pulled to a halt a second later and the two of them stood facing each other, forming a temporary eddy in the stream of people flowing around them.

"I wouldn't put you through that again." His expression was serious and he touched her face gently.

His abrupt change of mood and the tenderness in his voice left her slightly off balance for a moment. Since their aborted discussion a little over two weeks ago, they had agreed to stay out of that emotional minefield and concentrate on his recovery. She was unprepared for the feelings he had just stirred in her.

"I know that, Mulder." Her tone matched his. They were very still for a moment, reading each other's eyes. Then one of the scurrying passengers bumped firmly into Scully's back and she fell against Mulder before she could recover. He winced slightly and the mood was broken.

"Mulder, are you..."

"I'm fine, Scully. Just a little tender in spots." He smiled. "We better get moving."

Twenty minutes later they were settled into their seats in the 747's plush first class section, a get well gift from Skinner who didn't want to see Mulder folded into coach seating for the trip home.

"I could get used to this." A flight attendant had just handed Mulder a very cold can of Lipton iced tea and the ubiquitous bag of peanuts. He stretched his legs out into the space afforded by their position just behind the bulkhead and popped a few peanuts into his mouth, chewing happily.

She noticed that he had taken the seat against the window instead of his usual place on the aisle, an indication of his desire to avoid being bumped again. That little mishap in the terminal must have hurt more than he had let on. "Enjoy it while it lasts, Mulder. Next trip, it's back to reality."

He washed down the last of his peanuts with a swig of tea. "I'm so glad to be going home, I think I'd be willing to ride in the cargo hold."

She grinned at him. "Don't give them ideas."

The plane was airborne a few minutes later and Mulder was asleep before the seat belt sign went out. Scully reached over and gently pushed his seat back into a more comfortable angle and took a few moments to relish the sight of him. Other than a lingering pallor that was more noticeable in the bright sunshine coming through the window, he looked perfectly healthy. She breathed a silent prayer of thanks, something she had done many times over the past two weeks.

With a sigh of contentment, Scully leaned back against the cushiony headrest and closed her eyes. Side by side, they slept undisturbed until the plane touched down at Dulles.

***

Basement Office
May 11, 2000 4:20 pm

"Agent Scully?"

She jumped visibly and nearly knocked her chair over getting to her feet. "Yes, Sir. I'm sorry, I didn't hear you come in."

Skinner was standing not two feet from her desk, arms crossed over his chest and a look of concern on his face. "I called you twice before you heard me. Are you all right?"

She could feel the blush starting and that only made it worse. He had caught her woolgathering with her eyes fixed on Mulder's vacant desk, something she had found herself doing much too often lately. "I'm fine, Sir, just concentrating on a case file I know Mulder will be interested in." She gestured toward the folder that lay open on her desk. She actually hadn't looked at the contents yet and sent up a silent prayer that he wouldn't ask her anything about it.

"I understand Mulder will be back on the job Monday morning. Are you sure he's ready?" Skinner had seen firsthand just how close her partner had come to dying. The images were hard to shake.

"I've been in contact with his doctor all along. Mulder's fine." She paused for a moment to study her boss's face. "What brings you down here, Sir?"

"I was surprised to hear that he's coming back so soon. I just wanted to hear your take on it." He was almost as concerned about Scully's state of mind as he was about Mulder's health but he knew better than to ask. Whatever impact this experience may have had on his agents' working relationship would become evident without his paternalistic prying. He turned to leave. "I'll expect to see both of you in my office first thing Monday morning."

"Yes, Sir." She watched in open-mouthed amazement as he closed the door firmly behind him. He could have called her on the phone if all he wanted was confirmation that Mulder was ready to come back. He had obviously wanted to catch her off guard and he had succeeded. If he had also succeeded in reading the gist of her thoughts, she and Mulder would be in for an interesting session come Monday morning.

They hadn't seen each other since the day they got back from Detroit. She had parked in front of his building and started to get out of the car when he put out his hand to stop her. He explained that he needed some time by himself and asked her to promise not to visit him for the two weeks he would be on leave. Quelling her mothering instincts after what they had just been through had been no easy task, but she had understood his need to prove his independence, especially to himself. She had agreed. Their only contact for the past two weeks had been by telephone and she was way past ready for the real thing.

She couldn't recall every thinking this before but suddenly Monday couldn't get here fast enough to suit her.

With a rueful smile, she stuffed the case file into her briefcase and headed for home.

***

Scully's apartment
7:40 pm

An hour-long soak in vanilla-scented bubbles had done wonders for her disposition. Now all she needed was a nice cup of herbal tea and the world would be a better place. Of course, that little fantasy session in the tub hadn't hurt. If Mulder only knew...

The phone rang as she was making her way to the kitchen for that cup of tea and she swooped up the cordless from the arm of the couch. "Scully."

"Hey, Scully. It's me."

Mulder's voice coinciding with the image she had just had in her mind produced a raging blush she was very glad he couldn't see. "Hey, Mulder. What's up?" She cringed as the words left her mouth.

There was a brief silence followed by a grin she could hear in his voice. "Funny you should ask..."

The best course of action, she decided, was to pretend she hadn't said what she just said. "What's on your mind, Mulder?" That also left the door open, she realized too late.

"Scully, I hope you appreciate the willpower it's taking *not* to rise to the bait you keep tossing my way."

"I'm out of practice, Mulder." It was hard to achieve the stern tone she was striving for with this enormous grin on her face.

"That's kind of why I'm calling, as it turns out." His voice lost some of its teasing tone. "I don't have any plans for dinner and I was hoping you didn't either. How would you feel about pizza and a movie? I could bring both and we can spend some time getting reacquainted before Monday."

The uncharacteristic shyness in his voice was contagious. She suddenly felt like a freshman being asked to the senior prom. "I don't have any plans, Mulder. That would be very nice."

He sounded so relieved that she was glad she hadn't teased him. "I'll be there in half an hour." He hung up before she could remind him that Caddy Shack was not on her list of favorites.

When he knocked on her door thirty-four minutes later, she was in her third change of clothes having finally settled on a pair of navy pull-on shorts and a light blue Henley with the top three buttons open. She padded to the door in her bare feet, peeked through the viewer and opened the door.

It had only been two weeks since she last saw him, but her breath caught in her throat anyway. She had somehow forgotten how gorgeous this man was. Standing at her door with that lopsided grin and his hair falling across his forehead, he literally took her breath away. He was wearing her favorite outfit: jeans, white t-shirt and his black leather jacket.

"Scully, your mouth is open."

He was enjoying this way too much. She quickly looked down to let her hair hide the flush she could feel warming her cheeks as she stepped back to let him enter. Mulder crossed to the kitchen to deposit the pizza box and a grocery bag on the counter then turned to study her face.

"Give me your jacket, Mulder. I'll hang it up."

He removed his jacket and held it out for her, but as she reached for it, he took her hand held it. When she looked up at him in confusion, he smiled. "Scully, relax." The soft timbre of his voice seemed to wrap around her heart. She smiled and squeezed his fingers before gently withdrawing her hand and heading for the coat rack. When she returned to the kitchen, the intensity of his gaze made her blush all over again.

"I don't know what's wrong with me, Mulder. For some reason, you're making me nervous."

He crossed the short distance between them and pulled her into a hug, kissing the top of her head softly. "I missed you, too." He whispered it into her hair, his warm breath sending a shiver down her back. She wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him tightly against her, nuzzling her face into his shirt. They stood that way for a long moment. Mulder stepped away first, resting his hands on her shoulders as he studied her face.

"We're gonna be okay, Scully. I need you to believe that."

The lump that formed in her throat surprised her as did the sudden moisture that blurred her vision. "I believe you, Mulder." She placed her hand on his cheek for a moment, then turned to the counter. If she didn't lighten things up quickly, she was going to cry.

She pulled two plates from the cupboard and opened the pizza box. "So, what did you bring? Please don't tell me it's Caddy Shack again." As she maneuvered the gooey slices from the box to the plates, Mulder opened the grocery bag and extracted a six pack of Michelob and a video tape box.

"There wasn't much of a selection this late on a Friday night, so I opted for a classic. Kind of a busman's holiday." He held the tape out for her inspection, smirking adorably.

"Silence of the Lambs?" They both cracked up, lightening her mood considerably.

While Scully arranged their dinner on the coffee table, Mulder loaded the tape in the VCR. She went back to the kitchen for napkins and they returned to the couch at the same time. While the preview trailers ran across the screen, they munched their first bites of pizza and washed them down with cold beer. By the time the movie started, Mulder was on his third piece.

"Did you miss lunch, Mulder?" Her eyes were dancing with amusement.

He gave her a lopsided smile and settled back against the couch cushions. "What can I say, I'm a growing boy."

The opening scenes at Quantico brought back not-so-fond memories of the obstacle course that Jodie Foster was navigating and they shared their experiences for a few minutes before settling in to watch the movie. Much of the plot was eerily close to their own lives and it was hard not to draw comparisons. At the climax, when Clarice Starling was being stalked in the basement by the killer, Mulder unconsciously wrapped his arm around Scully's shoulders in a protective gesture that was unmistakable. When she glanced up at him, he pulled his gaze from the screen and regarded her with eyes that swirled with emotion. "She reminds me of you," he said softly and squeezed her shoulder briefly before moving his arm back to his lap.

When the movie ended, the pizza was gone and only one beer remained in the refrigerator. Mulder's third beer was nearly empty and Scully's second had been gone for several minutes. She had a nice, soft buzz going and it removed the self- consciousness from her next words.

"Mulder, I'm glad you came over. I've really missed you."

He turned to her with a look of surprised delight. "Who are you and what have you done with my partner?" He lifted her chin with his left index finger and planted a quick kiss on the tip of her nose, then started clearing the coffee table. She watched him with a sinking heart.

"You're not leaving?"

He stood, balancing plates and empty bottles in one hand and the empty pizza box in the other. "It's late and I don't want to wear out my welcome." He was halfway to the kitchen when her words stopped him in his tracks.

"I want you to stay, Mulder."

Their eyes met for several seconds and the atmosphere changed subtly. He recovered quickly and resumed his trek. "I'll just rinse these plates and be right back with you," he called over his shoulder. He heard the slight tremor in his voice and hoped she hadn't. *Cool your jets, Mulder. She meant 'stay and visit', not 'stay and spend the night'*.

Scully *had* heard his voice crack slightly and it made her feel better. Apparently she wasn't the only one with an inexplicable case of nerves. By the sound of it, he was rattling around in the kitchen to kill time while he got himself under control. But she didn't *want* him under control, dammit. She got up to join him.

Scully turned the corner into the kitchen and found herself suddenly in full frontal contact with Mulder who had been coming out to meet her. Their bodies bumped against each other and they each took a step back.

"I was.."

"I'm sorry..."

They both started talking at the same time and their mutual amusement broke the tension.

"You first." Mulder waved his right hand in an 'after you' gesture.

"I was just going to tell you to forget the dishes and come back out to the couch, Mulder. I'll take care of that later."

"Do you want to split the last beer?"

"I have some wine. Would you like that instead?"

"Are you trying to get me drunk?" The leer was familiar but his tone was odd, almost wistful.

"Dream on, Mulder." She reached into the refrigerator and handed him a bottle of merlot. "Here. The corkscrew's in that drawer and the glasses are in the cabinet above the sink." She gave him a brilliant smile and returned to the living room.

Mulder smiled to himself while he opened the wine and filled the glasses. Something had changed between them in the past few minutes and it felt wonderful. He suddenly felt an absurd urge to whistle and it made him chuckle as he returned to the living room.

Scully accepted the glass of wine and savored her first sip before meeting his gaze. "What's so funny, Mulder?"

"Life. Love." His smile broadened. "Us."

She lowered the glass from her parted lips and stared at him. "We are anything *but* funny, Mulder."

"Come on, Scully. You don't see the humor in two people who are so in love with each other that they can't see straight doing everything they can to deny it?"

Although she had expected this topic to surface, his directness took her by surprise. She was accustomed to deflection and subterfuge; veiled references to his love for her hidden amidst a barrage of teasing innuendo. His head-on approach was unsettling.

"I'm not sure I follow you."

"Just bear with me for a few minutes. I've had a lot of time on my hands over the past two weeks and I used it to analyze our situation. Actually, I profiled us." Her eyes widened in shock and he held up a hand to stem the questions. "Keep in mind that I said *us*, not *you*. I went through something like a dozen legal pads and every pen and pencil in my apartment but I think I've come up with a pretty accurate assessment." He paused for effect. "If you'll forgive the metaphor, we have spent the past seven years starring in a carefully orchestrated melodrama."

There was a moment of stunned silence. She couldn't believe she had heard him correctly. "*Melodrama*? You think this is nothing but *over-acting*?" Her voice was rising in pitch along with her blood pressure. Whatever theory she had been expecting, this was *not* it.

Before she could cross the line from confusion to outrage, he gripped her shoulder gently. "Not overACTing, Scully. Over- REacting. And it's become a habit that's long outlasted the original stimulus." He got up from the couch and began pacing the floor the way he often did when he was bent on selling her a theory. "We were thrown together seven years ago by forces that we couldn't begin to understand, to serve an agenda we knew nothing about. We had no choice but to trust each other." At her soft gasp of pain, he quickly amended his statement. "I don't mean that I wouldn't have learned to trust you without the outside influence. You know better than that. But the influence can't be discounted. It's also responsible for the distance we've kept between us."

He sat back down on the couch, close enough that their knees were touching. "Scully, we told ourselves that there could be no future for us beyond the work because of what our enemies would do if they found out-- enemies both inside and outside of the Bureau. It became second nature for us to keep each other at arm's length, even after it became obvious that the damage was already done. We've been playing the roles we were given without ever realizing that there's no longer a reason to do so."

He was talking with his hands and Scully grabbed one in mid- gesture. "Mulder, slow down. I'm not sure I buy the analogy but I understand what you're saying and I agree with you. I came to a similar conclusion while you were in England but when I tried to explain it, you thought I was delusional." She paused until he looked directly at her. "It hurt, Mulder. A lot."

He curled his fingers into her palm and gave it a soft caress. "Scully, I know I hurt you. I guess I'm trying to explain the reason, to myself as much as to you. We've been conditioned to hold ourselves back. This last time it was *me* holding back. At other times, it's been *you*. I could mention the Bermuda Triangle, for example."

Scully winced visibly. "Mulder, I'm so sorry about that. It doesn't excuse what I said, but I *had* been up for 72 hours, worried half out of my mind."

"It wasn't worry and exhaustion that made you brush me off, Scully. It was the same thing that made me freeze up when I found you in bed with me: fear."

"I'm not afraid of you, Mulder."

"And I'm not afraid of *you*. But we're both terrified of stepping out of our 'roles'." He quirked the corner of his mouth into that lopsided smile she liked. "At least, we *were*."

"You're right, Mulder. Fear can be a big factor. You nearly died of it in the hospital."

"What are you talking about?" He narrowed his eyes, trying to follow this abrupt change of direction.

"Mulder, you had nightmares almost hourly for the first few days after you woke up. They were so intense that you nearly arrested twice and the doctor was ready to put you back into a coma to stop them. I want to know what they were about. I need to know."

"Scully, I'm not hiding anything from you. The truth is that I don't remember any details, only the sensations that followed. All I can tell you for certain is that every time I woke up from one, I was convinced that I was dead. Nothing mysterious about that, considering the circumstances." He made no attempt to hide the emotion that accompanied his next words. "But then I would see your face and know that everything was going to be okay. You've always had that effect on me, Scully. You always will."

Even if she had been able to get anything past the sudden constriction in her throat, there were no words for what she was feeling at this moment. She could think of only one way to express herself and she brushed her lips against his before she could change her mind.

Mulder's heart began to slam against his ribs the second he realized she was going to kiss him. When their lips made contact, it went into overdrive and left him feeling a little breathless by the time she pulled back to look at him.

"Mulder? Are you okay?" The beginnings of fear in her voice made him open his eyes. Her face was furrowed with alarm and he rushed to reassure her.

"Yeah, Scully." He took a deep, calming breath that pulled slightly on the still-tender scar. "I'm very much okay." He pulled her into a heartfelt hug, resting is chin on the top of her head. Scully immediately wrapped her arms around his waist and snuggled against his chest, making a soft contented sound deep in her throat. They held each other close for several minutes, savoring the freedom of it.

"I better go," Mulder whispered into her hair but made move to disengage himself from her embrace.

Without raising her head from his chest, Scully whispered her response. "Stay, Mulder." She could hear his heart speed up under her ear and rubbed her face soothingly against him before she pulled back to look up into his face. "I want you to stay."

"Scully, I... "

"Just to sleep, Mulder. I just want to be close to you tonight. I know you're not ready for anything else."

He cleared his throat. "What gives you that impression, Agent Scully?" There was an unmistakable twinkle in his eyes and Scully could feel her face heating up.

"I... I just meant we should play it by ear, Mulder."

His expression shifted from smoky passion to amusement in a blink. "By *ear*, Scully? I'm trying to picture... OW!" She smacked his arm gently and stood up.

"Mulder, go take a shower. A cold one." She started for the kitchen, then paused. "I'll be right behind you." She smiled and disappeared around the corner.

***

When Mulder pulled back the curtain to step out of the tub, he realized that the bathroom door was no longer closed. At some point in the past ten minutes, Scully had come in and left a pair of black silk boxers and a deep green terrycloth robe folded neatly on the vanity. Her hair dryer and a fresh toothbrush rested on top of the stack. No razor, he noted with a grin. He'd always suspected that she found his five o'clock shadow attractive. He smiled to himself and began to get ready for bed.

Scully stood in front of the full-length mirror in her bedroom studying her reflection. She was wearing a white silk chemise and matching tap pants that she had bought the same day as the boxers and robe Mulder was undoubtedly wondering about at this moment. It had been an impulse purchase shortly after they had returned from Antarctica, before she realized that he wasn't going to follow through with what he had started in his hallway. She remembered the disappointment she had felt, the terrible certainty that he hadn't meant what he said, that it had been nothing more than a desperate attempt to keep her with him. The fallout from her anger over what she had seen as his deliberate deception had taken two years to dissipate, culminating in the journey of self-discovery that had started with Daniel's return. It had ended in Mulder's bedroom the night before they left for Detroit with Scully feeling once again that she didn't know him at all.

So why was she so certain of him now? Maybe because Mulder's analogy was more accurate than she had first thought. They were simply breaking free of the roles that had been forced on them. And God knew it was about time.

"Scully?" She turned and saw him standing in the doorway, the backlight from the hallway obscuring his face. She blushed, both because he had never seen her this way and because he had caught her staring in the mirror.

"Hey, Mulder." She walked to her bed and slipped under the cool sheets. "Come to bed."

He walked slowly into the subdued light of the small bedside lamp and the sight of him took her breath away. Judging by the expression on his face, Mulder was experiencing the same epiphany. When he removed the robe and dropped in on the foot of the bed, she gasped softly. "Mulder, you are so beautiful..."

He pulled back the covers and stretched out next to her without taking his eyes from her face. "So are you." The soft rumble of his voice combined with the warmth of his skin against hers generated an immediate response. A rush of moisture soaked the tiny strip of silk between her legs making her want to rub against him to ease the ache that came with it. When she did, she found herself pressed solidly against Mulder's very erect penis.

"What can I say?" He was smiling down at her with a mixture of pride and embarrassment that she found incredibly endearing.

She surprised herself by reaching between them and wrapping her hand around him through the silky material. He gasped through gritted teeth and arched helplessly into her. "I have a couple of suggestions, Mulder."

He recovered enough to open his eyes and slip his left hand between her clenched thighs which caused them to instantly relax. "Scully, I'm all ears."

She made a noise in her throat that was something between a moan and a purr. "No, Mulder. You're not," and she stroked him gently from base to tip to emphasize her point.

They exchanged a look of silent agreement and the game was on.

He lightly massaged her inner thighs, moving tantalizingly close to the ache that was beginning to throb.

She leaned into his chest and flicked her tongue against his left nipple, drawing a growl from somewhere deep in his throat.

He retaliated by planting soft kisses along her collarbone, working his way up to the tender spot behind her ear that she had no idea was an erogenous zone until he reached it.

Her response was to reach inside his boxers and squeeze his lovely butt.

They continued to trade caresses, each trying to outdo the other, until they couldn't take it any more. By the time they stopped to regroup, they were panting into each other's mouths.

Scully barely recognized her own voice. "Mulder, I think it's time to call it a draw." Every nerve ending was vibrating. She had never in her life been so aroused.

Her partner was faring no better. "I was about to declare you the official winner, Scully. You're giving up too easily."

"I'm not giving up, Mulder. I'm giving in." She moved onto her back and tugged at his shoulders, desperate to feel his weight against her.

He positioned himself between her parted thighs and thrust his hips rhythmically against hers. "See what you started..." The teasing tone he had been shooting for disappeared into a long moan as she began to rock her hips in counter to his.

"Scully...I...please" He was rapidly losing the capacity for coherent speech and his partner wasn't far behind him.

"I... oh, Mulder..." She knew that if she didn't feel him inside her in the next few seconds, she was going to spontaneously combust. She didn't realize she had said that out loud until he responded.

"That *would* be an X file." He had stopped thrusting and was smiling down at her.

She reached up and pulled his head down until she could reach those luscious lips. "Wipe that grin off your face and put one on mine." With her left hand on the back of his neck holding his lips against hers, she reached down with her right and slid her pants down as far as she could reach. When she began to work on his boxers, Mulder lifted his hips from hers for as long as it took to remove the offending garments, then settled back against her and began to rub his erection over her swollen labia.

"Mulder, just do it... Please..."

He pulled back at a slightly different angle and she gasped as she felt the head of his penis enter her, amplifying the ache almost to the point of pain. He pressed forward very slowly, sliding himself into her warmth in stages to give her time to adjust around him. When he was nearly all the way in, he pulled back until only the tip of him was still inside her and he paused for a moment to kiss her softly and whisper, "I love you." Then he parted her lips with a gentle thrust of his silky tongue at the same moment that he pushed his hips forward, sinking fully into her at last.

The flood of sensation was dizzying and for a breathless moment, neither of them could move. Mulder had wanted to make this last but they had spent a little too much time at their game of one-upmanship. He could feel the rapid approach of a mind bending orgasm and knew that it wasn't going to take more than a few strokes to attain.

Scully saw the struggle going on in her partner's head and reached up to touch his face. "Mulder, I love you. Please, just move. I'll be right there with you." She wasn't saying it to make him feel better. She was about to come simply from the feel of him inside of her and knew that just a little more stimulation would push her over the edge.

Once he began to move in earnest, the end came as quickly as he had feared. But halfway through the eight strokes that ultimately comprised their first time together, Scully threw her head back and shuddered through the most intense orgasm of her life. With her internal muscles clenching rhythmically around him, Mulder followed quickly after her, gasping her name over and over until he dropped his head to her shoulder and collapsed into a sweaty, sated heap across her chest.

An unknown number of minutes passed before either of them was cognizant enough to notice that their overheated bodies were becoming thoroughly chilled by the air blasting from Scully's window air conditioner. Mulder felt it first, being on top and having the most skin exposed to the frigid draft. He raised his head and glared at the source of his discomfort with one bleary eye but when he tried to get up to shut it off he discovered that Scully had her arms wrapped tightly around his waist. He shifted his gaze to her face and found her sleeping with a blissful smile on her lips.

"Hey, Scully." He tugged gently on her ear lobe and she opened her eyes. "Morning, sunshine."

"Hey, Mulder." Her smile was dazzling.

"I thought that particular smile was reserved for special occasions." He felt absurdly happy and close to tears at the same time.

"It is, Mulder." She squeezed him around the waist then reached up and pulled his face down into a deep kiss that made him shiver. That reminded him why he had disturbed her sleep.

"Scully, your air conditioner is set on deep freeze. Turn me loose so I can get up and shut it off."

She gave him a quick peck on the tip of his nose before she let go. "I like it chilly in the bedroom, don't you?" She stretched her arms above her head and arched her back like a cat.

"Up to a point, sure. But you could hang meat in here." He fiddled with the controls for a moment then strolled across the room and disappeared through the door. He called back to her from the vicinity of the bathroom, raising his voice over the sound of running water. "What do you want to do today? I think we need to mark the occasion with something memorable."

The water shut off and Mulder reappeared a few seconds later carrying a wet washcloth in one hand a bath towel in the other. He sat down on the edge of the bed and began to clean their blended fluids from her body without a trace of self- consciousness.

He continued to speak as he worked, as if bathing her most intimate areas were the most natural thing in the world. His easy attitude disarmed her completely, erasing her last vestiges of embarrassment. "How about a drive up the coast? We could spend the weekend at one of the bed and breakfast places on the Cape."

"Mulder, it's not quite 11:30 at night. The only thing I want to plan right now is eight hours of sleep." When his hand stilled, she looked up at his face and quickly added, "...with you, Mulder."

He shook his head and smiled ruefully. "That was a brief relapse into an old habit, Scully. I'm not neurotic about this. Not any more."

"That's good, Mulder, because I'm not either." She cupped his chin and brought his gaze to meet hers. "But that doesn't mean I won't need an occasional reminder." She willed him to see the full measure of love in her eyes. His answering gaze told her that her message was received.

"Now come back to bed, Mulder. It's cold in here." She patted the mattress next to her and waggled her eyebrows at him.

He let the towel and washcloth fall to the floor next to the bed and joined her, pulling the sheet and comforter tightly around them. He curled himself around her and tucked her head under his chin. She snuggled against his chest and closed her eyes in utter contentment.

"Mulder?" Her voice was already becoming fuzzy with approaching sleep.

"Hmmm?"

"I love you."

He was still smiling when sleep overtook him.

****

End (4/4)