From Jasrien@aol.com Wed Dec 11 19:56:02 1996
Hi, everyone.  This is my first post, tho I’ve been lurking here for almost a
month now.  Y’all be gentle, but let me know what you  think, ok?

Spoiler warning - The Field Where I Died 

Rating - NC-17

Summary - Mulder and Scully realize that certain truths have always been
right in front of them.  

Standard disclaimer: 

The characters and situations of The X-Files television program 
are the creations and property of Chris Carter and Fox 
Broadcasting and have been used without permission. No copyright 
infringement is intended.


Soulmates
by
Jasrien

     Scully glanced over at her partner, slumped down in his seat asleep.  She
knew he was exhausted, this case had taken a lot out of him.  She sighed.
 Upon their return from Apison, Tennessee, he hadn’t even given her time to
unpack before he dragged her to Atlanta, Ga.  They had helped track down a
serial killer there.  Turned out, due to certain genetic abnormalities, his
body couldn’t produce red blood cells without first taking in human
hemoglobin, as it had the things in it he needed in an already processed
form.
     Simply put, Mulder insisted he was a vampire.
     Scully didn’t agree.  She admitted that he had a strange disease, but that
was all she gave him.  Now, they were finally home.  Skinner had given both
of them the next three days off.  With the weekend, they had five days to
rest and relax.
     Scully parked the car, got out, went around and opened the passenger door.
 She crouched beside her partner, gently  touched his shoulder.  “Mulder,”
she said softly.
     Mulder slowly opened his eyes.  “Scully.”  He looked arourd, frowned.  “I
thought you were gonna drop me by my place.”
     Scully  shook her head.  “No, I want you where I can keep an eye on you for
a little while, yet.  You have a little fever and that would is infected.
 The human mouth is one of the dirtiest things to be injured with you can
imagine.  C’mon.  You can sleep on my couch tonight.”
     Mulder was too tired to argue.  He let her give him a hand out of the car,
wincing as he jostled his left arm.  In fighting with the killer, he’d
dislocated his shoulder and had one of his lower armbones cracked.  Not to
mention the fact that the creep had bitten the heel of his hand.
     Scully quickly got Mulder settled on her couch.  He went right back to
sleep.  She brought their bags in and set about making a light supper.
     Scully hesitated about waking Mulder, but he hadn’t eaten in almost
twenty-four hours, he needed something.  She brushed his hair back, frowning
at the heat radiating off of him.  “Mulder?”
     Mulder opened his eyes and looked at her.  “Huh?”
     “You think you could seat something?  You really should, and it’s time for
your meds again, too.”
     Mulder sighed.  “Yeah, I guess.”
     Scully had fixed grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup, along with a
salad.  Mulder managed to eat half the sandwich and some of the soup, the
Scully tucked him back on the couch.
     Scully looked at Mulder as he grabbed her wrist with his good hand.
 “Scully....”
     “What is it, Mulder?” she asked solicitously, putting her hand over his.
     “Thank you.”
     Scully smiled.  “You’re welcome.  Get some rest now, let the medicine to
it’s job.”
     Mulder smiled and nodded, his eyes closing.  Scully went to clean up the
table and wash the dishes.
     When Scully came out of the kitchen, she checked Mulder’s fever.  He wasn’t
any cooler, but he wasn’t worse, either, and the fever wasn’t really high.
 Just enough to make him feel achy and out of sorts.
     Scully sat in a hcair across from the couch and watched Mulder sleep.  She
smiled as she though about how many times she’d done this.  Her smile faded
and she shuddered as she thought of that creature leaping at Mulder from the
shadows, Mulder’s howl of pain when the creature bit him, then threw him into
a wall.  She’d shot him before he could attack Mulder again; as soon as other
officers had him, she ran to her partner’s side.  She couldn’t stand to see
him in pain.  She wanted to do anything to spare him any more hurt.
     Scully sighed and admitted it to herself: she was in love with Fox Mulder.
     Scully laid her head back.  The two of them had been distant, not cold or
anything, just kind of awkward with each other, since Apison.  Since Mulder
had supposedly found his ‘soulmate’.  Scully didn’t even believe in
reincarnation, but she knew Mulder did.  And it was him she was worried
about.  She couldn’t seem to get through to him...this woman, Melissa, had
decieved him.  She had used him for her own purposes.  And she didn’t know
how to open  Mulder’s eyes, to the truth about Melissa...or her feelings for
him.
     Scully sighed again, shaking her head.  “Oh, Mulder...,” she breathed.  She
knew he was hurting.  She wanted to wrap her arms around him and make all the
pain go away.  She wanted to bring his sister back to him.  But she knew that
all she could do was stand beside him, support him, and catch him when he
fell.
     The reality of the situation was that he probably didn’t love her like
anything except a partner, a friend, a surrogate sister.  His eternal search
for the truth blinded him to many things, left him vulnerable.  She  knew
that, while she might never have the kind of relationship she craved with
him, she would never leave him.
     Scully jerked.  She’d fallen asleep in her chair.  She brushed her hair
back, looked around.  A low moan sounded from th couch.  That’s what had
woken her.  Mulder was frowning in his sleep, his fists clenched.  She saw
his jaw tighten.  She moved to his side, sat down next to him, touched his
face.  But he was only dreaming, not delirious.  If anything, he seemed a bit
cooler.
     “Sarah?” Mulder asked, his voice now hurt, confused, tinged with a southern
accent.  “No...you can’t... how could you do this?”
     Scully blinked.  She had drawn away from him when he said that name, the
name Melissa claimed was the one he knew her by more than one hundred years
ago, in another place and time, when they had been lovers.
     “Lyin’ bitch!”  Scully jumped, startled by the vehemence in his voice.
 “Lyin’, murderin’, traitorous bitch!  Betrayed us!”  Mulder tossed his head
angrily.  “...Worth it?  How much for your soul?”
     Scully frowned.  She put a hand on Mulder’s chest.  “Mulder.  Mulder, come
on, wake up now.  It’s just a dream.”
     Mulder was shaking his head.  “Won’t let you live...at the expense of so
many fine men....Sarge warned me...said you was cold....didn’t b’lieve
him....turned...you turned me against my best friend!  Damn you!  Sarah!”
     Scully jumped as Mulder sat up.  He looked around, breathing hard.  Scully
put her hands on his shoulders.  “Mulder, it’s ok.  It was just a dream.
 Take it easy.”
     Mulder looked at her.  “Scully?”  He laid back, cradling his injured arm.
     “Sh.  It was just a fever-dream.”  She stroked his hair, smiling at him.
     Mulder stared at the ceiling.  “I don’t think it was,” he whispered.  “It
was...a memory.”  He looked at Scully.  “She killed us.  All of us.  She told
the Yankees about the bunker....she showed them the tunnel that came out in
the hillside.  They came through the bunker at us.  She betrayed us...for
money.  My sargent...you...tried to warn me...I wouldn’t listen...”  He
swallowed hard.  “I was still alive when she came walking over to me, stood
over me, telling me how stupid I was.  I was...you and I had stood together.
 You were already gone...I was going fast.  She didn’t know I was alive until
I spoke her name.  I called her names...she turned to walk off and I shot her
in the back.  She died in that field, too.”  Mulder looked at his partner,
 reached out for her hand.  “I should have listened to you then...and now.
 I’m sorry, Scully, for letting her get between us.  You were right.”
     Scully smiled, put a hand to his face.  “You need to rest, Mulder.  Right
now, you’re hurt, feverish, and exhausted.  We’ll talk when you feel better.”
 Mulder only nodded, returning his gaze to the ceiling.
     Scully waited until Mulder faded out again, (one of the side effects of his
medication), then went to shower and change and go to be herself.  Next day,
she insisted that Mulder stay with her again, even tho his fever  was almost
gone and he was feeling better.  She teased that she wanted this chance to
make sure he was actually eating something non-toxic.
     On Saturday, Mulder arrived at Scully’s apartment with a dozen yellow roses,
a couple of good movies, and a half gallon of rocky road ice cream.
     “Mulder, what is all this for?”
     Mulder shrugged.  “Just a thank you, for taking care of me.  Besides, it’s a
dreary, rainy day, what better way to spend it than with a good movie and a
good friend?”
     Scully laughed.  She took the roses, smelling them.  “Thank you, Mulder.
 For everything.”
     “Hey, that’s my line!”  He went to put a movie in while she put the roses in
water and fixed two dishes of ice cream.
     The first  movie was one Scully had never seen, ‘Sommersby’ with Richard
Gere and Jodie Foster.  It was very much a love story and she was surprised
that Mulder had chosen it.  The  second both did and didn’t surprise her.  It
was ‘The Lover’, set in 1920’s Saigon, about a fifteen year old French
schoolgirl who has an affair with an affluent, older Chinese man.  It was
also a love story, but also very erotic.
     As the second movie ended, neither of them moved.  They were very
comfortable.  Mulder was slumped in a corner of her couch, his feet propped
on the table.  Scully was leaning back against him, her legs stretched out on
the rest of the couch.
     Scully sighed and stood, stretching, arms over her head, looking like a
just-awakened cat.  She smiled at Mulder.  “Stay for dinner?”
     He nodded, returning her smile.  “Sure.”
     Mulder helped Scully out as she cooked.  She had a frozen lasanga her mother
had made and she quickly added a couple of vegetables and some rolls, while
Mulder set the table and poured their drinks.  They ate slowly, taking their
time, talking about the movies, about anything but work.
     As they were cleaning the  table, Mulder said, “We have to do this again,
and let me cook.”
     Scully stopped, turned to look at him.  “You know how to cook?”
     Mulder laughed.  “I can cook when I want to.  I make a great lemon chicken.
 My mom’s recipe.”
     Scully’s lips curled up in a smile.  “How about next Saturday?”
     Mulder looked at her and returned her smile.  “Deal.”  He glanced at his
watch and walked over to his coat.  He searched the pockets, an annoyed look
crossing his face.  “Can I use your phone?  My mom’s supposed to be returning
from visiting her sister today, I want to make sure she made it home ok.”
     “Sure, go ahead.”
     Scully couldn’t help overhearing as Mulder spoke with his mother.  She heard
him hedging about something, then saying he’d let her know before finaly
 hanging up.
     “Hey, Scully?  About next weekend....”

tbc....


From Jasrien@aol.com Wed Dec 11 19:56:27 1996
Disclaimers in part 1


     As they were cleaning the  table, Mulder said, “We have to do this again,
and let me cook.”
     Scully stopped, turned to look at him.  “You know how to cook?”
     Mulder laughed.  “I can cook when I want to.  I make a great lemon chicken.
 My mom’s recipe.”
     Scully’s lips curled up in a smile.  “How about next Saturday?”
     Mulder looked at her and returned her smile.  “Deal.”  He glanced at his
watch and walked over to his coat.  He searched the pockets, an annoyed look
crossing his face.  “Can I use your phone?  My mom’s supposed to be returning
from visiting her sister today, I want to make sure she made it home ok.”
     “Sure, go ahead.”
     Scully couldn’t help overhearing as Mulder spoke with his mother.  She heard
him hedging about something, then saying he’d let her know before finaly
 hanging up.
     “Hey, Scully?  About next weekend....”
     “If your mother wants you to come up, go.  We can do this another time.”
 She smiled at him.  “We’re together all week after all.”
     Mulder shook his head.  “It’s not that.  Um, I was wondering if you’d like
to go with me?  She asked me to invite you.  She’ll make the lemon chicken,
hers is even better than mine.  She uses real lemon.”
     “I don’t know.”
     “C’mon, Scully.”  He gave her an earnest look.  “My mom likes you, Scully.
 She says you’re strong, that you stand up for yourself.  She admires that in
a person.”  His eyes took on a sly glint.  “She also says I’m a fool.”
     “Why’s that?”
     His answer came in a low voice and he looked at the floor.  “Because you’re
the only  woman who’s ever been able to handle me, and she says I shouldn’t
let you get away.”
     Scully tilted her head to one side.  “Does she agree that you need a keeper
then?”
     “Uh-huh.  But not just any keeper.”
     “Oh?  What kind then?”  Scully’s voice had lowered to match his.
     “One who wouldn’t let me get away with my nonesense.  Who’d stand up to me.
 Who wouldn’t take the crap I dish out to most people, but would throw it
right back in my face.  Who would know how to make the pain stop.”
     Mulder didn’t hear  Scully walked over to him.  He jerked his head up to
look at her as he felt her hand touch his face.  The expression on her face
was enough to make him go weak in the knees.
     Scully gave him a tender look, her love for him shining in her eyes.  He
groaned a put a hand over hers,  then reached out to wrap his good  arm
around her waist and pull her against him.  “Sc...Dana,” he whispered in her
ear.  “I’m sorry.  I’m a selfish, self-centered bastard.  I searched so hard
for the truth, when it was standing beside me all the time.”
     Scully wrapped her arms around him.  “I’ll always be here for you, Fox,” she
whispered in return.
     “I...The day you walked into my office and introduced yourself, I felt like
someone had stolen my breath away.  You were so beautiful.  And...it was so
easy to talk to you, to argue with you, to let your reason keep me grounded.
 I’d have run anyone else off within a month.  I didn’t try very  hard with
you.  It didn’t seem to take very long at all for you to work your way past
all my defenses.  And I didn’t care.  That night...watching Tooms...you said
my name...and if you’d said it again, in that velvety voice of yours, I’d
have thrown myself at your feet right then and there.  I’d have been lost.
 And when...when they took you, I almost went mad.  Even...even Samantha
didn’t matter so much anymore.  Nothing mattered except finding you.  Because
you were my other half.  *You* are my soulmate.”
     Scully looked up at him.  “And Melissa?”
     Mulder  sighed.  “I honestly don’t know.  In Apison, when I looked at her,
it was like, there was this instant connection.  Like I’d always known her.”
     “She distracted you.”
     Mulder nodded thoughtfully.  “Yes.  She did.  And a lot of people died.”  He
blinked.  “Maybe that’s it.  Before, she distracted me, got information from
me to send to the Yankee troops, to betray us.  She came between me and my
best friend: you.  Maybe she was doing it again.”
     “And maybe she was just a tortured soul who sensed a corrosponding pain in
you and used it to her advantage.”
     Mulder smiled.  “Ah, there’s my doubting Scully.  Maybe you’re right.”  He
tilted her face up, leaned down until his lips were almost touching hers.
 “After all, anything’s possible.”  Scully didn’t move as he caressed her
cheek with the fingers of his left hand.  “Dana...I love you.”  Almost before
the words registered, he was touching his lips to hers, lightly, hesitantly.
 And then she wrapped her arms around his neck, and opened her mouth and he
responded to her encouragement with a groan.  He picked her up and carried
her to the couch, sitting down and setting her in his lap, never releasing
her lips.
     Some minutes later, they parted, breathless.  Scully laid her head in the
crook of Mulder’s neck and shoulder.  He caressed her arm, twining his long
fingers in hers, pressing a light kiss to her temple.  She caressed his chest
through his shirt, her hand moving slowly.
     Scully raised her head and looked at Mulder, putting a hand to his face and
caressing his jaw, running her thumb over his lips.  “Fox,” she said softly.
 She smiled.  “I like your name.  Fffooooxxxx,” she breathed against his
next, under his ear, her breath warm on his skin.  “I - love - you.”  She
punctuated her words with light kisses.  She gave a low chuckle as she felt
the shiver than ran through him.
     “Dana?”
     Scully looked at him, seeing his unspoken questions in his eyes.  “Stay with
me tonight, Fox.  We’ve got four years to make up for.”
     He squeezed her hand, looking at their entwined fingers.  “Are you sure,
Dana?”
     “Yes.  I’m tired of other people telling me what I can and cannot do in my
life.  Here, and in your apartment, we are Fox and Dana.  At the office, on
the job, we are Mulder and Scully.  We won’t give *Them* a reason to separate
us.  We won’t let *Them* control us anymore.  Not in this.”
     Mulder chuckled against her lips.  “I knew I’d fallen in love with the right
woman.  A strong woman.”
     Scully pressed herself hard against him, thrusting her fingers into his
hair.  “Fox.  Make love to me.”
     Mulder picked Scully up, cradled her against him as if she were the most
precious thing in his world, and she was.  His eyes met hers and held them
until he was laying her on her bed.
     Scully sat up, reached out and pulled Mulder’s shirt out of his jeans.  She
slid her hands under his shirt, reveling in the feel of his skin under her
hands.  He raised his arms and let her pull his t-shirt over his head and
throw his shirt to the floor.  It was quickly followed by her own t-shirt, as
well as her bra.
     Mulder put his hands on her shoulders, just barely touching her.  Slowly, he
ran his hands down her arms then up her sides, always just barely touching
her.  Scully’s eyes never left his face.  Her breathing was unsteady now.
 She could see the desire in his eyes, warring with the need to take things
slowly, to give her a chance to back out.  As he started to slide one finger
between her breasts, she caught his hand and placed it over her right breast.
 His breath caught and he looked at her.  She smiled seductively at him.  His
fingers closed gently on her breast, his thumb lightly rubbing her nipple.
 As his other hand covered her other breast, she slid her hands up his arms
and threw her head back with a moan.
     Mulder’s eyes slid to Scully’s throat.  He bent and kissed her exposed
throat, gently sucked at her pulse, his breath sending shivers dancing over
her skin.  He nipped her lightly, pushing her back in the bed as he moved
onto it.  He looked down at her feet, smiled.  He took one small foot in his
hand, tugged off her sock, began massaging her foot.  After a moment, he
moved to the other one.  He stroked her ankle lightly, down the top of her
foot.
     Scully sighed, her eyes closing as she stretched her arms over her head.
 She’d never have thought just having her feet massaged could be so erotic,
but Mulder’s long, sure fingers and light touches were pure heaven.  She
opened her eyes as she felt Mulder  move to lie beside her.  He caressed her
stomach, bent to take one rosy nipple into his mouth.  She wrapped her arms
around his head, stroking his hair, running one hand down his neck, shoulders
and back.  She felt him undo her jeans and lifted her hips so he could slide
them off.  He left her suddenly, pulling her jeans and panties from her, as
well as removing the rest of his own clothes.
     Scully’s breath caught as she looked him over.  *Oh, gods, he’s so
unbelievably beautiful,* she thought.  She held her arms out as he returned
to her.  Their lips met, his hands once more returning to her breasts, then
slowly slipping down her body to her legs.  He stroked her thighs, ever so
slowly moving closer and closer to the one spot she wanted him to touch more
than anything.
     As one hand slid between her legs, she moved them apart, actually surprised
she could still move of her own volition.  She’d waited four years for this
and it seemed like all she could do was let him pleasure her.
     A small cry escaped Scully as she felt Mulder’s tongue touch her sensitive
clit.  Her hands slid into his hair as he chuckled.  She bent her legs,
pulling them up, doing anything to expose more of  herself to him.
     Mulder worked her with his tongue, teeth, and lips.  He backed off when he
 felt she was about to come, let her regain a little control, then attacked
again.  This time, he drove her over the edge, the feeling of her orgasm
almost pushing him into one of his own.
     Scully gripped the bedclothes, pushed her hips up, small cries escaping her
as the orgasm washed through her.  As she  relaxed, breathing hard, on the
bed, she heard him chuckle.  A devilish smile crossed her face.  Two could
 play at this game!
     Scully urged Mulder back up to her, pressed her lips to his, tasting herself
on him.  She pushed him onto his back, began kissing his jaw, down to his
throat, his chest.   Her hands slid over him, caressing him.  She made her
way slowly down to his erect cock.  Mulder groaned, the sound almost a
whimper, as she wrapped both her hot little hands around it, grinned wickedly
at him, then bent and took him in her mouth.
     Mulder gasped as he felt Scully’s tongue twisting around him, as she cupped
his balls in one hand and stroked him with the other.  He groaned again as
she sucked him, as she took him deeper and deeper into her mouth.  He
couldn’t believe how much of him she was taking in.  His mother was right: he
was fool to’ve wasted four years without this woman.
     Finally, Mulder couldn’t take any  more.  “Scully...Dana!” he whimpered.
     Scully looked at him, smiled,  then straddled him.  She lowered herself onto
him, a sigh escaping her as she settled herself completely onto him.  Now she
felt complete.
     Slowly, slowly, Scully began to raise herself up, then back down.  His hands
at her waist helped her.  Her hands went to her neck, under hair.  She felt
unbelieveably wanton.
     Abruptly, Mulder raised up.  He wrapped his arms around her and rolled them
so that she lay on her back.  A part of Mulder noticed just how  perfectly he
fit between her legs, as if they’d been made for each other and only each
other.  His hands went to her hair as he kissed her throat, murmuring loving
nonesense words to her.  Her hands slid down his back to his ass, cupping
 his cheeks, urging him in and out of her.
     They came together in a kaleidescopic explosion unlike anything either had
ever experienced.  For long moments afterward, they simply lay together, too
drained to move.  Finally, Mulder slid to one side of her and pulled her
against him.  She drapped one leg over his, one  arm over his chest as she
laid her head on his shoulder.  He twined his fingers with hers.  They
drifted off and slept without dreams.  Souls mated for eternity.


The  end  (for now)

How’z at?  Let me know what you think.  Should I keep trying or quit while
I’m ahead?

E-mail responses to: Jasrien@aol.com

(Jasrien  aka  Shawn Hollingsworth)


From Jasrien@aol.com Mon Dec 16 23:01:35 1996
This is my sequel to Soulmates, it's not quite as good as the first part, but
it was a necessary bridge between one and three.  You'll see!


Mulder, Scully, Maggie, and Rebekkah are all creations of Chris Carter, and
property of 1013 Productions and Twentieth Century Fox.  Used without
permission.

Rating: G --  well, *maybe* pg-13 for certain imagery

Summary: Mulder and Scully tell their respective mothers about the new turn
their relationship has taken.


Soulmates II: Answered Prayers

8:42 Sunday morning
Dana Scully’s apartment

     Scully slowly became aware of a soft thumping somewhere nearby.  As
consciousness crawled nearer, she realized it was a heartbeat.  She also
realized that she was lying on a warm pillow.  She opened one eye.  She was
greeted with Mulder’s peaceful face.  She smiled as the memory of the
previous night returned.  She took a deep breath, breathing in the scent of
him.  She didn’t want to move.  She snuggled against him and closed her eyes,
wanting to enjoy the feeling of being in his arms.
     Mulder wrapped his arms around Scully without waking up, turning a little
onto his side.  He sighed in his sleep, murmuring a name.  Scully strained to
hear what he was saying.  “Dana Kat,” he mumbled.  “My Kat.”
     Scully couldn’t help giggling.  What, she wondered, was he dreaming about?
 Was he seeing her as a lazy, petted housecat?  Or a large, sleek jungle
animal?
     Scully rolled onto her back, gazing at the ceiling.  “Kat,” she whispered to
herself.  No one ever used her middle name, well, except her mother, but only
when she was angry.  And no one had *ever* called her Kat before!  But the
sound of that name coming from Mulder’s lips was the most sensual thing she
could imagine.
     “Good morning,” Mulder whispered, nuzzling her ear.  Scully laughed.  “What
were you thinking, just now?  You were smiling.”
     Scully rolled over onto him and his arms went around her.  “What were you
dreaming about?”
     Mulder looked at her quizzically.  “Huh?”
     “What did you dream about?”
     “I don’t...well...”  Scully laughed as Mulder actually blushed.  “I was
swimming in a pool, next to a waterfall, in a jungle somewhere, and there was
this gorgeous black leopard sitting on a ledge at the top of the  waterfall,
watching me.  It had blue eyes, the same color as yours.”  Mulder just stared
as Scully laughed.
     “You were mumbling in your sleep.  You called me Dana Kat.  You said, ‘my
Kat’.  No one’s ever called me that before.”
     Mulder thrust his hands into her hair.  “Their loss...my gain,” he whispered
against her lips.  “Dana Kat,” he tried the name out.  “I like that.  Do you
mind?”
     “Oh, no....”  She caught his lips with hers.  “I love you.  I love you.  I
feel like I can’t say it enough.  I love you!”
     Mulder watched her, fascinated.  Her face glowed with happiness.  She looked
much younger than he’d ever seen her.  It was as if a weight had been lifted
from her shoulders.  He smiled.  Maybe it had.
     Soon enough, they had both showered and were making breakfast together,
joking between themselves about how they already seemed like an old married
couple, their movements perfectly in sync.
     “Mulder?” asked Scully absently, taking a bite of her toast.
     “Hmm?”
     She focused on him.  There was a small crease between her eyes forming; she
was almost frowning.  “Fox, Skinner’s gonna know.”
     “How do you  know?”  Mulder finished off his eggs.
     “He *always* knows.  He’s just gonna take one look at us and he’ll know.”
     Mulder looked at her.  She sounded like an eight year old who knows she’s
going to be in trouble with her father for a bad mark on a report card.  He
reached out and took her hand.  “Dana, Skinner, at least, is someone we can
deal with.  He’s a *friend*.”
     Scully blinked.  “Did I just hear what I thought I heard?  Did you
say...Walter Skinner is someone  we can *trust*?”
     Mulder nodded.  “He’s gone out on a limb for us more than once.  He saved
our asses after we found out about Operation: Paperclip.  He does what he can
to protect us in our search.”
     “I wish we knew why.”
     “I think...to put it in the simplest terms...in another time and place,
Walter Skinner would have been a white hat.  He’d have stood for truth and
justice no matter what.  But things are so complicated in this day and
age...he does what he can.  What?”
     Scully was looking adoringly at Mulder.  “Mulder, you’re such a marshmallow
under that cynical  facade you present to the world.”
     “Thank you.”  He kissed her as he stood, picked up his dishes, and carried
them to the kitchen sink.
     “Just leave them in the sink, I’ll wash them after while.”
     Mulder shrugged.  “I need to go, I’ve got some errands to run.  And I had
the Gunmen doing some research for me on some  UFO sightings in Brownsville,
Texas recently, I may be tied up with them the rest of the day.”  He leaned
on the back of her chair.  “Can I come back this evening?” he asked, brushing
her hair aside and kissing her neck.
     “Got your key?”
     “Mm-hm.”
     “I won’t change the locks.”
     “I’ll be back about six.  I love you, Dana Kat.”  He kissed her and was gone
while he still had the resolve.

7:48 Monday morning
Basement of the J. Edgar Hoover Building

     Scully walked down the hall toward their office.  She’d awakened at
four-thirty that morning to find  Mulder gone.  He’d left a note; he was
going for a jog and home to change, he’d see her at the office.  She hadn’t
been able to get back to sleep: two nights with Mulder and she was quite
spoiled.  She got up, fixed herself some coffee, and worked on reports until
time to get ready for work.
     Mulder looked up and smiled as Scully stepped into the office.  “Morning,
Scully,” he said cheerily.
     “Good morning, Mulder.”  She set her briefcase and purse down on her desk
and looked at him.  “So.  What’s on tap for today?”
     Mulder sighed.  “Paperwork, paperwork, aaaannnndddd....paperwork!”  Mulder
shrugged.  “Hazards of the job, Agent Scully.”  He gestured at her desk.  “At
 least we can start the day out right.”  A large coffee and carrotcake muffin
from their favorite diner sat on her desk.
     Scully smiled and sat down.  “Thanks, Mulder.  Actually, I woke up early
this morning and managed to get some of my reports done.”
     Mulder nodded.  “Yeah, I got here about six and I’ve actually been working
on the expense account for the last case.  But, y’know, I’m actually looking
forward to some down time.  We both need the rest.”
     Before Scully could  answer, Mulder’s phone rang.  He picked it up.
 “Mulder.”
     “Agent Mulder, A.D. Skinner would like to see you and Agent Scully in his
office as soon as possible,” came the voice of Skinner’s secretary.
     “We’re on our way.”  Mulder put the phone down.  “Skinner wants to see us.”

7:23 Friday night
Freeway outside Greenwich, Conn.

     The two agents had spent the week working on a parental kidnapping case, as
well as several other cases that were mostly paperwork and research.  By the
end of the week, both thought they were going out their minds from boredom,
and looking forward to their weekend away from the city.
     Scully felt like a teenager.  She was sitting as close to Mulder as she
could get, her hands wrapped around his upper arm, her head on his shoulder,
as they drove up to his mother’s.  It was Friday night; they had taken a
flight up to the nearest airport and rented a car for the rest of the trip.
 They would stay until Sunday afternoon.
     The two of them had been very careful the past week, remaining as
professional as always on the job and around their colleagues.  They knew
that Skinner suspected; he was watching them like a hawk.  Although they had
dinner together almost every night, they had slept in their own apartments
every night.  Now, they were free for the weekend.
     Mulder looked at Scully and grinned, looking like a mischievous little boy.
 Scully’s eyes narrowed.  “OK, Mulder, spill it.  What’s that look for?”
     Mulder gave her a look of mock indignation.  “What, I can’t just enjoy
looking at you?  And you’re soo nice to look at, too.”
     Scully  giggled.  “Mulder, I’m not going to be able to stand it.”
     “What?”
     “Knowing that you’re sleeping right next door, so close and so far away.”
     Mulder  grinned widened.  “Oh, but Scully, that’ll make it so much more
interesting!  We’ll see if I’m half the agent I think I am.  If I can sneak
into your room without my mom hearing, I’ll know I’m damn good!”
     Scully laughed at the image that came to mind, laughing until she had tears
running down her face.

8:54 Friday night, 
Rebekkah Mulder’s home
Greenwich, Conn.

     Rebekkah Mulder walked out on the porch as the car pulled into the
 driveway.  She smiled as her son got out.  He went around and opened the
door for Scully, taking her hand as she got out of the car.  He was careful
not to actually drag her as he walked to the porch.  He bounded up the steps
and hugged his mother tight.  She returned his hug just as warmly.
     “Mom, you look good!”
     “Thank you, dear!  Actually, I feel better than I have in years!”  She
smiled at Scully.
     “Mom, I think you know my partner, Dana Scully.”
     “Thank you for inviting me, Mrs. Mulder.”
     “Please, call me Rebekkah.  May I call you Dana?”
     “Please, I’d like that.”
     “Come in, come in, the two of you are probably starving, and I’ve got a
roast waiting!”
     “Mom, you didn’t have to....”
     “I know that, Fox, but it’s so seldom I cook anymore, with just me here, you
know.”  She slipped one arm through his and the other through Dana’s and they
went inside.

     Mulder waved his mother down as she started to get up and clear the table.
 “No.  Dana and I can do that.”
     “Thank you, Fox.  I am feeling a bit tired, I’m going to go sit down.”
 Seeing the look in his eyes, she patted his hand.   “Fox, I’m fine!  But I
was so excited about having company for the weekend, I got up at five this
morning and started getting ready!  It’s no wonder I’m tired!”  She went into
the living room and sat down in her favorite chair.  She listened as Mulder
and Scully cleaned up the table.
     “Hey, Dana, what would you like to do tomorrow?”
     “I don’t care, as long as we can take our time, relax, and have fun!”
     “How about a sailboat ride?”
     “Don’t tell me you have a sailboat?”
     Mulder laughed.  “No, but when  I was growing up, there was this old man
who’d give the kids rides in his boat.  After he died, his son inherited the
boat.  And sometimes, if we ask just right, he’ll give rides to those us who
knew his father.  I called him a couple of days ago and asked him, and he
said he’d be happy to take us out.  He’ll be in port at eight tomorrow
morning.”
     “But I thought you get sea-sick.”
     “Yeah, well, I got my prescription of pills renewed, too.  I’ve always loved
the water, and I loved sailing with Cappy.  I didn’t have this problem with
sea-sickness till I got kicked in the head by a suspect I was trying to take
down, while I was working VC.  Doctor said it messed up my equilibrium
somehow.  So?  What do you say?”
     “I’d love to, Fox.”
     Rebekkah smiled.  She could hear the love her son had for his red-haired
partner in every word he spoke, and her love for him.  Obviously, things had
taken a good turn.

     That night, as Mulder sat up in his bed in his old room, reading, he looked
up at a light tap on the door, then smiled as his mother stepped in.  “Mom?”
     “Fox.”  She walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed.  She smiled at
him.  “I’m glad you came up, son.  And I’m glad you brought Dana.  She’s such
a nice girl.  She’s strong, Fox.  There’s steel in her.”
     Mulder nodded.  “I know.  Mom?  I...after I talked to you, last weekend,
 Dana and I did some talking  of our own.  We cleared the air between us.  I
love her, Mom, and she loves me.”
     Rebekkah took his hand.  “Fox, I want you to promise me something.”
     “What?”
     “I want you to be happy.  I want to see you both happy.”
     Mulder smiled.  “Dana makes me happier than I ever thought was possible.  I
plan to hang onto her, no matter what.”
     “Good!”  Rebekkah hugged her son.  “I love you, son.  Good-night.”
     “I love you, too, Mom.  Good-night.”  He only grinned as she tousled his
hair before leaving the room.
     An hour later, Fox quietly opened his bedroom door and looked out.  He felt
like he was twelve again, sneaking down to the kitchen for a late-night
snack.  But food wasn’t what he was craving right then.
     Scully looked up as her bedroom door opened.  She suppressed a giggle.
 Mulder eased the door shut as quietly as possible, then moved to the side of
the bed on cat-feet.
     Mulder knelt on one knee at the side of the bed.  “I’ve missed you.  You’ve
ruined me, Dana.  The only way I’ll ever sleep again is in your arms.”
     “I know, me too.  C’mon, get in here.”  She pulled the covers back.  He slid
in beside her.
     In the next room, Rebekkah smiled as she heard the faint giggles coming from
Dana’s room.  She knew it had been the right idea to give her the room with
the full bed.  Rebekkah put her ear-plugs in, rolled over, and went to sleep.

9:30 Saturday morning

     Mulder watched Scully’s face as they sailed up the coast.  She looked right
at home.  She had her face lifted into the wind, and her hair was blowing
behind her.  He’d never seen anything more beautiful.
     As if feeling his eyes on her, Scully turned to look at him and smile.
 Mulder had taken a seat when they arrived that was kind of in the center of
the boat, and he hadn’t  moved.  She walked over and sat down in his lap,
wrapping her arms around his neck.  “Thank you for this, Fox.”
     “You’re welcome.”  He gave her a quick kiss, then began pointing out
landmarks to her and relating tales from his boyhood.
     When they returned to shore, both of them thanked their captain profusely.
 He only laughed.  “Any time for you, Fox.  Dad loved you, he thought of you
as another grandson.  You were special to him and you obviously thought
highly of him.  He could’ve just been a lonely old man, but you and the other
kids around the Vineyard made sure he wasn’t.  You made his last years good,
and I’ll always be grateful.”  He waved and began securing his boat with the
help of his own son, who’d been waiting on shore for them.
     Scully looked at Mulder with a little smile until he asked, “What?”
     “Like I said, a marshmallow.”
     Mulder laughed and wrapped his arms around her waist.  “C’mon, Mom’ll have
lunch ready for us by now.”
     After lunch, the two of them wandered into the back yard.  The ground was
covered with dried leaves that hadn’t been raked up yet.  Scully got a
mischievous look on her face.  When Mulder wasn’t looking, she raked up a
handful of leaves and threw them at him.
     Mulder turned to look at Scully just as a handful of leaves began raining
over his head and shoulders.  He grinned at her.  She gave him an innocent
look and raised her hands in a ‘now-where-do-you-suppose-those-came-from?’
gesture.
     Rebekkah heard a squeal, then laughter.  She walked over to a kitchen window
and looked out.  What she saw made her laugh as she hadn’t in a very long
 time.  Fox and Dana were playing in the leaves, throwing them at each other,
dodging each others throws.  Fox ducked behind the huge oak in the center of
the yard.  He looked out one side, only to find that  Dana had come around
the other.
     Rebekkah watched, breathless with laughter, as Dana chased Fox around the
yard.  He turned the tables and caught her around the waist, only to
overbalance and fall backwards to the ground, Dana on top of him.  Both were
laughing so hard, they couldn’t get up.
     Mulder looked at Scully, brushed her hair back, picking bits of  leaves from
her hair.  “Are you OK?” he asked, still chuckling.
     “I should be asking you that, you broke my fall.”
     “I think I’ll survive.”  He put his right arm behind his head.  His left
hand, which was still in the cast, went to her head.
     “How long until the cast comes off?”
     “I’ve got a doctor’s appointment Wednesday, he said I could probably go to
the brace by then.”
     “What about your shoulder?”
     He shrugged.  “It’s still a little sore.  No big deal.”  He knew better than
to try to shrug off her questions by now.
     “And your hand?”
     “All better, Dr. Scully.  You’re a miracle worker.”  His kiss cut off her
choked laughter.
     Scully ran her hands over his face.  “Fox.  I don’t think I’ve ever been so
happy in my life.”
     “I know I haven’t.”  He sighed.  “I want to tell the world you’re mine.”  He
grinned.  “Or that I’m yours.”
     “That’s right, and don’t you ever forget it,” she said, snuggling against
his chest and laying her head on his shoulder.
     “Never.”

     The weekend passed too quickly for the couple.  They returned home, Mulder
promising his mother that they’d visit again very soon.
     Tuesday evening, Scully invited her mother up for dinner.  Maggie was happy
to come, she hadn’t seen her daughter in several weeks.
     “Mom, would you get the door?” Scully called from the kitchen, where she was
finishing an apple pie.
     Maggie looked through the spyhole, then smiled and opened the door.  “Hello,
Fox.”
     Mulder smiled.  “Good evening, Mrs. Scully.  How are you?”  He stepped in
and she closed the door behind him.
     “Oh, I’m getting along fine.  Come on in.”
     They walked into the apartment as Scully stepped out of the kitchen.  Her
hands were still covered with flour from the crust she’d just finished
putting on top of the pie.  “Hi, you made it.”  She smiled at him.
     “Mm-hm.  It went a lot  easier than I thought.  I pointed out some things
everyone else had dismissed and it led them right to their suspect.  I didn’t
even have to write a profile.”
     “Great.”  Scully was relieved.  She hadn’t wanted Mulder to tackle another
serial murder case so soon, but had stayed quiet when Skinner gave him the
case.
     Maggie looked from her daughter to the man she’d all but adopted.  “The two
of you aren’t telling me something.”
     Scully laughed.  “After dinner, Mom, I promise.”
     Dinner was relaxed, companionable.  As the women cleared the table, Maggie
commented that she’d never seen Mulder so relaxed.   Scully only shrugged.
     The three of them sat down in the living room together.  Mulder very
deliberately sat on the couch beside Scully and took her hand.  Maggie began
to smile, then to beam as Scully put her hand over his.
     “Mom, Fox and I have done a lot of talking, soul-searching.  We’ve admitted
things to each other.  You were right, I’ll admit it now.  We love each other
more than we ever thought it was possible.”  Scully looked at Mulder, her
love for him shining in her eyes, and the same reflected in his own.
     “This is wonderful!”  She hugged both of them.
     “Mrs. Scully....”
     “Please, Fox, call me Maggie.”
     “Maggie.”  He took a deep breath.  “Things aren’t going to be easy for the
two of us.  There are people out there who will do anything to tear us apart.
 We’re going to need all the love and support both our families can  give
us.”
     “You know you have mine, as well as my blessing.”  She took Mulder’s hand.
 “You know, I think my husband would have liked you very much, Fox.  You’re a
man of principle, who doesn’t let anyone tell him how think or feel.  You
believe in truth and justice.  These were qualities he admired in a man.”
     “Thank you, Maggie.  That means a lot to me.”
     “And to me, Mom.”  She put her hand over her mother’s, but her smile was
only for Mulder.

10:15 Tuesday night

     Maggie Scully sat down on her couch with a cup of tea and thought of the
revelations of that evening.  She was thrilled with it, of course.  She’d
known that if those two would just *talk* to each other, honestly and openly,
they’d see what everyone around them had known all along!
     Maggie’s thoughts were interrupted by the ringing of her phone.  She picked
it up.  “Hello?”
     “Hello, is this Mrs. Margaret Scully?”
     “Yes, it is.”
     “Mrs. Scully, I’m Rebekkah Mulder, Fox’s mother.”
     “Mrs. Mulder, how nice!  What can I do for you?”
     “I’m sorry for calling at this time, I know it’s a bit late, but...have they
told you?”
     “Yes, they have, just tonight, as a matter of fact.  Isn’t it wonderful?”
     “Yes, it certainly took them long enough!”  Rebekkah laughed.  “I never
thought of my son as dense or slow before, until it came to your daughter.  I
was beginning to think that boy had absolutely no sense!  Well, anyway, the
reason for my call was that I’d like to meet with you.”
     “I’d like that.  Do you live around Washington?”
     “No, I live in Greenwich, Connecticut.  Would you like to come up, maybe for
a weekend?  I’d be glad to have you.  Or I could come there, tho I was hoping
to keep Fox and Dana from knowing we’d met, at least for a little while.”
     “Oh?  Why’s that?”
     Rebekkah laughed.  “If I know my son, even tho he adores your daughter, he’s
going to be terrified of asking her to marry him.  Those two should be
together!  And I think, between us, we can make sure they are.”
     Maggie was grinning ear to ear.  She understood now.  “Mrs. Mulder....”
     “Please, call me Rebekkah.”
     “And I’m Maggie.  Rebekkah, would you mind having a houseguest next
weekend?”
     ‘Not one bit.  I look forward to it.  You just tell me when your flight gets
in and I’ll meet you at the airport.”
     The two women plotted a few more minutes, then rang off.  Fox and Dana
didn’t know what they had started!