Title: "Climax"
Author: Angela W.
Rating: NC-17
Category: MSR/Mytharc
Disclaimer: The characters in this story do not
belong to me. They are the property of Chris Carter
and 1013 Productions
Timespan/Spoilers: Lots of spoilers. This was written
late in Season Six and anything up until then is
considered fair game.
Summary: While on a case in Las Vegas, Mulder and
Scully achieve some professional — and personal —
goals. Basically, this is the way I would like to see
the TV series end, then see future movies, etc. take
off from this point.
Archive: Feel free to archive anywhere!
Note: This story has been around for a while, but
it's the first in an on-going series I write and since
I'm new to this list, the moderator said it was okay
to go ahead and post the stories here from the
beginning.
Feedback: If it's nice or contains *constructive*
criticism, feedback is valued! However, keep in mind
when it was written and don't flame me for making
assumptions that were contradicted during season seven
or eight.


"Damn it, Scully, they're setting me up! It's just too
pat!" F.B.I. Agent Fox Mulder stormed as he paced his
partner's hotel room, which was lit with the rosy glow
of a spectacular southwestern sunset and the
reflection of a dozen neon lights. "A little girl
named Samantha is kidnapped and the only witness is
her older brother!"

"I've got to agree with you this time, Mulder, " said
his partner, Agent Dana Scully. "The boy's story is
even remarkably similar to the description you've
given me of the night your sister was abducted."

"Even the ages are right! She's eight, he's twelve.
Someone lured us out here to taunt us with this case."

"At least the boy's name isn't Fox," his partner
suggested with grim humor. In point of fact, she found
nothing even remotely funny about a little girl who
could be in the clutches of anything from pedophiles
to aliens.

"That would be going a little too far! His name is
Alex, but. . ." suddenly he stopped and looked at his
partner. "Who do we know named Alex?"

It took Scully a minute to make the connection, since
so often they just referred to their colleagues and
foes by last names, but she got it. "Krycek? You think
he's behind this?"

"Well, yeah, I do," admitted her partner. "On the
other hand, I'm willing to blame Krycek for spreading
more disaster than El Nino. Think I'm stretching on
this one?"

His partner was silent for several second, then slowly
shook her head. "No. I'm with you all the way this
time. It practically reeks of him. In a strange way,
that's almost a relief. I know Krycek is the worst
kind of slime, but if he took Samantha, it's because
he wants to get at you, not because he gets some sort
of sick thrill out of doing nasty things to little
girls. We can make a fairly optimistic assumption that
she's probably physically safe, although undoubtedly
terrified."

"Yeah, but how do we find her?"

At that moment, the phone rang. "Mulder."

"Hey, old buddy. Enjoying your stay in the sunny
southwest?"

"Speak of the devil," muttered Mulder, making frantic
motions for Scully to use her cell phone to request a
trace on the call.

"You can tell your partner not to bother trying to set
up a trace. I'll be off the line before she finishes
dialing. If the two of you are interested in seeing a
certain little girl alive, be in front of Caesar's
Palace in five minutes. You can just make it, if you
run." With that, the line went dead.

Mulder and Scully were out the door within seconds,
eschewing the elevator in favor of the fire stairs and
sprinting along the crowded sidewalks. Exactly four
minutes and fifty-five second had elapsed as they
reached the front of the famous casino.

Krycek stepped out of the doorway, followed by his
sidekick Marnita Corrovubis. "Why, honey, look who's
here," he said, affecting a tone of mock surprise.
"Mr. and Mrs. Spooky from back home. Small world,
isn't it?"

"Look, Krycek," Mulder said, "I'm assuming you didn't
lure the two of us down here so we could all go on a
double-date to the drive-in. What do you want in
exchange for Samantha?"

"How do you know I'm not just interested in a swap
meet? I've always been partial to redheads," Krycek
said with a leer, reaching his hand toward Scully's
face.

Mulder reached out to grab Krycek's hand, applying
enough pressure on the wrist to change the leer into a
grimace. "Do you want your other arm ripped off?"

"Okay, okay, you keep Red and I'll stick with Blondie
here. Actually, despite my personal preferences, my
orders are to trade for you, not her. You're not going
to try anything on a crowded sidewalk, so don't even
think of reaching for your weapon, just listen to me."

"I'll listen, but forgive me if I don't exactly
believe. Everything you've ever told me has been a
lie," Mulder replied.

"Well, believe this. The two of you return here in
exactly eight hours. That will be 3 a.m., but this
city never sleeps. I'll have the girl with me. She's
unharmed, by the way, but won't remain like that if
you don't follow my instructions exactly. Marnita here
will be hidden somewhere in the shadows with a weapon
trained on Agent Scully. Scully can have the girl and
I get you. We'll all just walk away very slowly,
without attracting any attention or endangering any
innocent civilians."

"Why the delay? Why not just do it now?"

"Mine is not to reason why, but I do strongly suggest
that the two of you not even think of calling in
back-up, either the locals or other feds. We deal with
you two and only you two. If you're guessing we can't
cover all the bases, you're right. But we have enough
of our people in various positions to tilt the odds of
our finding out if you disobey in our favor. If I were
you, I'd do my best to enjoy the next eight hours.
They very well may be your last, " Krycek said before
melting into the crowd.

***

Mulder and Scully stood stock still for several
seconds, until Mulder finally said, "We"ll make the
switch. We have to. I can't be responsible for letting
another little girl named Samantha being lost to her
family forever. And he's right, Scully. We can't risk
calling in back up. All we can do is sit and wait."

Scully was silent for a moment before saying, "I think
you should follow Krycek's advice."

"Isn't that what I just said I'm going to do?" Mulder
asked, moving his partner to a slightly less crowded
area around the corner of the casino.

"Yes, about making the switch. But I meant about the
other part, too. About enjoying the next eight hours.
There's really nothing we can do and now that we know
the girl's safe instead of in the cluthces of some
deviant, we might as well attempt to relax a little.
That way we'll be alert when the time comes to trade."

"What'd you have in mind?"

"Your choice, Mulder, since you're going to be the
hostage and I'm going to be the babysitter."

"Anything I want?"

"Absolutely."

"You're sure about that?" her partner asked with a
smile.

"I'm sure. I've got no idea if I'm agreeing to watch
an Elvis impersonator or sneak over to Area 51 and
look for UFOs but. . .whatever you want. Whatever you
think would have the best chance of getting you
relaxed enough so that you'll be on your toes when it
comes to dealing with Krycek later tonight."

"Let's get married," Mulder said.

"What???" Scully stared at her partner in disbelief.
He couldn't possibly have said what she thought he'd
just said. Or, if he had, he was joking, like he had
been the time they'd been in West Virginia and he'd
laughingly suggested they start picking out china
patterns together. But there was no laughter in his
eyes, just an intensity she'd never seen before in all
their years together.

"You heard me. You already agreed to whatever I want,
remember?"

"Okay, but why here? Why now?" Scully demanded. It
wasn't that she didn't want to. Dear Lord, it was what
she'd prayed for for years. But what had prompted this
proposal now?

"Why not here? Why not now? I'm tired of waiting for
the perfect moment, Dana. I've come to the conclusion
that there's never going to be a time when you're not
fighting cancer or I'm not fighting trumped-up charges
to end my career, or we're not both fighting aliens or
Cigarette Smoking Man or various other monsters, not
to mention reassignment every time we turn around! Now
do you want to or not?"

Scully stared at him for several seconds. It wasn't
exactly the proposal she'd dreamed of as a teenage
girl, but she wasn't going to be fool enough to throw
away the love of the best man she'd ever known just
because it didn't come wrapped in ribbons and lace. "I
want to. Believe me, Mulder, I want to."

***

"Your room or mine?" Mulder asked, pulling his partner
— his wife — closer to him. Less than 20 minutes at
the Eternal Chapel of Love, less than $200 for a
justice of the peace who dressed like Elvis and two
slender gold wedding rings, and it was done. They were
married.

"Mine," she answered decisively.

As sooon as they were inside the room and had locked
the door, Mulder turned to her with an expression on
his face that bordered on nervousness. Scully didn't
mind. He'd jumped the fence by suggesting they get
married. If necessary, she'd take the lead now. For a
woman in her thirties, she didn't have much
experience, but she did years of fantasies to help
out.

"We could order a bottle of wine from room service,"
he suggested.

"No." 

"No?"

"I can't drink much at all without getting tipsy,
Mulder. You know that. And I don't want anything
clouding my senses tonight." She stepped closer to him
and slid the jacket off his shoulders, then
concentrated on removing his tie.

He brought his hands up to her face and kissed her.
Long, slow and deep, just the way she liked it.

"If I let you undress me, do I get to do you?"

She nodded, suddenly feeling a wave of shyness wash
over her earlier boldness. But that didn't stop her
fingers from undoing the buttons along the front of
his shirt and sliding it off to join his jacket and
tie on the floor.

"Nope. My turn now," he said, grabbing her hands as
she reached for his belt buckle. Placing her arms
along her side, he slid off her jacket and then lifted
the T-shirt she was wearing underneath it over her
head. He reached up to brush a strand of red-gold hair
out of her eyes, then reached behind her to unhook her
bra and slid his hands up her back to push the straps
off her shoulders. When it fell to the floor, he
breathed in deeply. He'd seen her naked before, but
that was when her life was in danger and he'd been
concentrating on saving her. Now he was concentrating
on how exquisitely she was formed. He palmed her
breasts gently, running his thumbs softly across her
already taunt nipples.

She sucked her breath in quickly, making her breasts
even more prominent. "Let's hurry and get the rest of
our clothes off and get in bed," she whispered
urgently.

He smiled and reached to unzip her skirt and push it
down while she simultaneously reached to undo his belt
and slide his slacks down. Soon they were tumbled
together in a naked heap on the bed.

"I always wondered if you were a natural redhead," he
murmured, brushing his fingers softly along the curls
at the apex of her thighs. "At least that's one
mystery I don't lack conclusive proof on!"

She bit him gently on the shoulder in mild reproof to
his teasing. Soon they were kissing deeply, running
their hands up and down each other's bodies. Then he
lowered his mouth to her breasts, licking each softly
before beginning to suck one. At the same time, he
moved his hands up along the inside of her legs, until
he could stroke her gently. He was surprised to find
out how wet she was, how open. She was making a
discovery of her own at the same time, reaching down
to feel the strong, hard length of him.

"Mulder, please, now!"

"You're sure? I can wait," he whispered, looking down
into her eyes.

"I'm not sure I can. At least not much longer." The
combined attentions of his mouth on her breasts and
his fingers inside of her was quickly driving her to
the edge and she wanted him joined to her when she was
finally over.

He nodded and penetrated her. She gasped.

"Am I hurting you, Dana?"

"No, darling, it feels wonderful. You're just so. .
.big!"

He smiled down at her, a sexy, loving grin unlike any
she'd ever seen before on the the face she knew so
well and had loved for so long. He began to move
within her in long, smooth strokes. She started to
wiggle and moan, trying to keep the inevitable at bay
for just a few minutes longer, but finally giving up
to the tide of feeling she could feel crescendoing
within her. Amazingly, she felt him stiffen and groan
at the same time, meeting her climax with one of his
own.

"I love you," he whispered aginst her lips.

"I love you, too," she whispered back, before bringing
his mouth down onto hers.

He rolled onto his side, keeping their legs entwined.
He stroked the hair away from her face, kissing her
eyelids, her cheeks, her chin. She smiled softly at
him, letting her hands ruffle through his hair and
stroke his arms. Finally, she put her hands to his
face and brought his lips to hers for another slow,
deep kiss.

"I've loved you for years," he said.

"I know," she replied with a small smile.

"You know? What do you mean 'you know'? For how long?"
he asked, raising himself on an elbow to look down at
her.

"Ever since the night you traded your sister, well,
the woman you believed to be your sister, for me.
You'd been looking for her for 20 years and at that
time we'd been partners for barely 18 months. Yet you
didn't even hesitate, lover. When I told you on the
phone that he'd kill me if you didn't make the switch,
you brought Samantha to that bridge. I know it turned
out not to be her. But the point is, at the time of
the trade, you thought it was her. Ever since we'd
first met, I'd been impressed by your devotion to her.
I was stunned when I realized your devotion to me was
even stronger."

"But if you knew I loved you all those years ago, why
didn't you say something?"

"Like what?" she asked gently. "Take me, I'm yours?
You needed me as your partner, someone to help you in
your search for the truth. I thought maybe this," she
gestured to their naked bodies, only partially covered
with the bedspread, "would only distract you."

"I knew you loved me when you agreed to lie for me
that time, to identify that body in my apartment as my
own. I mean, I'd suspected for years that your
feelings for meran deep, but you're the most honest,
honorable person I've ever known. Yet, when I asked
you to lie, you did it sweetheart. For me."

"The why didn't you say something? That was over a
year ago!"

"I didn't feel I deserved you. Still don't, as a
matter of fact, but I got tired of trying to be
noble," he said.

"As long as that's the only thing you're tired of,"
she said with an impish smile.

He grinned. "Ready for a rematch, Scully?"

"Do I get to be on top this time?"

"Wouldn't have it any other way."

"Can I call you Fox?"

"Sure."

"Geez, you're easy tonight."

"On the contrary, I'm getting harder by the minute."

"You know I'm a scientist, Mulder. I only accept
things I can see and feel," she said, running her hand
down his chest and bellt until she found the proof of
his desire. She stroked him until he was fully erect,
then straddled him and slid back until she could feel
him at her entrance.

He traced patterns on her back, working his way down
until he was cupping her bottom. He guided her all the
way back, smiling as she moaned and wiggled. He loved
Scully, loved hearing the sound of her voice, whether
she was whispering to him through their cell phones or
facing him across their office. But hearing her make
these little, inarticulate whimpers of desire as she
bent her mouth ot his ear was by far the most
beautiful sound he'd ever heard.

They were able to last longer this time, the urgency
of their original mating somewhat sated, although
their desire still burned white-hot. He let her come
first, watching her face suffuse with ecstacy and and
feeling her clamp down tightly on him with her inner
muscles. He followed soon afterward, surging into her
with a wildness he hadn't known he was capable of,
calling out her name.

***

Scully jerked her head up, only to find her husband
looking at her with a relaxed smile on his face. She
couldn't believe she'd fallen asleep! She was even
using his shoulder as a pillow, the way she often had
before.

"I didn't mean to doze off," she whispered.

"Scully, you fell asleep in my arms exhausted by
passion. Do you know how many times I've dreamed of
you doing just that?"

She smiled. "I just don't want to waste a minute. What
time is it?"

"A little after one. I think I'm going to get up and
take a shower in a bit. Want to join me?"

She nodded eagerly. Good Lord, could he possibly know
that making love to him in the shower was one of her
most persistent fantasies?

Soon they were in the bathroom, with the water
cascading down on their naked bodies. She wasn't going
to start anything, honestly. It was enough just being
here with him.

He leaned back and let the spray wash over him. He
knew he was grinning like a maniac, but he didn't
care. After all these years, he was finally sharing a
shower with her. He wasn't going to attempt to make
love to her again, really. At least, that's what he
told himself until he felt her soap-slicked hands
running across his shoulders, down his chest and ribs
until she touched his arousal.

"You know, Mulder, you're a medical marvel! According
to my scientific training, a man over the age of 35
shouldn't be able to do this three times in under
eight hours," she whispered, holding him with one hand
and using the other to balance against his shoulder
while she raised herself on tiptoe to whisper against
his lips.

He thrust his tongue quickly into her mouth, smiling
at the way she pouted when he ended the kiss too
quickly for her liking. Hot damn, how he loved to see
her mouth like that!

"Let's just say I'm inspired," he replied, lathering
up his own hands and running them across her breasts
and belly, then around to her bottom. He slid one
soapy finger into her, grinning when she threw back
her head and spread her legs to allow him better
access. "You sure we can do it again? I don't want to
be a pig."

"Oh God, lover! Please! You don't know how many times
I've dreamed of us like this."

"You, too, huh?" he asked, manuvering her so that her
back was to the wall of the shower stall, with one
foot raised to rest on the ledge of the tub.

"Mmm," she murmured, as she felt him lifting her to
accomodate for the difference in their heights. She
waited impatiently for him to enter her, finally
opening her eyes to find him looking at her with an
expression of fiendish delight.

"Tell me what you want, Scully."

She was going to kill him if he didn't put an end to
this soon, she thought dazedly. She could tell he was
getting turned on by watching her lose control. In a
way, she couldn't blame him. For years, she'd remained
cool, calm and collected in every possible situation.
No wonder he was enjoying making her get this wild!
She twisted against the slick wall, trying to
accomplish her objective. She could feel him just
grazing her entrance, but he was using his superior
height and strength to prevent her from getting any
closer.

"Say it, sweetheart," he murmured.

"I want you!"

"To do what?" he inquired innocently.

"To make love to me. Please!" she moaned.

Mulder grinned. He would have preferred for her to use
an earthier word to describe what they were about to
do, but she *had* asked nicely. Without another word,
he surged into her.

"Yes!" screamed Scully. She kept screaming, first his
name, then just a series of primordial moans. He
pounded into her, using his arms to cushion her from
hurting herself against the unyielding tiles. She came
almost immediately, then gasped when he thrust into
her so deeply that she was surprised the wall didn't
give way for his own climax.

Eventually, he lowered her to where her feet could
touch the bottom of the tub again and reached for a
towel. He wrapped her in it and scooted her out of the
shower, grabbing another towel for himself as he
followed. She turned to watch him and at the same time
reached up to unhook the necklace with its dangling
cross that she always wore. Crossing the few steps
between them, she reached up to fasten it around his
neck.

"I know you don't totally share all of my beliefs,
anymore than I share all of yours. But I'd like you to
wear this tonight."

"We share a belief in each other," he replied,
touching her face gently. "Tonight just brought our
bodies to the place where our hearts and minds have
been for years."
Then they dried off and redressed with a quick
economy of movement, barely glancing at each other.

***


"Scully?" he asked when he was completely back to his
F.B.I. persona, right down to his gun in its holster
and the cell phone tucked into his pocket.

"Yes, Mulder?" she said, turning to face him.

He had meant to do this without touching her, trying
to make it as professional and painless as possible.
But that look of vulnerability on her face, almost as
if she were afraid he was going to tell her the last
few hours had been a mistake, made such a scenario
impossible. He reached for her, instead, pulling her
down into his lap so that their faces were level.
"Look, once we go out there, we're going to have to
revert to professional behavior."

"I know," she said softly. "Our lives may depend on
it, as well as the life of an innocent child."

"There are a couple of things I have to tell you. I
don't know if or when we'll ever see each other again,
and I know the way your mind works. I don't want you
lying awake at nights, wondering."

"Mulder, if you think I'm going to have regrets about
tonight, I'm not. Ever."

"Shh!" he whispered, putting his fingers to her mouth,
then moving them quickly before he became distracted.
"First, I love you. I know I said that earlier, but I
don't want you think it was just a slip of the tongue
in a moment of passion. I mean it, Dana. For always.
Secondly, and I know eventually the doctor in you is
going to wonder about this. . .we didn't use any
protection tonight. It honestly didn't even cross my
mind, but the thing I want to reassure you about is
that there's nothing to worry about, okay? I always
took precautions before and in any case, up until
tonight it had been years since I. . ."

"I know. Me, too. Listen, if you're finished, there
are a couple of things I need to say, too." At his
answering nod, she continued. "I want you to know that
I love you. I have for years. I also want you to know
that if. . .if you don't come back, I'll keep looking
for your Samantha."

"Scully, you don't have to do that."

"She's the only sister we have left between us now,
Mulder. Melissa is lost to me forever, but finding
Samantha would help bring some sort of closure to
Missy's death. Besides, it's not just your quest
anymore. It's ours." 

"Dana, there's one more question I have to ask
regarding our earlier activities. Is there any
possibility that I'm leaving you pregnant?"

"I doubt it, Fox. After my abduction and cancer, and
Emily, the doctors more or less agreed that I could
never conceive under ordinary circumstances. If we
ever decide we want a family — and that's a discussion
that can wait until another time — we'll either have
to do it through some sort of high-tech means or
through adoption. But if, by some miracle, we were
able to conceive a child together, that's just what it
would be to me. A miracle. Not a burden or a problem."

They looked at each other for a long time, each gazing
intently into the other's eyes. They kissed once, soft
and chaste, before he pushed her gently off his lap
and stood up.

"As much as I hate to do it,I think we'd better take
these off," he said, tugging off his ring and placing
it in a drawer. He reached to slide off her ring, as
well, and placed it beside his. "We don't want to give
Krycek any more ammunition than he already has."

She nodded. Her head agreed with his action, but her
heart had a hard time accepting it.

Mulder could tell she was on the verge of tears and
decided to lighten the atmosphere.

"Hey, Scully?" he asked with a grin.

"Yeah?" she replied warily. Years together had given
her a certain level of familiarity with his moods and
she could tell he was about to say something
outrageous.

"I just never figured you for a screamer, somehow."

She blushed and rolled her eyes, following him as he
opened the door to step out into the corridor.

***

When they reached the front of Caesar's Palace, Krycek
stepped from the shadows, guding the girl in front of
him. The child looked tired and terrified, but Scully
could see no signs of physical abuse.

"Here she is. If I were a sentimental man, I'd give
the two of you a chance to kiss goodbye, but since I'm
not. . ." Krycek held out his prosthetic arm, which
had one half of a pair of handcuffs attached to it,
"snap this on. Remember, Marnita's watching." He
shoved the girl into Scully's arms as he yanked Mulder
to his side.

"I'm an F.B.I. agent. That's like a policewoman,"
Scully said, bending down to the little girl's height.
"My name is Dana. I'm going to take you to a hospital,
for a doctor to look at you, and have your parents
come pick you up there. You're safe now, Samantha."

Scully moved quickly, reaching the car she and Mulder
had rented in record time. Once the doors were locked
and the ignition on, she called the locals to let them
know she had Samantha and for the parents to bring a
change of clothes for her and meet them at the
hospital.

"Samantha, I have to ask you some questions. Take you
time and answer slowly. I know you're very frightened,
but I need to know if those men hurt you?" 

"No, not really," the little girl whispered. "They
stuck something in my arm. . .like a shot. When I woke
up, I was in a room."

"How many men were there?"

"Three men and a woman. They were bad. But the boy, he
was good. He tried to help me not be so scared."

"The boy?" There was another child there?" Scully was
startled. There hadn't been news of another kidnapping
in the area.

"Yes. His name was Gibson. He was older than me. Like
Alex," Samantha said.

Gibson! That was the name of a boy who had been
kidnapped in Virginia over a year ago. It was an
unusual name and the age was right, but. . .

"Samantha, this boy, Gibson. . .could he tell what you
were thinkg without you having to say it?"

"Yes. We didn't talk much. Not with our mouths. But we
could with our minds."

As they pulled into the hospital parking lot, Scully
knew she had time for just one or two more questions.
"Samantha, the bad guys. The men and the woman. What
did they look like?"

"One man had dark hair. He would have been handsome if
he wasn't so mean." Krycek, Scully thought.

"The woman had blonde hair." Marnita, she assumed.

"Those two, they were both kind of young. Like you or
my parents. There there were two old guys. One kept
smoking cigarettes all the time. I didn't like that,
it made me cough. The other guy was bald-headed and
real quiet." Cancer Man, Scully thought resignedly,
not even surprised. The only description she didn't
recognize was that of the bald-headed man, but she
supposed she couldn't be on a nodding acquaintance
with every bad guy in America.

"Samantha, is there anything you can tell me about
where you were? Do you remember how long you were in
the car between the time you left and the time you saw
me and my partner?"

"No. I was sleeping."

"That's okay. A lot of people are going to be asking
you questions over the next few days. If you don't
know or can't remember, it's fine to say that. Just
don't make anything up, okay?"

Scully took Samantha into the hospital and let her be
reunited with her parents and brother. Then, with the
mother staying close by, she conducted a quick medical
examination of the girl and put her clothes in
evidence bags. The child did, indeed, seem unharmed by
her ordeal.

When the child was sent home, she phoned Assistant
F.B.I. Director Walter Skinner. It was not yet 6 a.m.
in Washtington, D.C., but she felt no qualms about
waking him. This was news that couldn't wait until
morning.

"Skinner," a sleepy voice on the other end answered.

"Sir, it's Agent Scully."

"Scully! Have you found the child?"

"Yes sir, but there's been a complication."

"Is she dead?"

"No sir, she's fine. It's Agent Mulder."

"He's wounded?"

"He had to trade himself for her. It was Krycek. The
girl was only bait to get us out here. But now Krycek
and, I assume Smoking Man, have Mulder."

"Do you want me to come out ther, Agent Scully?"

Scully was silent for a moment, considering. Skinner
was one of the few people within the bureau whom she
and Mulder trusted completely. But he might be of more
use to her at F.B.I. headquarters.

"No sir, at least not yet. I'm going to FedEx the
girl's clothing back to you. They need to be gone over
in the labs, but I need to make sure it's done right."

"I'll oversee it personally."

Scully was quiet for several moments, trying to think
what her next move should be.

"Agent Scully?" Skinner asked gently.

"Yes sir?"

"I know how much your partner means to you. I want you
to trust Agent Gonzalez. He and I went through the
academy together. He'll help you out there and I'll do
my part on this end. We'll get him back."

"Thank you, sir," she said before disconnecting.
Skinner couldn't possibly know how much Mulder means
to me, she thought with a bittersweet sigh.

***

Krycek pulled Mulder along sidewalks that weren't
quite deserted even at this hour, reaching to divest
him of his gun and cell phone as they walked.

"You really want to get kinky our first time
together?" Mulder asked, gesturing to the handcuffs.

"Shut up, limp dick, and keep moving," Krycek replied.
"What, no defense of your manly honor?"

"What can I say, Krycek. When you're right, you're
right." Shit, he thought, that last time took so much
out of me I practically felt like I was shooting my
bone marrow into her. I couldn't get it up again now
if my life depended on it.

Just as they reached a car parked in a dim alley,
Mulder felt something jab into his arm, and got a
quick glimpse of a bald-headed man as Krycek pushed
him into the car. He glanced quickly at the watch on
his left wrist. It was 3:10 a.m. That was his last
coherent thought before passing out.

He awoke as they manhandled him out of the car and
again glanced quickly at his watch. Now it was 3:47
a.m. A thirty-seven minute interval. The time didn't
mean much without any idea of the speed or direciton
they had travelled, but it might help if was ever able
to contact Scully.

Mulder passed out again as they threw him on a cot,
only to reawaken when the room began to change from
the blackness of night to the gray of dawn. Where am
I? he wondered.

"I don't know. It's just the bad guy's place. Samantha
called it the Robber's Den, but she's very little."

Mulder was startled to hear a young voice answering
the question he hadn't even voiced. He turned and saw
Gibson, a boy with telepathic powers he'd tried — and
failed — to save once before.

"Gibson? Are you okay, son?"

"I'm all right. They haven't hurt me, really. They
just keep hooking things up to my head, trying to
figure out how I do what I do. I get to watch a lot of
TV, otherwise. But I'd still like to go home. Samantha
got to go home."

"We'll try to get you out, too, Gibson."

"Thank you. I'm glad you think I'm a brave boy. I did
try to take care of Samantha, because she was littler
and because she was a girl."

Again, Mulder was startled by Gibson replying to a
thought before it became speech.

"Son, do you have to do that all the time?"

"Pretty much. I can't turn it off, except when I watch
TV. Samantha didn't mind. I taught her how to do it,
too."

"You can teach people how to read minds?"

"Sometimes. Not grown-ups, but other kids. If they
really want to and have some sort of natural ability
to begin with. Samantha learned real quick."

They were both quiet for several minutes. Mulder kept
trying to digest this new information, but his
thoughts kept drifting back to Scully.

"When did you get married?"

"What?"

"You're thinking about your wife. She's the red-haired
lady who was with you before. Dana.  But she wasn't
your wife before."

"You told me once I had a dirty mind, Gibson."

"That was before. What you're thinking now, it's not
dirty. Just how much you love her. And how you sort of
hope, but at the same time don't hope, that she's
going to have a baby."

Mulder hadn't even been aware of that thought, but he
guessed it must have been lurking in the depths of his
subconscious.

"Yes, of course I know how babies are made," Gibson
replied to the question that had darted across
Mulder's mind. "But if you love each other, and you're
married, that's not dirty."

Mulder felt a need to speak, even though he knew
Gibson would hear him regardless. "You're right. It's
not."

***

Scully let herself into the hotel room a few mintues
before seven a.m. After spending several hours
coordinating with local law enforcement, Agent
Gonzalez had insisted she come back here for a few
hours rest before meeting with him again at 10 a.m.
This was why she had suggested they return to her room
the evening before. The maid hadn't been here yet and
she could still smell Mulder, catch a whiff of the
passion they'd shared in the rumpled bed.

Kicking off her shoes, Scully lay down. She knew she
wouldn't sleep, but instead closed her eyes to hear
his voice more clearly in his head, echoes of the six
years they'd shared together. "Nobody down here but
the F.B.I.'s most unwanted." "Scully, you're the only
one I trust." "Shh, it's okay." "You know what I
like." "Keep going, F.B.I. woman." "You have to
believe me." "You're my one in five billion." "I don't
want to do this without you." "You've saved me, made
me a whole person." "I love you."

Oh, God, please, PLEASE! she prayed. Let me have him
back. I don't care about my cancer, whether it's
really gone or only in remission. I can live with my
inability to bear children. Just let me have my
husband back. Please.

Suddenly, a thought occurred to her. It was something
Samantha had said about herself and Gibson. "We didn't
talk much with our mouths. But we did with our minds."

"WE did!" Scully thought, sitting up in excitement!
That suggested Samantha and Gibson had some sort of
psychic connection. Perhaps she could use the girl to
reach Gibson and, presumably, Mulder, too!

Scully sprang out of bed, noticing her muscles were
twinging in places they hadn't in years. Mulder had
been exquisitely gentle with her, but three times in
one night, after years of celibacy, was bound to leave
a little tenderness in its wake. Not that she was
complaining.

***

Scully sat in the living room of Samantha's house,
surrounded by Agent Gonzalez and the girl's parents.

"I can't believe you even believe this crap!"
Samantha's father said angrily. "I thought the F.B.I.
used modern, up-to-date scientific methods to hunt
down suspects.But you want to use my daughter to
establish some sort of telepathic link with the other
hostages? Hasn't she been through enough?"

"Sir, I understand your concern, but cases of psychic
phenomena have been well-documented. Especially in
children and especially under cases of severe stress,"
Scully replied. He sounds like me, she thought
resignedly. And I, in turn, sound like Mulder.

"We are using all available technology, sir," Agent
Gonzalez said. "But a lot of our work still involves
plain, old-fashioned, low-tech methods. Like finding
informers and eye witnesses. If your daughter could be
of any use to us. . ."

"Please, Daddy, let me help," a small voice said from
the doorway.

"Samantha! I thought you were sleeping, sweetheart."

"I was, but I want to help find Gibson. And Dana's
partner, too. Gibson helped me not be so afraid. And
Dana's partner, he went with the bad man, so they
would let me go with Dana. Please, Daddy!"

***

The Cigarette-Smoking Man stared at Mulder, the two of
them alone in a room.
"Mr. Mulder, I have been quite patient with you, due
to the fact that I'm an old friend of. . .your family,
shall we say. However, my patience is not
inexhaustable. You have been a thorn in my side since
you first discovered the X-Files, almost eight years
ago. I admit, part of your persistance has been due to
an error in judgment on my part. The person I assigned
to spy on you, to debunk your work, turned out to be
your greatest ally. I do take some blame on myself;
had I known you and Agent Scully would develop such a
devotion to each other, I would have chosen someone
else for that mission."

He took a long drag on his cigarette and continued.
"In any case, she is negligible. You are the problem.
I'm through playing games. You can join me and learn
what you want to know. Or you can die. The choice is
yours. I'll give you to sunset to make your decision."

Back in the room with Gibson, Mulder replayed the
conversation in his head. Spender Senior had said
Scully was negligible, so, hopefully, that meant she'd
be okay after he was dead. He also realized that, in a
sick sense, he ought to be grateful to the smokey old
bastard, since Spender Senior had been the one to
choose Scully as his partner. But, like a lot of men
over the years, he'd underestimated her. Scully was as
devoted to the truth as Mulder himself was.

"You really do love her a lot, don't you?" Gibson
asked.

"Yes, I really do," Mulder replied.

*** 

Based on Samantha's "conversation" with Gibson, the
forensic information they had gathered from her
clothes and the cryptic phrase "37 minutes" that kept
recurring in Samantha's report, Scully and Agent
Gonzalez thought they had a lead. They were on their
way out to an industrial complex at the edge of town,
with a car full of federal marshalls following them.
Scully hadn't eaten or slept in over 24 hours, except
for the short time she'd dozed in Mulder's arms, but
she was too edgy to be bothered by such trifling
details.

***

"Well, Mr. Mulder, have you made your decision?"
Spender Senior asked.  This time Krycek was in the
room as well.

"Why don't you let him pull the trigger?" Mulder said,
nodding toward Krycek.  "Maybe he can get some sort of
award from the International Association of Bad Guys
for pulling off a father-son hit."

"You choose death?"

"I choose not to join you. If that means I die. .
.well, I've been aware of the risks all along."

"Oh, Krycek will kill you, all right. But not with a
gun. This time, he'll use a knife. And you'll be found
in the bed of a prostitute in a local bordello. She'll
be dead, too. Strangled. And we'll have our associates
back in Wahsington break into your apartment and
augment your video collection. Instead of including
only acts of consensual sex between well-endowed
adults in your erotica, you'll be found to have an
extensive collection of very vile films featuring all
kinds of kinky, sado-masochistic acts. It will be
presumed that you died while fulfilling one of your
nastier fantasies. You won't go out as a hero, but as
an embarrassment to the F.B.I. Even your pretty
partner will be in a hurry to sweep it all under the
rug."

Mulder was quiet, not letting his face give his
feelings away. Well, hell, he didn't want to die.
Naturally. Especially in such unappealing
circumstances. But he was grateful anew for what he'd
shared with Scully the previous evening. Because she
would know. Not just in the sense that a loving wife
knows her husband is faithful. But in the sense that,
as a medical doctor, she knew what the human body was
capable of and that he'd reached his maximum potential
with her. Embarrassing though it might be for to
explain to an F.B.I. oversight committee exactly how
she came by her knowledge, between her medical degree
and her personal testimony, they'd have to acknowledge
that it would have been just plain impossible for him
to have been with another woman less than 18 hours
later.

The bald-headed man snapped cuffs on Mulder. Then he
and Krycek led Mulder outside. Mulder got his first
glimpse of where he'd been kept, a warehouse in the
desert. "Any last words?" Krycek asked snidely.

"Yeah, is this the only way you get off? If so,
Marnita must be in for a good time tonight."

Just as Mulder felt the knife plunge into his ribs, he
heard a familiar voice scream, "Freeze! Federal
agents!"

***

Mulder woke up in a hospital. Shit, his side was
killing him! He felt groggy, but whatever drugs they'd
given him weren't powerful enough to counteract the
pain of the knife wound.

Scully was there, smiling gently at him, her fingers
entwined with his. "Hey, Mulder. You back with me,
now?" she whispered as she saw him blink. He squeezed
her hand and murmured her name before going under
again.

When he woke again, the pain was still there, but
slightly less intense. Scully was still there, too,
and their hands were still joined. But her head was
resting on the bed near their hands and her eyes were
closed.

"Scully?" he whispered.

She jerked her head up. For some reason, he noticed
with mild amusement, she always seemed embarrassed
when she woke up to find him looking at her. She'd
better get used to it, he thought gently.

"How are you feeling?"

"Like somebody stuck a knife in my ribs."

"Are you in a lot of pain? I can get the nurse to get
some more medication for you."

"In a minute. I've got questions first."

"Just a few, Mulder. You need to rest."

"Krycek. What happened?"

"We've got him and Marnita both. Eyewitness accounts
by two federal agents and four federal marshalls that
he was trying to kill you. Got her on an accessory
charge. Both of them on the kidnapping, with both kids
willing to testify. Last I heard, they were busy
trying to sell each other up the river to save their
own hides."

"Gibson?"

"He's fine. He's staying with Samantha's family until
his own parents can get out here to pick him up. He
and Samantha are trying to teach Alex how to read
minds. Apparently it's the wave of the future."

"Spender Senior and Baldy?"

"I'm afraid they got away. He's still out there."

"Can't win 'em all, I guess. At least we got Krycek."

"Yes. Mulder, you need to rest."

"Not yet, Scully. I've saved the most important
question for last. Us? Did we really?"

She smiled and reached for the necklace around her
neck. He was still wearing her cross necklace, so he
didn't realize at first what she had on. The chain was
longer than the one for her normal necklace, whatever
was on it suspended not against the base of her throat
but between her breasts. She pulled it out. Their
rings.

He smiled. Thank God, it hadn't been just another
fantasy, a drug-induced dream of the way he wanted it
to be between them.

"Dana?"

"Shhhh! You need to sleep now, lover."

"Just one more, I promise."

"All right, what?" she asked, smiling down at him.

"Three times in under eight hours?" he asked with a
grin.

She rolled her eyes, smiled, blushed and nodded. The
she leaned down to kiss him gently on the lips and
whisper, "Go to sleep."

***

When Mulder awoke a third time, the doctor was there.
The doctor checked him over and gave him more
medication. Scully conferred with him, letting him
know that she had a medical degree and didn't need
things put in layman's terms for her to understand.

Mulder tuned out the conversation. He trusted Scully
to take care of him. She was his partner, his best
friend, his wife and the love of his life. He allowed
himself the pleasure of just looking at her.

"Scully?" he asked, when the doctor had left.

"He says you're doing real well. You should be out of
here the day after tomorrow, at the latest, but you're
going to have to rest for a day or two at the hotel
before we go back to Washington."

"Tell him to let me out tomorrow. Tell him you're a
doctor and you'll take real good care of me."

"Mulder, you need to rest. If we go back to the hotel,
there might be more disturbances."
"I'm disturbed by being in this bed instead of one I
can share with you."

"That's another thing."

"If the doctor says we can't. . .okay. Just being able
to hold you would be better than this. For one thing,
I'm betting you haven't slept more than a few hours
since this whole ordeal began."

"I'm okay. You're the one how's been through the
wringer."

"Bullshit, Scully. Being the one to wait is ten times
worse. I've been there, remember? While being held
hostage by Krycek and Spender Senior doesn't rate as
one of my all-time favorite experiences, it wasn't
nearly as bad as the times you've been snatched and I
didn't know if you were alive or dead."

She lifted their entwined hands and to her mouth and
kissed his knuckles. "I'll see what I can do."

***

Scully and Agent Gonzalez helped Mulder down the
corridor and into the hotel room.

"You two okay from here?" Gonzalez asked. "Skinner
will have my hide if I let anyting happen to either
one of you."

"We're fine," Scully assured him. "Assistant Director
Skinner knows we'll be here for the next couple of
days if he needs to reach us."

As soon as Gonzalez had left, Scully turned to Mulder
and said, "Let's get you undressed and into bed."

"Seems like you had that same idea the last time I was
in here."

"Be serious, Mulder," she murmured as she unbuttoned
his shirt and slid it off his shoulders.

"Actually, I am. Seriously, did you ask the doctor?"

"Yes."

"And. . .?"

"No more than once every 24 hours and only if I'm
gentle with you. Those were his exact words."

"I want you undressed and in bed, too, then."

"If we make love now, we'll have to wait until
tomorrow evening before we can again."

"I'm not taking any chances. The way our luck runs,
you'll be abducted by aliens on the way to the ice
machine or something. Now."

She grinned, easing his slacks off as she did so, but
leaving his black boxer shorts in place. "Lie down,
Mulder."

He leaned back against the pillows with a smile on his
face. He had no objections whatsoever to letting her
take the lead. Shoot, she could play doctor with him
anytime!

"Scully?"

"Yeah?"

"Strip for me. Real slow."

***

Scully  blushed as she reached for the top button of
her blouse. She didn't know which of them was getting
more turned on; him by watching her slowly remove her
clothes, or her by watching the bulge barely contained
in his shorts grow each time she took off an article
of clothing.

Finally, when she was naked, she crawled up beside him
on the bed. He reached for her, but barely grazed her
breasts with his fingertips as he touched their rings.
"Let's put these back on."

She nodded and removed the necklace. They slipped the
rings on each other's fingers again, just as they had
in their wedding ceremony a few evenings earlier. He
touched her cross necklace, which was still suspended
at the base of his throat. "Why don't you put this
back on, too."

She leaned down to unhook the necklace from him,
noticing his sudden, sharp intake of breath as her
bare breasts brushed his skin. She refastened the
necklace on herself, then smiled down at him. He
reached up to trace the outline of her lips."Dana?"

"Mmm?"

"Why don't you use that luscious mouth of yours for
something other than sass and medical advice, huh?"

"You mean you want me to. . ." she glanced down at his
shorts, which now seemed on the verge of having their
seams split by the force of his erection.

"You don't want to?" he asked gently. He'd dreamed of
having her mouth on him like that, but the last thing
in the world he wanted to do was force her into
activities she felt uncomfortable with.

"I want to. It's just that, um, I never have before." 

He grinned. Hot damn! To think he'd be the very first
man to be pleasured by her pretty, pouty mouth like
that.

"Just go real slow, baby. You'll figure it out."

She leaned down and kissed him on the mouth, then
began trailing her lips down his neck and chest, then
on past his navel to the waistband of his shorts. She
hooked her fingers in the elastic and pulled them
down, setting him free. As he kicked off the shorts,
she lowered her mouth tentatively to him, touching the
tip of her tongue to his shaft. The moan he gave out
startled her at first, causing her to glance up, but
once she saw his face, she realized she wasn't doing
anything wrong. She carefully stretched her lips over
her teeth and fastened her mouth around his tip,
sucking gently.

He stroked her hair, murmuring, "Dana, sweetheart,
yeah, that's the way," before stopping to groan again.

This is great, she thought dazedly, tasting him
against her tongue. She'd never wanted to do this with
a man before, always assuming it was something men
insisted on purely out of selfishness. She could tell
she was giving her husband pleasure, but what
surprised her was how much pleasure it was giving her.
She could feel herself growing wetter by the minute.

"Honey, you need to stop now."

"Did I do something wrong?" she asked softly.

"Not a damned thing. It was great!"

"Then why do you want me to quit? I like doing it."

"Because if you don't, I'm going to be finished before
we really get started."

"Oh," she murmured. She could feel herself blushing
again. I'm a doctor, she thought, I ought to be able
to have convesations like this without getting
embarrassed. But she wasn't functioning in her cool,
clinical mode now. She was hot, aroused, and eager to
please and be pleased.

"Sweetheart, you said you'd never done that to a man
before. Have you ever had it done to you?"

"No."

"Can I?"

"Yes, please. I want you to."

"You're sure?"

"Mul-der!" she moaned his name, drawing it out.

"Okay, okay," he said with a smile. "Lean back,
sweetheart."

She felt his mouth on her inner thigh, a few inches
above the knee. He worked his way up to the top of her
thigh with tiny, nibbling kisses, then started at the
same place on her other leg, repeating the process. It
reminded her of the scene in the shower a few days
earlier. He was drawing it out as long as possible,
making her moan before he'd even really started. "Fox,
please," she begged. She felt him smile against her as
she opened her legs wider. Then he dipped his tongue
into her. It felt like an electric shock going up her
spine, the pleasure was so intense. She wiggled and
whimpered as he flicked his tongue within her, one
hand running through his hair, the other grasping the
bedspread.

Damn, she was hot!  He didn't know what was turning
him on the most — the taste of her, the silky feel of
her inner thighs wrapped around his neck, or the sound
of her moans as she alternated calling out his name
with inarticulate whimpers and whispers. Or maybe the
knowledge that he was the first man who'd ever done
this to her.

"Fox, you need to stop now."

He lifted his head to gaze up at her. "Why?"

"Same reason you had me stop when I was doing you."

"But I'd like to make you come this way. Unless you
really don't want to. Then I'll lay back down and let
you have your way with me like a good patient."

"Um, okay." It was a toss-up, she thought
semi-coherently, which part of his body inside her was
able to give her the most pleasure. When he started
again, this time sucking as well as licking her, she
went over the edge almost immediately. Dana turned and
bit the pillow to stop herself from screaming and
wrapped her legs more tightly around his neck as she
convulsed against his mouth.

When she'd stopped pulsating, he slid her legs off his
neck and lay back. He was beginning to think he might
achieve some sort of medical first and come just from
watching, tasting and hearing her, with her touching
his arousal at all. Eyes glazed with passion, she
straddled him and slid back to engulf him all in one
smooth movement.

"Oh, God, Mulder, that was. . .I've never," she
gasped, wiggling on him and flicking his nipples with
her fingernails. "I love you."

He grinned. In a way, it was almost hard to believe
this was actually his Dana Scully, the same woman he'd
worked with for the past five years. He'd guessed over
the years that she'd be warm under her demeanor of
cool professionalism; he'd even been exposed to brief
flashes of that warmth at the times she'd let down her
barriers to comfort him or let him comfort her. But
he'd never — even in his most X-rated fantasies
involving the two of them — believed she'd be this
hot!

"I love," he stopped to moan as she rocked back on
him, "you, too." He managed to complete the sentence
before he climaxed.

She was still on top of him and he reached out for her
breasts almost reflexively. He'd barely touched them
and certainly a little bit of afterplay wouldn't be
against the doctor's orders, he thought sleepily. He
was surprised when she drew her breath in sharply as
he stroked her. A glance up at her face confirmed what
he was thinking. He took one nipple in his mouth and
sucked hard, while pinching her other nipple lightly.
He was rewarded by feeling her come again, clenching
him before he had completely shrunk back.

"Mulder?" she said as she tumbled down to rest her
head on the pillow next to his. 

"Yes, baby?"

"I. . . I came again!" she said in a voice filled with
wonder.

"I noticed." He knew he sounded smug, but he just
couldn't help it. Pushing the hair away from her face,
he gazed into her wide blue eyes. "That's never
happened before?"

"No," she whispered.

Did she know what she was doing to him, how good it
made him feel to know that so much of what they were
doing was new to her? In all his previous
relationships — and there honestly hadn't been all
that many, despite the fact that Dana had occasionally
teased him about them — he'd been the younger or less
experienced one. In one, which hadn't lasted long,
he'd felt reduced almost to the level of a boy toy,
his twentysomething body used only as a tool for the
pleasure of a woman well into her thirties. This
feeling of being the teacher rather than the taught
was intoxicating.

"Get used to it, honey," he murmured before snuggling
closer to her and drifting off to sleep.

***

Dana woke up in the darkness, conscious of a warmth
surrounding her. Mulder, she thought happily. She
flipped onto her back and turned her head to look at
him, half-expecting to find his eyes open, watching
her as they had been so often when she awoke near him.
But this time he was the one who was sleeping and she
was the one who had the pleasure of gazing at her
beloved while he slept. He looks younger when he
sleeps, she mused. Like he did that first year we
worked together, before his father's death and my
cancer and some of the other things he's had to get
through in the last few years.

"What time is it?" he asked, opening his eyes to focus
on her face in the dim shadows of the room.

"I don't know. Why?"

"I'm hungry."

"Mulder, we can't. Doctor's orders."

He laughed. "You've got a one track mind, Scully! I
meant for food, not for you."

"Oh!" she could feel herself blushing in the dark but,
strangely, she wasn't really embarrassed. She didn't
mind letting him know just how insatiable her appetite
really was. She felt like Sleeping Beauty, awakened to
the more sensual pleasures of life after more than 30
years of mostly mental stimulation. 

"What do you want? I could call down to room service."

"Nope. I want junk food."

"Sunflower seeds, right?"

"If they have them in the vending machine, sure. Also
chips, candy bars and big cans of ice cold Cokes."

"May I ask why we're going to be consuming this
monument to empty calories?"

"Because," he said pulling her closer and kissing her,
"one of my tamer fantasies over the years has been to
cuddle up with you in bed while we eat junk food and
watch scarey movies. Since you and Dr. Frankenstein
have forbidden any more of the fun activities 'til
tomorrow, I guess this one will have to do."

"I'll get dressed and go hunt down the stuff. Just
don't tell any of my medical colleagues that I agreed
to this meal; I think doctors have lost their licenses
for less!"

She switched on the lamp and bent down to pick up the
panties she'd tossed away earlier that evening. She
was startled by the sound of his wolf-whistle.
"Wow! What a view!"

"Now who's the one with the one track mind?"

He just smiled at her. She hurriedly pulled on her
clothes and grabbed her purse and room key. "I'll be
back in a minute."

When she returned, laden with enough junk food to feed
five teen-agers, he'd turned the TV on and was
flicking through the channels.

"Good heavens! I forgot that's one of the things I'm
going to have to get used to now that I'm married.
Watching fifteen different TV shows a minute."

"Take your clothes off and get in bed, Scully."

"Damn, you're bossy," she replied, even as she dumped
the food and sodas on the bed and hurried to remove
her clothes.

He grinned. God, he loved her! He couldn't believe it
had taken them six years to get to this point in their
relationship. On the other hand, maybe they'd needed
every one of those days together to get to the point
where this was right.

When she climbed in beside him, he stopped channel
surfing on a horror flick.

"Are we really going to watch this?"

"The hotel has an all-adult movie channel. Want to
switch to that?"

"No!" she replied vehemently.

They were quiet for a few minutes, eating, drinking
and watching the movie.

"Do you want me to dump them?" he asked when a
commercial came on. 

"What?"

"All those videos you're always teasing me about. I
will, if they make you uncomfortable."

"I don't know. I guess I'd like you to pare it down,
for sure. Maybe you could keep a couple of them."

"Watch one with me someday?"

"I don't know. Maybe."

"I don't really need them anymore. Now I've got the
real thing."

She yawned and snuggled up to him. "I love you."

"Me, too."

***

They slept 'til nearly noon the next day, exhausted by
all the experiences— good and bad — they'd been
through during the past few days. When they'd finally
managed to get up, shower (separately, because Mulder
didn't trust himself to be good if Scully was in there
with him) and get dressed, Scully poked her head out
the door and saw the hotel maid a few rooms away.

"C'mon, let's go downstairs to the restaurant for
lunch. The maid needs to get in and clean the room
and, while you are supposed to be taking it easy, a
short walk down the corridor won't kill you," she
said.

On the way back to their room after lunch, they passed
a sign labeled "Jacuzzi".

"Think that would be good for my side?" Mulder asked.

"Yeah, actually, it probably would," Scully agreed.
"Let's take a peek inside, then go back to the room
and get our suits. Whoops, it's locked. Well, we can
call down to the front desk and ask about it."

When they got back into the room, however, the phone
rang just as they closed the door.

"Scully."

"How is he?" the voice was Skinner's.

"He's doing pretty well, sir. Want to talk to him?"

"Yes, put him on for a minute."

"Mulder."

"You okay?"

"Ribs are still bothering me a little bit, but I'll
survive."

"Okay. Let Scully fuss over you a little, if she
wants. She was real frantic when you were gone. I'll
see you and your partner when you get back into town.
I must say, I think this is the first time the
bureau's ever solved two kidnappings and captured a
rogue agent all in one fell swoop."

"Thank you, sir."

***

"I called about the Jacuzzi. They reserve it by the
our for the private use of the guests. We've got it
from four to five this afternoon," Scully announced as
Mulder emerged from the bathroom.

"Wasn't four about the time we checked in yesterday?"

"Yeah, I guess. Why?"

"Feel like being gentle with me in the Jacuzzi today?"

She smiled. "I think that's probably a very good idea.
Especically since I checked my suitacase and realized
that I didn't even bring a bathing suit!" 

"You didn't bring one?"

"Mulder, I thought we were coming out here on a
business trip! If I'd known it was going to turn in to
a honeymoon, I would have packed a lot differently!"

"Oh, I don't know. I think failure to bring a bathing
suit was pretty good planning!"

"Sit down, Mulder. It's barely two now and we need to
talk."

"Okay, about what?" he asked, settling in the chair
opposite her across the small table.

"What are we going to do when we get back to
Washington?"

"About what?"

"Mulder, you know the bureau doesn't allow married
couples to work as partners."

"Oh, shit, yeah. I didn't even think about that."

"I've come up with a couple of ideas."

"Such as?"

"Well, I could go back to Quantico. Or we could just
forget to tell them."

"Agent Scully, are you suggesting a breach of
protocol? Forgetting to mention vital personal
information to our superior?" he asked with a grin.

"Mulder, I don't want you to think it's because I'm
embarrassed by our marriage. It's not like I don't
want people to know. It's just that we're so close! We
caught Krycek! To turn it over to someone else now. .
."

"Scully, the last thing in the world I'd ever believe
is that you're trying to distance yourself from me. I
mean, you've put up with that ridiculous "Mrs. Spooky"
nickname for years, as well as pretty much trashing
your hopes of career advancement in order to run
around the country chasing aliens and monsters with
me."

"It's your choice, Mulder. To be honest, I guess I
have a hard time dealing with the idea of someone else
being your partner. If they assigned another woman
agent to work with you, it would be horrible! A male
agent I guess I could deal with better, but I still
wouldn't like it."

"Scully, there's something you need to know. It may
make you more likely to stay on as my partner or,
conversely, it may make you more likely to go public
with our marriage and transfer back out to Quantico."

"What?"

"I'm not working the X-Files without you. That's our
baby; it's what brought us together. If you go back to
Quantico, I'm requesting reassignment back to violent
crimes. In a way, you'll have accomplished exactly
what you were originally assigned to do: reign me back
into the bureau mainstream."

She was quiet for a minute. Without her even having to
ask, he'd given her the reassurance she'd been
seeking. Scully was torn. One part of her wanted to
announce their marriage — practically wanted to shout
it from the rooftops. The other part wanted to keep it
a secret, at least for a little while. She wasn't
ready to give up travelling around the country with
him, investigating unexplained phenomena. Especially
not now, when they'd have something interesting to do
in all those motels in all those podunk towns!

"Um, so, if we just didn't mention it, where would we
live?" she asked tentatively.

"Your place, I guess. It's bigger and tends to have a
better-stocked refrigerator. I could keep my place,
too; we could swing by there a couple of times a week
to feed the fish and check the mail or whatever. In a
way, it almost makes sense for us to have two
different places. We can go hang out at my place when
we're trying to contact somebody or waiting for one of
those weirdos we're always running into to contact us.
Then we can go home to your place when we're ready
to," he paused and smiled suggestively, "sleep."

"So you're comfortable with just not mentioning it?"

"Is that what you want to do? So we can continue being
partners?"

"I'm not suggesting we lie," she said slowly. "I mean
if Skinner happens to ask us, directly, if we managed
to find time to get married out here —  between
investigating the kidnapping and your hospital stay —
then I think we should tell him the truth."

"But if he doesn't ask?"

"Don't ask, don't tell seems like a pretty good policy
in that case," she replied.

"You're sure you can put up with me 24 hours a day?"
he asked.

"Mulder, you've been with me 24 hours a day for the
past couple of years anyway. It's just that now I'll
actually have the real you in bed with me, instead of
a phantom of my imagination."

"You know, somebody is going to figure it out
eventually. I've already got a rep for not letting
another young, single male agent within 20 feet of
you. My possessiveness is only going to get worse now
that we're married."

"We'll deal with that when the time comes. By the way,
just in case you're wondering, we are not going to be
locking the door and fooling around in the office!"

"Not even once?"

"No, Mulder. I'm serious, too. We can't. . .compromise
ourselves that way. When we're at home, even when
we're on the road, sure. But not at F.B.I.
headquarters!"

"Okay, Scully, okay!"

"There's one more thing."

"What?"

"We're going to have to tell my Mom. She doesn't live
all that far away and it won't take her long to figure
out that you're living at my place. If she thinks
we're just. . .shacked up, she'll feel bad, like she
failed somehow in raising me."

"How's she going to feel about us being married?"

"Terrific! She's almost as crazy about you as I am."

"I guess I should tell my mother, too. Maybe we'll go
up there one weekend, break the news gently."

"How is she going to feel about it?"

"Relieved, I think. She's been the only family I've
had for a while. She and I aren't really close, not
like you and your Mom, but I think it will ease her
mind to know I've got someone else. And she likes you.
But it does occur to me that our mothers aren't the
only ones we're going to have to let in on the
secret."

"Who else?"

"The Lone Gunmen."

"Why?"

"Because Frohike will take one look at us and KNOW
that we've crossed the line and gotten physical. And I
don't think you realize how protective the guys are of
you. All three of them. If they think I'm just, er,
taking advantage of you, they'll be like to lynch me.

Scully laughed. "Poor Frohike."

"I'll give him my video collection. He'll survive."

"Fox?"

"Mmmm?"

"Would you object to another ceremony when we got back
home? A religious one, with my mother there? It. . .it
would mean a lot to me."

"No, Dana, I wouldn't mind that. And, if we ever do
have kids, I don't mind the idea of them being raised
Catholic. But I'm not sure that I would ever. . . "

"That's okay. Why don't you rest for a while? I've got
to work up some sort of report for Skinner.  I'll wake
you when it's our turn to use the Jacuzzi."

***

A couple of hours later, they programmed the number
they'd been given by the desk into the keypad by the
Jacuzzi door and entered the area. The air was warm
and steamy, the hot tub just large enough for the two
of them to fit into comfortably. Shedding their
clothes, they slid into the bubbly water.

"Aaaaaaah! This feels good," Mulder said, leaning back
and closing his eyes. "Not as good as other things
I've experienced in the past few days, though!"

"Anything you want to experience again?" Dana asked
scooting onto his lap and leaning back to look at him.

"Mmmhmm. But you have to take the lead. Remember,
you've got special doctor-to-doctor orders to be
gentle with me."

"Oh, I will be," she murmured, twisting around on his
lap so she was straddling him and looking into his
eyes. She began running her hands up and down his
shoulders and upper arms, eventually bending her head
to nip and kiss him there. "Have I ever told you how
much you arm muscles turn me on?"

"No, I believe you've forgotten to mention it. Since
when?"

"Since the first time I saw you in that sweathshirt
with the arms ripped out that you always wear when you
run."

"Which would have been when, exactly?"

"Our first case. The one out in Oregon with all those
kids being killed in the woods. You stopped by my
motel room to ask if I wanted to go for a run with you
and I knew I was in big trouble."

"I thought you knew you were in big trouble when they
first assigned you to work with me."

"Well, a different kind of trouble. When we were in
the office and on the plane together, I thought the
only trouble I was going to face was dealing with a
looney, alien-obsessed fellow agent. Once I saw you in
that shirt, I knew I was going to have to deal with
being sexually attracted to my partner."

"You did a damned good job of hiding it for nearly six
years!"

"You eventually figured it out," she murmured, bending
her mouth down for a quick kiss. "But just in case
you're having any doubts, I'll spend the next six
years reminding you."

"Only the next six?"

"Okay, the next sixteen."

"How about the next sixty?"

"Even better."

Scully bent down to kiss him again, longer and deeper
this time. When they came up for air, he bent his
mouth to her breasts and she scooted closer to his
arousal. As his tongue continued to tease first one
breast, then the other, and as his hands moved to cup
her bottom, she lifted herself up to connect with him.

Things went slowly, each tiny caress and whispered
endearment bringing them closer to the edge, until
they finally tumbled over.

***

Later, back in their room, she snuggled up to him.
"It's barely sunset. I don't know why I'm so sleepy."

"I do," he said, grinning down at her.

"Mmmmmm. I love sleeping next to you."

"I love you, period."

"Ready to go home tomorrow?"

"Yeah, we'd better. One more day alone in a hotel room
with you and I am not going to be obeying doctor's
orders to limit myself to once a day."

"I'm glad we got married, Fox."

"So am I, Dana," he said, kissing her lightly on the
lips, "so am I."


END

Author's e-mail address: tapw63@yahoo.com.