46 days A.H.

11.11 am

Bill Scully's residence

By the time the guests started leaving, Mulder had met almost everyone in Scully’s family. He smiled when she looked at him from across the room. Watching his partner amidst her family was an enlightening experience. She was clearly uncomfortable as they bombarded her with personal questions throughout the night but he had a feeling that it was easier with him around.

He walked over to her. "Hey Scully, be prepared. Aunt Sarandon is expecting our wedding at the end of the year."

Dana rolled her eyes. "Well, Aunt Milly and Uncle Mac think we’re **expecting** our second child come April." He arched his eyebrow at her. She shook her head in disgust, "I’ve given up trying to clear things."

"They have an impression we already had our first child?"

She looked down at his chest. "I think word got around about Emily."

Mulder touched her arm, a worried look creasing his brow. She looked up at him, "I’m okay. This is why I hate family gatherings. I just never know what to tell them."

Mulder smiled a little. "Well I’m available at your disposal to be the heartless, irresponsible cad who got you pregnant, so……"

She smiled back, "I know Mulder. Why did you think I wanted you to come in the first place?" She laughed when he pouted. "Come on, Aunt Sarandon is calling us over. I think she’s about to give us soon-to-be-newly-weds some advice."

"Think she’s into anything kinky?" he joked hopefully.

"Mulder, she’s 58."

"Hey, they did some pretty serious hippie stuff back then."

"I doubt she’d remember with all the pot in her at that time."

They went over and spent the next few minutes listening to a lecture on the importance of communication in a marriage. Mulder assured the old lady that they had attended a workshop on that and graduated with flying colours. "Liar," Dana mouthed to him when her aunt wasn’t looking. When she finally walked out the door, they both sighed in relief. She was the last of the relatives to leave.

Bill walked over. He held out his hand towards Mulder. "Well, it’s late. Thanks for coming Mulder."

Dana glared at her brother. ‘Real subtle Bill!’

Mulder smiled thinly and took his hand. "Yeah, thanks for inviting me. I better be going."

"I’ll go with you Mulder." Dana said behind him, taking both Bill and him by surprise.

"Aren’t you going to stay the night Dana?"

"I don’t have any clothes, Bill. Besides, my place is not that far away. Don’t worry, Mulder will take me home and tuck me in," she smiled mischievously at her brother and was rewarded with a scowl.

Mulder frowned at her partner’s words. It had a strange appeal to it, he wondered if she meant it. Lord, he hoped so. He walked with her into the kitchen to kiss Margaret and Tara good night.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The car sputtered its last breath and stopped. Mulder grimaced.

"Mulder, did you fill her up like I told you too?"

"Erm…."

Dana sighed. When would he listen to her? "Well, at least we’re within cell phone range." She searched her pocket for her mobile. "Damn, I must have left it in Bill’s place," she muttered.

Mulder fished his out and stared mutely at it as the LCD displayed ‘LOW BATT’.

Dana looked his face and groaned. "What is it with us and cars?"

"And fuel." He got out of the car.

She stepped out and gazed at the dark, lonely road ahead. "And roads in the middle of nowhere."

They started walking. Mulder flashed his torchlight about, lighting the path ahead. His mind was racing. His partner had been uncharacteristically teasing tonight. And he liked it; he liked it too damned much. He was half tempted to give in to her advances and step into frontiers he frequently dreamt about. ‘Do I dare?’ he wondered.

Dana’s stole glances at her partner, a little unsettled with his silence. "Mulder, thanks for coming tonight."

"No problem, I actually enjoyed myself."

She turned to look at him in disbelief. "You’re kidding!"

"Honestly, I did!"

"Come on, it’s okay. I know my family is a little ….loopy. Take Aunt Milly and Uncle Mac for instance, the nosiest couple I’ve ever known."

"They’re just inquisitive." Mulder defended.

"Aunt Sally – pushy."

"Supportive and encouraging."

Dana frowned and tossed him another example, "Uncle Frederick and his inner voices – imaginative?"

"Spooky like me," he grinned.

She rolled her eyes at him. Personally she was pleased with the banter, maybe if she was lucky she would be able to get him back to where they were - before Ben opened the door and ruined their moment in history. "Grandpa Marshall?"

"Er… informative?"

She grinned as she zeroed in for the kill. "Okay, how about Aunt Sarandon? Delusional?"

He hesitated. "Perceptive."

Dana eyes widened and her heart performed a somersault. ‘All right Mulder! No way out now, tough guy.’ She calmed herself and simply said, "Explain."

Mulder frowned and told himself, ‘Okay, I could do this the hard way or the easy way.’ He decided to open his mouth and see what came out.

"Well, I did give Dr. Ben Star a run of his life. You know, being good-looking, talented, witty and all. Plus, I have some endearing little habits."

Dana groaned silently, ‘Damn! Humour, typical Mulder retreat.’

He grimaced too, ‘Chicken! Just had to take the easier way out, didn’t you Mulder?’

She cocked her head a little. "Endearing habits? Oh, you mean like the videos?"

"Hey, I don’t believe for a second that Dr. Ben Star has never indulged himself in porn."

"I don’t believe he hasn’t either but I’m quite sure he discretely enjoys himself in the privacy of his own home, without his colleagues glued to the other side of his office door?"

Mulder sheepishly bit his lip, "I suppose you took care of them, huh?"

"Oh they won’t be bothering us for a while, I assure you. What in the hell possessed you anyway? I mean come on Mulder, in the office?"

"I was pissed!" He sulked. "And I knew you would be too."

"So you purposely did it to pissed me off?"

"Yeah. And don’t deny that you weren’t glad that I was pissed at you as well."

Dana shook her head in frustration. "It’s pathetic! We’re grown adults, we’ve been partners for five years and we still play mind games with each other!"

He shrugged simply. "With all the pressure and aggravation we get from our work and peers, it’s only natural that we turn on each other once in a while."

She sighed, then jerked her head slightly as she remembered something. "Talking about our peers, I believe the betting pool has finally concluded that we **are** sleeping together."

Mulder looked jubilant. "Cool! Sixty Big Smakaroos coming my way!" He turned to his partner. "This Monday, lunch is on me."

Dana could only gape at him.

"What? I figured since we’re fighting a losing battle, might as well make some money out of it."

"How did you….?"

"Gees Scully, don’t you ever check out the FBI homepage?"

"The betting pool on **us** can be accessed through the Bureau’s homepage?"

"Yeah, it’s under ‘Life in Suits’. It’s a really cool page."

She shook her head in disbelief again. Seconds later, she found her voice again, "And you bet **for** us!" An evil thought flickered in her head, ‘Back to the banter Scully!’

She smiled slyly. "When you mentioned fighting a losing battle, which battle did you mean? Us eventually doing the deed or convincing others that we haven’t done the deed?"

‘Oh God, she’s on a roll tonight.’ Mulder groaned, "Scully!"

"What?"

"Don’t, I’m the one with the innuendoes remember? It’s my job, stop hogging my mission in life."

"Your mission in life is to make passes at me?" She arched her eyebrow playfully at him.

"Well, it’s one of my little secret passions." He wriggled his eyebrows back. "Scully, did you know I actually did a profile on myself once? I predicted that in two years, I would be suspended at least five times for insubordination and in five years, I would be a confined in a mental institution." He paused and added with a laugh, "I guess I turned out pretty okay, huh?"

Dana frowned, ‘Damn again. At this rate, I’ll never get him to kiss me.’ She sighed, "Mulder, you’re the best we’ve got in the FBI. You can’t even get your own profile right? Should we be worried?"

He rolled his eyes at her. "Very funny."

"Seriously Mulder."

He turned his gaze to the dark ground, his heart beating slightly faster. "I did that profile before you, Scully," he admitted then grinned. "Before I allowed myself to be constantly second-guessed and yelled at by a certain red-head."

"Was that a charming Mulderistic way of thanking me?"

"Hey, I was good for you too. Admit it, Scully. Life would be pretty darn boring if it hadn’t been for me."

"Well, life certainly could be a lot less interesting and I wouldn’t mind a bit."

"Yeah, you’re right. Antarctica is definitely not an experience I want to go through again."

They were silent for few seconds until Dana gave in to the nagging voices in her head. "Were you married?"

"What?"

"In your profile. Were you married?"

He hesitated. "Well; if I did marry, I would’ve been divorced. It’s classic case of insecurity. With Sam missing and my mother……. " he frowned. "I would be too afraid to let any woman in my life for long. Just in case she leaves or hurts me."

Dana steps slowed. "And did I cure you of that too?"

He looked at her, unsure of what she was implying.

She looked away instantly, blushing slightly. "I mean, now; do you see yourself getting married and living happily ever after?"

"I don’t know, Scully. I’m haven’t really been dating in a while. The longest relationship I’ve ever had with a woman so far is with you and…." he stopped abruptly. ‘Did I just say that aloud? To Scully?’

Dana was also quite stunned, ‘Did he just say that aloud? To me? Maybe he’s not quite a hopeless case after all.’

He changed the subject, "Er, so what were you boozing yourself with in the attic?"

Dana rolled her eyes heavenwards. ‘He **is** hopeless!"

"Scully?"

"Why do you change topics like that?" She stopped walking.

"What?" He turned to her, startled at the look she gave him. ‘She’s angry?’

"We were talking about your … life and then you … never mind." Dana shook her head. "Graduated with flying colours in communications? Yeah right!" she muttered under her breath.

Frustrated, Mulder growled. "It’s how I deal with emotional stuff. Sort of how you say you’re fine even though you’re not."

"There you go again. We were talking about **you** and then you switched it to **me**. By the way when I say I’m fine, I **am** fine."

He arched his eyebrows at her.

"Okay, maybe not always."

"That’s much better" He took a step closer towards her, smiling smugly.

Dana scowled, her temper rising. "Do you get some perverse satisfaction out of proving me wrong, Mulder?" she snapped at him.

"As a matter of fact, I do. Little Miss Perfect!" he snapped back.

They were both staring into each other’s eyes, hazel meeting blue, both unwilling to be out-stared.

As seconds ticked by, their anger dissolved.

‘This is stupid.’ Mulder’s brain told him.

‘This is childish.’ Dana’s brain grumbled.

‘To heck with the consequences, will you just kiss her and get it over with!’

‘To heck with the consequences, will you just kiss him and get it over with!’

‘Can’t, she’s mad at me. And the whiskey has worn off. She’d probably kick me in the groin.’

‘Can’t, already kissed him the last time. Already teased him beyond my normal sane character. How desperate you want me to be?’

‘Well, you can’t just keep staring at her, Mulder!’

‘For heaven’s sakes Scully, give it up!’ She decided to try for the last time, "Guess?"

Mulder frowned without blinking. "Guess what?"

"What I drank."

His mouth twitched, tempted to smile. ‘That’s your cue, Mulder. Kiss her.’ He left her eyes briefly to study her lips. "I need a hint," he softly told her.

"What kind of hint?" She frowned, ‘Was he finally coming on to her?’

"One that will require a slight contact of lips."

‘Alleluia, he is coming on to me! **Finally!**’ She teased, "Just one?"

Unable to bear it any longer, he dipped his head down and kissed her gently.

"Lemonade," he whispered when they parted.

"Mulder, that’s not even an alcoholic drink," she whispered incredulously back.

He grinned. "Darn, looks like I need a bigger hint." He leaned down to meet her again. This time it was a longer, more passionate kiss.

He moved closer, encircling her in his arms. As their mouths parted, his moved upwards, showering gentle kisses along the way up to her forehead. Shaken at what just happened, she rest her head against his chin to steady herself.

She finally spoke, hardly recognizing her own voice, "I know there are million reasons why we shouldn’t have done that. Why is it I can’t remember any of them at this moment?"

He chuckled, "I’ll take that as a compliment."

Dana smiled and rubbed her cheek against his chest. Mulder groaned.

"I’ll take **that** as a compliment," she teased back.

"Scully?"

‘Oh-oh, serious talk.’ She frowned, "Hmmmm?"

"What are you afraid of?"

"Losing you."

He kissed her right temple. She responded by kissing his chin.

"What are you afraid of, Mulder?"

"Rejection."

"I would never reject you."

"Oh yeah, I distinctly remember one time when you told me to ‘dream on’."

"You were drunk!"

"I was sober. If I were drunk, my heart wouldn’t be banging so hard against my ribs when you leaned closer."

"Okay, I was terrified. Just like I am now."

"You’re terrified? You don’t have a profile like I do."

"I’m not going anywhere. I keep telling you, you’re stuck with me, whether you like it or not."

Mulder smiled, then frowned. "Scully, I’m not really boyfriend material."

"I’m well aware of that."

"Hey!"

She laughed softly and stepped back a little to look at him. "Do you trust me?"

He looked back at her intently. "You know I do. You’re the only one I trust." He smiled, " You’re my…..."

"One in five billion, I know." She cut in, smiling back. "Trust me a little more, okay?"

He looked into her deep blue eyes. "Okay."

She looked down and sighed, "Skinner…"

He interrupted, "Let’s not worry about him. I mean, we can do this without him knowing. I’ve been doing it for the past five years anyway."

She grinned. "Five years, since then? My my Mulder, I never knew."

"Liar! You must have known. It was so obvious. I couldn’t get through a weekend without calling you."

"Yeah, and asking me really weird stuff. What’s with that anyway?"

"Well, I couldn’t have called you and said, "Hey Scully, I missed you and I wanted to hear your voice", now could I?"

"No, you **had** to give me some strange psycho theory about the beings in intergalactic space or on earth, depending on which horror movie was playing on TV that night. At least I wasn’t that weird on you."

"But I caught your attention, didn’t I?"

"Mulder trust me, your phone calls were **not** the reason I fell for you."

He flinched slightly at her words.

"What?"

He shook his head, dismissing her question.

She firmly caught his eyes with hers, "Mulder, you **do** know that I love you."

He held his breath and frowned.

"Mulder?"

"Why?" his question barely audible.

"Because I do. Why do you love me?"

"Because there are so many reasons to."

She smiled. "There, you’re officially cured. I suggest that you do another profile on yourself soon, Fox William Mulder. I think you would be greatly pleased with the outcome."

"I don’t need a profile to tell me that I’m going to be all right. I’ve got you, Scully. I’m gonna be just fine."

"Yeah, keep drumming that in your head and you’ll be good as new, Mr. Spooky."

Mulder grinned, " Yes, ma’am." He then leaned down to claim her lips again, for a long, long time.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

End of Cured