Title: Until There's Nothing Left To Say- part 3
Rating: PG-13, still a few harsh words though.
Category: MSR/UST, a little more angst.
Spoilers: Two Fathers/One Son and parts 1&2.
Summary: The morning after is not always full of forgiveness.
Archive: By all means, go right ahead- just let me know where please.
Feedback: This would have never been written without feedback... I live for it, please do send me your thoughts/comments :)

Disclaimer: Not mine, never were, make no profit, have no money- do not sue.

N.B. Just so you know, this was proofed by the spell checker- please forgive any Mistakes- or just let me know...

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Until There's Nothing Left To Say- part three
By xenoprobe

Mulder rolled over and fell... off of the couch and onto the floor with a thud. He sat up quickly, glancing from side to side- not understanding what had happened. He took a moment to focus and came to realize he was at Scully's, on her living room floor.

He heard the tinkle of a spoon in a mug. Coffee, he could smell coffee.

"Scully?"

"Ow... don't shout Mulder." She half- whispered.

"Sorry... hangover?"

"A killer hangover. I've had my Ibuprofen and my orange juice... now I'm trying coffee." Her crooked smile was refreshing. "Thanks for getting me home Mulder."

"Well, I figured you'd want your bed this morning." He grinned and wrapped his arms around her shoulders. She relaxed against his chest for a moment, sipping from her mug. Her head pounded and she could still feel the residual effects of the alcohol and anger that had fueled her the night before. She suddenly felt a little cold and unsteady.

"So that's it eh?" she offered.

"That's what?" He stepped around to face her.

"We kiss and all our problems disappear?" She was still smiling but he could feel the undercurrent pulling his happiness in a different direction.

"Well, not all our problems, but some I suspect." He leaned in and kissed her forehead.

"I think there's still a lot to be discussed Mulder but my head's too sore to do it yet."

Mulder took a seat at her kitchen table and watched while Scully put away the skim milk. He was suddenly very apprehensive of where they were headed.

"You do remember last night right Scully?"

"I drank, you dragged me back to your place, we fought and we kissed. If there was more to it, I'm afraid I don't remember."

"No- that was it... I was just making sure." His lopsided grin wasn't very convincing. "Scully... do you regret last night, are you trying to back out?"

"Back out of what Mulder? We didn't fly to Reno and get married, we kissed- that's all."

"That's all." He repeated under his breath. "You know what you mean to me right?"

"I know what you said last night Mulder, I just don't really know what it means in the long run. But, like I said, I don't want to talk about it right now- I'd like to get some more rest."

"Ok, guess I'll go back home then. Can I call you later?"

"I'll give you a call when my head has cleared."

Mulder rose to his feet and straightened out his clothes. Scully brushed by him on her way to open the back door and he caught her hand. He lifted her palm and kissed her hand in the centre, then closed her hand around it like an invisible gift. She smiled then pulled away to open her door.

"I will call." She promised. "But Mulder..." He paused to look back at her on his way across the threshold. "I think you should really consider this situation, consider your motivation. I believed you when you said it wasn't about making me stay but I was serious when I said I couldn't share. If your emotions are still divided, there's not much I can do but back out."

"Scully I-"

She lifted a finger to shush him.

"I'm not angry now Mulder. I'm just being realistic and telling you where I stand. Just be careful ok?"

"I can do that." He tipped forward and kissed her forehead again, lingering there, his lips pressed to her face. "You'll call."

"I said I would." She smiled and put the lock back on when he walked away to his car.

Mulder put the keys in the ignition and started his car. His mind reeled with thoughts about Scully, thoughts about Diana.

His drive home was a cautious one; his feeling of apprehension tempered everything he was doing. It was as if he finally realized that all his actions were connected, they held consequence to Scully and to himself. He had to think.

He plopped down on his couch and lifted each leg to rest on the coffee table. Scully had sat there, screaming at him, the night before. Despite her rage, he'd still wanted to kiss her, had still wanted to hold her to him.

But hadn't Diana just kissed him a few days before? At the time, he'd let it happen, testing the waters to see if he felt any pull to participate. He wasn't too surprised when lips failed to reciprocate her offering. His feelings for Diana were in the past. The partnership, the marriage, it was all a part of him that was gone now. He was Mulder, not Spooky, not Fox... He was Mulder to Scully and that was all that he really craved.

But still, he really didn't believe that Diana could be as deceiving as Scully was suggesting. The phone records did provide some question to her motivation; the travel logs to Tunisia were hard to ignore as well. But Diana had given him the information about El Rico and had tried to save him. She'd believed in the coming alien invasion.

Would Scully ever believe?

Did it matter if she did? Ultimately it was the truth he so keenly sought and Scully had never deceived him. Not intentionally.

Mulder rubbed is hands over his morning stubble and sighed. Scully was the only choice. In fact there was really no choice to make. She was ingrained in him. She was integral to his decisions, was the first and last person he consulted about anything of import.

Her anger had surprised him though. It was genuinely unexpected. But the more he thought about what she'd said the night prior, the more he came to terms with the fact that he'd been a bastard to her. There she had stood in the gunmen's lair, clad in black- devastating- stating her claim. She laid out her findings and he refuted them without any consideration. She couldn't have looked more insulted if he'd spat on her.

"Oh Scully. I'm so sorry." He muttered to himself.

He rose from his couch and called a cab. She deserved better. Better than he'd treated her. He'd try to make amends, even if only to himself.

Mulder tipped the cab driver and crossed the street in front of O'Reilley's pub. Scully's car was still parked there. He took his set of keys from his pocket and got inside. The car smelled of her and he inhaled deeply.

He glanced down and noticed a manila envelope resting in the passenger's seat. He toyed briefly with the thought of not even touching it but he caved and slipped the contents out. They were Scully's findings on Agent Diana Fowley. There were scratches of information cross- referencing phone numbers in the margins, he thought he recognized Frohike's hand writing.

He sifted through the pages and saw what Scully had seen. The duplicity was apparent. Mulder rested his head on the steering wheel for a moment. He had so much to apologize for... so much.

He drove Scully's car back to her place, parking it in her space in the lot behind her building. He went around the front, aching with the temptation to knock on her door, or even let himself in. But she'd promised to call. Mulder sat down on the stoop at the front of her address and dialed another cab from his cell phone. He glanced at his watch and noted just how much of the day was already gone. He turned and looked at Scully's living room window, the blinds were up slightly and he could see the top of her couch, the afghan over her chair.

As the cab pulled up, the door behind him swung open- it was Scully.

"Mulder?"

"I was just leaving Scully- don't worry, I didn't come to bother you."

"No, its ok. I just called your place and noticed my car was back- I looked outside and there you were."

"I wanted to get your car home for you."

"Why don't you let the cabby go- I'll take you home later." She smiled a little and his eyes softened.

"Ok, if you're sure."

She nodded and held out her arm to gesture him inside. He took a seat on her couch and watched, as she seemed to glide from room to room, putting some laundry away. She soon sat down in the chair opposite him and sighed.

"Before you say anything Scully, I want to tell you I'm sorry."

"Well thank you I guess. But what is it you're sorry for?"

"I'm sorry for not believing you, for not seeing why you were concerned. I wasn't willing to see Scully and I hurt you. I'm sorry."

"It's a start. I take it you read the file then?"

"I did. I looked it all over- the phone bills, the travel logs, car requisitions... all of it- and it seems you were right."

"I suppose I should be glad that you've pulled your head out of the sand." Her lips pursed together. The more he apologized, the more irritated she appeared. "Funny though..."

"What's that?"

"Funny how you couldn't just take my word on it."

Mulder let his head fall he ran his fingers through his hair. He felt defeated.

"I know I demand proof from you Mulder, I know I ask for the science, the facts- I know that sometimes one's word is not quite enough without the evidence to corroborate it. But I had that evidence Mulder. I was holding it in my hands when you shot me down.

"Now, I'm not angry- at least not like I was last night Mulder. But I think it says too much- that you don't trust me enough to be level headed about my mistrust of agent Fowley."

"I do trust you Scully. I don't know what to say or do at this point. I can only assure you that I believe you now. Can't we just put this behind us?"

"What, kiss and make up? It's not that simple Mulder."

"Can't it be?"

"No, I don't think it can."

She stood up and wandered into the kitchen to make tea. He left her alone to her thoughts for a while before joining her at the kitchen table.

He took her hand in his, stroking the silky softness of her skin. She let him. But when he looked up at her and saw the tug of a frown on her lips he and was disappointed all over again.

"I don't know why I can't let this go." She shook her head as if it would jostle the thoughts from her memory. "I want to just get passed it."

"Then let it. Scully, we can do this."

"Letting it go means you get away with being a jerk for all these past months. Do you find that fair?"

"No, I suppose not." He released his hold on her hand. "But what can I do to make up for it then?"

"I don't know... I think time will make up for it."

"Time." He muttered. He didn't want to wait. He wanted to kiss her and hold her and apologize between breaths. "Are you sure a kiss wouldn't so the trick?" He smiled weakly.

She returned the smile and stood up, guiding him to stand as well.

"Ok. Try me. Just one kiss Mulder and we'll see if it takes the pain away."

One kiss, one chance to right what was wrong, now. Mulder knew what was riding on this; he needed to make it unforgettable.

He brought his hands to frame her face, entwining his fingers into her still damp hair. He watched her carefully, waiting for the perfect moment to lay his lips to hers. Her eyes were clear and the smile had died, replaced by a slightly scared look- he was reminded of how she looked in his hallway before the bee sting. A little piece of him broke at the memory.

He gripped her head steadily and tipped it back, her eyes fluttered closed briefly. Then he began to walk her back against the counter. He pressed himself to her. His body insisting that she pay attention, that she know just how much he needed her.

He dropped his head, dipping into the crook of her neck then he dragged his parted lips over her pulsepoint. He could feel her breathing hitch in her throat. His mouth traveled over her jaw and came home to her full lips.

He still held her face, caressing her scalp with his hair-tangled fingers as she opened herself to the kiss. Their mouths mated, pushing and pulling from one another as if their lives depended on this new electric energy.

One kiss... Mulder refused to pull away. One kiss would have to convince her that this was true, that he believed her, that he was sorry for being an ass. Her lips parted and he plundered her mouth with an insistent tongue. She moaned. He was breathless.

He wrapped one arm around her lower back, stroking that spot- his spot, through the cotton of her shirt. She arched further into the kiss, gripping his back and humming softly. Even he was making a quiet needy noise in his throat, wanting more- so much more.

Finally, when the need to breathe became too demanding, they broke their liplock. Mulder stepped back a bit and let his partner catch her rhythm.

"So?" He smirked.

"Oh don't be so cocky Mulder..." She licked her lips, tasting him again.

"That wasn't good?" He made a puppy dog face.

"I didn't say it wasn't good. It was great, I'm just trying to evaluate if it solved everything."

"And..."

"And, I doubt it solved everything but I suppose if I want another kiss like that- I can't stay mad at you. So it solved enough."

"The rest we'll sort through together Scully. We'll do it together."

She stepped up to him again. Snaking her arms under his and round his waist. Scully lay her head to his chest and paused, listening to the beat of his heart. There was so much she wanted to say, but the words were lost for the moment.

Scully leaned back, smiling at her partner. She raised to her tiptoes and kissed him back, as hungrily and as passionately as he'd kissed her. Equals. Partners.

FIN

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