TITLE: "New Valenki" complete
AUTHOR: Kirsten Kerkhof * 
kirsten_xf@yahoo.com
RATING: NC-17
CLASSIFICATION: Mulder-Scully Romance. 
William-fic
KEYWORDS: S R H A
SUMMARY: Mulder and Scully have some free 
time on their hand. Smut ensues.
DISCLAIMER: Nope. Not mine.
FEEDBACK: Oh, please do ... For a Mulder and 
a bowl of strawberries?

*~*~*
Sleep-sleep-sleep
We'll buy valenki for our little son. 
We'll put them on our son's little legs,  
We'll show him the way on the little road.  
Our little son will go step by step,  
And he will wear new valenki!
*~*~*
http://www.mamalisa.com/world/russiaas.html

XxXxX
"New Valenki"
XxXxX

PART 1/6
MAGGIE SCULLY'S HOUSE
Rating: R

It's one of the first really gorgeous days of the 
year and we're not even stuck in the office for a 
change. No, Mulder has requested and obtained 
some vacation time for the two of us - well, we 
were way overdue anyway and Skinner seemed 
awfully eager to get us out of the building for a 
little while - and here we are, spending the days at 
my mother's house. It appears that, some time 
ago, Mulder promised Mom to do some gardening 
of the heavy kind for her and, with the glorious 
weather currently upon us, it seemed like the ideal 
opportunity for our little family to go and see 
Mom.

I'm sitting on the patio near the house, the sun 
playing over my legs. I'm not too convinced 
they'll tan, but a girl can dream, right? William is 
on his little blanket next to me, safely in the 
shade. He's asleep, no doubt rendered drowsy by 
the summer warmth. I lazily stroke his little head 
and the soft hairs on top. I love him to bits, my 
own little miracle baby. Then I turn my attention 
back towards the garden, enjoying watching 
Mulder turn the ground with a fury that is 
mesmerising to behold. He's stripped his t-shirt 
and he's down to just his old jeans. His torso is 
gleaming with sweat. It makes me smile as I'm hit 
by it all over again: he's beautiful. Really really 
beautiful.
	
You know, Mulder's beautiful even in the most 
literal sense of the word. Beautiful. Full of beauty. 
He is, no doubt about it. I honestly cannot think of 
a single thing about him that I do not like. Even 
his more questionable qualities are still essential 
parts of what makes him the man I very nearly 
worship.
	
He has stopped momentarily to wipe the sweat 
from his face. As he stands straight he stretches, 
no doubt to stretch and relax the muscles in his 
shoulders and back. I can't help a little gasp as I 
watch the supple play of muscles and tendons 
under his skin. He looks so good.
	
He was in perfect shape when I first met him, but 
during the past the years, due to our demanding 
life on the X-Files, he found it increasingly 
difficult to stay in top-shape. He was still 
extremely fit, necessary to do the job, but he'd 
lost the toned muscles.
	
Until he turned forty that is. I never said a word 
about it and I'm pretty sure neither did anyone 
else, but somehow it seemed like he felt he was 
getting old or something and he needed to get his 
body back in shape. And with the changes to our 
personal lives he was actually able to find time to 
really work out again. I'm not complaining.
	
He flashes me a toothy smile and runs a hand 
through his hair, damp with sweat. After a quick 
look at William, who is still sleeping peacefully, I 
get up, take the bottle of sun lotion and walk 
across the lawn towards him.
	
"I didn't realise it had been that long," he says, 
looking at the bottle.
	
"Neither did I, but I'd hate to see you get a 
sunburn," I answer, as he dutifully lowers himself 
a little so I can comfortably reach his shoulders. 
His hands land on my hips.
	
"You know I don't burn that easily," he says 
softly as I squirt a small dollop of sun lotion onto 
his skin and begin to work it in, going slowly and 
thoroughly.
	
"I know," I say softly, trying to keep my voice 
even. His skin is very hot and the silkiness stirs 
parts of me that should not be affected right now. 
His eyes are deep and intense as they focus on my 
face while I apply the protective layer of sun 
lotion.
	
"Are you enjoying watching me work, Scully?" 
he asks in a low voice.
	
I nod and smile. I smile a lot these days, no longer 
being hindered by any false and ridiculous notions 
that a smile might possibly harm our relationship. 
It's my personal opinion nowadays that there can 
never be enough smiles in my life.
	
"I am," I reply, running my hands over his biceps. 
I'd love to say more but I can't take my eyes off 
his face, his eyes are like two magnets and I'm 
unable to resist them. He curls his index finger 
under my chin and slowly draws me in for a kiss, 
taking the bottle of sun lotion from my powerless 
fingers. Quite of their own will my hands land on 
his chest as we deepen the kiss and then I've 
forgotten everything. My God, this man can kiss 
...
	
I have absolutely no idea how long it is before we 
break from our kiss, breathless and both 
undeniably aroused. He drops a rain of hot little 
kisses on my neck and collar bone and I feel my 
legs literally go weak with pleasure.
	
"Wow, steady, girl," he grins, catching me. I feel 
a blush washing across my cheeks that has 
nothing to do with the summer heat. "Did I do 
that?"
	
I smile and nod, moving my lips across his to 
form the word 'yes', just barely touching. The soft 
touch doesn't lessen my desire one little bit 
though, I'm still nearly drunk with desire. We 
haven't made love since I gave birth but it just 
can't be long now before we have to give in to our 
needs, we want each other too much. In the 
meantime, however, it's nice to know I can still 
turn him on.
	
"I should get on with turning the soil," he says 
with just a trace amount of regret. He seems as 
reluctant to break the embrace as I am. "Your 
Mom wants this plot finished before supper and I 
still have a fair bit left to do."
	
He grabs the spade with his left hand as he kisses 
me lingeringly on my forehead. Then he walks 
back to where he'd stopped. With my mind still 
reeling from his kisses, I go back to William who 
has woken up and is trying his best to turn over 
onto his tummy. I sit down beside him and pick 
him up, resting him in my arms.
	
"Hello, sweetheart, did you sleep well?" I say 
softly. The only answer I receive is a little 
quivering lip before he starts to wail. It's feeding 
time for this little fellow, so I unbutton the linen 
shirt and my bra and start nursing him. He's really 
hungry.
	
My siblings and I were all strictly bottle-fed kids, 
and it took a little adjusting for Mom when I told 
her I was going to breast-feed my baby, but I'm 
determined to give my child the best possible start 
in life and there's simply nothing that can beat 
breast-feeding. Mom quickly accepted my 
decision, but then again William had already 
charmed her into accepting just about anything. 
He has a way with making people, especially 
women, run for him. We'll have to watch him in 
sixteen years, Mulder and I ...
	
I see Mulder throw down the spade and walk up 
to me.
	
"You finished?" I ask when he's within ear-shot.
	
He shakes his head. "No, I don't think I'll be able 
to finish this lot today."
	
I look at the results of his labour. "You've done a 
lot of work. I thought this was supposed to be a 
vacation."
	
He smiles as he sits down next to me, his 
shoulders and hips touching mine. "Oh, it is, 
Scully. It is." He wipes the sweat from his face. 
"It's nice here in the shade."
	
I smile, but do not answer as I look at our son, 
who is regarding me intently as he quietly drinks. 
His eyelids start to droop and my nipple slips 
from his mouth, a bit of milk running down his 
chubby little chin, before he gives a cracking wide 
yawn. "Our little guy is getting sleepy again," I 
remark softly.
	
"What a life," Mulder comments and I grin.
	
"Let him enjoy it while it lasts," I reply, making 
Mulder grin as well. He leans in and we kiss 
softly. His smile is gone when we part.
	
"At times like these, I envy you so, Scully," he 
says softly. I frown.
	
"Why is that?"
	
He strokes William's head, his fingers lingering. 
"Because of the bond you have with him, a bond 
only a mother can have with her child."	
	
There is a tone of unspeakable sadness and regret 
in his voice and I feel a lump in my throat. I have 
to swallow hard before I can answer.
	
"I can't take that feeling away, Mulder, but please 
don't ever feel left out in any way. He is as much 
your baby as he is mine." I notice the total 
inadequacy of my words and pray he knows what 
I mean. I see the longing in his eyes and I hand 
him William, who is almost asleep, to hold for as 
long as he desires.
	
He cradles William in his arms and against his 
chest, bending over a little, sheltering him. I wrap 
my arms around his shoulders and back, feeling 
the intense love he emits.
	
"I'm going to be so good for you, little guy, no 
one is going to harm you and no one is going to 
take you away from mommy and me and I'm 
going to be the best daddy a boy could ever have 
wished for."
	
William is sucking his little fist as he looks up at 
his father, his eyes droopy. They close when 
Mulder presses a soft kiss on his forehead.
	
"Go to sleep, little baby," he whispers, "grow tall 
and strong and handsome and make mommy and 
me so very proud of you."
	
I think I'm gonna cry now. Don't get me wrong 
when I say that I never quite expected these words 
from Mulder, because I'm so glad he said them. 
It's just that it's so touching, so sweet ...
	
He sits up a little and looks at me. I smile before I 
rest my head on his shoulder and a soft sigh 
escapes me. Yes, I am sure of it now, finally I 
have reached perfection, even if it's just for a little 
while. I feel his head rest against mine and 
together we are silent. This is how it should be ...

XxXxX

We've been sitting side by side for quite a while 
when Mom comes up to us. She halts, a small 
distance away and just watches, smiling, before 
she approaches us further.
	
"You still awake?" she smiles. I can't help but 
smile back. She's right. The warmth and the 
general feeling of supreme contentedness have 
made me definitely drowsy. My head is resting on 
Mulder's shoulder and his head is resting on mine. 
William is sound asleep in Mulder's arms.
	
"Only half, I guess," I say softly as I close my 
eyes and rub my cheek across Mulder's shoulder. 
Mmm ... I hear and feel him chuckle.
	
"You've done an awful lot of work, sweetheart," 
she says to Mulder. "I never thought you'd get 
this far in a single day."
	
I feel him smile. "Anything for you, Mrs Scully."
	
Mom smiles. "Please, Fox, call me Maggie if 
you're uncomfortable with calling me Mom. But 
'Mrs Scully' sounds so distant."
	
"Sorry, Mrs Sc - Maggie," he says.
	
She pats his arm with motherly affection. "That's 
all right, honey." Then she sits down beside him, 
looking at William. "How's our little boy doing?"
	
"Sleeping off his lunch," I answer.
	
She smiles at me. "You know what," she says, 
"why don't you leave him with me for a bit and 
go into town, treat yourselves, enjoy your 
vacation and each other. The weather is 
gorgeous."
	
Mulder and I look at each other. It's definitely 
tempting, it's just that I'm loath to leave William 
alone for even the shortest period of time. I'm so 
paranoid when it comes to him. As always Mulder 
senses what's wrong and he smiles at me.
	
"Let's do it, Scully, it'll be great to go into town."
	
No matter how badly I want this, I'm still not sure 
...
	
He starts to laugh. "Your Mom raised all four of 
you virtually by herself, Scully, I'm pretty sure 
she'll manage William."
	
My smile is a bit embarrassed. He is right of 
course. Then he grows more serious.
	
"I know what you mean. I don't want him out of 
my sight, either, but we can't watch him forever."
	
"I know," I say softly, "it's just that I want to 
watch out for him while I still can." I look at him 
and with my eyes give him permission to hand 
William to Mom, which he does. Then he leans in 
for a quick kiss.
	
"I understand," he says, "and I love you madly for 
it."
	
I feel a delicious tingle dancing down my back at 
his words. "He's in good hands," I say softly, 
trying to cover the excitement he's caused in me. 
Then I get to my feet. He follows my example.
	
"I'll just go and grab a quick shower and get 
changed. I'll be down in ten minutes, okay?"
	
"Can I time you, Mulder?" I grin. He matches my 
grin with one of his own.
	
"Naturally. How about the loser buying the other 
one a drink in town?"
	
"It's a deal," I say, laughing. "Hurry up, you're 
losing valuable seconds!"
	
He laughs, sprinting towards the house. When 
he's out of sight, I'm joined by Mom who is still 
carrying William, sleeping like the little angel he 
is.
	
"You see, sweetheart, he really is the man for 
you," she says and I smile, agreeing fully.

XxXxX

We're sitting in a little coffee house, just off the 
main street. We ordered two cups of cappuccino - 
my treat, he was down in exactly nine minutes 
and forty-seven seconds - and we're waiting for 
the waitress to return with our order. So right now 
we're just sitting here, smiling, not saying 
anything. There is nothing that needs to be said.
	
I look aside for a moment, seeing the gifts we 
bought for William and Mom. There are two 
people who are about to be spoilt rotten by 
Mulder and myself, but I just can't help indulging 
the people I love most in the world a bit. 
Although, speaking of indulging people, I have 
been a victim of that as well today, with Mulder 
having insisted on buying me way too many 
things. I couldn't help protesting, but he wouldn't 
have any of it, claiming that, having sold his 
father's house, he had the means to buy me 
whatever I wanted and that he was going to do it 
too ... I didn't have the heart to refuse him. 
Silently it felt almost decadent as I have always 
been quite spartan in my wants, and it felt good to 
let go of that for a change. Although I'm pretty 
convinced the lingerie, sitting in that Victoria's 
Secret bag, is not entirely for my exclusive 
pleasure ...
	
"Hey, earth to Scully?" I hear him say. I've been 
day-dreaming again.
	
"Yes?"
	
He reaches out and takes my hand.
	
"This was a great idea," he says and I nod. We 
haven't had a break away together without 
William ever since Mulder was returned to me. 
And none of that is Mulder's fault, it's only that I 
won't let William out of my sight, I'm so scared 
something will happen to him. I do trust Mom 
though - and she is absolutely the only one except 
for Mulder and myself.
	
"When will you have to go back to hospital?" I 
ask.
	
He sighs softly. "Next Thursday. But it should be 
just a routine check-up and it's probably the last 
time as well."
	
"So everything is back to normal then?"
	
He shakes his head. "No, for one thing my blood 
work is still abnormal, but there's nothing they 
can do about that, so they figured I should just 
give my body time to recover."
	
I nod again. He had several blood transfusions to 
try and settle the production of blood cells that 
threatened to go haywire, but his body just 
wouldn't be fooled. And at least it all seems under 
control now, if not back to normal. The waitress 
returns with our coffees and, with our fingers 
interlocked, we are silent for a bit.
	
Then he clears his throat. "I ... erm ... talked to Dr 
Marciano about what effect the foreign organisms 
in my body could have and he thought they had 
lost their capabilities to harm anyone except 
perhaps me ..."
	
I look at his face, trying to interpret his words 
through his expression. "What do you mean, 
Mulder?"
	
He closes his eyes momentarily and his voice is 
soft. "I don't ever want to hurt you, Scully ..."
	
I smile. "I know that ..."
	
He shakes his head. "No, not like that. It's like ..."
	
I caress his hand with my thumb, trying to settle 
his nerves. Seeing Mulder nervous only happens 
rarely, but I'm never proud when I'm the reason 
for it. "Just tell me what he told you."
	
He looks at me and flashes me his famous lop-
sided smile. "He told me that the organisms were 
present only in my blood and in very small 
quantities as well, and that they could not be 
transmitted through any other exchange of bodily 
fluids so ..."
	
I feel a little rush of heat invade my body. "So, 
you mean that, should the occasion arise and we 
do have a bit of privacy ..."
	
His eyes heat up for a second. " ... we should be 
safe to make love," he finishes for me.
	
I lift his hands to my lips and kiss the fingertips, a 
bit hotter than perhaps necessary. "That is good 
..."
	
XxXxXxXxX

PART 2/6
MAGGIE SCULLY'S HOUSE
Rating: R

We arrive home to an empty house. Involuntarily 
panic floods me for just a moment, but Mulder's 
already found a note from Mom, telling us she's 
gone to visit the neighbours for the afternoon and 
has taken William with her.
	
I grab the phone and dial the neighbours' number. 
Lisa, the wife, answers.
	
"Hi, Lisa, it's Dana here. Is Maggie there?"
	
"Of course," Lisa answers and a moment later I 
hear Mom's voice.
	
"Hello, darling," she says, "did you and Fox have 
a good time?"
	
I smile. "We had a lovely time, it was a fantastic 
suggestion. How's William?"
	
"Asleep in his little cradle. I'm glad you're home, 
though, he'll be needing his feed soon and I forgot 
to bring a bottle with me."
	
I look at my watch. "He should be fine for another 
half hour," I answer. I'm keen to see my son 
again, but Mom needs her social time, too, and I 
can't take that away from her, just because I want 
to be with my baby. "No need to hurry. I'll tell 
you what, Mulder and I will start supper and you 
come home in about thirty minutes, okay?"
	
I can hear her smile. "If you're that certain, that's 
fine, sweetheart. Enjoy yourselves!"
	
"We will. Bye, Mom," I answer, before hanging 
up the phone.
	
I let out a gasp when I feel Mulder's arms around 
my waist, his lips nibbling at the soft skin of my 
neck. I moan softly as my head spins with the 
sensation. This man's going to be the death of me 
someday, he turns me on so much and he only 
needs to be in the same room with me. So just 
imagine what those kisses are doing to my insides 
...
	
"Thirty whole minutes?" he says in a low voice 
that vibrates through my entire body. I ought to 
admonish him, but I just can't think of a reason 
why. Instead I choose to savour and enjoy the 
heady sensation. It won't lead to anything really 
substantial just yet, but at least it will solve a bit 
of the sexual tension that has been going on 
between us for the past week or so.
	
"Thirty whole minutes," I whisper affirmatively.
	
I feel the heat of his body pressing into my back 
as he stands behind me. I can feel him from the 
top of my head to the soles of my feet - and 
whatever part isn't touching feels awfully cold 
and bereft. I've closed my eyes, savouring the 
thrills he brings.
	
His large hands are restless in their slow and 
thorough trek across my body. I feel my breasts 
swell and our mutual arousal is obvious.
	
"Mulder," I whisper, just before I moan, trapping 
my bottom lip between my teeth to keep from 
uttering more insistent sounds of pleasure. "You 
know it's not going to lead anywhere just now, 
don't you?"
	
He presses a fiery kiss just under my ear, suckling 
just the slightest bit. He's being such a tease - he 
knows I'm hyper-sensitive there ... Jesus ...
	
"I know, sweetheart, it's okay, I can wait."
	
I turn in his arms and finally get to look at him. 
His face is flushed and he's panting softly. My 
God, he's so gorgeous ...
	
I brush my lips across his and his mouth opens a 
bit wider, absolutely screaming at me, begging to 
be kissed. And who am I to deny him such a 
thing?
	
"I know you can," I whisper, pressing my body 
firmly against his. I can feel his hardness pressing 
into my belly, causing another rush of heat going 
due south. "The question is, can I?"
	
These words draw a smile from him. A slow, 
utterly sensual smile.
	
"You know your Mom best," he says. For a 
moment I'm totally prepared to throw all caution 
and good sense to the wind and just throw him 
down on the sofa and relieve the screaming ache 
inside of me. Instead I choose to kiss him. It's the 
closest I can get to a mad round of sex at this very 
moment anyway. Our kiss is hot and open-
mouthed, our tongues meeting and mating in a 
heated embrace. It's wild and frenzied and ram-
packed full of unresolved sexual tension. If this 
continues - and I pray it will - he won't know 
what's gonna hit him tonight.
	
"Scully ..." he whispers roughly. "I respect you 
and your Mom and the agreements we made, but 
..."
	
I nod, trying to control my raging breathing and 
racing heart. "Tonight," I pant. "I don't care 
anymore, I want you too much." I slowly rotate 
my hips and he answers with a sharp involutary 
buck. I smile. "And apparently, so do you."
	
He meets my gaze. He looks scrumptious. He 
looks good enough to eat and savour. Oh, and I 
will. Very soon. But not right now.
	
"You're such a tease, Agent Scully ..." he 
whispers into my neck.
	
"I know, and you love it," I smile. Then I make 
him look at me. "But much as I'd love to continue 
our play-time here, Mom's coming home in about 
fifteen minutes and we still have all the cooking to 
do."
	
He sighs with a smile. "That's right. We'd better 
get started or she'll expect something."
	
I laugh. "She never had any doubts and never any 
objections either, Mulder."
	
His eyes flicker dangerously for a moment. "Ooo, 
promises ..."
	
I brush my lips across his, teasing him a little, 
before I move out of his arms. "Tonight, Mulder. 
Wait till tonight and you won't be complaining."

XxXxX

Supper was simple but surprisingly good. Mulder 
had ushered me out of the kitchen to go and set 
the table and leave the cooking to him. I'd barely 
started when Mom arrived home with one 
seriously starving little boy. So she took over my 
task of setting the table while I enjoyed having my 
little baby back. I smiled when I saw Mom wasn't 
allowed into her own kitchen either ...
	
But, whereas it's unlikely he's going to exchange 
his career in the FBI for a career as a chef, Mulder 
can cook. And very well, too, when he chooses to.
	
"Mmm, Fox, that was delicious," Mom says as 
she puts down her knife and fork. Mulder smiles 
shyly. It's amazing to see how this independent 
man, who has always been such a loner, is so 
willing to go out of his way to please my mother. 
There is very little that can make him happier than 
a kind word from Maggie Scully.
	
"Well, it wasn't much," he says softly, but I can 
tell he's enjoying her compliment.
	
"Nonsense, honey, it was fantastic and you know 
it. And I think you did a great job, don't you, 
Dana?"
	
I smile at Mulder and give him a wink, before 
turning to Mom. "Frankly, I must admit I'm 
amazed at the amount of progress he's made over 
the course of the past few months. Before, I never 
saw him do anything more culinary than 
microwave some take-out Chinese."
	
He pouts but his eyes are twinkling. "Madam, you 
hurt me!"
	
I snicker. "That'll be the day ..."
	
Meanwhile behind us, William is audibly 
enjoying himself in his playpen. It's all it takes to 
trigger Mom into her mothering-mode.
	
"Come you two, go and play with your son while 
I do the dishes."
	
We don't protest as we push our chairs back and 
walk over to the playpen. Mulder lifts William out 
of the pen and we sit down on the floor.
	
"Don't we make an adorable little family?" 
Mulder grins and I smile. Who would've thought 
...
	
"It's unbelievable, yeah," I reply. He has pulled 
up his knees and William is lying on his father's 
thighs, studying him with all the intensity a baby 
can muster. His tiny fists are clasped securely 
around Mulder's thumbs and a beaming smile 
appears when Mulder starts to softly sing a 
nursery song, accompanying his words with 
movements of his hands. I have never heard that 
song before, nor can I understand it.
	
"What was that song, Mulder?" I ask, when he's 
finished.
	
"Actually, it's a Russian nursery song, called 
'New Valenki'. Valenki are a kind of felt boots 
people wore in some parts of Russia," he says. "I 
bet you didn't know my Mom was fluent in 
Russian, did you?"
	
I smile, though not wholeheartedly. Somehow the 
mentioning of his mother is darkening my mood a 
bit. "No, I didn't."
	
He seems to sense my discomfort. "It's all right, 
neither did I for a very long time. Dad never 
learned it and my Mom was too busy mourning 
Samantha to teach me, so the only Russian I speak 
is this silly song."
	
"I don't think it's a silly song," I say softly. "It 
sounded really sweet and William loved it."
	
Mulder strokes William's chubby little cheeks. It 
draws a delightful giggle from him. "Yes, he did 
..." William is reaching up and his fingers are 
groping for his father's face. Trust him to make 
Mulder smile again.
	
'My family,' I think as I look at them and scoot a 
little closer, 'my family.' 
	
Who would have thought this would ever happen 
to me ... After a few years in the FBI, teamed up 
with Fox Mulder, I'd completely given up on the 
illusion I'd ever see the day I'd be home with a 
man and a child to call my own. To have and to 
hold.
	
"Mr and Mrs Spooky and baby Spooky," Mulder 
whispers.
	
I frown at his words. Why is he using those awful 
nicknames?
	
He meets my gaze and gives me an apologetical 
smile. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that."
	
"Why did you do it? I always thought you hated 
being called Spooky. Not to mention that I never 
enjoyed being called Mrs Spooky," I add matter-
of-factly. It makes him smile, lifting our feelings, 
lightening the atmosphere. His eyes, however, are 
surprisingly intense.
	
"What?"
	
"This is forever, right?" he says. "You, me, 
William?"
	
"As far as I have any say in the matter, yes, this is 
forever," I answer, stroking William's little head. 
He's regarding the two of us intently. He must 
have inherited his eyes from his father - though 
the colour itself is mine -  the intense look is 
breath-taking in its resemblance. "Why?"
	
"Because," he begins, struggling a little to release 
his right hand from William's little fist and, when 
he has succeeded, taking my hand, "I was 
wondering if you would marry me." He places a 
soft kiss on my fingers as if to reinforce his 
words.
	
I smile widely now and look at him, trying to read 
his face. He looks just a little nervous, but mostly 
he's just hopeful and seems rather confident. I like 
that.
	
I nod. "Of course I will marry you."
	
"Really?"
	
"Truly," I answer, sealing it.
	
His arm comes around my shoulder and he draws 
me into his warmth. William has a fine little smile 
on his face. I'd be willing to bet my next pay-
check he knows how loved he is and how much 
his parents love each other. Kids sense that and 
I'm very glad about it.
	
"I long for some stability in my life," Mulder says 
softly, "and you're the only anchor I have."
	
"It would be good for William as well, to have our 
relationship made official."
	
"It would be, yes," he replies. Then he gives me a 
hot little smile. "And we can make love properly 
then!"
	
I allow a knowing smile on my face. "I didn't 
know there was anything wrong with the way we 
make love, Mulder."

He chuckles and leans in to whisper in my ear, 
"No, but it's the frequency ..."
	
I giggle and give him a playful punch in the ribs. 
"You're a pig, Fox Mulder! And I told you, just 
wait till tonight!"
	
"Oh, goodie ..." he says, his voice tingling my 
insides.
	
I smile and lean my head on his shoulder, looking 
at my baby. William seems to have decided that, 
now that the conversation between Mulder and 
myself is over, it's time for him to take care of the 
entertainment, for he's babbling and cooing at us, 
waving his little hands as he lies on Mulder's legs. 
Before long we're responding to his enthusiastic 
attempts at conversation. I reach for Bun Bun, one 
of William's countless stuffed toys and his 
undisputed favourite, and wave it in front of his 
face. He immediately reaches out for it. I let him 
have it after a couple of tries and he clumsily 
clutches the grey bunny between his arms.
	
Oh, I could just look at him forever, I think. 
Correction, I could look at them forever. Both of 
them. It makes me smile. I'm so blessed ...
	
But, forever or no, Nature will have no denial and 
I just have to go.
	
"I'm off to the little girls' room," I whisper to 
Mulder. Trust him to read more into it than I 
planned. But, despite his sly smile, he doesn't 
make any off-side remarks. I guess I've trained 
him well by now. What a silly idea ...
	
When I return I see that Mom has joined them. 
They have moved to sit on the couch - despite her 
many protests, Mom isn't getting any younger 
either - and they make a pretty adorable picture. I 
decide to wait and just listen to what they're 
saying before I join them again.
	
"But I wish she'd stop," I hear him say. What the 
...
	
"She can't, Fox, that decision had to be made a 
long time ago, if ever, and it's too late now," 
Mom answers. I frown. They're so serious, and 
obviously talking about me. But about what?
	
"It's bad for her. It'll harm her and I'd hate to see 
that happen ..." he says softly.
	
I see Mom gently rub his back, apparently 
comforting him. "It was her own decision, honey, 
it's no use blaming yourself, when there is 
nothing you can do about it. She stayed because 
she wanted to."
	
I think I begin to see what the conversation is all 
about: Mulder's insecurities about why I didn't 
quit on him a long time ago. Silly man ...
	
"She should've left," he mumbles.
	
"Perhaps so," Mom sighs, "it might have spared 
her a lot of heart-ache. But then again, she has 
gained a lot from staying with you."
	
"Nothing she couldn't have had with any other 
man," Mulder answers and I see him stroke 
William's forehead. Yeah, right, like I could ever 
have wanted someone else after I'd met you, 
Mulder?
	
"Perhaps you're right," Mom says. "Do you want 
her to leave?"
	
"Oh no, if I say she should leave me, I'm thinking 
of what is good for her. But if I look at myself and 
my own utterly selfish motives, I only want her to 
stay."
	
I see Mom smile. "I think you can safely bet your 
chips on her staying, Fox. I've never seen her this 
madly in love before."
	
"She's beautiful, isn't she?" he remarks softly and 
I feel a lump in my throat. Jesus, I think I'm going 
to faint with emotions. Not to mention that it just 
has to be illegal to love a person this much ...
	
"Yes, she is," Mom only answers.
	
I see him smile at William. "Yes, she is. You have 
the prettiest mommy in the world, you know that? 
The most beautiful mommy there is."
	
Okay, time to move, I decide. Three people here 
are in dire need of a hug from me and I'm gonna 
give it to them. With a couple of kisses thrown in 
for good measure.
	
"He has a pretty gorgeous dad as well," I say as I 
wrap my arms around Mulder's shoulders from 
behind. He looks up, smiling.
	
"Have you been eavesdropping, Scully?"
	
I smile. "Yep. And damn glad I have, too!"
	
He chuckles. "I don't think I should ask how 
much you've heard?"
	
"Why, have you been gossipping about me?" I 
ask, trying - and failing - to sound stern.
	
"A bit," he replies, "but nothing to worry about."
	
"Mm-mm," I say, deciding to drop the subject. It 
isn't important. "Mom, I bet you didn't know 
Mulder knows a Russian nursing song."
	
"No, I didn't," she answers. "Why don't you sing 
it, Fox?"
	
He cuts me a look, just short of dirty, and I grin. 
Oh, I'm gonna pay for this tonight. He's so not 
going to let me get away with this ...
	
"Thank you so much, Scully," he mumbles, but I 
can see a smile tugging at the corners of his 
mouth. "You just had to do this, didn't you?"
	
"You don't like to sing, Fox?" Mom asks and I 
giggle. No, Mom, he hates it, which is part of the 
reason I mentioned it. Wicked, Dana ...
	
"Maggie, I can't carry a tune in a bucket," he 
sighs, sounding a little exasperated. "The last 
thing you want is to hear me sing."
	
"Oh, sweetheart, it can't be that bad. You're 
bound to be a better singer than Dana."
	
"Hey!" I protest. Thanks a million, Mom ... 
Though I guess I deserved it.
	
She laughs. "Don't worry, honey, if you don't 
want to sing, then I'm not going to push. Though I 
guess William loves to hear it."
	
"He does," he answers, neatly ignoring her gentle 
probing.
	
"I think I'll leave the three of you in peace for 
now and go to bed. I remember from when your 
Dad and I were younger we loved a bit of privacy 
and I suspect you're not too different."
	
Mulder and I smile at each other, before we look 
at Mom. Ah yes, some privacy would indeed be 
nice ... But first I need to break the news with her, 
before she's left. It's hardly fair not to tell her.
	
"Can I tell her, Mulder?" I ask. He nods.
	
"Tell me what, hon?" Mom asks, obviously 
curious.
	
"We ... erm ... spent some time talking today, not 
in the least when we were in town and we thought 
that, after all we've been through, it was time to 
move on with ... what we have together. So ... 
we're ... we're engaged, Mom," I say softly, 
suddenly shy.
	
As for Mom, she looks as though her fondest wish 
has come true. Which, if I may permit myself 
such liberties, might very well be the case. After 
all, with poor Missy gone, she only has one 
daughter left ... And allegedly nothing can make a 
mother happier than seeing her daughter get 
married.
	
"Oh, darlings, really? Oh, you've made me so 
happy!" And with that she engulfs us both in a 
warm hug. We hug her back and I have to try my 
hardest to keep the tears at bay. "Oh, do tell me 
when the big day is," she continues when we've 
let go of each other.
	
"We don't know yet," Mulder answers, smiling at 
me. "But I do know it's soon."
	
I nod. We don't have a fixed date yet, that's true, 
but I agree with him that we're not going to wait 
long. We've lost too much time already.
	
"Now I'm certain I can sleep well," Mom smiles. 
"I will tell your Father in my prayers, Dana. He'll 
be so proud and happy."
	
She gets up and leaves the room, which is only 
too well, because I'm suddenly close to tears. Oh, 
Daddy ...
	
"Hey, what's wrong?" Mulder says, caressing my 
face, his thumb stroking across my cheek.
	
"I've always dreamt of Ahab being ... there when 
I got married ... but he won't be now, will he ...?" 
I whisper.
	
He leans in and softly kisses my tears away. "We 
won't be able to see him, he won't be giving you 
away, but we both know he'll be there. And, God, 
he'll be so proud and happy to see his gorgeous 
daughter there ..."
	
I smile through my tears. "Yes, he will be, won't 
he?"
	
Mulder nods with a smile. "Of course he will. 
There's nothing a father loves to see more than 
seeing his little girl getting married to the man she 
loves."
	
"I do love you, Mulder," I say. He leans in for a 
soft kiss, which I can't help but answer. Then I 
wipe away my tears with the back of my hand, 
smiling at him.
	
"I love you, too." He hands me William and gets 
up from the couch, stretching and moaning as his 
muscles protest. "Damn, I worked too hard 
today!"
	
I smile. "I could always give you a massage 
tonight ..."
	
His eyes flicker hotly for just a moment, but it's 
enough to raise the temperature in the room. At 
least that's how it feels to me. "That would be 
nice ..."
	
I smile, resting William in the crook of my arm. 
It's time for his feed and I can tell he's hungry by 
the sounds he's making.
	
"Go feed my child, woman," Mulder says, trying 
and failing to sound stern, and I nearly burst out 
laughing.
	
"Yes, oh master," I say with a grin, making him 
laugh. He leans over and gives me a sloppy kiss 
on the cheek as I shrug off my shirt so I can nurse 
more easily.
	
"See you upstairs in a little bit," he whispers in 
my ear. "Oh, and don't bother to put that shirt 
back on ..."
	
Geez, is it me or did it just get extremely hot in 
here ...?

XxXxXxXxX

PART 3/6
MAGGIE SCULLY'S HOUSE
Rating: NC-17

It's nearly thirty minutes later when William has 
been fed, burped, bathed, diapered, dressed and 
tucked in for the night and I can finally join 
Mulder. The sexual tension inside me has 
subsided a little, but I'm not too worried. Instead 
it has calmed down to the degree where the 
anticipation is lazily thrumming and circling 
under my skin, reminding me of what lies ahead, 
but not pushing. Which, I hope, is something one 
particular man will most certainly do ...
	
I have, as promised, left my shirt behind, though I 
am a bit uncertain as to the wisdom of the 
decision. Maternity bras are not exactly known for 
their sensual appearance and the last thing I want 
to see happen is that they kill the mood. But, 
unfortunately, they're all I can wear at the 
moment. And Mulder hasn't seemed too put off 
by them so far.
	
I see him lie on the bed in just his boxers, 
watching a ball game. Which teams are playing I 
can't tell from where I am. He turns to look at me 
the moment I appear in the doorway.
	
"Good evening, gorgeous," he says in a husky 
voice, raising up a little.
	
I smile. "Good evening to you, handsome," I 
reply, my voice surprisingly low. Amazingly, I 
feel really sexy all of a sudden, even in my white 
linen pants and less-than-clean maternity bra. It's 
the look in his eyes that tells me I need no red lace 
half-bras or crotchless panties to make him pay 
attention.
	
He gets off the bed and approaches me and I slide 
my hands up his arms as he weaves his fingers 
through my hair and closes his mouth over mine 
and proceeds to give me one hell of an impressive 
kiss. My hands come to rest on his biceps, still 
hard from the amount of work he's done today. 
The feeling of these hard, strong muscles make 
my arousal rachet up a few notches.
	
The need for oxygen has this annoying habit of 
interrupting the best of kisses at the worst of 
moments - and this time is no exception. His look 
is dark and intense when I look at him.
	
"You sure about this, Scully?" he asks in a rough 
whisper. I smile, touched by the fact that he cares 
to give me a way out, even when his own thoughts 
and desires can hardly be ignored.
	
"Absolutely," I reply in a low voice. "Actually, 
I'm amazed I've held out this long and not 
jumped your bones a long time ago."
	
He grins. "So you really want me, right?"
	
I match his grin, then lick my lips in a way that 
has nothing to do with their dryness. Good, 
because I doubt whether there is any part of me 
that's still dry. "Oh yeah ... and I think you want 
to make me pay for nearly making you sing before 
Mom, don't you?"
	
He smiles, cupping my cheek in his large hand. "I 
was tempted, but I've decided to let it slip. Unless 
you want me to make you pay?"
	
I press a kiss on his chin. "Just make love to me, 
that's all I'm asking."
	
"I can do that, I guess," he replies, before 
scooping me up in his strong arms. I let out a 
short yelp, this was certainly not what I expected. 
He gently lies me down on the bed and I look up 
at him. He's wearing the most breath-taking smile 
I have ever seen on him. Jesus, this man really 
really loves me ... 
	
He stretches out beside me and for a moment we 
only look and smile at each other. We've made 
love before on countless occasions, and with 
tonnes more passion and wild abandon, but it's 
been a few months now and I'm glad we're not 
rushing. Yet.
	
"I've been waiting for this moment," he says very 
softly. His hand comes up to stroke my hair. 
"When I could make love with you again."
	
"Me, too," I reply in a touched whisper.
	
"I won't be hurting you, will I?" he asks, his 
expression suddenly concerned. "You have to tell 
me when you need me to stop."
	
"I'll be fine," I reassure him.
	
"Promise you'll make me stop if I'm hurting you, 
okay?"
	
I smile. Did I ever tell you I love this man? "I 
promise. But I'm pretty sure you'll get to have 
your way with me undisturbedly."
	
He grins, leaning in and kissing me. My arms 
come round his shoulders and together we move 
closer until we're touching from head to toe. I 
love the feeling of my flesh touching his, infusing 
me with his heat and strength and health. I really 
need to get out of these clothes ...
	
Quite rapidly our kiss, so gentle and sweet when it 
started, picks up speed and intensity and then he 
rolls over onto his back, dragging me on top of 
him. I'm panting and flushed and absolutely wild 
when we part and gaze into each others eyes. His 
pupils are dilated and I can feel the proof of his 
want pressing into my lower back when I sit up.
	
"That was good," I whisper hoarsely. "Wanna do 
it again?"
	
"You bet," he answers and I lean down to claim 
his lips again. I'm addicted, drugged up and 
loving it. I'm high on the drug that is Fox Mulder. 
Groovy ...
	
The thought makes me laugh, an abrupt end to an 
unbelievable kiss.
	
"What's so funny?" Mulder asks.
	
"I was thinking: I'm hooked on you, drugged up, 
addicted to you. And it made me laugh," I smile. 
He smiles back.
	
"Good thing. That's two happy addicts here then."
	
I laugh. I love being able to laugh with him. In 
any other relationships I've been in sex was 
always so serious. It was about accomplising a 
goal and that needed careful timing and planning 
and no kidding around. With Mulder, however, I 
can fool around and laugh and still finish with one 
hell of an earth-shattering orgasm.
	
He reaches up and slides the straps of my bra 
down my arms. It sobers me up a little.
	
"We may not stay very clean, Mulder," I say. 
"Nursing mothers leak milk when they make 
love."
	
"I wasn't planning on staying clean," he says. 
"Don't worry, you're beautiful."
	
I undo the hooks of the bra, not wanting to annoy 
him with a garment he doesn't particularly like to 
handle. He knows how to deal with them, just 
prefers a bit of a helping hand. Then he tosses the 
scrap of cotton over the side of the bed. Already I 
see two pearly drops of milk clinging to my 
nipples. He surprises me when, with one finger, 
he carefully wipes the drops off and tastes them.
	
"Mmm, a bit like coconut milk. Our son has good 
taste."
	
I laugh again. "It's all he's getting, Mulder. He's 
had absolutely no say in the matter whatsoever."
	
He grins in reply, making me lie down and cover 
his body. "Come here, I want to feel you."
	
"Even if I'm gonna leak all over you?"
	
"Even then," he smiles. "You can clean me up in 
any way you deem fit."
	
"Promises, promises ..." I only say, before I start 
covering his body with kisses, very slowly 
heading south. I'm close to his navel when I 
remember something. "Erm, wasn't it you who 
wanted to feel me?"
	
His eyes are closed and he's trapped his bottom 
lip between his teeth. His voice is just a groan 
when he answers. "Don't worry, you're doing just 
fine. Don't stop ..."
	
I smile widely as I continue my very pleasant trek 
down south. God, I'd forgotten how good it feels 
to give this man pleasure. Or rather, not forgotten, 
just ... let it slip into the background a little. That 
is a difference.
	
I'm stopped by the waistband of his boxers. I'm in 
dubio now, should I leave them on for now or take 
them off already? They're tented by what looks 
like quite a formidable erection, which, naturally, 
holds lots of promises, but nevertheless I decide to 
leave the decision up to him. Of course, he 
doesn't put up much of a fight. It's nice to see him 
squirm a little though.
	
"Mmm, should I ..." I say in a low voice, tracing 
the line of the waistband with my forefinger, my 
hand not-so-accidentally touching his penis. " ... 
or shouldn't I ..."
	
The answer I get is a low groan. Just a groan. But 
one that travels straight down my spine to pool 
deep down in my belly. It's all I can do to keep 
myself from ripping these boxers from his hips, 
tearing my pants away and impaling myself on 
him. Instead I want to play. For a bit.
	
"... take 'em off!" I hear, about three feet north of 
my face. Good job, Mulder, didn't think you'd 
still be this articulate. I guess that deserves a 
reward.
	
He assists me as I pull the offending bit of silk - 
that's my man, he knows what I like - over his 
erection and down his legs. I toss the boxers over 
the side of the bed, and for just a moment I sit 
back to look and admire as he lies here in all his 
glory. Oh man ... Then I lean over and touch my 
tongue to the head of his penis. Just touching. For 
now.
	
I can't remember ever having given him a blow-
job. I've always been quite indifferent in my 
attitude towards giving head - I didn't particularly 
like it, but I didn't really mind either. And guys 
usually found it quite a turn-on. At least it 
prevented them from abusing my poor body to 
give them the release they sought. It sort of gave 
me control, and I am a natural-born control-freak. 
	
But with Mulder there never was any need. He 
gave me time, held back his needs if for some 
reason we weren't entirely in sync. And I'd rather 
feel him come inside my womb than in my mouth.
	
It's nice to see what he likes, though. I'm smiling 
a little as I look up at his face, which is contorted 
in a gorgeous mix of pain and pleasure. Looks 
like I'm doing something right. I close my hand 
around the base of his shaft and then I take him in 
my mouth, slowly going down and taking him in 
as deep as I can. He lets out a hiss when the head 
of his cock touches the back of my mouth.
	
"Ahh, Jesus ... Scul-- ... oh, God ..."
	
I'm not going very fast, but I don't want to finish 
this like this either. So I travel up and down his 
shaft slowly, sucking just the slightest bit, my 
hand and tongue caressing and stroking him as I 
move. I'm loving this, you know. And it's 
amazing just how quickly I'm bringing him to the 
edge, even despite the fact that I haven't actually 
done a lot. I guess there's a lot to be said for 
staying off the sex for a few months.
	
"... God ... Scully stop! ... Feels too ... too good ... 
You gotta stop ... I can't ... ahh ... can't come ... 
yet ..." he groans and I agree with him. He may be 
really good and have a stamina that would 
pleasantly surprise any woman, but he is past 
forty and I want some substantial fun as well. And 
if I bring him off now, it will be a while before 
he's ready again. I don't think I can wait quite that 
long. "Scully ... stop!"
	
With one last soothing kiss on the head I let go 
and sit back up, looking and smiling. That was 
really nice.
	
He's panting, his fingers slowly releasing the 
death-grip they had on the sheets. Slowly he 
opens his eyes and smiles. "You ... are one 
dangerous woman, Dana Scully!"
	
"I haven't even done that much," I reply with a 
wicked grin. "Glad you liked it though."
	
"You are gooood ..." he grins, crooking his finger 
to beckon me closer. "C'mere."
	
I scoot up to lie next to him and he hooks his 
fingers under the waistband of my pants and 
panties, tugging them down in one go. I can feel 
the wet trail that the sodden panties leave on the 
insides of my legs. He throws them off the side of 
the bed and then, at last, we're skin to skin. No 
barriers, no reservations. Our rest doesn't last long 
though and before I know it, he's embarked on his 
own voyage to down under.
	
His first pause, as usual, is my breasts, but he's 
never had them like this. And, with the nursing, 
they haven't exactly gone prettier, even if they are 
a bit larger. I can't see he really minds though, as 
I feel how he takes first one nipple into his mouth, 
toys a bit with it and then gently caresses the other 
with his tongue, soothing the tender flesh. God 
help me the day I want to take him off his 
sunflower seeds and please bring me back to 
reason, because I'm absolutely convinced he's 
learned most of his awesome tricks whilst shelling 
those seeds. I'm glad he's not spent too much 
time at my breasts, though, they're still so 
sensitive they hurt easily and all I want to feel 
tonight is pleasure.
	
Then he nuzzles my belly. It's not yet as flat as it 
was before I got pregnant, even though I have 
been working out, and I'm not too sure what he 
thinks of the change.
	
"God, you are so gorgeous," he says, his hands 
running up and down my sides as he rasps his 
beard-stubble over my soft flesh. The tingles it 
brings feel amazing. "If anyone ever asked me 
what perfection is, I'd just show them a picture of 
you ..."
	
'Same here, partner,' I think, but I answer, 
"Hardly ... hardly perfect, Mulder."
	
"To me you are," he answers. "Fabulous mind and 
intellect, a perfect body ..." He caresses my navel 
with his tongue and I moan. "The mother of my 
baby. My wife, my lover, my confidante and 
guardian angel. I'm nothing without you. Nothing 
at all. But just knowing you're with me, well, it 
makes me pretty good." He looks up for a 
moment and I'm struck silent by the affection and 
admiration I see, even when my body is 
screaming with arousal. "Now tell me again you 
think you're not perfect."
	
I can't.
	
"Exactly," he just answers my unspoken 
comment. Then he grins a luscious grin. "Now lie 
back, relax, and enjoy the ride!"

XxXxX

I've always thought men of the church were 
against unmarried people coming together, 
because they themselves weren't getting any 
either. Oh, if only they knew how good it can be 
... Sweet, innocent Sister Mary Clara, she meant 
so well when she warned my sister and myself 
against men when I was thirteen, but she really 
didn't know what it was all about, did she? No, 
she didn't.

I feel an odd sort of pity for her as I feel Mulder 
kiss the inside of my thighs, inching ever further 
up to where my legs meet and where I'm 
completely on fire. She was such a good, God-
fearing woman and as a reward for her piety and 
devotion to the Lord she never got to experience 
such heavenly pleasure. Not that I could ever 
share Mulder, of course. 
	
His lips are like little cherubs, kissing and 
blessing my skin with promises of eternal glory. 
That thought is destroyed utterly when he reaches 
my core and starts to suckle my swollen lips. 
Eternal glory is hardly what I need right now. 
Give me wicked and devilish any time.
	
I'm letting out a string of groans, moans, pants, 
pleas and prayers that seems endless, only 
interrupted by my need to breathe. His tongue is 
currently playing with my tight little bundle of 
nerves, just the tip of his tongue, flicking it this 
way and that, and driving me utterly out of my 
mind in the process.
	
I feel two fingers slowly entering me and he stops 
his sweet torture for just a moment. I answer with 
a elongated moan.
	
" ... ah ah ... Mul- ... don't st- .. don't stop ... 
please ..." I choke out, my hand landing on his 
head to coax him back to where I absolutely need 
him the most.
	
"Yes, my lady," he says only, taking my clitoris 
between his lips and really sucking now. I yelp 
with the sensation. Is this even legal? Because it 
feels just too good to be allowed. There must be a 
place in this universe where such pleasure is 
frowned upon. Oh please, God, don't let it be here 
... Please ...
	
I can't seem to open my eyes ... I see stars all 
around me, but nothing else ... Ah, Jesus, is there 
anything at all this man can't do to perfection? I 
feel sparks whizzing along my nerves, igniting 
and exploding at the nerve-endings. I think my 
neurons are on fire ...
	
Then, seemingly out of the blue, the whole room 
goes incredibly bright - and then black as I 
scream, but I don't know what I scream. It's not 
important. Oh, sweet Lord Jesus, this is the best 
orgasm I've ever had ... No doubt about it ...
	
"Oh God ... oh ... oh oh oh ... God ... Mulder ... oh 
Jesus ..." I pant, coming down from my all-time 
highest feeling of bliss. "... oh man ... Oh God I 
love you ..." I shake my head. I feel drunk and 
giddy. "... no ... not God ... I love you, Mulder ... 
oh man ..."
	
I drag my eyes open to see him grin at me. Score 
one for the ego-boost, I suppose. He's licking his 
lips and I moan, knowing very well what the 
wetness is he's licking away.
	
"Welcome home, sweet girl," he says, crawling 
up and covering me. I feel his rock-hard burning 
erection pushing at my core. Oh yeah, that is 
exactly where I need him. I wrap my legs around 
his waist, pulling him down.
	
"Oh, Mulder ... that was ... incredible," I sigh, 
pulling his head down to kiss him. "Just plain 
incredible." Then I kiss him, tasting myself in his 
mouth. Mixed with the pure taste of him, it's the 
most effective aphrodisiac anyone could have 
invented.
	
I feel the head of his cock push at my entrance, 
nudging inside just the slightest bit. I need more 
of him.
	
"I need you," I say softly against his lips, still 
breathless from my climax. "I need you inside me. 
Now."
	
Oh man, you never really forget, do you? The 
feeling of having the man you just totally adore 
and worship buried deep inside you, of being 
joined and interconnected in the most intimate 
way possible. If I ever felt I was part of him, was 
physically connected to him, then it must be at 
this very moment that he's completely inside of 
me.
	
"Jesus, Dana ... I'm gonna die here ..." he groans.
	
"Don't you dare die on me," I reply with a smile. 
"I'm not finished with you yet!"
	
"Want to have your evil little ways with me, Ms 
Scully?" he smiles as he starts to pull out and then 
push back in. I moan before I can answer, feeling 
the walls of my vagina stretch to accommodate 
him. Then I grin.
	
"Absolutely. I've tasted heaven, I want some 
more!"
	
"Ah, a challenge!" he says and starts moving in 
earnest. "I can't resist a challenge."
	
I sigh happily as he moves again. Oh, this is too 
good, too good to be true. But he's so slow, and I 
can feel the raging need for release in him.
	
"Come on, Mulder, don't hold back for me," I say 
softly. I want him to come inside me and not care 
about me. Man, he's given me enough pleasure 
already to grant him a life-time of sexual credit. 
He shouldn't be worrying about me at all.
	
But, of course, he is. "... I want ... want you to 
come, too ..." he says with considerable difficulty. 
He really is the sweetest man alive.
	
I pull him back in with my legs, urging him to go 
faster. "You've given me -- ... oh God, Mulder, 
right there ... yeah ... given me more pleasure than 
... I deserved ..." I'm cut short by a uncontrollable 
moan of near-sated lust. Coming from my throat. 
Never thought I'd see the day that such a sound of 
total abandon came from me ... "Come for me," I 
say, kissing him quickly and roughly. "Come 
hard, I want it fast and hard!"
	
The speed of his thrusts increases immediately, 
but clearly he wants to give me one more chance 
to back out, "... don't ... don't wanna hurt you ..."
	
I pout playfully. "Trust me, gorgeous, I'll hurt you 
if you don't stop talking and start moving those 
fabulous hips right now!"
	
It's from nought to sixty in point four seconds - 
or so it seems. Confident I'm not going to stop 
him, he throws himself into the game whole-
heartedly and, man, does he know what he's 
doing ...
	
We're both gasping, moaning and uttering sounds 
that would probably shock any self-respecting 
person, but his voice has never sounded so 
beautiful as in this time of shared passion. 
	
He loves me, I think, oh, he loves me!
	
Then, incredibly, I feel the waves rolling in again. 
I've never had an orgasm from just penetration, I 
always needed some well-prepared and very well-
executed clitoral stimulation to bring me off, but 
this man must be magical! Oh, God, I'm gonna 
come just from him being inside me, moving 
inside me! I can't believe it!
	
"Ah ... ah ... Scul-- ... Scully, come for me!" he 
cries as he picks up his speed even more. I'm like 
a ragdoll in his arms, unable to control my own 
motions, milk leaking from my breasts like a 
fucking fountain - and I can't get enough of it, 
I'm loving every second of it.
	
"Yes, Mulder ... Jesus ... I'm ... yessss ... I'm 
almost ... there ... yes, yes, yesyesyes! Oh ... oh oh 
oh oh!"
	
I think I'm flying. Correction, I'm flung across 
the universe like an uncontrolled missile, buzzing 
with electricity and exploding as I criss-cross the 
galaxy. I'm screaming his name - I think - and 
through the fog in my head I think I hear him 
scream mine as he fills me with his seed. I feel so 
complete, so womanly ...
	
But now I need to regain control over my body 
and mind, which is easier said than done. You 
think sex with Fox Mulder could cause permanent 
brain-damage? Because I'm giggling like a 
madwoman. He's made me all giddy and hyper ...
	
When I somehow manage to pry my eyes open 
I'm staring into the most beautiful hazel eyes I 
have ever had the pleasure to encounter. What a 
fantastic sight after a positively mind-bending 
orgasm ...
	
"Hey, earth to Dana," he says gently, still panting 
a little. "Enjoyed the ride?"
	
I'm laughing, I can't help it. "Yeah ..." He's still 
buried deep inside me and I crush him to me, 
kissing him long and deeply. Oh, I love him, I 
love him so much ...
	
We part with a thousand little kisses. We need to 
clean ourselves up before we can sleep, we're 
such a mess ... But I'm just unwilling to let him 
go.
	
In the end, however, I do let him go, feeling 
tremendously sorry about it when he pulls out of 
me. I've never felt so empty and bereft. Clinging 
to each other we literally stumble to the shower, 
needing each other for support and keep us from 
toppling over like a toddler just learning to walk.
	
"Hey, Mulder, you think Mom heard us?" I grin 
when we're in the shower stall. I'm slumped 
against the wall of the stall, my legs barely able to 
support my weight, while he's lathering my 
breasts with the baby soap I use for William's 
baths. God only knows why he chose that one. It 
feels really soft and soothing though.
	
His grin splits his face in two. "I'm pretty damn 
sure she did. We're hardly the most silent of 
lovers."
	
I laugh, secretly amazed just how lightly I take 
this information. "Oh man, how incredibly 
embarrassing!"
	
He laughs, too, then bends down to claim my 
mouth with his. I wrap my arms around his neck 
and kiss him with feverish need. Unbelievable but 
true, even after two epoch-making orgasms I'm 
still hornier than hell. How does he do it?
	
"Let's give her a run for her money, shall we?" he 
whispers hotly in my ear. I shudder with 
anticipation.
	
I reach down and take him in my hand, feeling 
him harden as I lazily stroke him. I feel a gush of 
moisture between my legs. Oh, yes, I'm ready for 
him. "Right here?"
	
He answers by gently pushing me back against the 
wall of the stall, lifting me up into his arms. Then, 
strangely, he shakes his head. I'd fully expected 
him to take me right here, but apparently I was 
wrong. He smiles lustfully and I follow his gaze - 
the Queen Anne chair that is part of the guest 
room at my mother's house. I look back at him, 
one eyebrow raised. Really?
	
He nods with a grin. Really.
	
"You're insatiable, Fox Mulder," I whisper, my 
voice betraying I'm hardly any better.
	
"Yes, I am," he grins. "And, boy, don't you love 
it!"
	
Oh man, I really am one lucky woman!

XxXxXxXxX

PART 4/6
MAGGIE SCULLY'S HOUSE
Rating: NC-17

I wake up groaning. I can't remember ever having 
been so sore - and so well-laid. On retrospect I 
wonder what I'm complaining about ... Oh, maybe 
because it's almost four in the morning and I can 
hear William crying in the adjoining room and all 
I really want to do is snuggle up to Mulder's 
warm, hard body and sleep until my name 
changes to Rip Van Scully ...
	
My breasts don't hurt as much as I thought they 
would, though I can feel the pressure of the milk. 
In fact, I hardly feel them at all, and they look all 
right, too. That's good, because William needs his 
feed no matter what. I enter the room that is 
currently converted to the baby room and pick 
him up from his little bed, trying to soothe him 
and silence his tears.
	
"Don't cry, sweetheart, mommy's here ..." I coo, 
stroking his head and back as he lies against me. 
And sure enough, he calms down. "Are you 
hungry, darling?"
	
I decide to go back to our bedroom and nurse him 
in bed. It's a fantastic prospect, you've got to 
admit, being joined and loved by the two men of 
my life.
	
Carefully, I sit on the bed and put my legs under 
the sheets. William has already found my nipple 
and has latched on to it, sucking with vigour. I 
was too late for his feed, poor little thing, he must 
be starving ...
	
Next to me I feel Mulder stir. I look at him and 
see him regarding us sleepily. His hand comes up 
to flop onto my arm.
	
"Hey, gorgeous," I greet him in a whisper.
	
He groans something unintelligible, yawns widely 
and sits up. "What time is it?"
	
"Five past four in the morning," I reply, kissing 
him briefly on the lips. "Go back to sleep, I will 
soon, too."
	
He shakes his head, though I fear he'll be asleep 
again any second now. "No, wanna look at you 
..." He scoots over and pulls me against his warm 
body, his head coming to rest on my shoulder. "... 
love you ..."
	
I smile. "Love you, too," I answer softly. Then I 
smile a wicked smile. "Thanks for the sex."
	
His head snaps up and he grins, instantly awake. 
Men ... "You're very welcome, but you weren't 
half bad either!"
	
"That, my love, was something I never really 
doubted," I smile knowingly, looking at our baby. 
He chuckles at my comment.
	
"When will he be off his night feeds?" he asks.
	
"Very soon," I answer. "He shouldn't really need 
them anymore, but I think he feels better, being 
nursed once a night as well as during the day. I'll 
be glad when he's off them, though. I can use the 
sleep."
	
Mulder nods. "I guess so, yeah." He yawns again. 
"Mmmm ... sleepy ..." He closes his eyes and 
nuzzles my neck. I'm touched by the sense of 
comfort and trust he displays so openly. That is 
something one hardly ever sees in this man.
	
"Go back to sleep," I whisper. William has 
finished nursing and his eyes are drooping. The 
amount he drinks at night has decreased over the 
past week or so to almost nothing. I guess he 
craves the touch and affection more than the 
actual food, though I think all he wants right now 
is a warm little bed and a cuddle. "I'll put William 
to bed, clean up a little and I'll be back, okay?"
	
"... 'kay ..." is all the answer I get. No doubt there 
will be very little entertainment when I get back. 
Oh well ...
	
"Keep my spot warm," I whisper in his ear, just 
before I rise to bring our son back to his room. 
And sure enough Mulder rolls over onto his 
stomach to where I was sitting just a second ago. 
He's sprawled out all over the bed and I can't help 
but chuckle at the sight. But first, my baby.

When I return to the room, after having put 
William back in his little bed and myself cleaned 
up, I find Mulder fast asleep. Oh well, so much 
for the fun I was hoping for ...
	
"Come on, love," I say softly, pushing him aside a 
little so I can get into bed myself. "Move over."
	
"... mmmmm ..." I hear as he dutifully makes 
room for me. I slip under the sheets and curl up 
against him, seeking his warmth. Not that I really 
need his body-heat, it is summer after all, but he 
feels so good ... His arms come round my body 
and I feel cocooned by him. It's a wonderfully 
safe feeling. I close my eyes and then I, too, 
succumb to Hypnos' soft charm.

XxXxX

Amazingly I'm first to wake up again. A glance at 
the clock tells me it just after nine a.m. Next to me 
Mulder is still sleeping like the dead. It gives me a 
rare opportunity to look at him in complete rest. I 
softly caress his face and hair, careful not to wake 
him already. He mumbles something 
unintelligible, stirs slightly and then he's still 
again. His lips are just slightly apart and when I 
move close enough I can feel soft puffs of breath 
on my face like little ghost kisses. The lines that 
often mark his face when he's awake, have 
disappeared. I spend some time looking at his 
eyes, I'm a sucker for long eye-lashes and this 
man has got the most beautiful set of lashes I have 
ever seen with any guy. Then I follow his face and 
go down his neck to the strong shoulders. Oh, he 
really is beautiful, isn't he? Okay, so I'm biased ...
	
He turns over onto his back. My God, has he read 
my intentions?
	
I pull the sheets away from us, baring him. It's 
shameful, really, the way I'm using his helpless 
condition for my own private desires. Forgive me, 
Father, for I have sinned. I snicker soundlessly 
with the thought. I guess the man can punish me 
when he wakes up. I can't help a shiver. Ooo, the 
prospect is killing me ...
	
I straddle his waist and start massaging the 
muscles in his shoulders. He hums under me with 
obvious pleasure. I wonder if he's waking up.
	
A nudge to my butt tells me at least part of him 
has woken up. I grin. This is going in the right 
direction. My hands idly wander across the hard 
planes of his abdomen, stroking softly, admiring 
his toned body. I don't think he's completely 
asleep, though I guess he's currently wondering 
whether this is a dream or reality. Why don't you 
open your eyes, handsome, and find out!
	
I feel the tension building in my core at about the 
same speed that the tapping to my back increases. 
It really wouldn't be a problem at all to just lower 
myself on top of him and have my way with him, 
but I'd like him to be awake for it. 
	
"Hey, wake up, sleepy-head," I say softly in his 
ear. "I want to play!"
	
And, sure enough, his eyes come open. Well, half. 
"Is this a dream?" he whispers. "'Cause if it is, 
don't wake me up. I don't think I could stand the 
disappointment."
	
I smile. "Nope, this is all real. Come on, Mulder, I 
want to play!"
	
I sound like a little kid that can't wait to go to the 
playground. I can't. Lucky for me, my favourite 
playground is to be found directly under me and 
the toy I like most of all is apparently as eager as I 
am. I bend over and kiss him softly on the lips, 
moving away just when he tries to deepen the 
kiss.
	
"Hey!"
	
I grin. "You wanna play?" I ask, leaning in to 
touch his lips again, but when he tries to kiss me, I 
move away again, laughing.
	
"Scully! Quit fooling around!" he protests. His 
hard words are softened by his grin.
	
"Why, Mulder? It's more fun this way!"
	
"How on earth should it be more fun?"
	
"Well, you can't have everything you wish for. At 
least that's what Sister Mary Clara always told 
Missy and myself in Sunday School," I reply with 
a smile, weaving my hand through his hair.
	
"With all due respect, Dana, but I hardly believe a 
nun should be in any position to tell you or your 
dear sister anything about sex. Now, I on the other 
hand ..." His eyes twinkle mischievously.
	
"Yes ...?"
	
Completely unexpectedly, he rolls us over so he's 
on top of me - and in total control. This will be 
nice ... "I on the other hand, believe myself to be 
quite capable of teaching you a trick or two that 
will drive you utterly out of your mind with lust 
and pleasure!"
	
I gasp at his words, but quickly regain my 
equilibrium. "Are you about to show me one of 
them?"
	
He leans down and kisses me hot, his tongue 
snaking into my mouth and setting my whole 
body on fire. I'm utterly breathless when he, at 
last, ends the kiss - and I am more aroused than I 
thought possible. He winks. "Yes, my dear young 
lady, I am!"
	
I giggle. "I'm not a young lady anymore, 
Mulder."
	
He smiles. "No, I guess not. Come on, don't spoil 
the atmosphere!"
	
Gently I tug his head down for another warm kiss. 
"All right, I won't spoil the atmosphere. At least, I 
won't if you keep your promise of driving me 
insane with lust and desire!"
	
"For a nice Catholic girl you sure seem to enjoy a 
good orgasm, Dana Scully!" he says with a 
twinkle in his eye.
	
"I live for them," I reply in a husky voice. "Now 
make love to me, gorgeous!
	
His eyes go wide for just a moment at my words. I 
bet he never thought he'd hear those words from 
me, but they're true. Under those prim little 
Donna Karen suits resides and has always resided 
a woman who just loved sex and sexual 
experimentation. Too bad this particular hunk of a 
man thought he couldn't have me. Until just over 
a year ago, that is, when the tension between the 
two of us - not to mention the tension inside my 
ever-aroused, very treacherous body - became too 
much to bear and we suddenly found ourselves 
fucking each other's brains out virtually under 
Skinner's nose. Well, in the office we were 
assigned to work in for a day and which happened 
to be directly one floor below Skinner's office. 
I'm fairly certain that for some reason that room 
wasn't equipped with security cameras. I bet he 
wouldn't have been able to keep it to himself if he 
knew ...
	
Above me I see Mulder's face split into that grin 
that tells me I'm in for something big. It's usually 
reserved for one of his 'theories', but now, at this 
moment, I'm pretty damn sure his intentions have 
nothing to do with UFOs at all.
	
"My my my, aren't we eager this morning," he 
says with a smile in his voice, his lips nibbling the 
side of my neck, precisely where I'm so goddamn 
sensitive.
	
"Ahh ..." I gasp before I can answer, "I'm ... I'm 
hornier than hell, Mul - ... der ... do something 
about it!"
	
"Yes, my lady," he replies and sets to work.
	
Jesus, Mary, mother of God ... I've unleashed a 
beast ... I've always known it had to be really 
dangerous to be the focus of Fox Mulder's 
undivided attention. After all, I've witnessed the 
consequences first-hand, but this ... my God ... 
this is unbelievable!
	
His mouth is everywhere at once and right there 
where I need it the most. I want to touch my 
breasts, but I can't, they're too fucking sensitive - 
he's suckling my nipples. Oh Jesus, has he read 
my thoughts, going down ... down ... ah, yes, right 
there ... Oh man, forgive me if I just pass out with 
pleasure right here ...
	
"Oh ... fuck ... oh oh ... Jesus, Fox ..." I cry out, I 
can't help it. Oh God, Mom must be walking 
around, she can hear us! "... Christ, oh ... aahhh ... 
Mulder stop ..."
	
"You don't want me to stop," he counters, his 
words muffled by the place he's in right now, and 
really I don't, but he must! Instead I shake my 
head, lolling it from one side to the other on my 
pillow. It's about as much muscle-coordination as 
I can muster at the moment.
	
"... no no no, don't-- ... ah ..." He's ruined my 
speech. Oh, who the fuck cares, as long as he 
keeps that mouth down there, and keeps sucking 
me into oblivion. I hiss through clenched teeth 
when he takes my clitoris between his lips and 
begins to suck in earnest. Ah man ...
	
Oh fuck, I don't care. I pinch my nipples between 
my fingers. They're slippery with a mix of milk 
and Mulder's saliva, and faint stabs of pain 
manage to penetrate the fog of incredible sexual 
pleasure, but instead of killing the mood, they 
only, miraculously, feed into my arousal. I throw 
my head back into the pillow, letting out an 
unashamed cry of lust and desire. I sound like a 
crazed animal!
	
Oh oh oh ... I can feel the waves crashing in. His 
fingers have joined in in his expert teasing ... God, 
where did he learn all these fabulous tricks? 
Never mind, I don't want to know ... And then it 
happens. It's that unbelievable lightshow again, 
suns and stars and galaxies colliding and I'm 
blinded ... ah man, no one has ever made me come 
this hard! Oh God, I can't help it, I'm howling 
with pleasure.
	
I'm positively quaking with the tremors this 
orgasm have caused, my limbs are reduced to 
some kind of unidentifiable jelly, my brain is 
currently non-functional - and all I can think 
about is how fucking unfair it is that I came this 
hard and he wasn't even inside me. Gotta do 
something about that.
	
"Je-sus, Mulder! ..." I pant, prying my eyes open. 
I seem to suffer from lame eyelid muscles after 
sex with this man ... He's lying next to me, his 
hand still stroking my labia and clitoris, lazily and 
amazingly soothing. I giggle, letting out a sigh 
that translates into an exclamation of true 
pleasure. "... I sure ... [giggle] ... have done it now 
... [sigh] ... haven't I?"
	
"So, tell me, how was it?" he smiles. I moan 
softly when he withdraws his hand from my 
centre. 
	
"You know that perfectly well," I answer, my 
voice strained from screaming out, but at least my 
IQ seems to have returned. I'd nearly accepted 
that this round of sex was part of a barter for my 
entire IQ. I wouldn't have batted an eyelid in 
agreeing.
	
"Well, it seemed pretty okay to me," he says, 
putting up an adorable show of understating his 
opinion.
	
I laugh, I can't help it, as I snuggle up to his, 
drawing him closer. He's sporting the hard-on of 
the century, but I know how to help. "You'd 
better warn me next time, Mulder, when I'm mad 
or horny enough to take you up on your words!"
	
"Maybe I shouldn't," he says. "It sure makes for a 
good time."
	
"Yes, it does. And one turn deserves another, 
gorgeous!" I say, pulling him on top of me, letting 
my thighs fall open.
	
"Hornier than hell, huh, Dana?" he grins as he 
settles between my legs. He wastes no time in 
pushing inside me, drawing long sighs from both 
of us when he's fully embedded in me. Yes, this is 
what I was made for, no doubt about it. Hell, it 
was what I was made with! I smile with the 
thought, closing my eyes to savour the feelings his 
movements cause. But, ever the gentleman, he's 
holding back. I don't want that.
	
"Come for me," I moan, meeting his thrusts with 
moves of my own. "Don't wait for me, do what 
you gotta do." I want to see what he looks like 
when he comes. I want to see it and remember it 
for the times I can't be with him. It's feeding time 
for my fantasies.
	
"... you deserve it ..." he says with adorable 
difficulty. Ah, geez, I really don't deserve this 
man, no matter what he says, do I?
	
"Mulder, I want to look," whisper in his ear. "I 
want to look and see you come inside me. I can't 
do that when you make me come with you. I want 
to memorise what you look like, so that, whenever 
we're on the road and we're being insulted by 
some dimwitted sheriff, I can look at you and 
picture you coming hard." I don't know what I'm 
saying. But the prospect of doing this in real life 
someday sure is damn arousing.
	
"... Geez, Scul ... ly ... " Guess he agrees. I 
continue, closing my eyes as I imagine what I'm 
fantasising. Immediately I open my eyes again. I 
want to watch. His thrusts are speeding up nicely.
	
"When we're in Skinner's office, being fried over 
an expense report, I can picture you come inside 
me and he won't even know I'm soaking my 
panties. When I'm doing an autopsy and you're 
watching, I can imagine you inside me, taking me 
hard on the autopsy table. When you're pissing 
off Kersch, I can look at you and know it doesn't 
fucking matter what he's saying, 'cause that night 
we're gonna have the best sex of the century and 
there's nothing he can change about that."
	
He's racing now, out of control like a run-away 
freight train. He can't afford thinking about my 
body and the fact that it's still sensitive because 
I'm breast feeding and I gave birth only a few 
months ago. And frankly, I don't want him to care 
about me. He's beautiful in his state of total 
abandon. Incredibly beautiful.
	
Then he's off. I nearly tear up with emotions, 
watching him throw himself headlong into his 
orgasm, howling with the sensations. I don't think 
he's ever come this hard with me. That's my man! 
I'm awed by the sight. I'm in love ...
	
He collapses on top of me, his arms unable to 
support his weight. I crush him to me, welcoming 
the feeling of him. I lightly scratch my nails 
across his sweat-covered back, then soothing the 
faint marks with loving caresses. He's panting 
like a locomotive in full steam.
	
We remain in this position for a little while, with 
him unable and me unwilling to change it. But, 
after a bit, he groans loudly and slowly rolls off 
me, pulling out of me. Man, I didn't want that ... 
He buries his face in the curve of my neck, 
nuzzling and kissing as he lies beside me. When I 
turn my head to look at him, he's smiling.
	
"Taking you hard on the autopsy table, huh, 
Agent Scully?" he grins, shaking his head. "You 
are a sick woman!"
	
I laugh. "Like I told you, Mulder, I live for 
orgasms."
	
"Good thing I didn't know about that when we 
first met. We wouldn't have made it out of the 
office and on that plane to Oregon if I'd known 
..."
	
"I was selective in what I told the Bureau when 
they hired me," I reply as if that explains it all.
	
"Just imagine what we've missed ..."
	
I smile. "I didn't know if you even found me 
attractive, Mulder. I had to work with you, I 
needed your mind more than your body during 
those first difficult cases."
	
"You could've had both. It sure wasn't me who 
was going to stop you."
	
"Thinking with your big head or your little head?" 
I grin.
	
"Amazingly, most of the time it was still this ..." 
He taps his finger to his skull "... that did the 
thinking. But I can assure you, Dana, it was no 
easy task!"
	
I smile, a bit incredulous. After all, I've always 
known I'm not his type. "How's that?"
	
He lets out a soft laugh as if to indicate they're 
happy but slightly embarrassing memories. "Ah, 
Scully, you've really never realised how beautiful 
you are, have you?"
	
I'm speechless. One-nil for Fox Mulder.
	
He strokes my face with his hand, clearly loving 
me. Oh, Lord, I'm so in love with him ... "Have 
you never noticed the men in the Bureau looking 
at you?"
	
I shake my head. It never occurred to me to pay 
attention to that. And most of the time my mind 
was on our work - or on Mulder - anyway.
	
"But I have, Scully, and it made me green with 
jealousy. And every time they stared at you as if 
you were a piece of meat, ah, Dana, I saw red!"
	
I smile. "That's an amazing feat for someone 
who's red-green colour blind ..."
	
He chuckles. "Touché!" Then he grows more 
serious. "You're one of the very few women I 
have ever seen who don't flaunt their beauty. 
You're gorgeous, but you don't use it. In fact I 
always wondered if you even knew how beautiful 
you are ..."
	
"I'm not beautiful, Mulder. I'm pretty and I have 
an okay face, but I'm not beautiful like other 
women are beautiful ..." I'm touched by his 
compliments, but sadly, they're not true. He's 
biased and I must keep that in mind.
	
He leans in for a lingering kiss. "Of course you 
are beautiful. And I know I'm not the most 
objective of judges, but do I really need to point 
out the men who are really seriously attracted to 
you? There are more than a few of them currently 
counting the days till you're coming back to the 
Hoover."
	
He must be joking - but he's so serious. "You're 
kidding me, Mulder."
	
He puts his mouth right to my ear. "Skinner," he 
just whispers. I gasp in response, both to the puff 
of air in my ear and to the name he mentions. 
"He's in love with you," he continues, "he'd give 
his right hand to be in my shoes."
	
I shake my head, looking at him, totally baffled. 
"No," I breathe out.
	
He nods. "Why do you think we're getting away 
with so much? He's incapable of reprimanding 
you, Scully, it would go against his deepest 
feelings. It's only because he respects your choice 
that he hasn't actually done anything about those 
feelings."
	
"How ... how do you know?"
	
He shrugs. "He told me."
	
"He told you?"
	
"Yeah. He made me swear to secrecy though, I 
couldn't tell anyone, not even you. I broke my 
pledge, but I'm not sorry."
	
"Why did he make you swear you wouldn't tell 
me?"
	
"He was afraid you wouldn't want to work under 
him again." I see him flinch at the possibility of a 
double-entendre. I let it slip. "He didn't want you 
to be uncomfortable around him. He knew you 
weren't interested in him that way, and he'd rather 
keep it silent and to himself, so things wouldn't 
change. He told me that you and I had narrowly 
escaped being split up on more than one occasion 
and he had to pull incredible favours to keep us 
together." Mulder ducks his head. "He couldn't 
have what he wanted, he told me, but he cared too 
much for you to make you lose me ..."
	
I'm struck silent by this confession. I really truly 
don't know what to say.
	
"Maybe," he continues, "we ought to remember 
the man's birthday this year ..."
	
I nod and smile. "It is the least we can do, yes ..." 
	
I flop down on the bed, sated and utterly satisfied, 
letting out a long happy sigh and closing my eyes. 
I'm certain I'm the happiest woman on the planet 
at this very moment. I have a fabulous man and a 
beautiful son and incredible sex and a loving 
mother and a home and a job I love and ... ah man 
... life doesn't get much better than this, does it? 
There's only one thing that could make it even 
better. 
	
"Sing 'New Valenki' for me, Mulder ..." I 
whisper, smiling in anticipation.

XxXxX

PART 5/6
DANA SCULLY'S APARTMENT
Rating: R

I've always been one to favour changes, even 
though I suppose it didn't always seem that way. 
So, when Mulder proposed the option of him 
moving in with me, I didn't refuse him. On the 
contrary.
	
We asked Mom about that night, and yes, she'd 
heard us. Of course she had, she would've been 
deaf if she hadn't. And no, she didn't mind. She 
was glad I'd found someone I could be so free 
with. I know better, though ... I may have the 
world's sweetest mother, but she is old-fashioned 
in her ideas. Well, too bad, I guess. I can't undo 
what's happened and I sure as hell am not 
changing anything about the way Mulder and I 
make love. I'd rather die ...
	
I start when I hear a loud bang, a clatter, and a 
string of curses I will not repeat here, emerging 
from my kitchen. I get up from the couch where I 
was reading my Sherlock Holmes book, and walk 
to the crime-scene.
	
I can't help a smile when I see the mess, formerly 
part of our dinner, scattered across the floor.
	
"Wipe off that smile, Scully, or I'll scream," he 
mutters, unable, however, to hide his own smile. 
It only serves to make me laugh.
	
"What happened?" I ask.
	
He raises his right hand, holding the handle of the 
pan, but with the pan itself mysteriously vanished. 
"You might want to invest in some new cooking 
utensils."
	
Poor Mulder, I think. But I can only grin. The 
look I receive quickly changes it into full-blown 
laughter until I'm hiccuping with it.
	
"I'm pleased to see you find this situation so 
amusing, Agent Scully," he says, apparently 
unsure if he's going to laugh or scowl.
	
"I'm ... I'm sorry [hic] ... it's really not fun - [hic] 
- ny, and you're such a [hic] mess ... but if you 
could [hic] only see yourself, Mul - [hic] Mulder 
..."
	
I'm leaning against the fridge with laughter, 
trying my almightiest to pull myself together, but 
he's just so cute as he stands there, spaghetti 
sauce all over his pants, the handle of the pan still 
in his hands and a look of annoyance mixed with 
pleasure on his face. I want to hug him and never 
let go. Then he finally lets a smile break through 
and he tosses the handle onto the kitchen counter.
	
"So, that was dinner," he remarks, "what do we 
do now?"
	
I'm still giggling, hiccups interrupting me as they 
come. I'll be suffering from those fellahs for a bit 
longer ... I wait till right after a hiccup before I 
answer.
	
"Order out?" Safe short answer. No hiccup in 
there.
	
"We could, but we still have the spaghetti," he 
answers. "Don't you have some more sauce, 
perhaps some ready-made stuff?"
	
I smile. "Perhaps [hic]." Ah man ... these hiccups 
are getting annoying, especially because now it's 
Mulder who's grinning. "Look in that cup - [hic] 
- board over there."
	
I hear him laugh as he ducks, suddenly very 
interested in the contents of the cupboard. He's 
going to be sorry tonight. He rises with a jar of 
Heinz pasta sauce. It's not culinary, but it's food.
	
"I have a [hic] leek in the fridge," I say, "and [hic] 
maybe a red pepper [hic] ..." Jesus, my hiccups 
are on the increase. Mulder notices it too and he 
gets me a glass of water.
	
"Here, drink this, they might go away," he says as 
he hands me the glass, trying very hard to conceal 
his laughter.
	
"Thanks ... [hic] whoops!" My hiccup has spilt 
some of the water. "You put too much [hic] water 
in it!"
	
He grins and pecks me on the cheek. "Sorry. Go 
on, drink it in little sips while I attempt heating 
the sauce. Possibly even without wrecking another 
one of your pans."
	
He really is sweet, isn't he? I can't help a smile as 
I watch him go about cutting the vegetables and 
heating the sauce while I slowly sip the water, 
occasionally interrupted by a stubborn hiccup. I 
see him smile everytime he hears a hiccup. But, 
by the time he's finished I seem to have overcome 
them.
	
"I'm just going to change out of these pants," he 
says, "put on some clean ones."
	
I cut my eyes quickly from his crotch to his face 
and back. I let my eyebrows do a quick twitch and 
lick my lips. "No need," I answer in a low voice.
	
His hot little smile says more than a thousand 
words. "Let's save that for after dinner, okay? 
We're gonna need the nourishment for what we 
have in mind ..." With a wink he turns and heads 
for the bedroom.
	
Whoo boy, did someone just crank up the heat in 
here or what ...

XxXxX

I'm loading the dish washer. The spaghetti sauce 
was better than I thought. I'm not too keen on 
those ready-made sauces, I much prefer making 
them myself from scratch, with fresh herbs and 
vegetables and sun-ripened tomatoes, but, as all 
those fabulous ingredients so unceremoniously 
landed on my kitchen floor, we really didn't have 
much of a choice. And, the sauce wasn't too bad 
after all.
	
I hear Mulder with William in the living room. 
We have made a silent agreement that whoever 
does the cooking does not need to bother with the 
dishes. Usually this means that I can sit and play 
with William after dinner, but this time it was 
Mulder's turn.
	
William clearly isn't ready for any other food than 
milk yet. I tried a bit of baby food today, pureed 
carrots, but he didn't want to eat it yet. That is 
fine, I enjoy breast feeding him, but it would 
make things easier for Mulder. He is a bit young 
for it, too. He was hungry enough, though, clearly 
proven by the eagerness he showed when I nursed 
him.
	
With a sigh of relief I close the dish washer and 
push the 'on' button. Thank God for the invention 
of dish washers ... I hang the towel on its hook 
and enter the living room.
	
"Look who's there," Mulder says to William. 
"There's mommy. Yes, that's Mommy."
	
William coos and lets out a spit bubble in 
excitement. Mulder quickly wipes it away as I sit 
next to them on the floor. We like to sit on the 
floor when we play with our son, it makes all our 
movements so much freer.
	
"Hey, my big boy," I say softly, kissing his 
chubby little cheek. He giggles when I touch his 
tiny nose. We must have the happiest baby in the 
world, he laughs all day long. He clutches my left-
hand index finger and middle finger in his little 
fist and brings them to his mouth. I'm glad he's 
not teething yet, because I can clearly feel the 
chewing motions and I have no desire to see my 
digits munched into a pulp by my sweet but still 
rather inconsiderate baby.
	
With a gentle but determined move Mulder frees 
my hand from William's grasp - much to the 
distress of the baby in question - and puts him in 
my arms. Then he moves to sit behind me, 
wrapping his arms around my waist and pulling 
my back against him and thus making me feel 
deliciously warm and sheltered.
	
"Were you tired of holding him?" I ask softly.
	
I feel him shake his head. "I could never tire of 
holding him, but you're so much better at it."
	
I smile. "Nonsense, Mulder, don't put yourself 
down like that. You're easily as good at caring for 
him as I am, and you know it."
	
He kisses me softly on the side of my neck. 
"Thank you." He pauses for a moment. "I needed 
that," he then adds very softly.
	
I crane my neck to look at him. "You're very 
welcome," I reply with a smile, before looking 
back at our son. We're silent for a little while. 
Then I feel him move behind me until I'm burning 
with curiosity.
	
"Mulder, stop squirming," I say. He doesn't 
answer, but gently takes my right hand and, to my 
utter surprise and stupification, slips the most 
gorgeous ring I have ever seen onto my ring 
finger. I can't hold back a gasp as the gold and 
what I can only imagine are diamonds and rubies 
glitter in the soft lamp light.
	
"Mulder!"
	
"Perfect fit, just like I thought," he says in 
response. I turn around to look at him. My God, I 
have never even seen a ring like this one before, 
much less thought I would ever wear one ... He 
chuckles as he sees my bewildered expression.
	
"Do you like it?" he asks.
	
I actually need a second take before I can reply 
and even then I hardly know how to put my 
feelings into words.
	
"Yes ... yes, I love it ... it's ... amazing," I say 
softly. "I've never seen a ring like it in my life ..." 
I panic slightly at the thought of the cost. This 
ring is worth an absolute fortune, because I am 
totally convinced these gems are the genuine 
article. And the thought of him having spent so 
much money on me, on something that is in itself 
almost trivial and superfluous, is ... scary ... to say 
the least. Not to say that we could use the money 
for much better things. "... this ring ..."
	
"Yes?"
	
I can't say it. I can't reproach him for this over-
the-top expense. It would crush him, feed his 
insecurities. And it's done, he's bought it, he can 
hardly return it because I think it cost too much, 
can he?
	
"It is actually my great-grandmother's wedding 
ring, which in turn was my grandmother's 
engagement ring and my mother's. And it seemed 
sort of logical that you should get it next. Do you 
like it? I can buy you a new ring if you don't like 
it."
	
I'm probably visibly relieved to hear it is an 
heirloom and not Cartier's top-of-the-range 
model. "No no, it's fantastic. It's more than 
fantastic, it's ... I can't describe it ..."
	
"It was made by Fabergé in St. Petersburg in 
1898. My great-grandmother was from Russia in 
fact and when she and my great-grandfather 
married, they bought the jewellery in Moscow and 
St. Petersburg."
	
"The jewellery?"
	
He chuckles a bit. "Ah yes, well, this ring ain't 
all, though it is the only bit of Mulder-family 
jewellery that is passed down via the eldest son. 
The rest goes straight down via the eldest 
daughter. But, with Samantha gone, that left only 
me ..."
	
"But that means that, if it goes to the daughter, it 
should have long since left the family, shouldn't 
it?"
	
"Well, theoretically speaking you're right, but the 
jewels - there's lots more - never leave the 
family. The family jewels remain in the family, 
which is good because Mamie left some fantastic 
jewellery."
	
"Mamie?"
	
"My great-grandmother. Her name was Margaret, 
but everyone called her Mamie," he says with a 
smile. "I actually knew her, though she died when 
I was only four years old. She was 84 when she 
died. She was one hell of a great lady. What's in a 
name, huh?"
	
I smile. I know he loves my mother as though she 
is his own. Meanwhile, I'm fascinated by the ring 
- and so is William. I doubt whether he can 
appreciate its artistry and craftsmanship the way 
one should, but at least he likes the glimmering.
	
"This ring must be worth a fortune," I say softly. 
I'm amazed by the extraordinary fit. It's as if this 
ring was made for me. "I mean, it being made by 
Fabergé and over a 100 years old and ..."
	
"I suppose so, yes," Mulder answers with a smile, 
hugging me closer, "but as long as you don't lose 
it in a cadavre I wouldn't worry about that too 
much if I were you."
	
"I'm scared to wear it. I'm afraid I might lose it or 
ruin it or ..."
	
"A ring is made for wearing," he says, touching 
his finger to the extraordinary piece of jewellery. 
"Not for locking in some vault or safe or 
something. I want you to wear it. If something 
breaks or gets damaged we can always have it 
repaired. After all, they're only stones."
	
He talks so casually about it and yet I feel 
uncertain. They may be "only stones", but these 
are very very expensive ones nonetheless. He 
senses it - and senses the sore place. "It's that 
money-thing again, isn't it?"
	
I dare not answer, but it is. Our families, our 
backgrounds are so different ...
	
He sighs softly. "Scully, a hundred years ago, 
maybe even as recently as fifty years ago, we 
might never have met, even less become engaged. 
People would have uttered that totally insane idea 
that there might be a difference in wealth and 
station that should keep us apart, and this 
engagement would never have occurred. I thank 
God on my bare knees that this has changed ..."
	
"Mulder, you don't believe in God," I giggle, 
relieved by a chance to lighten the mood.
	
He chuckles. "No, I don't, but I should, which 
only comes to prove who really is the better 
person of the two of us." Then he grows serious 
again. "I come from a very wealthy family. I 
know it and you know it. I have and always have 
had enough money to live my life idling the days 
away. I realise this must sound strange to you, but 
this is how it is."
	
"When I was young we barely managed to make 
ends meet," I say very softly, stroking William's 
head and face. It must have been so wonderful as 
a child not to have to think about every penny you 
spend. But then again, who had the more enviable 
childhood, right? My siblings and I may not have 
had the Ivy League and Oxford education, but at 
least my parents loved us and truly loved each 
other. What we got in love and affection more 
than amply made up for the limited allowances I 
got as a teenager.
	
He pulls me closer and I can feel a kind of despair 
in his touch. "I know ..."
	
I turn in his arms to look at him. When I'm facing 
him I can finally really read his eyes. I'm not 
happy by what I see. "At least my parents really 
loved us," I say softly. I panic when I understand 
the implications of my words. "No, no, Mulder, I 
don't mean to say that your parents never ..."
	
He smiles a bit sadly. "Don't apologise when it's 
true. I guess cars and designer clothes only go so 
far in compensating for the affection my parents 
never had for each other or even for Sam or me 
..." He sighs and I feel my heart swell. I can 
literally feel the hurt pouring off him as I imagine 
how he must have begged for love and attention 
when he was younger but never received it. "But, 
you can teach me how to be a better father for 
William. After all, you had the perfect example 
..."
	
I press a soft kiss on his lips. Then I smile. "So far 
you're doing a pretty darn good job. You must be 
a natural."
	
He smiles. "I'm trying."
	
"I know you are. Keep it up, you're doing just 
fine."
	
"Thanks. So, do you like the ring?"
	
I nod. "I love it, it's the most amazing, exquisite 
ring I have ever seen. Your great-grandparents 
had fabulous taste."
	
"Yes, they did. Though it helped that they also 
had the funds to satisfy it." He kisses me softly. 
"Shall we drop that money-issue? It's not helping 
us and it could only get between us. Let's just 
enjoy the fact that the cash is there for us to 
benefit from, okay?"
	
I nod. I'm making this into a bigger problem than 
I need to. I look down at William and smile at his 
reaction when he sees my ring. This is one kid 
with great taste. I feel Mulder's head resting 
against mine, sheltering our son. He moves to sit 
beside me and I scoot over until I'm touching 
from my hips to my shoulders. Then I sigh 
contented, the silence washing over us and 
covering us in a soft blanket of happiness.
	
Life is great, don't let anyone tell you otherwise ...

XxXxX

"He did? Oh, honey, how romantic!"
	
I smile, even though she can't see it. "It's an 
exquisite ring, Mom, I've never seen a ring quite 
like it." Mom rang me just a few minutes ago and 
I'm sitting on the couch, the phone wedged 
between my shoulder and my ear as I try to get 
William to stop squirming.
	
"Oh, I already knew he'd buy the best he can get, 
Dana, nothing but the best would do for you as far 
as he's concerned."
	
Alarmingly enough I know that's true. "He didn't 
buy this ring. It's an heirloom, it belonged to his 
great-grandmother."
	
"Really? It must be very dear to him if he gave it 
to you."
	
"I think it is. He speaks with such fondness about 
his great-grandmother. I feel really honoured to 
have been given her ring. It's made by Fabergé 
and he told me it was made around 1898. It's a 
stunning piece of Russian jewellery."
	
"Incredible, I can't wait to see it. Anyway, is he 
there? I'd like to talk to him."
	
I shake my head, though, of course, she can't see 
it. "No, he had to go back to the Bureau. A.D. 
Skinner needed him for something."
	
"Oh, that is a pity, dear. How's William?"
	
"Being a handful," I answer with a smile. I have 
to watch his every move or he's out of my sight. 
He's quick as water these days. "I wouldn't have 
minded having Mulder here to give me a hand."
	
"When is he coming back?"
	
"In about an hour or so. He wanted to talk to 
Skinner about his possible return to the Bureau. 
We still haven't received any verification that he 
might actually go back. And I can tell by his 
actions that he's very eager to pick up where he 
left off before he disappeared."
	
Mom doesn't answer right away, but when she 
does, her voice is soft. "You're very lucky, you 
realise that, don't you, Dana?"
	
I nod, biting my lip. My God, yes I do. 
"Sometimes it almost unnerves me. When I 
realise how fortunate I am ..."
	
"I know ..."
	
I take a deep breath. William has discovered that 
he's not going to be going anywhere and is 
sulking. He's definitely inherited his dad's 
stubborn streak. "Every now and then I'm lying in 
bed or walking around the house, or even when 
I'm working, and all of a sudden it hits me. And it 
invariably moves me to tears. I'm so unbelievably 
lucky. I mean, I have a gorgeous baby and a 
fantastic man to call my own and ..."
	
"Good sex," Mom supplies rather out of the blue.
	
I nod, grinning despite myself. Hey mom, I didn't 
expect that from you ... "Great sex," I reply. I'm 
pretty sure she can hear my grin.
	
"Fabulous sex," she adds. She's smiling, too.
	
I'd be lying if I told you that I wasn't surprised by 
what I hear. I never knew my mother like this. 
"Mom??" I laugh.
	
She's laughing, too. "Come on, Dana, I know 
what you're like. Don't you remember, I heard 
you! You are just like your father and myself 
when we were younger. I'm not as old-fashioned 
as I may seem."
	
I'm struck silent. And that's a rare thing to 
happen.
	
Mom continues. "When we were newly married, 
your father had to go to sea quite soon after our 
wedding. I missed him like crazy. We had hardly 
had a honeymoon to speak of and I knew he'd be 
out to sea for months. I thought I was going mad 
with the idea of having to go without him for so 
long."
	
She takes a deep breath. I can't speak. She's never 
told me this before. I knew the times Dad was out 
on missions were hard for her, but I never spent 
time thinking of how it must have been when their 
marriage was still so young. Before Bill was born. 
It must have been so silent, so lonely for her ...
	
"So when he came back after three months from 
his mission to the Baltic, we didn't leave the 
bedroom for two whole days. Suppose we had 
some catching up to do ..."
	
I can't help a smile. "I felt the same when Mulder 
was returned to me ..."
	
"Of course you did. And your situation had been 
so much worse ... You'd seen him, identified his 
body, buried him. When I saw you at the funeral I 
thought you were going to pass out." 
	
I'm crying now, the memories of that awful week, 
followed by those months of mourning, washing 
over me like a tidal wave from hell. William's 
totally still, looking at me with large eyes, no 
doubt wondering why his mommy is so sad. Oh, 
my baby ... I hug him close to me and I feel his 
little arms grasp me. Oh sweetheart ...
	
"I'm sorry, Dana ..." I hear my mother say.
	
I shake my head. "No, no, don't worry, Mom, it's 
just that it's still so fresh on my mind. I haven't 
really been able to process it all yet."
	
"Would you like me to call you back later?"
	
Again I shake my head. "No, just ... just give me a 
second, okay? I'll be fine ..."
	
I hear her gentle smile. "You sure, honey?"
	
I smile through my tears. "Yeah ..." I wipe the 
tears away. I don't want to cry when there is no 
real reason for it. After all, he's back now. I 
sniffle a bit and gradually begin to feel better. 
"I'm just a bit emotional ..."
	
"Now that I can understand," she replies.
	
We are silent for a little while, lost in thoughts.
	
"I think it's about time I took care of supper," 
Mom says. "Will you call me back or shall I?"
	
"I'll call you tomorrow, okay? Oh, no wait, 
William has his check tomorrow and Mulder and I 
are going into town afterwards. I'll call you day 
after tomorrow, all right?"
	
I hear her smile. "That is fine, darling. Say 'hi' to 
Fox from me and tell him he can call me 
anytime."
	
"I'm sure he'll be in touch," I smile. "Love you, 
Mom."
	
"I love you too, honey. Is William there?"
	
"He's right here." I put the receiver at his ear. 
"Say 'hi' to Grandma, William."
	
"Mmmmaa ..." he says, if I understand him 
correctly. Well, at least he produced an 
appropriate sound at the right moment.
	
"Bye bye, sweetheart," I hear Mom's voice. His 
little face lights up with surprise and he lets out a 
weird little giggle. I smile as I take the phone 
back.
	
"Bye, Mom," I say.
	
"Bye, Dana, take good care."
	
"I will," I say. "Bye." And with that I hang up the 
phone.
	
"Who was that?" I coo to William as we walk 
towards the kitchen. I'm thirsty and my tears have 
made my throat feel dry. "That was Grandma 
Maggie, wasn't it? Yes, that was Grandma 
Maggie!" My words are answered by a string of 
sounds and chuckles. When we're in the kitchen I 
balance him on my arm as I pour myself a glass of 
orange juice.
	
William seems fascinated by the orange liquid. 
His view of the world is rapidly expanding and 
he's beginning to take an interest in what's 
happening around him. I dip my finger in the juice 
and let him taste it. His face screws up with 
disgust. It's clearly not sweet enough for him yet.
	
I've just returned to the living room when I hear 
the front door opening.
	
"You're early," I say, seeing Mulder come in. I 
walk up to him to give him a kiss.
	
"Yeah, Skinner's appointment with A.D. Steiner 
was cancelled so mine could be advanced," he 
answers, shrugging off his coat and giving 
William a kiss on the cheek at the same time. 
"Hey, big boy."
	
"I was just on the phone with Mom. She'd like 
you to give her a call."
	
"Right now?"
	
I shake my head. "No, whenever you feel like it. 
Maybe you can call her tonight. We'll be out all 
day tomorrow and she's anxious to talk to you."
	
He chuckles. "You Scully women need to be on 
top of everything, don't you?"
	
I can't resist this opportunity for some innuendo. 
"Especially on top of you, handsome."
	
This grin I receive does nothing to lessen my 
desire. "Not in front of the kid, Dana," he says, 
but I know he's joking. We don't care about 
William hearing it in that respect. It won't hurt 
him, I'm pretty damn sure of that. If anything it'll 
help him get matters about sex and relationships 
into perspective when he's older. It's curiosity 
that leads to problems, not facts.
	
"What's for dinner?" he asks, hanging his coat in 
the closet.
	
"Thai Curry if that's all right with you," I say. He 
smiles.
	
"Have I done something really nice that I am not 
aware of?" It's his favourite dish.
	
"Nope, not as far as I know. But I hardly think 
that is a prerequisite," I reply, putting William in 
his play-pen. Then I walk up to Mulder. I need a 
hug.
	
I rest my arms around his neck as he draws me 
close. "I missed you today," I say softly.
	
He smiles. "I've only been away for three hours."
	
I chuckle. "Still missed you."
	
His right hand comes up to my cheek and he 
draws me in for a kiss. "I missed you, too," he 
whispers just before our lips meet. Man, I missed 
this, too ... From my mouth he kisses a line of fire 
down my neck to my collar bone. I'm smiling 
widely with the sensation he's bringing. "Skinner 
missed you," he whispers.
	
I laugh now. "Don't wreck the atmosphere," I 
chuckle. He's grinning when he looks back at me. 
I sigh softly and rest my head under his chin, my 
arms coming round his chest. I'm on bare feet and 
this means I'm short enough to fit under his chin. 
It's nice this way ...
	
"So, what's been decided?" I ask.
	
"Nothing," he answers softly. "They don't know 
what to do with me - and frankly, neither do I."
	
"How's that?"
	
"I don't know if I could return to the X-Files, 
Scully. I thought that after all this, I'd know the 
answers, that I'd have solved every puzzle, found 
every clue, destroyed every obstacle they'd put in 
our way to keep us from exposing them, but 
instead I find I'm even more clueless, even more 
in the dark than I was before. Because I have seen 
so much. It's like I have too many points of 
perspective now and even then every single one 
seems to have a dead end."
	
I don't reply.
	
"But I don't know what I could do instead. What 
I'd do if I didn't return to the X-Files. I don't 
want to go back to profiling, even when it is the 
job I'd do best. I don't really want to go back into 
the field either." He stops for a second, then 
continues. "I don't want to get killed and leave 
you and William behind. The job ain't worth it."
	
"There are bound to be jobs in the Bureau you 
could do well in that aren't that dangerous. Or 
Quantico, what about that? Go into teaching. 
You'd be excellent at it."
	
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure the students would love 
being taught criminal profiling from Spooky 
Mulder," he answers with a lop-sided smile.
	
I choose not to hear the hurt. "You can change 
that. Reputations can change. But the only one 
who can do that is you."
	
He smiles. I think he's actually contemplating the 
option. I'd be happy to see him at Quantico, 
because I too was scared to see him go back on 
active field duty again. I wouldn't mind his 
partners, but I would mind the danger. And I'm 
convinced he'd make a great teacher.
	
He leans in for a lingering kiss. "I'll think about 
it, okay? Who's cooking, you or me?"
	
Slowly I pull away from him. "I'll do the cooking, 
okay? You go ahead and freshen up a little, 
change into something comfortable."
	
"Yes, ma'am," he smiles. I can't help my smile as 
I head for the kitchen and start supper.

XxXxXxXxX

PART 6/6
DANA SCULLY'S APARTMENT
Rating: NC-17

The music's playing softly in the background, the 
house is cool, I can hear a bird outside my 
window singing its last song of the day, and I'm 
feeling supremely content. I put William to bed 
about ten minutes ago while Mulder cleaned up a 
little, lit a candle and chose the music. Soft rock. 
Perfect.
	
I turn my head to see him emerge from the 
kitchen, two glasses of chilled wine and a smile 
greeting me. I scoot over a bit so he can join me 
on the couch. He sits down beside me and hands 
me a glass of wine.
	
I pull my legs under me and lean against him. I 
rest my head on his shoulder while his arm comes 
around mine, pulling me even closer. This is 
really nice.
	
"So, what's the plan for tomorrow?" he says 
softly.
	
"There's William's check-up with Dr. Lucina at 
eleven," I answer, "but that shouldn't take long. 
And I need a new coat, so I thought we could go 
into town and have a browse."
	
"You mean a new winter coat?"
	
I nod. "I ruined my coat on the Tannhofer-
Mitchelson case last January, remember? Luckily 
I was unable to wear it for much longer because I 
was pregnant at the time, but I still need a winter 
coat."
	
He chuckles. "It's hot as hell outside, Dana, and 
you want to go shopping for a winter coat? You 
just keep on surprising me."
	
I smile. "I know, but at least they still have all the 
sizes now. If I wait until the temperature goes 
down everyone will be storming the shops, 
shopping for a coat and I'm going to be too late."
	
"Don't apologise," he smiles at me. "I just didn't 
expect this."
	
I close my eyes, lying down with my head in his 
lap. I rest my glass on my stomach. "I can 
imagine. So, do you need anything?"
	
"Just you, but that's old news," he grins. I can't 
help but answer his grin with a smile of my own.
	
"I'm not for sale. Though I am available to an 
extremely select group of customers."
	
He raises his eyebrows. "Do explain ..."
	
"I'm available just to you," I reply. "But at least 
you get me for free."
	
'That is certainly a relief," he smiles. "Although 
... for free?"
	
"What do you mean?"
	
"You're hard to keep up with, Agent Scully. I feel 
pretty worn out every time you've had your 
wicked little ways with me."
	
"Ah," I grin, "maybe so. But you wouldn't want it 
any other way, would you?"
	
He laughs. "No, I guess not." His hands are 
caressing my face and hair, slowly but surely 
straying ever more down and slipping under my 
shirt. Closing my eyes I'm practically purring 
with the sensations, feeling unbelievably nice and 
warm and content.
	
"Perhaps you'd like to see Dr. Marciano 
tomorrow while we're in town?" I say softly. His 
office is in the same building as Dr. Lucina's and 
it's an opportunity we don't get very often.
	
"Do I have to?"
	
I shake my head. "No, of course not. After all, 
you don't have to go and see him unless you feel 
unwell, but I just thought it was convenient."
	
"I'd rather stay with you if you don't mind."
	
"No, of course not," I say again. I know he's 
anything but keen on doctors. The idea of needles 
and medical equipment is unnerving to him at the 
moment. I can't say I blame him after all he's 
been through ...
	
"Can we change the subject? I'm not overly fond 
of doctors, especially not on a quiet summer 
evening when everything is perfect."
	
I look up at him, smiling. "Perfect?"
	
"Isn't it? What more can I possibly wish for? The 
woman of my dreams in one hand, a glass of 
respectable wine in the other. I have no worries - 
well, none that really matter anyway - so, yeah, I 
think life is getting pretty close to perfect."
	
I sit up, slowly so I don't get dizzy, and sit on my 
knees, straddling his thighs. Miraculously I didn't 
even spill any of my wine, which in fact is a better 
wine than I thought it would be when I  bought it. 
The Fates are certainly smiling on us.
	
"You're right," I say softly, my arms coming 
round his neck again, resting on his shoulders. 
"Life is perfect." I close the gap between our 
faces, softly rubbing my nose against his. An 
Eskimo kiss, followed by a proper kiss, soft and 
sweet. I see his smile in his eyes.
	
"What are you thinking?" he whispers. His left 
hand tucks my bangs behind my ear.
	
I smile. "I want you," I whisper back.
	
His smile widens. "Really." No question, just a 
statement.
	
I nod, our foreheads touching just the slightest bit. 
"Mm-mm."
	
He takes my glass from my fingers and places 
both our glasses on the coffee table. Then he puts 
his hands on my hips and pulls me closer until my 
upper body is flush with his. It's pretty obvious 
that he wants me just as badly.
	
"See what you do to me?" he says in a low voice. 
"Every time, always ..."
	
I smile. "I can certainly feel it, yeah." With that I 
slowly gyrate my hips just once, drawing a low 
soft moan from him. This is good ...
	
"Trying to get me to speed up, are you?" he says, 
grinning.
	
"I wouldn't mind a little progress," I answer, 
cupping his dear face in my hands. He's so 
beautiful it's almost unreal. God, I love him so 
much ... He'd better not leave me ever again ... I 
don't think I could do without this love ...
	
Quite unexpectedly - and equally unwelcome - 
the memories of those hellish months when I only 
knew he was dead, come back into my mind. I 
bite my lip, but the tears come no matter what.
	
"What's wrong?" he asks, surprised no doubt by 
my sudden change.
	
"You're not going to go away again, are you?" I 
whisper, my voice tight with tears. "You can't do 
that, Mulder, I don't want to go through that 
again!" I'm nearly wailing those last few words. I 
grab him tightly to me as if, this way, I can 
prevent the world from taking him away from me.
	
Thank God he knows what I'm talking about, 
because I don't think I have the courage or the 
heart to explain it to him. "I'm not going away, 
Scully, never again. I was careless and reckless 
then, but I've learned my lesson." He strokes my 
back softly, kissing me gently where he can 
without releasing the grip. "I have too much to 
lose now, I know where I belong and I refuse to 
give that up for any reason. Shhh ... I'm not going 
to leave you ..."
	
"When you ... when I thought you were dead ... I 
wanted it too ..." I sob. I've never told him this, 
the opportunity or situation was never right to tell 
him, but he needs to know I was ready to give up 
on life. "... First I thought that when my baby 
would have been born I could give up ... but then I 
thought ... 'I really need to raise my child' ... and I 
felt so miserable when I realised that! Because 
that would mean I'd have to go on all by myself 
for another twenty years and I missed you so 
much and I knew I could never do this without 
you!" I'm crying so hard ... Oh, please don't take 
him away from me ... I don't want to go on 
without him ...
	
"Oh Dana, I didn't know this ... I'm so sorry ..." 
he says, his voice strangely soft. "Shhh ... I'm not 
going away ... Shhh ..."
	
He rocks me softly, rather like the way I rock 
William when he's upset. I can understand why he 
calms down so easily when I rock him, it's so 
comforting, so full of love and care. It's just what 
I need to pull myself together again. His voice in 
my ear is soothing beyond comprehension as he 
murmurs soft words of comfort.
	
When I've calmed down more or less, I raise up a 
little to look at him.
	
"I've killed the mood now, haven't I?" I smile, a 
bit embarrassed by my outburst when there was 
absolutely no need for it.
	
He smiles back at me. "Perhaps a little," he says. 
"But this was just as important." His smile 
disappears. "I don't want you to hide your 
feelings from me, Scully, you don't need to be 
ashamed of showing me your fears and tears ..."
	
I take a deep breath, looking down to avoid his 
eyes. I'm not used to showing what I feel, even 
with him. It's hard to break a habit of a lifetime. 
His finger comes under my chin and lifts my face 
to make me look back at him.
	
"There is nothing you can do that will make me 
think less of you. If anything I will only come to 
admire you more when you share your feelings 
with me," he whispers. He flashes me a lop-sided 
smile. "Though I wonder how you can possibly 
achieve that as I nearly worship the very ground 
you walk on already!"
	
I can't help a smile, it's impossible not to smile. 
"I'm not worthy of such devotion, Mulder, but it 
is very sweet ..."
	
He smiles widely. "I can't help it, Scully, I just 
have to give you all the devotion I have on offer. 
It's beyond me to stop myself."
	
I'm seriously touched by his words, but how 
could I not be, right? I lean in and kiss him soft 
and slow. Kissing him is the very least I can do. 
Then I bury my face in his hair, trying to feel as 
much of him as I possibly can.
	
"Are we ... are we going to continue what we ..." 
he begins.
	
I don't know if we can. "Do you want to?"
	
I feel his sigh. "I ... I want to, but I don't know ... 
are you ready for it?"
	
I focus on my body, trying to read my physical 
signals instead of my emotions. I still want him, 
that much is clear ... The thought of making love 
with him is very arousing even when my feelings 
are still a little stressed-out.
	
"I ... I want you," I whisper, "but I don't know 
how ..."
	
He makes me look at him. "I think I do," he 
smiles, his thumb swiping at the last of the tears 
on my cheek. I hardly knew they were there ... 
"Will you let me show you?"
	
I nod and smile. It's rewarded with a sparkling 
one of his own.
	
"You won't be sorry," he says, "just leave the 
driving to me!" And with those words he lifts me 
up from the couch and into his arms. I'm 
constantly amazed by how strong he really is. I'm 
no heavy-weight, even though I have gained a few 
pounds after William was born - pounds which, 
or so Mulder assured me, I could very well use - 
but he makes me feel like I'm Kate Moss.
	
He kicks open the door to the bedroom and, 
without being even the slightest bit winded, gently 
lies me down onto the bed. Then he sits on the 
bed beside me, looking down, smiling at me. I 
don't know what to say. His right hand reaches 
out for my face, stroking softly. Feeling wicked 
all of a sudden, I circle his wrist with both my 
hands, effectively taking control over it, and I take 
his index finger in my mouth, sucking and licking 
it in a very obvious suggestive manner. I close my 
eyes to savour the sensations and the images my 
imagination comes up with.
	
I can hear and feel his reaction. His breathing 
speeds up and when I open my eyes again, his 
sweet smile is replaced by an expression that is 
anything but innocent.
	
"Jesus, Dana ..." he breathes, when I finally let go. 
I allow a wide smile to show.
	
"Any good, Agent Mulder?" I ask, but I guess I 
already know his answer.
	
He grins. "You are thoroughly screwing up my 
plans to do it nice and slow and let me do the 
driving, Scully, so I guess I need to ask you now: 
how do you want it?"
	
"You can still take the lead," I reply, "but you 
don't need to go all slow and considerate just 
because I broke down just a second ago ..."
	
His smile vanishes, being replaced by an 
expression that's almost sad.
	
"What's the matter?" I say very softly.
	
"I always get it wrong, don't I?" he says, looking 
down, avoiding my eyes. "Ah shit ... I may have a 
pretty good track record job-wise, but when it 
comes to women I just royally suck, don't I?" 
	
Ah damn, his insecurities are playing up again. I 
really hate those guys ... "Not with this particular 
woman," I reply, making him look at me. He lies 
down beside me, taking my hand in his. I sigh 
softly. "We don't need plans, Mulder."
	
He moves closer to me, our bodies touching. He 
doesn't answer, apparently still pretty uncertain. 
	
I put my arms around him, drawing him in. "Why 
don't we just start out nice and slow and see 
where we end, all right? We have all night, all the 
time in the world. There is no one else who 
matters, I don't care about those 'other women', 
all I care about is that you're here with me and 
there is nothing you can do that will me feel bad. 
Nothing at all."
	
He smiles carefully. "Can I kiss you?"
	
I nod. "You can do anything you like."
	
He raises an eyebrow. "Wicked, Dana."
	
"Wicked is my middle name, handsome, do what 
you like."
	
He chuckles. "I think I'll start with a kiss. Let's 
see what happens after that."
	
"Suits me."
	
For someone who showed such uncertainty only a 
moment ago, his kiss is pretty close to magical. I 
practically live for his kisses - and nearly die 
when we part. Not to mention that they have 
never failed to turn me on yet.
	
"Scully, you're probably not going to like it but I 
need to ask you one last time: do you really want 
this? I can stop. I'm not some hormone-driven 
adolescent who can't control his desires. If you'd 
rather just cuddle up and hug, I can do that, too 
..."
	
I'm really touched. "I know you can," I answer. 
"And there are times when that is all I want, but 
this is not one of those times. I want to make love 
with you. Maybe tomorrow we'll fall asleep just 
holding each other, but tonight I want you. 
Everything of you. Body and soul. Your body 
mostly actually."
	
He smiles. "I was hoping you'd say that."
	
"Of course you were," I chuckle. "Now give me 
another one of those unbelievable kisses, 
gorgeous!"
	
Man, unbelievable is what I asked for, 
unbelievable is what I'm getting. This man really 
knows what he's doing, doesn't he? My hands 
have wandered and found the hem of his tee shirt 
and they are currently enthusiastically pulling it 
out of his pants, almost audibly cheering in 
delight. I'd laugh with the thought, but it would 
end the kiss and I can't afford letting that happen. 
Having succeeded in getting his tee shirt out of his 
pants, I'm stroking my hands over his abdomen 
and up and down his flanks. I feel his groan in our 
kiss. I can't get enough of it.
	
I'm nearly cross-eyed with desire when I finally 
get to look at him. We're both panting and I can 
feel his hardness pressing into my belly. I've 
hooked my leg around his to get him in closer.
	
"We're lousy planners, aren't we?" he grins, 
helping me to get rid of his tee shirt. He looks 
really good with this tee shirt. He looks even 
better without it though.
	
I giggle. "We are. No matter what we want, we 
always end up the same." He rolls over onto his 
back, tossing the tee shirt over the side of the bed. 
I straddle him, pulling my shirt over my head with 
one hand and undoing my bra with the other. 
Good thing I can do that with one hand. Then I 
make the garments join Mulder's tee shirt. His 
hands are quick to come up my sides and up to my 
breasts. I lean down, claiming his mouth once 
more. We always end up the same, doing it fast 
and hard. I wouldn't want it any other way.
	
Or do I? Because he slows down again and it 
doesn't even bother me. "Too fast," he whispers. 
"We're going too fast."
	
Ka-dunk! I suppose it should hurt, falling so 
deeply in love with someone. I laugh with the 
thought, as I choose to take the expression so 
literally.
	
"What?"
	
"I'm so in love with you," I answer, my hands 
still criss-crossing his upper body. "It's hard not 
to laugh if you're so in love ..."
	
He gives me a brilliant toothy smile. "You're 
absolutely right."
	
"So you want to go slow?" I ask.
	
"I'd rather, yes. I want to savour this, feel 
everything, experience everything instead of 
rushing through it all. Unless you don't want it," 
he adds in a soft voice.
	
"I want that, too. Feel you, get to really know you 
..."
	
He snickers. "You know me better than I know 
myself, Dana!"
	
"Yeah," I grin, "but not like this. And this is 
definitely the best part!"
	
"It is, isn't it?"
	
I nod. "Certainly is. Now make love to me, 
gorgeous!"
	
"Aye aye, ma'am!"
	
My Jemimee ... How someone can do everything 
so deliciously slowly and still make me feel like 
my sensory system is getting an overload, is 
beyond me. He's pulled me back down and he's 
currently kissing me so perfectly that my brain is 
threatening to turn into a non-functional but 
thoroughly happy mass. I feel like a child who's 
seeing her dearest wish come true.
	
"You want me to undress you or do you want to 
do it yourself?" he suddenly asks. This is the first 
time anyone has ever posed this question during 
foreplay, and it's just more proof of the respect he 
has for me. Other men I've been with either 
expected me to be naked in the first place or 
ripped my clothes off me, not caring if I had 
rather undressed by myself.
	
I raise up from him. "Let's do it ourselves. It's 
probably quicker."
	
He grins. "I don't know, Dana. Your doctor hands 
may just be better at undressing people than mine 
could ever be."
	
I snicker. He'd be surprised to know that they're 
not, but it doesn't hurt to let him think they are.
	
It takes no time at all for us to strip off our 
clothes. And then I momentarily just stand back 
and admire him. Wow ... 
	
Correction: double wow!
	
I giggle. I'm getting giddy with excitement here, 
not to mention that my arousal is increasing so 
fast I'm seeing stars with it. I'm wetter than a 
mermaid.
	
"What are you laughing about?" he grins.
	
"Just that I'm so damn proud and happy to be here 
with you like this. That other women may stare 
and gawk in admiration all they want, but that I 
have you!" I smile, gently pushing him back down 
onto the cool sheets covering the bed. He's more 
than willing enough to do what I want. "Oh, man, 
you are so beautiful ..."
	
Then I lie down beside him, supporting my head 
with one hand, my other free hand lightly stroking 
his torso. I watch my hand go ever more south and 
only when I've reached his cock do I look up, to 
see his reaction. I'm not disappointed.
	
His lips are just slightly apart and his eyes are 
dark and mysterious as they gaze into mine, 
daring me to go further it seems. They close when 
I begin to move my hand up and down his shaft, 
slowly at first, then a bit faster. I'm mesmerised as 
I watch his expression change, first biting his lip, 
then letting it go with an elongated sigh. It 
reminds me of sunshine after a soft summer 
shower. And all I'm doing is just stroke him. The 
effect I have on him, the power I have over him, is 
mind-boggling. Absolutely awe-inspiring.
	
I speed up a little, causing a delicious groan to 
erupt from his lips. Then in one smooth move I let 
go of him and rather quickly let my hand travel up 
his body to his face. The motion is accompanied 
by a hissing sound that sounds both strangled and 
relieved. When my hand is on his cheek, I put my 
other hand on the other side of his face, 
effectively cupping his face gently in my hands. 
And, leaning in, I claim his lips for a kiss.
	
He crushes me to him, dragging me on top of his 
body as he answers the kiss with almost feverish 
need.
	
"My God ..." he whispers when we get to look at 
each other again. "... no one has ever done a thing 
like that ..."
	
"Was it good?" I ask.
	
He smile. "Yes, it was good. Actually, it was 
better than good!"
	
I'm pretty smug with myself and I think I'm 
looking the part. I'm just so happy I can do 
something that is really new to him. I've always 
believed Mulder to be a much more experienced 
lover and it has made me just the slightest bit 
insecure every now and then, but at times like 
these he makes me feel I have nothing to be 
ashamed of.
	
"Come here," he whispers, pulling me down 
again. "I want to feel you."
	
With his knee he nudges my legs apart, which 
they do all too willingly, once again covering my 
mouth with his. When, in the future, one of us has 
to write a eulogy, we'll have to include the 
fantastic kisses we shared. They are more than 
worthy of being recorded and kept for posterity.
	
I barely feel the moment he slips inside me, 
already feeling so high on his kiss. But that 
sensation, ah man, it's the icing on the cake, isn't 
it?
	
I let his lips go, lifting up from him a little as I 
smile in delight. I've closed my eyes. I want to 
feel everything this time. Feel it all ...
	
We move slowly, trying to make this last. It's 
more difficult than just throwing ourselves into it, 
but the tension is fantastic. It's almost like I'm in 
pursuit of the most fabulous prize in the world, 
but the faster I try to get to it, the more it will flee. 
I feel like I'm sneaking up on our climax. It's 
trying on my patience, but if I keep it up, the 
reward, ahh, the reward is going to be 
unbelievable ...
	
I'm straddling him, my head thrown back as I 
surrender myself to the amazing sensations that 
making love with this man can bring. I'm feeling 
him all through my body, from my toes to the tips 
of my ears. My lips are tingling and I imagine 
seeing little blue and white sparks erupting from 
my fingertips, sizzling and crackling and feeding 
into the pure ecstatic electricity that has always 
existed between us.
	
The sounds we make, soft and old as time, ring in 
my ears, buzz around in my head. It's as though 
I'm taking the sounds and the feelings in through 
my skin, as though my senses are working 
together in a magical bond. I feel heavenly, kissed 
by an angel. Angels are male, aren't they? They 
must be, I'm making love to one ...
	
I can't even tell when I come, I just keep on 
climbing and climbing and climbing while wave 
after wave of warmth spreads through my entire 
body. I surrender willingly to the passion. People 
sometimes describe an orgasm as finally being 
able to fly, but I've been flying from the moment 
we started. How can this be?
	
I can't describe how I'm feeling, but whatever the 
word is that I should use to define the feeling 
with, it probably has the word unbelievable 
somewhere stuck in the middle of it.
	
Not very long after I have climaxed I feel him 
come. I don't think I could open my eyes even if I 
wanted to. I don't want to give this feeling up, it's 
so good. So good ...
	
"I've never seen anything like this," I hear him 
say very softly. I force my eyes open. Those 
eyelids again. Hopeless ...
	
"What do you mean?" I whisper, my voice husky.
	
"You were glowing," he replies. "It was 
incredible ..."
	
"Glo- ... glowing?" I'm shocked.
	
"Yeah," he breathes. "You looked truly out of this 
world ..." I don't deserve the admiration I'm 
seeing in his eyes. Man, he looks like he's seen 
God or something, like a vision or ... It makes me 
giggle, but I think I'm nervous rather than 
amused. This is a bit scary.
	
I gulp. I'm afraid all of a sudden. Afraid of 
myself, and maybe even a bit of him. We have to 
stop, this is not normal. I don't want this.
	
"Scully, what's going on?"
	
"I don't want that," I blurt out. I panic when I see 
the hurt in his eyes. Oh man, this is going wrong, 
so wrong. And everything was so perfect when we 
started and now I'm screwing it all up because I 
can't deal. I'm so angry that I'm crying with it. 
Goddamnit, why can't I have what I want?! Just 
for fucking once!?
	
He's staring at me, obviously as clueless as I am, 
but he has the added handicap that he doesn't 
know what I'm feeling, or why I'm crying. And 
my reluctance to include him in my feelings is 
hurting him so. He looks like he's about to bolt 
out of the room and out of my life. And when I 
see his eyes slip shut in defeat I know I'll have to 
act quickly or I'm losing the only person I have 
ever truly needed in my life.
	
"I'm afraid," I say in a voice strangled by my 
tears and my anger.
	
"I can see that," he says softly. His hand comes up 
to caress my face. "Why?"
	
"I'm scared you think too much of me," I answer, 
not meeting his eyes. Luckily he lets me avoid his 
look for the moment. "I panicked when you told 
me I'd been glowing." My voice is that of a child 
scared she's going to get reprimanded for telling 
something she shouldn't. "I don't want that, 
Mulder." And with that I do look at him. His eyes 
are so gentle I nearly break down all over again.
	
"Why not?" he whispers. "You were so incredibly 
beautiful ..."
	
"I want to be ..." Ah man, I don't even know what 
I want! I make a helpless gesture with my hand 
and let out an exasperated sigh. "I want to be ... 
normal! If anything ... I don't want to ... glow ..." 
And then I'm sobbing again. I sit back on my 
knees and cover my eyes, crying so hard I'm 
quaking with it.
	
I feel how he takes me in his arms and I don't 
resist, rather let myself be embraced. His hugs are 
magical, and even though they can't calm me 
down just yet, they comfort me in ways I never 
thought was possible.
	
"Please tell me what you're so afraid of," he 
whispers in my ear. "I want to help you if I can 
..."
	
I can't answer. Not because I don't want to tell 
him, but because I don't know what I should say.
	
"I was ... I was scared by what you said, Mulder 
..."
	
"Why?"
	
"You looked so ... you looked at me as if I were ... 
a saint or something ..." I look at him and I'm 
certain I look desperate. "You can't think of me 
like that, Mulder! I'll let you down if you think 
like that and you'll be disappointed in me and 
then you'll ..."
	
"... leave you?" he supplies, instantly sensing the 
trouble. I nod just once, but it's enough to trigger 
the warmest expression I have ever seen on him. 
"Are you scared I'm going to leave you?"
	
I don't want to say 'yes' and I can't say 'no'.
	
He smiles. "I saw something supernatural, but I 
can't vouch for my state of mind at that moment," 
he says gently. "But, yes, for one fantastic 
moment in time, I was one hundred percent 
certain you were an angel or some other divine 
creature that had taken pity on me and had come 
down from heaven to save me. But I never wanted 
you to feel uncertain because of that. I just 
couldn't keep my wonder to myself ..."
	
"But I'm not an angel!" I protest. Oh please, don't 
let him be disillusioned ...
	
"No, you're not. But you looked like one." He 
smiles widely and miraculously I feel my nerves 
calm down. "I'm not disappointed because you 
turned out to be human, Scully, I'm totally 
incapable of being disappointed in you. And I'm 
equally if not more incapable of leaving you. 
Don't you know that by now?"
	
I sigh, a bit embarrassed. There is nothing he can 
say that will solve my problem at this very 
moment and he knows it.
	
"Oh, baby, come here," he says softly, drawing 
me close. No one has ever gotten away with 
calling me 'baby', but it sounds perfectly natural 
when he says it. I feel unbalanced, unsure which 
way I'm going or whether I'll fall or not. And I'm 
afraid it's going to take a lot more than just a hug 
to settle my emotions, but being in his arms 
certainly helps. With a sigh I relax fully against 
him, closing my eyes. I can trust him, he won't do 
anything to hurt me ...
	
Then, slowly, I feel myself drift away on the soft 
arms of sleep, my limbs growing heavy, my head 
light. It takes nothing at all to surrender. I don't 
even hear the whole of 'New Valenki' ...

XxXxX
	
I wake up alone and I'm utterly convinced he's 
gone. I've woken up in an empty bed so many 
times I know what it feels like and it's sickening.
	
"Mulder??"
	
I panic when I receive no answer, jump out of bed 
and bolt for the door leading to William's room. 
Oh God ... if they've taken him too I'm going to 
...
	
I throw open the door - and see Mulder sitting in 
the wicker chair by the window, William on his 
arm, feeding him from a bottle. I feel my legs 
buckle with relief.
	
"Good very-early morning," he smiles, and even 
William takes a moment from his early breakfast 
to greet me with a sound and a giggle. "I 
couldn't- ..."
	
I've already hurled myself into his arms, not 
letting him finish. I don't care what he's going to 
say, all I care about is that he's still here. They are 
both safe. Safe ...

"Scully?"
	
"You're safe, oh God, you're safe," I breathe. I'm 
kissing him and William and meanwhile repeating 
my new yet age-old mantra. "You're safe, oh 
thank God, you're safe ..."
	
He's wrapped his arm around me, drawing me 
closer. It means that William has been forced to 
take a break from his feed, but he's not protesting. 
I think he's almost finished anyway. "I'm sorry, I 
should've woken you up," he says when I'm 
reassured enough to let go slightly.
	
"It's all right," I say softly. "I was acting 
irrationally."
	
"Maybe so, but after last night I should've known 
better than just walk away." He gives me a kiss 
after which he gets up from the chair. "Come, I'll 
put our little guy to bed so we can have some 
more sleep as well."
	
I don't want to sleep, I want to watch him, watch 
him breathe, move. Watch him be alive ...
	
With his arm securely around me, we walk back 
into the bedroom.
	
"I was terrified when I woke up alone," I say very 
softly, when we're in bed again, safely and 
securely in each others arms. "I thought they'd 
taken you away again ..."
	
"I'm sorry," he says softly, sitting us on the bed.
	
"I thought they'd taken you away from me again 
and then I thought that they might have taken 
William as well and ..."
	
He shudders under me. "No wonder you were in 
such a panic ..."
	
I nod, but don't reply. It's not necessary now. 
They're both safe and sound and that's all that 
matters. "I love you, Mulder. I really do."
	
He answers me with a delicious little kiss. "Love 
you, too, baby."
	
I grin. "Don't get too reckless, Mulder. No one 
has ever called me 'baby' and lived to tell the tale. 
You're lucky I was too freaked out last night to 
care ..."
	
He laughs, a rare wonderful belly-laugh that I 
don't get to hear often enough. "You know I like 
to live dangerously, Dana."
	
I grin in reply as I look at him. Oh, I could spend 
hours looking at him. Hours and hours. He's so 
gorgeous. And when I see him like this, I think he 
could do the same.
	
He smiles. "I should be a real jealous bastard, I 
guess."
	
I raise my eyebrows. "How's that?"
	
"Because I've witnessed so many men checking 
you out, looking at you with such obvious 
interest. They've even flirted with you and there 
was nothing I could do to stop them. And still I'm 
not jealous. How can that be?"
	
"Because there is no reason," I reply, resting my 
head on his chest, listening to the rhythmic beat of 
his heart. "I could never love anyone else."
	
"I'm glad of that, but what do I have that you 
can't find in some other man?"
	
I chuckle. Let's put his mind to ease once and for 
all. "Yeah, I guess I could look out for another 
man. There are other men in the world who are 
even better-looking than you, with a job and a 
respectful background. Who'd make just as good 
a match as you could ever do. Maybe even better, 
who knows."
	
"That's what I mean, Scully," he says softly. 
"Men who won't get you killed every second day. 
Who won't give you reason to think they've been 
taken from you."
	
"You're right. Maybe I should indeed be trying to 
find another man. You know, one of those men 
who have a nine-to-five job. Who spend their 
entire lives safely behind a computer screen. Who 
collect stamps and model trains, who drive a 
Volvo. Who breed 2.54 kids with their wives. 
Men who flinch at the thought of not having the 
lawn mowed every week on Saturday at four pm 
sharp, and who, if they really want to live life to 
the full, you know, go truly wild, will take their 
neighbour out guppy-fishing in the local duck-
pond. Yeah, maybe I should."
	
I raise my head to see his face. I'm pleased to see 
he's grinning.
	
"No one has ever made me sound so attractive," 
he says.
	
"That is because no one has ever bothered to find 
out just how attractive you are," I smile. "And I'm 
pretty damn happy that I have because it got me 
the best man I could ever have wished for."
	
"So I guess that's why I'm not jealous, right?"
	
"That's why you're not jealous," I say. "So, every 
time you see some guy looking at me, just cut him 
a look that says: 'you can look all you want, 
buster, but she's mine! She chose me and there's 
nothing you can do to get her to change her 
mind'!"
	
He laughs. "You can do the same, you know, 
when you see one of those air-head women with 
legs up to their armpits and boobs that reach for 
the sky, batting their eyes and trying to get into 
my pants. I may have been stupid enough to be 
attracted to those in the past, but you've 
completely cured me of them."
	
I'm more relieved than I ought to be. "That's 
comforting to know," I say softly.
	
He smiles. "Our wandering days are over, Scully. 
I'm terrified to have to admit it, but it seems we're 
about to get settled."
	
"Yes, we're fucked," I snicker. The idea of 
settling down with Fox Mulder should send any 
sane person screaming for the hills, but it's the 
best idea in the world for me.
	
"No, we fuck," he says with a twinkle.
	
"We make love," I correct him with a smile.
	
"You're right. So, it's almost time to get up. 
What's on the programme for today?"
	
"William's check-up at eleven, shopping for a 
winter coat for me," I sum up. "Agreeing on a 
suitable date to get married."
	
"Oh yeah, I'd forgotten about that one."
	
I can't believe what I'm hearing - but one look at 
him tells me he's joking and I burst out laughing.
	
"You, my friend, are in for a hard time," I grin, 
kissing him soundly.
	
"All our marriage long? I can't wait," he smiles, 
rolling us over so I'm on top. Then he kisses me 
softly and sweetly.
	
I smile at his words "No, neither can I." And I 
can't.

THE END

Kirsten Kerkhof
The Netherlands, 21 July 2002 (c)