Armistice (10/11)
by Caroline O'Callaghan
caroline.o@virgin.net

Do NOT post to ATXC

Rating: NC-17

Category: MSR/adventure/mythology

Summary: Mulder discovers clues to the circumstances
behind his sister's disappearance, whilst Scully
battles fatal illness.

Disclaimer: Oh, do I have to? Okay - nobody belongs
to me - nuff said!

Spoilers: Lots and lots - all the way up to Small Potatoes 
(although in this universe Gethesmane has not yet 
happened.)

IMPORTANT NOTE: This is a continuation of an
earlier story 'The Lure of the Fox' in which Mulder
and Scully became lovers.


St Mary's Hospital
East Tisbury
Martha's Vineyard
July 4th, 1997
11.53  p.m.

Mulder sat with his sister's hand enclosed in his, as
they kept vigil beside the still unresponsive Scully.

"She's such a good person. She doesn't deserve to
have all this happen to her."

Mulder nodded, encouraging his sister to keep talking.

"When I first went to college I was so shy."

Mulder smiled. "Seems to me like you still are."

Samantha laughed. "Maybe, but nowhere near as bad
as I was back then. I found it so difficult to make 
friends, that I could have gone through my entire
course without ever socialising. But Dana
was in my German class, and she just decided I needed
befriending. When I tried to retreat, she'd pull me
back into her circle."

"We're you close?"

"As close as I've ever been to anybody."

"It seems so ironic. Scully helped me try and find 
you for such a long time, and yet, she had found 
you so long ago."

"I hope that now we've found each other again, 
she'll get better, and we can be friends once more." 
She squeezed his hand. "I want that for you and I
as well Fox. I wish I remembered more from our
time together as brother and sister..."

"Sam, it doesn't matter. Just knowing that you're
alive and well is enough for me.  We've got plenty
of time to work on the sibling thing."

Mulder stood up abruptly when the doctor entered.
He nodded at them both.

Mulder stepped forward. "Is there any news?"

The doctor ran a tired hand through his hair. "Yes.
Some startling news actually. The rather large
tumour that was occupying Ms Scully's brain a few
days ago has..." He shrugged, clearly dumbfounded.
"Disappeared."

Mulder felt a smile twitch at the corner of his mouth
as he looked around at his sleeping partner. 
"Completely?"

"I can't explain it. I thought perhaps it was an anomaly,
but all the scans from every angle show no sign
of the cancer. We double-checked our equipment, but
its working fine. We also ran blood tests, and there is
not one single cancerous cell in the sample."

"She's cured. She doesn't have cancer?"

"None that we can we find, but what I'm trying to say
here is..."

Mulder nodded and cut him off. "That its impossible;
that it can't be so. That nobody gets rid of cancer 
overnight?"

"Yes. Not unless a tumour is removed. But there are no
signs that she's undergone any surgical procedures."

Mulder motioned towards the bandages over Scully's
eyes. "What about these? Why are they there?"

"The Sheriff who admitted her was given strict instructions
that they were not to be removed for a week."

Samantha stood up beside Mulder. "That's right. She 
told me that the doctor in that place said that to her."

Doctor Warren looked sharply at Samantha. "A doctor
treated her?"

Samantha shrugged. "If you want to call it that. I'm not
sure what he did."

The Doctor looked at her in confusion and seemed as
if he wanted to question her further, but he must have
changed his mind, as he turned back to Mulder. "The
bandages are coated in a substance. We drained a little
of it to test it. We have no idea what it is. We've
concluded that it might be better to leave it for a week,
before we attempt to remove them."

Mulder pinned the young man with a glare. "What if its 
hurting her? Destroying her eyesight?"

Samantha interrupted once more. "Her eyesight was
failing, when we were in the place. Maybe this is a cure
for that."

Doctor Warren gave her an incredulous look. "Are you
telling me that some strange doctor cured her
cancer and has attempted to restore her eyesight?"

Samantha shrugged.

"Well, whoever this genius is, I'd like to meet him. 
He seems to have developed treatments that the 
medical fraternity are currently predicting are 
ten years into the future, if not more. The
type of cancer that Ms Scully had was not treatable.
..."

Mulder held up a hand. "Listen to me Doctor Warren.
The men who took Agent Scully from this hospital
and subjected her to treatment are now dead. 
Investigations into their deaths are being conducted,
and any information the FBI or police uncover will be 
considered classified, unless its within the public 
interest to make that information known. We're
talking about a top secret operation here, do you
understand what I'm telling you?"

The Doctor nodded slowly. "That you'd prefer it if
I didn't make the details of Agent Scully's tests
and case history public knowledge."

"Yes. That's exactly what I'm telling you. I can't
stop you of course, but there are others who may
decide to impede you if you try and turn Agent
Scully's cure into a subject for discussion of
medical phenomenon."

"Well there's not much to discuss with my peers,
seeing as I have no idea, or no evidence as to what
was done to her. I want to know what happened, 
but I guess I'll have to chalk it up to a miracle."

Mulder smiled at the doctor. "Yeah, that's good.
Call it a miracle. Scully believes in miracles;
in divine intervention. So why is she like this?
Why isn't she waking up?"

"I think that it may be a stage of recovery, but a
dangerous one."

Mulder cocked his head to one side in question.

"After the fever, she lapsed into a sleep akin to coma. 
I think it's a designed part of the treatment, to allow
her body to rest, until she's strong enough again."

"Why is it dangerous?"

"When I say it's akin to coma, I mean that it might
be as hard a state to break out of as coma, or that
it might become coma. Her heartbeat and pulse
suggest that she's in a very deep sleep; her vitals are low
enough for it to be coma, and that is a medical status
that we have little knowledge of. We'll just have to
wait and see if she wakes up or not."

"There's nothing you can do?"

"No." He glanced at Samantha. "I don't know what was 
done to her, and I have no idea how to treat her. I can
only assure that she is properly looked after and 
monitored."

Mulder nodded. "Okay, thank you."

He watched the young doctor leave and shrugged at
Samantha. "He might have asked us if we wanted
the good news or the bad news first."

Samantha laid a hand on his arm. "She'll come out
of it. She has a lot to come back to."

He looked at her questioningly. 

"You love her. She'll fight her way back to be with
you." She laughed. "That sounds stupid I know."

He shook his head. "No. It doesn't. Listen Sam. I'm
so glad that you're here, but I'd like to...I haven't
had a chance to be alone with her yet. Do you 
think....?"

She nodded. "Charles is still outside. I'll get him to 
take me back to the motel. I'll come back in the
morning and see how she's doing. But if anything..
happens in the night..."

"I'll call."

Samantha left the room and Mulder perched carefully
on the bed, beside Scully's right arm, careful not to disturb
the medical equipment she was hooked up to. 

Charles entered, nodded at him and went to his sister.
Bending over, he kissed her cheek. "Goodnight D, 
see if you can wake up bright and early tomorrow for
us huh? You've had enough sleep, you wouldn't
want people to start thinking you were a lazy bones
would you?" He stroked her hair and Mulder smiled
at the sight. Charles was such a good man. A loving
brother, a man who possessed the same attributes 
that he found so wonderful in Scully; integrity,
honesty, loyalty.

He stuck his hand out to Charles who shook it firmly.
"Look after her Mulder. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Tell you what Charles. I'll look after your sister if
you look after mine."

Charles grinned. "Deal. See you later Fox."

"Mulder."

"Yeah. Whatever."

Mulder smiled after him as he left. He looked down 
at Scully's prone form. "Hey Scully. I think your
brother has the hots for my sister, think I should
kick his ass?"

No response. He took her hand gently in his. "We've
been here before Scully. You've been like this before, 
and you came back to me. Remember that? You beat the
odds and fought your way back so that we could 
continue together. You have to do that again Scully.
You have to fight back, but this time, not because we
have more work to do, but because we have the chance
to start living again."

He used his other hand to stroke her cheek. "You know
what day it is today? Independence Day. Its my 
independence day. I'm free, you're free. Free from the
search for the truth, from the quest. I can be whole
again now Scully, but I won't be if you're not there.
What I saw and experienced today won't count for shit
unless you come back to me. I have to tell you all about
it."

He groaned in tiredness and let go of her while he
got up and sank into one of the chairs beside the
bed. "There are things I once wanted, but didn't
dare allow myself to dream of. I could have those
things Scully, but I need you...I need you to show
me how to have them, and keep them."

He leaned in close to her ear and whispered. "You're
my life. It's all gone, if you're gone."

He looked up at her face again, hoping for some kind
of movement. He chided himself. It was na‹ve to think
she'd wake up if only he poured his heart out to
her. He let out a sad chuckle.

"Tell me I'm nuts Scully. Say, 'Mulder you're crazy'."

Then, he heard her speak. "Mulder what... you babbling 
about?"

He thought he'd imagined it at first. The soft, tired
rasp of her voice. He studied her mouth and his body
jolted as if an electric current had gone through him
when he saw her tongue dart out of her mouth to
whet her lips. 
 
"Scully?"

"Never shut up...always talking. Yap, yap."

He laughed out loud. "Scully. Jesus Scully." He was
on his feet in a flash, his hands grasping the emergency
call button beside her bed. He pressed it firmly and
stroked her hair back from her face, noticing the soft
smile on her lips. He started to worry however, when
her forehead creased into a frown.

"Can't see...I can't see." She twisted on the bed, trying
to bring her hands up to her eyes.

"Calm down Scully. You're going to be fine."

"Everything's dark Mulder. I can't see. Help me."

He held her arms down, scared she might damage
herself, or dislodge the I.V. needle during her panic.
"You're going to be okay. You have some medical
dressing on your eyes."

She didn't respond to his explanation and started to
try and wriggle free from his grasp. He held her more
firmly. "Listen to me Scully. It's important that you
listen." She seemed to hear him and stopped
thrashing. "You're in hospital, something was
done to your eyes, and they're covered up. It's
okay though. I'm here."

She let out a little sob, a noise that he didn't think
he'd ever heard from her, and knew it was born
from fear. He hated to see Scully so scared, she was
normally so fearless. He stroked her hair again as
the duty nurse arrived.

He spoke calmly to the woman, not wanting to 
raise his voice in front of Scully. "Get hold of
Doctor Warren, tell him Ms Scully has woken up."

The woman nodded and left the room at a run.

He kissed Scully's forehead. "I'm here Scully,
and I'm so glad you came back to me."


Rideway Motel
East Tisbury
Martha's Vineyard
July 5th, 1997
11.42  a.m.

Charles Scully smiled at Samantha as he saw her 
emerge from her room. She gave a small wave of
greeting and walked over to his car, where he'd just
pulled up. He got out and leaned against the door.

"Hi."

"Hi. You just been to see Dana?"

"Yes."

"Good news isn't it, about her waking up?"

"Yeah, I can't tell you how relieved I am. The
doctors say she's going to be fine. Well, they're
still not sure about her eyesight, but at least there's
nothing life threatening."

"Is Fox still there?"

Charles rolled his eyes. "You couldn't drag him away.
How's your Mom?"

"Fine. A little confused about everything. I've explained
as best I can, but finding out that my birth mother is
still alive is a big shock to her."

"Obviously. Are you going to see Mrs Mulder?"

"Yes. Fox promised to take me to her as soon as we
know that Dana is okay again. She doesn't know
anything that's happened yet. I'm a little nervous about
meeting her to be honest."

Charles nodded. "Of course you are. That's only natural.
Samantha. I don't know if...I realise that things are
strange for you now, and probably will be for some time
to come, but I was hoping...I have a new job within the
Navy. I'm going to be a paper pusher over at the Pentagon.
I'll be in Washington from now on...and well, I was just
wondering if... I understand if you don't want to...but,
I'd like it if we could get together sometime, for dinner,
or something." He swallowed hard and watched as she 
bent her head to study her shoes.

"Oh."

Charles rubbed a hand over his mouth. "It's okay. Forget
about it."

She looked up at him. "No, no that sounds nice. I just was
a little surprised, that's all."

"I didn't mean to sound pushy or anything."

"No. You weren't being. I'd like that...I mean I'd like to
have dinner with you."

Charles expression brightened and he smiled at her. 
"Really, that's great. Well, I'll guess I'll call you or 
something, when we get back there." He reached into
his pocket. "Oh, I have a card." He handed it to her.
"If you need to call me, or anything."

She took it from him. "Thank you. I was just going to
get a cup of coffee, in the diner across the street,
do you want to come with me?"

He grinned at her. "Sure."


St Mary's Hospital
East Tisbury
Martha's Vineyard
July 5th, 1997
2.23 p.m.


Mulder gathered another spoonful of pasta. "Okay, two
more and we're done."

Scully opened her mouth obediently, surprised to find
that she was actually enjoying having Mulder feed her.
She scooped the food from the fork and chewed it
thoughtfully.

"Has Emily gone home?"

"She left last night. I called her to let her know you 
were doing fine." He wiped a dollop of sauce off of
her chin with a napkin.

"I think I might call her too."

"What for? Don't tell me I'm so bad in bed that you've
decided to switch to the other side?"

She directed a smile at him. Unfortunately, it bypassed
him and flew over his left shoulder. He didn't care.

"Haven't we had this conversation about your bedroom
technique before Mulder? I seem to remember that I
specifically asked you not to go all 'performance
anxiety' on me."

"Open. Last one." He spooned the food in, and wiped 
her face with the napkin again. "Geez, you're a messy
eater." Her face formed into a little frown and he
regretted the comment. He tried to lighten things again. 
"Even when you can see."

She gulped the food down. "Mulder, what if...when
they take these things off. What if I'm blind?"

He kissed her lips briefly. "Then, we'll cope. It'll
take some readjustment, but we'll deal with it.
You're the strongest person I know. You'll learn
to live with it, and I'll help you in every way I can.
But I believe Scully, that you're going to be fine."

"When I was in that place, my eyesight was going
rapidly. The tumour must have been pressing on my 
optical nerves. Its impossible to repair damage like 
that."

"They managed to remove the tumour, what's a 
little optical repair? Stay positive until we know 
for sure, okay?"

"Mulder, the eternal pessimist telling me to be
optimistic?"

He put the bowl and fork down on the bedside
table, and laid his head down next to hers on the 
pillow. "First time for everything."

She shifted a little to accommodate him so that
he could lay alongside her. She used her hands
to find his lips, feeling her way along his cheeks,
jaw and nose. When she found them, she replaced
her fingers with her lips. "I thought I was never
going to be able to touch you again."

"Ditto."

"Is it really all over?"

"Yes Scully. It's finished. Do you believe that what 
I've told you actually happened?"

"I believe that you believe it."

"I'm just sorry that you weren't there with me, when
I found the truth."

"So what now?"

"I guess they'll be some kind of investigation by the
Bureau. I should imagine they'll file all those deaths
away somewhere secure. Or perhaps, label them as some
kind of cult mass suicide."

"No, I mean with us. You and me."

"Oh. First you get well. Then, we have fantastic sex
again. Then, we make the rest up as we go along."

Scully turned away, it wasn't quite the answer she'd
been hoping for.


St Mary's Hospital
East Tisbury
Martha's Vineyard
July 10th, 1997
8.45  p.m.
5 DAYS LATER

Charles opened the door to his sister's hospital room.
He was surprised by her non-reaction to his presence.
Her hearing seemed to have been compensating for her 
lack of sight lately, and she could normally tell if she had
a visitor the moment they excited the elevator and started
to walk along the corridor. 

Perhaps she was asleep. He moved closer and smiled when
he saw why she hadn't heard him. He tried to remove the
small headphones from her ears gently, but she still jumped 
in surprise.

"Sorry D, didn't mean to scare you."

She smiled in the general direction of his voice. "S'okay."

He waved the headphones around. "So what's with this?"

"What?"

He felt ashamed when he realised that she couldn't see 
what his question referred to. "The personal stereo?"

She felt for the small tape player and switched it off.
"Oh. Mulder's idea. He got me some talking books."

"Where is he anyway? I thought he'd taken up 
permanent residence here?"

"I sent him to get a few things for me. To be honest
he's driving me nuts. He's been pacing up and down
all day. I think he's more concerned about tomorrow
than I am."

He touched her hand. "We're all concerned."

"I know. I'm just sick of the waiting. I want to get
this stuff off my eyes and know one way or the other."

"Only a few more hours. One more night."

She nodded. "So...uh...how's Samantha?"

"She's great, and you're nosy."

"I can't help it. I'm curious, and I have very little
to occupy my mind at the moment. So, how's it
progressing?"

"Slowly."

"Give it time Charlie, she's just needs to get used 
to you; to the idea of dating. I don't think she's had
many guys in her life. I only remember her having
one date, the whole time we were at college together."

"That's what I like about her so much, you know.
She's not brash, or defensive. She's so trusting
and sweet. It's like she lives in a different world
to the rest of us. We're so jaded and cynical..."

"Speak for yourself."

He chuckled. "I have to go. I just popped in to see
how you are. I'll be back tomorrow." He bent down
and kissed her forehead. 

"Okay. Night Charlie."

He went to the door and stopped. "Dana, are you
scared?"

"Witless."

"Whatever happens. We'll be here for you; Mulder,
and your family."

She nodded. "I know."


St Mary's Hospital
East Tisbury
Martha's Vineyard
July 11th, 1997
9.28  a.m.

Mulder and her mother were the only other people in
the room, apart from a nurse and Doctor Warren.
Charles and Samantha were outside in the corridor.
Mulder was gripping her hand tightly. She tried to
concentrate on what the doctor was saying.

"Okay Dana. I'm going to take these bandages off
slowly. Don't panic if things are a little dark, we've
pulled the blinds and left the lights off, so it's not
too bright for you at first."

"What if everything's black, can I panic then?"

She felt and heard him snip at the tape that held the
eye coverings in place. "Sure."

There was silence in the room as he carefully
removed the layers of bandage. Mulder swallowed
hard as the doctor pulled off the last of them and
Scully's long lashes and eyes were exposed to him
once again. The dark room seemed brighter as her
eyelids fluttered open and the brilliant blue of her
eyes could be seen. She made a little sound of pain
and her right hand flew up to her face to cover
them once again. He saw Doctor Warren smile and
realised that it was a good sign.

"Sorry Dana. I guess it's still too bright in here."

Mulder leaned forward. "Scully?"

She removed her hand, and turned to look at him,
blinking rapidly. 

He held up his thumb and first finger. "How many
fingers Scully?"

"Sixty four." She smiled at the confused expression
on his face to let him know she was kidding. "That's 
a really disgusting shirt you're wearing Mulder."

He laughed out loud in sheer joy and leaned forward
to kiss her. Her mother interrupted before their lips
could meet, by hauling her daughter into her arms.
Mulder backed off and let Maggie hug her. There'd
be time for him to show his affection and relief later.


Flight AM604
Skies above Washington D.C.
July 25th, 1997
4.12  p.m.

TWO WEEKS LATER


"Dana, I wish you'd stop fidgeting."

Scully looked around at her mother in surprise.
"Sorry, I didn't realise I was."

"I don't know what's making you so jittery, but 
can you calm down? You're making me nervous
and I'm not even sure what it is I'm getting worked
up about."

She huffed a little and settled back in her seat,
trying to sit still. She felt like a child again, receiving
reprimands from her mother. Unable to help
herself, she shifted again. 

Maggie let out an audible sigh. "What is bothering
you?"

"Nothing."

"Come on, out with it. You might as well tell me 
everything, rather than sitting there, making this
journey a misery for me, by shuffling constantly."

She glared at her mother. "You know I'm perfectly
capable of getting on a plane on my own. I didn't
need you to come with me." She sighed, remembering
all the running around her Mother had done for her
while she'd laid recovering in the hospital on the
Vineyard. Doctor Warren had kept her there and
run every possible test he could think of, before he'd
eventually decided to give her a clean bill of health
and discharge her. "Sorry, I don't mean that. Thank 
you, for the way you've looked after me the past 
couple of weeks."

Maggie patted her arm. "You're welcome. Now 
what's wrong? Tell me, before I have to drag it
out of you."

"I'm not sure what it is."

"Do you feel okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine. I just...I have no idea why, but, I'm
a little anxious about...well, Mulder."

"About seeing him again?"

Scully nodded.

"Why on earth would you be worried about that?"

"I'm concerned that he...what if he's changed his 
mind? What if we're getting into something he can't
handle, and doesn't want?"

Maggie looked at her incredulously. "You think he
doesn't want you?"

"No. Not exactly, but...Mom, Mulder and I were 
just partners until a few weeks ago. He knew
I was dying and maybe he thought it would make
me happy if...we were more intimate. What if he
just got involved because he..." She trailed off
and glanced out of the window.

"You think he started sleeping with you because
he felt sorry for you, because he thought he was
granting you a dying wish?"

"Something like that."

"That's ridiculous. He genuinely cares for you
Dana, and if you can't see that I don't know what to
say to you."

"I'm not saying he doesn't care about me. I'm saying
that maybe things went further with us, because of
certain circumstances, than he intended they should
go. I mean, he was happy to be just my friend and
partner. He never gave any real indication that he
wanted more. And now, well, maybe he doesn't know
how to tell me that he's made a mistake."

"Dana, Mulder's more direct than that. If he wanted
out, you'd know by now."

"Its just, the past few weeks, since the day I got my 
sight back, he seems to have been pulling away from
me."

"He had things to do. He had to take Samantha to
meet her real mother, and then he had to go back
to Washington to face that committee."

"What about last weekend? He could have come up
to visit me then."

"Samantha moved to D.C. He wanted to help her
find an apartment. Dana, he's called you every day."

Scully nodded. "Only to ask me how I am, and to 
talk about work."

Maggie waved a hand in the air. "This is ridiculous,
I'm not going to talk about it anymore. The man
loves you."

Scully swallowed. "Really, then why has he never
told me that?"

Maggie arched an eyebrow at her. "Have you ever 
told him?"


****************

Continued in part 11

****************

Just in case you get the overwhelming urge to comment
I can be found at: caroline.o@virgin.net



Armistice (11a/11)
by Caroline O'Callaghan
caroline.o@virgin.net

Do NOT post to ATXC

Rating: NC-17

Category: MSR/adventure/mythology

Summary: Mulder discovers clues to the circumstances
behind his sister's disappearance, whilst Scully
battles fatal illness.

Disclaimer: Oh, do I have to? Okay - nobody belongs
to me - nuff said!

Spoilers: Lots and lots - all the way up to Small Potatoes 
(although in this universe Gethesmane has not yet 
happened.)

IMPORTANT NOTE: This is a continuation of an
earlier story 'The Lure of the Fox' in which Mulder
and Scully became lovers.


Dana Scully's apartment
Washington D.C.
July 25th, 1997
6.26  p.m.

Mulder adjusted the cutlery on Scully's kitchen table
for the twentieth time and looked around him, just in 
case he'd left anything out of place. The whole 
apartment looked spotless, but he was well
aware that Scully was somewhat house proud. What
looked fine to him, could look messy to her.

He knew he was nervous about her homecoming. He'd
tried to keep his anxiousness at bay by keeping busy,
but when Maggie had called from the airport to tell him
they'd landed safely and were on their way back, he'd
gone into panic mode. He'd taken a shower, despite
having only had one that morning. He'd checked
on the dinner twenty times and had vacumed the
carpets until he'd started to grow concerned that he 
was making them threadbare..

He had hated having to leave her in hospital on the
Vinyard, but he'd had so many other things to do.
The reunion between his mother and Samantha had
been somewhat strained, with his mother refusing
to accept that her daughter had returned so suddenly.
Then, the FBI had announced an inquiry into the
shooting of Assistant Director Skinner and he'd been
called back to testify, and then Samantha had arrived
in D.C. wanting to rent an apartment close by his
so that they could get to know each other better.
Although, he had his suspicions that there was
another man that Samantha also wanted to be 
close to. He had done what was expected of him, but
at the same time, he had yearned to be with Scully.
He'd wanted to help nurse her back to health, see
her get stronger every day, and drive her crazy by
hovering over her every minute.

He heard a car pull up on the street outside and went
to the window. He saw Scully climb out of a cab, and
smoothed his shirt down before going to the door.
He waited in the hall until he saw Scully climb the
last of the stairs and turn the corner. She smiled
at him and he knew he was grinning like an idiot
back at her. Maggie was behind her daughter,
carrying the few belongings that she had brought
from the Vineyard in her carry-on bag.

"Hi."

"Hi. This is a surprise, I didn't expect you to
be here."

Mulder winked at Maggie. "Well, your Mom and 
I agreed that you should have someone to welcome
you home. But I'm not the only surprise."

"Oh no."

"Nope. Close your eyes."

She did as instructed, but he put his hand over them
as well, anxious for an excuse to touch her; to assure
himself that she was safe, well, and back with him.

He guided her in through the open apartment door,
concerned for a moment that she wouldn't appreciate
pretending to be blind, so soon after the loss of that
sense had almost been permanent for her. She didn't
seem to mind though.

He pulled his hand away when he'd led her into the
middle of the living room. "Okay, you can open
them now."

"I'm not sure I want to. What does a Mulder surprise
entail?" She opened them anyway, and looked around
the apartment expecting to see someone or something
she didn't recognise. When everything seemed in place
and there was no-one to be seen, she turned to him, 
hoping for a clue. 

"So what do you think?"

Not sure what to do, she wandered over to the dining
area. "You cooked. That's wonderful Mulder, thank
you. The table looks great."

He waved an arm in the air. "Well, Samantha cooked,
I just slipped it in the oven. I meant what do you think
of this place Scully?"

She looked around again, hoping to spot something
she'd missed on her first inspection. "Well, it looks
a lot cleaner than I left it."

He sighed.

"Sorry Mulder. You're going to have to help me out
here."

He looked a little embarrassed. "I decorated for you.
You know, before we got tangled up in that case in
Brakespeare with the little girls, you were going to 
decorate? Seeing as I dragged you away before you
got the chance, I figured I'd do it for you."

"Oh." Her hand flew up to her face to stifle a smile.

Mulder looked around at Maggie, who was standing
at the door watching them, but she merely shrugged. 
"What's so funny Scully?"

"Mulder, when I said I was going to decorate, I meant
that I was going to have a something different. Not
just re-paint it."

"Ah heck, I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay. I just decided I like it fine like this
anyway." He shook his head and she knew that he
felt like he'd failed. 

"I should have asked you. I just assumed..."

She went over to him and laid a hand on his arm,
looking up into his face. He gazed down at her,
warmed by the enticing dark blue of her expressive
eyes and fascinated, as always, by her soft, full 
mouth

"Mulder. It was a really nice thought. Thank you."

He nodded.

Maggie put Dana's bag on the couch. "Well, I'd 
better be going. The cab's ticking away."

Scully went over and hugged her mother. "I'll
see you later?"

Nodding, Maggie patted her back. "I'll come
over tomorrow and see how you're doing. See
you later Fox."

"Bye Mrs Scully." 

"Don't keep her up till late, she has to rest."

Scully rolled her eyes as she saw her mother out.
Maggie kissed her and left. Leaning against the
closed door, Scully looked up with a mixture of
anticipation and awkwardness at Mulder.

"Did your mother just tell me to get you into 
bed?"

She smiled and shook her head. "I'm not sure."

Mulder recognised the tension in the room, and he
wasn't sure how to break it. He could either drag
her into his arms and kiss her, or try to his best to
make her comfortable.

Before he could make up his mind, she shrugged
off her jacket. "So when's dinner?"

"30 minutes."

"I have time to take a bath then?"

"Sure."

She nodded and he watched her make her way past
him towards the bathroom, trying not to focus on
the way her hips swayed in her jeans, or the snug
fit of her t-shirt around her breasts.

"Hey Scully, don't forget to slip into something more
comfortable." 

She didn't respond and he began to sense that 
something was wrong. She was troubled for some
reason. He just hoped that it wasn't because of him,
or anything he had done.


Dana Scully's apartment
Washington D.C.
July 25th, 1997
6.50  p.m.

She watched him from the entrance to her kitchen, as he
ladled the rich sauce over the dinner. Taking in the
long lean legs, the neat backside and the skinny waist
that spread out to a broad chest. She sighed to herself,
knowing that she had things to say to him, and that she
hadn't yet worked out how to say them. Afraid, in all the
scenarios that she had configured in her mind, that he
would react badly. 

If she blurted out simply that she loved him, would
he turn and run, afraid of her feelings and of the intimacy?
If she asked him where their future lie would he be
frightened that she wanted a commitment he couldn't
give? If she asked him how he felt for her, would he ruin
her promised happiness, by telling her that he was 'fond'
of her, or that she was his 'friend'? 

She sighed heavily, and the sound must of surprised him
because he jumped and turned. She smirked and crossed
to him. "Sorry I didn't mean to scare you."

He turned and smiled down at her. "Quick bath."

She nodded, wanting to wrap her arms around him, but
feeling strangely reluctant to do so. He bent forward and
kissed her forehead. 

"How you feeling?"

She chuckled and bent her head. "If I had a dollar for 
every time I've been asked that question recently I'd
need never go back to the FBI again."

"Sorry. I just want to know how you are."

"I know, but I'm okay. I really am. Still a little tired at
times, and I sometimes find it hard to believe that I've 
been cured, but I'm getting there."

He put his arms around her waist and pulled her closer
to him. "Yeah." He bent his head to kiss her and she
accepted it, despite the doubts that still clouded her
mind. The first kiss was chaste, the second more
passionate and the third didn't seem to end for a long,
long time. She revelled in it, the taste of him, and the
feel of him as she ran her hands up the front of his
chest and gloried in the heat that was emanating from
the skin underneath his shirt. He pulled her even closer, 
his hands on her ass and she felt his erection through his 
jeans. To hell with her fears about the future, she suddenly
wanted nothing more than to enjoy the present. She
broke the feverish kisses and looked up into his eyes.

"Will it keep?"

He looked at her in arousal and confusion. "Huh?"

"Dinner?"

He nodded. "We can heat it up later."

She kissed him quickly and took hold of his hand,
to lead him into the bedroom. He held back.

"Scully, you just got out of the hospital."

"Mulder didn't I just get through telling you I was
fine?"

Mulder followed her into her bedroom. It was dark,
apart from the light that filtered in from the living 
room. She surprised him by kicking down the 
sweatpants that she'd been wearing and then lifting
her t-shirt over her head, and standing in front of him
in nothing but her underwear. He couldn't move for
a long while whilst he drank in the sight of her. All
the dips and curves that made her so female and so
desirable. His desire eventually drove him onwards
and he stepped closer to touch her. She backed away
and climbed onto the bed.

"Why don't you take off a few clothes Mulder?"

He smiled at her, realising that she had bared her
upper torso to him for the first time. That she no
longer was frightened of him seeing her back, and that
the bruises she had worn must have faded. His
jeans became painfully restrictive and so he undid
the zipper and button and pulled them down, noticing
that Scully was sitting cross-legged Indian style
on the bed watching him. He grinned at her as he
pulled his socks off and threw them aside. "Enjoying
the view Agent Scully?"

"Oh yeah."

He pulled his t-shirt off.  "You've seen me naked 
before."

"Seeing someone naked and seeing them strip for
you are two entirely different things."

He followed her gaze down to the tight jersey boxers 
he wore. He considered them an annoying barrier.
He didn't want anything next to his skin but her. He
tucked his thumbs in the waistband and drew them
quickly off, throwing them at her. They landed on
her face and she threw herself back on the bed,
laughing. 

He delighted in the sound and climbed onto the
bed, covering his body with hers. She drew up a
hand to toss his shorts aside and then brought his
mouth down on hers by tugging the back of his neck. 

His erection was pressing against the supple flesh
of her thigh and he couldn't help but grind his hips
into her. But he remembered the promise he had made
to himself. Last time they had made love, she hadn't
climaxed and he'd sworn that the next time he took her
in his arms he'd make her whimper, moan and cry
out for a release, that he'd give to her selflessly,
ignoring his own needs, until hers had been met. He
shuffled his hips so that he was no longer against
her, and began to plant kisses down her throat. Her
hands sought their way along his back. He
drew away and caught her wrists. 

Surprised, she stared into his eyes for an explanation.

"Just let me, Scully. I want to...this time is about
you."

She shook her head. "No. It's about us."

"Please. There's things I want, I need to do to you,
for you."

He didn't wait for her acquiescence, but placed his
mouth on her right breast. Flicking his tongue across
her nipple, through the material of her bra. 

Scully suddenly regretted having left her underwear
on, she wanted to be rid of it. Now. She squirmed
under his ministrations and was glad when he left
her momentarily to undo the front clasp on the bra
and spread it aside so he could suck her nipple into
his mouth. She gasped in pure delight and sucked
in another breath when one of his hands came up to
capture her other breast.

She didn't know how many times she had dreamt or
fantasised about Mulder touching her in this way,
but she knew that the reality was far better than any
dream had ever been. Then, his mouth travelled
further down. Licking and kissing his way south
over her ribcage and onto her stomach. He circled
his tongue around her belly button and she smiled up
at the ceiling before her eyes drifted shut. "Oh Lord."

Mulder replied in an incredibly bad English accent.
"Yes m'lady."

She chuckled. "I wasn't talking to you."

He continued to plant light kisses on her stomach
as his hands moved down to stroke her strong
thighs. "So, if you start shouting 'God' later, that
won't be directed at me either?"

His thumbs were drawing circles on her inner
thighs, getting closer and closer to her apex.
She sucked in a breath.

"Keep doing what you're doing and I might rise
you to the position of my own personal deity."

"You're already my deity Scully, and you don't have
to do a thing, just let me worship you."

"Mmmm."

He left her suddenly and her eyes flew open.

"Turn over."

"Mulder please."

"Turn over." She did so reluctantly, cursing that
he had stopped doing what had been giving her so
much pleasure, but also in sweet anticipation of
what else he might have in mind. 

He kissed her between her shoulder blades and
then ran his tongue down the length of her spine.
His hand ran over the lace that covered her ass
and then he stopped. She froze too, instinctively
knowing what had halted him. He was studying
her tattoo. She held her breath, coming down
from the high he had placed her on, and sinking
in fear. He voice was wary, high-pitched. "Mulder?"

"I never saw it properly before. Just photographs."

She remembered that the two times that they had
made love, she had kept her back covered,
because of the ugly bruises that had adorned it.
She almost wished she had done the same now.

"Mulder. It wasn't about him. He's not why I had it 
done. It was about me, and about you in a way. He 
was just there at the time." She glanced over her 
shoulder at him. 

"It's okay Scully. I was hardly a monk either."

"I didn't sleep with him."

His eyes flew up to hers and she hoped he recognised
the truth in them. 

"No?"

"No, but..." She looked down at the pillow again. "I
wanted to. He stopped it. I'm not sure whether
it was because he recognised he was acting violently
and was afraid he'd hurt me, or perhaps he saw that
I would have been using him. That I didn't care for
him. That he would have been a substitute for
someone else."

He laid his body on top of hers. His penis pressing
into her behind and his mouth alongside her ear.
"A substitute for me?"

"No, for Mel Gibson." She turned her head and rolled
her eyes at him. "Of course for you Mulder."

"That's all Marita was as well."

"So what was it like making love to an alien Mulder?"

He caught the playful tone in her voice and was
relieved to find that she didn't think any less of him
for falling into his informant's arms. He amended
her slightly. "I think you mean, what was it like having 
sex with an alien? Well, it was, like....Having sex with 
an alien." 

He left her again and stripped her off her last
remaining item of clothing and then came to lay on
top of her again. Pressing himself against her so that 
his erection lay in the groove of her backside. For a 
moment he forgot his original intentions and  
considered just raising her up onto her knees and 
pushing into her from behind. Somehow, he managed 
to reign in his desire and settled for a quick thrust of 
his hips against her ass.

She made gave a small muffled moan into the pillow. 

"I like your tattoo Scully."

She was aroused to the point of dizziness and
wondered how long she could keep up her half of 
their bizzare conversation. "You do...ah." She moaned 
again as he pushed himself against her soft flesh once
more. 

He nodded and nuzzled her neck. "Am I too heavy?"

"Nope you feel...just fine."

"Good. Yeah, I like your tattoo. In fact I think you 
should get another one."

"Hmm?"

"Yeah. I think you should have 'property of Fox
Mulder' stamped on your wonderful rear end."

"I think you have a thing about my ass Mulder."

He wiggled his arm underneath her to grab her
by the waist and he turned onto his side, taking
her with him so she lay flush long his chest.
"I do, yes. It's one of my favourite parts of your
body."

"Got any other favourite bits?" Her hair had fallen
across her face during his manoeuvre, but she couldn't
make her arms function enough to brush it back. He
did it for her and kissed her cheek.

"Yeah, I got a fondness for this part." His hand slipped
boldly down her front and slid over the curls at her apex 
and then onto her wet centre. She gulped in a huge lung
full off air and all efforts at talking were abandoned
as he began to stroke her with two strong fingers.
Her hips were torn between pushing forward into
his hand or backwards against his hard flesh. They
did both, rocking back and forth between the
pleasures.

Mulder heard her begin to moan and slipped his hand
further down between her thighs, asking her to open
her legs, which she did willingly. He slid two fingers
into her hot wetness and felt her contract around him
as he pulled them in and out of her slowly. All the
while, rubbing the ball of his palm against her most
sensitive spot. She was breathing heavily and 
whimpering. He smiled at the knowledge that he
had the power to make the indestructible Dana
Scully helpless with pleasure. She grew hotter
and tighter around his fingers. Her hips thrust
furiously and he struggled to concentrate, recognising
that he might well come himself, if the soft skin of
her rear continued to rub against him so deliciously.

Scully was stuck on a knife edge of pleasure. 
Writhing against his fingers, hand and erection,
begging her own body for release. It wouldn't
come. She couldn't come. She knew she was trying
too hard, wanting it so much that it refused her.
She cried out Mulder's name in frustration, not
knowing whether or not her body could withstand
the onslaught much longer without a climax to
turn the sweet pain into bliss. He stroked his
fingers harder and she felt herself gradually 
beginning to slip into the better state of being she
craved, and then he left her. His fingers pulled
away and he was on his knees. Her eyes fluttered
open in time to see him grasp her by the shoulders
and lay her on her back. "You...bastard. I was.."

The words were lost when he spread her legs and
his mouth descended on her. "I...take that...back.
Oh my God." His lips kissed her and then they parted,
to take the small bundle of nerves where her
pleasure was concentrated, into his mouth. He sucked
hard and her hips left the bed as she began to pant.
"Mulder....yes." His tongue stroked down to her
entrance and worked its way inside, slipping in and
out, whilst he brought his hand up to play 
on the part of her that his mouth had abandoned.
It was hard to maintain a rhythm while she writhed
and thrust against his face, but he managed it by
using every single ounce of concentration and 
mental strength he possessed. She came at last, while
crying out to 'Jesus', 'God', 'Mulder' and anybody
else who would listen. He grinned as he felt the
contraction against his tongue but he didn't stop
his ministrations. Instead, while she was revelling
in orgasm, he swapped positions and pushed his
fingers up into her and began seriously indulging her
clitoris with his tongue. 

"Mulder." She grabbed a fist full of his hair, but he
ignored the pain, knowing that she was telling him
that he could stop, but he didn't want to. 

Scully wanted to drag him off her, but she couldn't get
him to halt what he was doing. She had come, but
he seemed to want to take her there again. She 
wasn't sure if she could handle it twice. The first
had been so intense, a second could be too sweet
to bare. But her lips were rocking again anyway,
giving in to him; moving of their own accord. She
thrashed her head to the side, hoping to clear her mind.
The room was spinning wildly. Mulder's mouth
seemed to be everywhere, all over her body, but
she knew that, in reality, it remained in one place,
licking and sucking. Her body was experiencing
things she was sure it never had before. Had she
ever once felt like she was going to explode and
shatter all at the same time? If she had, she didn't
remember it. Mulder was taking her somewhere
she hadn't been before. She was soaring towards
it. She heard a sob float up into the air and realised
faintly that it come from her own throat, and then she
was there. Right there, but not anywhere. She
recognised it, welcomed it and bathed in the light.
For a moment, Mulder was there, but then he
wasn't and it was all about her. She felt herself
slipping away from it, so she cried out, and it
brought her back. It was a wonderful place and
the next time she began to leave it, she went willingly, 
but not without regret and an intense feeling of peace.

Mulder's mouth was on her again, but this time
on her face. He was kissing her face, her cheek,
her nose, her mouth. Her eyes fluttered open. He
looked a little frightened and the part of her mind
that had begun to function again wondered why.

"Mulder?"

"Why are you crying Scully? Are you okay?"

She put a hand up to her face, noticing how heavy
her limbs were, and felt her wet cheeks. "I just,
I'm..." She was going to say 'fine', but it didn't, in
any way, describe what she was feeling. "I think I
passed out."

He chuckled and kissed her lips. "You didn't pass
out. I know you didn't, I was paying close attention.
If you had, I would've been really worried."

He lay on his side and pulled her to his chest, she
noticed he was no longer hard, and looked up into
his face. "Mulder?"

"I lost it about the same time you did."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. It was pretty pleasurable for me too."

She pushed her face into his chest, enjoying the
feel of the soft downy hair against her nose and cheeks.
"I always thought it was a myth."

He lay with one arm around her and the other draped
across his forehead. "What?"

"Multiple orgasms."

He looked down at her until she felt the weight of his stare 
and looked up at him. He was speechless. "You. I..."

She grinned. "Well, I'm not entirely sure, not having
had the pleasure before, but that's what it felt like."

He looked intensely pleased with himself. "Good huh?"

She kissed his left nipple. "Like you wouldn't believe."

"Well that's okay then. Because I hope you realise
that I wore myself out and that I probably won't be
able to summon up the strength to go anywhere near
you for at least a month. So that'll have to last you."

"I'm hungy Mulder."

"Jesus Christ Scully...."

She laughed. "Don't panic. I meant that I want something
to eat. The other kind of hunger has been entirely sated."

********
Continued in part 11b

*********



Armistice (11b/11)
by Caroline O'Callaghan

************

Dana Scully's apartment
Washington D.C.
July 26th, 1997
2.05 a.m.

Scully stood by the window in her living room, staring out
at the darkness. Clad only in the t-shirt Mulder had 
discarded earlier, she wrapped her arms around herself
to ward off the night chill, and leant her forehead against
the window pane.

She shouldn't have done it. Given in to the baser desire
to have Mulder inside her. She had wanted him so much,
she knew, because she had feared it might be the last
time. However, it had been wrong to go to bed with him,
without first having untroubled her mind and spoken to
him.

She jumped in surprise when she felt a pair of arms 
slip around her and pull her backwards. "Why don't
you tell me what's wrong Scully?"

She shook her head, leaning back against him, despite
herself. They'd had such a wonderful evening that she
had been reluctant to ruin it with serious talk. They'd
eaten dinner and gone straight back to bed to make love. 
Despite his earlier protests that he hadn't the strength.
The image of his hair falling into his dark eyes, as he
moved within her desperately, was still strong in her
mind. The feeling of him filling her completely, when
he had buried himself inside her, was too glorious to
forget in a hurry. "Nothing Mulder. Everything's
fine. We'll talk tomorrow. Let's go back to bed."

He turned her around and stared deep into her eyes.
"No. Something's worrying you tonight, so we'll
talk tonight. Come on." He took her hand and led
her to the couch as if she were a small child. She
sat a few inches apart from him, but he shifted to close
the gap, and kissed the top of the head. "Spit it out,
Scully. Don't forget that I've found new ways of 
torturing you until you scream."

"That kind of torture I can live with."

"Tell me what's on your mind."

She sighed. "I don't think I can put it into words. I
can only tell you what I'm afraid of."

He put an arm around her shoulders and held her
close. "I didn't think Dana Scully was afraid of
anything."

She let out a small laugh. "Just of you, and of myself."

"Explain."

She sighed. "When we first got involved like this
Mulder, I was dying. I didn't know how long I had
left, and neither did you."

He nodded. 

"What I'm saying is that I think when we got more
...intimate, we weren't thinking as we'd normally be
thinking."

"So it took possible death to bring us together. What's
wrong with that? As long as it was meant to happen,
who cares how it happened?"

"Mulder. I want you to be honest with me. Don't be
afraid of hurting my feelings."

"I'd never willingly lie to you Scully."

"Okay, then tell me. Would you have taken me to bed
that night if I hadn't had cancer?"

He tilted his head in curiosity at her. "What are you
saying?"

"That maybe you've taken our relationship further
than you would have had, out of sympathy for me."

He laughed out loud. "I can't believe you're saying this
after tonight."

She stood up, not wanting the distraction of his body
heat. "This isn't about sex, its about us. It's more
serious than that. I can't help remembering that you
told Emily Watson I wasn't your type."

"But Scully, that's what I tell everybody about you."

Her brow wrinkled in confusion.

He stumbled on, eager to assure her. "It's my way of
explaining us to other people, or at least, it used to be.
I would say that because I didn't want people to think
that you stayed with me because we were sleeping 
together. I wanted them to realise that our partnership
was more than that. That you were with the X Files
out of respect for the work. I didn't like people thinking
you were some kind of lovesick moron who'd do anything
for spooky Mulder because you were sharing his
bed. It was insulting to you, to your integrity and good
reputation. So when anybody asked me whether we were
involved, I would say you weren't my type. It seemed
to satisfy people."

Scully ran a hand through her hair. "But Mulder, when I
look at the other women who've been in your life, I'm
not in any way similar to them."

He grabbed one of her arms and pulled her onto his lap.
"No. You could never be. You're unique Scully. You're
not like anybody else."

Her forehead was still creased with worry and he knew
he wasn't saying whatever it was that would ease her
concerns, but he didn't know what she expected of
him.

"Mulder. I'm better now. I'm not dying. The project
has ended, we're not in the kind of danger we were in
before."

He nodded.

"That means, that I have a future, and so do you. What
I need to know is whether you think our future is
together." She took a deep breath. "Because if I go into
this with you, I'm going in hard. No half measures.
You're either with me all the way or nothing at all."

"Scully..."

She put a hand up to stop him. "A few weeks ago when
we talked about us, you told me that I came second to
the search for Samantha. That I'd have to know where
your priorities lie, and I understood that. I respected it
completely. But Samantha is back with you now. That
changes things. Do you remember Mulder, the 
conversation we had when you dragged me out on that
stupid lake to search for Big Blue?"

He nodded, a little bemused.

"You spoke about how you had always wanted a peg
leg, because then people wouldn't expect so much of
you. Well, what you don't realise Mulder is that I've 
granted you allowances because of Samantha. She was
your peg leg, and I've allowed you treat me badly
in the past because of her. But you don't have that
disability now."

"So, what are you saying? That I'd better shape up
or ship out?"

"Something like that. I can't afford to fall for you
if I know that you're going to remain the same Fox
Mulder that I knew in the past. I'm not expecting
you to change overnight, but I want...need more
from you."

"I can only promise to try my best. My feelings for
you are real though Scully, don't doubt them. I
wouldn't degrade you by taking you to bed if they
were any lesser than I proclaimed them to be, 
whether you were dying or not."

Her eyes met his at last, and his body sagged in
relief at the knowledge that he was finally getting
through to her. He kissed her forehead and held her
tight against his chest. "I'm going in hard as well
Scully. No half measures here either." He considered
making some kind of sexual innuendo about just how
hard he was going into their relationship, but decided 
against it. "I have all the same fears that you do,
believe me, but I don't want to let them get in the
way of what we might have. Trust me, please. Trust
me on this like you've trusted me in the past and I'll
try not to let you down."

She buried her face in his neck, knowing that she was
close to tears. "Let's get some sleep Mulder. We've
got a big meeting tomorrow."

He surprised her by standing up with her still in his
arms and carrying her towards the bedroom. 

She arched her eyebrow at him on the way. "Last time
I checked I was still in possession of two working
legs."

"Yeah I checked your legs recently as well Scully.
They seem to work fine. But humour me here,
I like doing things for you."

She kissed his chin as he set her down on the mattress
and looked up at him with a glint in her eye. "I like
the things you do for me Mulder."

"When did you get such a dirty mind Scully?" He laid 
down on the bed beside her. 

"It's been in the gutter ever since I met you."

He pulled the covers over them and she snuggled up
against his chest. He fell asleep almost instantaneously,
a rare event for him, but then the kind of peace and
contentment he felt was rare for him too.


Outside Walter Skinner's office
FBI Headquarters
Washington D.C.
July 26th, 1997
9.36 a.m.

Mulder couldn't take his eyes off her, as she sat primly
next to him, reading the morning paper with a look
that suggested that butter wouldn't melt in her mouth.
He knew better. He knew just where that mouth had
been that very mourning, when she'd knelt in front of
him in the shower and fulfilled one of his more prominent
fantasies. He wanted to touch her, and resisting the
urge was killing him.

His concentration should have been elsewhere. He knew
he was going to be facing Skinner any moment to 
argue for the continuation of the X Files. He noticed that
Scully hadn't turned the page of the paper in over ten 
minutes and wondered if she was having as hard a time
keeping her mind on the job as he was. He was relieved
when Skinner's secretary eventually looked over at them
and requested they. "Go on in." Even so, he still found 
himself admiring Scully's shapely form, barely hidden by
her crisp business suit, as she walked in front of him. 

Skinner nodded at them both, but he spoke to Scully.
"How are you feeling?"

"Probably better than you are Sir. I hear that it was a 
close call."

He sat down with a grimace, and Mulder and Scully
took chairs opposite him. "It didn't hit anywhere major,
thank goodness. I must have a guardian angel when
it comes to getting shot because of the X Files." He
looked steadily at them both. "I won't beat around the
bush. You both know why you're here, and let me tell
you that I came back to work several weeks before
I should have done to argue for the future of your department."

Mulder leaned forward. "And?"

"I presented them with the evidence of your case solve
rates and fortunately, I'm not the only one in authority
in the Bureau who believes that your work is valuable
and worthy, and that the two of you make a wonderful
team."

Scully leaned forward as well. "The X Files are still
open?"

Skinner nodded. "Yes, but I had to...it wouldn't have
been professional of me to argue your case without
presenting the full facts. One of the facts is that the
two of you have a relationship that goes beyond 
partnership. Am I right in thinking you're involved?"

Scully looked around at Mulder, fearing his response.
Would he lie to keep his beloved X Files open?

Mulder coughed. "Yes Sir. I know that it's against
Bureau policy to have people who are...involved
working together. I want to say now that I don't
want the X Files without Scully. We work too well
together. I couldn't have anybody else work those
cases with me. If you're saying that I can have them
back, but not our partnership, well then I don't want
them back. They wouldn't seem the same to me. If
that's the case, transfer me elsewhere and give the
department to someone else to run."

Skinner looked a little shocked.

Scully was speechless and openly stared at Mulder,
not caring what Skinner might think. A smile played 
around the corners of her mouth. She considered
getting out of her chair, throwing her arms around
him and kissing him senseless.

Skinner eventually managed to form a response.
"Agent Mulder. I've managed to convince others
that you and Agent Scully are professional enough
to keep your working lives and your personal lives
apart. There's no question of the two of you being
forced apart. I think you'd give me far much more
trouble than you already do if you didn't have 
someone of her strength to keep you on a vaguely
straight path."

Mulder grinned. "Yes Sir, you're probably right 
about that. So we can go back to work then?"

"From next Monday. I want Scully to take some 
more time off."

She snapped out of her Mulder-induced stupor to
giver her boss a defiant look.

He held up his hand. "Just a week Scully, that's
all I'm asking. You're recovering from cancer,
give yourself some time. Meanwhile Agent Mulder
I want you to report to the VCS temporarily, where
they need someone to put together a profile on
a particularly nasty sicko, who seems to get a kick
out of planting bombs in shelter's for the homeless."

Mulder nodded, happy with the situation. He silently
agreed that Scully needed further time off, and was
glad that he hadn't been the one who'd had to ask
her to take it. He glanced at her and was relieved
to see that she looked resigned about it.

He stood and shook Skinner's hand. "Thank you Sir."

"You're welcome Mulder."

Scully managed to haul herself out of the chair, still
feeling a little shell shocked. She shook Skinner's
hand also and he smiled softly at her.

It wasn't till they were in the elevator that she
managed to say something to Mulder. "I can't believe
you did that."

"What?"

"You would have given it all up, if you couldn't
be with me, and have people know that you're
with me."

"I told you quite a while ago Scully that I wasn't 
going to hide us from the world. And I meant what 
I said last night. I know I'm not perfect, but I'd
rather shape up, than ship out."

She smiled at him. "I want to kiss you."

He looked at her in surprise. "Stop it. You're
making me blush."

The elevator reached the garage and for the first
time she realised he was taking her to her car.

She stepped out and walked towards it. Feeling
light-headed and happy. Mulder may not have
professed his undying love, or promised to be with
her forever, but what he had done meant so much
more. "Mulder, I really want to kiss you."

He waggled his finger at her and she wanted to
suck on it. "Now, now Agent Scully. You heard
what the boss man said. He thinks we're capable
of separating our private and professional lives. We
have to prove him right or they might drum us out of
the Bureau altogether."

"It's a parking lot Mulder. Don't you remember
how you get in parking lots?"

He grinned. "It's still Bureau territory."

"Then let's get out of here."

"No you have to get out of here. I have to go see the
big cheese in the VCS."

She pouted and rummaged in her coat pockets for
her keys. Finding them, she unlocked the door. She threw 
her briefcase over to the passenger side and got in behind 
the wheel, but before she could close the door, Mulder
knelt beside her and put a hand on her knee. 

"I want to ask you something."

She nodded. 

"I was thinking maybe I could move into your place?"
He almost laughed at the shock that registered on
her face. It took a lot to catch Scully off-guard.
"Samantha is looking for an apartment. She could 
have mine, if I moved in with you, and well, at
the moment I don't think I want to spend a night
away from you. What do you think? Say no, if it's
too soon for you."

"Too soon? After nearly five years with you Mulder,
I don't think anything could be considered 'too
soon'. I'll go to your place and pack your stuff."

He looked around the garage to make sure they were
alone and kissed her. His heart lifting at the contact.
He broke it with slight regret, but in the knowledge
that he would be seeing her in a few hours.

She smiled at him and he couldn't remember ever
seeing such a sweet expression on her face before.
He got to his feet and closed the door. Patting the
hood of the car. "Drive safe Scully."

He turned and walked towards the elevator to go
back to work, but glanced around to find her still
sitting in the car staring after him. "Oh, Scully, at
my apartment, if you find any of those videos that
aren't mine..."

She nodded. "I'll dispose of them as I see fit Mulder.
I can assure you that you won't have any further
need of them."

He grinned as he watched her pull away and drive
out of the garage. One thought running through his
mind like a mantra. 'Jesus Mulder, don't screw this
up'.


**************

End

**************

Armistice - Epilogue

Out in the woods in Warrenton, Virginia, a man with a 
Russian accent looked through the remains of the 
laboratory, while ordering his men to scour the empty 
building. They looked for anything that might be of use to 
their own project. 

The Americans had failed, they had been discovered and
exposed. He considered that it was their lack of
discipline and foolish sentimentality that had been their
downfall. They had refused to kill their opponents. 
If they had taken care of the rogue FBI agents years ago
and had not had to spend so much time trying to
deter them, they might have had better success.

Still, their inability only meant that his mission was made
easier. He had no illusions that the world was safe from
the outside invaders. He would aspire to make an army
that could defend his country, even if the rest of the
earth's populace died because they failed to take
precautions against the coming of dark forces.


**************


Okay, that's it - I'm pooped. Phew! I thought it would never
end.
I know you're all dying to let me know what you thought,
so don't be shy and drop me a line at:  
caroline.o@virgin.net