Title: Black Jacket 1/1 Author: Miranda Quinlan Spoilers: Yes a few- yes, I'm being deliberately vague- if you don't want to know something you don't, don't read this. (Did that make sense?) Disclaimer: They're not mine (surprise). No money is being made, and no infringement intended. notes at end ---- Mulder had never seen Scully fidgeting so much. She was typing with one hand, and absent-mindedly flicking through a case with the other. How she managed this, he didn't know. "Have an overload of coffee this morning?" He asked, making her jump. "Hmm? What, oh." Scully looked up at him, confusion darkening her eyes, pausing at her tasks. "No." Mulder leant back in the chair and studied her. She was almost squirming under his gaze. Almost. She set her chin and looked back at him. Damn, she was gorgeous. The Gunmen were taking bets as to who was fantasising about her the most- Skinner, Mulder or Frohike. They had generously allowed Mulder to take part, and he had put his ten bucks on Skinner, although how they were going to find out about this, he didn't know. Of course, he already knew who the winner would be- him. Working with Scully all day, then going home to an empty apartment, it was difficult not to imagine her wearing nothing except high heels and mascara. Scully had stopped looking at him while he was in his musings, so he stopped studying her. But there was definitely something not right. "Mulder, do you have the expense report for that case we had in April?" Scully asked him, this time using both hands to flick through the case report she had. "Uh, no." He knew he had forgotten to ask Skinner something. Usually, the original case report was handed to Skinner, and a photocopy made for the office, although sometimes, Mulder forgot to make a photocopy. Like this time. Scully made a quick phone call to Skinner, a note of the case file number, and started to walk out the door. "Do you need anything?" She asked. Mulder debated about asking her if she would put a concealed microphone on for the Gunmen's secret bet, but decided it wouldn't be worth the risk of obtaining grievous bodily harm. "No." Scully left and he heard her shoes walking down the hall. Mulder swung a few times in his chair, glad he had decided on a swinging chair, and not just a normal one, although it did become temperamental some times. Usually when he had decided to impress Scully by knowing the facts of a case off by heart, then WHAM he'd be on the floor with his chair beside him, and Scully would be standing near her desk, doing her best not to laugh. At which point Mulder would huffily make a quick retreat and let the sound of Scully's laughter echo after him down the hall. He told himself it was for the good of both of them, providing some comic relief during a hard day's work. Then he would get mad at himself for being so anal. Mulder swung around once more before deciding to get to work. Luckily, the phone rang. "Hello?" He said, expecting it to be Scully's mother, Frohike for Scully or Pendrell for Scully. She got all the attention. "Hi, this is Charlie Scully. Is Dana there?" Mulder sat up straighter in the chair. He'd never even discussed Charlie with Scully, and this was a rare opportunity to get some info about Scully's life when she was younger. "She's not here at the moment. Could I take a message?" Mulder didn't bother to pick up a pen or paper, knowing he'd remember whatever the youngest Scully sibling had to say. "Well, there was supposed to be a dinner at Mom's, and, uh, I can't make it." "Oh." Mulder hunched down in his chair. No great secrets were to be divulged, at least not this telephone call. "Yeah, my daughter Rachael has the flu, and I don't want her sharing it around with everyone in the family." "Why don't you find a baby sitter?" Mulder asked. Charlie paused again. "My wife, Hannah, she isn't too keen on baby sitters, she reads into those things where the sitters have killed the kids, all that kind of thing." Charlie's wife sounded slightly paranoid. Mulder wondered if she ever read about UFO's or the like. "Well, I'm sure Sc, uh, Dana, and the rest of the family would be upset from not hearing from you." "No great loss from the rest of the family. Dana's the only one that bothers to send cards or birthday presents. The dinner is only for Bill to let everyone know he's succeeding at what he's doing, and to rub all our faces in it. He knows he's already at the top of the will, although if Mom went first, Dana would have got most of it from Dad. Anyway, I'll leave a number for Dana to ring me back." As if realising he had said too much, Charlie cut himself off. At that moment, Scully walked back in the door, sheaf of papers in hand. "Never mind, she's here now." Mulder gestured wildly, knowing he must look slightly less than dignified when he looked up at Scully and caught a bitten- down smile and a raised eyebrow. He covered the mouthpiece of the phone with his palm. "It's Charlie. Your brother." He added unnecessarily. Scully's eyebrows drew together, then unfurrowed as she took the phone from Mulder. "Charlie." She said. He must have gone on with a bit, because Scully started inspecting her fingernails. She sat herself on the edge of Mulder's desk, and looking at her skirt drawn tight across her thigh, he wished he hadn't been thoughtful, and bought her her own desk. "Oh, okay, you can't come." Mulder looked up. Charlie must have had some long- winded apology going, or something, because he had taken a while to get to the point. "Well how about we go out. Yeah I can ditch Bill. Hannah and Rachael can come along, and we can all go to a bar, if Rachael's okay. Oh right, a colourful lie." Mulder had no idea what Scully was doing, inviting her brother's presumably young daughter to a bar. "Yes. That's who you were talking to." Mulder perked up when he knew they were talking about him, and leaned closer to Scully, noting the way she twisted the phone cord around her fingers. She blushed then, and turned so Mulder wouldn't see. "Horizontal, Charlie. And it's not like I'd tell you." Mulder knitted his brows together. Charlie couldn't be inquiring about his sister's sex life, could he? "Okay, I'll bring him. See you tonight at eight." Scully hung up and looked across at Mulder. He detected something in her face along the lines of I-just-volunteered-you-for-something-you-may- or-may-not-agree-with. He was dreading whatever it was already. "Uh, Mulder." Scully swivelled around so she was facing him on the desk. Mulder swallowed hard and crossed his legs. Damn straight skirts on sexy women. He waited for what she had to say. "Charlie doesn't want to go to see Bill, and neither did I. He's going to ring Mom and cancel- I'm sure she'll understand. So we're going to a bar." Mulder knew he was supposed to pick up on something here by the way Scully tilted her head slightly to the side. "We, Scully?" He got it eventually, and leant closer to her, enjoying the scent of jasmine that surrounded her. "Well, Charlie, Hannah, you and me." "Me?" Mulder sighed. "Yes, and there's more. Uh, we're together." "Well, yes Scully I understand that, of course we're, oh." Mulder finally realised her implications, and it momentarily delayed him and his thinking process. Scully and him- an item? Sure, he'd dreamt of this, but he never thought Scully would actually instigate this, even though it was fake. "Will you do it?" Scully waited for an answer, and looked slightly desperate. She needed him to do it, because he was the one Charlie had talked to on the phone. Mulder waited a moment, and let the tension build. "Okay." He said finally. He had nothing to lose except maybe some time on the couch watching porn or ringing Scully. "Good." Scully went back to her own desk. "Pick me up at eight." She said, then looked up. "And wear your leather jacket." Mulder eyes widened a little. She'd only seen him in it about twice, and he didn't know she liked it that much. He didn't think she took much notice of clothing, she seemed more of the type to throw on some clothes, and have them look perfect anyway, without worrying. Mulder wondered what Scully would be wearing. Maybe a skirt. He looked over towards her desk, where she was bending over, typing something on her computer, and not bothering to sit down. If the desk was positioned just a little more around to the left... "Mulder." Scully interrupted him. "Um, Charlie thinks we're sleeping together." Mulder breath caught in his throat as he pulled a manila folder onto his lap, trying not to make it look too obvious. It was better than he had hoped. "Why would that be?" He asked, leaning back in his chair. "Well, it was only natural. He presumes if I've been seeing someone for more than a month, that we've been sleeping together." Scully waited for an answer off Mulder. "I'll keep that in mind." Mulder said, and Scully smiled a little. "Are you nervous Scully?" Mulder asked. She kept reminding him about the little details. Okay, twice, but that was a lot for Scully. Once she had said something, she usually left it at that. "No." Mulder gave Scully a pointed look. "Okay, a little. I haven't seen Charlie for years, and last time he saw me, I was a doctor in love with Jack Willis, and planning to have children eventually. I'm just not sure how he'll react." In a rush, Mulder got up to go over to Scully, although he wasn't counting that his foot would get caught on his chair. His arms flailed wildly, trying to grab for balance, and he felt Scully's arms around him. "Must be my turn to save you from a disaster soon." Mulder mumbled, realising his face would be an alarming shade of red. He felt Scully's body shaking, and noticed how close they were to each other. "And he usually brings out the worst in me, in a kind of dancing on tables way." Scully finished. At first he thought she was crying, but as she tilted her face up, he realised she was laughing. And that she wasn't letting go. "Mulder." She gasped his name as she laughed, and he felt compelled to do something. He leaned down to kiss her on the nose. Although it didn't stop her laughter entirely, it abated it somewhat. "What-" He cut her off by leaning down again, to whisper in her ear as the phone started ringing. "Just practising." He nuzzled her cheek, and felt her body relax a little. They stood there for as long as they could stand to let the phone ring. Scully started to reach for it, but Mulder entangled his fingers with hers. "Let it ring." "Mulder, it could be Skinner. He said he might have some more information that I can use to persuade the higher up authorities that we really do need that much each month in travel expenses." Scully reached out for the phone again, but this time with her left hand. "Scully." She said, moving slightly away from Mulder. If only she knew what she was doing to him... "Sir. Should I include that at the start, or further through? Okay, I'll come pick it up, and we can talk then." Scully replaced the receiver, and reluctantly disentangled her fingers from Mulder's. "I have to go see Skinner again. Don't you have that lunch thing with the Gunmen." "Oh, damnit." Mulder checked his watch. They were giving him some information about one of his sources, and Mulder had arranged to see them at the library, which was closer than their cramped apartment that always seemed to hum with the electrical charge of five computers going at once. "I guess I'll see you at eight then. In my leather jacket. And you in your table dancing clothes." Mulder said, as Scully started to remind him. "Thank you Mulder, although not for your last remark." Scully smiled at him in a way that, cornily enough, made his heart shiver and race. He rushed out, wondering what kind of guy Charlie was, that Scully would have to lie to. At seven thirty that night, Mulder was rushing around his apartment. All he had to wear was tight black jeans, since his blue jeans were still in his bag from the last case he and Scully had gone on. Mulder pulled on a grey shirt, then his leather jacket. It was perfectly worn in, and probably his favourite item of clothing. Mulder paused as he was pulling on his socks to wonder. A day ago, he and Scully had been close working companions, and although there was something else there, neither of them would comment on it. But now, things were moving very fast, and Mulder liked it, although he wondered if it was getting out of their control. He wondered how Scully felt. Unfortunately, his wondering took precious minutes, and it was five to eight when he started his car. Scully's house was ten minutes away, traffic permitting, so there was no chance of him getting there before eight. When he arrived, he knocked on Scully's door, surprised she wasn't waiting outside, and feeling strangely nervous, like it was a first date. It was a first date, but it wasn't real, Mulder argued with himself as he waited for Scully to open the door. She did, while pulling on one shoe. Mulder felt his jaw drop open a little, and immediately snapped it shut. "Wow, Scully, if I knew you had this stuff in your cupboard I would've..." Mulder trailed off, not finding anything to say that would fit the mental picture he had in his head. "Would've what Mulder?" Scully smiled, and turned off the lounge room light, leaving the kitchen light burning. Mulder took in all the detail he could while she was turned away from him. Long black pants, low cut, fitted perfectly to her legs, a long- sleeved blue shirt that stretched across her breasts and a fitted black jacket. A pair of scuffed docs completed it. She looked about twenty- something, even though Mulder couldn't see much make-up on her face, to cover any wrinkles. "Never knew you owned Docs, Agent Scully." Mulder said, as she locked her door. "There are a lot of things you don't know about me Agent Mulder." Scully tossed over her shoulder as she started walking to the lift. Mulder caught up with her easily. "Oooh, Agent Scully, is that a threat?" He said, pressing the button for the ground floor. Scully smiled up at him a little and brushed his hand with hers. "It could be." She answered smoothly. Mulder was glad that the lift doors opened at that moment, because suddenly, being in an enclosed space with Scully was making his groin throb and his brain slow down. Of course, he had always had a throbbing groin around Scully, no denying that, although tonight, it seemed like his senses were heightened. "So where are we going?" Mulder asked, jingling the car keys. He unlocked the car and they simultaneously slid in. "Gresher's Bar. You know where that is, right?" Scully said, flipping down the sun visor for the mirror, and pulling out her lipstick. Mulder flicked on the left indicator as he waited for the light to change, then watched Scully put on her lipstick. Dark colour tonight- she must be feeling sexy. Mulder had started noticing what colour lipstick Scully wore after her first year with him, after he started to notice that she picked a different colour depending what mood she was in. Light colours when she was relaxed, deeper colours when she was being professional and dark colours when she was sexy. He'd only seen dark lipstick on her twice, this time included. "Mulder, you going to go?" Scully said, as a horn tooted behind him. "Oh, right." Mulder's face burned again, and he pushed down on the gas pedal. "Okay, do I need to know any background on your brother?" Mulder said, changing lanes to tun left again. "He's been married to Hannah for four years, they have a daughter, Rachel, she's fourteen, and they'll probably let her go to Mom's. Hannah's okay, she's like Missy was." Scully stopped for a minute, and Mulder reached over to take her hand. She still had moments of melancholy over Melissa's death, although she was slowly getting over it. "Rachel's okay, she's a bit quiet for a teenager, but I haven't seen her for ages, so I'm not sure how she's going now." Scully curled her hand tighter in Mulder's and thought for a moment. Mulder started to watch her, but after almost clipping a large truck, and having Scully clutch his hand tight enough to make him wince, he decided against it. He'd be able to look at her tonight, in a much different light than he usually saw her. "I'm glad we're here in one piece." Scully murmured as they pulled up in the parking lot. She shot him a sideways glance as she climbed out of the low car, and he laughed slightly, even though he was feeling more nervous by every passing minute. Who was this brother- Scully hadn't seen him for at least seven years- she'd hardly mentioned him in all that time, then she gets one phone call, and that makes her capable of blowing off her mother. Mulder took a deep breath before locking the car. If the brother was anything like Bill, Scully probably wouldn't have wanted him to come. She wouldn't have them pretend they were together, and she definitely wouldn't tell him to act like they were sleeping together. "Scully, is Charlie-" He opened the door for her, and she cut off his sentence. "He's nothing like Bill, Mulder. You don't have to worry. He's the exact opposite." She took his hand in hers, dramatically increasing his worrying. The exact opposite of Bill. Mulder didn't know how to take this, because at least he knew how to take aggression. "There he is." Mulder turned his attention away from worrying, and looked towards where Scully was pointing, through the smoke floating hazily above the heads of several people. A man about the size of Bill, was busy drinking from a Ruski bottle. He had brown hair on the longer side of short, dark eyes and was of medium build. He looked nothing like Scully. "Dana." Mulder and Scully tuned to see a blonde woman addressing them from the left. She was shorter than Scully, and wore a long, fitted skirt and a wispy shirt. "Hannah!" Scully hugged the woman, then turned to Mulder. "This is Mulder, my friend." He shook Hannah's hand and smiled slightly. She was a bit too blonde and made up, but otherwise she seemed generally nice. If Scully liked her, that was good enough for him. He trusted her judgement. "Hi Hannah." Mulder shook the proffered hand, noting that it gripped his fingers tighter than he had expected. "And this is Charlie." Scully said, as the man Mulder had seen earlier appeared at Scully's side. Charlie shook Mulder's hand first, and Mulder noted that Charlie's hand was slightly spongy- he was probably a drinker. "Hello Charlie." Mulder didn't know what else to say, so he opted the smile instead. Charlie grinned back. "I guess you're glad I'm not Bill, right?" Mulder slid a sideways glance to Scully, who gave him a small grin. "Uh, yeah, have to say I am." Charlie relinquished his grip on Mulder's hand, and turned to Scully. "Well big sister- good choice this time." Charlie said, engulfing her in a hug. Scully shot a glance over Charlie's left shoulder that was somewhere between panic, and somewhere between something Mulder couldn't put a finger on. "What are you drinking?" Charlie said once he and Scully had finished their small show of affection. "Vodka, straight up." Scully said, then looked to Mulder. "Whisky, on the rocks." Mulder said. If Scully was going for hard liquor, so could he. With any luck, they'd be drunk by midnight, and able to catch a taxi home together, ready to fall asleep in each other's arms without worrying about the repercussions until the morning. If Scully knew how many times he had fallen asleep thinking about her... "Mulder, come find a table?" Scully was at his elbow now, her hand slipping into his easily. He laced his fingers with hers and followed her, watching her walk, moving to the rhythm of the music. His Scully could have been a dancer- she probably could have been anything she wanted, except, after being placed somewhere against her own will, she had stuck it out. He loved her for it. "I'm just going to the ladies'" Hannah walked past them, throwing that comment over her shoulder. Scully, as though spring loaded, sprung after her. Mulder gave her what he hoped resembled a don't-leave-me-alone-with-someone-I-don't-know. Scully looked back at him and gave him a little wave before linking arms with Hannah and continuing to go to the toilet or whatever ladies did when they went to the toilet. It had always seemed funny to Mulder the way women went to the toilets with two of them. He wondered if they held discussions in there, secret women's talk where they bitched about anybody they could think of and talked about men. Although he could never really picture Scully 'bitching'. She didn't seem like the type. Charlie came back to the table with the drinks. "Where are the girls?" He asked. "Toilet." Mulder said, readily accepting his whisky. "Ah, I suppose they're there to do the 'woman talk' thing." Charlie took a long swallow of his drink, and Mulder paused before lifting the glass to his mouth. Another mystery solved- and did it seem that all of Scully's family had a talent hidden- like mind-reading. Mulder shrugged to himself and took a swallow of his drink. It burnt the back of his throat, like good whisky does, and it reminded him that the last drink he had was cheap beer with the gunmen one lonely Friday night. "So you're the one that got Dane into all that freaky shit?" Charlie said. He was obviously one to get straight to the point. "Uh, yeah, guilty." Mulder said, wondering where Charlie was going with all this. "That's great." Charlie leant back and slapped the table enthusiastically. "My monthly phone calls have gotten a lot more interesting." He leant forward as if he and Mulder were conspirators. "And, it's something to piss Bill off." He leant back as Hannah and Scully got back. "What were you guys talking about?" Hannah said as she slid in next to Charlie. Mulder moved over so that Scully could get in next to him and Charlie gave him a shark smile. "Nothing for you to worry about." Scully took a sip of her drink, then reached out to try Mulder's drink. It had taken a while for each to become comfortable with the other, and after two years Mulder had realised that it didn't matter to Scully any more which coffee cup she drank out of. Whichever was closer to her, she would pick up and sip. She took a small mouthful of his whisky and wrinkled her nose up before coughing. "God." She said. Charlie gave her a smile. "A bit too strong for ya sis?" He said, starting to laugh at her. "Don't you talk, before you started drinking full time, you could barely drink Tia Maria without your eyes watering." Hannah interjected, taking a cautionary sip of her, well, whatever she was drinking. At Mulder's upraised eyebrows, she offered the drink to him. "It's called rocket juice. Everything white, white rum, white vodka, some different spirits." Mulder took it carefully and took a gentle sip. He handed it back, nodding his head a little. "Good." He said, then noticed everyone was watching him. "What?" He said. "You mean, you didn't get that rush?" Hannah said, shaking her head. "What rush?" Mulder asked, chasing the 'rocket juice' down with some more whisky. "Ach, he's just a lot better drinker than you." Charlie said, pulling a cigarette out of his pocket, and lighting it. "Don't tell me you still smoke." Scully said, somehow looking down at Charlie even though he sat taller than she did. "Oh, excuse me." He said, sitting forward, laughter ready to crinkle his face. "This is the girl who started her smoking career at fourteen." Scully looked down at the table. "Of course, she was never really tough enough to keep smoking." Charlie said sideways at Mulder. Mulder gave Scully a smiling glance, and noted the way her eyes were more animated than they usually were. He didn't know if that was due to drinking, or to seeing her brother again. "Go on then, I dare you." Charlie slid the packet over to Scully. She hesitated a moment, then slim fingers reached out to caress the packet, before opening it. She took one out quickly and lit it. "God." She said for the second time. "Hah, that proves it." Charlie said, leaning closer to his sister. "What?" She said back to him, exhaling the smoke sideways. Mulder noticed the way her fingers fit perfectly to a cigarette- although she was a doctor, and he knew all the risks as well, there was something alluring about beautiful woman caressing a cigarette with her perfect, dark lips... "You didn't cough. If you haven't smoked since you were fourteen- and I don't believe you on that one- then you would cough. And you didn't." Charlie motioned with his cigarette, ash scattering onto the red table top. "Sooooooo, when have you lit up again." He leant back, his eyes trained on Scully's, and for that brief moment, Mulder saw a resemblance. And he remembered when Scully had smoked- it was during the syzgy. He'd drank, and had almost slept with Detective White- big mistake, although he could kind of chalk it up to the planetary alignment. And the fact that she had been wearing his favourite perfume. And that Scully was in her dammit-Mulder-I-do-not-believe-you mood. Scully snuck a glance at Mulder. "Hah." Charlie said again. It was something to do with..." He comically turned his gaze so that it faced Mulder. "Him." He pursed his lips, raising an eyebrow, and Mulder saw the resemblance again. "Okay, it was to do with me." Mulder leant forward, realising the small hand that had been resting on his thigh had tightened. She didn't want him to tell the real reason why. "You know, the first time you sleep together, then afterwards, you do something crazy?" Mulder leant back, folding his arms. The hand on his thigh loosened it's grip on him. "What do you mean, first time?" Charlie stretched an arm around Hannah. "You know there was this one time-" "Charlie." Dana gave him a pointed look and Mulder smiled internally. He knew that look- he had been on the receiving end of it for the past seven years. It was the don't-you-dare-open- your-mouth, although in Mulder's case, a or-I'll-shoot-you was usually tacked to the end. "Yeah Charlie, I don't think they need to hear." Hannah interjected. "Okay, okay." Charlie admitted defeat. "But you're missing out on a hell of a story." He placed the smoke in the ashtray, and Mulder watched Scully take another long drag. She caught him watching, and offered it to him. He held out his hand, then put it to his mouth and sucked in. Christ. The smoke went straight to the back of his throat and hung there, fumes from it making his eyes water. "Christ." He said it aloud, and gave the cigarette back to Scully before gasping in some fresh air. "Now that," Charlie pointed out, "is what a real smoker would do." Scully gave him a rub on the back, her concern evident in her eyes. "You okay?" She asked, handing him her vodka glass, assuming it would be lighter than whisky. "Thanks." He took the glass from her gratefully. She lay an arm across his back, rubbing his neck. "Come dance." Hannah said to Charlie, pulling him up. He gave a half-grimace to Mulder, but it was clear to see he would do anything for Hannah, if she asked. "So, what do you think?" Scully turned to Mulder once the other two had gone. "You know. I like him." Mulder said, placing an arm around her waist. "That's good." Scully spoke softer now they were closer, their breaths intermingling. Mulder's eyes asked the question, whether she was ready, if she wanted to do. In reality, all he wanted to do was grab her and kiss her from the first moment he had seen her. She answered by leaning forward and almost crawling into his lap. She touched her lips to his, softly at first, then more insistent, tongue darting through his lips, and swirling round his mouth in a tantalising mix of vodka and whisky. He returned her kiss, tilting his head so it deepened, hand moving down her back to rest where he knew her tattoo would be. "God." He moaned into her mouth. She had moved further forward so that their chests were touching, and so she was almost sitting on his left knee. "Hey Mulder." She pulled back, licking her lips from the remnants of their kiss. "I don't think we should get ourselves into the situation where we have to rip each other's clothes off and get under the table." Her eyes smiled into his. "What do you mean under the table?" He asked. "I thought I'd just jump your bones one the table. Let your brother get his eyeful." Scully laughed, a deep, throaty laugh that he had actually never heard before. "I see you two can't wait to get home." Charlie was back with a new round of drinks, and Mulder gratefully finished the last of his old whisky before gulping down half of the new one. "Hmm." Scully agreed, and Mulder found her hand to hold under the table. "We have to go soon anyway." Charlie looked at his watch. "Shit. It's already ten, I promised Rach I'd pick her up at nine thirty." Charlie leapt out of his chair, and grabbed Hannah's jacket. "Come on honey." He grabbed her hand as she started to sit back down and pulled her away from the seat. "Hey, we're staying at the Lakmoa Hotel, North Street. Room 172. You can meet us there at the restaurant tomorrow for lunch." Hannah called over her shoulder as Charlie hurried her off. "Well." Scully leaned closer into Mulder, his hand entangled in her silky hair. "Well." Mulder said, looking down at her. Scully finished her drink, and set the glass back down on the table. As if by mutual agreement, they both got up from the table and walked to the door. "Ah, Scully." Mulder paused and looked sheepishly around the carpark. He'd forgotten where he'd parked. She looked at him expectantly. "I've, ah, forgotten where I've parked." Mulder looked around the carpark once more. His photographic memory seemed to have failed him. "Oh." Was all Scully said. She wrapped her arms around herself for warmth. Mulder stepped closer. He wrapped his arms around her, and she leaned back into his embrace. He could feel the curve of her smooth ass pushed into his groin and he made a keening sound at the back of his throat, partly because his jeans were tightening. Scully turned to face him and pushed herself closer to him. "You'd better find the car." She muttered into his mouth as she kissed him again. "You're not making it very easy." Mulder said when she paused for breath. "I could always stop." Scully pulled her hand out from around his waist and traced a line along his jaw. It seemed she wanted him to answer as much as she didn't want to know the answer. Mulder made his decision. "No, don't stop." Mulder pulled her closer. "But what if it ruins everything Mulder?" Scully's voice sounded thick with unshed tears. Mulder mentally cursed himself. He always managed to say the wrong thing, he always had, ever since Samantha had been gone. "Scully, you knew we'd have to face this one day. We couldn't love each other so much and not have to face moving our relationship on." "Love you." Scully said, one small hand finding it's way into his. "Love you too." Mulder said, leaning into the embrace. They stood motionless together in the cold, dirty carpark, both afraid and exhilarated with thoughts of the inevitable. ------ notes: Okay, okay, everyone was probably hoping for a big sex scene finale- I don't think the characters were ready... but that's just my opinion! There could be a sequel, but I need feedback! allicat_purrr@hotmail.com -----