disclaimer I do not own The X Files or The Lone Gunmen. All are the property of 10Thirteen Productions, Chris Carter and FOX Television. No copyright infringement is intended nor should be inferred.

Faith?

Mulder sat on his brown leather sofa in darkness, the rain the only noise as it pit-pattered on the glass of his living room window. He stared blankly at the black and white movie in front of him, unable to make out what the actors were talking about but unwilling to lean forward and pick up the remote control that would let him increase the volume. The same thought ran through his head. Each time making him hate himself more and more.

I almost shot Scully. I could have killed Scully because of him.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Dana Scully was exhausted. It had been one hell of a day, one which she certainly had no wish to repeat. It was up there with Flukemen and alien abduction. She stared in the mirror as the sound of the gunshot reverberated around her brain. She knew Mulder would never ever willingly hurt her but she also knew that if he had pulled the trigger and sent the bullet straight through her brain it would not be his fault. It was Pusher. I would always be the sick mind of a man with an incurable brain tumour and a wish to be something he wasn't that would be to blame. Although she suspected the courts, the FBI and even Mulder would have a hard time believing that. She sighed sadly wondering what her acerbic partner would be doing at that moment. She just hoped it didn't involve last night's pizza and too much beer. Knowing she wouldn't be able to rest until she had seen him she threw her coat on and headed out into the night, knowing she had to find her partner before Robert Modell really did get his way.

#############

Mulder closed his eyes as he remembered the afternoon in the hospital. It had been one of the most tense cases he had ever worked on. He had known that one day he would probably die working one of the cases he had always been attracted to. It was something that had never really bothered him. He shook his head as another image of Scully falling against the hospital room wall; too slow to pull the fire alarm. He sat bolt upright as the sound of gentle tapping on his front door registered with him. He knew exactly who was on the other side of the door and had no intention of answering it.

"MULDER!" He groaned as he heard the distinctly female voice yell his name. "I WILL BREAK THIS DOOR DOWN! SO HELP ME MULDER!" He smiled as he heard the determination in her voice. He knew she meant it. Dana Scully was a small woman by anyones standards - just 5ft 3 in bare feet. She had never let her lack of stature stop her from doing anything, so if Dr Dana Katherine Scully said she was going to break his door down there was a fair chance she would. Smiling slightly he walked across to the door and opened it.

"Where's your key?"

"Forgot it." She snapped as she walked past him into the living room. "You promised me you wouldn't sleep on the sofa anymore."

"Wasn't sleeping." He smirked slightly as she moved around the living room picking up beer bottles and discarded pizza boxes.

"Good."

"Scully, why are you here?" He watched as she deposited the pizza box in the kitchen.

"Today."

"Ah."

"You didn't intend to kill me."

"I didn't think you would follow me."

"Mulder, I always follow you." She watched as his eyes darkened.

"Maybe you shouldn't. Maybe you should get as far away from the X files as you can. Talk to Skinner about getting reassigned. I know there are agents in forensics that would die for you to join their section."

"Trying to get rid of me?" Scully raised an eyebrow.

"No." He looked away, suddenly distracted by something on the television. Scully reached across and switched the old horror movie off.

"Good, because I work on the x files." Scully stepped towards him. "I work damn hard at what we do."

"I know." Mulder held her gaze. "And I."

"And nothing." Scully began pacing the room as he watched. He knew her well enough to know when to keep quiet and let her say her piece. "I was supposed to report about you to Skinner. I was supposed to go tp him and say these cases were nonsense. That you were mad and should either be redeployed or kicked out of the FBI altogether." She turned to face him. "But I didn't."

"I know."

"And do you know why? Because I love working on these cases. I am bloody good at working these cases and you know it."

"Yeah, but is it worth getting killed?"

"No." Scully held his gaze. "No it isn't worth either of us getting killed but its about more than that. Someone out there killed Melissa thinking it was me. Its worth trying to find the men who murdered my little sister. It is worth finding out what happened to Samantha. What really happened. We've been so close to that and I am not going to let one sick little scumbag stop that."

"I could have killed you. Honestly." He stepped nearer to her, relieved that the fury had abated from her eyes. He had to make her understand. "I was so close to pulling the trigger. I knew what I was doing but I just couldn't stop."

"I know." Scully nodded. "But I also knew then and I know now that you would never hurt me."

"Scully." He swallowed hard, amazed at her confession. "How?"

"You didn't kill me. You didn't pull the trigger when the gun was facing me."

"I almost did." Mulder's voice broke slightly as he spoke. He couldn't imagine ever being in a situation where he would actively want to hurt her. She was his best friend, the only one who even tried to stick around. He knew there was more to it than that but he didn't dare hope to think she would ever think the same way.

"But you didn't." She spoke softly one hand on his forearm. "I knew you wouldn't."

"I didn't. Up until the last second I thought I would shoot you. I hated myself for it but I just couldn't." He closed his eyes, unable to bare the thought of what might have happened. "What kind of man would that make me? A man that could hurt a woman, his friend like that." He swallowed hard.

"You fought back." Scully stared at him. "You beat Model at his own game."

"Because you were stronger." Mulder opened his eyes to see Scully smiling at him. "Because you got to the fire alarm before I could pull the trigger."

"You fighting him gave me the time to do it."

"Why? Why do you do this? How can you see any good in me?" Mulder stared at her in wonder.

"Faith Mulder. Because I have faith in you, that you will find out what happened to Samantha and Melissa. That we can beat the Pushers of this world." She smiled as her hand slipped down to capture his.

"Faith?"

"Yeah, Mulder." She sighed, glad that he had finally stopped trying to talk her into leaving. "Faith."

#####################

A/N Just a one shot. What do you think? Please review. Only my second X-Files story.