Author's Notes: This started as a totally different story but these characters, they do what they want! Although it has been a while since I did a smut biscuit so I guess it was due... and yes, as a couple people have mentioned I am somewhat obsessed with their first time. Deal with it or don't read my stuff :-)

Thanks to Alia for assuring me that this one worked.

Spoilers: Mild for Mind's Eye, although this takes place sometime in early Season 7.

Synopsis: Mulder dating a suspect from an earlier case finally makes Scully see what she has at hand.

NOTE:
This is the R-rated version of the NC-17 story which is posted on my website.

Assumptions
by Suzanne L. Feld
Rated R for adult situations and language

"So, any plans this weekend, Mulder?" Scully was packing her laptop and already considering which movie she'd have him bring for their usual Friday movie night. She hadn't seen "Chocolat" yet though he'd mentioned wanting to see "Dudley Do-Right". It was a coin toss on whether or not she'd get him to watch the chick flick, but she wasn't watching the stupid one. More than likely they'd find something else to agree on.

"Oh, uh, yeah, as a matter of fact," he said slowly, riffling through his desk. "I, uh, forgot to mention that I won't be able to make our movie night tonight."

"Oh." She zipped up the laptop case and set it on the floor, nonplussed. It had to be a good two-three years since they had missed a Friday movie night if they were in town. "So what trumps spending the evening with me, Mulder? An extra evening of D&D with the guys? Your paladin need more work?"

"Er, no." He fell silent and she glanced up, finding him uncharacteristically looking away. "I have, ah, a date."

Her eyebrows hit the roof. "A date? A real date? With a woman?" she grinned over at him, tickled. Every once in a while he did take someone out, usually a pity date with one of the accounting clerks who had a crush on him.

"Uh, yeah."

Her smile faded. "Come on, Mulder, what's the big deal?" He was acting damned odd and she couldn't figure out why. They each occasionally dated but it didn't mean anything and they both knew it.

"Well, it's someone you know."

She leaned a hip against her table. "Really? Not Arlene? I thought she might have something going with Skinner."

"Nope. And I think you're right."

"Maya?" Kersh's new assistant who was about their age and, while she didn't know her marital status, didn't wear a ring. She was black but Scully doubted that Mulder cared about that.

"Try again. Go further back."

"Ummm... who was the woman I ran into you with at the symphony years ago? When I was dating Eric?"

"Ella? No, she got married, and not to the guy she used me to make jealous of course."

"Hmph. Okay, Mulder, I give up. The only other person I can think of is Mina in Accounting and I think she's a bit long in the tooth for you." Mina Kennedy was sixty if a day although she quite clearly had a huge crush on him and made no bones about it.

"Uh, no, I'm not quite that desperate yet, Scully."

"Then give! I want to be informed in case I get cornered in the ladies' tomorrow and get the nudge nudge wink wink about my partner's date."

"Well... do you remember Marty Glenn?"

"The blind woman? Miss Sarcastic?" Scully was shocked and struggled not to show it; that had been about the last name she expected to hear. "Didn't she go to prison for ten to twenty?"

"She was released last week for good behavior after three, and her original sentence was five to ten after plea bargaining."

Scully shrugged and picked up her laptop case, slinging the wide strap over her shoulder, then hefted her briefcase. "Well, have a good time fending off her barbs, then," she said, struggling to keep her voice normal. "See you Monday, then."

"Monday, Scully."

All weekend she found her thoughts wandering to Mulder and Marty. She remembered thinking at the time that they had a rapport, and how Marty had seemed to open up to Mulder when she was a porcupine towards everyone else.

It wasn't until she was laying in bed Sunday night that she admitted to herself that, for the first time, she was honestly worried about losing Mulder to another woman.

It didn't happen often, but this was one of those times she felt lonely and horny and dug her Rabbit vibrator out of the back of the closet where she was careful to keep it in an old travel bag. It had been a gag gift from Melissa for her college graduation and she didn't use it often, but when she felt the need she didn't hesitate. She kept it well-hidden because she knew damn well that Mulder snooped around her apartment upon occasion and God help her if he found it. Melissa had, of course, bought her a bright purple one; the good thing was that she couldn't see it while she was using it.

Even though she tried not to, she found her thoughts going to Mulder as she gently rubbed the lightly vibrating Rabbit around her labia on low in preparation to really using it. No matter what she thought of his ideas, Scully had a pretty damn good idea that he'd be a good lover if not an outstanding one; if he used half of the intense concentration skills on a woman that he did on X-Files then he had to be good. And over the years she'd caught enough glimpses of his erections to have a pretty good idea of what he had—and he wasn't small, that much was for sure. Oh fuck it she thought, closing her eyes and letting the fantasy of Mulder on top of her sweep over her, twisting the dial to high. By the time she'd shuddered through a sweaty delicious orgasm intense enough to make her cry out loud, Scully had run the gamut of damn near everything she wanted him to do to her.

Some time later, cleaned up and in fresh pajamas with the Rabbit cleaned and safely tucked away again, she lay in her big bed alone and honestly admitted to herself for the first time that she really wanted him sexually. No matter how many times she'd gotten herself off thinking about him, she'd never really considered a sexual relationship with her partner—there were too many complications. The big one was, to her, being thought of as a Diana, just another female agent sleeping with her male partner. Not to mention what it might do to their friendship and working relationship both of which she didn't value lightly.

But now... knowing that it was very possible that he could fall in love with Marty Glenn... Mulder was very often impervious to women being attracted to him, but that was the trick. The blind woman hadn't been; in fact she had disliked him at first as much as she'd disliked Det. Pennock or Scully herself. It wasn't until Mulder figured out why she was having those visions that she softened towards him, and Scully knew he'd been visiting her in prison for the last few years.

Maybe it's time I did something to remind him that I'm a woman too, Scully thought as she rolled over onto her side and snuggled into her pillow, already dozing. I'm not exactly a troll...

***

She made sure to arrive well before Mulder, who usually wandered in ten to fifteen minutes early. By the time he sauntered through the door she had her weapons primed and ready, sitting at the high counter in the back at the microscope with her legs demurely crossed.

"Morning," she called over her shoulder, face against the microscope's eyepiece although she could have been face-first in a manure pile for all that she was aware of what she was looking at.

"Hey."

Her heart sank. He sounded distracted, probably hadn't even looked at her yet. She sat back and stretched a little as if she'd been sitting there for a while, glancing back at him. Her heart rebounded and began to pound because he was standing by his desk still wearing his coat outright staring at her. "So how was your weekend, Mulder?" she all but purred, turning on the backless stool to smile at him, moving both of her knees to the same side.

His eyes followed the movement of her legs then slowly raised up her body until he blinked into her eyes. "Uh, fine. What's the occasion, Scully?" He gestured to her, then slid off his topcoat and went to hang it up. "This isn't one of your usual suits."

"Nothing much," she lied with practiced nonchalance. "Went shopping with my mom this weekend and I wanted to wear one of my new outfits to work today."

He raised his eyebrows at her as he sat down, discreetly adjusting himself. She couldn't tell if he had an erection or not but suspected that was the case and it did her heart good. "Well, nice choice, but I sure hope you don't plan to try and chase a perp down wearing that. On second thought if it's a guy with half a brain you'll stop him dead in his tracks and won't need to chase him down."

She raised a brow over at him. "What do you want, Mulder? When you make with the compliments it usually means that we're either going somewhere I won't like such as Chaney, Texas or you're trying to break bad news to me nicely such as Skinner's got us on another shit detail stakeout."

"No, no, nothing like that—can't I tell you that you look nice without ulterior motives?"

"Okay, okay, don't get defensive," she countered, biting back a smile, turning back to the microscope and crossing her legs again. She felt a breeze high on her thigh and resisted the compulsion to tug her skirt down; this one was cut over halfway up her thigh and was clearly exposing enough leg to make him look twice--which was exactly what she'd intended. She wondered if he could see the lacy tops of her sheer thigh-highs yet. "You have to admit, I have good reason to think that."

"What, uh, are you looking at there?" he said, his voice coming closer. She didn't turn even when she felt his presence at her back.

"Slides from the Bachmann case. I got to thinking about that bacteria, here, take a look--" she slid off the other side of the stool, keeping her eyes away from him and on the microscope. To her shock he came around the stool and bodily pinned her in the corner although he wasn't quite touching her. Mulder never loomed over her unless he had a point to make but she didn't think that was the case here.

"I'd rather look at you," he said huskily, their bodies a bare inch apart, putting his arms on the counter on either side of her. His dark eyes gazed down into hers and the look on his face made her heart jolt. "If you wanted to get my attention, Scully, you've got it. Now what are you going to do with it?"

She took a deep breath and too late realized that doing so made her breasts brush against his chest since her arms were at her sides and he was so close. "Mulder..."

He sucked in his breath at the contact and leaned down a little; she noted distractedly how his suit jacket tightened over his broad shoulders. "If this isn't what you intended then you shouldn't have worn that outfit to work," he murmured, still gazing down into her eyes. "I don't know how far you think you can push me, Scully, but I'm a man and not a eunuch," he added with a slight frown that then smoothed out. "And if you don't want me to kiss you then you'd better tell me now."

She gazed up at him, unable to move or even think much past her pounding heart and the vague thought that, at long last, he was about to really kiss her. Although this wasn't exactly what she'd planned on when she'd chosen this outfit she certainly wasn't unhappy with the results. He was certainly noticing her as a woman; she had unintentionally gone from the hunter to the hunted.

His face came closer and just as she felt his breath on her parted lips, the sound of heels clicking along the hallway outside the office door made them leap apart. He moved away, Scully quickly hopped up on the stool again and by the time the person had walked past Mulder was at his desk as well. She blew a breath upward and got down from the stool, removing the slide and putting it back in its case. She didn't want to look at Mulder but as he got up she did glance over.

"This certainly isn't the best place for this, so how about we do our missed movie night tonight?" he murmured as she walked past him to the filing cabinet. "Your place, seven o'clock?"

Her spine stiffened as a thought hit her. He could take another woman out but wanted to stay in with her? I think not. "My place, hmn? Never occurred to you that perhaps you could take me out on a date, did it? Or is that just for everyone but me?"

He jerked back from her cold angry tone. "I'd love to, Scully, I never asked you because I never thought you'd go out with me on a real date," he said slowly. "But I'm quickly realizing that perhaps I thought wrong."

She immediately softened, standing and turning to face him with her back against the filing cabinet, her arms behind her. "Why wouldn't I, Mulder? When we're working I don't want you to treat me any differently than you would a male partner, but haven't you noticed that I don't have the same attitude when we're away from work?"

"I didn't," he admitted. "I certainly don't think of you as a guy, Scully, but you are my partner and I've always tried to think of you impartially as my friend, not as the beautiful desirable woman you really are because I knew that would lead me into trouble."

"And now?" she couldn't resist teasing him, letting her mouth quirk into a smile.

"You saw what almost happened," he grinned over at her, waving towards the back of the room. "God, that outfit with you in it is enough to make me lose control here and now."

She felt her face warm up and glanced down. Though the skirt was a demure dark blue and not overly snug or short—it fell just below her knees—it was cut so high up on the left side that it really wasn't appropriate for the office. Luckily, however, it only showed when moved a certain way, such as how she'd been sitting when he'd walked in earlier. Over it she was wearing a matching buttoned blazer and plain powder-blue shell top with no hint of cleavage, but it was a snug tailored blazer that she knew showed off her breasts and small waist to best advantage. "Thank you, Mulder, but I think we'd better drop this conversation for now," she said, gesturing to the door behind him.

"Here and now, sure, but only if you'll go to dinner with me," he insisted. "And you can't change."

Scully surprised herself by unexpectedly laughing out loud and clapped a hand over her mouth. "Fine, we'll leave from here," she agreed, shaking her head. "Now, we've got work to do."

To her surprise the day flew by; she'd been sure it would drag since she was so looking forward to the evening. They had one of their infamous disagreements/discussions over a possible new case that lasted a good part of the afternoon, on and off, which helped to speed the day along. Mulder ran out and got them sandwiches from the cart for lunch, swearing that she'd get attacked by horny male agents if she walked the Hoover's halls in that skirt. She was relieved that it seemed like no time before they were heading out to the garage, his hand in its comfortable spot in the small of her back. "So where are we going, Mulder?" she asked, their footsteps clacking hollowly on the cement.

"I made us reservations at Le Fantaisie," he said. "Ever been there?"

"No, but I've certainly heard of it and have driven past it a few times," she replied, glancing back at him startled. "From what I've heard you're as likely to see a senator or congressman or movie star there as not. Isn't that a bit--"

He raised a hand to cut her off and nodded. "I've wanted to go there for a while but never had a date I wanted to take before," he said, his voice taking on that husky tone that made her shiver. "I'd like to share it with you. And show you just how serious I am about us."

She didn't dare look at him or, she knew, she'd launch herself into his arms. That tone of voice went straight to her belly and lodged there, starting a fire that only one thing would put out. "Then I guess I'll meet you there," she said as they reached her car and she popped the locks with the remote key-tab.

He moved his hand to her waist and gave her a little squeeze, then moved away. "If you get there first wait for me out front," he said as he hurried to his car, trench coat flapping from the speed of his movements.

As it happened he pulled into the parking lot right behind her. Though the restaurant had valet parking Scully always preferred to park her own car and Mulder apparently did as well, pulling in beside her. He was already opening her door as she shut off the ignition. As soon as she stepped out he cupped his hands on either side of her face and leaned down to kiss her. Taken unawares Scully almost pulled away, then found herself melting into his arms in a way she'd never done with anyone else. This was Mulder, her partner, her best friend, the most important person in her life. He was hers—or soon would be.

His lips caressed hers firmly but not overbearingly, though she immediately felt the difference from their New Year's Eve kiss. That had been a friendly kiss between friends, but this was a passionate, sexually-charged lover's kiss—a whole different animal. Without thinking about it she opened her mouth beneath his and their tongues met and caressed. The bottom dropped out of her stomach, she felt her knees weaken and grasped his shoulders to hold herself up. His body pressed her shoulders lightly back against the open doorway of the car, hands moving from her face to around her waist, as the kiss deepened and waxed and waned. She could feel his whole body thrumming with desire; or was it hers?

Finally he moved back, breaking the kiss, and leaned his forehead against hers. "My God, Scully, what do you do to me?" he said in a wondering tone. "I feel like a teenager on his first date. You make my knees weak."

"You do the same to me," she admitted, still holding onto his shoulders. Perhaps she should have played coy, she thought, but then decided that there was no reason for it—not with Mulder. Taking a deep breath she tilted her head back and their lips met again, tongues still uncertain but determined. This time when they broke for air she whispered, "You do realize that I still haven't closed my car door."

He chuckled, his breath warm on her face as he leaned forward to kiss her forehead before letting go of her and moving away. "I couldn't wait any longer," he said, gazing down at her with warm hazel eyes. "I knew better than to kiss you in the office or garage but I wasn't waiting a moment longer than I had to once I knew you wouldn't throw that right at me again."

At the mention of the office it hit Scully that anyone could see them and she wanted to glance around and see who was watching, then decided not to worry about it. They were off the clock and to hell with who might see them. Reaching in she got her purse from the passenger seat—she kept one in the car but didn't carry it except in situations like this—and finally closed the door. Mulder put his arm out and she slipped her hand under his elbow, smiling up at him. It was, indeed, a real date.

Scully was shocked at how much she enjoyed Mulder really treating her like a desirable woman for the first time. Though she'd gone on a few other dates with other men over the past few years they'd been nothing like this; as she had suspected having Mulder's full attention on her was like nothing else she'd ever experienced. He had eyes only for her and with every look and word he made her feel beautiful and desirable in a way that no one else ever had. Ed Jerse had been exciting in a dangerous way and Phillip Padgett had been arousing in a creepy way, but Fox Mulder made her feel both excited and aroused in nothing but a good way.

They left the restaurant to find that a cold wind was blowing, much colder than early spring in D.C. usually was. Mulder put his arm around her and held her close as they hurried to their cars, then engulfed her in a warm hug while leaning back against his as they stood between them. "Thanks for coming with me, Scully," he leaned down and murmured in her ear, nuzzling her hair. "Whatcha doing tomorrow night?"

"Let's finish tonight first, shall we?" she murmured back, wrapping her arms around his waist beneath his overcoat and laying her head against his shoulder. "Why don't you invite me back to your place for a nightcap?"

He froze, then blew out a soft breath against her hair. "I, ah, don't have anything to drink at my place," he said, sounding both worried and aroused. "But, I would love to have you come over nonetheless."

"How about a cup of coffee? I know you have that," she said, leaning back as he loosened his arms. For some reason she felt more inclined to go to his apartment; if they went to hers she knew she'd back out of what she really wanted, make some kind of excuse to herself why they shouldn't sleep together. Plus she knew that at his apartment he'd probably be more comfortable approaching her. "I'll meet you there shortly."

One hand moved up to cup the back of her head, but he didn't lean down to kiss her like she thought he would. "Scully... if you come over... I, uh... after tonight I'm not sure what to--"

She smiled close-mouthed up at him. "Why do you think I'm coming over?" she said softly, holding his eyes with hers so there would be no misunderstandings.

He gazed down at her with shadowed dark eyes set in an erotically aroused face. "I don't want to assume," he said, low. "But I do hope."

"Assume," she said bluntly, then reached up and kissed him quickly and turned in his arms to open her car door. "See you there."

On the drive she was so nervous that she saw her hands trembling on the steering wheel and had to take deep breaths to calm herself. Was she really going to do this, she thought as she parked down the block from his apartment building, sleep with her partner? The one thing that she knew damn well she shouldn't do? It was professional suicide if anyone found out, and it was likely that someone would even if they only did this the one time. On top of that what if they thought she was another Diana Fowley, turning into Mulder's 'little chickadee' as Frohike had put it? But on the other hand hadn't she killed her career the first time she covered for Mulder and got a black mark on her record? So who cared? They were two consenting adults off the clock, not at work, and what they did was their business.

She got out of the car and Mulder was hurrying along the sidewalk towards her, looking both worried and as nervous as she felt. She smiled reassuringly at him and snuggled against his side as he put his arm around her and they moved towards the front door of his building.

Once inside his apartment he was a calm, congenital host, taking her coat and hanging it up along with his before turning to look down at her. They stood in his foyer gazing at each other for a few moments before simultaneously moving towards each other; as she reached for him Mulder was there, enfolding her in his arms. She felt his hardness pressing against her lower belly and a shiver of pure desire went though her, cementing her decision for this evening.

She raised her head to look up at him and he slowly leaned down to kiss her, moving his hands up to tangle in her hair, feeling the contours of her skull as their mouths slanted against each other, tongues dueling. She found herself holding him tightly around the waist, her hands flat against his upper back, pressing her body against his with everything she was worth.

As they broke for air he murmured, "I can put on the coffeepot if you want."

She shook her head, capturing his lower lip between hers and giving it a swipe with her tongue before releasing it, feeling the shudder go through him as she did so. "No bullshit, Mulder," she said, low, gazing up into his dark eyes. "You know what I'm here for."

He groaned and enfolded her in his arms, holding her against his chest where she could hear and feel his heart pounding against her ear. "My God—Scully--are you sure?" he breathed against the top of her head. "I—I was beginning to think we'd never--"

She raised her head and looked into his eyes again, a small smile on her lips. "You keep stalling and I'll think you don't want this," she teased gently, but understood where he was coming from. After seven-some-odd years of dancing around this, her sudden acquiesce—hell, insistence!--must have seemed more than a little unusual. She really couldn't blame him for hesitating until he was sure she meant it. Raising one hand, she cupped the side of his face trailing her fingers along his cheekbone, rubbing her thumb lightly over the edge of his soft bottom lip. "This may seem sudden to you, Mulder, but it's been a long time coming for me," she told him, holding his eyes. "I must be an terribly good actress if you don't know how I feel about you."

He rubbed the side of his face gently against her hand, eyes steady on hers. "And how is that?"

She took a deep breath, bit her lip lightly, then made herself say, "I've loved you for years, Mulder, you must know that. How could you not?"

He froze, starting down at her for so long that she was suddenly afraid he hadn't liked what she'd said and began to draw back. That seemed to startle him out of wherever he'd been and he suddenly and unexpectedly crushed her against him and kissed her again, a wild passionate kiss that made her head spin. Then he let go of her just as suddenly and, taking her hand, led her though the apartment to the bedroom.

She'd been in here a few times before, most notably the night she'd spent with him after his mother's suicide. They had slept together that night, platonically even though she'd held him for most of it. But now she saw it with fresh eyes and intent, noting the neatly made bed as he dropped her hand and turned on the bedside lamp. It filled the room with a soft yellow glow as he turned to her and said, "I wish I had some candles—but this'll have to do."

"It'll do just fine, Mulder," she smiled up at him, reaching for the buttons of her blazer.

"Uh-uh, wait," he said, grabbing her hands and gently moving them away. "If you don't let me undress you I'll be really disappointed; I've dreamt of this for years."

"So have I," she admitted, letting her arms fall to her sides as he bent his head over her, slipping the buttons through their holes and gently pushing the blazer off of her arms, tossing it on the straight-backed chair next to the dresser. Feeling suddenly bold Scully turned and sat on the edge of the bed, crossing her legs so that the slit in the skirt gaped and gazing up at him. "You do know I wore this to get your attention, don't you?"

He dropped to a crouch in front of her and slowly ran one hand from her knee on the outside of her leg to where the skirt stopped nearly three-quarters of the way up her thigh. "I'd hoped," he murmured, moving his hand under the skirt then bringing it back down along the top of her leg to rest on her knee. "It worked. God, I've been hard since I walked into the office and saw you."

She sucked in her breath, putting both feet on the floor and leaning forward, meeting his mouth halfway. Next thing she knew they were sprawled on the bed on their sides, he still fully dressed including his suit jacket and she only missing her blazer. His hands were all over her, cupping her breasts and bottom and feeling the contours of her shoulders and waist, pulling her against him for an unbridled kiss then licking and kissing his way down her neck to the base of her throat, where he was stopped by the material of her top. "Jesus, Mulder," she gasped as she came back to herself as he tugged her shell top out of the waistband of her skirt. "Let's get out of these clothes."

He laughed low, his face still against her collarbone. "Holy shit, Scully, I didn't even realize," he chuckled, rolling over and sitting up, then putting his hand out to help her as well so that she sat up beside him. "We're still wearing our shoes, for God's sake."

She grinned at him, feeling a surge of deep love for this man. "We're not going to get far if we don't at least remove some of them," she said, pushing his suit jacket off his shoulders as they both kicked off their shoes.

He let it shrug off to the bed behind him, pushed it to the floor, then gently took her upper arms and urged her to stand in front of him. "I want to see you naked, Scully," he rasped, sliding his hands under her top and holding her just above the waistband of her skirt. His eyes raised to hers. "I want you to see me naked, too, without us being hurt or damaged or drugged," he added, lifting the hem of her shirt.

Scully lifted her arms and bent forward so he could sweep it up over her head. Thank God, she thought dazedly as she brushed her hair out of her eyes, that she'd worn a nice set of lingerie, nothing overly special but not the old comfortable stuff she sometimes wore to work, either. Still holding her by the waist Mulder pushed her gently back a step, his eyes sweeping over her as his fingers went to the button and zipper of her skirt. As he did so she reached for his tie, swiftly unknotting and flinging it away, then managed to unbutton the top few buttons of his shirt before her skirt fell to her feet and he got in her way.

His hands slid up from her hips, circling her waist, then he pulled her to him and buried his face between her breasts, hands sliding up her back. His warm, soft lips traced the lacy cup of her bra and she reached up to drop the straps off her shoulders before moving her hands to his head, reveling in being able to touch him without an excuse. How many times had she run her hands through his thick soft hair while pretending to check for injury?

He nuzzled the cup of her bra aside and his hot, gentle mouth captured a nipple, causing her to gasp out loud and clutch at his head as an electrifying jolt raced through her. His hands found and opened the back clasp of her bra and she pulled it off as he sucked gently, his tongue circling the hard bud, and one hand moved up to cover her damp hard nipple as he kissed his way over to the other one and repeated his actions. Then, with both hands covering her breasts, fingers gently toying with her nipples, he tilted his head back and looked up at her, an indescribably erotic look on his expressive face. "God, I need you, Scully," he said huskily as she moved her hands to his cloth-covered shoulders. "I can't wait anymore."

"We don't have to," she breathed, stepping back as he stood up. He removed his button-down shirt, then pulled his t-shirt over his head as she reached for his belt. He let his arms fall to his sides as she swiftly unbuckled, unsnapped, and then unzipped, letting the suit pants fall to the floor, leaving him only clad in a pair of dark navy blue briefs and his socks. He reached for the elastic waistband of his underwear, looking at her meaningfully, and she got it. They pushed theirs down at the same time, Scully unrolling her stockings as he removed his socks, and they stood again to look at each other fully naked.

Now it was her turn and she took it, running her hands up his taut, corded belly and abs to his chest, then their bodies came full together skin-to-skin for the first time as he leaned down, grabbed her bottom and pulled her against him, toppling them back over on the bed. Rolling, he swept her under him and covered her body with his, resting his weight on his elbows, cupping her face in his hands and kissing her as they came to a stop in the middle of the bed. "I love you, Scully, and how I need you," he murmured against her lips as she wrapped her legs around him, her arms going around his shoulders.

Making love with Mulder was everything she'd dreamed and more; he was gentle yet physical enough to excite her wildly, all his considerable attention focused on her, and to her surprise she was able to finish with him though she never had the first time with anyone else. When she told him that in the warm afterglow, he smiled down at her. "I'm glad you made it, watching you was awesome," he sighed, resting his chin lightly on her shoulder.

"How could I not when you had me more aroused than I've ever been in my life?" she breathed back, rubbing the side of her face against his cheek. He lifted his head and kissed her, all soft relaxed lips and gently stroking tongue. Scully had never felt so wonderful before, so needed and wanted and loved.

When they broke for air he rolled off, pulling her against his side with one arm underneath her shoulders and the other resting on her waist. She cuddled close, feeling better than she ever had after any sex previously in her entire life. She was satisfied on all levels; this was right and true, exactly where she should be. All she could think was to wonder why in God's name she'd waited so long for this.

"You know, I probably shouldn't ask... but what brought this on, Scully?" he asked softly, turning to nuzzle her hair.

She shrugged, running one hand through the light hair in the middle of his chest. "You scared me," she admitted honestly. "When you told me you were taking Marty Glenn out I was afraid I'd lose you to her. I know how much you like her."

He jerked back a little and looked down at her. "Marty? Oh, boy, Scully, you're not going to like what I tell you next."

She tried to pull away but he held her tight. "You didn't sleep--"

"No! Hell, no, I wouldn't be here with you now if I had. No, our date was a goodbye—she's moving to North Dakota, leaving tomorrow. She made some friends in prison and they're all going off to someone's brother's farm or something. At any rate, I'm fairly sure that's the last time I'll ever see her."

Scully rolled her eyes at herself. "So I got all worried and desperate for nothing?"

He hugged her close and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "You never had anything to worry about, my love. You're the only woman I've wanted for years. I liked Marty well enough, but no one could ever take your place in my heart."

She reached up to kiss him, cupping his face in her hand. "Well, whatever did it, I'm glad I'm here."

"So am I. I love you, Scully, and I'm so glad you're finally here in my arms."

"Me too," she whispered, settling back down against his side. "I probably should head home, but I can't bring myself to get up."

"Stay the night with me," he said, brushing her hair back. "We'll get up early so you can go home and change. Please, Scully? Don't leave me now."

She pressed a kiss into the warm skin of his chest. "On one condition."

"Anything."

"You send Marty a thank-you note from me tomorrow."

finis