Chapter 1

Special Agent Dana Scully sat at a desk in her area of the X Files office late that Friday evening. She was contemplating whether or not to go home or stay at work late and pay a secret visit to her boss, AD Skinner.

Ever since she had kissed him In the elevator while she was looking for Mulder Scully hadn't been able to stop thinking about the kiss. Sure she didn't think about it at the time as she was too busy looking for Mulder. But since Mulder recovers yesterday and was due out of the hospital tomorrow she had time to think about her actions again.

It was two days since she found Mulder onboard that ship, and two days since she had kissed her boss. Scully knew that one action alone crossed many lines but she couldn't help but do it at the time. She was frantic about Mulder and would do anything to find him.

Since visiting Mulder in the hospital the day before Skinner hadn't talked to her, or even seen her, and when she passed him in the hallway once he would pretend he didn't see her and kept walking.

Scully gulped as she tried to think what to do next before Mulder came in tomorrow. What could she do? Why did she kiss Skinner? Did she like it? Scully blushed as she thought of the answer. Hell yes, she thought and sighed. She wondered if he felt the same way and whether or not she should act upon it.

She glanced at the time. 6pm. She knew Skinner worked late and the chances are that when she went up to visit him in a moment he would still be in his office, writing reports that need finishing before going home.

Scully took a deep breath and stood up. She better go and see him and clear the air with him, and find out where she stood with him, as they can't keep avoiding each other forever.

With a determined look, Scully strode out of the X Files office and made her way upstairs to visit her boss.

Chapter 2

Agent Scully paced nervously around the hallway in front of AD Skinner's office and wrung her hands together as she tried to think about what she should do or say.

There was so many questions she had about the kiss, she just didn't know where to start. Not only that, she wasn't even allowed to be up there, for if Kerch caught her seeing Skinner she would be in deep trouble, and she didn't want to put her beloved job in jeopardy.

Scully straightened her blue blazer collar that she wore over a grey knee length pencil skirt and decided to go in. It's now or never, she thought to herself. She made it this far, so she might as well go through with it.

Scully took a deep breath and walked through Skinner's empty secretary office to knock on his door.

AD Skinner sighed as he sat at his desk and looked at his watch. 6pm. He decided to leave the office at 6:30pm as soon as the reports were done, and then he would make his way toward the gym to do a bit of boxing before heading home.

Just as he was about to edit another report, he heard a knock on his door. Strange, he thought. I'm not expecting anyone, and Mulder's still In the hospital.

He waited to hear the knock again, and sighed when the person repeated the knock. "Come in," he said a little wearily, before the door opened and a sheepishly looking Scully entered the office.

Skinner placed the report he was working on back down on his desk as he turned in his chair to face her. "Agent Scully," he greeted her. "To what do I owe the pleasure?" he asked cautiously. Scully smiled a small smile and began to tell him why she was there.

Chapter 3

"I'd offer you a seat but I'm not allowed to see you, Agent Scully," Skinner told her as he stood up from his chair and faced the window without looking at her.

"I know, Sir," Scully replied a little anxiously. "You know what Kersh said. Any interaction between us or Agent Mulder is strictly prohibited and could lead to your dismissal," he reminded her sternly, again avoiding eye contact with her. "I know Sir," Scully said again.

Skinner sighed and turned to finally look at her. "Then why are you here, Agent Scully?" he asked her a little wearily. Scully also sighed. "I just need to make sense of… you know… that kiss we had," she managed to say a little shakily. Skinner just stood there as he looked at her and said nothing for a full minute. The intense look he gave her made Scully's heart beat faster as she studied his handsome face.

Finally Skinner let his guard down much to Scully's relief. "You're right," he said as he took a couple of steps towards her and stood in front of her as he gazed into her eyes. "We do need to talk about that kiss at some point," he agreed, and Scully nodded.

"So," she began, a little more confidently now that she knew she had his attention. "What did you think of it? I'm sorry for putting you in this position, but I really needed to find Mulder at the time and I was so relieved when you helped me," she told him. "So was that all It was Agent Scully? A thank you kiss?" Skinner asked, a little deflated. "What? No, it was … more than that I think. Thing is Sir, I haven't been able to stop thinking about it since Mulder went to the hospital. Have you Sir?" she asked. Skinner thought for a moment. "No," he confessed. "I haven't been able to stop thinking about it either," he told her quietly. Scully nodded. "Mulder's back from the hospital tomorrow. I was thinking, if you wanted to, maybe we could… I don't know, hang out sometime before then?" Scully asked hopefully. Skinner sighed.

"I don't know, Dana. It's too risky. Maybe we should just call the whole thing off and keep our jobs while we still can," Skinner told her.

Scully felt defeated and disappointed. She sighed. "Okay, well, you know where I am if you need me," she said a little curtly as she turned on her heel and began to open the door so she could leave the office. "Dana," Skinner said softly. Scully turned to look at him.

"If things were different, I want you to know that I would- like to be with you," he told her with a small smile. Scully couldn't help but smile a small smile in return. "Well, as I said Sir," she said a little more confidently and hopefully, "you know where I am if you need me," she told him before smiling again and leaving the office before making her way towards the X Files office.

Chapter 4

Skinner closed his briefcase and straightened the collar of his trench coat before leaving the office at 6:30pm. He locked the door to his office before making his way downstairs. After Scully left Skinner decided to go and see her briefly and reassure her that they were still friends and good colleagues as he detected she needed that. He wasn't totally sure if he was allowed to do this but heck, surely a few minutes visit to the X Files office wouldn't hurt he reasoned to himself as he stepped in the elevator and pressed the basement level button.

On the way down Skinner found himself blushing slightly as he thought back to his and Scully's kiss. It was so totally unexpected, that It caught him off guard for the rest of the day. Unable to concentrate on work, he had left the office at 5pm, much to the surprise of his secretary Arlene.

Skinner contemplated whether or not he wanted to kiss Scully again. His professional mind didn't want to think about It, but his heart wanted him to. Well, I guess I'll need to see what Scully wants to do about it, he decided as he got out of the elevator and walked towards the X Files office.

He then knocked on the door before Scully called out, "it's open!" So he opened the door, only to find Agent Mulder standing behind his desk, and a awkward looking Scully was seated behind a table in her area of the office.

Skinner cleared his throat. "Agent Mulder," he greeted him before greeting Scully. "I thought you weren't going to be out of the hospital until tomorrow," he said.

Mulder nodded with a small grin. "I know," he said. "But the nurses say I looked great and I feel great, so they let me out early," he said as he sat behind his desk. Skinner nodded.

"Welcome back," he said, trying to conceal his disappointment about not getting the chance to talk to Scully that evening. "Thanks," Mulder said. "So what brings you here Sir?" he asked. Skinner shrugged. "I uh, just stopped by to ask Scully how you were getting on, that's all," he said. Scully nodded. "I said I'd keep him up to date on how you were doing," she told Mulder.

"Great. Well Sir, Scully and I have just opened another X File and I know we're not allowed contact with you, so, if there's anything else you wanted…," Mulder asked, trying to get Skinner to go so he could work.

Skinner nodded as he got the hint. "Sure. I'm glad you're well, Agent Mulder. Have a good evening you two," he told them before turning to go as Mulder and Scully wished him good night In return.

Skinner sighed as he closed the X Files door behind him. Looks like he was going to have to find a way to meet with Scully another time and hope that Kersh won't find out.

The end