Disclaimer: I don't own anything. But I have lots of nothing.

A/N: This just sort of came to me...

As Scully sat up in bed and listened to the man on the other end of the telephone ramble on about UFO's, extra-terrestrials, and his early childhood, she found herself wondering when it was exactly that she had given up on ever living a life of her own. Ostensibly it would be only recently. Only recently when she'd started to realize exactly how close she felt to him, how much he meant to her life.

But the truth was that was just another landmark on her journey, not the end, not the beginning. Maybe it had started when the X-Files were closed. She'd almost lost her life, almost lost Mulder, almost kissed Mulder…That had been a pretty good sign of the direction she was going, come to think of it. But somehow that hadn't been the beginning either.

Maybe the first real sign was when she'd been invited to the Cirque Du Soliel but had opted to visit the Neanderthal exhibit at the Smithsonian with Mulder instead. And the fact that she'd repeated this decision under similar circumstances over and over again in the years she'd known him. Maybe that day had been the first sign.

Or maybe it was even before that, starting with every time she'd chosen him over someone else, over even her own interests. Or maybe he'd chosen her first. Still, she must have made a decision somewhere along the line, even if she hadn't been aware of it at the time. Somewhere, sometime she had felt the need for him. Not the almost co-dependent need she was so afraid of, but an emotional need deep in her heart and soul that said she couldn't be without him and survive in one piece...

"Scully"

Mulder's voice interrupted her pondering.

"Yes?"

"You haven't heard a word I've said have you?"

"Sorry Mulder, something you said got me started thinking and…"

"Well it wasn't really important"

Scully yawned. "Maybe you could tell me again."

"All of it?"

"I'll listen this time." She said sleepily.

"You'll fall asleep this time."

"Then you can tell me again tomorrow."

"I thought you said you had to do something Saturday?"

"Did I?" Scully curled up on her side with the phone under her head. "I guess I'll have to cancel it."

"Are you all right?"

"Of course, now what was it you were telling me?"

"I was just talking about the time when I was about fourteen and…"

Scully closed her eyes and listened to his voice. Wondering how long it would take for him to notice she was asleep.

"…and I got chased around the yard by the Purple People Eater…"

Scully didn't think that sounded quite right but she didn't really care. The words weren't registering anymore, just the sound of his voice in her ear as she fell asleep.

"…and he wasn't surprised when she fell asleep while he was talking to her because it wasn't like she ever listened to anything he said anyway. But for some reason she kept asking him to repeat himself over and over and over again…You're asleep aren't you Scully? I told you you'd fall asleep. Of course tomorrow you'll deny any of this ever happened. Which is why I'd have to be crazy to ring up my phone bill and run down my battery so you can listen to me in your sleep…where did I leave off anyway? Um, I was telling you about the time when I was fourteen…"