Mulder sat up at a sudden knock at the door. He looked towards his clock and read the hands on the face, 2:30, in the morning. Mulder groaned, he blinked his eyes still bleary from sleep. He heard the knock again, more urgent this time and he swung his legs over the edge of his bed. "Coming" he said making his way to the door, walking gingerly down the hall afraid he might run into something in the semi-darkness.

There was another knock on the door, softer this time as if the person on the other side had given up hope for the door to be opened. Mulder looked through his peephole but saw nothing, no one stood in the hall. His eyebrows pulled together in his confusion. Fox opened his door, still locked with the steel chain; he was surprised to see a woman leaning up against his door. Her knees pulled up to her chest and her arms wrapped around her as if to keep her from falling apart.

"Scully?" he asked softly, recognizing her bouncing red curls. Scully lifted her head off her knees. "Mulder." She said and he shut the door, unlocked the chain and opened the door back up to find Scully on her feet standing before him.

She was wearing a black skirt, but one, that Mulder noted with interest, much shorter than her professional attire. She wore a button down blouse, the top two buttons undone and her left shoe was in her had, heel obviously broken. Mulder blinked, "Come in Scully," he opened the door wider and gestured for her to enter his apartment. He shut the door behind her and locked the door once again. He scratched at his chest were one of his old New York Yankee t shirts was wrinkling up. He turned to Scully still surprised at her sudden appearance. "Scully…" she stood in the middle of his living room, she kicked off her other shoe and shifted her weight debating on whether or not she should sit down on Mulder's couch. "Scully are you okay?" Mulder said taking in Scully's complete appearance, her hair had been ruffled, it hung out of place, stray hairs everywhere. She wore a dark maroon red lipstick, smudged at the corner of her lip, a brand new bruise forming on the edge of her cheekbones.

She released a shaky breath, "I didn't, have anywhere else to go." She said quietly. Mulder looked at her wondering what it was that had happened that left her so unprofessional. "Mulder, Mulder they closed the book, they cut the case."

Mulder took a few steps closer trying to make sense of her under breath ramblings. "Dana… I'm not sure that I quite understand."

"My sister, they dropped her case." Scully wailed out, the beginning of tears collecting in her eyes. Mulder took her hand, "Dana… I'm so sorry."

She yanked her hand out of his. "They dropped it Mulder! Like she was nothing, like it meant nothing!" Mulder realized then that his partner had been drinking. He could smell the alcohol on her breath.

"Scully? Did you drive here?"

"No." she said angry that he had thought her that irresponsible. "Mulder, I'm not stupid." She said and a single tear fell down her cheek. Mulder lifted his hand and wiped the tear off her yellowing bruise, he stroked her face brushing her cheek softly. She met his eyes, letting him into the walls that she had built so steadily around her for the past few years of their partnership. She stopped, pushing him back out from her emotions. She couldn't let him in, not now. She pulled away, "I'm disgusted with myself Mulder, I should really go" "Scully… Dana… No" he grabbed her wrist and pulled her into a hug, "Scully you are a strong capable woman, but no one should expect you to not have feelings, to not react to a situation that breaks down things you hold dearly, no one can just sit through that." He said into her hair.

Scully nestled into Mulder's shoulder. She raised her hands and wrapped them around his neck,. Mulder stood there for a moment and then realized that his partner was in fact, still drunk.

"Scully, how much have you been drinking?" he said pulling away from her.

Scully pulled away not looking at Mulder, she looked at her feet instead and then at the surroundings of the room.

"Scully?" Mulder said.

"Fox. I have not been drinking." She said batting her eyes and giving him a pouting bottom lip in a coy sort of way.

"Dana.." Mulder started to say, she slipped back into his arms and angled herself at him in such a way that Mulder had to look away. Mulder shook his head, and pushed her out of his arms gently.

"No Scully, you're not thinking straight." He said and he took a step away from her, Fox took a breath, he wanted to wrap his arms back around her and hold her until morning, but he knew that he couldn't, not tonight, not while she was in this state. He knew that she needed respect, and that she wouldn't respect herself ever again, not if he pulled her back into his arms. Not this way, not if she would only want this if she was drunk.

Scully finished pulling away, she put the walls back up around her heart, realizing now that she needed Mulder's respect more than this, this affection that she was looking for. She turned away from him, and took two steps back "Mulder-" she started hoping that she could apologize in a way, with dignity. Then Scully fell back into his coffee table, she slammed into the corner, and then to the leg as she fell. Mulder heard the crack of wood against her body.

"I can't go back, not where- not where they hurt her." She said so quietly that Fox barely heard her. He picked her up as the tears welled in her eyes. He laid her down on the couch and shuffled through his closet to find his blankets.

Mulder came back out of his closet and tucked her into the blanket. He climbed over her so his back was against the rough pillows, and wrapped his arm around her waist, speaking into her hair as she cried. "Scully, you're safe here, I won't let anyone hurt you.
Ever."

Scully woke up the next morning in apartment 42, on Mulder's couch. She blinked her eyes open and lifted her head off the pillow that Mulder had given her last night. She closed her eyes to a pounding headache.

The smell of bacon assaulted her nose. Her stomach rolled and bile rose in her throat. Scully groaned and wrapped her arms around her stomach hoping she could get over this sudden sickness.

"Mulder." She groaned peaking through one eye, half pried open.

Mulder stood at the stove, he wore an apron over his worn pajamas and had a spatula in his hand.

"Oh, Morning Scully." He said a smile forming on his lips. "Ow." He exclaimed when bacon grease bit at his fingers. He pulled the last sizzling piece from the hot pan and wrapped them in a paper towel.

"Breakfast?" Mulder asked Scully as she pulled herself off the couch. Her head spun and she held onto the wall to keep herself from falling. Mulder walked over to Scully and watched as she fished around under the couch to find her shoes. "No… uh, Mulder, I actually, think I want to go home." Scully said as she got up off the floor, not meeting her partner's eyes.

Mulder nodded, a little sadly, " If-" he stopped clearing his throat, "If that's, what it is that you would like to do." He closed his eyes and let out a sigh, he wanted for his partner to stop fighting him for a moment and let him be there for her.

"I- uh, yeah…" Scully said, holding her head in one hand. She started to walk towards the apartment door, she opened it, resting her hand against the door frame, her shoes in the other. She looked back and saw her partner, Fox, looking at her with concern in her eyes. She waited, hesitated, the walls she had built had worked so well, protected her from pain, but she could feel even now Mulder chipping away at them.

Scully turned back to Mulder, taking a few steps to meet him in the middle of the room. "Thanks, Mulder, for everything last night." She said and she kissed his cheek, then she walked to the already hanging open door. " See, you at work," Mulder said as she shut the door behind her, "And I'm sure that we won't ever mention this morning, ever." He said under his breath. And he went back to making his pancakes as the smell of smoke filled his room.