Hullo... not sure if this is such a great idea, I'm feeling sort of hesitant towards this story. Anyway, it's set a couple of years after The Truth, needless to say they're living in some remote place and Mulder's in hiding. Please let me know what you think and if it's worth continuing.

Any likeness to any of the characters in the X-files is... sort of intentional and I apologise. I do not claim to own any of it though, not even Mulder.

ONE

He was keeping to the shadows, surrounded by dark trees. The November dusk was dull and draped with a chill that felt like it fed on his bones. An even stream of rain had been falling since last week and made the unwelcoming nights of autumn even more hostile.

He was soaked, standing completely unsheltered. His limbs should be shaking with cold but instead he just stood there, erect and unmoved. Lurking in the shadows. Waiting. Time was his ally. He had waited six years and could easily wait a little longer. He took a piece of cloth from his pocket, put it to his disfigured nose and inhaled deeply. Soon, very soon now.

His line of thoughts was interrupted by the sound of a car pulling into the driveway. He kept intensive watch of the driver as she got out of the car and ran towards the wooden house, holding a jiffy bag over her head to protect her from the streaming rain. The sensation of power overwhelmed and aroused him. He knew practically everything about this woman; that she worked as a physician at a Catholic hospital, that she used conditioner against frizzy hair and that she, every now and then, stopped on her way home from work, bought an ice cream and watched the sunset from her favourite sighting spot. And here she was before him, completely unaware of his presence. The woman suddenly stopped and turned to look at the spot where he was standing. He knew there was no way she could detect him there but instinctively he moved backwards, back into the shadows.

Scully could swear she had seen something moving by the trees but knew she was probably just being paranoid. She tried to shake off the feeling of being watched and went into the house. She put the jiffy bag on the hall table and hung her wet coat to dry. A scent of garlic welcomed her from the kitchen. She went straight in, stopped by the stove to kiss the chef on the cheek and slap his bottom amiably. "Hi there, that smells great, I'm starved."

Mulder gratefully accepted the kiss and the slap and stopped stirring for a minute. "Hi doc, how was work?" He watched her take a seat by the table, put her feet on another chair and start to aimlessly look through the paper.

"Work was good, I'm really making progress on that girl I was telling you about."

"That's great, Scully, I'm sure you will save the day like always." Mulder went back to his cooking. "I'm making you my very famous "Pasta Muldero"; tomato sauce, basil and a hint of garlic."

She looked up from her paper, her right eyebrow raised. "That smells like more than a hint Mulder, lucky I won't be making out with any strangers tonight."

"Oh, who knows what the future brings!" He turned around suddenly and started waving the spoon around. "I think maestro Muldero would fancy some dirty business on the couch later," he said, trying to sound like Don Vito Corleone but ending up looking like a gorilla with speaking problems.

"Mulder! You're sprinkling the walls with tomato sauce!" Scully screamed, laughing as she got up to steal the spoon. He wouldn't let her. When she realised she'd have to fight for it she instantly tried to grab it with both her hands and force it out of his firm grip. She obviously didn't stand a chance. Mulder took his free arm, put it round her waist and lifted her like she'd been a pillow. Scully tried to fight back but exploding with laughter she couldn't make much effort. "Now kiss me or I'll drown you in tomato sauce" he said with his bad Italian accent, putting her down and pulling her in close to him. "If you insist" she said leaning in very close, feeling him relax and as she was just about to touch his lips and he closed his eyes she quickly stole the spoon from out of his hand. "Hey!"

"Ha! I win!" she said triumphantly, put the spoon in the pot and strutted off victoriously. "I'll go change, you clean this mess up and set the table, won't you".

He watched her leave the kitchen, sighed, and went to the sink to get a wettex.

"This was really good Muldero!" She swallowed and nodded to underline her statement, then reached for some more bread.

"I told you, I'm a true maestro." He had really gone all the way with the Italian theme; olives to start, chequered table cloth, Lombardian wine. He'd even made a Tiramisu for dessert. Sitting at home a lot made him kind of restless.

Scully was absorbed by the food. It had been a long day at work and she loved coming home to this; a cooked meal and Mulder. She sat relaxed on the chair, one leg pulled up under her. "Oh, I almost forgot! There was a package for you, it's out on the hall table."

Mulder instantly rose and hasted out to get it. Scully, surprised at his sudden eagerness, watched him almost run out into the hallway. As he came back, ripping up the jiffy bag, she looked at him, eyebrows raised. "Is it something important."

"Well… not really, just something I found on the internet."

She reached for the magazine that had been in the bag together with something unidentifiable. "After Dark, a dive into the paranormal" she read from the cover.

"Yes, it's brand new. I ordered a subscription and got this demon killer for free." He pulled something out that looked a bit like a gargoyle from a plastic bag.

Scully put the magazine away. "Demon killer?"

"Yes, I just need to find out how it works," he said examining the object trying to find hidden buttons.

"In case a demon would drop by?" Scully returned to her pasta. She wasn't really surprised, Mulder spent a lot of time alone in the house and it wasn't exactly the first time something strange came in the mail for him. She was just relieved it wasn't something kinky he'd want her to wear, because that had also happened, from time to time.

"You never know Scully." He put the demon gadget thing away, deciding to look at it later and returned to his dinner.

"Yes Mulder, in this case I think that we can safely say that no demon will drop by, and do you know why?" she said, pointing the fork at him.

"No, why?"

"Because there are no demons."

Mulder shook his head, her constant scepticism never ceased to amaze him. "How can you say that? After all that you've seen, how can you say that demons don't exist?"

"I've never seen a demon. Trick of light, stressful situations, unfortunate facial features, all those things might have fooled my mind into thinking I was seeing a demon but I haven't. I've seen demonic characteristics, but I have no actual proof that I have ever seen a real demon. Besides, that would mean that there are creatures out there who are straight through, pure evil, and I refuse to believe that."

"So you mean that cancer man is not pure evil?"

"I think even he must have a soft spot somewhere."

"What about that pfaster guy. You ended up shooting him because he was altogether evil. You even said something like that yourself."

"I think you'll remember that I wasn't completely sure then, and I'm still not. I don't know why I shot him and I'm not sure I had the right to. Even the devil was an angel at first. I just think that everyone has something good in them, it may be difficult to reach but I still believe that it's there, somewhere. The word of choice here, pure evil, would suggest that this demon, if you call it that, was born evil and has never known goodness. That's not just sad, it's also highly implausible."

"Scully."

"Yes?"

"Are you wearing underwear?"

She laughed and kicked him under the table. "Where's that tiramisu you promised me?"

"Oh you want your dessert? Let's have it in the living room, I'm looking forward to that couch business that you promised me."

"I don't remember promising you anything."

"Oh really, I'll just have this to myself then." He grabbed the dessert plates and made for the living room. Scully brought the wine and followed him laughing. Outside in the pouring rain, a dark figure moved away from the window, back into the shadows.

Thoughts?