It was bright.  Unusually so.  Certain that he would have closed the blinds to his bedroom window Mulder rolled over and fell onto the hard concrete floor beneath him.  Startled and fully awake now he scanned the room to take in the small 8ft cell and squinted at the sunlight that seemed to be concentrated on his head.  His pounding head he realised.  He pushed himself off the floor and walked over to the bars noticing only then that his shoes and belt were gone along with his tie and wallet. 

"Hello," he called with a croaky dry voice that scarred his brain scraping through his ears with a thunderous noise.  "Hello!" he called louder this time rationalising it by telling himself the quicker he got out the quicker he could crawl into his own bed.

"Keep it down in there," a voice called to him from behind the wall.

"Where am I?"

"Disneyland now shut up!"

            Before Mulder could ask anything else a loud clang shook his head making him grab his forehead to steady it.

"Ahhh decided to wake up did we?" the dark figure asked as he banged the bars again.
"Where am I?" Mulder asked the guard who unlocked his door and took his arm to lead him out of the cell.

"Didn't you hear him? Disneyland!"

            Mulder walked by the rows of cells looking in at the other inmates in their separate state of drunkenness or hangovers.  He was guided to the front desk and asked to sign the book to receive his stuff back.

"Two shoes size fourteen, black leather." The officer said handing Mulder the shoes.

"One Wallet, FBI Identification for a Special Agent Fox Mulder, One hundred and fifty three dollars, nine cent, one tie, one black leather belt, check that it's blue…"

"Thanks, my mom picked it out for me!" The guard chuckled and handed the stuff out to him.  "So where am I?"

"Waterville Jail."
"Waterville?" he said looking up from tying his laces.

"Waterville…suburb of Chicago…"

"Illinois? I'm in Illinois?"

"Man I know you were drunk last night but you don't remember anything?"

"Who bailed me out?" Mulder asked suddenly aware that there was a sinking feeling in his chest, a familiar sinking feeling only intensified by the red haired figure that walked towards the frosted glass front door.

"She did," the desk guard said enjoying the prisoner's obvious discomfort.

            Mulder stood up and hastily fixed his tie unaware of the bruise that coloured his right cheek and the state of his shirt from lying in a well used drunk-tank all night.  His collar was askew and he fidgeted with his shirt tails quickly shoving them into his trousers and trying to smile as if she were meeting him to interrogate a suspect.  Her face was fresh and as she walked towards him the wind carried with it a familiar smell of her shower gel.  The new one she'd changed to last month, that made his stomach tingle and made him want to be closer to her than he dared.

"Scully…you made it!" he said unsure if he had called her or not.

"Made it? I paid for it…I still am and you know what Mulder…I think I always will be!" Her voice was flat and showed no sign of anger, which he knew meant she was furious.  The guards that rested against the desk smiled at him when he risked a glance back at them but he grimaced and followed her already retreating shape.  Catching up to her in a few long strides he walked a few steps behind her and tried to think of something to say.  Reaching his hand up to his chin he scraped the thick stubble and began to realise what a state he might look.

"I could really do with a shower," he muttered half to himself and half for something to say.

"Yeah Mulder, try to keep upwind!"

            She was making jokes he realised with a smile so what ever he had done couldn't be that bad.  Slipping into the car beside her he let her drive in silence and rested his head back.  The gentle rocking of the car as she drove them through the streets must have been more relaxing then he thought because he suddenly became aware of the stillness and the small hand on his thigh.  Looking down to where her fingers pressed into his leg he looked up to her with a strange smile that was quickly removed by the frown she wore.

"Mulder…are you okay?" This time her voice was soft, caring and low.

"I'm eh…I'm fine."

"I'm sorry about last night…I got a little scared…"

"Scared?" he said shakily unsure what she was speaking about but getting the feeling that he should.

"You came out of the blue and it frightened me!"

"Frightened?"

"I guess it was a little unexpected."

"Unexpected…"

"Why are you repeating everything I say?"

"Repeating? Am I?" he said unaware of the conversation they were having or at least she was trying to have.

"Come on, let's go in and get you a shower…we'll talk then."

            Mulder looked out of the window and saw the Motel looming up out of the desolate landscape around them.  The rooms seemed to be in separate chalets and Scully seemed to know where she was going so he followed her to an isolated one in the back.  Once inside he was flooded with familiarity, the wiretap equipment, the wine and whiskey hamper the manager had given the newly weds when they checked in, the satellite, the security camera, the bed where he kissed her and the laptops feeding them both information on the strange disappearances from this particular motel.  His head shot back to the bed and he couldn't help but notice the tousled sheets, the indented pillows, her cardigan thrown carelessly to the floor, his jacket beside it.  Realisation swamped his mind as she stepped out of the bathroom and walked over to the door where he seemed to be planted to the spot.

It was only meant to be a kiss, he thought, hell it wasn't even meant to be a kiss!

"Mulder, you look terrible," she said with a soft smile, reaching out and grasping his hand she led him over to the bathroom where he saw the shower was already running and a change of clothes awaited his attention on the radiator.

            She pushed him in to the already steam filled room and closed the door behind him.  He stood motionless in the middle of the room until the steam started to curl his hair and dampen his clothes.  Pulling them off he left them pooled on the floor as he stepped into the hot running water letting it strip away the layer of grime that seemed to grow over his skin.  Reaching past the curtain he grabbed his shaving kit and smothered his chin and jaw with the cream before attacking it with his razor.

            Scully was sitting by the four screens when he stepped out.  The jeans he wore were loose and the black t-shirt too.  Walking over barefoot to sit beside her, he lowered his tall body and claimed the cushions next to her.  Their shoulders touched as did their thighs and he glanced over at her only to see her watching him back a strange unfamiliar smile caressing her lips.  She reached up and moved his face to make him turn the other way so she could see the bruise more clearly.

"Nice shiner Mulder…where did you find?" she asked.

"Long story…"

"We've got time."

"No I mean it could be a long story coz I'm not really sure where I got it."

"You don't remember?"

"Parts…I left here…in a bit of a hurry."

"Yeah…I noticed."

            He saw the small blush creep into her cheeks and he had to look away from it but it wasn't enough so he got up and grabbed a bottle of water from the mini fridge, suddenly glad of something to do with his hands.

"I was in a bar, not sure how I got there, but there was a lot of whiskey in this bar…or rather there was when I got there…not so much when I left."

            He heard her soft chuckle but couldn't bring himself to look round to her.  The memories were returning to him fighting through the thick whiskey soaked hangover.  The look on her face when he kissed her softly on the lips, the feeling of her lips against his that threatened to overwhelm him. The sensation of her chest rising and falling when her breathing quickened as he deepened the kiss, pulling her cardigan off in one swift motion to reveal the tight white top she wore beneath, in all it's beautiful glory.  Then the harsh feeling of her hands on his chest pushing him away and the slow withdrawal of her lips from his.   The fear and uncertainty in her eyes was so blatantly clear to him now that he was kicking himself for thinking she felt the same way.

"I think I tried to chat up the wrong woman…she had a boyfriend…a big boyfriend."

            Scully couldn't help the smile that spread across her face.  The guilt she felt as she pushed him away, needing to hear him speak about what he was feeling, needing him to know how she was feeling, how scared and delighted she was, how uncertain and yet sure she was but with only one look at her he muttered an apology and left.   The thought of him ending in a dingy dark bar inhaling whiskey like it was a lifeline then chatting up another woman made her smile.  Not that she wanted him to see other women, oh no she was gonna be sure he was a one woman man, but the thought of his desperate need to hide his true feelings and in the end only showing them to her more clearly made her smile. 

            She watched him fiddle with the bottle cap, his back turned to her but with one had low by his side and silently she walked over to him.  From behind she reached out and grasped his hand, letting their fingers intertwine ignoring the slight jump he made as she touched him.  Slowly she tugged on his hand until he was facing her fully, her left hand holding his right.  She brought it up to her chest and grasped it now with both hands holding it against her chest and letting him feel her heartbeat, her breath, and her essence.

"Mulder…why did you leave?" she asked softly.

"I thought you wanted-."

"Do you ever get it right when you think about what I wanted?" she said with a chuckle.

"Well-," he began but when he saw the glint in her eyes he couldn't help but smile a small flicker of relief daring to shine through.

"I'm not sorry you kissed me Mulder, in case you didn't notice I kissed you back."

"I did kinda notice that…" he said with a shy smile she had never seen before.

"Did you run because you didn't think I wanted it?"

"Yes," he said honestly, all mirth gone form his voice and his eyes locked to hers, knowing that the time was now.  That the thoughts and feelings he had been harbouring so secretly from her, the one person he trusted in this world; were about to erupt into the room covering them both in a blanket that would either suffocate them or draw them closer.  The time was at hand and Mulder could almost taste the tension wondering briefly if it was too late to run again.   As if sensing his thoughts her grip on his hands tightened.

"Mulder…did you notice I enjoyed it?" her smile was alluring, giving away nothing, leaving the explanation to her words that were flowing out of her full lips that seemed to have moved closer to his he noticed.

"I…eh…I did actually," he stammered.

"Well so did I.  I was scared Mulder I'm not gonna deny it."

"I don't want to scare you Scully, I don't want to be something in your life to fear," he said suddenly backing away and trying to pull his hands free but she followed him and he found him self against the wall her body standing close but not touching save for their hands.  "God knows you have enough of those…I want to be something else Scully."

"My touchstone?" she said softly.  "My one in five billion?" she said using his own words, his own thoughts the ones that had escaped though his barrier, the ones he had uttered to her in his desperation to let her know how he felt. 

"Yes…"

            With a whisper he leaned in closer and kissed her softly but her hands moved from between them and circled his neck bringing him lower to deepen his kiss.  He held her close, his arms around her back, pressing him against her and stroking her hair.  As she pulled away to breath and leaned her head back to get a better look at him he smiled, this time seeing none of the fear and only the brightness of her emotions in her aqua blue eyes.

"Scully…is that a Sig Saur in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?"

            Her laugh bubbled up from deep in her chest and as she writhed against him he couldn't help but smile loving the feeling of her shaking body against his.  A loud beeping sound from the wiretap equipment drew both of their attentions.  With a sigh he released his grip on her, and walked with her to the table.  She sat and he leaned over her, looking at the screen below that showed they had movement in the other room.

"Duty calls," he said sitting next to her and switching the security cameras to the other room to see whom it was.  They sat in silence for a moment looking at the screens but suddenly he turned to her and smiled that shy smile again. 

"What?" she said already feeling the blush creep up her neck as she glanced down at his lips and felt them against hers again in a quick distracting memory.

"Would you like to go out with me?" he asked quietly.

"What?"

"I mean on a date…for dinner…or drinks…whatever."

            She laughed again loving the shy Mulder, loving that he needed her, wanted her…to go on a date…as if anything else in their lives were normal.

"I'd love to."

"Great," he said between a sigh of relief and a deep breath.  Leaning over he kissed her softly on the lips careful to let it linger enough so it was more than friendly but pulling away quick enough before he ravaged her further.  His heart raced and his breathing was erratic but he didn't care, because he had a date.  A date with Scully.

**Dedicated to Chalice…coz without her consistent questions and stuff I wouldn't have written this small piece of fluff…lol…she liked it I hope you do too.**