It was their first Christmas celebration as a couple. Not that they hadn't been together during the past number of Christmases but this one was different. This one was being celebrated.

After hiding out in New Mexico for a good number of years they'd finally managed to find themselves a place of their own. No more moving every few days from one motel to another. No more transient jobs for Scully, no more windows they had to draw the blinds on so nobody would find out where he, Mulder, was hiding.

Not that he was out of the woods yet, but since he wasn't, they got themselves a home amidst the woods, completely secluded, almost as if it were this lonely deserted island.

It was Scully who found it for them. Well, in essence she was the only one who could be seen in public and so she set out on a house scavenger hunt. She would check out various places and learn as much as she could about the neighbors until she finally found it.

She'd come home that evening and he knew something was up the moment he saw her face as she closed the door behind her.

"What?" he asked as he caught sight of the strange twinkle in her eye.

"Mulder…" she began, sounding cautious, as if she were approaching a terrified wild animal.

He, for his part, didn't know if he was going to like what she was about to tell him. He could tell it was something that excited her but he realized she wasn't sure if he'd take whatever she was about to say the same way. Nevertheless, he prodded her to continue. "What is it, Scully?"

He could see her taking in a deep breath as she slowly approached him. He'd been lounging on yet another motel bed being as there wasn't any other kind of furniture in the bare room aside from a basic closet that held their few personal possessions. He followed her with his eyes as she walked beside the bed and sat on its opposite side. She slowly removed her sensible work shoes off, and then she joined him on the bed. He nudged closer to her, still curious about her strange demeanor. In the past he wouldn't hold himself back like this. He'd nag and nag until she'd blurt out whatever she'd be trying to keep away from him. He'd matured since. He knew that Scully would reveal her secret once she was ready, and so he waited patiently as they snuggled in silence and as he listened to her soft breathing and took in her scent. It was a mixture of hospital odors and cheap perfume; the only kind she could afford during those days. Only that on her it didn't smell cheap at all. He didn't know exactly how that was possible, but that's how he felt and that's what truly mattered.

"Mulder…" she began hesitantly, "I have something to tell you."

He smiled at her. "I know."

She seemed taken aback by his retort. "You know? What do you know?"

"Relax, Scully. The only thing I know is that you have something to tell me."

Her expression changed and he could see she was somewhat pissed. "Dammit, Mulder…"

"What?" he feigned innocence.

"Nothing!" she shot back.

OK, he'd given her enough time to get to whatever she was about to tell him on her own, maybe a little too much even. "I'm sorry, Scully. Sometimes I can't help myself."

She just huffed as a response.

"C'mon, you were about to tell me something, what was it?"

Her face was still spurting irritation, but somewhat begrudgingly she relented. "I found us a home—"

"You did what?!" he'd not been expecting that.

The rest was history. After his initial shock, she showed him a photo of this plain unremarkable house in the middle of nowhere and she told him how far out in the woods it was and how close they were to civilization (not too close at all). She was still working hard on the convincing part but in all truth he had already been initially bought the moment he saw the house's photo.

And now they were both busy getting it ready for their first Christmas in their own home. He hadn't celebrated a real Christmas ever since Sam had been kidnapped. In fact, he hadn't celebrated much of anything ever since that day. He knew Christmas was an important day for Scully. He'd heard her tell her stories of Christmas with her family as a child and she kept on going back to have Christmas with her family as an adult, but she too had stopped celebrating it while they were on the run.

When he saw the photo of their home to be, one of the first thoughts that came to his mind was decorating it for this particular special day. It was peculiar being that he was so untraditional in his ways and he had quite regularly exhibited his disdain towards anything religion-related, but Christmas was a symbol of an event celebrated with one's family and Scully was his family now, and this just felt so right in his mind.

He was now standing on a ladder as Scully was handing him a chain of stringing lights. He'd been hammering nails all around the windows and along the front porch so he could sling the lights easily around them.

"Mulder, you're not thinking you're getting somewhat carried away with this?" Scully called out to him from her position down below.

He looked down at her, then he looked way across the front porch and at the humungous number of stringing lights that covered it. "I don't see your point, Scully."

"It's just that basically you are still a fugitive from the law and I have this odd feeling that once we lit everything up, this house will be like this screaming beacon in the night and all."

He couldn't help but let out a chuckle. "I'm just making up for all those Christmases we never celebrated."

He was waiting for her retort but it never came. He looked down and he could see her mind was miles away. "Scully?" He received more silence in response.

He retreated down the ladder until he was standing beside her. "Scully?" he peered into her eyes and was surprised by her forlorn expression. "What's wrong?"

She blinked and looked up at him as if she'd just seen him for the very first time, then her expression went blank but Mulder knew that blank expression. She was trying to hide something from him.

"I think I need a break," she told him.

"OK," he agreed, trying in earnest not to insist that she tell him what was on her mind.

She put the remaining string of lights back in the box that lay on the ground and then she turned on her heels and started walking along the driveway that led to the woods.

"Scully? Hey – where are you going?"

"I'm going for a walk. I need to stretch my legs."

He knew her well enough not to follow her, even though he wanted to do so, desperately.

Two hours went by, he'd finished getting the lights strung along the porch and the rest of the windows and by then not much light remained in the sky and the air outside was moving from chilly to frosty. Scully had yet to return and he was getting antsy with worry. He was furious at himself for letting her go alone on her walk. His mind was running crazy freaky scenarios of wild animals slashing her perfect face and tearing through her flesh. He was going to give her five more minutes and if she wasn't home by then, he was going after her.

With his mind set, he went into his den and rummaged through his desk drawers until he found a high-powered flashlight and a fresh batch of batteries. He was now moving towards their bedroom so he could take the gun that was hidden permanently under his pillow when he heard the slight creaking of the front door and then its slam.

He dropped the flashlight on their bed as he bolted out of their room and into the living area. He was in such a rush that he nearly collided into Scully whose eyes flew wide open with surprise.

"Mulder!"

"Scully…" he panted, "I… I was worried about you."

"Why?" she asked and Mulder realized she was genuinely confused about his reaction.

"It's dark outside and there could be wild animals roaming the grounds—"

She smiled at him. "There's nothing like that out here, Mulder."

He knew that, but his emotions got the better of him. "It's not really that," he told her.

They were still standing extremely close to one another and she looked up at him and he saw the sadness in her eyes. At least the blank stare was gone. He put his arms around her and drew her closer to him until their bodies touched. She looked down and then she pressed her head to his chest until she almost burrowed into him.

"Is it something I said?" he wondered aloud.

"Not exactly," she mumbled against his chest.

"Scully, please let me in," he pleaded with her, not holding back anymore.

There was a long pause until she finally spoke. "I wish he was with us."

Mulder's heart broke as the last word rolled of her tongue. "I know," he told her, "I wish the same, and I know he will be with us one day, but just in case he has a hard way finding us out here, I made it a tad easier for him."

Scully's face shot upwards, her eyes appearing puzzled.

Mulder got out of his embrace and instead he grabbed hold of Scully's hand as he guided her out of their home. As they walked into the darkness that greeted them outside, he flicked a power switch and the grounds lit up with dazzling colorful light.

"Mulder? Where are you taking me?" Scully's confusion was about to hit its peak.

"Do you trust me Scully?" he asked her, bemused.

"Of course I do," she told him without skipping a beat.

"So just come with me." He told her as he pulled her hand and dragged her further into the house's surrounding grounds. "Don't turn around until I'll tell you to."

They walked in a fast steady pace until he reached a point he figured should be far enough. "OK, Scully, you can turn around now."

Mulder watched as she turned around and he saw her face change from surprise to awe to happiness and then she turned to him and all he could see was great love. She fell into his arms, almost choking him as they embraced and kissed. He could feel the warm tears on her face as their faces touched and his heart was ready to burst as if this were the very first time their bodies made contact.

Behind them stood their home covered with flashing colorful lights of various sizes. Amidst the colorful cacophony a string of bright white lights had been organized into a huge sign that read: 'We're here, William.'

THE END