The silence filled the room as we sat on the couch and just looked at each other. Inches apart, but neither sure what to actually say.

"Do you want to watch TV?" Mulder asked

I shook my head "No."

"Do you want to leave?" his voice cracked a bit on 'leave'

I shook my head again, "No."

I watched him swallow the big lump in his throat, "Do you want to go upstairs?"

I gave him a small smile and nodded, "Yes, I think I do."

The fact a fifty-six-year-old man was nervous about asking if I wanted to go upstairs was more of a turn on than I should have let it be, but as he took my hand and led me up the wooden staircase the overwhelming feeling of the past came over me. The day we bought the house – with cash – the day we moved in and had nothing but a mattress on the floor as we waited for it all to be delivered. The house felt so empty then, but we had each other and at the time that was all we needed. Now, random books lined the steps and papers were piled in every nook and cranny. Sadly, it was like this when I lived here, I just didn't find it something to complain about.

He didn't really need to lead me to the bedroom, I was well aware of where it was, but I let him anyway. The door was open and I was honestly shocked to see the bed had been made. He rarely made it when he never even left the house.

Nothing had changed. "Wow." I found myself saying as he turned on the lamp on the end table on his side of the bed.

"I've made it every day…in hope…anticipation…either. Both."

"Nothing has changed."

"Why would it?" he said sitting on the bed, "You picked this bed out."

"And the sheet set."

"Which I haven't washed since you left."

"What?" I was startled out of my mental journey to the past.

"I'm kidding." He said untying his right shoe, then his left before kicking them off his feet nearly hitting the wall, "They're Gain and Downy fresh I swear."

I smiled and nodded, looking down at my watch for a split second – a little after nine.

"No watch checking." Mulder said getting up and taking my wrist, "It's Friday."

"Habit." I replied looking up at him, "It's been a long day."

He nodded as well, "Long week…no out of town cases where there was even a chance of getting lucky."

"You have a one-track mind lately."

"Well, it's like a guy who was in the desert for years. He finally finds water and it's all he wants. I was in that desert a really long time."

"Me too." I replied biting my lip before he leaned down to kiss me, "But…" he pulled away

"But?"

I shook my head and smiled, "I forgot."

He smiled and continued what he was doing and placing his hands on my waist pulled me closer as I melted into him. My hands moving to his neck as the kiss deepened and part of me could have just stayed like this forever, but as he began to walk backwards while still holding me, I let him lead me to the bed where I had done so many things that would make nuns blush. Then smack my knuckles with rulers. After we had gotten to his side of the bed, I felt a rush of power and pulled away, startling the man before me. I then took my hands and placed my palms on his hard chest, pushing him onto the bed on his back. Seeming to understand what I was doing he moved back until most of his body was on the bed. I then took his hands, our fingers interlocking, and let him pull me onto the bed, straddling him. After staring at the hunger in his eyes for a few milliseconds I then leaned down to kiss him, deeply exploring every inch of his mouth as my hands moved to his jeans. Thankfully he wasn't wearing a belt as I unbuttoned and unzipped, my tongue focused on his mouth as my fingers reached in under the hard denim fabric to find what I desperately desired. He groaned into me as I took hold of his firmness, pulling it out of its closed barrier and letting my hand run up and down the shaft until I felt it harden und my fingers. Pulling away from his lips I sat up and as if in a trance closed my eyes and quickly removed my sweater and the brassiere under it. Tossing them God knows where in the bedroom I had made my own over a decade earlier. Opening my eyes again I looked down and Mulder's were fixated on my face, his mouth slightly a gap as I returned to the floor to remove what was left of my clothing, keeping my eyes on him the entire time – even as I fought with boots that refused to unzip correctly until I gave up and just pulled them off – also tossing them God knows where.

Once I was completely bare, the cold air of winter hit hard and I crawled back onto the bed, onto my partner's left side to help him pull off his jeans and shorts. He brought his right hand to the back of my head to pull me into another kiss and as our lips and tongues echoed what happened only minutes earlier, my hand wrapped around his shaft slowly moving it up and down the rigged hardness as he moaned into my mouth. Pulling away from his gentle touch, I took my free hand and slowly pushed him down on the bed, watching him watch me before I leaned forward and took him in my mouth. He moaned and jerked as my lips wrapped around his cock and remembering the feel of him inside my mouth made me no longer feel the coldness of the winter air. My tongue swirled around the shaft as his hands moved to my head, his groans getting louder as I teased the tip, then took him all in again. His nails dug into my skull as I continued to enjoy the power and pleasure of him between my lips. Within minutes his hands froze and I felt his cock jerk in my mouth, letting him release into me and holding him until I knew he was spent. Sitting up I swallowed and moved my eyes to his. His eyes were closed and I feared he had fallen asleep – out of habit.

I laid down in the middle of the bed and stared up at the ceiling, my lower legs under my thighs, I wasn't quite sure what to do next. I could get dressed and leave, I could take care of my own needs and just go to sleep, or I could wait for him to actually wake up and do something.

Thankfully the latter came quicker than I expected when out of nowhere his lips were on mine again and he pulled my legs out from under, wrapping them around his waist as he quickly entered me. I moaned into his mouth as he thrust harder and deeper. I let the intense pleasure take over me as mouth moved to my neck, sucking and biting my hot skin as the pain sent shivers coursing down my spine. I felt like a rabid animal as I dug my nails into his back and screamed out his name as the release came over me and his did the same while I continued to shake. We held each other for a minute or two before Mulder rolled over onto his back and I took count of my current rapid heartbeat.

Maybe it was being in this house, this bed, that came over me, but it was like I was…home.

I was startled awake to darkness. I was under the sheets with Mulder's right hand on my bare belly as he slept on his side facing me. Getting out of the bed I used the moonlight as an awful guide to find my clothes. Remembering I had left my jeans and boots on his side of the bed I went over there first where I was greeted with the lamp being turned on and two hazel, tired, eyes staring right at me.

"What are you doing?" he asked

"I need to go home." I replied picking up my boots and jeans from the floor.

"You are home." He replied, "Just come back to bed."

"I need to go." I said backing away from him and turning to see my bra dangling from the mirror on the dresser.

"Dana…" he moaned as I grabbed the undergarment, "It's Saturday."

"I know." I replied putting the sheer clothing on as quickly as possible while cursing cold underwire. "But I need to go." I found my sweater next to the dresser, "We've discussed this."

Mulder rolled his eyes before rubbing them, "This is ridiculous. No one at the FBI gives a rat's ass if we're sleeping together OR living together. They have bigger fish to fry. Bigger orange fish who feed off other fish in a crazy desire..."

He continued to mumble unrecognizable words as I pulled on the rest of my clothing then sat down on the edge of his side of the bed to fight with the boots zippers, "I would rather not take the risk." I added attempting to fruitlessly pull the zipper down.

Mulder took the boot from me and in one swift move got the zipper to work and handed it back to me, "Anyone over the age of thirty at that place knows our history. Knows YOU left the bureau to run off with ME."

"That's not true." I said handing him the other boot before placing the freed shoe on my left foot and zipping it up.

"Given I was there I think I know it is true." He unzipped the right boot and handed it back to me.

"I meant everyone knowing our history. Most of the agents there are more concerned with what happened on The Bachelor than our sorted history."

"Oh, it's sorted now?"

"You know what I mean." I put the boot on, zipped it up and then stood up on my tired feet looking down at him, "and I'd rather be known as the middle-aged weirdos who chase aliens than the middle-aged weirdos who can't be trusted with a locked office door. I have no need for anyone to know anything about my personal life or sex life."

"Now that we have one. Again. And I think we're past middle-aged."

I groaned at his last reply "I'm sorry if leaving in the middle of the night upsets you so much, but that's what needs to be done. I just don't want to bring attention to us. Even if it's Saturday. We're too exposed here."

"Then let's go away together." He said, "Just get in the car and drive to the Poconos, New York City, Niagara Falls, Canada…"

"That wouldn't bring on suspicion?"

"Not if we left in the middle of the night. Like fifteen years ago. The good old days."

"Oh, you mean when we had to go to leave for a new city and a new motel in the middle of the night every night to prevent black helicopters from finding and killing us? We clearly have different interpretations of what were the 'good old days' "

"They were to me. I had you. That's all I needed. That's all I wanted."

"You still have me, but for now I need to go." I walked to the other side of the bed and grabbed my watch off the nightstand, it was a little after one, "I need to get home before dawn. My neighbor keeps stealing my newspaper. I haven't caught him in the act yet, but I will."

"I've heard a lot of excuses for leaving in the middle of the night, but that's unique."

"I'm serious!" I exclaimed securing the watch on my wrist, "He's a crusty old man who never leaves his apartment unless he needs to steal my paper."

"If you moved back home that would never be a worry. No neighbors for miles."

"That's why we chose it." I sighed, "But you do need to fix the gate."

"I'm not worried about intruders. Anymore."

"Really? Need I remind you that you still need to replace the closet door downstairs because it's full of bullet holes?"

Mulder yawned, "They make wood fill ins for that."

Rolling my eyes, I went back to his side of the bed and gave him a quick kiss on the lips, "I'll see you at work Monday morning."

"Fine." He moaned turning off the light, "Don't forget your bag is on the kitchen table." He groaned as I left the bedroom.

Thankfully the moon was bright enough to find my bag and open it, pulling out my phone – no calls, no texts – and my keys.

I locked the front door behind me as I stepped up into my car and started the engine, backing and turning out of the long driveway and leaving my former home just as I had left so many nights, but stayed a little bit longer this time.

As I made my way back to D.C., an overwhelming feeling of sadness came over me. I already missed him. I hadn't felt this way in so very long, not since I watched him get on a train as I held our newborn son. Tears began to fall and I had to pull over to the side of the road. Tears for him, tears for William and tears for myself. Everything we could have had was taken away by my own inability to protect those I loved. For those four years, before I went back to school and got my specialty degree, before I went to work on dying children…it was just us. We only had each other and it was honestly the happiest I had ever seen Mulder in the entire time I had known him. Maybe to him those were the good old days, regardless of the danger that surrounded us. I wanted so much to protect him from the world that I never left his side, and even though we were older now I saw that Mulder again last night – until that light turned on.

I wanted to protect what we had, we stood in danger of our entire agency being shut down daily and I didn't want to do anything to help justify those threats, but in that moment, I knew I had to turn the car around.

Only forty-five minutes had passed between when I left the house and returned; the lights still off, I went to the front door and knocked. Hard. I could have used my key, but it honestly didn't feel right. I paced on the porch as I waited for the door to open. When it did, Mulder was wearing pajama pants and a heather grey t-shirt, "Did you forget something?" he asked.

"Let's go." I said a little too excited.

"Where?" he asked

"Anywhere. Just get in the car and go. Wherever we feel like stopping. Just like before."

"You're serious." His eyes narrowed at me.

I nodded, "I need this."

He nodded, "Just let me pack..."

"No packing. Just like before. Where all we had was the clothes on our backs and each other."

"I'm in my pajamas."

"Ok, well put on jeans. We'll stop at Wal-Mart and pick up toothbrushes and mouthwash and anything else we may need."

"Just like before." He smiled

I nodded.

"Give me five minutes." He said closing the screen door as I continued to pace. This honestly excited me. Clearly, I would have to find a credible excuse to get us out of work, but I doubted that would be a serious problem or if anyone would honestly miss us. Even though we were back in that basement office, we were still a joke and I still wasn't laughing.

Quicker than I expected, Mulder returned with jeans and boots, his leather jacket and his wallet and keys, "Whose driving?" he asked as he locked the front door.

"You are." I said handing him my eyes, "Just like before."

I started toward the steps and before my foot could step down, he took my hand, pulling me to him and kissing me, letting our lips touch for a few moments before he stood back up, "Just like before."