Prompt: An idyllic tropical beach with shallow water and trees.

Timeline: just before the little boat scene at the end of I Want To Believe.

XxXxXxXx

They were walking down the little trail towards the sparkling water that Scully could just barely see through the trunks of the palm trees when Mulder pulled her to a stop, stepped behind her, and put his hands over her eyes.

"No peeking, Scully," he told her, playfully. They walked forward, until she could feel the warmth of the sun. "Ready?" he asked.

"Yes," Scully replied.

Mulder took his hands off of her eyes, and she was momentarily blinded. She blinked a couple of times, and gasped. The beach they stood on looked like one of those travel brochures that she'd always been sure were airbrushed. The sky was the bluest blue, with no clouds. The water was a bluish green and very shallow as far as she could see. It reflected the light in an ever changing pattern. The sand on the beach was very close to white, and the palm trees stood out as the only green thing and kept the place from looking too bright.

"Oh, wow, this is beautiful," Scully breathed out. "I always thought a view like this couldn't be entirely real."

"I have a present for you," Mulder crooned.

"Really?" she looked at his empty hands and swimming trunks, sure he had no present, then glanced around the beach. "I don't see any nicely wrapped gifts lying around, Mulder."

"Over here," he said, and led her to a small boat on the beach that sat close to the water. A small picnic basket and oars were tucked inside.

"Now, take off those clothes, G woman," he leered as he started pushing the boat into the water.