The late afternoon sun shone bright and soft through Mulder's living room window. The two agents sat facing each other on the couch that Mulder mostly used as his place to sleep and dream of one day finding his sister, Samantha.
After six years together, it was nothing unusual for Scully to spend time at Mulder's apartment, going over case details with him or placing the masking tape "X" on the window to summon help from the shadows. Sometimes the two agents simply spent time catching up on their personal life. Their pursuit investigating the bizarre and often fantastic cases left only for The X-Files took them all over the country. So much now existed between Mulder and Scully, spoken and unspoken. Their lives and their work now seemed to thrive in confluence.
"Mulder, what are you thinking about?" Scully asked with a hint of playful humor.
With a thoughtful pause Mulder replied, "I was just thinking Scully that we've worked on so many different cases in The X-Files. We've seen and experienced things that made us doubt our senses, doubt our beliefs, and even doubt each other. We've learned of things that our superiors and our peers regard as categorical nonsense. I've earned the nickname 'Spooky' and your integrity has often been questioned."
"Wow. You really know how to make a girl feel special," Scully said with an underlying sarcasm that only her partner, Mulder would understand.
"Hey, would you let me finish? What I was getting at is that no matter what obstacles we face as special agents of the F.B.I. and as human beings, we still persevere to discover the truth," Mulder said with confidence and conviction.
For a moment Scully contemplated what her partner had said. She knew that investigating the X-Files was a lot like trying to put together a jigsaw puzzle without all the pieces. Scully also knew that her strengths as a medical doctor brought a sense of validity and honesty to their work. She offered balance to his life and his passion for the work inspired her to be the best at what she does.
Looking at him with a smile Scully said, "That's more like it Mulder."
"Cmon Scully, I really wanna know what you think."
"I see it in a more positive light Mulder. Our work has become a journey that could not have been experienced any other way. I consider myself very privileged to have the opportunity to discover and rediscover our world and my own personal beliefs. I have had my faith tested and shaken, but most of all I could not have a better partner and friend than you Mulder," Scully said with both respect and admiration.
"You're not gonna get all mushy on me are you Scully?"
"No and shut up before I do," Scully responded as she stood up from the couch and walked towards the front door.