CHAPTER ONE

Present Day…

Agent Dana Scully walked into the basement office that she shared with her FBI partner Agent Fox Mulder. He glanced up briefly as she entered. "Morning," he greeted her.

"Morning, " She mumbled back, taking her seat directly across from him.

They sat in silence for what seemed like an eternity, before Mulder finally lifted his gaze from the file that had demanded his full attention. "How are things?" He asked.

"Things are fine." She responded, but didn't look up from her laptop.

"Good… how's Josh?"

"Josh is fine." Fine? Scully thought. Josh asked me to marry him last night; things shouldn't be fine, they should be great, wonderful even. Shouldn't they?

"Scully?" Mulder prodded, noticing her brief drift from reality.

She looked up, meeting his eyes, "Actually Mulder, he asked me to marry him."

His nonchalant exterior held strong. "Oh," Mulder said, "I guess a congratulations are in order."

"I didn't say 'yes' yet."

"How come?"

How come? Scully wanted to scream. You know exactly 'how come?'

But she didn't say a word.

Three months ago…

Mulder held Scully in a tight embrace. " It was my last chance," she said between sobs. He gently pulled her away and kissed her forehead.

"Never give up on a miracle," He whispered leaning his forehead against hers. She exhaled deeply, she couldn't open her eyes yet, and she certainly couldn't meet his, the harsh reality residing there was just too much to handle. It didn't work. She couldn't have a baby. She would never be a mother, and there wasn't a thing she could do about it.

In an impulsive, heartache driven moment, she wrapped her hand around the back of her partner's neck and leaned in to kiss him, but at the last second fear took hold and she pressed her lips against his cheek instead. He wrapped his arms around her back as she leaned her head against his shoulder. When she pulled away she felt him tuck an errant strand of hair behind her ear. Without thought she stood up on her toes and pressed her lips against his, she held them there for a few seconds, but his lips showed no sign of reciprocation.

Scully pulled away, her eyes clouded with tears of complete and utter embarrassment. She turned away from him and tried to pull away. "Scully," his whisper pleaded as he took hold of her arm.

"Mulder please, let me go." A tear escaped, making a trail down her cheek.

She felt herself being dragged back to him. She resisted, wriggling against his grip. She put her hands up to his chest ready to push him away when he captured her lips with his own. Scully responded hesitantly but soon wrapped her arms around his neck as she pulled him in closer – deepening their kiss.

Breathless, the two pulled away, she looked up at Mulder as a small smile formed on her lips. An equally happy face met hers. Scully wasn't sure exactly how to proposition someone, but as she intertwined her fingers with his and led him toward her bedroom, he hoisted her into his arms, making her job a whole lot easier.

Mulder kicked the door shut behind him before lowering them both to the bed, never once removing his mouth from hers.

Early the next morning Mulder awoke to find Scully sound asleep in his arms. She looked so peaceful. He gently loosened himself from her grasp but before throwing on his clothes and heading out the door he kissed her gently on the forehead and pulled the covers up to her chin.

A/N: The flashback will continue in the next chapter. Thank you for reading!