4 AM

Rating: Mature, just for language. And maybe a small scene at the end, ya' know.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Summary: There's a way. I know that someday we will surely find it.

A/N: So I had this idea a few nights ago. I'm just finishing it now, at 4 AM. 'wincidence?! I think not. 4 AM - Kaskade. listen. now. Also, for my best frand, Andrea. I loveee you! Sorry for any mistakes. Too tired to look for them and too excited to wait until tomorrow to post this.


The day was winding down. Mulder was sitting at his desk as Scully paced the room, making sure she had done everything, which included: finish the paperwork on the autopsy Mulder wanted her to do, gather their travel expenses from their last case, and order her nephew's birthday present on her laptop. All day, Mulder had been distant, quiet. It was unlike him to ignore her like this. As she grabbed her purse and coat, she turned back and looked at him.

She knew what his problem was. Diana Fowley was back in the city and she was after Mulder.

Scully was fed up with the silence, with the ignoring and the hesitation. Mulder was her partner, her best friend, the person she trusted the most. Why couldn't he have the same feelings for her? She would die for this man, and there he sat, not even wishing her a good evening or a safe trip home. The nerve. She had all but bent backwards for him, everyday, and had come to trust him with her life, and he was going to let a woman come in-between it all?

She could feel the tears swell in her eyes at his thoughtlessness. As upset as she was, though, she refused to let him see her cry.

She walked out of the door, slamming it shut behind her, and began for the elevator.

Mulder's head snapped up, as if he were in a deep sleep and awoken, only to find himself alone in the office.

"Scully?" His eyes went to the door and he bolted out of his chair, almost knocking it down. Had he been that distant, to not even hear her leave? "Scully," he called out again as he made it into the hallway. She was standing in front of the elevator, her finger holding down the 'up' button. Calmly, he walked towards her and placed a gentle hand on her shoulder, but she coldly shrugged it off. "Scully, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," was her cold, angry reply. He stood there, confused out of his mind.

"Where are you going?"

"Where do you think, Mulder? I'm going home," she spat harshly. The doors to the elevator opened and she hurried in, then pressed the button for the first floor of the building. The doors began to close and the last thing she saw was Mulder lick his lips and look down at his shoes, a frown on his face. Once she felt the elevator jerk, she let her head fall back against the cool metal and closed her eyes. The last thing she wanted to be to Mulder was cold, ungrateful.

But when was the last time he showed her that he cared? She couldn't remember.

Mulder stood in the dark basement, alone and confused. Scully was upset, that much was obvious, but why? What had he done to upset her like this? He hadn't dragged her out into the middle of no where. Every motel he booked was decent enough for her liking. He had finished his own paperwork, without help, on time. What was the problem? What was he doing? It pained him to see her so upset. He loved her with every fiber of his being and it broke his heart to see her in such an angry state.

Then it hit him. All of the silence, the isolation- she thought he was ignoring her, for some Godly reason. He raked his brain for ideas, anything, to might help him understand the situation better. What could upset Scully? Really, really upset her?

Trust. She thought he didn't trust her. But why?

'Think, think, think, think- Diana.'

"Diana," he said out-loud, as if realizing the world's most obvious answer. How could he have been so stupid?

Diana was back in town and trying to win him over again, but he wasn't falling for it this time. He was perfectly happy and content with his partner and the love of his life, right there, all in his office. All of the silence and isolation contributed to the fact that he had been stressed lately. Bills, family, work, more bills, and on top of that, Diana was back in town? It was the last thing he needed.

Scully had never liked her, and she had made that clear to him. Very clear.

"Shit."

--

She sat at the bar, her coat over her chair and her elbows against the counter top. Her drink sat in front of her, half empty. She had come here directly after work. Bars were never her thing. She avoided bars at all costs, but tonight, she just didn't care. It was dark and smelt of smoke and alcohol. Her legs were crossed at the ankles, showing her long, shaped legs that had every man's attention in the bar. Alcohol, at a moment like this, was soothing. As she drank more and more of it, she could feel her body relax and all the stress melted from her body. After a few drinks, her head felt light and there seemed to be a constant buzzing in the back of her head. She wasn't drunk, far from it, but she felt considerably good at the moment.

Mulder had been the furthest thing from her mind... until she looked over to her left and saw a young couple, cuddling in the back near the pool table while the rest of their friends played pool. The woman rested comfortable in the arms of her boyfriend, or husband. Scully frowned at the sight, sighed, then focused her attention back on her sweating glass of Vodka. Nothing in the world could get her to stop thinking about Mulder. Why couldn't their relationship be easier? Why couldn't they express their feelings openly, instead of hiding them on a daily basis and just hurting each other in the process?

She had always tried to reason with herself, that it was for the best, for them to remain friends. It was against the FBI policy for partners to become romantically involved. She needed to keep things professional, not only for her sake, but for his. People loved to blackmail Mulder, and using their relationship would be a perfect breaking point. And then, after all of that, she still had her doubts. Sure, he flirted with her... a lot, but did he even find her attractive? What he interested in her like she was in him?

She was pulled from her thoughts by a hand on her lower back, a touch she was familiar with, but only with Mulder's hand. This wasn't Mulder.

"Must have had a tough day. What are you drinking?" Looking through the corners of her eyes, she saw the guy was tall, tanned, and had perfect teeth. Something every woman would fantasize about, but Scully wasn't like every other woman. She didn't answer him, instead, kept her focus on her glass and keeping her hands folded on the counter top. "Quiet, huh? What's a pretty girl like you doing in a bar like this, anyway?" Scully turned her head in disgust, staring at the door. His breath smelt of alcohol; no doubt he was drunk. She had the right mind to turn and slap the guy's teeth out of his mouth, for touching her in such a way. The only person she had ever allowed to touch her, there, in that specific spot, was Mulder. "Come on, baby. What's your name?" She could feel his hand move lower, dangerously coming to the edge of her skirt. The blood was boiling underneath her skin. What gave him the right to touch her, to even talk to her?

Suddenly, the door opened and Scully's eyes flew to the face of the person who had just walked in. She tensed in her chair when she saw Mulder standing there, staring at her. His eyes quickly moved from her annoyed, disgusted face to the man standing behind her. She could see the veins in Mulder's neck stand out. Something was about to happen and she was certain it wouldn't be good. She watched Mulder's gaze drop from the man's face, down to where his hand rested, which was dangerously close to her ass. Mulder didn't need words to know she uncomfortable. He could see the plea in her eyes as soon as he walked through the door, to 'get this God damned drunken man off of me', exactly, as she would have said.

Mulder's stride from the door to her chair was confident. Even from the doorway, Mulder could tell this guy was drunk. He placed his hand on the guy's shoulder and gently pushed him away from Scully, but the guy frowned and shoved Mulder's hand out of the way.

"Hey man, what the hell do you think you're doing," the drunken man slurred, reaching for Scully's lower back again.

"You keep your damn hands off of her," Mulder warned.

"Who are you? Her father?" Mulder stood protectively in front of Scully now, blocking her from his view. The bartender grew cautious, but stayed his distance. He saw this every night. It wasn't new to him. "I can touch her if I damn well please! She wasn't complaining." Mulder knew better to let comments like that get to him. All he wanted... was to get Scully out of this bar and to her apartment, where she would be comfortable and safe. He turned to her, ignoring the drunk man, and pleading with his eyes for her to get up from her stool so they could leave. She placed two twenties on the counter top for her drinks and slowly climbed down from her stool, all while Mulder held her hand and helped her down.

The second her heel-clad feet hit the tiled floor, the man pushed past Mulder and wrapped his arms around Scully's waist. The color from Mulder's face drained completely as he grabbed the guy's shoulder, pulled him away from Scully, and let his fist connect with the man's jaw. Scully gasped and pushed her way through the two men, placing her hand on Mulder's arm and calming him down.

"Mulder," she whispered. "Let's just get out of here."

"I told you not to fucking touch her," Mulder yelled, drawing everyone's attention in the bar.

"Fuck you, man." The guy stumbled back, then straightened up and lunged for Mulder. Scully's eyes grew wide at what she saw next. Mulder had reached inside of his coat and drew his gun, pointing it directly into the man's face.

"You make one more move for her, I'll repaint the walls with your blood- understand me?" The guy's eyes grew wide and he held up his hands in defeat. The bar was dead silent, you could hear a coin drop. The bartender had the phone in his hands, carefully walking towards Mulder.

"Sir? Leave now, or I'm calling the cops."

"Mulder," Scully tugged on his arm and he looked back at her, seeing her angry expression, he saved his gun and dragged her out of the bar. When they had made it onto the sidewalk, Scully let her fingers rake through her hair. "What the hell, Mulder?! What in the hell were you thinking?!"

"What were you thinking?! Coming to a bar by yourself?!"

"I'm a grown woman! I can take care of myself!" He watched as she fought to keep her balance. She was tipsy, not drunk. The alcohol would be out of her system in minutes. "Why do you care, anyway?" His heart broke into a million pieces. She thought he didn't care about her. He shook his head and gently grabbed her arm, hauling a cab with his other. "Let me go."

"I'm taking you home."

"I'm perfectly capable of getting there by myself, thank you."

"I don't care. I'm taking you home whether you like it or not."

"Get away from me," she scoffed, then jerked her arm out of his hand. "You... I can't believe you." A cab stopped in front of them and she wasted no time getting in. She reached over to slam the door shut, but he grabbed it in time and got in with her. The driver looked in his rear-view mirror at the two and narrowed his eyes. Scully recited her address and Mulder slammed the door shut, keeping his hands to himself this time. The drive to her apartment didn't take long and before he knew it, Mulder was getting out of the cab with Scully pushing past him to get inside her apartment. He followed her up, without saying a word.

She knew he was following her and she decided to take advantage of that.

"You ignore me all week, you haven't talked to me unless you need me to do something for you. What do I look like to you? Your slave? Do you think they assigned me to do all of your shit for you? You can't boss me around. I don't belong to you, nor anyone else for that matter. I have feelings, damnit. I have needs and wants, too! The world doesn't revolve around you, Mulder. Sometimes, it's not always about you." They had made it to her door and she forcefully unlocked it, then pushed it open and let it hit the wall. She walked in threw her coat on the floor. "I'm sick of it, Mulder! You say you want to trust me and that I'm your only friend, but the second Diana Fowley comes into the picture, all of that just goes out of the damn window! I will not be treated that way! I'm your god damn partner, Mulder! I want you to respect-" She was cut off by the slamming of her front door. He had come into her apartment and walked right up to her. His hands came up and framed her face.

His lips crashed down on hers and everything she had said before meant nothing now. She struggled against him for a second, but his hands kept her in place, one tangled in her hair and the other pressing against her lower back now, keeping her chest pressed against his. Her lips were soft and warm. He could taste the Vodka and faintly smell her perfume. It was an intoxicating combination and he found himself growing aroused with every second their kiss lasted. She finally relaxed in his arms and let her hands tangle in his hair, now participating in the kiss by running her tongue over his bottom lip. Both of his hands hooked under her thighs and he lifted her against him. She moaned into their kiss and clung to him as he walked through her living room and towards her bedroom.

She nibbled at his bottom lip, then pulled it into her mouth and gently sucked on it. His heart skipped a beat and he nearly stumbled. To regain his balance, he had pressed her up against her living room wall, next to her bedroom. Her legs were wrapped around his waist tightly and she rocked against him, moaning every time the bulge in his pants pressed against her. Somewhere in the journey from her front door to her bedroom, he had shed his coat and was left standing in his white button down and black slacks. She broke off their kiss and pressed her lips to his neck as she reached for the buttons on his shirt. He let his head fall to her shoulder as she sucked on the sensitive skin there and breathed heavily against her pale skin.

"Slow down," he whispered, grabbed her wrists, and pinned them against the wall, above her head. He took the time to study her and watched as her chest rose and fell with every breath she took. Her cheeks were flushed with color, arousal. Her beautiful, blue eyes were wide with need and want. Her swollen lips were parted and slick, tempting him for another kiss, which he gave into. It was a slow, loving kiss that was meant to slow things down. He pushed them away from the wall and managed to get them into her bedroom this time. Carefully, as if she were made of glass, he laid her down onto her bed and followed. She parted her thighs and he rested comfortably between them, running his fingers up the length of her leg until he got to the slit in her skirt. She wiggled beneath him and he smirked, then leaned down to kiss her again, this time, more forcefully.

Her hands finished unbuttoning his shirt and he pulled it from his body, letting it fall to the floor. She stopped and admired the view, then licked her lips and let her fingers trace over his muscles. He began working on her own shirt, undoing every button, one at a time until the shirt parted and her black lace bra came into view. Her perfect, round breasts were practically spilling from the cups of her bra as she laid there, panting and caressing his chest. She was absolutely beautiful, it took his breath away. He had dreamt of this moment for so long and now it was all coming true. The woman he fell in love with, the woman he fantasized about every night was laying beneath him, panting and running her small fingers over his chest.

"I don't know how you do it, but you drive me crazy," he whispered, brushing the hair away from her eyes and tucking it behind her ears. "I'm sorry if I ignored you this past week, or if I upset you in any way." She looked up into his hazel eyes and pouted. "I love you. I would never, ever ignore you or isolate myself from you." He caressed her cheek gently. "And I'm sorry for what I did at the bar," he apologized in a rough, sad voice. "The thought of you getting hurt... I've already lost you once. I'm not losing you again. Ever. You mean too much to me. It's because of you that I'm still alive today. I wouldn't have made it this far without you. I respect you in every sense, Dana."

"Say it again," she whispered, tears forming in her eyes.

"I love you," he whispered. She tugged his head down and their lips met in what was the kiss that marked the rest of their lives... together.


A/N: That was it. It sucked? Yeah I know. I'm sorry. I've been up since like, all day. LOL. None of that made sense. But I went see The Proposal and it was the most adorable movie ever. (Besides the X-Files movie) LOL. I honestly think you should listen to the song, if any of you get the chance. please, please, please. Review and let me know what you think.