Scully was sitting on the floor in front of the sofa in her apartment. She had a book and papers in front of her. There was a knock on the door, and she got up to answer it. Through the peephole, she saw "Mulder" She opened the door.

"Mulder, what's up?"

Scully? Is this a bad time?"

No. No uh...come on in." she noticed that he was carrying a wine bottle.

Who's that for?

"Uh...us."

She stared at him for a moment, the took it from him.

Okay. Have a seat"

She went to the counter to open it, giving him a confused glance over her shoulder.

So uh...what are you working on?"

He grabbed a spoon and examines himself in the reflection, Scully got wine glasses from the cupboard.

More autopsy data. You know, everyone at the lab found Mr Van Blundht pretty fascinating. We discovered an additional anomaly related to the hair follicles in his scalp. I can't even begin to guess at the nature of it until we can run it through the transmission electron microscope."

Sounds very interesting."

She brought the wine and sat on the sofa next to him. She studied him for a second, then poured the wine into the glasses.

"Yes, it is. So seriously Mulder, what's going on? You okay?"

She handed him a glass.

He nodded.

" Mm. I was just kind of knocking around, I was just thinking... Uh, good. We never really...uh...talk much...do we?"

What do you mean like...really talk? No, no we don't, Mulder."

Well what's stopping us?"

She looked at him, looked away then sighed.

A while later, a fire blazed in the fireplace and Al Green's "Ain't It Funny How Time Slips Away" is played in the background.

So there we are at two o'clock in the morning, me and my moire taffeta dress and Marcus in whatever the hell it was he was wearing -"

He poured her the last of the wine.

" thank you very much. It had a um... a kelly green cummerbund on it. Anyway, so, I know that Marcus is thinking that it's now or never, and I'm thinking..."

"What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking "what is that siren I hear getting louder?"

"No way! Who called the cops?"

It wasn't the cops it was the fire department. My friend Sylvia and her idiot prom date ..."

Berwood?"

... had built this campfire that went totally out of control and so we all had to ride back on the um... what do you call it? The um, the pumper truck. Yeah. Marcus was the twelfth grade love of my life." She laughed. "I can't believe I'm telling you this!"

"I don't believe you haven't told me before. "

No, I'm seeing a whole new side of you, Mulder."

"Is that a good thing?"

I like it."

Do you ever wish things were different?"

What do you mean?"

"The person you wanted to be when you grew up, when you were in high school. How far off from that did you end up?"

Career wise? Miles off target."

No, no, not just that. Do you ever wish...that you could go back and do it all differently?"

"Do you?

"Mulder" moved closer to her on the sofa. Her eyes widened for a moment and she let out a quick sigh of surprise. He leaned closer to her and just as their lips were about to touch, the real Mulder burst in the door. She looked at him in amazement, and he looked at the two of them on the sofa in equally confused. Scully looked at '"Mulder", then pushed him away and quickly stood. While the real Mulder continued to stare at them, Eddie slumped back dejectedly and morphed back into himself. Scully stared at him in amazement, while Eddie gave her a shrug.

Scully awoke with a jolt and sighed. That Night. The night when everything she'd ever wanted fell into place. Could have been hers.

Then it was ruined.

But it wasn't real, it was an illusion. she reminded herself.

Mulder hadn't been angry with her. Confused, even hurt. But not angry. At least not for long.

How could he have been? At the time they had both thought the cancer was terminal.

She and Mulder both knew she would never use that to get sympathy from anyone. But it must have had an effect.

Now she could only dream about what might have happened if it hadn't been for Eddie Van BlundHt.

She did dream about it. Almost every night for a week.

She rolled over and tried to get back to sleep.

Mulder moved closer to her on the sofa. Her eyes widened for a moment and she let out a quick sigh of surprise. He leaned closer to her and kissed her. When she didn't protest and kissed him back, he lifted her up and carried her to her bedroom. HE laid her down on the bed-

Scully awoke again, alone in her bed.

This has to stop. she realised. I can't keep going on like this.

Dana Scully wasn't usually one to think about "What could've been" except when it came to her career. And of course Mulder.

They were so close. But she wanted to get closer. If something happened she would be spiritually closer to him than she had ever been with anyone in her life before.

"We have to talk," she said aloud. "Really talk."

She knocked on his door.