Author's note: I know I spread myself thin with all my stories, but I have all sorts of ideas in my head, who am I to strangulate them? This is at attempt at a complete change of pace than what I've been writing – this will be fluff, not heavy like many of my previous stories. Hope you enjoy! Timeline for this piece would be after they got back from Antarctica in FTF, before season 6 begins.

I will show you love like you've never loved before
I will go the distance and back for more if you just say the word
'Cause you will come alive again
Call the trying times your friend
Pain that you have suffered through
Never get the best of you
You will hope in something real
Won't depend on how you feel
When you call my name, then I will answer, answer

- "I Will Show You Love", Kendall Payne

"Earth to Scully…"

Dana Scully's eyes darted from the clock to her partner Fox Mulder. Clearly she'd spaced out. For how long – who knew? It was the Thursday before Labor Day weekend, which meant it felt like Friday to her, because federal holidays were always four-day weekends. Because of the nature of the workload that came with the X-Files, they didn't always get to enjoy those four-day weekends. This weekend, however, there was nothing on the docket for them. Even better, there was a federal in-service on Tuesday, so they were not due back to work until Wednesday. That was nearly a week off work, without having to use any vacation days.

Of course, she didn't have a damn thing planned. She was hoping to relax. They'd had a harrowing summer, to say the least. A few months ago they'd been taken off the X-Files and their office burnt to the ground. They'd been bumped around to different crap details, to include one in Dallas, to help investigate a bomb in a federal building. After they'd returned to Washington, life got incredibly hairy. After a near-kiss between the two of them in the hallway and an abduction trip to Antarctica that resulted in Mulder literally going to the end of the earth to rescue her, things were weird.

The pair has since returned to work, but the near-kiss in the hallway of Mulder's apartment, after she'd nearly quit the FBI, that scene kept replaying in her head. The tension hung thickly in the air of their makeshift office, like a fog. They did the proverbial two-step around the elephant in the room several times a day. Quite often their eyes would lock, and they would reach this mutual understanding in their gaze, accepting what happened actually did happen. But now it was like this mental game of chicken – who would bring it up first?

"Hey, Scully!" Mulder was now standing directly in front of her, his hip resting on her desk, as he peered curiously down at her.

She shook her head in response, trying to shake out her thoughts.

"Sorry, Mulder – spaced out for a second," she said sheepishly, leaning back in her chair.

"I'll say."

"What's up?"

Mulder made no attempt to move from the close proximity of her, which made Scully borderline uncomfortable. The nature of her own feelings for him confused her, and when he stood so close, she wasn't able to think clearly. This was clearly an indicator of how she felt in reality, but per usual, she chose to ignore it.

He shifted his weight. "Have any plans for the long weekend?"

She shook her head. "I was thinking of catching up on reading a few medical journals I'd pushed aside. Maybe visit my mother."

Internally she felt pathetic and lonely.

"Oh." He clipped his response, making Scully wonder what else he was trying to say. Very rarely was Fox Mulder elusive about what he wanted to say.

"Why do you ask?" Scully pressed.

"Well, I… I was wondering," he said uncomfortably, clearing his throat.

She raised her eyebrows, as if to indicate for him to go on.

"I was wondering, I'm going to Martha's Vineyard this weekend, and I wondered if you'd like to come too?"

Scully exhaled slowly, letting out a breath she didn't know she'd been holding.

"What were you planning on doing in Martha's Vineyard?"

"Well," he said, suddenly interested in her cup of pens on her desk. "I have a house there?"

Her eyebrow hit her hairline. A house?

"Since when have you owned a house in Martha's Vineyard?" she asked, almost incredulously.

"Since I inherited it when my father died… my mother wanted nothing to do with the house, since she lives in Connecticut, and I considered selling it, but I like having a little getaway from the craziness of the city."

Scully smiled. She enjoyed learning things about Mulder she didn't know before. Mulder was her best friend, but it seemed like there was this line between them, regarding personal information. She welcomed this breach of the line. Admittedly, she wasn't as forthcoming herself, but it was something she vowed to work on – especially in light of recent events.

"So… what do you think?" he pressed, stirring her from her reverie.

Her heart skipped a beat. Five days on Martha's Vineyard, just she and Mulder? This could be dangerous. But then again, they needed this. They needed to recover from everything, and she knew Mulder needed to get away since their office burned down. He didn't take losing the X-Files well.

Oh what the hell…

"Uh, sure, if you're sure I won't be interrupting – did you have plans up there?" she said lamely.

Mulder couldn't hide his grin. He thought he'd have to plead with her a little longer to get her to come with him.

"Of course you wouldn't be in the way – I want you to come, Scully," he couldn't wipe the grin off his face. "I didn't have any plans. The house is pretty big, and on a lake. I've been restoring it here and there for a while now. Every year there are fireworks for Labor Day in Chilmark. Probably warm enough for the beach still. I just thought it would be a fun and relaxing time."

Scully smiled. Fox Mulder wasn't a man she'd seen grin genuinely too many times, how could she say no to him? Plus it sounded like it would be a nice weekend.

"So when would we be heading out? I still need to pack."

He looked up at the clock on the wall. "I was thinking about leaving early in the morning – six or so – to beat the traffic and get up there. It's about a nine-hour drive or so, depending on traffic on the Jersey Turnpike. We could stop somewhere nice for lunch if you wanted. "

"That sounds perfect."

The pair spent the next hour tying up loose ends at work in preparation of being away until Wednesday. At about two, Mulder stood up.

"This place is dead, let's get outta here."

Scully agreed. She needed to pack and take care of some errands before they headed out.

She stood up and pushed her chair in, and headed for the door, taking her coat off the hook of the hanger by the door. Mulder startled her by grabbing her wrist as she was about to head out – she assumed he was following her out. He tugged at her arm and she turned to face him. Their eyes locked momentarily, before he yanked her gently to him, and pulled her into an unexpected embrace.

Her heart swelled in her chest at the contact, her nose meeting his chest, inhaling deeply. Mulder kissed her head, and they embraced for a few short moments before he spoke.

"I'm really looking forward to spending the weekend with you, Scully."

Her breath hitched in her throat, not sure what to say, because she wasn't sure what he meant by that. Instead she said nothing.

They parted and he looked at her once more before they headed out the door.

Later that evening, Scully paced, frustrated and self-consciously in her bedroom. Her weekend bag was open on her bed, and she had been deciding for the past half-hour what to pack. She'd failed to ask Mulder if there was anything special she needed to bring. She didn't want to over-pack and appear to be high maintenance, but she wanted to make sure she had all bases covered. Chilmark was the wealthiest area of the island, and Mulder of course came from an affluent family. She didn't know what to expect.

After another fifteen minutes of pacing, she finally bit the bullet and picked up her cell phone and dialed Mulder's number.

"Mulder," he answered after the first ring.

"Hey, it's me," she said, tossing panties into her bag, along with a bra and some socks.

"What's up, Scully? Getting packed?"

"Well that's what I called," she said, balancing the phone between her ear and shoulder, as she pulled out pajamas. "I guess I'm not sure what I need to bring, outside of my casual clothes."

Mulder chuckled silently on his end of the line. He found it amusing that she was fretting about packing.

"Whatever you want, Scully, seriously, we aren't going anywhere crazy. Bring your swimsuit if you want to go to the beach. Maybe bring something nice so I can take you out somewhere really nice on the island for dinner one night."

Scully shivered involuntarily at the suggestion. It felt so… unlike them, but she didn't protest. She wanted to see where Mulder was going with all this. So she'd go with the flow.

After they ended their conversation, she tossed her phone onto her bed and continued packing. She found herself packing her more revealing pajamas, and she wasn't exactly sure why. Their feelings marinated slowly, over the span of years. Today her feelings, which partially lay dormant for a long time now, went from 0 to 100 in the matter of an afternoon.

After an hour, she was satisfied with the contents of her bag. It was getting late, and she needed to head to bed, because Mulder was going to be there a bit before six. She peeled back the covers of her bed and slid in, sighing contentedly at the delicious feeling of freshly shaven legs sliding into clean sheets. She relaxed in her bed and left her mind to wander about the weekend until sleep overtook her for the night.