I don't own The X Files, Scully, Mulder or Michael Kors time pieces - this is not for profit or fame, it is for me and for you and for fun!

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"What's the occasion, Doc?"

Mulder lifted the black leather box from the place mat in front of him and looked quizzically at Scully. Investigator that he was, he began inspecting the outside of the cube, running his fingers over the textured surface, smelling it at the seams, even raising it to his ear to shake it like a child at Christmas.

"Kind of heavy. A new paperweight perhaps? Replica alien implants molded from magnetite? Or did you finally get me that baseball signed by Josh Exley?"

Scully grinned, her heart happy at the playfulness in his voice and the dance of light in his eyes. This was the Mulder she missed. The adorable goofball who could always made her smile. They had been in hiding for over a year and he had only just begun to lose the tension in his face. For twelve months, he had not let his guard down, certain 'they' would find him and take him away. Day after day in his office, door closed, lights off, no noise but the wind in the trees and his own beating heart – he sat and he waited for 'them'.

But over in the last month, Scully had seen him begin to change. He sat for an extra cup of coffee in the morning when she asked, or watched the sunrise from the front porch swing with her. She caught him staring from across the room sometimes. He still didn't sleep much, but now he lingered in the bed, holding her a little tighter. His hands found their way into her hair more often, or brushed against her bare skin of her shoulders, sometimes making their way beneath the covers and the silk of her nightgown.

They had made love many times since going into hiding, but always with urgency – like it might be the last time. Lately though, the tenderness had returned to his face, to his touch. When he looked at her now she saw more love than fear, more pleasure than pain. He made love to her like he had before, not just with his body but once again with his heart.

God she loved him. Looking across the kitchen, seeing the man she once knew come alive again – it was almost more than her heart could take. She felt she had prayed for forever for his soul to rest, to find peace with her. A tear slid down her cheek and she crossed the space between them with purpose. Sliding into his lap, bending her face to his she pressed her lips against him.

Mulder responded in kind. Gently dropping the box back to the table, he took her face in his hands, fingers weaving through her soft auburn hair. Coaxing her lips apart, he searched deep into the sweetness, teasing the depths with his tongue. She gave as she received, the fire inside growing, needing to be with him completely. She wanted to touch him, all of him – she needed to feel him against her, inside her. A soft but urgent moan escaped her throat, a message delivered loud and clear to the man beneath her.

In a swift movement, Mulder moved his arms to cradle her and carried her from the kitchen, up the stairs and into their bedroom. Floating in the air, her heart beat faster with anticipation. Laying her back against the pillow, he sat down beside her. Lifting his eyes to her, she saw both undiluted love and subtle sadness. Reaching for him, she laid her palm against his chest, taking his hand in hers and gently squeezing.

"What is it, Mulder?"

He looked deep into her eyes for a long moment, almost as if seeing her for the first time after a long separation. She watched his gaze move to her mouth, down her the length of her torso and back up again and when his eyes met hers, she saw the moisture sneaking into the corners.

"I love you, Scully. I don't tell you near often enough, not out loud. I'm sorry. There's no excuse for it."

He brought her hand to his mouth and gently kissed her fingers, pulling them to his cheek.

"A while back, you were talking in your sleep. What you said made me realize what jerk I've been since we came here. Back in that motel room, you told me we believe the same things - that as long as we did there's always hope. I had forgotten that. In your sleep you said it again. You said 'there's always hope, Mulder'. I've been sitting around here waiting for the bottom to fall out when what I should have done was live, with you. If its not too late, I want to start over."

He moved his hand from hers and laid it in the middle of her chest. The warmth spreading from his fingers fueled the spark his words had kindled and the skin under the silk tingled.

"I want to be here, Scully. I want to live every day inside your heart, never forgetting that my hope will always be in you, in our love. Will you forgive me for forgetting and give me a second chance?"

"Mulder, you'll never be anywhere but in my heart."

He smiled, that sweet crooked half-grin that was only for her, and crawled beside her on the bed. Moving in the way that two bodies move when they know each other perfectly, she molded her form to his effortlessly. She nuzzled his neck, moving the tip of her nose up and down the soft flesh, breathing in the sweet smell of his aftershave and letting the fire in her core spread. His hands moved over her, methodically unbuttoning her nightgown, eagerly searching out the warm flesh hidden beneath.

She whimpered unapologetic, his caresses carrying her higher and farther. Each stroke setting nerves firing over her body, she felt flashes of lightning across her flesh. Finding his lips, she let her tongue act of its own volition, giving it free rein inside the heat of his mouth. Her softness yearning for his touch, she moved impatiently under him until finally his fingers found her warmth, working their magic and cascading her over the edge.

Spent, she lay on her back, her skin exposed and flush with ecstasy. With his hands resting against her, their weight holding her to the earth like a tether, she reveled in the joy of being completely happy. He was here, with her in every sense of the word – his mind, his heart, his body. They were all together and they were all her's. He'd given her the gift she most wanted, the one she most needed. He'd given himself wholly back to her and she was beyond grateful. She was whole again.

She rolled herself on top of him, straddling her legs on either side of his hips, and looked at the smile on his face. Well didn't he look pleased with the number he'd just done on her? As well he should – she hadn't fallen that hard in way too long. But shouldn't that be the case? Didn't the certainty of love make life all the sweeter, all the more intense and worth the effort?

"I love you, Mulder. Always."

Taking his hands, interlacing their fingers, she pulled him up to meet her. Skillfully and seamlessly, she took his shirt off over his head and playfully pushed him back down to the bed. Putting her hands on the pillow over his shoulders, she distracted his face with a forceful kiss while coaxing his bottoms off with her feet – a skill she hadn't used since before their escape. Mission accomplished, she pulled back a little and smirked at the surprise in his eyes.

"Thought I forgot how to do that, didn't you?"

He laughed, the sound like a sweet melody to her ears, and wrapped his arms around her. The peace that filled the room was intoxicating. She was drunk on the freedom they both felt – there was laughter and tenderness and passion. And there was no fear. Only the purest joy she could remember feeling in his arms in a long, long time and she drank it in like an alcoholic on last-call.

With nothing between them but a thin sheen of sweat, she moved her hands over his muscles, feeling every inch of strength underneath. His body was so familiar, the curves and lines a road map she had traveled many times before. With practiced moves, she slid her hands ever lower, finding his pleasure waiting patiently for attention. Taking him, she heard sounds escaping from him she hadn't heard in months and felt her own want and need feeding off him. Letting her fire build again, she gave him everything she could before moving her body on top of him.

Feeling his fullness in her core, she let the fire overcome her, the heat of him burning inside. They moved as one, their bodies using each other in perfect harmony. It had always been this way. Even when fear had driven them, they always moved together in unconscious partnership, each tending the other without the need for direction. They just knew.

His hazel eyes burned, passion searing them as he watched her moving over him. She saw the end building deep inside them and urged him closer with her body. She wanted him, no needed him to let go – she needed to see him release everything that had held him back and give it up to his love for her. He wanted to be free and she wanted to free him.

Feeling him reach the edge, she stared at his face as his eyes rolled back. The muscles in his jaw and arms tightened and his hands gripped her, holding her to him as he fell. The power of his release flowed through her like an avalanche and she rode the wave alongside him, collapsing into his chest as they gave themselves over to exhaustion. Gasping for breath, spent of everything but love, she lay against him and felt his heartbeat. His hand moving in gentle circles across the skin of her back, she drifted to sleep.

"Hello, Beautiful."

Scully smiled and lazily pushed the hair from her forehead. Still naked, laying with her face on his chest, she moved her body so she could see him, relieved to see the look of sleep still on his face. Thank God, he'd slept, too.

Goose flesh appeared on her arm and Mulder reached for the blanket he'd managed to cover them with, pulling it to her shoulder. Its weight felt good against her skin. Drifting back to how they'd gotten in the bed in the first place, she suddenly remembered the box, still sitting on the kitchen table downstairs.

"Hey, you still haven't opened your gift. Be right back."

Grabbing the quilt and wrapping it around, she climbed over him and took the stairs two at a time to the first floor. She picked up the box from the table and decided to snag a few cookies before heading back upstairs. When she walked into their room, Mulder was lying with his eyes closed, his body on display in all its glorious nakedness. He looked so at peace, so perfectly content. She could get used to this. She could really get used to this.

Kissing him on the forehead, her lips lingering in the way she always did, she put the cookies on the nightstand and climbed back over him to the other side of the bed. She folded her legs underneath her and moved the blanket so that it covered his best parts. Now was not the time for distractions.

"Here. Open it."

Mulder pushed himself up on the pillows, bringing the blanket with him, and opened the leather box.

"Scully, it's beautiful."

He reached in and pulled out the Michael Kors time piece, setting the box down in his lap and fingering the stainless-steel links. Tilting the deep blue face to the light from the window, he examined the etched map while removing the cushion it encircled.

"It's really beautiful. Thank you."

He leaned in to kiss her, his eyes filled with genuine gratitude, and she eagerly accepted his thanks. When he pulled away, she let her hand linger on his face and smiled.

"Turn it over."

Mulder turned the watch over, again tilting it to the window, and read the engraving out loud.

"'There's always hope. Forever yours, Scully'"

"I ordered it about a month ago. I must have dreamed about it the night you heard me talking in my sleep."

"I love it. And I love you. So much. I don't know what I did to deserve you, Scully."

Her cheeks flushed feeling the sincerity behind his words. Taking his hand, she put the watch around his wrist and connected the clasp. As she planned, it was a perfect fit. Just like the two of them – perfect.

He raised her chin with his finger and gave her a tender kiss.

"I'll never take it off."