Disclaimer: I don't own them, wish I did but I don't. Created by and property of Ten Thirteen and Chris Carter. No copyright infringement intended.

At 8:00 p.m exhausted but still wired after a long day at work Dana Scully decided to go to her local gym. She was considering going for a run, but she really didn't feel like running outside. She got changed in the doctor's lounge, said good bye to Sarah and the rest of the ER staff, headed down to her car and drove the five blocks to the gym by her house, not really thinking about anything, just going through the motions of getting her car from point A to point B in one piece. She parked her car in the underground garage then walked up three flights of stairs to her gym. She decided to start on the treadmill first, since she was in the mood to run.

Fox Mulder looked up at the clock irritated that his 7:15 student conference never showed up. He was trying to help one of his borderline anthropology students get their grade up from a "D" to a "C" but since she hadn't shown up he decided it was time to go. He needed someplace to put his irritation and anger though, so he decided to go for a run. He locked his office, walked downstairs and out of the building only to discover that it was raining buckets. He decided to head to his gym instead and hit the treadmill. After checking his car to make sure he had something to change into he drove the eight blocks to his local gym. After arriving there, he took out his gym bag and headed upstairs to the locker room to change. Once he changed he walked into the room where the treadmills were, pleasantly surprised to see the attractive, red-haired woman from the coffee shop.

He found himself drawn to her, struck by how beautiful she was even without makeup, "glowing" as she ran on the treadmill, oblivious to everything around her, focusing on her pace and whatever she was listening to on her Ipod. He also noticed the sprinkling of freckles across her nose and cheeks that made her adorable as well as beautiful. He was pretending that he had no interest in running next to her when in actuality that was the only place he wanted to be now, right there on the treadmill to her left running next to her.

Dana Scully noticed the man from the coffee shop step into the room and look at her, she did not give any indication that she saw him but she felt her pulse quicken and she felt butterflies in her tummy. She looked over and smiled at him and he smiled back as he took his place to the left of her and adjusted the settings on his machine. Dana then refocused on the spot on the wall that she had been running towards for the past 10 minutes, not wanting to seem overanxious at seeing him again.

Fox Mulder focused on adjusting the settings on his machine, secretly thrilled that she had smiled at him. He was trying to think of an opening, he didn't just want to give her a line, he wanted to be clever, but also genuine. He continued pondering this as he began running, slow at first but finding his pace.

As Dana continued running next to him she found herself wondering about the man running next to her. She unexpectedly found herself struck by the maleness of him, his presence his being. She realized that she was subconsciously keeping pace with him and that they were running in rhythm. She allowed herself a small smile as this realization hit her and out of the corner of her eye, she saw him smiling as well. She turned her head and made eye contact with him, and she felt the same thing she felt that morning, curiosity and attraction mixed with something else. Hormones? She wasn't quite sure what it was, but she knew it was something, something that shouldn't and couldn't be ignored. She felt the treadmill begin slowing and her pace dwindled down to a slow walk. She turned the machine off, stepped down onto the ground, and grabbed a towel from the bar of the machine. She was pleasantly surprised when she saw the attractive man turn off his machine and step down too.

Fox found himself mentally kicking himself, trying to think of something to say to her. He was struck by the irony of it all, he lectured in front of hundreds of students almost everyday never at a loss for words, and now here he was tongue tied like a schoolboy. It was then that he looks over and sees her stick her hand out to introduce herself, "hello, I'm Dana Scully" he hears her say.

He takes her hand in his and shakes it as he introduces himself "Fox Mulder."

"Excuse me, did you say Fox? I'm not sure I heard you correctly." She replies.

"Yes, Fox, my parents wanted to give me an original name."

She smiles at him and says "Well, I think they succeeded. It's very nice to meet you Fox."

He smiles back, "Likewise Dana."