Disclaimer: Not mine. Not even Fowley. Not that anyone in their right mind would claim her anyway. Ew.

Spoilers: eh.

A/N: I am just writing this as it comes to me. I don't know where it's going. I barely know where it came from. And this chapter is probably going to be long, but that's okay.

They talked on the phone every night after that initial conversation. They didn't talk about Diana, or New York, but slipped back into old dialogues about life, anomalies, and other things that were safely debatable. Their calls seemed to get longer every night until one Wednesday Scully noticed that they had been talking for four hours. When she called this to Mulder's attention, she could practically hear him shrug before launching into a speech about magnetic north versus true north and what kind of influence extraterrestrials had over them. She often fell asleep as he yammered in her ear about such things and woke up the next morning, wondering where he had landed on the issue.

It was almost a month later that their schedules coincided so he could fly up to New York. She took that Friday off of work to clean her apartment and mentally prepare herself for seeing him again. She was afraid that the sight of him would make all the anger and frustration resurface. She ran through the last year in her head, making a mental note of all the things she wanted to talk about, and all the topics that weren't important enough to bring up. She cried a few times, worried that the conversation would end in a big fight and they'd never speak again. She checked the clock about 10 times in an hour, waiting impatiently for when she could leave to pick him up at the airport. She vacuumed the floor three times, made a batch of cookies and re-made the bed in the guest room twice.

When it was finally time to leave, she started to get butterflies. What if they could only have a friendship over the phone and the whole weekend was a total bust? What if they fought too much? What if they ended up not talking about anything? What if they ran out of things to talk about? What if they forgot how to be around each other?

She sighed and pushed the thoughts away all the way to the airport. After parking the car and giving herself a short pep talk, she headed into the airport. It was fairly quiet for a Friday night, and she spotted him almost immediately. He was standing at the baggage carousel, his hands in his pockets. He was wearing a pair of blue jeans and a grey t-shirt. She smiled. Her favorite combination.

Their eyes met across the room and he smiled and started to walk towards her. They met halfway and she crashed into him with a hug. She heard a small "oof" escape his lips, but she didn't care. She just squeezed him tighter. He kissed her head, threaded his fingers through her hair and forced her to look up at him.

"Hi," he said finally. She couldn't help but giggle.

"Hi."

They just stared at each other for a full minute before she blinked and brought herself back to reality.

"Let's get out of here."

He nodded and retrieved his suitcase before following her outside. She took his hand almost immediately, swinging it between them as they walked to the car. He glanced over in her direction, but didn't say anything. She looked happy. He didn't want to spoil it.

"Clive!" Mulder exclaimed upon seeing Scully's couch. He dropped his suitcase and sat down, stroking the cushions lovingly. "I've missed you old buddy."

Scully giggled and sat down next to him, kicking her shoes off.

"Sometimes in the night I hear him calling out for you," she remarked with a crooked smile.

"Shut up, Scully."

She smiled as he pulled her into a hug.

"I've missed you more though. Lots more."

"I didn't think that was possible."

He chuckled.

"You look good. Happy."

"That's because you're here."

"Healthier."

"That's because I haven't been drinking FBI regulation coffee."

"Shorter."

"No heels."

"Your hair is longer."

"I haven't cut it."

"Your eyes are bluer."

"I'm wearing contacts."

"And you're just as rebuttally as I remember."

"Rebuttally?"

"Yes."

She grinned and rested her head on his chest. They hadn't sat like this in a long time.

"Mulder, I'm glad you're here."

"Me too."

"Can I confess something?"

"Of course."

"I've been a little anxious about this weekend."

"Why?"

"We have a lot to talk about."

"I know. But we'll do that tomorrow. Okay?"

"Okay. I made cookies. Do you want one?"

"I want more than one."

She smiled and went into the kitchen.

"Do you want milk with that, Mulder?"

"Yes please."

"Scully, you're sleepy," Mulder commented, tucking her hair behind her ear. "Go to bed."

"But..." she protested, "you just got here."

"I know."

"I don't want to go to bed yet. You're not going to be here for long."

"It's after midnight. You need to get some rest."

"Alright."

She stood from the couch and bent down to kiss his cheek.

"Goodnight, Mulder. I love you."

"I love you too. See you in the morning."