§§§

Heavy turbulence brought Scully out of her nap with a jolt. The shaking was so violent that the air masks dropped down from the ceiling. 'God, I really hate flying.' Scully gripped the armrests of her seat tightly, causing her knuckles to turn white from the sheer force of her terror. She glanced over at Mulder, who had opted to sit next to her this time around, instead of across the aisle where there would have been three open seats for him to lounge across.

Another violent shake. The plane dipped a little bit. Scully gasped, every muscle in her body tensing up. Her eyes squeezed shut involuntarily.

A warm, comforting feeling suddenly enveloped her left hand, instantly relaxing her. That soft feeling quickly gave way to searing heat as she realized that it was Mulder who was responsible for it.

Forcing her eyes open one at a time, she looked over towards his body, jumping slightly when she found herself staring into his olive green depths. She snapped her eyes back down, away, looking anywhere but at him. God even just one friendly look from him made her insides quiver. 'I have got to get ahold of myself! I can't work like this.'

"It's alright, Scully," Mulder breathed into her ear, causing her to jump a mile high. "I've got you. Everything's gonna be okay."

Scully really wished that she could focus on his words. Surely, based on his tone, -which was slowly sinking into her skull, causing a reverberation effect that gave her goosebumps- they were words of comfort and reassurance. Oh, if only she could focus on those words. But no, all her damn hormone crazed, intimacy-deprived, love addled body seemed to be able to do was register the fact that his mouth was so close that she could feel his hot breath as it came out in short puffs against her earlobe and neck. The pure heat of his words were condensing and making her ear moist. 'That's not the only thing that's moist,' she thought dryly, trying to withhold a sly, yet frustrated, grin.

'God, why did I let him sit next to me, again? He's driving me crazy!' Casting a sidelong glance over at him, she quickly became distracted by movement. She watched silently as he maneuvered their hands so that his fingers could effortlessly slide between her own. He left his palm open, waiting for her signal that it was okay. The amount of respect for her and her boundaries that this action portrayed.. well it honestly made her want to cry.. and stick her tongue down his throat… Possibly simultaneously. She did neither of course. After all, they were technically on the clock and they still had yet to talk about what had happened. Plus, she didn't even know how he really felt. Was their kiss from New Year's purely a friendly gesture? Or did he mean it as a promise for something more?

Scully settled for a simple action that would hopefully speak a thousand words. She gently closed her hand around his, watching as a megawatt smile lit up his features. He tried to look away from her, towards the aisle, but she saw it. She saw the smile.

His grip tightened as he pulled both of their hands into his lap. He said nothing. But as the plane continued to shake, Scully didn't feel scared. No, all she could feel was his hand in hers. It felt right.

§§§

Scully thought about going to Mulder like she had before, when she saw the mosquito bites. But she knew him this time. He wasn't a near stranger. She felt too much for him to be able to innocently pull that off a second time. So instead, she took her shower, donned her fluffy red robe back on, and next next door to his room. She made sure that she had the implant with her, so it wouldn't get destroyed along with the rest of the evidence.

As she was knocking on his door, she had the presence of mind to go and grab her suitcase. She didn't need all of her new clothes to be ruined, too.

"Hi," Mulder said breathlessly.

Scully was already retreating away from the door. "Hold on…" She held one finger up at him as she slid the key into the lock to get back into her room. "I forgot to grab my suitcase."

"Are you coming onto me, Scully?" Mulder called from his doorway.

"You wish, Mulder," Scully called back to him. It was a good thing he couldn't see the blush that was sure to be on her face at the moment. When she finally came back out of h5e room and progressed into his, she waited until he shut the door to answer him fully. "I, uh, didn't want all of my new clothes to burn."

Mulder's brow furrowed. "What do you m-... Oh." his eyes grew wide, causing his eyebrows to lift in tandem. "I forgot about that part. It's a good thing you remembered."

"Yeah.." Scully didn't know what to say next. She knew the conversation that they needed to have, but didn't know how to start it. Deciding that procrastination was the easiest choice at the moment, Scully dropped her suitcase and looked to the ground, shuffling her feet slightly in place.

Mulder knew what she was doing. She knew that. He almost always knows when it comes to her. He knew she was stalling.

"Scully," he breathed gently, reaching out to tuck a strand of loose hair behind her ear. "You know we need to talk about this. We can't just ignore it and pretend it didn't happen. Because either did happen. And now we're here. We need to figure things out, together."

"I know'" Scully faltered as she exhaled the words. She hadn't realized that she had been holding her breath. "I know." She walked over and sat on the edge of the bed, scooting herself backwards so that her back was resting up against the headboard. She tried not to think about the fact that she was in Mulder's bed. Mulder's bed. Scully waited for him to sit down. "What do you remember, Mulder? What was the last thing? From the old life.. I mean.."

"Well," Mulder scooted closer to her, sitting on her left side so that his back was against the headboard, too. "I remember it being New Year's Eve… We were on our way back to my apartment. You were driving me home because of my arm. I remember a really big truck running the light by my house. You know the one. And after that I just remember pain and darkness… But then, you're never going to believe this, Scully… But I saw-"

"Samantha," Scully finished for him. She waited for his surprised nod of approval. "I talked to her, too, Mulder. I didn't see her, though. I just talked to her.."

"What-," he gulped. "What did she say to you?"

"She said," Scully turned to face Mulder. "She said that we didn't follow the signs. That we didn't do it right-"

"Yeah, she said the same things to me, too," he interrupted her.

"She said that God sent us back to fix our mistakes, to correct our wrongs," Scully continued. "She said that the whole point of us working on the X-Files wasn't to save her, because she's in a better place, but it was to, uh," she faltered.

"It was for us," he finished for her. "The reason we were paired together was for us. And also for us to stop the men who are behind this thing, Scully. We can do it. I know we can. We know who these men are this time around."

"Mulder," Scully sighed. She had been about to argue with him, but quickly realized that he was right. "You're right…"

"We should… we should make a list of all of the cases we need to avoid… and if we can't avoid them, then we need to figure out how to solve the cases without endangering you-"

"Or you," Scully added in. She wasn't the only one who had suffered through those last seven years. Scully slink ed further down the bed as Mulder's voice rambled on about planning. She knew she should be up, alert, and listening to him. This was important. But she was having a hard time keeping her eyes open.

Mulder didn't notice until about five minutes later, when she shifted in her sleep so that she could curl herself up into a tiny ball. He smiled and scooted himself down the bed so that he could be level with her. Dropping a chaste kiss on her forehead, Mulder allowed himself to relax.

§§§

Ring. Ring. Ring.

Rubbing her eyes blurrily, it took Scully a good ten seconds to focus on her still-dark surroundings and realize where she was… and also why she wasn't alone. Mulder had himself spooned up against her back, with his arms wrapped tightly around her waist. She had to admit, it was just about the best feeling that she could think of. Maybe someday, this will be how she wakes up everyday. Scully could only hope.

Wriggling slightly within his grip so she could pick up the phone, Scully reached out only to be pulled right back by his arms tightening even further around her waist. "Hello?," she answered groggily, trying to ignore the comfortable feeling settling in the pit of her stomach.

"Uh, Agent Scully. I'm sorry; I thought I was calling Agent Mulder…"

Scully blushed, despite the fact that she was speaking to this person on the phone and not in person. Of course, nothing had happened… But there was a certain suggestive tone that the was speaker implying their statement with.

"Peggy O'Dell is dead."

"What?," Scully asked in an alarmed tone. "Who is this?"

"Who'ssit?" Mulder slurred, only having awoken because of his partner's worried voice.

She hung up the phone and twisted her body so that she could roll over and face him. 'Bad idea,' Scully realized a little bit too late. This change in position caused their hips to become aligned, which in turn allowed her to feel a certain hardness pressing against her stomach.

Mulder obviously felt it, too; because he looked away in embarrassment and loosened his grip around her waist.

Scully didn't know whether to be grateful or disappointed in his reaction. On the one hand, she was saddened by the fact that he wasn't holding her as close. On the other hand, she was grateful that he was thoughtful enough to allow her an escape option, not that she really wanted it; but in this case the thought behind the action was definitely more appreciated than the action itself.

Realizing that they had to get up, Scully slowly pulled away and swung her legs over the side of the bed. The clock on the nightstand read 2:00 AM. "I don't know who it was, Mulder. But I think I can remember us getting a call like this last time, too." She breathed deeply a few times. In. Out. In. Out. "Peggy O'Dell is dead. We need to go out there. I have an autopsy to do and you have witnesses to interview." Scully was avoiding his eyes still. She was afraid that if she even so much as looked at him- where he was lying in bed, where she had just been laying with him- that she might lose her self-control. So she didn't look at him. She knew she was avoiding things, but she couldn't help it. Even if they both wanted to- she still wasn't quite sure if he felt the same way or not- they didn't have time to talk it out anyway. They have work to do.

"Alright," Mulder nodded solemnly and get up off the bed. "Um, do you want to change out here?.. Or in the bathroom?..."

"Oh, um," Scully bit her lip nervously. She had forgotten that she brought her suitcase in here. The quick thought of: 'Oh, my God! I basically invited myself to share his hotel room with him! I didn't even ask him first! Regardless of the fire that's going to happen.' In the middle of her mental chastisement, Scully remembered that she needed to answer Mulder. "I would like to change out here, I think. If you don't mind?"

"Okay, I'll go, uh, brush my teeth and stuff…. Then..."

He didn't say it, but she had a strong inkling at what the 'stuff' might entail. After all, she had felt his 'stuff' when it was pinned between them not even five minutes ago.

They left for the crime-scene fifteen minutes later. Neither of them brought up what happened… or didn't happen… between them in the hotel room.

§§§

Cold. Wet. Cold. Wet. Wet. Wet in more ways than one, but Mulder would never be the wiser on that fact.

There they were, standing in the freezing, pouring rain, for almost no reason at all.. Other than Mulder's excited state. It was cold. And wet. Scully was shivering. Her teeth were chattering. Her bones were aching. The only thing that was keeping her happy and steadfast in this moment was him. He was happy. They were laughing. It's been a long time since they had a moment like that. There was nothing in the world that could tempt her from walking away from this moment. She was right where she wanted to be.

She looked up into Mulder's eyes. Even through the blurry downpour, Scully could see how his smile reached all the way up to his eyes. She got lost in the mixture of emotions that were swirling inside those beautiful hazel eyes.

He said something.

She didn't hear it; she was too busy staring. She let out a laugh, even though she had no clue what he had said. It must have been funny or crazy because now he was laughing along with her.

He stopped laughing and took a step towards her.

She looked up at him again, her delirious cackle dying in her throat at the look on his face. It was a look that she knew well. It was no stranger. He made that same face in the hallway two years ago. And again on New Year's. She knew what was about to happen. Scully took a small involuntary step back as she tilted her head all the way up to see his.

"Scully." Mulder took another very small step towards her.

She took another small step back. It figured that now that he was trying to make a move that she wouldn't know how to react. Of course, she wanted it. But her body wasn't cooperating with her mind. She smiled up at him, as a sign of encouragement.\, despite her backpedaling.

Mulder saw her smile and his entire face lit up. "Scully, I want to kiss you."

'Did he just say what I think he said? He must have because he's grinning like a fool and I'm sure I'm no better at the moment.' What should she say back to that? What could she say back to that? They'd never been very good at communicating feelings, her and Mulder. So she didn't. She didn't speak. She just lifted herself onto her toes and reached up for him, just as he reached down for her, as well.

A loud clap of thunder sounded off from the sky above them. The deep sound reverberated off of their bones. They tore apart from each other quickly, both startled by the intensity of the noise. Their lips never touched.

Scully looked up to the sky and waited. After she saw the sky light up with electricity, she turned to Mulder. "Two."

Mulder turned his worried gaze away from the sky and directed it back down towards her. "What?" Her cryptic statement confused him.

"Two," she explained. "Two seconds between the thunder and the lightning. The lightning hit two miles away. We should get out of here while we can."

"Yeah," Mulder agreed with a nod. "Okay."

§§§

Their plane ride home was long and arduous. But it didn't feel so bad, in Scully's opinion. For one reason: Mulder held her hand when the plane took off. He knew that she hated the take offs and landings the most, she reasoned. The thing that made this time different was that he never let go of her hand afterwards. Through the whole eight hour flight, Mulder held her hand and didn't give a her rhyme or reason as to why. She didn't need a reason. She just needed him. They definitely needed to talk when they got home. They needed to talk about this. Scully was determined of that. She'd toughen up and stop chickening out. They'd talk about this. She couldn't help but feel though, as if this gesture of his was actually a promise. A silent promise of what was to come. A silent promise that they'd make things different this time around, better. That they'd make their second chance more worth living, instead of just merely existing in a world that they were fighting against.