**Sorry for the delay in posting. I was having some issues. The site wouldn't convert my file! The nerve! Anyway, thank you for the reviews. I should let you know that I am not a "write chapter after chapter so it seems the story will never end" kind of author. It WILL end. I am making it more like a novel. Enjoy! SS

Chapter 3

Scully threw her head back on her pillow and turned to look at the clock. It was after eleven, more than two hours since she and Mulder returned from the airport. She hadn't noticed the furniture, the clean kitchen or bathrooms. She hadn't noticed the smell of the fresh lilacs Mulder had put in the living room. The second Scully got through the door, all she wanted was him. She had grabbed his neck and pulled him to her, making him drop her suitcase in the middle of the entryway. He was a little shocked, but quick to respond. They had moved together towards the stairs kissing and undressing each other with a fury. He had lifted her up bridal style and carried her to their room and their king-sized bed. She had two weeks to make up for. They'd made love in a frenzy, as if it would be their last time. With Mulder you never know, Scully thought remembering times she had thought he was gone forever.

After the initial thrill, they went another round. This time, they were gentle, slower, more loving, as it normally was. Neither said a word. They didn't need to. Every motion, every kiss, every caress was known. Scully still couldn'tget over the feelings he gave her. She didn't want to. As she lay there in the dark, her head resting on his bare chest, she silently thanked God for what she had. After all the trials and tribulations over the past 15 years, she could finally relax, love him, and no longer fear for him.

In the years they worked together, fear for him was a feeling that controlled her. She watched him dive head first into every case, searching for truth he knew existed, could never quite reach. Her role as his partner took on a new life as the years went by. She made it her duty to defend him, protect him and give him another view. She hated to admit it, but his explanations, unbelievable and slightly wacky, were almost always right. She didn't always admit it at the time. But there were people doing everything they could to make sure Mulder being right would never be proven. No one wanted to believe him.

But she did.

Even with all her scientific tests and logical, down-to-earth explanations, she now could see what he saw, though with considerably less fervor. His entire adult life had been wrapped up in looking for monsters in the dark, and she had been brought into this world by chance. She helped him balance the dark world with a normal life. A balance between science and the paranormal; rational and irrational; the dark and the light.

She knew leaving the FBI was hard for him. She remembered cursing herself for bringing him in on the case in West Virginia. Knowing they still valued Mulder's insight, even after six years of living in isolation, made her feel validation for their nine years of work. Still, when he got wrapped up in a case, he was a different Mulder. He became obsessed. As he did six months ago. She loved him, but she couldn't go back to that life. And she couldn't stand seeing him torture himself. Giving him the ultimatum was one of the hardest things she had ever done: "stop or I will leave". In the end, he chose her, and their life. She just hoped he didn't end up resenting her for it.

He was asleep. She knew by his breathing. Scully slipped from the bed and made her way to the bathroom to shower. The long day of traveling had caught up to her and she was exhausted. In the bathroom, she noticed the clean smell of lemons, the sink and toilet sparkled, the tile in the shower was smooth and dust free, the towels were neatly folded on the racks, even the laundry hamper was empty. She smiled. He had cleaned as he had promised. She turned to the shower to turn on the water. A note was taped to the shower door; she immediately recognized Mulder's bold script:

This bathroom has been thoroughly scoured

to the Dana Scully standard of clean.

I promise to always keep it that way. And

to always put the seat down.

I love you.

M

She smiled to herself and peeked out the bathroom door to where Mulder was sleeping.

"I love you too," she whispered. "You nut!"