Once again, I am so pathetic. I haven't updated in like 3 or 4 weeks. I just finished with my finals and I had a lot of extra time, so I took some time out of my classes to write this. I don't know why, but I suddenly find Thomas Dekker really hot. I mean, I always knew he was cute, but lately every time I watch Terminator, I squeal, "Oh my God, it's HIM." Oh yeah, my parents think I'm crazy.

"I don't know. What do you think?"

"God. I don't give a damn about what colors the curtains are."

"Just make a choice. Blue or green?" Scully said, holding up a sample in each hand.

"Why do you choose now to redecorate?" Mulder moaned, running a hand through his messy hair.

"I told you, I've been wanting to do it for a while now and since you are going to be living here, I think you should have some say in it. And besides, you are the perfect second opinion."

"But seriously, the color of our curtains?"

"You said our, implying that it is our house. So that means you have to be at least fifty percent responsible for all the decisions about it." She was surprised when he'd referred to the house as theirs, as though he had been living her with her for years. She quickly recovered and gave a clever response.

Dana's mother had just left about an hour ago, and once the two of them were done laughing at the look on her face, she pressured him into looking at fabrics and colors. They were surprised at how easily both of them had fallen into easy banter, pretending it was their house. It was too easy for both of them to pretend that they had known each other for years. But they hadn't. In reality, which they certainly weren't in, they had only known each other for a few days. For the first time, it didn't really matter to her. She strongly believed that even if they had known each other for centuries, nothing would be different than it was now.

For Mulder, life in this time period wasn't as bad as he had thought. The fact that he was living with Scully now made it all worthwhile. He tried not to think about the eventuality that he might have to go home. It's not that he didn't want to return to his Scully, it just seemed that this one was more open to certain possibilities. He still loved his Scully, but he didn't know if she would return the affection. This Scully could, or at least she had suggested that she could love him back. That was a majority of the reason he wasn't obsessing over finding a way back. They could never be just friends again, and he was afraid of her rejecting him.

"While I may be living here, that doesn't mean that I should be subjected to this torture, though other forms of torture are readily accepted," he winked at her.

She rolled her eyes, turned a darker shade of pink, and set down the green sample. She held the blue in front of her eyes and bit her lip lightly. She tilted her head slightly to the side and sighed candidly.

"I like the blue one better too."

Her eyes lit up and she grinned. "Listen, I'm gonna wait to order then until it sinks in with both of us. Don't want to change our minds and have to take them back, right?"

He groaned, "There better be a reward for this."

"I'm sure I'll think of something," she said suggestively.

Mulder's head snapped up and he raised his eyebrows. She was grinning with her eyes trained on the blue silk. She was really going heavy on the innuendo lately. Not that he minded, but it was so unlike her that he had to laugh. So similar, but so different.

"So what do you want to do now?"

"Well since we have a meeting with my boss tomorrow and we are due at my mother's, I want to get some sleep tonight. But until then, we could take a walk in the forest. There's a nice trail back there."

He looked surprised. "A nature walk?"

"Don't think of it like that. You make it sound so boring. There's a lake and a dock back there. I also have a stray dog that lives about a quarter of a mile in. His name is Queequeg and I usually bring food out to him. He must be starving by now."

"Ah, the real reason is revealed."

"Yeah, I'm gonna take some bread out to him."

He went back to the living room where he had callously thrown his shoes on the carpet. He jammed his foot into one, then the other. Scully, on the other hand, was much more graceful. She daintily slipped both of her shoes on at the same time, with what bread they could spare in her hand.

"Before I forget, we need to talk about some of your habits." She gestured to where his shoes had been.

"You know what, a nature walk is just what I need. Nothing like the fresh air to get my inner interior decorator going."

"Ugh."

She grabbed his hand and tugged him harshly out the door, slamming it behind her.

"So since you are from the future, this whole place must be destroyed. Cars, houses, factories, what's here in your time period? Are there even any forests?" she asked, walking backwards slowly, facing him. She looked over her shoulder to prevent a collision with a large branch.

"I've never been here exactly, so I couldn't tell you. I can tell you that there are a lot of forests though. We go into them quite often investigating things. More often than I'd like to think about," he shuddered when his unconscious mind brought up the case with the forest people. They could camouflage themselves almost perfectly, but somehow they had found them. Mulder remembered that he was worried for Scully's life after that incident. One of them had never been found. He flushed almost imperceptibly when he remembered how he head was in her lap. He was in shock, but he still managed to enjoy the moment.

"You're not going to tell me what that is supposed to mean, are you?"

"No, probably not."

"She rolled her eyes. "Okay then, here's the beginning of the trail. We have to walk about a quarter of a mile to get to his 'den.' I made it for him and he seems to like it."

They walked in relative silence, only speaking when Mulder held out his hand to her occasionally to help her get past an obstacle. It wasn't awkward for them, as one might think. They were both reflecting on the past few days and discretely studying each other.

"We're here." It was a clearing scattered with dog toys, food and shed hair.

"Queequeg!" A miniature dog came trotting up to them. If Mulder hadn't already known the dog, he would have thought that it was just a rat with a lot of fur. He cringed as he remembered how the one he knew died.

She hand fed the dog the bread, giving some to Mulder. He put his hand out to the dog. Its tongue was like sandpaper, licking up and down his hand to get the last remnants of the bread off his fingers. He pulled his hand back and discreetly wiped the slobber on the back of his pants.

She giggled, "He's cute, isn't he?"

"Adorable," he said sarcastically.

"I've been thinking of making him and indoor dog and keeping him with me. I don't know. It's just a thought." He knew that face. She was subtlety telling him to think about it. Almost undetectable to anyone else, he knew the signs. She would probably be eternally grateful if he were to agree.

"I suppose I'll think about it too," he sighed. He saw victory in her eyes and knew that it was worth it.

"Let's go down to the dock."

They started walking, the feline not far behind. Mulder had never seen her like this. She seemed generally happy. She was practically dancing across the trail, humming a familiar tune. He looked straight forward and stopped dead in his tracks. It was so amazing, he'd never seen anything like it before. The water was so blue it was almost crystal clear. You could see straight to the bottom, where the sand was sitting there, no rocks in sight. He could see the small moving blobs that he assumed were goldfish. He was standing on sand, beach sand if he was correct. In front of him, the dock extended about ten feet out and the wood seemed to reflect the sun's light back at it.

"Wow."

Scully started walking slowly, slipping off her shoes delicately. "You really like it?"

He looked at her curiously. Of course he liked it. How could he not? Everything was beautiful, so perfect. He nodded once. She walked all of the way down to the end of the dock, Queequeg in tow. She unceremoniously plopped down on the end, putting her toes in the water. He watched as the surface tension was broken and small ripples formed. He slipped his shoes and socks off as well, walking out to her. He sat down slowly.

"Can you swim in here?"

"Of course. There are fish, like the one's I'm sure you've seen already. The harmless kind. There aren't any rocks or sharks," she winked, "although some things here may bite."

"Okay." He launched himself from sitting position on the dock to standing in the water. It went up to about his waist, but he could tell that it got deeper farther out. The water was warm, just the right temperature. To prevent his shirt from getting wet, he pulled it over his head and threw it into her shocked figure. His pants were already soaking wet and he didn't think she'd appreciate him taking off his pants now, no matter how much innuendo she threw at him.

She just sat there, staring at him. His perfectly toned muscles seemed to shine as the sun shone on them. He ran a hand through his tousled hair, waiting for her to say something. He raised an eyebrow and opened his mouth to say something when she snapped out of it and interrupted him.

"Don't say anything," she said, blushing furiously.

"Care to join me?" he waggled his eyes suggestively.

"Nope," she sighed and rolled her eyes.

He pouted and he eyes lit up. "I know you want to."

"No I don't."

"You are so stubborn."

"Yup."

"You said yes!" He grabbed her arm and pulled her in with him gently. She tried to resist, but her 5'2 figure was nothing compared to his 5'11 form that towered over her.

She shrieked. "You tricked me!"

"Yup. But you know you like it."

"It's quite warm," she admitted reluctantly.

"Sorry I got your clothes wet."

"It's alright. It's not like this is the only pair I own." She smiled at him.

"I could get used to this."

"What?"

"This whole being in the past thing. I thought it would really bug me. None of the luxuries I grew up with. But you know, this is like the life I always wanted. Almost secluded, a beautiful woman with me, a happy life…"

She blushed again, this time more out of happiness than embarrassment. "I guess the only thing missing from my life was a big strong man protecting me. And since I have that now, I'm happy," she started out playful, but turned serious at the end.

They splashed each other good-naturedly, and then pulled themselves back up on the dock. They walked hand in hand through the forest back toward the cottage.

"I guess Queequeg will be staying with us too, then?"

"You betcha."

"Oh God."

"What would you do without me?"

"I have no idea."

Alright, what do you think? I thought it was okay, not my best, but still… I really want to get this posted because I feel like I have kept people waiting long enough. You know what I need? I NEED REVIEWS! They make my day and may be the only thing that keeps me going. Isn't that sad? I just ate an entire carton of Moose Tracks ice cream and I'm on a sugar high. Do I sound high to you? I don't know, I feel like I can't stop writing. I'm going to update my other stories…maybe…If I feel like it…REVIEW!!!!