Twelve days later, Scully's kitchen was filling with warm smells. Warm Italian smells. Even though it was going to be another four hours before he arrived (and that was if everything went according to schedule with his flight, which Scully was aware was hardly ever the case), she couldn't keep still any longer and had started their special dinner shortly after arriving home with Sam.

The time he'd spent away the past two weeks was surprisingly more than Scully could handle. Well, not so surprisingly. She'd known almost immediately after he arrived and made his presence known in Salt Lake that it would be hard to see him leave. But it made reunions like this one possible. It made the phone calls and the emails that much sweeter. The five years she'd been his partner, she'd become very accustomed to hiding her feelings and keeping her desires locked up tight. It was nice, relieving even, to now be able to voice them openly without the fear of repercussions or being split apart. And she'd bought some very interesting lingerie on her lunch break to fully take advantage of that fact.

"Mommy, the phone's ringing!" Sam shouted from the living room after the device began making noise.

"I heard it Sam, there's no need to shout," Scully herself yelled back, then shook her head. Do as I say, not as I do. Or you'll really regret it, little girl.

"Hello?" she answered, wiping the sweat of her effort on dinner away from her brow.

"Hey Scully," his voice made her melt like only his voice could make her melt.

"Hey," Scully couldn't help the splitting grin that made its way across her face, "I can't wait for you to be here. It feels like forever since I've seen you."

When had she become a lovesick teenager?

"Scully, I've got bad news. There have been storms back here and my flight's been cancelled."

The news hit her like a brick. It took her a few moments to fill her lungs with the air required to respond to him.

"So… you're not… you won't be here?" her question broke his heart.

"No sweetie," Mulder admitted regretfully. He knew she tried her damndest to keep from crying, but her sniffles could be heard on the other end of the line.

"I could always catch a flight for tomorrow—"

"No, you'll just have to leave again."

"I'm really sorry Scully."

"It's not your fault."

"But I know how disappointed you are. I know how disappointed I am."

"Well it will just make next weekend all the more special when you get here," she tried to be positive, wishing she hadn't gotten her hopes up so high.

"I love you so much."

"I love you too Mulder," Scully almost burst into tears again.

"And I will make next weekend special. I will make it up to you."

"Just be here. That's enough."

"I will be. Nothing can keep me away."

XXX

Her pillow and cheeks were wet with tears that night when he crept into her room. He'd seen the candles and smelled the smells that she'd prepared for him to be there… he knew how much it broke her heart for him to cancel.

Thankfully, he'd waited out the storm for the 10 p.m. flight.

Slipping off his shoes, he lifted the duvet, hoping not to wake her. No such luck, though. She jerked awake when she felt his weight next to her on the bed, and he wished he'd had a camera to capture the look on her face when she realized it was him.

"Mulder?" she asked, not sure if she was dreaming or not.

"I didn't mean to wake you," he brushed a long strand of auburn hair from her face. She lay still for a moment, confused, but then launched herself into his arms, burying her face into the crook of his neck. Mulder couldn't tell if the wetness he felt afterwards on his skin was from her tears or her warm kisses, but he rubbed her back in a soothing manner anyway.

"I thought you weren't coming," she muttered into his chest.

"Nothing can keep me away. But I am sorry we didn't get to share that delicious dinner you made."

"We can have it tomorrow. Tonight, rather," she checked the clock on her nightstand, which read 2:42 a.m.

"Mmm, there's something else I think will curb my appetite," he flirted, running his hands under her pajama top. They took their time with each other until Scully decided it would be wise to lock her bedroom door.

XXX

"Are you sure you have to go in today?" Mulder asked Sunday morning, holding a sleepy Sam in his arms as he walked out to the garage with her.

"They're short-staffed today. But I shouldn't be too long. A few hours, maybe."

"We'll be waiting," he leaned in to kiss her. It felt wonderful to kiss her whenever and wherever he wanted. It felt wonderful to kiss her, period.

"Bye baby. Be good for Mulder," Scully also kissed her daughter, gently encouraging her thumb out of her mouth. She was four-years-old and still couldn't shake the thumb-sucking. If she kept on the way she was, she'd have braces by the time she was 12. But Scully couldn't really say much. She sucked her thumb until she was 9 and had braces from 12 to 15. She just didn't want Samantha to have to go through that.

They watched Scully pull out of the garage and stayed until the door shut. Then, Mulder switched his attention to the little girl.

"We have to get dressed, pumpkin."

"Why? I wanna watch TV."

"Can you keep a secret?" Mulder asked. Sensing this was something important, Sam raised her head from his shoulder and looked deep into his eyes. She nodded.

"I'm looking for jobs out here. I want to move to Salt Lake City to be close to you and Mommy."

"You're moving here?"

"Yup. Maybe if I'm really good, Mommy will even let me live with you guys." He knew he shouldn't get Sam's little hopes up. She hung on to every word he said already, but he couldn't imagine crushing her in the event that he and Scully didn't work out. On another level, though, he knew that there was no way he and Scully weren't going to work out. He'd die before he ever let her slip through his fingers again.

"I want you to live with us Mulder!" Sam said excitedly, any remaining hints of sleepiness gone.

"I want to live with you too. But you have to keep this a secret, Sammy. I haven't even found anything yet and I want your mom to be surprised. Do you think this can be our secret?" Mulder asked, not sure if he should entrust this kind of news to a four-year-old.

"Shhh," she said sweetly, pretending to zip up her lips and then throw away the key. Mulder laughed and kissed her, so happy she was filling a part of his life that he hadn't even known was empty.

"Come on, let's get dressed and you can go with me. Nobody's going to refuse a job to a man toting around a cute kid."

XXX

What Mulder didn't know, what Scully wasn't foolish enough to tell her small daughter, was that she didn't need to go in to work that day because they were short-staffed. Only a few days after Mulder re-entered her life, she'd started looking for positions at hospitals closer to DC. And she'd found what seemed like the perfect opportunity. A senior pediatric neurologist at the Children's Hospital of Pennsylvania. She had a preliminary phone interview that morning, but since Mulder was staying for the weekend she'd opted to do it from her office at the hospital.

It was her secretary's day off (and hers too, usually), so she felt comfortable enough to leave the door open. Pacing back and forth through her office, she clutched a framed photo tightly to her chest. It was of Mulder, Sam, and her during a canoe trip he'd taken them on the last day he'd been there two weeks ago. She clutched it because she couldn't remember a time when she'd been happier and because she couldn't believe she was lucky enough to have her life back together again.

But nerves and uncertainty were still wearing on her. It had only been two weeks since she and Mulder had found their way back to each other. Was she ready to make this kind of sacrifice for him? She knew they'd survived five years without each other… poorly, but they'd survived. But now that they were, for lack of a better term, lovers, she had to wonder if her emotions were getting in the way of what was truly best for herself and her daughter. Philadelphia was a long way away from the life they had built in Salt Lake. It was far from everything Sam had ever known. It was far from her school, her nanny, her father…

There was that hurdle to jump as well. She didn't know how well Paul would react to her taking their daughter to live on the other side of the country. Especially since it was to be closer to another man. Thinking about a potential custody fight made her entire body shudder. She'd never wanted her daughter to go through that.

Then she looked at the picture in the frame again. Knowing nothing about canoeing himself, Mulder had made sure they had a guide in the canoe with them. That way, they'd be safe, but they'd also not have to do very much in the way of "canoeing." Toward the end of the trip, Mulder handed the man his camera and asked him to take a picture of them. He and Scully had sat very close, touching in almost every way, and Sam was on his lap. She couldn't remember ever being so happy. The two most important people in her life…

She had to make the sacrifice for Mulder. It was time for her to start living her life again.

The phone rang.


thank you for all of your lovely reviews! they really make my day. sorry in advance for any delay in updating from here on out. it's been a fun summer of fanfiction, but I'm moving back to school tomorrow and I'm not sure how much time I'll have to write after that. don't worry, I'm still committed to this story and "outside the lines." I thought a lot about just writing for the summer, but it looks like I'm here to stay. anyway, just a heads up. and more thanks for being the very best readers in the world.