One week later
Scully's apartment
Georgetown
Mulder knocked gently on the door to Scully's apartment and took a step back. As he waited, he inspected the bouquet of deep-red roses in his hands. Not long ago, he'd stood in his neighborhood flower shop debating for an inordinate amount of time what kind of flowers to get Scully.
Finally, the fatherly looking florist had taken pity on him and asked, "Who is she, son?"
Mulder cleared his throat and answered, "She's… she's my partner."
The old man eyed the service weapon peeking out from under Mulder's jacket and the lovesick look on his boyish face.
"But you wish she was something more," he said.
Mulder sighed and rubbed his brow.
"It's that obvious?" he asked.
The man chuckled and pointed to a cooler to Mulder's right.
"Roses," he said. "You can never go wrong with roses."
Mulder selected a small, but elegant bouquet and thanked the man for his help.
As he turned to leave, the florist called after him, "Just tell her how you feel, son. That usually works best… but flowers definitely don't hurt."
As he replayed the encounter in his mind, Mulder uttered under his breath, "That's easier said than done, old man."
At that exact moment, the door in front of him swung open.
"Mulder," Scully greeted him, an affectionate grin tugging at her lips. When she noticed the roses, her grin blossomed into a full-out smile. She grasped the bouquet in her hands and leaned forward to inhale its fragrant scent.
Mulder took advantage of the unguarded moment and let his eyes roam over Scully's face. The dark circles under her eyes were gone, and her freckled cheeks were a flushed peach color. Even her auburn hair had recaptured its healthy sheen. He was still admiring the miraculous change before him when Scully's sapphire eyes glanced up and locked with his.
"Thank you, Mulder," she said. "They're beautiful."
"Yes," he replied, his mouth suddenly dry.
She stepped back to give him access to her home, and he gladly stepped over the threshold.
"I'll put them in some water," she said. "Just make yourself comfortable."
Mulder nodded and made his way to the couch.
It'd been a week since they'd returned from California; hardly enough time to process the myriad emotions stirred by the case. Mulder's heart swelled with tremendous gratitude for Ruby Walter, who essentially cured Scully's cancer from beyond the grave. In equal measure, he felt guilty about his failure to protect Paul Thomas from the Alien Bounty Hunter. He'd spent several sleepless nights worrying about whether Ruby would, as a result, reverse her benevolent gesture, but so far that didn't seem to be the case.
Underneath all of that, he could feel an intensified sexual energy between Scully and himself. They'd tasted the forbidden fruit and now they wanted more—at least, he did. And he hoped she did, too.
The couch cushions shifted slightly next to Mulder, drawing him from his silent reverie.
"Scully, I—"
"Mulder, we—"
They both paused and stared at each other, a mix of humor and fear in their eyes.
"You first," Scully told him.
Several seconds passed before Mulder spoke again.
"I was just thinking about the case… about Ruby," he said.
"I've been thinking a lot about her, too," Scully told him.
"Do you still believe that she helped us with the case? And that she shrunk your cancer?" he asked.
"Yes," she replied simply and honestly. "She wanted to help me find Paul, and she wanted to help me be well."
"How can you be so certain?"
Scully fell silent for a moment and then continued: "After she spoke to me in the morgue, something changed inside me. It was like she was there with me, guiding me, leading me to Paul."
"Are you saying… that she possessed you?" Mulder queried, his eyebrow doing a formidable impersonation of his partner's.
Scully shook her head and continued, "No, not possessed… but she was there. I could sense her."
Mulder nodded his agreement and added with an impish smile, "She definitely made her presence known."
"What do you mean?" Scully asked.
Busted. The look on Mulder's face clearly stated that he had revealed too much.
"It's just… you didn't seem like yourself," he sputtered.
"What, because I knew the lyrics to a Salt-n-Pepa song and smoked a joint?" Scully said with a laugh.
"Let's just say it was a whole new side to the Dana Katherine Scully I know and love," Mulder replied.
Oh shit. Did I just? he thought.
Scully's small hand shot out and grabbed his.
I did.
"Mulder… do you?"
He squeezed her hand urgently in response.
"Yes."
Suddenly, Scully's slight form straddled his lap. She grasped his face between her hands and enveloped his mouth in a passionate kiss.
Mulder sat frozen on the couch, wondering if he'd somehow fallen asleep and entered a longstanding dream. Then Scully's tongue brushed tentatively against the corner of his mouth, causing him to groan audibly and thread his fingers through her soft tresses.
Their tongues slid against each other sensually for what felt like minutes before Mulder broke the kiss and rested his forehead against his parnters. They stayed like that together in the apartment, which was silent except for the sound of their mingled breath.
"Scully," Mulder gasped.
"I love you, too, Mulder," she whispered.
At that very moment, Mulder's heart sprouted wings and started to float out of his chest. This feeling, right here, he thought, is the greatest X-File of them all.
Scully resumed her ministrations, planting feather-light kisses along his cheekbone before reaching the delicate edge of his ear.
"Don't worry, Mulder," she uttered breathlessly. "It's me. It's all me."
Mulder released breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding.
"Ruby's gone," Scully continued. "But she helped me see how much you mean to me. She gave me back my life, and I don't want to waste it."
Mulder placed his hand on Scully's cheek and turned her face to meet his.
"I don't, either," he said.
Without losing eye contact, Mulder pushed Scully off of his lap and guided her down to the couch. She stared up at him with a newfound sense of purpose, and started to undo the buttons of her formfitting sweater. The fabric parted, revealing to Mulder the creamy white skin of her chest and torso.
"No bra, Agent Scully?" Mulder quipped.
"I'm full of surprises," she drawled.
Mulder's conspiratorial laughter died on his lips as he was treated to the sight of Scully's naked breasts.
Gently, reverently, he lowered his face to her chest and placed a kiss against her sternum.
Scully felt warm tears begin to form in the corner of her eyes and slowly trickle into her hairline.
"I love you, Dana Katherine Scully," Mulder whispered, before capturing a dusky nipple in his mouth.
"Oh, Mulder," she breathed. "I love you, too."
