They all had a lovely evening. At about 8pm Scott drove down to pick up some take-out from a local Irish restaurant. They ate Irish stew and apple cake then sat by the fire with a glass of wine casually chatting about what the next few months might bring.

Mulder and Scully both knew that they'd miss Caroline and Scott when they left. They'd only known each other for a few days but these sort of intense situations form close bonds. Caroline and Scott were also the last people in their 'new' life who knew who they really were, their impending departure felt like staying goodbye to their old life completely…at least for a while.

By midnight Caroline reluctantly admitted defeat and headed to bed, after an hour Scott also decided he needed some sleep. That left Mulder and Scully sitting quietly facing each other on opposite ends of the sofa.

Scully took a long sigh and smiled at Mulder as she sipped her wine in front of the glowing embers of the fire. "If someone had told me a few days ago that my week would be drawing to a close like this I would've thought they were stoned."

Mulder smiled and stretched his feet out closer toward the fading heat, "I'm not entirely convinced that I'm not Scully, although if wake up tomorrow morning back in my apartment with a weed haze I just might shoot myself…"

Scully raised her eyebrows, "You won't want to go home? To DC, to work…The X Files?"

Mulder thought for a second, then met Scully's eyes, "I'm not saying I won't want to go home, or even that I won't miss it…but right now I'm content to take a break. We have some closure regarding Samantha, you're healthy, that cigarette smoking asshole has even been quiet for a while…" Mulder rolled his eyes and smirked as he reached for his wine. "I'm not saying it's over Scully and I'm not saying we won't have more fights in our future. I'm just saying that maybe we've earned a break."

Scully nodded sadly.

Mulder put down his wine and reached to tuck her hair behind her ear, "I'm sorry Scully, is that selfish and thoughtless? I know you'll miss your family…especially mom."

Scully looked up and smiled, "No Mulder, it's not selfish…I was just thinking how sad it is that it takes something like this to make you think you deserve a break."

Mulder patted the space next to him on the sofa and Scully put down her own wine before moving down the sofa to lean her back against his chest, he wrapped his arms around her and rested his chin on her shoulder. "I think that has more to do with having someone to enjoy a break with Scully."

"I've been here Mulder…."

"I know Scully and I know we hang out sometimes. But most of the time it's either work with you or home…alone. I was passionate about our work, I still am…but I'm not going to lie, having the two most important parts of my life in one place made me rather myopic. Maybe the thought of having you with me at home makes me think of the future as being slightly less focused on work, less dark I guess."

Scully intertwined her fingers with Mulder's, "We need less darkness in our lives Mulder."

She closed her eyes and let her mind drift… "Do you think we'll get somewhere new? Or would you rather we move into one of the apartments we already have? We could sub-let one…but what would be the point if it's going on the market in the end anyway?"

Mulder smiled in amazement, "Just like that? We're moving in together?"

Scully laughed, "I'm taking us for granted. We're living together right now Mulder, this is our home, at least for now…and I know that after a few months of living like this I would not be able to face going back to our separate lives."

Mulder kissed her neck in silent agreement.

"So we remove that concern right now. We don't worry about it or panic about how we'll deal with the situation. We voice that now and embrace the fact that when we go home we will be going home together. The rest is just logistics…"

Mulder smiled an moved down to lie across the back of the sofa with Scully spooned in front of him, "Have I ever told you how amazing you are Scully?"

Scully closed her eyes and relaxed into Mulder's arms, the warmth of the fire and the buzz of the wine helping her to slowly drift off to sleep. "I'd settle for just being an above average newspaper editor right now Mulder, it's a good job we trust Scott's faith in us…"

Mulder closed his eyes as he felt sleep also start in claim him, "...and faith in each other. Hey, what's the worse that could happen Scully?" he murmured quietly, "I don't know about you but I feeling strangely good about the future…"