It took Scully much longer to find a new job than she had planned. Her requirements were specific, but not unreasonable, and she had a few good options opening up for her.

However, Emily wasn't ready. Her health was fine now, but her state of mind was still fragile. All attempts to introduce her to a kindergarten failed miserably. A few nannies that Scully tried to hire also didn't manage to win Emily's trust.

She wanted her parents, her hamster and sometimes her brother. In that order. Grandma Maggie was acceptable, as long as Emily didn't have to be alone with her. She trusted Lone Gunmen, but Scully wasn't keen on letting them babysit often. She considered them good friends and allies, and they loved Emily, but they tended to freak out about every little thing and call her every half an hour asking questions or for advice.

Then there was grandma Teena, who finally accepted the little girl, and the feeling was instantly mutual. Emily had no objections to spending time with her, yet nobody understood why. They shared some private world of silence that other people weren't invited into.

Teena would've been a perfect babysitter, if she wasn't terminally ill.

There was someone else Emily trusted, a boy who managed to win her heart and make her laugh. She loved him as if he was her older brother, smart, protective, more experienced in normal, regular life even though trauma certainly wasn't a stranger to him either. And most importantly, he was still a kid, but a kid who didn't think she was weird, didn't make fun of her or avoid her like a plague.

He also happened to be Mulder's partner's stepson. Luke Doggett.

"I'm not sure about this," Scully was worried when they left children with Monica for the first time.

"William is a big boy now," Mulder assured her, focused on the road. He was driving her to a surprise date, which made him nervous enough without worrying about the kids too. It was their first date since William was born or, more precisely, since before William was born, or, well, fine, since ever.

"I'm more worried about Emily," Scully said.

"Then call her," Mulder suggested, offering his cellphone. He pressed a speed-dial before Scully had a chance to refuse.

"What's up, partner?" Monica answered cheerfully through the speaker.

"My wife is worried about the kids," Mulder said playfully. "Would you mind assuring her they are still alive?"

"Hi Monica," Scully took over. "Is everything alright? If you need us to come back…"

"Don't be silly," Monica chuckled. "They are fine. William is happily chewing on his foot, and Emily and Luke are having a serious discussion about hamster's anatomy."

"Can we talk to Emily?" Mulder asked, knowing Scully was dying to but was too proud to admit.

"Just a sec," Monica replied. They heard footsteps and a few moments later a shy "Hello."

"Hi Starbuck, it's mom and dad," Mulder informed her.

"Are you having fun, sweetie?" Scully inquired.

"Aha…" Emily said in a tone of voice that was hard to decode. It didn't help to ease Scully's anxiety.

"Is everything ok?"

"I don't know," Emily responded.

"What's the problem, Starbuck?" Mulder asked.

"Do you want us to come pick you up?" Scully offered.

"No," Emily quickly answered. "I want to play with Luke! For a long, LONG time."

"Ok, honey," Mulder chuckled. "We'll try to take our time."

"Ok… Daddy?"

"Yeah?"

"Can Luke be my best friend?"

"Sure. Does he want to be your best friend?" Mulder asked.

"Yes."

"Do you want to be his best friend?" Scully asked.

"Yes."

"Sounds to me like you are already best friends."

"Really?"

"Yes, of course."

"Mommy?" Emily had one more question. "Can Luke have a hamster, too?"

"I don't know. He has to ask his parents."

"Oh… Ok. Mommy?"

"What?"

"Luke has a stepmom."

"I know, honey."

"Can I have a stepmom, too?"

"No," Scully said quickly.

"Weeell…" Mulder feigned hesitancy.

"No," Scully repeated so firmly that Emily didn't dare to protest.

"Can I go play now?" she asked after a moment of silence.

"Go, have fun!" Mulder told her. "We love you."

"I love you too."

Mulder hanged up with a chuckle, but Scully wasn't amused.

"I can't believe she asked for a step-mother," she remarked in annoyance.

"She doesn't know what it means," Mulder tried to comfort her.

"But I do," Scully sighed.

"Hey, you know no other woman would put up with me, don't you?"

"Well, when you put it that way…" she smiled shyly, remembering that she was on a date. With Mulder. Outside of her apartment. It really was a special occasion, but as much as she was looking forward to a nice, quiet dinner, it was also making her nervous.

She wasn't used to dating anymore. She wasn't used to anything romantic. Mulder and her were living together, raising children and loving each other, but as far as the romance went, they haven't advanced much. Their attempts in that direction were few and short, and never complete.

They still haven't…

And it was only her fault.

Sure, there were many stumbling blocks, like parenting and Teena's illness, but the biggest obstacle was Scully's inability to fully relax in Mulder's arms.

He was willing to wait, but waiting wasn't solving anything. It was only making her more nervous and diminishing her confidence in herself and her basic abilities to share, to commit, to satisfy, to belong…

She wasn't enough. Even if Mulder did everything he could to convince her otherwise, in her own eyes she just wasn't enough of a woman for him…

Lost in thoughts, she didn't pay attention to where they were going, until Mulder pulled up on the FBI parking lot.

"I just have to pick something up," he answered to her raised eyebrow. "Wait here."

He left before she had a chance to complain. So work came before her to him? Even on their first romantic date? What was so important in that damn basement that he had to stop by on their way to the restaurant?

Mulder wasn't coming back for a while, and when he finally did it was only to get her to come with him and help him find… Whatever he was looking for. She didn't ask, she was too pissed about it.

She walked quickly in front of him, determined to grab the first file she could find and throw it in his face, then turn around, get back to her children and forget all about this stupid attempt to spend some quality time alone with her damn, workaholic husband.

But when she opened the office door, there were candles.

The light was off, except for the candles on the desk, neatly arranged alongside two coffee cups, tortillas, and a bouquet of her favorite flowers. There was a soft music coming from somewhere in the back.

"What is this?" she asked when the initial surprise started to wear off.

"Monica helped me set it up," Mulder said shyly, almost apologetically. "She insisted I should do something special…"

He took Scully's hand and led her inside, closing the door behind them.

"Happy anniversary, Scully," he said softly.

"But it's not our…" Scully was confused.

"Yes, it is," he insisted. "Not the wedding, but… The day that we met. And this is the place where we met. Even," he chuckled, gesturing towards tortillas. "Even the first meal we had together. It's not much and I'm still taking you to the proper dinner, but I, um, I wanted to take you here first."

It left her speechless. Completely speechless. She looked at him, at the desk, back at him, and her eyes filled with tears.

"Say something," Mulder pleaded. Her hand was still in his and she could feel him starting to sweat. She squeezed him, reassuringly, and smiled.

"I don't know what to say," she admitted, softly, with a shaky voice. "I can't believe you did this."

She turned, looking for the source of the music. It was coming from the back of the office, the area that Mulder used to call hers. She took a few steps and started to giggle.

Mulder followed her gaze. She was looking at the black couch.

"Yeah, I brought it here," he explained. "There was not enough room at your place and I wasn't ready to get rid of it, so… Yeah…"

"How convenient," Scully chuckled.

"What do you mean?"

It was her turn to take him by the hand and lead him. She stopped in front of the couch and turned to him, letting herself get lost in his eyes.

"I mean," she said softly, carefully, trying not to break the magic in the air. "It's time for you to meet me again… For a… different… first time."

She slowly took off her coat and let it fall on the floor.

"This isn't why I brought you here," Mulder weakly protested. "Or, um, my couch."

"The couch can take it," Scully said confidently. She took off her shoes and started unbuttoning her blouse.

"You aren't ready," Mulder said, but he didn't try to stop her. He just watched her, momentarily paralyzed.

"Are you?" she asked, dropping her blouse and moving on to the skirt.

"Not if you aren't," he answered, watching her getting naked in the dim light of candles that seemed so far away. The music stopped, along with the time and the whole world, everything stopped except for this woman that just dropped all of her armor in front of him, kissed him in the neck and whispered in his ear: "What if I am?"

He couldn't help it anymore. His hands started to slide down her soft skin, his breathing quickened and his heart begun to burn. Everything in him was in her control now.

"Then," he whispered back. "We can stop anytime..."

"I know," she confirmed, determined not to stop.

Scully was a rebel, she has always been one. But unlike Mulder, she didn't do it in public, in front of people's faces. She did it when no one could see and when she was sure no one would find out. She was good at it and rarely got caught, if ever. From the first cigarette she smoked behind her parents' backs, to undressing her husband, while naked herself, in the FBI office that was once hers and now belonged to her new friend… She came a long way.

Working with Mulder was a perfect cover. She could break rules without getting attention to herself, because everybody always blamed Mulder. Even after all these years, she was still seen as a reasonable, rational one. She was still a "good girl", but nonetheless she was a woman behind a dissident who made a difference, a woman capable of always coming up with enough evidence to support her rebel, back him up, keep him going, and keep breaking rules in the safety of his shadow.

No one would ever know she was in this office, engaging in inappropriate activities with her husband. Ok, she might one day confess to Monica, who was a close friend at this point, but no one else would ever know, and it made her excited. It was a turn-on that she desperately needed.

Mulder was playing along. He could feel her need, her desire, he knew her better than anybody and responded in a way that even she wasn't aware that she needed.

Still, he had to be sure. As painful as it was, he forced himself to release her and take a few steps back. She looked at him confused, and a bit hurt.

"Are you sure?" he asked again, even though at this point he knew it was inevitable, he knew nothing could no longer come between them, nothing at all. It was infinitely better to check too many times, than once too little…

"I'm ready," she confirmed, not just with her words, but with her soul, her body language, her complete being.

"What about… your body?" he asked awkwardly.

"Screw my body," she said impatiently. She didn't want to talk, she wanted to feel. They've talked about it too much, or maybe not enough, but at this point it didn't make a difference.

"Don't mind if I do," he chuckled, pulling her close again, never to let go again.

Her body did react with fear, but Mulder's body had a plan. Every time he felt her starting to stiff he would change something, move to another part of her body and kiss it, stroke it, pinch it, or gently slap it, making sure to change the spot and the kind of action as often and as unexpectedly as he could, until he bypassed all the defense mechanisms of her mind and had her completely open and compliant.

He won against her demons, maybe not the whole war, but the huge battle. He had her underneath him, naked on his couch, so soft and eager and ready, gasping when reached for union, but without any sign of resistance at all…

He stopped, letting her adjust. There was no rush, they had all the time in the world. He couldn't look her in the eyes now since she was so short for him, so he felt a need to talk to her, to make sure she was ok.

"Hi honey, I'm home," was all he could come up with.

"Come in, Mulder," she accepted the game. "Don't just stand at the entrance."

"How far should I go?"

"Down the hall… All the way…"

"So warm… And comfy… But I think you have a humidity problem."

"That's because it's been closed for years…"

"I think… I'm gonna make a mess in here…"

"That's ok… Just try not to break anything."

"Never…" he assured her.

Words were their safe place. Playful discussion turned them on, helped them relax, but ultimately led them to a place where they forgot how to talk. They forgot where or why they were and they just were. Their bodies took over and led them to a state of mind beyond words, beyond anything either of them could ever hope to achieve alone.

Together.

As one.

At last.

Those of you who'd been asking me for this since the beginning, you're welcome :) I hope it was worth the wait, or at least that it wasn't disappointing...

As for the vote, what do you want to do about Samantha's story?

a) Don't resolve it, there's no room for her in this story. Mulder should never find out what happened to her.

b) Mulder should find her alive. Happy ending rules!

c) Mulder should find out she's dead. Keep the canon!