I got up with a gun in my hand. Who would come unannounced in the middle of the night? Mulder?

I was hoping it was Mulder. I wasn't in the mood for killing an intruder any more than I wished to be killed by one.

"Who is it?" I asked in vain. There was no answer. Maybe I dreamt it. I sighed, ready to go back to bed, but I decided to open the door first, just in case, or rather just to prove to my subconscious mind that there is nobody in front of them.

My subconscious mind laughed in my face as I found a small, shaky figure. She was barefoot, which I wouldn't have noticed if she wasn't holding her shoes in her hand.

Here we go again! You can close the X files, but you can't escape them!

"What happened to your shoes?" I asked her, since I was too sleepy to remember my good manners and invite her inside.

"They gave me blisters so I had to take them off," she explained: "I'm sorry if I woke you. I need to borrow some money."

Yawning, I stepped aside: "Get in, Scully!"

"Thank you, sir."

I've been her friend for more years then her boss, but she still calls me sir.

"You look like you could use a drink," I offered.

"A tea would be nice."

"That's not what I had in mind," I was taking out a bottle of vodka.

"No thank you. Alcohol is what got me in this mess in the first place," she refused, but took the cup anyway and emptied it in the record time. I refilled it without commenting.

I didn't ask. If she wanted she would tell me herself. I sat on the couch with her and we drunk in silence, with my cat Mitch keeping us company.

By the time the phone started to ring, she was already drooling on my new couch pillow. You don't get to watch Scully sleep without receiving a call from Mulder.

"Scully is missing," he informed me with a panic in his voice.

"She's not missing, Mulder," I assured him: "She's sleeping on my couch."

"Wh…? How did she get there?"

I wish I knew that myself, buddy!

"Walking, apparently," I answered: "What the hell happened to her?"

"She broke up with Mark," he sighed: "Or Mark broke up with her. I'm not sure which anymore. Anyway, he kicked her out of house and sent all her belongings to my place."

I rubbed my forehead, feeling a huge migraine coming.

"I… She left upset," Mulder kept talking: "I got worried when I realized that she didn't take her cell phone or her wallet. And when she didn't come back…"

Please Mulder, just shut the hell up before my head explodes!

"It's late Mulder. Come here in the morning, after you send William to school, and work it out with her."

"I don't think she… wants to see me."

"It's an order, Mulder."

"Yes, sir."

I checked up on Scully before going to bed and it looked like she was going to live through the night, which is more than I could have said for my pillow. I covered her with a blanket, being it the only thing I was able to come up with to do for her.

She didn't sleep for long, though. I woke up during the night to find her standing at my bedroom door and watching me.

"What is it, Scully?" I asked her while turning on the light.

"I'm sorry I fell asleep. I didn't mean to…"

"It's fine. Go back to sleep."

"I just need to borrow some money to…"

"You need to rest. Go to sleep."

But she didn't. She sat on the bed next to me, telling me that she doesn't want to be alone tonight. How she was always alone. How Mark will never forgive her, and neither will Mulder for that matter. How she can't go back to work and face Mark, and she can't go back to Ahab and face Mulder and she doesn't know why but she deserved nothing better. If I just gave her enough money for a hotel room and a few meals and go to Mulder to get her wallet, if I just sent her credit card to that hotel room and I can keep all her stuff because she doesn't want any of it any more…

You know, the usual stuff drunk people talk about. She must have finished that bottle while I was sleeping.

Maybe, she finally realized, maybe if she just went to a bar, someone might buy her a drink and maybe even take her home with him, then she won't need my bloody money and she won't sleep on another couch again. She doesn't want to be alone tonight.

Man, she had it bad! In the end I pulled her in bed with me, as it seemed to be the only way to keep her from going out in search of a one night stand. I didn't have much choice since she made it clear that couch was not an option. She wrapped her arms around my neck gratefully and begged me not to leave her. I stroked her back reassuringly, gathering all my strength to resist taking advantage of her. Her wild, sweaty smell was intoxicating.

How is it possible that she didn't realize the effect she had on men? How come she was never aware that Mulder starts to boil when Mark is around, or just mentioned in a conversation. How could she have lived with Mark for months without noticing that Mulder makes him turn green? Did she really think that arrangement could have lasted?

How the hell did she think I can hold her like a brother? How the hell did I manage to last until the morning without crossing that line? And why the hell Mulder refused to believe that I did when he found us?

Those two dedicated their lives to finding the truth, but couldn't recognize it when it danced in front of their noses!

So I had to pay.

Why the hell did I give Mulder my spare key?