Scully pulled into the parking lot of the motel, sighing disgustedly as she got a whiff of herself.

"God, I smell," she said, shaking her head as she got out of the car and slammed the door.

Unlocking the motel door, she stepped inside and turned on the light, as she took off her blazer and started to unbutton her shirt when she heard the toilet flush. Her hand went to her gun and she aimed it at the closed door.

"Come out of the bathroom slowly," she said. "I'm armed and will not hesitate to shoot if you try anything. Come out slowly."

The knob turned and the door pulled back to reveal Mulder standing there with an amused look on his face, his hands held shoulder high.

"I'm not armed. Please don't shoot."

"Jesus, Mulder," she said, shaking her head and dropping her arm down, and then putting her gun back. "You scared me."

"I can see that," he said. "I'm safe, I promise."

It was at that moment that she noticed he was bleeding and she hurried over to him.

"Oh my God, what happened to you?" she asked, pulling him toward the bed and forcing him to sit down.

"Nothing, I'm fine."

"Your head is bleeding. That's not fine."

"Oh, I thought it'd stopped." He reached up and she blocked his hands.

"Let me get a towel."

"It's not that bad, Scully," he said as she started to walk toward the bathroom.

"Shut up and stay there. I'll be right back."

Turning on the light, she quickly grabbed a washcloth and a hand towel just in case she needed both.

"What did you do?" she asked him as she came back into the room and stood in front of him between his legs, pressing the washcloth to the cut above his left eye.

"Do?"

"To get the cut? Did you fall?"

"Fall?"

She pulled back to look at him and he smiled at her.

"Do you think that's funny?"

"Kind of," he said and she shook her head.

"Well, it's not. What happened?"

"A tree branch, I think."

"You think? You don't know for sure?" she asked, frowning as she pulled the washcloth back to see if it was still bleeding.

"I'll tell you something I am sure of, you stink. What is that smell? Coffee?"

"Yes, thank you for telling me. I definitely hadn't noticed that smell after spilling nearly an entire cup of coffee onto myself. " she said sarcastically, rolling her eyes as she put the washcloth back as his head began bleeding again.

"Glad to be helpful. Shit. That hurt," he said, pulling back with a wince.

"Hold still or it will take longer," she said and he grumbled, but leaned closer. "This was just from a tree branch? You didn't fall or anything?"

"No. I don't think so."

"Mulder," she said, staring at him with her eyebrows raised.

"I don't think I fell."

"Mulder," she said again. "How do you not remember if you fell? Does anything else hurt? Arms? Legs? Your back or your head?" She touched his head with her other, feeling through his hair for lumps or bumps.

"Mmm," he hummed, closing his eyes. "That feels nice."

"I don't feel any bumps," she said. "Where did you do this? The cemetery?"

"The cemetery…" he said, nodding his head slowly, his eyes still closed.

"Mulder, look at me."

He opened his eyes and she watched his pupils to see if they were dilated, but they were fine.

"How did you get here?"

"Depends on how you describe "here" I suppose."

"What?" she asked confusedly.

"Well, do you mean "here" as in physically, emotionally, or spiritually? And do you mean "here" as in the earth, this life, this motel room? What do you mean?"

"Mulder," she said, stepping back and staring at him. "What are you talking about?"

"Just looking for clarification, Scully," he said with a small shrug. "So I can then properly answer your question."

"The motel room," she said flatly. "How did you get here this afternoon?"

He blinked at her and then turned to look towards the door.

"I… the sheriff dropped me off."

"From the cemetery?" she asked, holding the bloody washcloth, his head still lightly bleeding.

"Yeah. The cemetery."

"What did you find there?" she asked, watching him carefully.

"Not much."

"Nothing that could pinpoint if Trevor had been there before he was found?"

"Trevor…"

"Mulder, look at me," she said again and he did, staring into her eyes. "Did-"

"You're so beautiful," he said softly and she froze as she frowned at him.

"What?"

"I said that you're beautiful."

"Why did you say that?"

"Because you are, Scully," he said, his hands touching the backs of her thighs, causing her to jerk forward. "I should tell you that more often."

"No," she said, shaking her head. "You shouldn't."

"Why not?" he asked, moving his hands up to her waist and she started breathing harder, the overwhelmingly sickly scent of old coffee filling her nose.

"Mulder, stop," she said, trying to pull away, but his grip tightened.

"Do you not like hearing that I find you beautiful?" he asked and she frowned at him.

"I… Why are you saying this right now?"

"Because it's true. Because I've always thought so. Always felt… well… Then the one time I actually did something about how I felt, I nearly lost you."

"Mulder, please," she said quietly as she shook her head.

"You almost left and I couldn't let you go without you knowing. Without… taking a chance."

"What?" she asked, her hands on his shoulders.

"You said you'd only held me back. That I didn't need you. God, Scully, how could you ever think that was true?"

"Mulder…" she whispered. "Please stop."

"If that bee hadn't been there… what would have happened?"

"Mulder, please don't ask me that question."

"Why? We've never talked about it. It's been two years and we haven't talked about it."

"Mulder, stop. This isn't the time."

"Then when?" he asked. "When is the time, Scully?"

"I… I don't know."

"When it's too late? When one of us is hurt or… gone?"

"You had to have hit your head. Let me check again."

"I didn't hit my head."

"Then why…"

"Because it's how I feel," he said, his arms wrapping around her waist and pulling her closer. "And I want to talk about it."

"Talk about it?" she asked, breathing harder, the washcloth dropping from her hand and landing behind him as she circled his neck with her arms.

"Hmm. Yeah. Unless you don't want to talk…"

"Mmmulder," she said, licking her lips nervously. "Your head…"

"Is fine," he assured her, his fingers spanning across her back and pushing slightly, bringing her even closer to him.

"You…" she said, staring at his mouth, watching as he took a breath.

"Stop thinking so much," he whispered as she lowered her head and hooked her fingers in the collar of his shirt, holding on for balance.

"I just…"

"Stop thinking, Scully," he whispered again and then her lips were pressed against his and she moaned.

Soft and achingly slowly, she kissed him, his fingers pressing into her back, his shirt clutched in her hands. His mouth opened slightly and his bottom lip went between hers and her stomach clenched.

Her phone rang and she jumped, breaking from their kiss.

"Leave it," he said, shaking his head and pulling her back for another kiss, his tongue running along her bottom lip before sliding into her mouth.

She whimpered and fell into him, the kiss intensifying as the phone stopped ringing.

"You taste so good," he whispered, kissing her softly again, her breathing irregular and shallow. "Don't smell so great, but…"

He slid his hands under her shirt and touched her bare skin on her back. She jumped and gasped, jerking away from him.

"Your hands are freezing."

"No they aren't," he laughed, trying to touch her again.

"They are. Why are they so cold?"

"They aren't. Look." He pulled back, rubbed them together, and then held them out to her. "See? They're warm."

"No, they're freezing," she said, touching them tentatively and then staring at him as her phone rang again.

"Leave it," he said again and she shook her head as an uneasy feeling began to settle in her stomach.

"I can't." She stepped back from him, but kept an eye on him as she took her phone from her coat pocket.

"Scully," she said, still watching him.

"Agent Scully. It's Sheriff Walker."

"Hello," she said, as she watched Mulder rub his hands together slowly with a frown and then touch his head near his cut.

"Agent Scully, I really don't want to alarm you, but have you seen or heard from Agent Mulder?"

"What do you mean?" she asked, her heart racing.

"Well, no one can remember seeing him for some time."

"How long?"

"I spoke to him about… one thirty-ish when I gave him a lunch my wife had made for him."

"That was three hours ago," she said, looking at her watch.

"Yeah. No one can remember seeing him after that. The lunch box I gave him was there, but he wasn't. I've tried calling him, but there hasn't been an answer. I tried you just a minute ago, but something told me to try again."

Her cheeks burned as she remembered why she had not answered the phone, both at the thought of their kiss and the worry she was now feeling about Mulder's mental state.

"I have seen… it," she said, hoping the sheriff understood and Mulder did not.

"You've seen him? Is he okay?"

"Unclear," she said, still speaking in code so as not to alarm Mulder who had risen to his feet and stood unsteadily as he looked around the room.

"Scully?" he asked. "When did I get here?"

"Agent Scully?" the sheriff asked. "Are you okay? He's there with you?"

"Yes," she said, exhaling a nervous breath as Mulder touched his head.

"I'm bleeding," he said, showing her the red blood on his fingers. "What happened to me? Scully…" He started to step towards her, but his legs buckled and he dropped to the floor.

"Mulder! Oh my God!" she shouted, dropping the phone as she hurried to him, rolling him onto his back to check for a pulse and if he was breathing.

"Agent Scully!" the sheriff yelled, his voice tinny and far away.

"I need your help!" she shouted back. "I need an ambulance at the motel! Hurry!"

"I'm on my way! We'll be there soon! Okay? Just hang on!"

"Did you hear that, Mulder?" she whispered close to his ear, watching his chest rising and falling. "Help is coming. Hang on. Just hang on…"