PART 3 – The date

Scully was finishing to adjust a pearl earring when she heard the three familiar knocks on her apartment door. She finished that small task and gave a step back to look at herself in the mirror in her bedroom. The knee-length black dress fell gracefully over her small body and added even more elegance to her slender figure. A week after she and Mulder had been released from hospital, she still needed to regain a few pounds but the dressmaker was kind enough to make some last hour adjustments and the garment fit its owner perfectly, along with a pair of black high heels. A visit to the hairdresser arranged her red strands and her medium nails were done and covered with discrete invisible polish.

Looking through the peephole, Scully smiled as she saw her partner's face stuck at the door and gazing back at her with a toothy grin. With the door open a second later, there he was – handsome in a black leather jacket over a navy-blue shirt, dark denim jeans and dark shoes. The smell of his cologne mixed with his aftershave lotion instantly reached Scully's nostrils and caused her to catch her breath and send a quick order to her brain to calm herself down.

"Erm…evening! My name's Fox. Is doctor Scully in there? I'm her date." He said, with a funny nasal voice.

Laughing, she nodded her head with amusement.

"She's almost ready!"

"Oh, good. Mind if I wait inside?"

Playfully, Scully grabbed the sleeve of his jacket and pulled him inside with some impatience.

"Oh, c'mon in, G-Man!" She said, now causing him to drop that act and also laugh.

She turned around and towards her bedroom. "Let me get my coat."

He followed her with his eyes and let out a small sigh, contemplating her beauty out of those FBI suits. Mulder had always been struck by his partner's gracefulness. She was just stunning and he knew that her external appearance only reflected the nature of her character – kind and warm, with a huge heart and strong sense of justice. She was beautiful in and outside and Mulder felt a lump form in his throat with the wish to tell her that over and over again. He had been granted with such an extraordinary human being in his life and it made him feel both moved and undeserving.

The usual tick toc of her heels on the wooden floor took him out of his reverie and he saw that she was now wearing her coat and looking at him with a questioning face.

"Is everything alright?" She wanted to know, oblivious to the fact that he'd got carried away by his feelings of love and adoration for her.

Mulder held his breath, trying to bring the track of his thoughts to the present and put aside the unexplained anxiety he was experiencing.

"You're beautiful, Scully." He said, with a serious and slightly shy expression on his face and then cleared his throat. "In case I haven't told you that before."

She could make a joke about those words and the visible tension written on his face. But Scully felt a tight knot in the pitch of her stomach, aware that he was opening his heart to her. Despite his constant jokes, fearless nature and disposition to enter into a fight in order to protect anyone who was in danger, Mulder had built walls around him along his life, as a way to protect himself against the worst of the human race. Many people had hurt his heart and betrayed his confidence – starting from his father when he was just a boy mourning the loss of his sister. Past girlfriends also discharged him once he was no longer a useful company and the few childhood friends were also left behind. Scully had easily crossed those barriers and became the only person allowed to be part of his life, and eventually, to win his heart. And once in a while, especially when he was hurt lying in some hospital bed or haunted by the ghosts of the past, she was the one standing right beside him as his constant, his touchstone.

Scully was not just flattered by his comment – he'd told her that before, with and without words. She was also proud of being the one to earn his full trust and his love.

Deeply moved, she reached out and held his hand in hers, a gesture that seemed to always soothe his spirit. "Thank you, Mulder."

Their eyes locked in a loving gaze, souls communicating through silence as they always did, and he ran his thumb against the back of her hand.

He felt his initial nervousness vanishing under her loving touch and a tender smile broke on his face once again. "Are you ready to go?"

Nodding, she grinned back at him. "I am!"

With their hands conjoined, they left her apartment and headed to Alfredo's.

X

The cosy atmosphere of the Italian restaurant was so welcoming that anyone who visited it could be immediately transported to a place where their problems no longer existed. Mulder gave his name to the friendly receptionist and soon they were taken up to their table. Mulder and Scully had been there twice along the seven years they'd been working together. One of them was to celebrate her birthday, on the year following her successful battle against cancer. The other, when they returned from California after the Arcadia X-File, when he surprised her by making a reservation under the name "Bob Petrie".

The signs of their love were already visible back then. But the couple of agents were still battling to hide them inside their hearts, for reasons that were no longer were meant to remain. Now, their new visit to the restaurant was not based on the overcoming of a terrible disease nor on some kind of joke. He'd had the courage to talk about his feelings and ask her out – finding a different and creative way to do so, and she had gladly accepted his invitation, also letting him know how she felt about him.

This time, their hearts were filled with a certainty and a peace that had never been so present before. For now, despite their playful banter at the hospital and during their recovery at home, they were fully aware of their feelings – they were not only 'in love'; they 'loved' each other.

Their initial anxiety and slight nervousness gave place to cheerful conversation and a pleasant time spent in each other's company. The waitress could not hide the look of satisfaction watching that beautiful and friendly couple interacting as if they'd been together for a life time.

Scully told him about some childhood memories, with an entire family of six during a summer trip and how they loved an Italian restaurant that was quite similar to the one they were in. Mulder was entertained not only by what she was telling him but also by the spark in her eyes and the smile on her face as she spoke. He contemplated her in silence, feeling both lucky and unworthy of her company.

"...and when Bill came back from the restroom, Charlie had taken his piece of pizza away and hid it in my lunchbox, saying that Captain Monroe, my dad's colleague, had confiscated it as it was not supposed to be left over the table. Missy and I ate it in our room later that same night."

Laughing, Mulder nodded his head visibly enjoying to know how Bill Scully, her oldest brother, was cheated by his three younger siblings.

"Oh, Scully, someday I hope I can shake hands with your brother Charlie. He seems to be such a great Scully member!" He said, highly amused.

"Well, next time mom invites you to any celebration in the Scully's family, you can show up and maybe you two get to know each other!"

"But then your brother Bill will be there too, Scully!" He exclaimed, frowning with concern. "I've been to your mom's Thanksgiving a few times and he was not very happy to see me!"

"Yes, that is a risk you'll have to face, Mulder. But you'll have mom rooting for you, as she always does. She's so fond of you that I'm sure she would keep Bill grounded for a couple of days if he tries to bully you!"

With pleased smile, he leaned against his chair. "That would be nice to watch!"

With an air of complicity, she eyed him back. "Yes...It could be quite interesting..." she said, both of them laughing afterwards.

The waitress brought their desert, ice-cream for Mulder and chocolate cake for Scully, and they went to talking. He told her about the last vacation he'd spent with Samantha and his parents at the house in Quonochontaug, when he would sit by the fire with his sister to tell her stories of mystery and old legends.

"She would tell me to stop, but a couple of minutes later, kept asking me what happened next." He said, with a bittersweet smile.

"I can imagine her both scared and intrigued due to her brother's fertile imagination!" She said, in a teasing manner, not wanting sad memories to spoil their conversation.

"No such thing as fertile imagination, Scully. My narrative was based on scientific reports and studies. I was just stating the facts!"

She covered her face with one hand. "Oh, brother..."

His face softened a little and he kept on talking. "Anyway, I saw how anxious and worried she would be about the 'characters' in my stories so I always made the ending a happy one, with them managing to escape from a haunted house or the woods or from some other creepy place. Always safe and sound."

"Oh, but that sounds rather familiar, Mulder! Maybe those characters were a vision of the future: you and your brilliant FBI partner!"

He laughed at that comment, aware that 'his' Scully would appear serious and formal for the rest of the world, but only he knew that she had a great sense of humour. "Show-off!"

"I'm just stating the facts, Mulder!" She replied, matter-of-factly and pleased to see that the inch of sadness brought by the memory of his sister soon vanished.

Then, Scully held his gaze and covered his hand with hers, her face softening as well. "It was very kind of you to make up happy endings for her."

Mulder let out a small sigh. "It was a time when worries and fears were only in our imagination."

A moment of silence followed his words, but there was not sadness in the air, just understanding.

Never tired of contemplating her meek features, Mulder took a napkin and held her chin between his thumb and index finger, reaching out to wipe the bit of chocolate from the corner of her lips.

"Here, 'brilliant partner'!" He said, now teasing her, both of them remembering that he'd done that before, a long time ago, in a meat restaurant while on an assignment.

Once they had finished, Mulder asked for the bill and they left the restaurant with the silent promise that they would come back there many times.

Hand in hand, they walked up to his car and soon he was parking in front of her building. She didn't even have to ask him to come in because both agents had the habit to walk each other until they were safely delivered inside their apartments. A protection measure that became routine.

She unlocked the door and turned the lights on and they walked inside. Mulder couldn't avoid the quick eye scan along the living room and in the corridor that led to the bedroom. Terrible things had already happened to them – to her, inside their houses and his worst fear was to think that the past could repeat itself.

Scully took off her coat and carefully placed it on the back of a chair, walking up to him and look at his face with a smile.

"Would you like some tea?"

They were standing face to face and for a moment Mulder were suddenly taken aback not only by her beauty but also by the look of trust in those blue pools. He shook his head lightly and, taking a step forward, held her hand.

"Scully, that night at the hospital, when you were ill and feeling cold, I realised that there's one thing I'll never be able to do for you."

She waited for his next words, with curiosity and aware that, once again, he was opening his heart to her.

"I'll never be able to not watch over you…to not want to protect you. And please don't think that by saying this I'm implying that you're weak or cannot take care of yourself, because I know you're capable of so many wonderful things. You're the strongest person I've ever met."

Deeply moved, she gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "I would never take offence at your words, Mulder. I understand what you mean, because I too feel the same thing about you."

He nodded his head and placed his other hand against her cheek, their eyes locked in each other's gaze as if loving words were conveyed through the sound of silence.

"Scully…"

Her eyes were suddenly filled with tears but she gave a small smile and nodded, not a sentence spoken.

Mulder crossed the small distance between them and their gaze only broke when he pressed his lips against hers. Eyes closed for a sweet moment while he kissed her slowly and gently, as that caress was meant not to build up passion but to seal a silent understanding that what brought them together was not just romance. It was also friendship, loyalty, trust and much love. When they pulled apart, Scully still took a moment before opening her eyes again and look back at him. And when she did, he brushed his fingers against her cheek with tenderness.

"I think I've used up all my words back at the hospital…" He half joked, feeling his heart beating faster as she reached up and stroked his face. "So, I'll just endorse each one of them. And they were all meant to you, Scully. It would always be you. Only you. You're my entire world."

Scully could not hold the tears that suddenly started to fall from her eyes, the lump in her throat at hearing those loving words from the one who had owned her heart since day one, when she opened the door of that office on the basement floor of the FBI building and met her destiny.

"They're all etched in my heart. Forever, Mulder. And so is my love for you."

Smiling, he wiped away the tears from her cheeks, but it was useless as they kept falling from her soft blue pools. Mulder held her face in his both hands and lay a tender kiss on her forehead, both of them taking a moment to breathe in and out.

Two souls who had sought for each other for a lifetime.

When they pulled away and looked at each other once again, a shift had happened, as if after all the reassurance about their feelings finally made them free to allow the romantic side of their love to take the lead, for Mulder felt brave enough to lower his head and claim her lips again, now in a soulful kiss which she returned with the same intensity.

He'd dropped his hands from her face so that his strong arms were soon wrapped around her waist, while her small delicate hands went up his shoulders and ended up around his neck, clutching his shirt and pulling him down as their lips parted and the kiss deepened. When air became an issue, they pulled away only a few inches and he placed a trail of small kisses along her jaw, giving her some seconds to recover and breathing in the sweet smell of her perfume, so characteristic of her. A fragrance that had been part of his imagination in his dreams or in lonely nights spent on his couch.

He nuzzled his nose against hers and saw that she was smiling.

"I take it the date was a successful one, even if the guy is bat up crazy…" He joked, causing her to let out a small laughter.

"Well, he is my bat up crazy guy!"

He also laughed at her words and then placed one hand on the back of her neck, his long fingers entangled in her red hair to give him support as he captured her lips once again, never tired of tasting their sweet flavour.

He never left her apartment that night.

On the moments that followed, slow and passionate kisses and loving caresses left them almost gasping for air and also craving for more of each other's touch. Scully took his hand and gazed up at him, saying with her eyes what their next step would be. Mulder smiled at her, not missing the trust written in those deep blue pools, and let her guide him up to her bedroom, where the dim light coming from the bedside lamp created a cosy and romantic atmosphere.

Standing by her bed, they took a moment to gaze at each other once again and Mulder lifted her hand up to his lips, also telling her through silence that he treasured second of what was happening that night and that he would honour the love she felt for him.

Then, his lips sought for hers one more time, in a deep, passionate kiss, which she welcomed with the same passion. Running her hands up to the back of his head and then down to his chest, Scully felt as if she was falling down in his arms, unable to think; only feeling the surge of emotions that was taking over their souls.

Clothes were slowly shed and then Mulder gently stopped their kisses to lay her in bed, making her rest her head against the soft pillows spread there. She stroked his face with tenderness and with a loving smile.

He lay down next to her, leaning on his elbow, tracing a line along her jaw with his finger and drinking the beautiful image right in front of him. "My one in five billion..." he said, in a low voice, aware of the trust evident in her eyes.

Lost in his gaze, marvelled at the love and adoration she could see written in there and aware of the same intense love she could feel inside her very soul, she took his hand and placed it over her heart, "My constant, my touchstone."

Saying no more, as now words wouldn't be enough to express what they were feeling, Mulder bent down to kiss Scully once more - pressing his lips against hers, in a slow and sweet kiss and neither of them was willing to pull apart until the end of the night. Both agents were lost in each other's arms and under the impression that the world outside had stopped and the stars in the night sky became brighter only to allow them that treasured moment, which would certainly be repeated innumerable times for the rest of their life.

To be continued.