Spoilers: XF – The End (S5), Dreamland (S6), Tithonus (S6), Millennium (S7), Existence (S8); CI – None, yet.

A/N: Because men are from Mars and women from Venus, there will be minor spoilers in this part, mainly from Squirrel. She is much more put together than Moose, after all. And I apologize for this first part. Moose and Squirrel write themselves and just drag me along for the ride. And damn, those kids can't keep their hands to themselves. I have high hopes that Bobby and Alex will learn to do the same.

Beware girls with guns

Scully arrived back at the room ten minutes after Mulder had hung up with Bobby. Assuming that his cock-eyed grin was for her, she set down her bag and, closing the distance between them, kissed him deeply. When she didn't receive the response she was expecting, she drew back, looking him in the eye.

"What's up, Mulder? Why the grin?"

"I just got a call from an old friend, Bobby Goren. Remember me talking about him?"

"Yeah. Didn't Munch introduce you two while I was in the hospital after the Fellig case?"

"That's the guy. Since then, he's been promoted and transferred to Major Case…"

Mulder leaned down and stole a kiss from Scully, hoping to pull her back to him before memories of being shot bubbled to the surface. She responded softly, nipping at his lip before pulling back.

"Quite the step up."

"Yes. But now he's got a problem. One I am uniquely qualified to counsel him on."

Confused, Scully disengaged herself from his arms. She scanned the room for the ice bucket. Locating it, she drifted towards the container and the chair it was next to. Once seated, an ice cube melting in her mouth, she motioned for Mulder to elaborate.

"He seems to have found himself with a spitfire for a partner. And he's falling for her."

Mulder ducked just in time to avoid being hit by the ice cube that, until recently, was dissolving on Scully's tongue. Picking himself up off the floor, his ears were assaulted by peals of laughter. Indignantly dusting himself off, he favored Scully with his best pathetic puppy look, which only caused her to laugh harder.

He seated himself in the chair opposite Scully, resigned to make no sound until she was finished howling her amusement. Her laughing jag continued for five minutes longer than he deemed medically safe, but he made no move towards her.

Wiping tears from her eyes, her breathes chasing each other through her lungs, Scully was finally able to look at Mulder without laughter erupting from her belly. Noting his look of forlorn embarrassment, she stood and walked over to him. Seating herself in his lap, she began making amends.

"I'm sorry, Mulder. That was unfair of me."

"Hmmpt"

"Really, I mean it. I'm sorry. So, how can we help Detective Goren?"

"We're going out tonight, to meet his partner."

"A double date? I didn't think that was your style."

Grinning, he began trailing his fingers across Scully's stomach. She relaxed into his arms, momentarily lost in the feathery contact. His hand came to rest on her hip, causing her to open her eyes and look at him. His eyes alight, a leer on his lips, he leaned forward and whispered in her ear. "Might be fun, bringing another couple in."

Scully turned her head, biting Mulder's ear hard before pulling away from him.

"Good thing I know you better than that. You wouldn't do that to your friend."

"No, I wouldn't. But you thought about it a minute, didn't you, Scully? Admit it."

Scully stood, slipped off her heels and started towards the bathroom. She tossed her answer back over her shoulder at Mulder.

"No. I'm going to take a shower."

"I don't believe you."

"Suit yourself. But I am taking a shower. With or without you."

Mulder leapt out of the chair, following after Scully like he had been doing for years. As he stripped off his clothes, he wondered if he'd be able to help Bobby find the happiness that he had.

Scully and Alex excused themselves from the table, ostensibly to use the restroom. Scully knew that Mulder wasn't fooled by the ploy, but she wondered about Bobby. He appeared to be a very intelligent, no dangerously brilliant guy, but he seemed to suffer from the same social ineptness that had plagued Mulder.

No wonder they got along so well.

Alex was struck by the similarities between Bobby and Mulder. Both men were tall and had an aura of awkwardness about them. Both were competitive by nature, yet at ease with each other. The two men had fallen easily into a conversation about basketball during the first round of drinks, ending in a friendly challenge of a game of one-on-one the next day. And they were both geniuses. Alex hadn't believed it possible for Mulder to be as smart and intuitive as her partner. Had Scully not been there, she would have felt like a remedial math student in a calculus class.

As they entered the restroom, Alex also noticed the resemblance between her and Scully. Both petite, with the air of confidence required to be a woman in law enforcement. And neither of them willingly to take any guff from their male counterparts. They had even chosen a similar type of apparel for the evening, casual with concealment.

Laughing to herself, Alex stepped to the counter, checking her make-up in the mirror. Scully was next to her, leaning against the edge, enjoying a moment of peace. She looked over at Alex, trying to decide how to ask the questions that had been niggling at her mind for the past hour.

"Alex, how long have you and Bobby been partners?"

"A few months now. We were both transferred to Major Case at the same time."

"Who's the senior detective?"

"I am, by about 2 months. But that's not important. We are equals."

Smiling, Scully turned to face the sinks. Running her hands under the faucet to start the flow of water, she let the cool water give her a moment to frame her next question in her mind. Alex beat her to the punch.

"Dana? May I call you Dana?"

"Sure, Alex."

"When did you realize that your partner was more than just a friend? I mean…uh… when did you know that you were in love with your partner?"

"Which time?"

"You fell in love with him more than once?"

Scully smiled, nodding to Alex while she tried to figure out how to explain it so it made sense.

"I fell for Mulder in stages. It's tough to explain. But I'll try."

"I don't mean to pry…"

"It's okay. I first fell in love with the idea of him. He was so driven when I met him. And so alone. He was like a lost little boy, searching for anyone who could help him find his way. Which, I suppose, isn't fair from the truth. Has Bobby told you anything about Mulder?"

"Some. I figured it would make more sense coming from the horse's mouth, so I didn't push for details."

"Do you know about his sister, at least?"

"Yes, I know that she disappeared when Mulder was twelve."

Looking quickly around the restroom, Scully took Alex by the elbow and lead her out, the pair locating a table near the restroom and ordering a round of drinks for themselves. Once the drinks were in front of them, Scully continued.

"While not completely accurate, disappeared will do for tonight. Anyway, he had been looking for her ever since. I was sent in to destroy him, to discredit his work. They didn't count on our chemistry."

"You were set up to fail?"

"Yes, we were. But that's not what you want to know. So, I fell for the idea of Mulder first. Then I discovered the dazzling intellect he has and fell in love all over again. His mind and our work sustained me for years. But we were too good at what we did, so it was taken from us."

"How so?"

Scully took a pull of her beer to steady her nerves. Talking about the fire, the pain and anger that came with it, was always difficult. But she was felt she was doing this for a greater good and vowed to push on.

Alex watched the struggle that played out across Dana's face, regretting that she had brought the subject up at all. She was about to steer the conversation to safer ground when Dana started speaking again.

"We were removed from our department, our office and all our files burned. We were demoted to scut work; background checks and manure duty. The forces out to destroy Mulder thought that the bullpen would be the end of him. And it almost was."

"What happened?"

"I finally cracked, I'd had enough. On the road, in Nevada, I asked him if he ever just wanted to stop the car."

"I don't understand."

"Neither did he, at first. We had spent most of our, at that time, 6 years together driving in rental cars or sleeping in crappy motels. I wanted something approaching a normal life and I wanted it with him. But, in order for that to happen, he had to stop the car."

"Did he?"

Laughing, Scully finished her beer and leaned back, tilting her head to stare at the ceiling a moment. Sighing, she looked back at Alex, who was patiently awaiting the answer.

"Not that night. We got pulled over a few moments later and it was all down hill from there. A story for another time, I'm afraid. But he stored the conversation away and made good on my suggestion a few weeks later. And that is when I fell in love with his body."

"So, you only fell in love with him three time?"

"Nope. I finally fell in love with Mulder the next year, on New Year's Eve. I was afraid of losing him again, without him truly understanding. So, when he kissed me in a hospital waiting room while the Times Square ball dropped on TV, I vowed to myself that I would not waste this chance. And I have a beautiful son to show for it. But it didn't have to be that way."

Finishing her drink, Alex turned towards Dana, a perplexed look etched across her face.

"Alex, my eyes work just fine. I see the way you look at Bobby. Don't let the years get away from you. If you see something you want, take it."

Scully stood and turned to face the table. Alex, slightly stunned by how easily Dana had seen through her, was slower to rise. Determined to return to the table looking like everything was fine, Alex paused a moment, head hung. Satisfied that she was no longer transparent, she turned towards Scully and smiled.

"Well, Dana, let's go see what the boys have been up to."

"I'm sure they have gotten into some kind of trouble, probably involving a waitress."

"Wouldn't surprise me, given how long we've been gone."

"Well, let's go save them."

The two women struck off into the crowd, searching for their table and their men. As they approached, Scully saw Mulder tap Bobby on the shoulder and point towards them.

When they arrived at the table, both men spoke at the same time, "Did you get lost?"

The women looked at each other and laughed.

TBC