Scully awoke at around 4 a.m. She was greeted by an awkward crick her neck. She lifted her head up slowly and realized that Mulder's arm was underneath her head. Mulder's arm. Memories of the previous night's events began to creep back in to her mind. Good memories, very good memories. As she replayed everything in her mind as she did with everything, she began to overanalyze the situation. Had she been too forward? Had she made a fool of herself? This much worrying that quickly after waking up in a man's arms was never good. She pulled back the sheets slowly and sat at the side of the bed. She felt a bit of pain between her legs, but nothing too debilitating. Her outfit she had worn the day before was neatly folded on his dresser. She grabbed it and tip toed towards the bathroom. She flicked on the light and closed the door behind her. The reflection she saw in the mirror scared her a bit. Her hair was a complete mess. There was a tiny round brush sitting on the sink, and she immediately grabbed it. As she tore through the knots in her hair, her eyes wandered down the reflection in the mirror. Her gaze stopped and fixed upon a mark near her left breast. A purple patch of broken blood vessels or as the kids called it, a hickie. Awesome.

She dressed quickly and took one last look in the mirror before leaving the bathroom. She stepped quietly back in to the bedroom. Mulder was exactly as she had left him. His naked leg crept out from underneath the blanket, and a bit of his bare chest was exposed. She stood there for a moment just watching him sleep. The expression on his face was one of complete content. All the lines that appeared while he was trying to work something out in his head, or just plain stressed were gone. It was nice to see him this way. She crept quietly out of the room, fumbling in the darkness of his living room for her shoes. She found them and slid them on easily. With her key, she locked the door behind her.

I was now around 9 a.m. Dana sat with her mother Margaret at the small café they met at for breakfast every Saturday morning. Margaret worried about her daughter. She looked so tired, but figured it was because of her demanding job. Dana got her usual, a tea, egg whites, turkey bacon, and wheat toast. She and her mother spoke about the past week and its exciting events. For some reason or another Dana always ended up doing most of the speaking. As she took a sip of her tea, her cell phone rang. She rummaged through her purse, following the sound of the ring.

"Scully." She always answered like that, she didn't get many calls that weren't involving work.

"Not even a note on my dresser or anything?" Mulder's voice greeted her on the other end. She knew he wouldn't be happy about her just up and leaving. She excused herself from the table and stepped outside.

"Mulder, I'm at breakfast with my mother. I tried to tell you last night but, well, you didn't let me." They were both silent on each end.

"Mulder, please don't be hurt. That was not my intention." She was afraid she had hurt his feelings. That was the lat thing she had meant to do.

"Me, hurt? Don't flatter yourself Scully." He laughed a bit, and she could tell he was okay.

"I'll see you Monday." They both hung up there phones. Dana stood outside for a moment. All of this was very strange. Her mind had been racing ever since she got back to her place earlier that morning. How could she not be thinking about Mulder. After 7 years of being partners, last night they changed everything. The fact that Mulder was not hurt by her leaving was both comforting and nagging. Her mind was racing, she thought of everything from how she looked naked to her fear of intimacy. She lowered her head in defeat. A fear of intimacy. She knew deep down inside that she was afraid to open up to Mulder. Waking up next to him would have been nice, but she wasn't ready to let herself feel that way about him yet. She didn't know if she ever would be ready for that. As she walked back in to the café, her mother could tell something was bothering her. Dana sat back down and did not speak of the phone call.

"Who was it dear?" Her mother asked sweetly, although she had an idea.

"It was just Mulder, he had a question about work." She managed to blurt out a response. A question about work on a Saturday morning, even she knew Mulder wasn't that pathetic.

"The man doesn't know how to relax." Her mother replied.

"Yup." Dana kept her eyes fixed on her food, she fussed with her fork and refused to make eye contact. Her mother would know she was lying.

"Okay then, so now you can tell me what's really going on. Is something going on between the two of you?" Dana dropped her fork and looked up at her mother surprised. She knew her mother was good, but not that good.

"Mom, it's a little complicated. I don't feel like talking about it right now." She ended with a smile, trying to make it look like everything was fine.

"I always thought you two would make a fine couple." Her mother was smiling. She liked tormenting her daughter a bit.

"Your both so dedicated to you work. It's time you see there is more to life. It's a good thing to form relationships Dana, you shouldn't be so negative when it comes to them." Dana just shook her head in agreement. It was the only way her mother would drop the conversation.

Deep down inside she knew her mother was right. It had never been easy for her to open up and trust people. Being intimate with someone was on such a high level of trust and openness that it physically scared her. All of the relationships in her life had been short as a result of this. She wanted badly to change this, but did not know how.

Mulder casually pored himself a cup of coffee in his small kitchen. He was not very concerned about the night before. He was a big believer in just letting things happen. He decided to just let nature run its course. He did like the Scully he saw the night before though. She surprised him, something that didn't happen often. He smiled as her realized her had thrown on the shirt she had borrowed from him. It would have been nice to wake up to her, but he knew how Scully was. He knew how she was more then she even knew how she was, if that makes any sense. All he could do was give her time, and after 7 years, a little more time was no big deal.