Special thanks to lil gillian and angryteabag for the art project ideas! (The body painting in this chapter is lil gillian's idea, but I'll see if I can use them all eventually…provided this story isn't boring the hell out of you guys yet.)

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"I want an artist who knows exactly what he wants and will stop at nothing until he gets it," she answers, feeling tingly with anticipation. An eager beating within her breast echoes loudly in her head. "Do you know what you want?" she questions, her voice soft and deep. He smiles, and she knows that this time it will end the way she has hoped.

"I want you," he whispers, taking her chin in his hand and leaning in toward her lips.

"Hmmm," she hums contentedly, tasting his lips, his mouth, his tongue. Oh, how she loves him. She wonders where the clay has gone, and then suddenly she wonders when they ended up in bed. He is still kissing her, and she can feel his skin touching hers…everywhere. "No," she whines in her empty room

"What is it? Isn't this everything you've ever wanted?"

She looks at his beautiful face and nods, her consciousness already taking back control of her body. "Yes," she replies sadly. "And that's how I know this isn't real…can't be real." She opens her eyes and finds she is alone. Her bed sheets are uncomfortably warm and damp from perspiration, so she kicks them off of her angrily. Now she is cold. Why can't anything just be right for once? She gets up and walks to her couch. It still has the afghan on it. Curling up on the couch, she reflects on her dream. What is wrong with me? I mean, really, Dana…have some self-control, she chides herself. She looks at her phone, and it makes her remember the dream she had before this one. What's the use? He's never going to make the first move. And then, she gets another idea.

"Hello?" answers a tired female voice.

"Yes, this is Dana Scully, and I apologize for calling at this hour, but is Jim Hawes there?"

"One second please…may I ask who's calling?"

Scully chuckles to herself. Give her a break. After all, it is 2:30 in the morning. "Dana Scully," she repeats. The woman responds with an irritated grunt and hands the phone off to someone else.

"Dana? Is that really you after all these years?" asks the new voice.

"Jim," she murmurs with a sigh. "It has been a while, hasn't it?"

"Ages. What can I do for you in the middle of the night? I should remind you I'm a married man now," he teases, answering Scully's unasked question about the woman who had answered the phone.

"You owe me a favor, Jim. I was hoping I could collect on it finally."

"Wow. After the first five years, I had assumed you forgot about that, but…I am still indebted to you…so, what is it that you need? Not a kidney, I hope. I only have two and you know how I always believe in keeping a spare around." She laughs. Even in the middle of the night he has his sense of humor.

"Well, I was hoping you could do for me what I did for you, Mr. 'Married Man,'" she grins.

"Who's the lucky, dumb-ass guy who doesn't know what he's missing yet?"

Again she laughs. "My partner. We are taking an art class together as kind of an extracurricular bonding experience, but I, uh…" She bites her lip. "I know he loves me, but I don't want to make the first move, and it's not really looking like he is going to either."

"Look, Dana, if you hadn't done it for me, Ellen might not have ever gone out with me. And she almost killed me when I told her you were never really interested in me…that it was just a trick. But I have a ring on my finger and three beautiful kids to prove it still worked. You know that I would do the same for you in a heartbeat."

"Thanks, Jim."

"So, what's the plan?"

"Well, I thought I'd leave it up to the master," she giggles.

"Uh-huh…trying to make up for not calling in four years, huh?"

"I'll talk to you tomorrow," she says. "Good-night."

"Night, Dana."

With that, she hangs up the phone. For the next minute, she paces the floor, trying to imagine how her plan would go. For Jim, it had gone well. They had been the best of friends in college, but never more than that. Jim was interested in their classmate, Ellen, and asked for some assistance in getting her to notice him. It had been clear that Ellen wanted to go out with him, too, but she tried to act like she wasn't and always figured Jim would be available. (He wasn't very popular with the girls, and so she figured there was no competition.) That was until this young, redheaded wonder started hanging dating him. Dana smirked inwardly at the memory of Ellen getting so jealous that she had stormed out of class. The next day, Jim had asked her to pick it up a notch, but Scully had known better. She decided to step back, and Ellen used the opportunity to ask Jim if he would like to join her for lunch. Ever since, they have been together.

Dana and Jim had remained friends and kept in contact even after the wedding, but four years ago things just got too busy. Too busy for old friends.

She glances at her bedroom and reenters it, taking in a thick breath of salty, moist air. She wraps the afghan around her shoulders and goes to open the window. There. Much better. She relaxes on the bed and thinks about Mulder. This is going to be good.

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"Hey, Scully! Professor Glitter changed her mind about the coiling because there's a shortage of clay. So, guess what we're gonna get to do tomorrow," Mulder grins, guiding her into the office by the small of her back. She gives him a look that is less than enthusiastic. "Body painting."

"What the hell is body painting?"

He walks up very close to her, only a breath away, and answers, "Where you and a classmate paint each other." Scully's eyebrows shoot up, and a yelp is caught in her throat. "So, you wanna be my partner?"

"We are partners," she manages to say. "But if you mean for the project, then…maybe."

"Maybe? Who else would you do it with?" Scully touches her chin thoughtfully and looks above his head. "Nice try," he smiles. He walks past her to the door, when suddenly the phone rings. Scully makes herself look busy so that Mulder has to turn around and answer it. "Mulder…yes, actually. Here she is."

She pretends to not be expecting a call as she accepts the phone from his hand. "Yes?"

"Hey, Dana. It's Jim."

"Oh, hello, Jim." Mulder raises a brow at her, but she dismisses it. "You're in town? Really? Yeah, that'd be great."

"Are we still going with the art class idea?" he asks, chuckling to himself.

"Tomorrow is perfect. Oh, wait. I almost forgot. I have class…but you could probably join me…I mean us," she grimaces, looking at Mulder. He looks confused…almost hurt. "Dinner? Tonight? That'd be wonderful!" she shrieks, trying to sound girly. Noting her partner's reaction but not making the acknowledgement known to him, she adds an overly girly giggle. "Can't wait."

"Oh, man, Dana…that's just brutal," Jim laughs. "So, where are we having dinner?"

"Balthazar's sounds perfect."

"Damn, that's expensive," he whines, "…but it's fine. What time?"

"Six it is!" She sighs contentedly and puts the phone back into its cradle.

"Who was that?" inquires Mulder.

"Oh, that is Jim Hawes. We were close in college." Mulder combs his fingers through his hair. He looks like he wants to say something but tries to resist. "What is it? We didn't have any plans anyway."

"I don't mind you going to dinner with someone else," he scoffs. "But just out of curiosity…how close were you two?" She smiles.

"Oh…y'know." She looks at her watch and shrugs. "Only nine hours to go."

The hours crawl by for Mulder but fly by for Scully. Soon it is time for her to leave. "You can go home too," she teases, grabbing her bag. "It's already five."

"Have a good night, Scully," he mopes, adding "not too good," when she's gone. He is alone for about a minute before he looks at his watch and thinks, Hmmm…Balthazar's at six…I can make that.

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He pulls up to the restaurant and searches for a parking space. "Do you have a reservation, sir?" asks the host. Mulder tries to sneak a peek into the main room but doesn't see Scully or her date.

"Huh? Oh yes. That would be Mulder," he answers. "My date will be late."

The host nods and grabs a menu. "This way, sir." Mulder follows him into one of the back rooms and sees Scully and Jim in at a table by the window. "Is this table sufficient for you, sir?"

The host points to a table in a corner of the room. A few tables behind Scully. At least Jim won't recognized me, he considers. "Yes. Thank you." He sits and accepts the menu. Huddling behind it, he begins his stakeout.

"Is that your partner?" Jim whispers to Scully.

She smiles and takes out her compact. Faking a few touch ups, she glances in the mirror at the Peeping Tom behind her. Then, she snaps the compact closed and mumbles, "Yep. That's him."

"Wow. You were right. How did you know he'd show up?"

She gives Jim a duh glare, and all he can do is laugh. "I know him. I know him better than he knows I know him. Otherwise, he wouldn't be here." She takes his hand in hers and decides it's time to start the torture. "So, uh, what did you tell Ellen?"

"The truth. She thought it was hilarious, and she even said that maybe you two will be having a wedding also, as a result of this. She said if you do, then this friendship might be good luck."

"She said that? That's sweet. Sorry I haven't called you in so long."

"You know what, Dana? The phone works both ways. I'm just as much to blame as you."

"Thanks. So, what are you going to eat?"

"I think I'll have the duck." He takes another look at the prices and adds, "We're still going Dutch, right? I mean, I'm paying on my card, but you are gonna pay me back?"

"Yes, Jim," she chuckles, letting her head drop to her chest.

"I'm only checking because, remember, I got three kids. Three kids equals no money."

"Yes, Jim."

"And no money equals no romantic dinners for my real girl," he teases.

"Yes, Jim." She looks up at him questioningly. "What's he doing now?"

Jim glances at Mulder, who is pointing at the menu and talking to the waiter. "He's either ordering or just now figuring out how pricey this place is."

Scully lets out a tremendous laugh and turns to glance at her partner. She turns back to Jim and says, "Let's take it up a notch."

"I don't know. When I told you that, you didn't listen, and things turned out better."

"Trust me," she says seductively. "Will Ellen care if it doesn't mean a thing?"

"Dana, I honestly can't say, but I'm sure it's for a good cause," he murmurs. He stands up by the table and pulls her up in front of him by her hand. Mulder watches in disbelief as Jim leans forward and captures Scully's lips with his. She hears a commotion behind her and has to fight not to laugh.

"What happened?" she asks when they break for air.

"Your partner over there just spilled his water."

"Hmmm. Sounds like this is working then. Maybe we should go early."

"No duck?"

"More money for dinner with your 'real girl,' right?" she grins.

"Sounds good to me," he says, matching her grin. "Let's go. Ellen said I could camp out at your place. I hope that's not a problem."

"Nope. Actually, that's great. Are you going to come to class tomorrow night then?"

Jim chews his lip thoughtfully. "Oh, yeah. That's right. What time again?"

"It's a six-thirty class. Other students bring in guests all the time. The professor doesn't care if we bring friends because she thinks of it as advertisement…in a sense."

"Yeah. I'll be there." They leave some money on the table and walk out of the restaurant with Fox Mulder a few yards behind them.

The car ride to Scully's apartment is spent catching up between the friends but agonizing for Mulder. What the hell is going on here? Why did they leave the restaurant before they even got dinner? Mulder has a sick feeling in his stomach that he knows exactly why they left early and what they plan on doing. But that doesn't make sense. This is not Scully. She wouldn't do this…would she? Who is this guy? He watches incredulously as Jim parks the car, kisses her on the front steps, and continues to lead her inside. What is going on? Mulder parks and follows them inside, using his key to get into the building.

Meanwhile, Scully sits on her couch with Jim and hands him a beer. "I have some leftover Chinese food if you're hungry." Jim nods and makes himself at home by getting it. "I can't believe Meg is already eight. How could she be eight? Last time I saw her, she was just a baby!"

"I know. And Matthew and Jamie are almost three. You've never seen them." He reaches for his wallet and pulls out their pictures. Scully curls her legs under her and leans into the arm of the couch.

"They are so beautiful," she compliments in adoration. "Thank God they look like Ellen."

"Ha-ha," Jim scoffs, piling some chow mien into a bowl. "So, what do you want to do?"

"Uhm, I rented a couple of movies I thought you'd enjoy," she grins, holding up a couple of old 70s flicks. "What do you think?"

"Oh, Dana, just like old times, eh?" He plops on the couch next to her, and they put in the first movie. "Dana?" She looks at him questioningly. "Are you sure you want me here tonight? I mean, do you really want Mulder to think we are…doing stuff?"

"Oh, I'm going to tell him that we didn't. I'll tell him the truth about tonight…that we just talked and watched movies. But it wouldn't hurt to have the thought in his head."

"Hey, you know him better than I do. I was just making sure it wouldn't bite you in the ass."

"Watch the movie, Jim," she says, taking a sip of her beer. He chuckles and settles on the other side of the couch. "Thanks again."

"No problem."

Outside her door, Mulder paces the hallway. He can't hear what's going on inside, but in a sad way, he's almost happy about that. Finally, he knocks. The door opens to reveal a perfectly dressed Scully. "Hi."

"Mulder? What are you doing here?"

"I…I…I needed your help with something. I mean, I have a question about…work…school."

"You could have just called," she offers. "…but…come in. Come in." She steps aside to let him enter. When he walks in, he sees Jim on the couch. "Jim, this is Mulder. Mulder…Jim."

"Hello."

"Hello."

"Mulder, what is your question?"

Mulder racks his brain to come up with something adequate. "Can I get a ride to class tomorrow?"

"Is something wrong with your car?" Jim interjects, receiving looks from both agents. "Sorry."

Clearing his throat, Mulder continues with, "Actually, my neighbor asked to borrow it, and I figured we will both be going to the same place…but if you prefer, I can just take a cab."

Scully smiles and shakes her head. "It's no trouble at all, Mulder. See you tomorrow."

"Oh…okay," he stutters. As he walks to the door, he says, "You two have anything special planned for tonight?" Instantly, he regrets asking such a thing, but Scully doesn't look too concerned.

"Only if hanging out and watching a couple movies is special," she answers.

Mulder nods. It is to me since that is our special thing, he ruminates. "Well, have fun." With that, he leaves. Scully looks at Jim and grins. This is going well.

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The next day, Mulder says very little to her. Work was very peaceful, and she can't remember the last time they had both finished all their paperwork early. The car ride to the Jr. College is a little more awkward. Finally, her sullen partner breaks the silence. "So, what did you do when the movies were over?"

Scully stifles a smile, and instead gives him glare. "Nothing."

"What time did he leave?"

"I don't know. Sometime after I left for work this morning." Getting exactly the reaction she has been preparing for, she adds, "He slept on the couch."

Mulder appears to be swallowing a lump of rage. "So, why now?"

"What?"

"You said you were…close…in college. So, why now? Why is he back? Why is he here?"

"Well, he said he missed me and wanted to catch up. As far as why now, he thinks he's ready to get out into the dating pool again. He's been divorced for a little over a year and figured D.C. wasn't a bad place to start." She can tell he wants to ask her more questions, but her partner is just beside himself. "What?"

"Are you…are you interested in him? I mean, are you two dating again, or what?"

Dating "again"? She stifles another smile. I never actually said we had dated. I only said we were "close," she muses. "I don't know. To be honest, Mulder, what would be so bad about that? Do I not deserve to finally have a personal life? A life away from work? Women my age are out there in the world with normal jobs and families, and here I am with…"

"…Me," he finishes sadly. She slows to a stop for a red light and leans her head on the headrest. "I'm sorry if I'm holding you back."

"You aren't holding me back, Mulder. I'm just…" The light turns green, and she eases her foot down on the accelerator. "I feel that I am just as entitled to a love life as anyone." She knew before she said it that her choice of words would have an effect on him, but she was going for the kill.

They pull into the parking lot and get out of the car. As they walk to the classroom, Jim meets them at the door. "Hey, Dana. Thanks again for inviting me." He gives her a light kiss on the hand, and Mulder has to restrain himself. That is one of his spots…not this Jim guy's. Jim smiles kindly at Mulder before guiding Dana inside by the small of her back. She can almost feel her partner's furious aura behind her.

"Hey, Scully," he tries, "are we still going to do this project together? I mean, Jim's just here to watch, right?" She gives him a sorrowful look. "You know what, don't worry about it. I'll find someone."

When he walks away, Jim shakes his head. "I actually feel sorry for the guy. At first I thought he was a jerk for not just coming to his senses, but, Dana, he's miserable. Maybe it's time for me to back off."

She nods in agreement, never taking her eyes off of Mulder. "I think you're right, Jim. But there's just one more thing I have in mind first."

"Anything."

"Play along."