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All notes disclosed in chapter one.

Additional note: This was the hardest chapter so far. I could not think of a good enough way to end it. So there I was sitting there and listening to Faster Kill Pussycat by Paul Oakenfold featuring Brittany Murphy (great song, everyone should check it out) when suddenly it came to me and I finally had a satisfactory idea. I hope everyone else likes it, too.

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July 25, 1998 10:00 PM

Vista Fiume

"I still wish you would've let me pay half."

"No, I would never let a woman do that."

"Why? Because you're the man and it's your job?"

"No, because I believe a woman should feel safe with the man and know that he feels financially secure enough to pay for fancy or even the most uncommon meals when they go out."

"Good answer."

"Thanks, it just came to me."

Dana punched Mulder in the chest, trying not to smile as she did so. He caught her hand as she retreated and pulled her body closer to his. He wrapped his arms securely around her small frame. A smile slid onto her lips when he nipped at her ear.

"Do you think your parents will like me?" he asked her, stopping their walk at the railing overlooking the river. His hands settled over hers on the railing.

"I think they'll love you."

"Really? Even your brothers and sister?"

She chuckled at his question. "Yes, but remind me to keep Missy away from you when you actually do meet everybody."

"Why? Should I be scared?"

"No but… men love Missy. Ever since she was in, I don't know, seventh grade probably. That's when she blossomed. She always had boys lining up to take her out. They still do. Everywhere she goes, men follow."

Mulder pulled her closer. "I only have eyes for one woman and one woman only."

She turned around to face him. She smiled up at him sweetly, touched by his words. "It's not you I'm worried about. When Missy wants something she usually gets it."

"See, now I'm scared. Do I need a bodyguard or something to protect me?"

She kissed him gently. "Don't worry, Mulder. I'll protect you."

"Good," he muttered in her mouth. His hands made their way to her back, caressing her gently. Her hands pulled gently at his shirt, feeling as if even if they were pressed firmly together they still wouldn't be close enough.

She felt him tense suddenly. She pulled away to see him looking sorry.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry. I just can't stop thinking."

"It's dangerous for you, isn't it?" she teased.

"Most of the time, yes."

Dana wrapped her arms around his waist, leaning into him. "What can't you stop thinking about?"

"Everything. The case we just finished, whether or not your family will like me, if I'm going to need protection from your sister."

She laughed at the latter of the three but was concerned that the former was still getting to him. It was the first case they'd ever worked on together. All the victims had been women, something she learned affected him deeply. She did the best she could to comfort him but he still slipped into a funk.

"Would your parents like me?" she wondered, pulling herself back to the present.

"I'd rather you never meet my parents. It might change your entire opinion of me and I'm not ready to lose the best thing that ever happened to me," he said honestly.

"You'll never lose me and nothing will change my opinion of you," she assured.

He chose not to respond. Instead, he twirled her around quickly, causing her to giggle with delight. She pressed her back snuggly into his front, listening with delight to him groan with pleasure. She smiled freely as they looked out over the river. They watched boats move by at a leisure pace.

"What are you thinking about?" Mulder asked, his mouth close to her ear.

"I'm thinking… about how much I love the water." She pulled his arms tighter around her to keep the slight chill in the air away. "And how much I love you."

"Tell me," he gently spoke, speaking of the former.

"When I was a little girl, whenever my father was home, he always took every opportunity to teach me all he knew about the sea. When we lived in San Diego, we always went to the beach on weekends and we'd spend hours there, playing, learning, and just spending quality family time together. Ahab took me sailing on one of those weekends. Just me. I remember feeling so special. He shared with me stories about being at sea during war. Some of those stories he had never even shared with my mom."

"Sounds wonderful," he murmured.

"It was. But with all the differences all of us had, it's amazing none of us killed each other," she mused, memories of many arguments coming to her mind. He nipped at her neck, gaining her attention again, and they resumed their walk.

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Dana's Apartment 10:38 PM

Fantasia definitivi

"But why are they so paranoid?"

"I told you, conspiracies. They have to be on their toes with some of the things they know. I'm surprised they like you. They're usually extremely wary of new people."

"It's probably because you're going out with me. But I didn't like the short one. He kept eyeing me."

"Frohike? Yeah, most women are scared of him."

"I'm not afraid of him. I just don't like the way he looks at me."

"I'll beat him up for you, take care of that."

"No, I don't need you to do that," Dana quickly protested. "But you could talk to him about it."

Mulder pulled her into his arms as soon as she shut and locked her apartment door behind them. He began to trail kisses down the side of her face to her neck. She smiled in delight at the feeling that always engulfed her whenever he was around. She wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Hi," he murmured as he slowly pulled away to look at her.

She smiled up at him widely. "Hi."

He captured her lips with a newfound passion. She returned the embrace with equal fervor. She lost herself in his arms, something she never got tired of. No one had ever kissed her the way he did, with total abandonment. She knew, maybe even from the moment she met him, that he was the only one for her. She could only hope he felt the same way. She could practically hear the bells.

"Um, Dana?"

Or what was actually the telephone.

"Ignore it," she muttered in his mouth. He obeyed, his hands finding their way over the contours of her body.

The machine picked up. Her mother's voice rang loud and clear to their ears.

"Dana, pick up if you're there. I know how you get carried away with work." There was a silence before she started talking again. "Just wanted to see if brunch was still on…"

Mulder pulled away from dana with a groan. "That really kills the mood, doesn't it?" he said, voicing his thoughts out loud. Dana smiled apologetically at him. She hurried to the phone before her mom could say anything else.

"Mom… yeah, I'm sorry. I was busy with a project I brought home from work." Mulder hid a smile behind her. "Yes, I'll be there… Okay… All right… I'll see you at six… I love you, too… Bye."

"She sounds nice," Mulder told her after she hung up.

"She is. And she has all the patience in the world. She's also a good judge of character."

"All the more reason to go out with the men she doesn't approve of."

Dana smiled at what he was getting at. "Yeah, but hopefully when she approves of you, it won't discourage me," she teased.

"Touché."

She chuckled. She glanced around her apartment suddenly feeling awkward. There was still a small distance between them.

"Do you… do you want anything to drink or… anything?" she asked, her voice faltering.

She caught his gaze when she turned her eyes to him. Well, it was more like a lusty leer. She'd seen it a few times from him before but she was never to reciprocate. She certainly felt ready now.

Mulder moved closer to her. He wrapped his arms securely around her waist, pulling their bodies close together.

"The only thing on my mind right now is you." He nipped at her lower lip gently with his teeth. He got the reaction he wanted.

"How about we move this to the bedroom?'

"You sure? Are you ready?"

A nod was all the answer he needed

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July 26, 1998 5:30 AM

Buon giorno

'This is way more comfortable than my couch and a prison bench.'

Mulder slowly opened an eye, a million thoughts running through his mind about his location. It appeared feminine but he was still half asleep. Everything still looked fuzzy.

He moved slowly in the bed. His arm smoothed over the spot to his right, noting in his mind that the spot was still warm. He lifted his head a little, his eyes falling immediately to the clothing scattered across the floor. He heard the shower shut off in the other room.

And it all came flooding back to him.

His ultimate fantasy had come true.

Mulder rolled over into Dana's spot, burying his face in her pillow. He inhaled deeply. 'God, it still smelled like her.' He'd never smelled anything so good before, so pure and natural. He would always remember the heavenly scent.

He looked over to the bathroom door when Dana emerged minutes later. If possible, she looked even more beautiful than the day before.

Dana had a bright and cheerful smile for her when she saw he was awake.

"Good morning, handsome."

He rolled onto his back. "Good morning, beautiful. How long have you been up?"

"Since five fifteen and I'm still going to be late to meet my parents." She sat down next to him. He immediately pulled her down to him for a kiss she gladly granted him. She hummed in delight.

"Last night," she started in between kisses, "was amazing."

"Thank you. You weren't so bad yourself."

She playfully slapped him before putting distance between them. He was far too tempting.

"As much as I would love to spend the morning lying with you in bed, I really have to meet my parents for church at six."

"When will you be back?"

"After brunch, probably around noon."

He ran his fingers down her leg, her long, free flowing skirt riding up and falling the side at the slit, exposing to him a good portion of her thigh.

"And you better be here when I get back," she mock threatened. He promised and managed not to call her back when she left moments later.

All through brunch, she couldn't manage to keep the smile off her face. Her parents probably thought she was insane: She smiled at everything that was said.

It didn't matter; she couldn't hear them anyway. Her mind was still with the handsome man she left at home in bed.

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Another author's note: The next chapter will be along shortly but I warn it's a short chapter. I'm still working on chapter six but expect in soon as well. Only one chapter to go after that.