All disclaimers are in part one.

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'Why is a woman's sexuality

Always under so much scrutiny?

Why can't she do exactly as she please

Without being called a million things?'

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December 30, 1999

"Please, it's just one night."

"I know and I told you… How'd you get this number? I'm not listed."

"You gave me your cell number and I have friends that got me your home number."

"Mulder! That's a complete invasion of privacy!"

"But you haven't hung up yet so it can't be that much of an invasion."

"Mulder…"

"You still haven't answered my question."

"Yes, I have but the word 'no' is obviously not in your vocabulary."

"It is, just not in the context you're using. Come one, give me a shot. You don't work tomorrow and your fiancé is out of town, which I find odd by the way."

"I knew I shouldn't have told you."

"You're breaking down, I can feel it. Please go with me. I'll make it worth your while."

Dana was silent on the other end of the phone. He was right, she was breaking down. She sighed heavily.

"What time?"

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Mulder made sure he was seated intimately close to Dana when they sat down for a late dinner. The atmosphere of the restaurant he'd chosen was cozy. The room was dimly lit for a romantic evening. A pianist was playing across the room. It was perfect for what he had in mind.

"Tonight, I'd like to talk about us," he announced to her. Her startled expression was worth all the money in the world. He specified. "I want to know everything about you. It's been months and we haven't said anything about ourselves."

"Maybe that's for a reason," she pointed out.

"Yeah, you continue to pull away and hold back while I continue to pursue because I hate giving up," he summed up for her.

"My middle name is Katherine," she started, falling for his trick. "I was born in San Diego in 1964. I have three siblings-two brothers and one sister. My father's in the Navy so I spent much of my life moving around."

"Did that get old after a while? Moving all the time?" he wondered.

"In my teenage years it did. You make friends and then you have to leave again. I was always the new kid in school and I hated it. We were finally stable when I was 16, here in D.C."

"Did your mother work or was she a stay at home mom?"

"Stay at home. With four kids and my father gone so often she couldn't work."

"Wow, what else should I know about you?" he wondered, his curious nature ever present.

She had to stop and think for a moment. "Well, winter is my favorite season, but I hate the cold. I love Christmas. I love the color blue and I hate the color pink. I've never been married, never owned a pet, and I'm Catholic. How's that?"

He looked at her confident expression. It was close to what he wanted but he still wanted to know more.

"What's your favorite book?" She opened her mouth to respond but he cut her off. "Your real favorite book?"

Caught, she looked down. "Breakfast at Tiffany's," she muttered.

"What're your sibling's names?"

"Bill, Melissa, and Charlie. My parents are William and Margaret."

"If you weren't a doctor, what would be doing?"

"I'd be a forensic pathologist."

"Impressive. Which side of the bed do you prefer?"

She blinked. "Why do you need to know that?" she demanded to know.

"Because I'm curious," he said as if obvious.

Hesitantly, she answered, "the right side."

"How ironic. I prefer the left side," he smiled.

"Please move to the next question," she pleaded.

He had to think about his next revealing question. He wanted to know something about her no one else knew.

"What would you name you first child?"

Her breath caught in her throat. "I … I don't know."

"Yes, you do. You just don't want to tell me."

Her eyes met his. Damn him and his gorgeous eyes. She took a few deep breaths before replying.

"Angela or Cassandra for a girl and William for a boy. I've always liked those names," she admitted in a faint voice he had to strain to hear.

Mulder smiled and scooted closer. "Must be fate," he told her. "My middle name is William."

"I know; I've seen your medical chart," she reminded him. She recovered quickly from her falter earlier. "But enough about me. Tell me about you."

He leaned back in his chair, a smile on his face. "You're sneaky. I was hoping I would get a few more questions out of you."

"No, before I tell you anything else about me you have to tell me about you," she promised.

"Okay, fair deal. You already know my middle name and when I was born so… I spent my childhood days living on Martha's Vineyard with my mother, Teena, my father, William, and my sister, Sam. My father worked for the State Department and my mom didn't work at all. I hated living on the Vineyard for the most part; too prim and proper. The only good thing about it was the summers and spending time with Sam. We'd play baseball all day. It was the best.

"Now, working with the FBI, I have a tendency to be injured. I also like winter, I love watching Christmas movies. I also love grade B sci-fi movies. I'm red/green color blind but it doesn't affect my job. I went to Oxford. Yes, the one in England. My love life is completely shot and I gave up on it years ago. But now I've found a reason to try again."

Dana sat there awe struck.

"And I also hate the color pink," he added just for the fun of it. She still sat speechless.

"And, I wouldn't say that I have no religion but I'm agnostic. I hope that's not a problem for you."

She shook her head. "No," her voice cracked. She cleared her throat, "no, that's not a problem. But if you ever meet my mom, I wouldn't exactly lead with that."

"Religious?"

"Extremely. She's not as bad as she used to be though."

"Her kids are grown up and she realizes everything's not like it used to be?" he guessed, motioning for the waiter to pay the check.

"Exactly. I think she first realized that when she walked in on my sister and her boyfriend having sex," she remembered.

Mulder managed to stop the laugh he felt bubbling up. "How embarrassing… for your mother."

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Mulder knew he was the happiest man alive. The luckiest man as well. Dana Scully was walking hand in hand with him, the real Dana Scully. He knew it was real her by the way she laughed. He didn't know how he knew but he knew. She was actually laughing.

"Hey, you know what we didn't talk about?" he said suddenly. She looked at him expectantly. "Guilty pleasures. Everybody has one."

"You show me yours and I'll show you mine," she teased, smiling up at him.

He grinned sheepishly at her. There was some information he was willing to share and some he wasn't.

"Baseball … and some other things but I don't want your opinion of me to change."

"Is it illegal?"

"No, it's perfectly legal," he assured. He squeezed her hand. "What's yours?"

There was no hesitation from her. She felt safe with him. She knew she was safe with him. "Chocolate and bubble baths. Really long bubble baths with candles for my lighting."

He groaned. "Thank you so much for that lovely image. You realize I won't be able to stop thinking about it now, don't you?"

She smiled deviously. "Why do you think I told you?" she said, her voice sounding like sweet music to his ears.

"You do like to toy with men. I knew it!" he exclaimed playfully. "Luckily for you, I don't mind when a beautiful woman likes to mess with my mind."

She bumped into on purpose, trying to get the stupid, yet sexy, grin off his face. They stopped their walk at the bridge of the river walk. She recognized it as the spot they stopped at often after they had dinner or lunch together, even in almost complete darkness she could tell. Lights were at various places up and down the walk but they'd found a spot no one ever ventured into; lights were nowhere to be found in that vicinity.

She placed her hands on the rail, looking out over the dark night sky. She smiled when she saw the stars twinkling back at her. Mulder sided up next to her, his warmth radiating to her through four layers of clothing. She could feel his eyes on her and she didn't mind one bit. She felt like a new woman every time she was with him. He made her feel good about herself, good about being a woman.

Daniel didn't make her feel like that, not anymore. He did look at the beginning when he first started teaching her, when their relationship first started. Now… she felt nothing when he looked at her, when he touched or kissed her.

But Mulder… every time he touched her, she swore he could see her heart beating furiously through her blouse. Every time he looked at her, she knew a smile came to her face. She felt loved with him, she real with him. Daniel just made her feel like an object to look at but Mulder made her speak her mind. He encouraged her even. A few weeks ago, he swore he couldn't make decisions without her. She was no longer afraid of losing control or showing a certain weakness. Mulder helped her find it again.

"Did you know, in Greek mythology, the Sphinx guarded a path. And every time someone time someone wanted to cross that path, she would ask them a riddle. If they couldn't answer, she ate them. When she preyed on Oedipus, he provided the riddle's answer. The Sphinx was humiliated at her loss and jumped off a cliff," Mulder shared with her, his hand finding hers on the rail.

"What was the riddle?" she wondered, her fingers tangling with his.

"What animal goes on four feet in the morning, on two at noon, and on three in the evening?"

"Man," she answered confidently. "He crawls as a baby, walks as a man, and uses a cane in his old age."

Mulder looked chocked. "You cheated."

"No, I didn't. I've been doing my research," she revealed. She smiled up at him, "You've inspired me."

He opened his mouth to respond but a loud ringing stopped him. They both looked in the direction they had come from.

"Church bells," she explained. "It's midnight."

She was unprepared when his lips touched to hers but she quickly got the hang of it. His arms moved to wrap around her small waist, pulling her body up close to his. She was slower to react but her hands eventually made their way to his hair. Her lungs felt like they were on fire but she didn't care. She didn't want to stop kissing him.

"You know," Mulder gasped after he pulled away. "I never imagined seeing myself with someone like you. Now I can't imagine myself without you."

She caressed the back of his head, pressing her forehead to his. "But we're not together," she smiled sadly.

"We should be," he insisted. She had nothing to say to that. She knew he was right and she didn't know why they weren't together.

"I haven't seen you wear your engagement ring once in all the time I've known you," he pointed out, taking a hold of her hand. "Why is that?"

"It gets in the way during surgery," she lied. He accepted that answer, not wanting to ruin a beautiful moment. He risked it and kissed her again. He wasn't sure if she was really into it or if he pushed her into it the first time but not he knew. She was definitely putting forth effort.

He didn't like that, technically, she was someone else's woman but he knew he could change her mind. He had to.

He was in love with her.

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Continued in next chapter……