IV

Late that night she lay awake in her bedroom, listening for any movement from the living room without realizing it. She'd left her bedroom door cracked a little just in case he should need her, and twice now she'd heard him limp-shuffle his way to the bathroom and then back to the couch. He had the TV on very low; she couldn't hear it but could see the dim flickering blue glow.

Obviously he couldn't sleep either. Probably for the same reason that was keeping her awake, she thought with some annoyance. But he didn't have to go to work in the morning and she did. Rolling onto her other side, she huffed a sigh and moved her legs to a cool spot on the sheets.

"Scully? Are you awake?"

She jerked upright, glaring towards the door. "Mulder? What are you doing?"

He was speaking through the barely open door, she saw, and calmed down. If he'd come in she would have knocked him on his ass and broken his other leg, and probably never gotten rid of him, she thought with exasperation. "I can't sleep, and I can hear you moving around in here. Want to talk?"

She mulled it over for a few moments, then threw the covers back and got up, padding over to the door in her forest-green satin pajamas to ease it open. Mulder stood a foot or so back in the hallway, crutch under one arm and the other in its sling. "How are you getting around? Okay?"

"I'm getting used to it. Especially when I decide to drink an entire half-gallon jug of Evian and have to use the bathroom a half-dozen times in two hours," he said in a clearly annoyed voice with his usual Mulder over-exaggeration.

She couldn't help but smile a little. "Why don't you go sit down, I'll make us some caffeine-free tea and meet you on the couch."

As he stumped away she turned and grabbed her white terrycloth robe from the back of the door but just threw it around her shoulders without belting it, then moved out into the apartment barefoot. The building's central air kept the place at a comfortable temperature, the floors smooth and cool.

He was sitting on one end of the couch when she walked over with their mugs, handing one to him then curling up at the other end. He'd turned the TV off and the only light was from the dim kitchen light over the sink she'd left on. "So, what did you want to talk about?"

After taking a sip of tea Mulder shrugged. "I dunno. How 'bout those Knicks?"

"I may not follow basketball the way you do, but even I know they're not playing this time of the year," Scully gazed over at him, fighting to contain a smug grin. "Try again."

"Hmmn... how's the McMahon case going?"

"We discussed that during dinner and obviously nothing new has come up since we've been together most of the time since then." She knew exactly what he wanted to talk about and was enjoying making him dance around his promise. "Want to give it another shot?"

He snorted. "We can't talk about what I want to talk about, so the ball's back in your court," he said in a rather grumpy tone. She couldn't see his face clearly in the dim light, just his eyes sparkling at her which belied the tone of his voice. "So what do you want to talk about, Scully?"

"How we're going to work out sleeping together just once," she said right back then was shocked at herself. When had she begun thinking and speaking things like this without considering it first?!

"Really." He said dryly, holding his mug cupped in both hands. "You sure about this, Scully? You're not going to get my hopes up then bail on me, are you?"

She huffed. "Have I ever?"

"No, but we've never planned to have sex before," he pointed out and as he set his mug on the coffee table she saw that his hand was shaking slightly though she'd never have known it from his tone of voice, which was calm and rational. Somehow seeing how nervous he was calmed her down. "So before we do so much as talk I have to know you're not going to change your mind without really good reason."

"What do you consider a really good reason?" she asked.

"Say if you don't like the way I touch you or we get started and you don't get aroused, that sort of thing. Not plan everything out only to shut me up and then not go through with it."

She drew herself up. "Mulder, that's insulting. You really think that I would--"

He held up a hand. "I didn't mean it the way it came out. I don't think you'd do that deliberately but if you changed your mind before we ever touched each other I could see you not saying anything and just trying to avoid it."

She pondered that, being honest with herself. "I might, trying to not hurt your feelings, but I promise I won't," she finally said. "If I do change my mind I'll tell you right away. Actually I think you're right, Mulder. If we have sex as friends just one time that could get rid of this sexual tension between us and then we could be even better friends and partners. But we'll need ground rules."

"Oh? Like what?"

"Well first of all, no kissing. I don't want to fall madly in love with you when you don't feel the same for me and the kiss we had on the floor this afternoon was that kind of kiss."

He paused, seemed to want to say something, then blurted, "You mean like they did in 'Pretty Woman'? 'Don't kiss them on the mouth'?"

She glared over at him. "Are you calling me a prostitute, Mulder?"

"Oh, shit, oh hell no," he stumbled out. "I didn't, I don't--"

She couldn't hold in her laughter any longer. "God, I had you bigtime!"

He relaxed back against the arm of the couch. "You did, G-woman, you did. So, no kissing. Okay, if you insist although I am hereby lodging a formal protest. What else?"

She thought about it. "We should go to a neutral place like a hotel. I don't think that either of our apartments is a good idea."

Nodding, he said, "I know just the place. When my building was fumigated last year they put us up in a really nice hotel not far from here that has rooms with king-sized poster beds. I think you'll like it."

"Okay, that sounds good." She surprised herself by yawning. "And we split the cost."

"Well, it was my idea--"

"No negotiation on this one or I will think you're treating me like a hooker," she said firmly, and meant it.

He raised both hands. "Fine, the hotel room is Dutch. Anything else you want?"

"Uh, protection?" she looked over at him a little shyly. Though this was a rather uncomfortable subject when sitting here like this coldly discussing it, she wanted to see what he thought. "I don't think we need it for a variety of reasons, the main ones being that I'm your doctor and I can't get pregnant, but I wanted to mention it anyway."

"If you're okay without I'm good," he said seriously. "Although to be honest I've never gone bareback before."

"Me either," she said with some surprise as she realized it. "I can't take the pill so I've always used condoms."

"Anything else?"

"Not that I can think of right now." She yawned again, then he followed suit. "But I reserve the right to addendums as I think of them."

Raising his arm in its sling, Mulder chuckled ruefully. "We'll have time to think of them because it'll be a while," he said. "I want to be one hundred percent before we do this. That's my condition."

She nodded and stood up. "I'm finally sleepy, so I'm off to bed. See you in the morning, Mulder."

"Good night, Scully. Sleep well."

And to her surprise she did just that; she was out before her head hit the pillow.