He'd never really enjoyed fighting with Scully. There were many things he would rather do, including, but not limited to: cleaning his apartment, sleeping in a real bed, running out of sunflower seeds, going to meetings, following rules, talking to closed-minded people, refereeing fights between the gunmen, seeing Scully sad or sick or otherwise suffering from something negative. But fighting with her was the absolute worst of all.

He knew it would end up as a fight right from the beginning. They were both tired, frustrated and lacking the filter from their brains to their mouths. He knew it was coming and yet he let it get out of hand. He was glad it didn't happen in front of any of the other agents. That would have just added to the whole thing.

He couldn't remember exactly what he had said, but she had looked up at him with those huge, blue, teary eyes and announced that she needed to go for a walk. They weren't in the practice of leaving during a fight, but he figured this time she must have really needed it. So he had nodded, reminded her of the briefing they had in twenty minutes, and watched her leave the station.

That was two hours ago, and she had yet to return. He wasn't as worried as he could have been. If something had happened to her, he would have sensed it. He would have had that gnawing in his stomach, alerting him that something was wrong before he knew it for real. He was sure she was okay, just blowing off steam somewhere.

He sat through the briefing, made small talk with the other agents, then finally managed to slip away. He got into the car and pulled out of the parking lot, heading for her grandparents house. It was as good a place to start looking as any. The gravel road thudded under his tires as he tried to figure out what to say when he found her. They'd had fights before, bad ones even. But now that their relationship had changed, now that they were "together" he wasn't sure exactly how to do this. Could they fight about work stuff and leave it at work? Could they separate the professional and personal? He wasn't sure they could. He didn't even know where the line was anymore. They were so woven together now, to forget one would be to forget the other. For the first time, he started to think that maybe this wasn't such a good idea.

He pulled up to the house just as the sun started to set. Her grandparents were in the front room and they both looked up at him when he came in.

"She's in the barn," Gene said. Mulder wasn't sure what Scully had told them, but he had a feeling they had guessed what had happened. He just nodded and went out the back door and across the backyard to the barn. He pulled the door open and found Scully, sitting on the tire swing that hung from the rafters. She'd changed into jeans and a white tee-shirt, and her bare feet dangled several inches above the straw covered floor. She looked at him for a moment, then looked down again.

"Scully."

"Yeah?"

"Can we talk?"

"What about?"

"Our fight."

"I don't want to talk, Mulder."

He just stood there for a while. The sunlight streamed in the window behind her, casting her in a soft orange glow. She was the perfect picture of autumn in the country sitting there before him, but he couldn't enjoy it. She'd never said that she didn't want to talk before. She usually at least gave him a chance.

"Can I talk then?"

She sighed.

"I guess."

He paced back and forth a few times before coming to stand in front of her.

"I'm sorry. I wasn't listening to you, and there is no excuse for that. I respect your opinion and there is no reason for me to ever disregard what you say. Your theories are just as legitimate as mine. I'm sorry that the fight got out of hand, and I'm sorry it got so personal. I don't want you to ever feel like you can't trust me, professionally or otherwise. I don't want to fight with you, Scully. I really am sorry."

She finally looked up at him, one tear making its way down her cheek.

"I'm sorry too."

He took a step towards her, reaching his hand out to grasp her small one. She started a little at the contact, then loosened her grip on the rope.

"Scully, I think we need to figure out how this is going to work."

"What?"

"Us. Being together and working together, and where the twain shall meet."

She smirked before as she looked up at him, meeting his eyes.

"I thought we were just going to play it by ear. That's why we were taking things slow."

"I know. But I think it's time to have that talk."

"Give me some time to think about it."

There was something in her voice that left him with worry. Did she mean she wanted to think about the situation, or the relationship? Was she considering bailing on it? Was she going to regret the whole thing?

He wanted to ask her, but one look at her face and he knew that wouldn't be a good idea. She really did need some time. But for right now, this moment, they were okay. He tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, then moved his hand to cradle her head. Leaning down, he dropped a kiss on her forehead.

"I'll be here when you're ready to talk. Okay?"

"I know."

"I love you, Scully."

"I love you too. I just need to think."

He nodded and gave her hand a little squeeze before turning and leaving the barn. The fight was over and no matter what she decided, he was pretty sure they would be alright. Maybe not together, but they would survive.

A/N: DON'T WORRY!!!!!!