Minor spoilers for Never Again and Per Manum. It fits later into my AMC timeline, just after the Sculders' vacation to Martha's Vineyard.

"Hey Scully". Mulder's eyes widened in surprise as he saw his partner stood on the doorstep of his apartment, dressed down in jeans and a white blouse, with a takeout bag in one hand and a four-pack of beers in the other. He certainly wasn't expecting to see her that evening – they'd said goodbye to one another less than two hours before, and she certainly hadn't mentioned popping over. Not that he minded of course, he loved spending time with her, but he didn't want to push her – not after their vacation at Martha's Vineyard, when they'd agreed to take things slow.

"Hey". She looked uncertain. "Is now a good time?"

As he paused, Mulder realized she was probably taking his silence in the negative. "Of course", he rushed to answer, stepping back. "Come in".

"I was just in the neighbourhood dropping Ashley off at her friend's house, so I thought I'd pop by and see if you fancied some food". That was a lie, Mulder knew. As far as he was aware, none of Ashley's friends lived near him, but he wasn't about to argue, especially when the smell of Chinese takeout was wafting in his direction.

"I always feel like food", he replied, taking the beers from her grasp and heading out into the kitchen. He cracked open two with a bottle opener, and placed the other two in the fridge to keep cool. Scully followed him out, settling the takeout bag on the counter and busying herself grabbing clean plates. As she reached for the cutlery drawer, Mulder stopped her. "I've got chopsticks somewhere in there".

"Chopsticks?" It was the same look she gave him when he suggested aliens were responsible for crop circles, not teenage pranksters.

"Let's go authentic Scully".

She didn't look convinced, but Mulder noticed with a grin that she bypassed the knives, forks and spoons and found the chopsticks. He followed her back out into the living room, settling the beers and takeout bag on the coffee table before sitting down cross legged on the floor. After a brief moment of hesitation Scully followed suit, and busied herself opening the plastic containers. "I wasn't sure what you were in the mood for so I got a little bit of everything. There's duck, prawns, pork and chicken. I got a large orange chicken because I know it's your favorite".

Mulder smiled to himself. He'd never told her it was his favorite, and yet it was one of the many things she seemed to know about him. Really they were perfect for one another, he thought. Scully just needed time to realize that for herself. "Thank you". He dove in, helping himself to two spoonfuls before moving on to the pork and rice. "This is great. Ashley doesn't know what she's missing out on". He figured it was best to stick to safe subjects.

"Well I do believe she's having pizza tonight, so she's not entirely missing out".

"When do you pick her up?"

"She's being dropped off late tomorrow morning, which means I get to celebrate with a lie in".

"Nice".

Scully nodded as she took a bite of her king prawns. "No one tells you that when you have a baby, you say goodbye to sleeping in. Well, sleep in general actually". She paused, considering her words, and Mulder knew she was thinking about their baby that wasn't meant to be. Not wanting her to get upset, he tried lifting the mood.

"I bet no one told you that when you started working with me you said goodbye to your sleep too".

She huffed out a laugh as she reached for a beer and took a sip. "They certainly didn't". Her eyes twinkled mischievously, just as Ashley's did when she was up to something. "What with you and Ash, there's no hope for me".

"There certainly isn't. But you wouldn't have it any other way, right?" he joked.

Scully sobered, glancing over at him, deep in thought. "Right", she agreed, her voice serious. "I wouldn't have it any other way".

His heart constricting, Mulder took a swig of beer, not wanting to ruin the moment by telling his partner yet again that he was in love with her.

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

They made an impressive dent in dinner, at least in Mulder's eyes. He surveyed the damage – half empty containers spread across the coffee table, two empty bottles of beer now forgotten about, two full ones recently opened. Scully however looked dismayed. "So much wasted", she commented, groaning as she shifted on the floor to begin the task of clearing up. Mulder could sympathize; he felt as though he could barely move after all he'd eaten.

"It's not wasted", he commented, belching quietly. "I'll have it for breakfast".

Scully gave him a look not dissimilar to the one she gave Queequeg when he threw up on the rug after eating sand at Martha's Vineyard. "You're kidding".

"I joke not Scully".

"You're like a human garbage can".

"I'll open an X File on it tomorrow. If I can move".

"I'll clear this up then".

"It's ok Scully, leave it. I'll do it later". She looked skeptical. "I will. Sit back down".

For once she didn't argue, and did as she said. She scooted back so she was sat next to Mulder, leaning against the sofa with her legs stretched out in front of her. She let her head drop back onto the sofa cushion and closed her eyes. "That was so good", she uttered. Mulder tried to ignore the way her shirt tightened as she stretched, the buttons straining around her chest. Memories came flooding back of her arching up against him in pleasure and Mulder shifted on the floor, trying to think of something different. Anything different. As she sat up, his eyes settled on her lips. "Umm Scully?" he said, his own hand moving to his face to brush his lip.

"Hmm?

"You got something". Again he gestured. Taking the hint, Scully wiped her lip, completely missing the spot of soy sauce. Mulder smiled. "Not quite". He leaned over her, carefully moving her hand out of the way before gently wiping the sauce away. He tried not to get too distracted when Scully licked her lips absentmindedly. He hated it when she did that – it made him want to chase her tongue with his own. "All gone", he whispered, his eyes meeting hers before darting down to her lips. God he wanted to kiss her. *Slowly* he told himself. *Take it slowly*

"Thank you", Scully replied, her eyes now dilated as his breath kissed her lip. He could see that she wanted him but he made no effort to bridge what little gap there was left between him. It was up to her now. "I umm…I'd better clean up".

Before Mulder could actually process what was happening, Scully shifted onto her knees and began collecting the containers once again. Her blouse had lifted up and as Mulder followed her movements he saw her tattoo peeping out at him above the waistband of her jeans. He couldn't stop himself, and his hand reached out to touch it. Scully froze.

"I've never seen it before", he murmured, his finger gently tracing the circle of the snake "Not really. Not when we…" The times they'd made love so far had been fast and frantic other than their first time, after the failed IVF, but still he hadn't taken the time to explore her body properly. He'd seen the pictures of course after her hospitalisation following Jerse's attack on her, but he'd never seen it close up.

Scully still said nothing, instead remaining dead still, as though waiting for Mulder to pounce. When he did nothing, she let out a sigh, her hands moving down to her chest. Mulder watched with bated breath as she slowly began to undo the buttons on her shirt. He wasn't quite sure what was happening, but he also wasn't about to argue, not when his partner was stripping in front of him. When the last button was freed, Scully removed the shirt and placed it on the sofa wordlessly. She kept her back to Mulder, who was captivated by the lacy black bra she was wearing. He knew though that that wasn't the point and so decided to give the tattoo his full attention.

"It's beautiful", he uttered, his voice dry. He licked his lips, tracing the oroborus once more. "The red, it's so vivid".

"I know".

"Why a tattoo Scully?" asked Mulder, before asking the one question he'd been wanting to know ever since she got it. "Was it because of me?"

Scully stepped away, turning around to face him. Mulder's eyes lifted to settle on her face. She looked thoughtful, apprehensive, as though she was debating whether or not to tell him the truth. He wanted her to tell him the truth. "In a way", she admitted. He thought so.

"I was going through a bad time, what with trying to cope with everything that had happened, and then the worry over my cancer".

Mulder frowned. "You knew then?"

"I had a feeling".

He felt awful. He wished he'd have been there for her, rather than acting like an asshole. Maybe then she wouldn't have sought comfort in Ed Jerse's arms. "And then I refused to get you a desk".

"It wasn't about the desk Mulder, not really. All my life I'd been attracted to the wrong type of men, controlling men, and after a while I've resented it and rebelled against it. Jack was…he was a good man for the most part, but after a while he tried to control me and my life, my job and my decisions. When I first found out I was pregnant he was even worse, even though we were no longer together. I told you he wanted me to have an abortion?" Mulder nodded. "When I refused he…well he made me feel stupid, and acted as though I'd tricked him into having a baby. The tattoo was to remind me of that time, and others, and to tell myself "never again". I wasn't going to let it happen again".

"Am I the wrong type of man Scully?" Mulder asked after considering her words.

Scully didn't reply immediately, but instead moved in closer. "You don't control me Mulder. I respect your opinions, even when they're wrong". He allowed himself a small smile at that. "You're a great guy Mulder –"

"Why do I sense a big "but" coming?"

She shook her head. "You are a great guy. Back then we were going through some issues. I felt like you didn't trust me entirely, and I resented the way you acted back on that case. That wasn't why I slept with Ed though", she added, as though hearing Mulder's unasked question. It was the first time she'd mentioned it since their argument in her apartment. "I wanted to. I wanted him at that moment, and I just wanted to forget all about the fact my life was about to fall apart".

"I wish you would have talked to me back then", replied Mulder, still wondering how three years later he was still jealous of Ed Jerse. "Although I can see why you didn't. I didn't exactly make it easy for you".

"No you didn't. But then I didn't make it easy for myself either. I should have talked to you, but I wasn't very good at opening up then. I'd like to think I'm better at it now".

"We both are". Scully nodded in agreement. "I'm sorry Scully. I'm sorry for the way I treated you back then, and I'm sorry for not being there for you".

"You're here now", she smiled. "You're still here, even after everything and the way I treated you. The way I've been treating you". Mulder looked confused. "How did you phrase it? Like a fuck buddy".

"Scully". He'd regretted those words the instant he said them. "I didn't mean it".

"You were right though. I was in a way. I thought I could live with just the physical, without giving myself completely. But I can't". She took a deep breath. "I um…I love you Mulder".

Smiling, Mulder closed the gap between them and slipped his arms around her. "I know you do", he replied, kissing her crown. "And I know you still need time. I meant what I said Scully, I'm going to wait for you, until you're completely ready. And when you are, just let me know".

"You'll be the first to know", she replied, smiling against his chest.

"Come on", he said, pulling back after a while. "Let's get this cleared up and then go to bed". He noticed Scully's uncertain expression. "It's late Scully", he said, reaching for her blouse and holding it out for her to slip back into. He then turned her to face him, and slowly did each of the buttons back up. He could see sense her body responding to him, but he willed himself to ignore it. Not now. Soon. "You said yourself Ashley isn't coming home until tomorrow. I like a good lie-in myself. Let's just sleep".

After a moment's pause Scully nodded and smiled, reaching out to squeeze Mulder's hand before getting to work clearing up dinner. Things were changing between them; they both knew it. Finally they were on the same page.

If anyone has any requests for chapters at any time in my AMC timeline, please let me know and I'll see what I can do. Thanks.