Epilogue

Day 21

Mulder sat staring at the view from his hospital room and sighed heavily. His ribs and side hurt with each breath he took but he felt better physically than he had done in the last five days and better than he had felt mentally in two years. He stared at the young couple walking their dog in the park below his two-story room and a ghost of a smile graced his lips. There was a knock at his door and he turned aching to face the visitor.

"Knock, knock." Scully said gently as she pushed open the door with a smile that made his heart pump faster.

"Hey." He said, noting with some amusement that her jacketappeared to be rather bulky and was moving. He watched silently as she came around to the window standing conspiratorially in front of him.

"Someone couldn't wait to see you." She said before parting her jacket revealing Ishmael's excited face. Mulder grinned and leaned over to stroke the animal's head.

"Hey buddy," he cooed as she placed the struggling animal on the bed beside him. "You know, animals aren't allowed in here, you've become a rebel in recent years." He teased and both fell silent for a moment, remembering the time they were apart.

"You all set?" Scully finally said breaking the silence and put a hand on his shoulder tenderly. It was a tentative touch, one that showed she wasn't quite confident with their new stance yet but it showed she was bridging the gap between them. He felt the warmth from her hand flow through his soul.

"Yeah I had a sponge bath this morning and was dressed dutifully by Nurse Nancy." He grinned youthfully, all traces of the past three weeks' desolation erased almost entirely save for the stitches in his side and his aching head.

"Funny." She said playfully but casually as she tried to tread the dangerous waters surrounding their relationship before adding more seriously, "Anyway I've signed you out." He smirked at her and stood with a slight groan using her arm for support but once standing he needed little help. Before she could protest he turned around picked up Ishmael, gathering the little creature under his arm. "Mulder," she said reproachfully, in full doctor mode and he waved her off.

"He weighs like 13 pounds; I like to think I'm manly enough to handle that." He told her with mock offense and she shrugged, picking up his night bag from the space beside the bed, slipping the long strap over her shoulder and cast a last glance at the room that had become their home for such a short amount of time.

"Let's go home." She said lightly and when Mulder took her hand in his and entwined their fingers together she leaned into him slightly, feeling as if she was home. They still had their problems but this was their way of acknowledging they would be working through them together from now on.

The end.