Scully Residence
Craiger, Maryland.
April 13th, 1979
5:56pm

Mulder pulled into the Scully's driveway, turned off the Gremlin's ignition and just sat there in the driver's seat. Gimble looked over at him, sighed and then poked him in the arm.

"Dude, we don't really wanna be late... do we?" Gimble said quietly.

Mulder was silent for another minute. He was actually extremely nervous about this night, about dragging Dana into his fucked-up life. Mulder knew he should tell her, but what if it caused her to leave him before they even got a chance to start something? Mulder didn't know why, because he had just met this girl, but he never wanted to hurt her, unintentionally or not. Something about the tiny red-head, had gotten under his skin and into his mind and heart over the past week. It was intense but also something he wanted in his life. He was sick of feeling alone... and lonely. It was beyond teenage angst, he just wanted to be happy.

"Nope..." Mulder mumbled while staring straight ahead, out of the Gremlin's windscreen and at the closed garage door, gathering up his courage "You're right."

"You really like this girl, huh? I mean, I get it. She's cute."

It suddenly occurred to Gimble that he could ask Phoebe out now.

"Does this mean I can ask Phoebe out?"

"Phoebe would eat you alive, but sure... go ahead, try your luck with her. Just don't be surprised when she shoots you down, like she did me" Mulder was roused from his deep thoughts and laughed at his friend's question.

Gimble hopped out of the car and waited for Mulder to join him. They stood for another moment at the front door before Gimble looked over at Mulder again and attempted to lift his hand up to knock on the door or ring the doorbell. Mulder pushed the doorbell and took a deep breath right before the door opened onto them, just standing there.

"Hello. Fox, is it? Come in, it's too cold for you to be standing out there" Maggie Scully welcomed them in.

Gimble waited to see what Mulder would say and was promptly shocked by the polite, and well-mannered words that came out of his best friend's mouth. He knew he wasn't a rude anti-authoritarian delinquent, but Gimble hadn't seen him interact with adults much other than teachers and their fathers, which were more strained relationships for both of them.

"Yes ma'am. Fox Mulder. Thank you" Mulder answered.

Maggie Scully smiled at him, then turned her attention to Gimble. Gimble pulled his denim jacket closed, wrapping his arms around his chest and returned her smile.

"Hello?"

"Gary Winchester. It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Scully, and thank you for allowing us into your home this evening" Gimble rambled on.

Mulder looked over at him, worried that he was potentially having a stroke and tried to telepathically tell him to pull back on the niceties. Gimble had taken Mulder's lead to be more formal in this household but found himself sounding like a door to door salesman or a polite serial killer.

Mrs. Scully didn't appear to mind though. She was beaming from ear to ear at the gawky, charming young men standing before her.

Bill Sr was sitting in a Barcalounger, but stood when Mulder and Gimble walked into the living room. He was short but had a more formidable character, an air about him.

"Hello, son."

"Hello, Mr. Scully..." Mulder reached his hand out, to shake Mr. Scully's hand "I mean, sir."

"Who is this?"

"Gary Winchester, sir. I'm Fox's friend... from D.C, sir" answered Gimble, considerably less chipper as Mr. Scully was much more imposing than Mrs. Scully.

"Good evening, son" Mr. Scully turned his attention back to Mulder "Starbuck says you moved to D.C with your father last year?"

"Yes, sir. My dad works for the government and he was given an assignment in D.C"

Mr. Scully visibly flinched at the mention of his father working for the government. William Scully Sr had a disdain for what he dubbed "clean suits". He felt like they didn't know what it was like to be on the front lines of keeping the country and the world safe. He had captained multiple ships and had been in war zones and, as far as he could tell, the office dwelling "clean suits" just pushed papers and made demands.

"And where is your mother?"

"Well, umm... my mother is taking care of our family house in the Vineyard" Mulder looked between Mr and Mrs Scully.

"That's nice of her. I hope you respect what she is doing in keeping your home together while you and your father are away."

"Absolutely, sir. She's a wonderful mother... I'm grateful to have her in my life."

"Do you have any siblings, son?" Mr. Scully was on a roll, with his probing and personal questions.

"Yes. I have a sister... her name is Samantha. She's a little bit younger than me" Mulder tried not to sound nervous about the direction this interrogation/conversation was going.

"And you treat her well?"

"Of course, sir. I will always love her... and do my best to protect her" Mulder forced the tears in his eyes from welling up and betraying him.

He wasn't interested in getting into the whole sordid story or wanting to see the inevitable sympathy appear on everyone's faces and the questions, or his questions and theories about what really happened. It was just easier this way, to pretend she was still alive, still on this planet and still a part of the Mulder Family even if his folks refused to talk about what had happened to her or about her any longer.

Melissa was helping Dana apply some light mascara to her lashes, when Bill Jr busted in on them, like the giant annoying Frankenstein he was, asking stupid questions and just being his usual fun-sucking self. Bill Jr was on leave from the Naval Academy and had made his way home this weekend, which was rare these days and made Mr. and Mrs. Scully happy but worried Dana. Missy had somehow always been able to hold her own with him, but he liked to push Dana's (and Melissa's) buttons.

"Those punks are here. Where did you meet them anyway? Do you even know them?" Bill Jr grumbled, with disdain in his voice.

Dana scoffed, and Missy tried not to get eyeliner and mascara all over her face while throwing their older brother a dirty look for the both of them.

"I hope you don't intend on doing anything that will embarrass Mom and Dad..." Bill Jr looked at Missy, directing the next command to her (because of her history with boys) "and don't you drag Dana into your crap, Missy"

"Shut up, Bill"

"GO AWAY, BILL!" Dana glared at Bill Jr, until he shrunk out of the doorway and went back downstairs with the rest of his family, and the infuriating new interlopers, to wait for the Scully girls to appear.

Missy spun around in front of the large mirror leaning against her bedroom wall and smiled at her image. She liked what she saw. Dana stood in front of it, for a quick moment, to make sure she didn't look stupid. She didn't, she looked adorable.

"Dad" Missy said, from the middle of the staircase, in a way that was supposed to stop the unnecessary interrogation that was happening.

Mulder and Gimble looked up towards where the voice was coming from, to see Melissa and Dana staring down at them. Gimble suddenly looked down at his feet and fidgeted with his hands. Mulder couldn't hide the small smile that graced his lips.

He had never seen Mulder act this proper, or fighting the nervousness inside like he was in this moment. Phoebe had made him nervous, almost constantly, but this was different and strange. Missy and Dana continued down the stairs and stood beside Mulder and Gimble, equally as nervous.

"Hi..." Dana grinned up at Mulder.

"Hey" Mulder's hand brushed against Dana's, and made him shiver internally.

Charlie appeared out of nowhere and suddenly attacked Mulder with awkward questions.

"Who are you? Do you like my sister? Can I come?"

"Fox. Umm..." Mulder stuttered, and then gathered his composure to answer the barrage of questions.

"That's a funny name!"

"I think so too. Maybe next time, bud?" Mulder smiled down at Charlie.

"That's enough, Charlie" said Maggie Scully, saving Mulder from having to reveal how he felt about Dana in that moment. She put her hands on Charlie's shoulders, pulling him back and closer to her, apologizing to Mulder. The youngest Scully just shrugged and smiled up at Mulder, unfazed.

"Well, you better get going girls. I want you back by 10pm. Do you understand me, son?" Mr Scully looked at Mulder, who just nodded his head yes in a silent reply.

"Thank you, Ahab. I promise I won't let you down" Dana whishpered, while hugging her father.

"Have a great time, Starbuck" Mr. Scully turned to face Missy "Be careful and look after your sister. Please?"

"Of course, Dad" Missy smiled.

Mulder, Dana, Gimble and Melissa walked outside to the car, followed by Bill Jr, who yanked Mulder back at the last minute to have a little big brotherly conversation with him.

"If you touch either of my sisters, I will hunt you down. Got it?" Bill Jr threatened Mulder.

"Ok. I don't intend to hurt either of them. Do you feel tough?"

Bill Jr stared at Mulder, and then looked through the Gremlin's front windscreen at his younger sisters. They looked happy and he seethed inside but smiled at them sweetly, and then grinned menacingly at Mulder before turning on his heel and going back into the house with his parents and little brother.

Spectacle Theatre
Craiger, Maryland.
April 13th, 1979
6:20pm

Mulder, Dana, Melissa and Gimble were standing in the mixture of plastic silver colored ornate shell cupped light bulbs and new florescent lighting, and red velvet flooring and walls in the lobby of the local Craiger movie theatre. There were movie posters on all of the walls, and a set of grand stairs that led up to the second floor to the main two theatres. It was an old, previously rundown 19th century building that had been recommissioned in the 40s as a moving pictures theatre. It looked like it was slowly making its way into the 70s, just in time for the 80s.

Missy was wearing a long beautiful, billowy dress with flowers and ivy all over it. Dana was in a pair of grey and red plaid dress pants and a black scoop neck shirt with her gold cross dangling prominently over her freckle dotted upper chest (her usually curly fiery red hair in a tight neat braid, that came down to middle of her shoulder blades).

Gimble was in acid wash denim jeans, a Star Wars tee and a blue velour warm up jacket. Mulder was also in jeans, but had a really crisp navy blue dress shirt on with his black leather jacket over the top. He was trying to make the best impression that he could on Dana.

"What are we gonna see, boys?" Missy asked, with a curious smile. Melissa knew what she wanted to see but was at the mercy of the guys, who had invited them out for the evening.

"Umm..." Gimble looked over at Mulder (who was far too busy staring at Dana to notice him) and gently kicked him in the shin to get his attention "Dude? The ladies want to know what movie we'll be seeing, you did pick one... right?"

"Of course!" Mulder said abruptly, as he turned his attention back to his friend and gave him a look. It was the "don't make me look stupid in front of the girl I like" look, and Gimble heard it loud and clear.

"Which one is it then?" Dana asked, as she pointed at the light box lit up with movie titles above the concession stand.

"Well, it's Friday the 13th. And this theatre is showing 'Phantasm'. So, I thought we'd watch that one."

"I really wanted to see Hair" lamented Melissa, before reigning in her temper and accepting that it wasn't exactly her right to moan about what they were seeing. She decided to just be happy that she was spending time with Mulder. Kind of. His attention did appear to be elsewhere but she was nothing if not persistent.

"Refreshments?" asked Gimble.

Mulder walked up to the counter and bought four tickets for 'Phantasm'.

The twenty-year-old kid behind the concession counter, whose badge named him as 'Jason', listened to them all rattle off a bunch of items and took their order with a groan and roll of his eyes. He went into the back room to fill up a couple of boxes of popcorn and returned placing them on the counter, and then turned around and grabbed the packets of candy they had asked for, spinning around and quickly tossing them next to the popcorn, and then filling up all of the large cups with their sodas.

The Scully girls both grabbed their large diet cokes from the countertop. Dana took a quick sip and stood off to the side. Mulder grabbed the popcorn boxes and his regular coke and walked over to Dana, smiling. Gimble yanked the packets of Twizzlers and Peanut M&Ms from the counter, along with his 7UP, and accidently bumped into Missy as he stepped back.

"Sorry" Gimble tried to apologize but was just met with an uninterested look from Missy.

Mulder and Dana were standing over by the grand staircase, waiting for Melissa and Gary to join them with the rest of the snacks. There was still about twenty minutes until the movie started, so they had become loiters in the lobby, as groups of other movie goers showed up.

"How are you?" Mulder asked, turning his head to look over at Dana.

"Good. So, have you seen this movie before?"

"No. School has kept me kind of busy since it was released but I'm excited to be seeing it with you..." Mulder rested his hand, gently, on her shoulder, trying not to spook her "I'm glad that your folks let you come hang out tonight."

"Yeah, me too. It's scary, huh?" Dana looked up at him and smiled shyly.

"Guess so. That's not a problem is it?"

"Nah. You'll be there, right?"

"Umm, yeah..." Mulder almost choked on the piece of popcorn he had sneaked out of one of the boxes, "Of course"

"You OK?" Dana asked, as a shocked laugh tumbled from her lips. She didn't know why, but she was really starting to enjoy it when he was shocked or taken aback by something she said or did. It was kind of cute. Actually, he was kind of cute, if she was being honest with herself. Who would have thought that Missy was right?

"Should we head up?" Gimble asked, as he and Missy finally joined Dana and Mulder by the stairs.

"Yeah, let's find some good seats" Dana said smiling, pulling Missy close to her side interlocking their arms.

Mulder used his back and right shoulder to open one of the large doors to Theatre Two, letting everyone into the dimly lit room, still grasping the boxes of popcorn and his own soda. Melissa entered first, followed by Dana and Gimble, who were talking about something that only dorks liked (or so Missy assumed), and the door slipped closed behind Mulder.

As they adjusted their eyes to the darkness, Gimble continued.

"I can't believe you like that show too!"

"Really?" Dana asked, as she cocked her head to the side. She just assumed it was popular and that she was the last to know about it, because she always was. The life of a navy brat wasn't all adventures and new places; most of the time, it was struggling to learn a new language and make friends, which meant that she felt like she was always behind the times when it came to what kids her ages were into and what they liked to do with their free time.

"Yeah, the only other person I know who likes it is... Mulder."

Gimble then proceeded to quote something funny from the show that made Dana laugh (a laugh that Mulder was falling in love with more and more, every time he heard it). Her laugh ricocheted around the almost empty theatre and caused a teenage boy down the front of the movie theatre to turn around in his seat, look up at the noise and then attempt to duck down before being noticed, but it was too late. It was Ethan. Dana had caught him as he tried to slink back down into the red velvet seat and waved at him, calling out for him to come join them.

"Who is that?" Mulder whispered, as he leaned over Missy's shoulder, making her breath hitch in her throat.

"Uh, that would be Ethan... we all go to the same school"

"So, he's a friend?" Mulder watched as Ethan walked up the semi inclined space between the rows of seats.

"You could say that..." Missy turned around, trying not to smirk as she caught the hint of curiosity in his voice and slight look of panic in his eyes at this new information and patted his arm, lingering longer than was necessary. Dana turned around, shot Missy a look (her hand dropping from his arm, in understanding) and then looked up at Mulder, smiling that wide toothy happy grin.

"Mulder, Gimble... this is Ethan" Dana introduced everyone to each other.

"Hi" Gimble replied instantly. He was a friendly sort of guy, in spite of his stressful home life or maybe because of it, he liked to reach out to others to find solace in his crazy world.

"Hey" Mulder mumbled in Ethan's direction while looking intensely at the back of Dana's head, and trying to figure out what he had stumbled into. He racked his brain, wondering if he had missed something along the way but came up empty; he was sure she had never mentioned a boyfriend to him, not that there was time, both phone calls were strictly about this evening's movie outing.

"Hello. Dana said you might be seeing a movie, together, this weekend. I didn't realize it would be this one, it's not really her... style" Ethan looked Mulder directly in the eyes, almost challenging him. Who knew Dana better? Who had known her longer? Who loved her more? Mulder felt the underlying questions aimed straight at him, and he knew that he was outdone in every way but he wasn't ready to give up on the funny, charming and beautiful red-head that fate had thrown his way when he needed her most.

Dana blinked, not sure of why Ethan would think this wasn't her type of movie. She turned around a little and patted Mulder's arm calmly, but it was too late, he had already taken the bait. Melissa's eyes went wide, and she waited to see what would happen next. Gimble opened the packet of peanut M&Ms and tossed a small handful into his mouth.

"Huh. She didn't know which film I was going to pick... kind of wanted it to be a surprise. You don't mind do you, Dana?" Mulder asked, before having a sip of his large regular coke.

"Of course not..." she smiled over her shoulder at Mulder, and then turned to face her best friend again "Ethan, what are you doing here? I thought you were going to be at home, doing your homework all weekend."

"That was the plan but my uncle told me to get out of the house, so... I did" Ethan nodded. He wasn't sure if the smart girl that he knew would buy that excuse but it was the only reasonable one he could come up with, that also seemed plausible in the situation.

Ethan pulled Dana gently away from the group, down to where he was sitting before his cover was blown, while the others watched on confused and curious about what was going on now.

"If he tries anything with you, Dana. Anything that makes you uncomfortable... I want you to know that I'm here and- "

"Tries what exactly, Ethan?" she felt comfortable in Mulder's presence and hadn't got the impression he would try anything untoward tonight, or any other night for that matter "I know jujutsu, so if he tries anything I'll kick his butt. Feel better?"

Ethan grinned at her honest response to his vaguely intrusive declaration of chivalry. This was the Dana he knew. It comforted him and belayed his fears of losing her to this new older guy in this particular moment. They both walked back up to where the others stood waiting and Missy sighed at their return, while grabbing some popcorn out of a box pressed against Mulder's chest and the crook of his elbow.

"Everything OK?"

If Mulder was being totally honest he didn't really care if Ethan was OK, he just wanted to know that Dana was alright and that nothing was said to upset her or ruin their night out together.

"Yeah. It's fine. Right, Ethan?" Dana smiled up at him and then slipped her hand into Ethan's, intertwining their fingers and squeezing them lightly to ease his obvious territorial-ness, not realizing her action would set off the same feelings in Mulder.

Mulder's troubled gaze followed their intertwined hands, causing him to mentally slap himself and then desperately try to make sure the affect didn't register on his face for all to see. He felt like a massive idiot. Why was he fighting for a girl that was already spoken for? Why had he thought that she might like him too? They were all still milling about, looking for good seats so they could settle in before the movie started. Mulder lightly touched the small of Dana's back trying to usher her back up towards the large theatre doors but she was talking to her sister, Missy.

"Can we talk? Not here, out there" Mulder politely asked Dana, while pointing to the exit sign, indicating that he would like her to join him out in the lobby for a moment. He wanted to make himself clear before the night went any further.

"Sure," Dana said, curious as to what he might want to say to her that they needed to be away from the group.

"The movie... it's starting soon" Ethan almost whined. Now that he felt like he had got her back, this felt like a step back, a risk that their hard fought for friendship was on a cliff.

Mulder noticed Ethan's unrest and felt he had to say something.

"Yeah. Sorry man, I didn't know..." Mulder began, but was quickly interrupted by a confused Dana.

"Wait, didn't know what?" Dana questioned both the young men in front of her, brow furrowed.

Ethan just stood there, not even remotely hiding the scowl on his face. He really should've told her how he felt sooner. Now he was hoping that she would let this older guy down and come back to him, so he could finally explain to Dana how he felt about her.

"Ethan, can you wait here?" Dana asked, handed her drink to Missy and then grabbed Mulder's hand, momentarily stunning him and dragging him out of the still quiet screening room.

"Guess so" Ethan stuttered, shocked by her actions.

"We'll just wait here then..." mumbled Gimble, as he plopped down in a red velvet covered seat somewhere in the middle of the theatre with a perfect view of the screen, keeping an eye on Mulder's drink and the boxes of popcorn he had placed on a seat next to him.

Mulder still couldn't form words by the time they had made it downstairs and out into the semi deserted lobby of the Spectacle Theatre. Dana was still holding his hand, her black polished nails scratching his somewhat ticklish palm in a way that was so very very distracting and wonderful. It felt like fireworks or like he had swallowed a couple of packets of Pop Rocks; his insides were tingly and on fire for this girl that he barely knew but felt like he wanted to spend the rest of his life getting to know, and he definitely wanted to feel this way forever. She was quickly becoming the light that cut through the darkness that had filled up his life in recent years.

"Mulder?" Dana pleaded, his name coming out in almost a whisper.

Initially she was uncomfortable with calling him by his last name (because of her polite Catholic upbringing) even though that was what he told her he preferred to be called when they first met, but now she found it rolled off her tongue so easily, so sweetly. It sounded like a prayer to her ears. So, she said it again, quieter, but more determined to get his attention.

But maybe she didn't feel the same way, maybe she really did like this Ethan guy and maybe he was about to be horribly let down for the second time in such quick succession in his young life. MAYBE MAYBE MAYBE! Mulder knew he might never recover if this girl, if one Dana Katherine Scully rejected him here and now.

"Mulder"

Mulder was startled out of his intense teenage thoughts and he stepped back, running a shaky hand through his floppy brown hair. It immediately flopped back and stuck against the sweat on his forehead. He noticed her icy blue eyes shining up at him from under her mascara covered lashes, and about lost his mind before he could even pluck up the courage to ask her the question that weighed on his mind in this particular moment in time.

"Dana...

His fingertips accidently but otherwise delicately skimmed Dana's hip as his hand dropped from hers. An intense, powerful feeling spread through her body, from that point on her freckled hip to her head and back down to her toes. She wobbled only briefly, because he looked at her in a way that made her heart break, and then looked away from her just as quickly.

Why didn't you say something?"

"About what?" Dana replied, concern and worry etched on her face. She stared up into his eyes all green and speckled with silver, like starlight and she could see in them... a lost little boy. A phrase from French class suddenly flashed like a neon light in her mind; Mille feuilles. Dana saw a thousand layers hidden behind those troubled eyes and wanted to be the one to uncover them. Why was he so lost? What had happened to him in the past? She wondered. Actually, what was happening right now? She had missed a lot of what he had said to her, lost in... him. His entire being.

"I.. Honestly, I feel like an idiot right now. It didn't make sense, you know? That you would say yes. I don't know why I thought-" Mulder stammered as he looked down at his shoes slightly embarrassed and sighed audibly.

She didn't understand what he was saying, it made no sense to her but she wanted to know what was making him feel the way he was feeling right now. She had thought everything was going well, and it had made her beyond happy but now she was worried. Mulder was clearly upset and she desperately wanted to know why.

"Why? What happened? I thought... I mean it felt like- Everything was good, wasn't it?"

"I really didn't think I was being subtle, you know? An idiot sure..." Mulder looked down at Dana, searching her big wet eyes for any understanding of what he was actually saying to her right now "but not subtle"

"I don't understand. What's wrong? Tell me... tell me why you think you're an idiot. I want to know what happened" Dana rested a hand on his broad chest (only the fabric of his shirt between their skin), forcing him to stop and look her in the eyes. She could feel his heart beating fast beneath her right hand, and wondered if he could see how flushed her chest and neck had become too.

"Because I thought you knew..." Mulder stopped himself mid-sentence, thinking about how to word what he wanted to say next without scaring her off at such a crucial point.

Mulder watched, mesmerized, as she ran the tip of her tongue across her red, glossy very kissable top lip and looked up at him, waiting for him to continue explaining what he was trying to say. Dana blinked rapidly, and he quickly averted his gaze, suddenly conscious and aware of it's intensity and the fact that he had been silent and staring at her for far too long.

"They both like you, stupid" Missy blurted out, from behind, interrupting them. She had followed them out and listened to the start of their incredibly private conversation. She shook her head at all of the confusion, not understanding how something so obvious had gone over her little sister's constantly praised brilliant mind.

"Missy!"

"I'd really like to talk to your sister alone... please" Mulder said, through gritted teeth while glaring at Missy and trying to carefully move Dana over into a corner, by her shoulders, away from a new crowd of movie goers that were showing up at the theatre "Ok, let's go over here"

"OK. Can you just tell me... what happened?" Dana's frowned.

Mulder tried to take Dana's hand in his again, unsure if she could feel what he felt when they touched but hoping beyond hope that if he willed it so, that she would... and that all of this confusion would be worth it. Melissa audibly groaned, as she walked back up the grand staircase to Theatre Two, leaving both of them to their conversation.

"I... I don't know how to- don't hate me, OK? I need to know... are you with that guy?"

"With?"

"Are you and Ethan a couple?"

"Mulder, no. Ethan is... he's just a friend. I swear" Dana bit her bottom lip, her eyes going wide at the realization and then she frowned "Is that what you were worried about?"

"Kinda"

"Soo... we're good now?"

"Yeah, we're good" Mulder nodded, shyly. He felt the fear of losing her leave his body and sighed a breath of relief at the feeling of almost weightlessness that had overcome him. There was hope for him.

Dana reached for his right hand and held it in hers.

And that's when she felt it, the thing.. the spark, the feeling, the totally uncontrollable made for each feeling that she was now certain was what Corinda had tried to express to her, to make her see the day they had met. Only eleven days ago, no, that can't be right. She felt like she had known him, her whole life... all of her lives, all of their lives together. He was so beautiful, standing before... heart on his sleeve. She could actually see colors... orange, blue, purple, green and silver, and it was swirling around them and only them. Exploding lights, memories of a possible future that was once only a dream.

Time slowed down; she could feel everything and intuitively knew he felt it too. The memories of her dream came flooding back into her mind.

Dana had spent the past week trying to figure out, from the fuzzy memories she had left of it, what the dream she had could possibly mean and when he carefully held her hand in his, she felt the butterflies in her stomach going crazy again, she knew in that moment what Melissa had said was true. Was their truth. Was beyond the truth. They were meant to be. It was fate. It was the Universe giving them something to hold onto in this world.

"Umm, I know we just met..." there was so much Mulder wanted to tell her, so much he wanted to express but couldn't because his hands were suddenly clammy, felt warm all over and dizzy and all of those pretty pretty words he had thought up were now gone "but... I just, I really like you"

"I think- I think I love you, Mulder. I know that doesn't sound logical but I had this dream... it felt SO real. And..." Dana couldn't help but stare at his pouty bottom lip, as he smiled down at her, a hand on her bare freckled shoulder.

"I believe you. This is going to sound crazy but ever since we... Dana, I can't stop thinking about you. I know I love you. It feels like the truth... like I've found the truth, in you. You think I'm crazy, don't you?"

She stood there as he declared that he would like to take care of her, if she would let him. If she would let him? She would let him love her until the end of time, until their last breaths and beyond. Of course she would let him, the chance that what she had dreamed coming true both frightened her and filled her with a joy that she had never known in her life, outside of the love of her family. It wasn't out of reach now; her one in four billion, constant, touchstone and best friend was here. And she accepted his offer.

"If you're crazy then so am I"

"I'll take that..." Mulder chuckled.

She shivered, the air-conditioned lobby and opening and closing of the doors to the theatre giving her a chill and making her regret not wearing more than a thin knit cardigan (that she had left with Missy and Gimble upstairs). Mulder leaned in close, and she thought he was about to kiss her, but his warm breath glided past her cheek and hit the curve of her - what she assumed was now beet red - ear, as he slipped his black leather jacket over her shoulders. A perfect gentleman, but he did linger long enough for a whiff of her lavender shampoo to hit him, along with the sweet apple smell of her perfume. She thought he smelled amazing... like a warm, homey forest that she would happily get lost in again and again if he asked her to.

"Better now?"

"Uh huh, thank you"

Dana's eyes sparkled, as she nodded in agreement and Mulder noticed the gold cross around her neck was askew and gently moved it back to it's rightful place, while she help her braid up and out of the way. As he removed his hand from her neck, he paused and ran his thumb over her cheek and bottom lip, nervously. She hid a smile with the back of her hand but couldn't hide the blush that appeared on her cheeks in the wake of his soft touch.

"Would you like to go back?"

"Yes. Because you're here now, and I'm not scared anymore"

She grinned up at him, thankful for his presence in her life and slipped her tiny hand into his larger one, entwining their fingers. Mulder offered a soft, shy smile in return (that he hoped didn't show how much he liked the reaction he had caused in her), giving her hand a gentle squeeze and pulled her to his side. They walked back up the grand staircase together, to re-join their friends (and family) and enjoy the movie. It was the first of many dates to come.