A/N: This takes place after Orison but before The Amazing Maleeni and Signs and Wonders. Again both Mulder's and Scully's thoughts.

Home

Mulder had been this close to invent even crazy strategies to keep her apartment a mess. But he decided to be a gentleman and just offered a couple nights in his apartments. He had promised her he would behave and he did. So here they were, one morning, him making coffee while she was packing, being all set to go back to her place, already. He could not help but being a bit disappointed and sad at the prospect of seeing her leave. He did not want her to go.

He knew it was dangerous territory. He dated colleagues before and it always ended up in a disaster. He'd been there and so had she. Only here, if living a few days with her taught him anything, is that it felt different this time, and he desperately wanted this to happen.

It was seven years in the making. Seven years of deep mutual trust and respect and unbreakable friendship. They went through a lot together and always been there for each other no matter what. The level of trust was nothing comparable with what he had with other women he dated, and even loved before. This was real. This went beyond deep.

The thing was, Scully had her fair share of bad relationships and she always said she would never date a partner again. That could be a problem, especially after the Diana debacle. He would have to take this slow and see if she had the same kind of feelings he had. He thought she did but, right now, after the recent events, he wasn't so sure anymore. He was aware their relationship was fragile lately. But for now, after what had happened with Donnie Pfaster, she needed a friend.

XXX

Scully had first refused to take Mulder's offer to stay in his apartment due to what had happened between them these past few weeks. She had not known what had been the implications of this offer. But he behaved. When she left, she knew he was disappointed to see her leave but he did not say anything. They actually did not talk about them at all. Those few days would have had been a good opportunity to open up about what had been going on, but they did not say anything. They just acted as usual, as good friends. Like nothing happened before. It was a lie, and it has felt good, all things considered, to be near him.

Scully could sense that Mulder was worried about her but she needed to go back to her place. She needed her own space, her own bed. She needed to feel home, especially after all the recent events.

She was aware that it might seem strange that, after all the tragedies and violence that took place in her apartment (including the murdering of her own sister), she could still see it as a place where she could feel safe. It was her home no matter what. Here, as she prepared to go to bed in her bedroom, for the first time since she fought and killed Donnie Pfaster, she just could not help but feel like it was good to be home and alone. Honestly, it was going to be good to spend a night without having Mulder around in the living room.