A/N: this takes place during En Ami. Mulder's POV. The very end is borrowed directly from the episode. It was so funny to see the Lone Gunmen in "disguise" that I had to put it there.

ps: I might not be able to update for a little while after that due to work and vacation away from home. I hope you'll forgive me and that your patience won't vanish! Just so you know, I have all the story shaped (have since the beginning), I know where this is going and how it will end.

Thanks all for the feedback. I love it. Glad you like it. :-)

Worry

Mulder was a resourceful man. He did not often find himself in a situation where he did not know what to do. Only today, he obviously was. He was in his living room, pacing, not knowing what to do. Where was Scully? He was starting to really worry.

Maggie also. She did not know anything about a family emergency and now she also wondered what happened to her daughter. Mulder had not wanted to frighten her, but it was not like Scully to disappear without a word, like this. There had to be an explanation. He really hoped nothing happened to her.

Usually when The Smoking Man was involved, it wasn't a good sign. He did not know what the son of a bitch was doing, or why he needed Scully for, but it could not be good. Mulder was sure he was the one who emailed him and sent the newspaper to Scully. And what did the cancer kid have to do with anything, anyway?

That was not only what troubled him though. Scully lied to him. It actually made things worse. Why would she lie to him to, then follow The Smoking Man…. wherever they went? It did not make any sense. And why did she refuse to talk to him when Skinner had her on the phone? He really hoped the lie had nothing to do with them personally. He did not think so, but he did not really know what to think anymore, at the same time. Mulder sat down.

Since their weekend at Quonochotaug Scully was distant, to Mulder's frustration. He had thought that them finally getting together would have had made things more simple. It seemed to have made them further complicated instead. He wished she would talk to him. After all, he had been there and it had been a weird experience for him too. Mulder could see there was an issue with that weekend at Quonochotaug but they did not seem to be able to discuss it.

Not that he knew what to say, mind you. Mulder was a smart man and could find explanations for almost everything, but here he was at a loss.

The weekend started pretty normally. Well, as normal as sorting and moving out the belongings of your late mother could be. Not really romantic. It went fine though. They finally emptied the apartment completely and moved things to the Quonochotaug house. At night, they made a fire in the chimney and just talked. Then it got out of hand. Even now, in hindsight, he did not know how. He remembered musing about him being alone now. He was an orphan. He had no close family left. Scully had just simply said, that he was not totally alone, that he had her. Then before Mulder really realized what was happening, they were making love in front of the chimney. Twice. And then again, in the bedroom after they finally got to bed. Just to reiterate the next day. Multiple times. Mulder still could not explain it, no matter how hard he tried. It was weird. It seemed he had been craving her. But still, now that they were together, even if not that much officially, Mulder thought it would not be a big deal.

Mulder got up again, putting a hand in his hair angrily. Time was not for memories of weird, fun times. That could not have anything to do with Scully's disappearance today. Even if she was distant she would not have done something as stupid as willfully going alone with the Smoker, right? That thought made him uneasy. He really did not know what to do, right now. He really wished "The Three Stooges" found something. As if on cue, there was a knock on Mulder's door. He went to open it and had to suppress a laugh at the sight of the Lone Gunmen.

"The masters of disguise", was all he could say.

Ps2: Okay, so it occurred to me that some of you might be a bit disappointed to not have a chapter with a scene following my latest chapter, "Now". I apologize. I'm aware that in a lot of fanfics there would have been a second part to my previous chapter. I'm aware that fanfic deals a lot with readers and fans' fantasies and imagination regarding a fictional world and characters. I know that you apparently liked seeing Mulder bringing some sexiness to the story. And Perhaps some of you expected a little bit more of this and intimacy, especially after the abrupt ending of said chapter. I like sexiness and just intimacy too but I like a good story without unnecessary dragged themes, scenes or storyline better.

That is why I don't write a sex/intimate scenes just to write a sex/intimate scenes. If it doesn't make the story go forward, if it's unnecessary from a narrative standpoint, then don't do it. That's my creed. I believe this to be true for any kind of scene and storyline. I want to be able to justify every chapter that I write and every choice that I make.

If you've followed this story you probably know that about me, already. I don't write very long chapters and tend to stick to the essential, after all. I'm not saying that I manage to do it everytime, I'm sure some people would find this fic incredibly boring & even badly written. I just do my best like everyone here. I'm just saying that I'm sorry for the abrupt ending and the lack of following. I thought that I owed you a bit of an explanation.

I'm Sorry there isn't a scene with the both of them afterwards. I actually wrote some drafts of such a chapter. It was a fun & awkward after-sex scene between them at the hotel. Unfortunately, I thought the tone was a bit too different from the previous chapters, it was a bit fluffier and I didn't feel it fitted very well to the story so I decided to suppress it entirely.

Now if you're good (XD), I may write a satisfying final draft of this scene. I would post it at the end of this fic, as a bonus chapter, to thank you for your patience and support. This also depends on your level of interest, of course. I'll leave the decision to you.

Again, thanks for taking the time to read this. You are all very dear to me.