A/N: Once again, I own nothing of the X-Files.

I let go a big breath of air as I relax back in my driver's seat. Unsure of what to do next, I turn the key for the engine and figure I might as well start home. Just get home and then I can decide what to do next, how to solve this mess I've created.

Less than a mile from Scully's the phone rings, jarring me from my thoughts. I grab at it in the pile of clothes in the passenger seat. Opening it, I notice the battery symbol flashing that it's about to die.

"Mulder?" comes a gruff voice from the other end.

"Frohike? What's up?" Of course he calls me now.

"I've got something. It might be big."

My interest is slightly piqued or at least I'll entertain a distraction from my current situation. "What is it?"

The line is quiet for a moment. "Not on the phone. Too many people could be listening. C'mon by, we can talk here. Se-"

There is a beep. My phone is dead. Damn it. I growl and toss the phone aside. I don't really want to deal with this right now. I just want to go home and grab a hot shower. Well… at least it's on my way home. I'll just swing by.

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A cautious Frohike opens the door, looking down the alley and back. He motions me in hurriedly. "Get in," he orders brusquely.

"Nice to see you too, Frohike," I reply snidely as the door slams shut behind me.

He gives me a stern look through those thick lenses. "Were you followed? I wasn't sure what happened to you since they cut our communication off. I was about to-"

I hold up a hand to halt his rapid fire report. "My phone died. Nobody cut us off."

He gives me a curious look. "Oh… Good." He starts walking deeper into the Lone Gunman's lair. "I just got an exciting file from a government scientist. It has information I was hoping you could get Scully to look at. He says he's been working on…" He continues talking but I'm not listening. I'm not following him either.

It seems at the mention of her name, my focus is stolen. Distracted by the mere hint of her presence. My mind drifts back to very early this morning just as the sun's rays were creeping in through the part in the curtains. I was just starting to awake, fluttering in and out between sleep and consciousness. Weary and wrecked, her body was still curled up next to mine. We were so close, so entangled. I could breathe her in. Her warm, clean scent filled me. Her warmth drew me in further, hopelessly lost within our entwined bodies. I was weak. I brought my hands up under her shirt, along her back, caressing it in lazy, gentle circles. In her sleep, her body reacted by pressing further into my hold. I shudder at the memory of feeling her sinking into me, against me. The feel of Scully.

I'm ripped from my thoughts. "Mulder?" Frohike is glaring at me, a mix of annoyance and concern grace his grizzled features. "Government conspiracy not your thing today?"

I sigh. "Sorry… I'm not running on much sleep," I half lie and run a hand over my tired face to illustrate the fact. Really I'm trying to wipe clear my mind at least metaphorically. I need to try to get her out of my head, if only just for a moment.

He huffs indignantly. "Yeah, you look it. Working late?"

"Caught a bad case with the VCS. Helped them bring in a rapist and murder yesterday… and it didn't go as it should."

My tone must have alerted him, he takes a couple of quick steps towards me. "Scully okay?

I bit the corner of my lip before answering him. "Yes. She was injured but she's out of the hospital now. I stayed with her last night to make sure." Is that what I'm telling myself? Is that the reason I stayed?

Frohike takes me in, looking up and down at me. It seems he's noticing the t-shirt, the wrinkles pants and haphazard hair for the first time. "You just came from there." It was more of statement than a question. His eye brows raised and cocked.

I nod, relaxing back against a counter. I need to change the subject, I'm too transparent. This whole ordeal is too fresh, too raw.

Before Frohike can speak again, I ask, "Where are the other guys?" Truly noting for the first time that we are alone.

"Panel review about internet security and government tracking in Philly. Not really my thing. It's all a pageant anyway for all those pretty boy types like Langly and Byers." I hold back a grimace. Who said any of them were pretty boys?

There is a quiet pause as he throws me another strange look and considers me closely. "You know, I called dibs on her years ago. She's mine." His brown eyes suddenly holding a heated intensity.

I drop my gaze from his. I worry the corner of my lip again, not really sure how to answer that statement. I've always known Frohike has had a thing for Scully. It was never, ever reciprocated by Scully. There was mutual respect, maybe even something akin to friendship, but that was it.

His brow furrows at my silence. "You always scoff at my innuendos. Not today. Why not today, Mulder?" He crosses his arms across his barreled chest. Shit.

I try to laugh it off, failing miserably at it. "I've gotten tired of mocking you, Frohike. It's poor sportsmanship to kick a dog while its down."

Frohike shakes his head. "Nope. That ain't it, G-man. What the hell happened between you and Scully?" he probes, irritated.

I shrug. How do I explain what happened? "I'm not sure what happened…" I start and then halt. What did happen?

"Something did. Spill the beans," he barks authoritatively.

The flood gates open and I can't stop the words. "The UNSUB, Brent Grendel, attacked her, he was on top of her. I got there and- and saw him on her and I killed him. She was covered in blood, so much blood. I should have gotten there sooner… I couldn't stop her from seeing…" My breath hitches, catching in my throat. "I- It was my fault. I should have protected her. And then when she woke up screaming, crying, I had to help. I stayed with her, while she cried, all night. We were in bed. She kissed me… I kissed her back." There, it's all out there.

Frohike's nostrils flare, snorting out in a heated bolt of air. "You kissed my Scully."

I ignore the obvious stake of a claim. "Yes. We kissed and…" I hesitate, he doesn't need the details. "In the middle of it, I ran out. I just ran out… I'm not really sure what happened." I drop my shoulders dejectedly. That's the truth, the honesty of it.

Silence fills the room. Seconds tick by and I get nothing from Frohike. No look, no sound, nothing. How many uncomfortable moments do I have to endure today?

"You- you had Scully in bed… and you… you left her there? " There was noticeable disbelief bleeding out of his voice.

"Shit, Melvin," I groan loudly. That's what he gets from my declaration, the baring of my soul.

He shakes an accusing finger at me. "Let me get this straight. You and Scully finally… finally get started. You're about to start the forbidden dance, the horizontal mambo, and you just walk away?" He tosses his hands into the air. "What the hell, Mulder?"

"That's not the point," I bite back.

He scoffs. "Then what is the point?" His brown eyes pinning mine.

"The point is.. the point is that we're partners." There it is again, that pressure squeezing my chest tight. "We shouldn't… we can't."

He cocks his head at me inquisitively. "You have feelings for her… don't you?"

I shift uncomfortably, shuffling my weight between my two large feet. "Yes. Of course. That's the problem." Then, even as the words flow from my mouth, I'm just realizing it for the first time. "I don't know how to make the flip. How do you switch from pushing it down, hiding it from everyone… even yourself… to putting it out there, out in the open? To lay everything, all of it, on the line?" I implore him, needing to understand it myself.

"You just do."

"How?" I respond, annoyed at the simplicity of his answer. "It's not that easy."

He looks very poignantly at me, his brown eyes meeting mine. "For Scully… you just do."

A/N: This could go either way. Anyone have a preference?