Scully was sleeping soundly when the phone rang. She turned towards the night stand and picked it up without fully opening her eyes.

"Mulder?" she answered, knowing very well who was calling. "What's wrong?"

"I…" Mulder hesitated. "I need your help."

"Can't this wait until morning?" Scully sighed. She wasn't eager to leave her bed.

"No, it can't," Mulder was determined.

"Do you know what time it is?" she didn't know either, but that was the whole point. She didn't want to know, not the time nor his problem, she just wanted to sleep.

"Scully…" Mulder pleaded. "I think… I think I got my period."

"What?!" she sat up straight, suddenly fully awake and alert.

"Well, it's either that or I'm dying," he sounded miserable.

"You are not dying," Scully assured him. "I'll be right there."

She was already up, putting her clothes on. Working with Mulder taught her how to get dressed in no time. In just a few minutes she was ready to go, together with a pack of tampons. She wasn't sure if giving tampons to a man was wise decision, even if he had a woman's mind and body. She was sure it would freak him out, but she didn't have any pads. Could he survive long enough for her to make a quick detour and buy him some? She decided that he could.

When she arrived at his place he didn't open the door so she used her keys to get inside. The lights weren't on and there were no sounds. It came to her mind that she forgot to ask him where he was, she just assumed he would be at home, where she left him, but with Mulder it was never a safe assumption.

"Mulder?" she called, not knowing whether to be annoyed or worried.

"In here," she heard a female voice from the bathroom. She followed the voice and it led her to a silhouette sitting on the toilet – the lights were off even in there.

"Why is it so dark in here?" she asked. Her hand was already on the light switch, but she took a few seconds to brace herself before pressing it. She wasn't sure she wanted to see whatever it was that she was about to see.

"You sound like your sister," Mulder answered.

"My sister is dead, Mulder," Scully reminded him.

"Yeah, I know," he sighed. "So is mine."

She pressed the switch and Mulder squinted as the bright light filled the room. He seemed fine otherwise and Scully was relieved. She tried not to pay attention to bloody underwear on the floor. It was a normal part of life, she reasoned. If Emily had lived, one day she would have had to do this with her. She never imagined doing it with Mulder though, but then again, she had done much weirder things with him. Or just as weird, at least.

"Take a clean underwear and put this on," she instructed him with her doctor's voice, offering a packet of pads.

"Thanks," he took it without looking at her, for which she was grateful.

"I'll make you some tea," she blurted the first excuse that came to her mind and quickly left the bathroom. Tea was a good idea, and she needed it maybe even more than him. She searched for cookies to serve them with tea, but didn't find any. Then again, maybe a nice, warm drink wasn't strong enough for what they needed and she decided to dump it in the sink. When Mulder emerged from the bathroom she handed him a bottle of beer instead.

"Is this going to stain?" he asked her, unsure about sitting on his couch.

"It shouldn't," Scully shrugged. "It might, though."

"Oh," he took a big sip of the beer, but remained standing.

"Sit down, please," Scully invited him. "It's going to be okay."

"Fine," he reluctantly agreed, not looking comfortable at all. "How often do I have to change this thing?"

"Every few hours or so. The whole thing only lasts for about four days."

"Only?"

"Are you in pain?"

"A little, yes."

"I can give you something for that."

"No, it's fine. I like the pain, it keeps me from thinking too much."

"Mulder, we'll get you out of this, I promise."

"How?"

"I don't know, but there's got to be a way. I don't think we can do it alone, though. It's time to ask for help."

"Who?"

"I think Skinner is our best shot."

"No!" Mulder almost screamed. "You can't tell Skinner! Anybody but him!"

"Why not?" Scully was surprised. She didn't want to involve Skinner either, but she didn't feel like they had much of a choice.

"He can't know who I am," Mulder pleaded. "It would crush him."

"I think you are exaggerating a little, Mulder. Skinner is used to our failures. He won't be pleased, but he may be able to help us."

"No, you don't understand, Scully!" Mulder insisted. "He would never forgive me!"

"This isn't your fault, Mulder."

"No, not this!"

"What then?"

"You won't forgive me either," he sighed miserably. He was going to have to tell her, there was no way out now, but he was afraid of her wrath.

"Mulder?" Scully was getting suspicious now. "What did you do?"

"I already called him," he finally admitted.

"You called Skinner? When?"

"Yesterday. I felt lonely and… I thought he might be able to help, as you said."

"Did you tell him?"

"No, I couldn't!"

"Why not?"

"Because he… He had no clue. And he really likes me, you know, the way I am… at the moment…"

"Mulder, what the hell are you talking about?"

"I kissed him. We went on a date and I kissed him."

There. He said it. Let the doomsday begin!

"Oh for God's sake!" Scully stood up and went to the window, desperately needing fresh air. She tried to open it, but her hands started to shake so she gave up. Mulder noticed her body trembling and thought she was crying.

"Scully," he stood up, wanting to approach her, when she abruptly turned around and raised her hand to stop him.

She wasn't crying; she was laughing. It looked more like a hysterical laugh than a happy one, so it didn't lessen Mulder's worry for her. Damn! Why couldn't he give her at least one night to rest? Why the hell did he have to start menstruating so soon?

"I'm sorry," he said, standing there miserably. Scully's mental state wasn't the only thing that bothered him, though. He stole a quick glance at the couch, relieved not to find any stains of blood on it. Then again, the couch was black, so would he even be able to see them? He leaned to inspect it closer, but it seemed to be clean. What about his pad? Was it still in place? He briefly touched his pants to make sure of it, which made Scully laugh harder.

"Please don't ever do that in public," she advised him, catching her breath.

"I'm not used to being a woman," Mulder shrugged, carefully sitting down again. "How do you deal with all that blood every month?"

"I don't," Scully whispered. She joined him on the couch and they just sat quietly for a while, each lost in their own thoughts. She was weighing how much to tell him, and he was afraid to ask.

"I stopped having periods after my abduction," she finally said. "I had tests, of course, but my doctors weren't able to find the cause. The only diagnosis I got was… Infertility."

"I'm sorry," Mulder sighed. He didn't know what else to say. It wasn't news for him. They'd been through it before, they'd been through so much more because of it.

"Mulder, it came back," Scully continued through tears. "A few months ago I started menstruating again. At first I was afraid that something was wrong, another cancer maybe, but it turned out to be a perfectly normal period. A month later it came again, then again… Everything was normal, so I thought, maybe…"

"Are you saying your fertility may have been restored?"

"Dr. Parenti thought it was worth trying. He suggested we redo the tests after my next period."

"It was bad news, wasn't it?" Mulder guessed, based on her tears and devastating sadness in her voice.

"There were no tests," her voice was flooding with defeat. "The next period never came."

"It will come," Mulder tried to comfort her. If even he got a period, then truly anything was possible. "Don't give up hope."

"It's been more than a month now," Scully shook her head. "That's too long. I can't afford to hope."

"Then leave the hope to me," Mulder smiled gently. "It will all work out; I can feel it. Just trust me on this."

"How do you know?"

"Woman's intuition," Mulder shrugged and they both smiled.

"You are one hell of a woman, Mulder," Scully laughed, wiping the tears. Mulder pulled her into an embrace and she leaned into it gratefully. It wasn't the body she knew and loved, but it was warm and safe just as much. It reminded her of Melissa, her sister and friend, her angel in heaven.

"I kissed him too," she suddenly said, without thinking. She never told that to anybody before. It was her naughty little secret.

"Who?" Mulder didn't get it, his thoughts still dealing with the fascinations of the menstrual cycle. Scully pulled away to be able to look him in the eyes, curious about his reaction.

"Skinner," she said, barely suppressing a smile.

"You kissed Skinner?" Mulder repeated, unable to process that piece of information. It didn't sound like Scully at all.

"Why are you so surprised?" Scully chuckled. "Did your woman's intuition fail to mention it to you?"

"I…" he looked embarrassed now. "I'm sorry, I had no idea. If I knew I would've never-"

"Mulder, do you think I'm dating him?" Scully interrupted him. "Is that what you are trying to say?"

"No! I mean, yes. I mean, are you?"

"Damn it, Mulder!" Scully snapped. He should've known her better than that. "Do you think I would ever sleep with you if I was involved with Skinner?"

"No," Mulder said slowly and calmly, but he was just as furious as she was. "But then again, I didn't think you'd walk away afterwards and pretend it never happened."

"I…" Scully opened her mouth, but quickly closed it again. She already said too much and there was no way to take it back. "I'm going home," she decided. She was almost at the door when Mulder's voice stopped her.

"So you're just walking away on me again?" he followed her. "Just like that?"

"What else do you want me to do?" she turned to him, engaging them in a staring contest.

"How about you tell me what to do?" Mulder raised his voice. "I am your creation, Scully! Your wish! I have no life, no job, no id or social security number! I have nothing but you, and you don't even want me! You want him! I am a woman with no right to exist! How do you think that makes me feel?"

"Mulder," Scully was bracing herself for a question that she was afraid to hear the answer to. "Do you even want to be a man again?"

"I don't know, Scully," Mulder was miserable now, his anger vanishing as fast as it came. "I am a woman and the idea of being a man sounds so strange to me. It sounds so wrong. I don't want to be a man, but I don't want to be a dog either. And when I was a dog, I didn't want to be human. When I was a man, I didn't want to be a woman, or a dog for that matter. So how do I know what I really want, when who I am is not who I really am? My God, Scully, what are we going to do?"

Mulder's monologue ended the staring contest and started the hand holding session. Scully took each of his hands in one of hers and squeezed them reassuringly.

"Lone Gunmen," she informed him.

"What about them?" Mulder was confused.

"We'll go to them," Scully clarified. "Maybe they can figure something out. In any case, they are the only people I can think of who might actually believe us."

"All right," Mulder agreed. "First thing in the morning."

"No. Right now."

"Okay," Mulder shrugged, but neither of them moved. They stood there in silence for a few moments, restoring each other's strength and courage to deal with whatever the fate had in store for them next.

"I need to know one more thing, Mulder," Scully was first to speak again. "Why did you kiss Skinner?"

"I've thought about that, Scully. I honestly can't say."