Mulder put his car in park and took a moment, taking in the scene before him.

Scully had hit a home run. Before him was a small white bungalow style cabin with a front porch that had a wooden swing hanging from the ceiling. There were rows of colorful flowers aligned along the fence. He couldn't wait to get inside.

He leaned over and gently kissed a sleeping Scully on the cheek, waking her as he did.

"Hey sleeping beauty, we're here."

Scully sat up, and wiped the small amount of drool from the corner of her mouth, "How long have I been asleep?"

"About two hours."

"Oh Mulder? I'm sorry. I wanted to stay awake and keep you company."

He smiled and pointed to the tape deck, "That's okay- I had this great mixtape to keep my thoughts occupied."

"You hated it," she said in a singing tone.

He grabbed her hand, "No, you made it, and I loved it."

Scully returned a soft smile and her cheeks reddened at his clear attempt to validate her contribution to the road trip.

Mulder, clearly giddy, pulled her hand toward his lips and kissed her knuckles, "Hey, Let's go check it out, shall we?"

Scully nodded and they both exited the vehicle.

She didn't always show her emotions, in fact, Mulder would often comment on her ability to camouflage them. But, she was clearly excited about the weekend. As Mulder walked over to the trunk to grab their overnight bags, she stared at the tiny bungalow before them.

Not bad, she thought as she smiled from ear to ear, soaking in the majestic view; however, as she turned to face Mulder, her smile quickly turned to a worried frown. He had both their bags slung over one shoulder, and he was balancing the bag of groceries she had purchased for their trip in his other hand.

"Dang Scully, what did you pack in here?" He questioned, as he carefully proceeded to close the trunk of the car with his elbow.

"Here let me help," she said, quickly running toward him, taking the groceries out of his hand.

When they reached the porch, Scully turned to Mulder and pointed to the decorative doormat.

"The rental company left the key under the porch mat."

He leaned over and with his free hand, picked the mat up, finding the key square in the center. Mulder stood up and placed the key into the door, turning the lock he pushed the door open.

Beaming from ear to ear he turned toward Scully, "Let the weekend festivities begin," he said overly exhurberent.

The cottage was an open floor plan. There was a small kitchen to the right and directly across was a quant brick fireplace with a cozy couch and two club chairs anchored by a furry white throw rug square in the center of the space.

At the back end of the cabin, there was a king size bed on a raised landing.

There were a set of sliding doors off of the kitchen that led to the back of the property and Mulder, spotting the water through the glass, made his way toward the back; dropping the bags on the couch as he passed by.

Meanwhile, Scully started to unload the groceries in the small kitchen. She was relaxed and excited at the same time. this was exactly what they needed and she was proud of herself for making it happen.

"Hey Scully, come look at this," Mulder shouted from outside, breaking her away from her self-affirming thoughts.

"One second," she called out as she finished unpacking the last of the groceries.

When she stepped outside, she was overwhelmed by the view. She always loved the water, it was her happy place and now she had two of her favorite things in front of her: The water and Mulder.

Mulder grabbed her hand and led her out to the dock. There was a small boat tied to the boat slip bobbing up and down in the water. She made a mental note that she would take Mulder out at least once on this trip; however, there will be no monsters to chase this time.

They both stood on the small pier taking in the panorama of blue before them.

"Scully, this is amazing," Mulder said, as he grabbed her hand. She smiled at the praise he offered her.

"I bet the sunrise and sunset are beautiful out here." She said.

"I bet you're right, we will have to make sure and catch them both." Mulder said, wrapping his strong arms around her and pulling her into a hug. Scully sighed and rested her check on his chest. This was the safest place she could think of- in his arms, surrounded by his scent and his warmth- there was no other place she would rather be. It had been a long time coming and now, nothing would hold them back. They were each other's constant.

Touchstone.

She really couldn't remember her life without him, he had become a part of her. Familiarity started with his name and ended with his touch. She shivered in his arms and he kissed the top of her head.

"You're cold, let's get you inside," he said.

They walked hand in hand up the small hill and when they reached the back door, Mulder slid the sliding glass door open and motioned for Scully to enter first. She smiled at him and placed her hand on his forearm, squeezing it gently she pulled him toward her and whispered in his ear.

"I'm gonna change into something more comfortable."

"Ah, comfortable, I like comfortable," Mulder said, stealing a kiss before she left his side.

He wasn't naive to the thought he would most likely get lucky several times this weekend and he was certainly ready to entertain the notion. It had been a long time coming, but every now and then, when he was in a self-deprecating mood, he would blame himself for the slow progress in their relationship. But Scully, being Scully would snap him out of it. Don't be ridiculous, Mulder- not everything is about you, she would say. Reminding him that it was about both of them, not just him.

As Scully changed he decided to light a fire. He walked over to the fireplace, checked to see if the damper was open and proceeded to line several logs over the gas pipe. He took the matches and lit the starter log, turning on the gas.

Voila, he said to himself under his breath.

Scully appeared out from the bathroom in her usual silk pajamas minus a bra. She was silky and beautiful and he couldn't wait to remove the former.

She plopped herself on the couch and gestured toward the bathroom in the back, "Mulder, go change, then come sit by me."

He did as he was told.

Besides, who was he to argue?

Moments later he walked out with a gray t-shirt and a set of thin cotton Pj bottoms on. When he took his spot on the couch- Scully immediately scooted closer. He lifted his arm as she took her usual spot against his side. Wrapping his arm around her, he smiled at the ritual they had already established.

"Scully, this is great. I'm so glad I thought of this."

Scully raised herself up, "Wait a minute, you thought of this?" She said, lowering her eyebrows.

"Well yeah, remember- I said, hey Scully we should take a trip," sarcasticly now, "or don't you remember?"

"Mulder, please. I found the area and rented the cabin. I really don't know how you can say it was your idea."

"See Scully, that's why I love you, always keeping me on my toes." He smirked, and Scully knew he was intentionally teasing her.

"Okay Mulder, since I got us here, it's your turn to plan what we do next," tapping him lightly on his chest.

A tiny grin appeared across his face, "Well, we could play Scrabble, or Yahtzee or Canasta, a personal favorite of Byers,I might add..."

Clearly not amused at his attempt to jokingly side-step the obvious choice of activity; Scully sat up and straddled his lap.

She huffed, "Mulder..."

His grin turning more mischievous now, "Yeah, Scully?"

"...Shut-up and kiss me."