From: ephemeral@ephemeralfic.org
Date: 14 Apr 2005 18:22:23 -0000
Subject: Nothing Is As It Appears Pt -1 by Dyann Zimmerman
Source: direct

Reply To: philer@onemain.com


TITLE: Nothing Is As It Appears Pt. 1
AUTHOR: Dyann Zimmerman
RATING: R/NC-17
KEYWORDS: MSR; S/O; RST
SPOILERS:  At this point, who cares? SUMMARY:
Mulder is gone and Scully tries to get on
with her life... trouble ensues. DISCLAIMERS:
Please sue me.  I'd love my fifteen minutes.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: This kind of takes place
around the beginning of Season 8, I suppose.
Use your imagination.
E-MAIL: philer@onemain.com


OFFICE OF DANA SCULLY
FBI ACADEMY
QUANTICO, VA
"Scully," she answered, her office phone
balanced between her cheek and shoulder so
she could use her hands to gather her class
notes and her Starbucks.  She was already
running late for her 1:00 class and she
wished she hadn't even answered the ringing
phone.

"Dana, it's Skinner.  I need to see you," he
told her nervously, not really giving her
room to decline.

She could sense an odd tone in his voice and
her gut immediately told her his call was
about Mulder.  This wasn't the first time he
had called with some report about Mulder
since he had gone away; a sighting here; a
supposed e-mail there.  Nothing had ever
actually been found and Skinner's contacts
had only served to upset and disappoint her,
but she always had hope that the next call
would be the one to lead her to bringing
Mulder back home.  "Sir, have you found
something?" she asked tentatively.

"I just need to see you.  Can you get away?"

Scully had traded her class session with a
colleague and headed to the Hoover building
as quickly as she could.  None of her co
workers knew of her personal situation, that
she had a child with her former partner and
he had been gone for more than a year, so she
had simply told them she had been called to
Hoover for a meeting.  She hadn't lied.

Scully had appreciated that Skinner had kept
his antenna up for any information that
surfaced about Mulder now and then, even if
none of it had panned out.  And her former
boss had been a good friend since Mulder had
left, supporting her and understanding that
giving up her son was, ultimately, the only
way to protect him and to give him a normal
life.  So when he called, she always went.

OFFICE OF WALTER SKINNER
HOOVER BUILDING
WASHINGTON, DC
"Sir, Agent Scully has arrived," Kim buzzed
her in, giving her a small smile.

As soon as Scully was close enough to see the
look on Skinner's face, she knew something
was different.  Even when he felt a tip he
had was probably bogus, he had tried to
appear positive and interested.  But today,
he stood before her with a look on his face
that told her he had information that was
anything but positive.

Scully sat down in the leather chair opposite
his massive desk, something she had done more
times than she could count in the last eleven
years, waiting for him to speak.  "Dana, I
received some information from the Santa Fe,
New Mexico headquarters last night," he
started, moving to sit in the chair next to
her, something she never before remembered
him doing.

"I'm assuming this concerns Mulder?" she
asked, beginning to fidget in her seat.

"Yes, Dana," he said, looking at his hands
before looking back at her.  "I've been on
the phone with my contacts there most of the
night."

"And?" she said, her patience beginning to
wane at his vagueness.

"Dana, I hoped I would never have to tell you
this, but..." his voice breaking.

"Just tell me what you've found!" Scully
pushed, her voice rising with her impatience.

"Mulder is dead, Scully.  They have evidence
that he was killed in a fire in Las Cruces,"
he said, his face as distressed as his
feelings for her.  "I'm sorry.  Truly."

Scully sat there stunned, all of her thoughts
running through her head at once before
pouring out of her mouth.  "How do you know?
What evidence do they have?  I want to see
everything.  How can you be sure?" Skinner
had anticipated all of her questions, knowing
she would never accept his news without
proof.  And, sadly, he had verifiable
evidence that gave him little doubt that
Mulder was indeed dead.

Skinner handed her a DNA report done on human
tissue found in the charred remains of a
rooming house fire that had been the result
of arson.  They were only tested because a
former FBI informant had once resided there
and the local field office wanted to
determine if it had been him who had died.
When the DNA had matched in the FBI data
base, where Mulder's was, of course, on file,
they had called Skinner to inform him of
their findings.

"But... but, why would he have been in this
place?" she stuttered, her voice barely above
a whisper.  "In New Mexico?"

"I don't know, Scully.  But, I believe it is
him," he told her gently, standing and moving
to his desk drawer to retrieve something.
"They found this.  It was couriered to me
this morning," he told her sadly, handing her
a small, charred book.

As soon as Scully saw it, she could feel her
lips tighten and her chin begin to quiver.
Her body fell back into the chair as she
battled not to cry, but the tears came as
soon as Skinner handed her the book, a book
she recognized as Samantha's diary.  She
opened it slowly, hoping against hope that it
wasn't actually what she really knew it was.
But, tucked between the charred pages in the
final chapter was a small picture of William.
She covered her face with her hand, pressing
the diary to her chest with her other, her
sobs becoming audible.  "Mulder..." she cried
into her palm.

Skinner crouched down in front of her,
knowing words wouldn't help her and just
laying a hand on her shoulder, his other on
her knee while he let her softly cry.  They
stayed like that for many long minutes,
neither of them saying anything.

Skinner had escorted Scully out the private
entrance of his office and walked with her to
her car.  Predictably, she had told him she
was fine and would not accept a ride home.
He had expected nothing different.

She didn't tell another person for several
days, simply telling her AD that she needed
to take a couple of weeks off work for
'personal reasons'.  Finally, she told her
mother, then John and Monica, who helped her
arrange a private memorial service a week
later.  Scully felt like she navigated on
auto-pilot for the next couple of months,
trying to find some peace for her soul.  She
knew she would never be able to see her world
as it was when Mulder was still in it, but
she hoped she would be able to find a way to
live in it without him.

FBI ACADEMY
QUANTICO, VA
Seven months later
"Hi, I'm Dana Scully," she said, introducing
herself as she offered her handshake to the
new agent who had just transferred in from
the San Diego office.

"Tony Easton," he said, returning her
handshake firmly.  "Good to meet you."  He
had been brought in to teach profiling,
having worked in Chicago and New Orleans as a
field agent before transferring back to San
Diego, his home area.

"Well, uh, welcome, I guess," she said,
smiling to him.  "I'm showing you around I
guess, huh?" she asked, not all that thrilled
to do so, but doing as she'd been directed by
her Assistant Director.

"Yeah, I've been at Hoover the last couple of
days, all the paperwork, you know," he
smiled, his voice easy and smooth.  "This is
only the second time I've actually been here,
so I need all the help I can get."

Scully smiled, "Well, I guess, first, we
should get you settled in your office..."

The rest of the day had been spent with
Scully getting him settled and they had spent
most of the next day reviewing some of the
curriculum along with a couple of the other
instructors.  Easton seemed to fit in easily
and everybody agreed that they were lucky to
get him and that the San Diego field office
had let a good agent get away.

THE SEAGRASS RESTAURANT
ARLINGTON, VA
Two weeks later
"So tell me, Dana.  'You taking care of
yourself?" Monica playfully admonished her.
She had called Scully several times to meet
her for dinner, instead getting her to
finally commit to a mid-week lunch.

"Yes, Monica.  I'm taking care of myself,"
she kidded back.  The two women smiled at
each other, both knowing what Monica really
wanted to ask about.

"Really, you doin' okay?" Monica asked,
looking at Scully with that steely gaze that
could be a bit disconcerting at times.

"I'm...," Scully started, stopping when she
realized she owed Monica more that just a pat
answer.  "I, uh, I have good days and bad
days.  I guess I'm just trying to get to the
point where the good ones start to outnumber
the bad ones," Scully smiled sadly, taking a
drink of her coffee, trying to erase the
mental image of Mulder that had just flashed
in her mind.

"Yeah...  I wish I could help in some way,
Dana.  John and I both do," Monica told her
sincerely.

Scully smiled to her, truly appreciating
Monica's friendship as well as her and John's
presence in her life these last seven months.
"I know, Monica.  Really, I'm trying to do a
few things other than work, but we have a new
instructor that I've been assigned to train
and we've got a new group of recruits
starting in two weeks and...," Scully
started.

"That's work, Dana.  Work," Monica smiled.
"What about other things?"

Scully looked almost shy, self-conscious as
she considered Monica's question and all its
insinuations.  "I've been going back to
church more regularly.  That seems to help,"
she answered, but Monica got the distinct
impression that there was something that
Scully wasn't mentioning.

"There's something else," Monica realized,
Scully seeming almost uncomfortable, but not
necessarily in a bad way.

"Oh, geez," Scully sighed, obviously wanting
to tell her friend, but not seeming to know
how.  She took a deep breath and bluntly
admitted "I, uh, I was asked out on a date."

Monica, of course, smiled broadly, her eyes
lighting up with mischief.  "And?" she
grinned.

"And, I agreed to go and I'm nervous as hell
about it and I'm thinking of canceling,"
Scully said through an uncomfortable smile.

"Why?  Dana, I think it's great!" Monica
said, touching Scully's hand as it fidgeted
with her salad fork.  "Who's the lucky guy?
Tell me everything," Monica asked teasingly
but really wanting to know.

"He's the new instructor I mentioned.  He's a
profiler who transferred from the San Diego
field office," Scully began, eating a few
bites of her spinach salad.  "He, um, he took
the job at Quantico to get out of field work
after being shot in that ATF fiasco in
Carlsbad last year.  Says he figures recruits
might be a little less likely to open fire on
him," Scully relayed, a smile spreading to
her face recalling his humorous lunch
conversation from the previous day.

Monica noticed her pleasant expression, the
change in her demeanor when she spoke of this
new man.  "Tell me more."

"I don't know a whole lot, I guess," Scully
admitted, still obviously uncomfortable.
"He's been with the FBI for 10 years.  Worked
in Chicago and New Orleans before being in
San Diego for the last two years."

"New Orleans?" Monica asked quickly,
reminding Scully that she had transferred
from the New Orleans office herself.  "What's
his name?"

"Tony Easton," Scully answered, looking to
Monica for recognition.  "You know him?"

And she found it, Monica tossing her head
back in a happy chuckle.  "I worked with him,
Dana-- when I first started with the FBI,"
she said.  "He's wonderful, a genuinely
terrific guy," she continued, but then her
voice trailed off, remembering, suddenly
looking at Scully very seriously.

"What?" Scully asked anxiously.

"Dana, he was married," Monica told her
frankly.

"'Was' being the operative word, Monica.
He's been divorced for almost three years,"
Scully telling her calmly.

Monica's sigh of relief was audible which
made Scully chuckle, realizing Monica was
probably wanting her date to succeed more
than she did.  "So, when's the big day?"

"This Saturday.  He has tickets to the
symphony.  Mozart," Scully shrugged like 'how
bad could it be' even though she could feel
the butterflies of excitement in her abdomen.

"Saturday?  Then I expect a report on Sunday,
Dana," Monica smiled.  "Sunday."

LINCOLN CENTER
WASHINGTON, DC
Saturday night
"Dana, I hope you enjoyed this evening as
much as I did," Tony told her as he pulled
from one of the underground parking lots at
the Lincoln Center.  "Really.  I'm not just
saying that as some hokey date line," he
kidded, reaching to touch her shoulder.  "I
really had a good time."  They had gone to a
wonderful restaurant nestled along the
Potomac, enjoying the view and the
conversation.  Scully had worn a 'little
black dress' that was mid-calf length, adding
a deep blue cashmere pashmina to cover her
arms and shoulders.  She looked very
different than she did at work; softer, even
younger, he thought.

"I did, too, Tony," she answered, looking at
her hands holding her clutch in her lap.
"It's been a long time since I've really been
out like this," she admitted softly.

"I find that hard to believe," he told her,
sincerely figuring she couldn't be serious.
How could a woman like her not have her pick
every night of the week, he thought.

"Well, believe it," she smiled sadly,
thinking to herself that he probably wouldn't
believe her whole story if they ever got to
the point where she could tell him.  "Anyway,
thank you for a great evening, Tony.  And
great company," she smiled thinking how easy
he was to talk to.  He was jovial and fun
loving, not seeming to pass up an opportunity
to joke with her.  He was very well-read and
much more educated about Mozart than she was.
She had been impressed by his encyclopedic
knowledge of early jazz artists that he
revealed at dinner and they found they had so
many favorite movies in common that it was
almost uncanny.

And, not to be discounted, he was incredibly
easy on the eyes, she'd admitted noticing to
herself, his black suit and silver silk tie
looking especially regal against his dark
charcoal skin.  He was tall, taller than
anyone she was used to being around, and had
a well-built frame, more that of someone who
worked out than that of a runner.  He had
talked fairly easily of his divorce, not
blaming his ex-wife or himself, simply
chalking it up to both of them marrying too
young and growing up to take different
directions.  Scully found herself feeling
more comfortable with him than she had with
anyone in years, with the exception of one
person.  But that person was gone and she
deserved a life.

"I hope I don't seem too eager, Dana, but
could we do this again?" he asked, after they
had pulled up in front of her apartment,
hoping he wasn't pushing things.

Scully took in a deep breath before turning
to him, thinking about what she wanted to
say.  "I, uh, like being with you, Tony," she
began, looking to him to make eye contact.
"But there is a lot about me that you don't
know; things that may make a difference to
you."

"I'm a good listener, Dana," he replied,
touching her shoulder softly again.

Scully looked at him and smiled "How about
you come by Saturday at around seven.
There's a quiet little place about four
blocks from here and we can walk there,"
Scully told him, reaching for the door
handle.  "It's casual and we can talk.  If
you don't bolt from the restaurant after
hearing my story, I'll take it as a good
sign," she smiled, taking his hand in hers
and giving it a soft squeeze before exiting
the car and heading up the walk to her
building alone.

CASA ANTONIA RESTAURANT
GEORGETOWN, WASHINGTON, DC
Saturday evening
"Come in, come in," Scully said, opening the
door to let Tony enter her apartment.  They
hadn't seen each other at work this week,
refresher training with current agents
scheduled for the week since the recruits
would begin occupying everyone's time next
week.  Towards the end of the week, she found
herself missing him, the realization of that
somehow unsettling her.

"Nice apartment, Dana.  It's very... you," he
finished, smiling at her, still standing by
the door looking around.

"Let me grab my coat.  We shouldn't have any
trouble getting a table," she jabbered
impersonally, ignoring his observation,
unsure of what it might mean.

They walked the few blocks to the restaurant,
the night air brisk, but not uncomfortable.
The restaurant was crowded, but, luckily,
they were able to get a table fairly quickly.
It was a small circular booth and Tony slid
in closely to her, initially putting her a
bit on edge.  They had a nice meal and had
mostly talked about movies and books and
politics and everything but what they were
there to talk about.  After the meal, Scully
had passed on dessert but Tony had ordered
Tiramisu, Scully playfully sneaking a bite or
two from his plate.  After their coffee had
arrived, Scully looked at him and smiled and
knew he was waiting for her and she needed to
start.

"So..." she sighed, looking at him next to
her.

"So..." he smiled, taking a drink of his
coffee.

"Where do you want me to start?" she asked,
probably rhetorically.

"Where you feel comfortable starting," Tony
told her, shifting slightly toward her before
continuing.  "Dana, I'm not pressuring you to
talk about things you don't want me to know.
But, I want you to know that there isn't
anything about you that I don't want to know
more about," he assured her, Scully finding
the intimate tone of his voice both
unsettling and comforting.

"I've had a bit of a rough time the last
couple of years," she started, keeping her
fingers occupied by stroking the stem of her
wine glass.  "I had been, um, involved with
someone for a long time.  A very long time,
really."  Scully looked at him and gave him a
soft smile before continuing, appreciating
that he wasn't questioning her, but just
letting her talk.  "To make a long story
short, he was missing for almost a year and
then about seven months ago, I found out that
he, um, that he had died," she choked out,
realizing she had never actually uttered
those words before.

"Dana..., I'm sorry," he comforted, touching
the wool sleeve of the sweater covering her
arm, his hand softly moving back and forth.

Scully took a drink of her water, unable to
speak until she swallowed the knot in her
throat.  "That's only part of it," she said,
Tony's understanding gaze not wavering.
Scully cleared her throat softly and it took
several long seconds before she began to
speak again.  "We had a child together," she
said bluntly, unable to look at him.

"Dana, I've never heard you mention a child,"
he commented, but with no judgment in his
voice.

Scully looked at him then, Tony picking up on
the overwhelming sadness in her eyes and
immediately knowing that something had
happened.  "I don't... he doesn't..." she
stammered unsure of how to exactly explain
the unexplainable situation to him.  "It is a
long, difficult story, but only a few months
after he was born, I had to give him up for
adoption," she finished, a deep burning
feeling starting in the pit of her stomach.

"Dana...  Even though we haven't known each
other very long, somehow I know that you
wouldn't have done something like that
lightly and without a very, very good
reason," he said softly to her.  "I hope you
know that I would never judge you."

Scully looked at him for a few moments,
finding herself overwhelmed by his sincerity
and by the long lost feelings he was stirring
in her.  She just let herself feel and leaned
up to give him a soft kiss, surprising him
and herself.  Scully felt suddenly
embarrassed and nervously dipped her head to
look at her lap.  "Thank you," she whispered.

Tony ignored the waiter who had arrived at
their table and tipped her chin up with his
fingers and bent to return her kiss,
lingering longer against her lips than she
had on his.  When he drew away, he just
looked at her, his lips curving into a soft,
understanding smile.

Scully was overwhelmed by his compassion and
almost disbelieving of his simple acceptance
of what she had just confessed to him.  She
returned his smile and felt it was probably a
good idea to change the subject.  "So, I
haven't been out in the dating circles for so
many years, I don't really know how to do
this anymore," she smiled uncomfortably.

"Well, you must have a good memory, Dana,
because the two times we have gone out
together, you passed with flying colors," he
told her and there wasn't a hint of teasing
in his voice.  He meant it.  "Dana, I won't
pressure you.  We can take this at any speed
you want," he told her, the waiter having
given up.  "But I want to continue this."

"That's just it, Tony.  I'm so unsure of what
I want 'this' to be," she sighed.  "Hell,
we've only been out twice and already, I'm
laying my baggage on you."

"Baggage?  Dana, we all have baggage."

"I have a whole set of matching luggage,
Tony.  You've only had the Cliff notes," she
chuckled.

Tony closed the distance between them and
slid his arm behind her on the back of the
booth, their thighs softly touching as he
kissed her again.  "I want to keep seeing
you, Dana.  I hope you want that, too."
Scully smiled softly at him and nodded.  She
wanted it, too.

OFFICE OF DANA SCULLY
QUANTICO, VA
Six weeks later
"Okay, I give," Scully said into the
receiver, her smile a dead give away to
Monica who it was on the other end of the
phone.

"No, I'm not letting you off the hook that
easily, Dana.  You know me better than that
by now," Tony teased her, not giving her a
clue what he had planned for the evening.
"I'll see you tonight and you can find out
for yourself."  They bid each other farewell
and Scully looked at the receiver for a few
moments before setting it back in its base,
her smile warming.

"Tony, no doubt," Monica teased, setting
herself down in Scully's desk chair.  "If I
didn't know better, Dana..."

"Don't, Monica," Scully interrupted, knowing
her friend was going to rib her about her
growing relationship.  Scully and Tony had
continued to see each other steadily,
enjoying movies, the symphony, even a couple
of Orioles games.  She liked being with him,
liked being courted, taken to nice
restaurants, enjoyed dressing up and being
seen with a handsome, sophisticated man.  She
hadn't done that since Daniel.

But they had kept things light, mostly,
having a few intense kissing sessions but not
progressing much physically beyond that.
Scully hadn't told him much more about her
past with Mulder, preferring to reveal only
experiences of other parts of her life and he
had politely not asked.

"I'm sorry.  It's just that you should see
the look on your face when you talk to him,
Dana," Monica told her affectionately.

Scully stopped what she was doing and moved
over to the desk, leaning against it and
looking straight down at her friend.  "Is it
that obvious?" Scully asked tentatively.

A small, caring smile spread onto Monica's
face and she nodded "Yeah...."

"What am I going to do, Monica?  I have
feelings I'm not sure how to deal with,"
Scully started.

"Dana, just let yourself feel.  There are
some things you shouldn't analyze," she told
her knowing her friend well enough to know
that she had probably been doing nothing but
that.  Scully looked at her and nodded almost
imperceptibly outwardly, but inwardly knowing
that Monica was right.


Continued in Pt. 2

TITLE: Nothing Is As It Appears Pt. 2

TONY EASTON'S APARTMENT
BETHESDA, MARYLAND
Later that evening
"Oh, Tony," Scully sighed, laying her fork on
the small dessert plate.  "That was
absolutely decadent and I can't believe I let
you talk me into eating that."

"I don't recall having to twist your arm,
Dana," he teased, lifting the last bite of
his dessert to her lips.  She smiled at him
as she slid the small portion off his fork
with her teeth, a gesture that went straight
to his groin.  That was one of the things he
found so sexy about her; that she had
absolutely no idea what she did to men and
that she didn't seem to care.

"Come on, let's clean this stuff up," Scully
said, standing from the table to gather the
remains of the gourmet meal he'd had brought
in.  Tony had exquisite tastes, his clothes
always tailored and his apartment stylishly
modern, but manly and very expensive.  He
drove a Jaguar convertible and had explained
that he had inherited a considerable amount
of money when his father was killed.  His
mother had moved from the DA's office and was
a very successful attorney with a very
lucrative practice.  Being an only child, he
enjoyed the benefits of having a wealthy
parent.

Scully was standing at the sink when he came
up behind her and slid his hands around her
waist, his lips next to her ear as he held
her.  "I hope I'm not making a big mistake by
saying this, Dana, but I want you," he said
softly into her ear.  Scully stopped what she
was doing and set the plate she was rinsing
into the sink, reaching for the towel next to
her hand.  She turned around in his embrace
and snaked her arms around his neck before
making eye contact.

"No, it isn't a mistake, Tony," Scully
replied softly, the length of her body fully
touching him now.  She looked at him for
several long intense moments, knowing she was
taking a step she couldn't take back.  "I
want you... very much."

"Stay with me tonight, Dana" he said, bending
to kiss her neck, up to the sensitive spot
behind her ear.  He felt her nod against his
cheek and he embraced her tighter, lifting
her from her feet.  He was shocked to feel
her pull herself up further on him and wrap
her legs around his waist, her head lying
softly down upon his shoulder.  "Are you
sure, Dana?"

Scully kissed his neck and leaned up to
whisper in his ear.  "Yes," she answered
simply, laying her head back onto his strong
frame.

Tony was almost too overwhelmed to move and
knew that he was absolutely, totally in love
with the woman who was wrapped around him.
He had already fallen hard.  He carried her
to his bedroom, neither of them saying
anything until he sat her feet on the floor
at the edge of his bed.  They looked at each
other a bit awkwardly and Scully was thankful
that the only light in the room was a small
stream from the bathroom door.

Tony began to rub his hands over her
shoulders and down the arms of her sheer
blouse and took her hands in his, bringing
them to his mouth to kiss.  He let one fall,
holding the other with one hand, unbuttoning
her sleeve with the other.  He repeated his
actions on the other side and he noticed she
was trembling when he reached for the top
button of her blouse at the apex of her
breasts.  "Okay?" he asked softly and she
nodded, taking a breath to calm herself.

Tony slipped her blouse down her arms and it
puddled on the floor at her feet.  She felt
his gaze burning into her and could see the
deep expression on his face.  She moved into
him and wrapped her arms low around his waist
as she held him, the soft fuzz of his sweater
tickling the bare skin on the swell of her
breasts where they pressed against his chest.
Scully slid her hands up under the back of
his sweater, stroking up and down his muscles
before stepping back to look up at him.
"Take this off," she told him through her
breath and he pulled the cashmere up and over
his head easily.

Scully reached for the button of his pants,
suddenly very much wanting to see all of him.
He helped her a bit and stepped out of his
pants, his hand on her bare shoulder for
balance.  She could see the bulge in his deep
blue bikini briefs and felt her sex flutter
and swell, the heavy sense of arousal between
her legs a feeling she had almost forgotten.

When Tony had undone her pants, he slipped
his fingers inside next to her skin and slid
her panties and her slacks down her legs at
the same time.  He bent to touch his lips to
her stomach before standing again to kiss her
on her open mouth.  They continued to kiss
while he removed her bra, his hands sliding
down her back to caress her bottom.  She
cupped his growing erection through the
tightened cotton and slid her thumbs beneath
the elastic waistband to remove his brief.
She watched as his large penis slipped free
and was taken aback at the size of it, but
felt her internal muscles flutter and pulse
in response.

Scully sat back on the bed and crawled to the
center to lay on her back, relaxing against
the pillows.  She could feel her heart
beating in anticipation but began to realize
that she felt surprisingly comfortable, her
initial nervousness totally gone.

"God, you are beautiful, Dana," Tony told her
as he moved up onto the bed next to her.

"So are you, Tony... so are you," she said,
thinking what a perfect body he had.  The
muscles of his hairless chest were well-
defined but not too muscular to be
unattractive.  His stomach and abdomen were
tight and the lighter skin of the head of his
penis shone against the dark black of his
wiry pubic hair.

Tony reached for her and she rolled easily
into his embrace, their lips touching softly
at first then intensifying as their hands
began to roam on each other.  Their tongues
pleasured each other, Tony's hand finding her
breast to squeeze softly.  Scully moaned and
moved further into his embrace, her leg
wrapping over his.  She could feel his
erection, his soft sac against her thigh and
she knew there was no way he couldn't detect
the scent of her arousal.

As if on cue, his hand slid down the rise of
her bottom and his fingers found her
saturated folds from behind.  He began to toy
with her labia, the calluses on the pads of
his fingers feeling erotic against the tender
skin of her inner lips.  Scully's hips began
to respond and she found herself beginning to
subconsciously undulate against him.  They
continued to kiss deeply, the sound of their
ragged breaths echoing into the quiet of the
room.

Tony's long middle finger found its way into
her opening, her lubrication leaking out onto
his thigh.  "God, Dana," he groaned, the
proof that she wanted him as much as he
wanted her seeping into his hand.

"God, Tony I want you," Scully said to him,
surprising herself by the desperate tone of
her voice.  Tony laid her over on her back
and moved over her in one smooth movement.
He extended his arm over her to open the
drawer of the nightstand and she could hear
the crinkle of what she realized was a condom
wrapper.  He continued to kiss her as he
struggled with the foil package, his thick
trembling fingers having a bit of trouble.

"Here, let me," Scully told him softly,
opening the package easily with her
fingernails. Tony lay next to her on his side
and she reached for his penis as it bobbed
against his abdomen.  She stroked him several
times before slipping the condom down his
length, his responding moan so sexy she found
herself holding her breath.

Tony moved over her again and kissed her
gently several times before taking himself in
his hand and placing the glans of his penis
into her folds.  He rubbed the bulb against
her several times, his bumps against her
engorged clitoris causing her hips to jerk
each time.  Finally, he put the head at her
opening and pushed in, his hips sinking into
her body.

"Ohhhhhhhh," she sighed, the feeling of being
filled absolutely wonderful.  "Oh, Tony," she
sighed again.

"Okay?" he asked her quietly, moving a little
to balance himself comfortably on his elbows
at her sides.

"Yesssss," she whispered.  "Please move," she
told him, her hands moving to his bottom, his
cheeks covered with soft peach fuzz.  Tony
began to move in and out of her, not pushing
his full length in, fearing that his length
was too much for a woman Dana's size.

Scully could feel her opening being
marvelously stretched, the smooth slide of
his torso against her breasts different than
that of a hairy chest, but very stimulating.
Her hips moved easily with his rhythm, but
she could tell he was holding back.  "It's
okay, Tony, you won't hurt me," she whispered
softly into his ear as they continued to move
against each other.  He lifted his face to
look at her and nodded, kissing her, his
tongue caressing her lips before he slid it
into her mouth.

Tony's hips pushed further into her each
time, trying to take it slowly to let Scully
adjust gradually to his length.  He knew he
had bottomed out several times, but she
didn't seem to be in any discomfort, just the
contrary.  "Still okay?" he asked.

"Perfect," she sighed, trying to form a smile
within her heavy arousal.  He began to
undulate against her, his pelvic bone pushing
harder against hers, his penis stretching and
stretching her walls with every stroke.
Scully reached down to her apex and opened
her labia a bit, exposing the bare skin of
her clitoris to the friction of his body.
Her hips lurched in response and she knew it
wasn't going to be long.  "Oh, Tony, right
there.  Ohhhhh, right therrrre," she sighed
her head pushing back into the pillow as her
hips pushed up harder against him, her body
arching in anticipation of what it knew was
going to happen.

"Dana, Dana, Dana," Tony softly chanted not
even realizing what he was saying.  He could
hear her rapid breathing become a full out
pant and she began to whimper beneath him and
he knew she was close.

"Uh, uh, uh, oh, god Tony...  Tony!" she
yelled as she let loose, her hips bucking
beneath him, her vaginal muscles clamping him
so tight he had to bite his lip.  Her inner
tissue pulsated in waves, her labia
fluttering against him.  "Ohhhhhh, Ohhhhh,"
she sighed as she came down, his hips still
lilting in and out of her in a graceful
cadence. 'God, he is good at this,' she
thought to herself.

Tony latched his lips onto hers and began to
kiss her deeply, hard, almost painfully as he
began to pump in earnest.  His graceful
motions became sloppy as he pushed and pushed
into her trying to find his release.  She
lifted her legs over his bottom and pushed
harder against him to help him get to where
they both wanted him to go.  She felt his
penis pulse inside her and he groaned, deep
and loud above her.  He pulsed and jerked
into her erratically several more times and
she wished they hadn't needed to use a condom
so she could feel his warm liquid inside her.

Their hearts pounded against each other's
chests and they tried to kiss some as their
breathing tried to slow.  They kissed several
more times, slowly and lovingly before Tony
moved off her, snuggling her into his arms
when he did.

Scully returned his embracing, wrapping her
leg over his abdomen, nestling her face into
the side of his neck.  "Dana?" he questioned,
moving back to look at her face.  "What's
wrong?" he said, his thumb touching a tear on
her cheek she hadn't realize she'd shed.

Scully took his finger and kissed the pad,
intertwining her fingers with his.  "Nothing,
Tony.  I'm fine, wonderful... overcome, I
think," she chuckled at herself.  "I didn't
expect..." she trailed off unable to decide
what to really say.

"You didn't expect what?" he asked, his hand
softly soothing the delicate beads of
perspiration on her back into her skin.

Scully looked at him before giving him a
soft, lingering kiss and then smiled.  "I
didn't expect to enjoy that as much as I
did," she laughed.

"Gee, thanks," he said in a feigned pout.

"No, no, that's not what I meant," she
laughed again.  "I didn't really think I
would be able to feel so much, to let myself
relax enough to respond the way I did," she
explained, her tone now serious.

"But you did?" he asked slowly.

"I did..." she told him, giving a soft kiss
to his nipple.  "I've been through a lot,
Tony, and it's been a long time since I've
been physically loved by a man," she
admitted, surprised that she was so openly
expressing her feelings to him.

"Dana, I have feelings for you that I've
never felt for another woman, even when I was
first married," he told her after he'd rolled
her to her back to look directly into her
eyes.

"Tony..." Scully cautioned, sensing where he
was going.

But he continued, overcome by what he was
feeling, by what he felt, seemingly, since
the moment he had met her.  "I'm falling in
love with you, Dana," he boldly told her,
laying his emotions open to her.

"Oh, Tony," she sighed, totally unable to
know how she felt about what he was saying to
her.  "I don't know what to say..."

"I'm not asking you to say anything at this
point; I just want you to know exactly how I
feel," he finished, smiling to her before
kissing her.  He lay further down next to her
and pulled the blankets over them.  Scully
rolled to her side, taking his hand and
pulling it around her stomach and he spooned
up behind her.  She could hear his sleeping
almost immediately, but she lay awake for a
long time.

OFFICE OF WALTER SKINNER
J. EDGAR HOOVER BUILDING
WASHINGTON, DC
Two weeks later
"Good to see you, John," Scully told John
Doggett as she returned his friendly embrace.

"You look good, Dana," he told her, noticing
that she seemed much more herself than he'd
seen her look in he didn't know when. Monica
gave Scully a knowing smile, but didn't say
anything out loud.

Scully hadn't talked about her new
relationship with anyone except Monica and
she knew she hadn't mentioned it to John or
to Skinner.  Scully had only told her mother
about Tony the previous week, finding her
surprised, but happy that she was trying to
move on.  Tony didn't yet know a lot of
people in Washington, so Scully felt that
maybe she hadn't yet become a main topic at
the water cooler again.  Mulder had been gone
a long time now, so the gossip about them had
gradually dried up.  But it always felt weird
being back in the halls of Hoover.

Scully had been called in to meet with John
and Monica on an X-Files case and was looking
forward to working with her old friends.  "I
trust you've reviewed things Agent Scully,"
Skinner began, the four of them sitting
around his mahogany conference table.

"Yes, Sir," Scully confirmed.  "You want me
to do the autopsy on Mr. Saunders?"

"Yes, but that's not the only reason I called
you here, Scully," Skinner said, leafing
through the reports before him.  "I'm wanting
your read on your new co-worker, Agent
Easton," he said unknowingly, barely looking
up from the file.

Scully tried not to appear as stunned as she
was on the inside, her momentary glance at
Monica going unnoticed by the two men.  "I
beg your pardon, Sir," Scully managed to say.

"Agent Easton, Scully.  He had quite a solve
rate at the San Diego office and his
reputation as a profiler is exemplary,"
Skinner went on.  "I thought maybe he could
shed some light on this case but I wanted to
know what you thought of him before I called
him in."  Skinner explained, totally unaware
of what he was stepping in.

Monica glanced at Scully before speaking up
trying to alleviate some of the awkwardness.
"I worked with him in New Orleans, Sir and he
was a very capable agent."

"Scully?" Skinner continued, obviously not
going to stop until he got her opinion.

"Um, I haven't had much professional contact
with him, Sir, but what I have had has been
positive," she said noncommittally.  Scully
felt her heart speed up and her breathing
shallow and felt a warm blush sneak up her
neck.  Monica tried not to laugh.

"Well, I'll notify Easton's AD and leave it
to you, Agent Reyes, to contact him to
consult on this case.  Keep me informed,"
Skinner said as he stood, his indication that
their meeting was finished.

Tony had consulted on the case and had argued
with Doggett about the profile, but they had
agreed on enough commonalities that Tony was
able to come up with a fairly specific
profile and the case was solved by the next
week.  Scully had, of course, kept her
professional decorum as had Tony and she
enjoyed working with him.  Doggett and Tony
had had to go to New York together to follow
up on several leads and Doggett had slowly
figured out that Scully and Tony were more
than co-workers.  Doggett had confronted Tony
about it one day and Tony had laughed at him
for his brotherly protectiveness, but Doggett
had finally wished them well.

DANA SCULLY'S APARTMENT
GEORGETOWN, WASHINGTON, DC
Two weeks later
"I think John Doggett has a thing for you,
Dana," Tony said, teasing her.  They were
lying on her couch, Scully in her pajamas,
Tony still dressed from work.  She had come
home after her last class and thought she
wasn't going to see Tony until the next day.
But he had stopped over late, wanting to see
her, hoping she'd let him stay.

"That's funny, I was thinking he had a thing
for you," she teased, sitting up from her
recline in his lap.  "I think you two bonded
during your trip to New York."

"Ha," Tony said, still perusing the financial
pages of the newspaper.  "Really, I'm not
kidding."

"John is in love with Monica if he'd just let
himself admit it," Scully told him,
retreating to make them another mug of tea.
Tony tossed his paper on the table and
followed her into the kitchen, hugging her
from behind as she filled the kettle and sat
it on the burner.

"Well, good.  Because having one guy in love
with you is all you get, Dana," he said,
kissing her neck.  She leaned back into him,
covering his arms that were wrapped around
her with hers.  She knew he had been wanting
more from her, a declaration of some sort
about her feelings for him, but she couldn't
sort things out within herself, let alone
know what she wanted to tell him.

"Tony, I want you to meet my mom," Scully
said out of the blue, turning in his arms.

"Really?" he said, his hands covering her
waist.  "You've told her about us?"

"Kind of," Scully smiled.  "I haven't gone in
to 'detail'... but I told her I was seeing
someone."

"Did you tell her everything?" Tony asked
knowing that Scully knew what he was asking.

"Yes.  I think she'd prefer I wasn't seeing
another agent, however."

"That isn't what I mean and you know it,
Dana," Tony told her plainly, moving to sit
at the table.

"My mother does not care that you are a
different race, Tony, if that's what you
mean," she said, sitting down next to him.
"I can't believe you'd think she would."

"Dana, my mother is white and my father was
black and I can tell you it mattered to their
parents," he said and she could tell that he
still had some hurt from less-enlightened
days.  Tony had told her his father had been
a cop and his mother was an attorney in the
District Attorney's office.  Tony had told
Scully about the prejudice his parents had
encountered when they had dated and later
when they married.  Tony said that there was
even some thought than when his dad had been
killed in the line of duty that he didn't
exactly get the back up he should have
because too many cops didn't like the fact he
had a white wife.

Scully moved to sit on his lap and looped her
arms around his neck.  "That was a different
era, Tony.  And I'm not discounting
everything you've been through, but all my
mother cares about is that I'm happy and I
can assure her that I am," she smiled,
kissing him softly on the lips, soon
intensifying things.

Tony broke from the kiss and stood up,
pushing Scully up over his shoulder like a
sack of potatoes and headed for her bedroom.
"Tony, put me down," she laughed as she
bobbled atop his shoulder.  "Dammit, let go
of me."

"I will-- as soon as I get you where I want
you," he said, dropping her on her bed, the
springs squeaking from the bounce.  He
immediately joined her, kicking his shoes off
before moving to half cover her with his
body.  "You gonna let me stay tonight, Dana?"
he asked kissing her neck, his fingers
starting to work on her pajama buttons.

"Depends," she teased coyly, her hands
beginning to undo his tie.

"On what?"

"On whether or not you plan to make me feel
as good as you did last weekend," she smiled,
her hand slipping to cup the outside of his
dress slacks.  They had talked about their
history as neither much enjoyed using
condoms.  They both knew they were healthy
and she had started taking the pill just in
case, so the previous weekend had been the
first time they were together without needing
to use protection.

"Which time?" he grinned.

"Well, there is that..." she grinned back,
kissing him firmly, holding him tighter to
her.

He returned her kiss, easing her down onto
her back, slipping his thigh between her
legs.  "I love you, Dana," he said into her
ear as he nuzzled her neck.

"Ummmmm, Tony," she whispered, unable to
speak much more when his hand moved to her
breast.  She could feel his breath quickening
against her chest as he moved down to
unbutton her top.  His mouth felt like all
she ever needed when he began to lick and
suck on her nipple, his hand massaging her
other breast.

Soon, all clothing was relinquished and the
sounds of their lovemaking echoed in the
darkness of her bedroom.  He came first and
helped her to climax with his fingers, not
much being required.  He rubbed his palm
against her slowly, softly, to help her come
down after, something he had starting doing
and something she needed.

Afterwards, Tony lay spooned up behind her,
their legs tangled, his fingers still moving
lazily between her legs as they both tried to
catch their breaths.  "God, you make me feel
so good," she was able to mumble, barely
getting the words out before she felt his
body still behind her, sleep taking him.

Scully slept a fitful sleep, her dreams of
her past interfering with what her life had
come to be.  She thought after all this time
Mulder would've faded from her dreams, but
even after making wonderful love with Tony,
she still saw Mulder when she closed her
eyes.  She wanted to move on, but her
memories of Mulder just wouldn't seem to let
her.

THE SEAGRASS RESTAURANT
ARLINGTON, VA
Two days later
"You look nice, Dana," Monica told her,
noticing her pale yellow outfit, something
much softer than she would ever see her
friend wear to work.

"Oh, uh, I came here directly from church,"
Scully said looking down at herself, her
preoccupation with something else very
apparent to Monica.  "I've been trying to
attend more often..."

"Any reason why?" Monica asked, always one to
ask an unexpected question.

"Why?" Dana repeated, caught off guard by
Monica's question.  "Um, well, I kind of got
back into the routine after Mulder... after I
got the news about him and I find some
stability in it, I guess."  Monica sensed
that Dana was off her mark when she had
called wanting to meet for lunch and now she
knew it.

"What's wrong, Dana," Monica asked directly,
laying her fork down to give Scully her full
attention.

Scully couldn't initially make eye contact,
but took a deep breath and looked her friend
in the eye.  "Tony," she replied simply.

Monica sat there in stunned silence for so
long that Scully had to finally look at her
to make sure she'd heard her response.
"Dana, I thought things were great between
you two; you've been so different since you
met him," Monica told her.  "You seem happy
again."

"I know, Monica, I know-- I am," Scully
answered.  "I think that's the problem."

"How could happiness possibly be a problem,
Dana?" Monica smiled to her.

"Sounds stupid, doesn't it?" Scully asked to
Monica's nod.  "I care... deeply for Tony.  I
love being with him; I don't like being
without him," Scully continued with a nervous
smile.  "But..."

"But?"

"I can't let myself commit to him, Monica,"
Scully admitted, avoiding Monica's attentive
gaze.  "He tells me he loves me and I know he
wants to hear that from me and I... I just
can't seem to say the words."

"Do you love him, Dana?" Monica asked softly.

"I, I... There are times when I think what I
feel is love, but it feels so different
than..." her voice trialed off.

"So different than what you felt for Mulder?"
Monica finished for her.

Despite her efforts to control her emotions,
Scully's chin began to quiver and she could
only respond to Monica's observation with a
slow nod.  Monica knew it took a lot for
Scully to invite her to lunch to talk.
Scully rarely talked about her personal
feelings and virtually never spoke of Mulder
after his death.

"Maybe different is better, Dana.  Don't
compare, just accept what you have with Tony
as being the way it is," Monica told her
softly.

Scully looked at her sadly before continuing,
"But I feel as if I'm somehow being
disloyal..."

"You don't have to get rid of the love you
had for Mulder in order to love someone else.
You have more room in your heart than that,
Dana," Monica smiled.  Scully looked at her
and nodded, realizing that her friend was
right.

Continued in Pt. 3

TITLE: Nothing Is As It Appears Pt. 3

DANA SCULLY'S APARTMENT
GEORGETOWN, WASHINGTON, DC
Later that evening
"God, you're beautiful, Dana," Tony told her,
both of them having removed their clothes
without saying much, just watching and
touching each other before crawling into bed.
Tony had pulled the spread and sheet down to
the end of the bed and Scully lay naked on
the cool bottom sheet.

"I just want to look at you, Dana," Tony said
softly, his awe of her almost embarrassing to
her.

Scully recognized his feelings, reaching to
touch his face with her palm, seeing how much
he loved her.  She wanted to let herself love
him and after talking with Monica, she was
going to try and just let herself feel what
they had together, whatever it was.  She knew
she had feelings of love for Tony, but didn't
know if what she felt was what it was like to
be 'in' love with someone; someone other than
Mulder.

Tony smiled at her before moving over her,
kissing her deeply, his hand moving to her
breast, his leg moving between hers.  Her
body began to move, responding to his, what
his hands and his mouth were doing.  "God,
you feel good, Dana.  Your skin is so
soft..." he told her, continuing to kiss her,
rub himself against her mound.  He reached
for himself, her wetness making it easy for
him to enter her in one long push.  She
opened her legs further, wrapping them around
the backs of his thighs as he continued to
move in and out of her.

Scully moaned softly with each of his
thrusts, the feelings he incited felt
throughout her entire body.  "Ummmmmm, Tony,"
she sighed.  Her hands moved over his back,
his shoulders, down his sides until she
reached his bottom, her hands squeezing him
as he moved.  She pulled her hands back up,
slowly dragging her nails lightly over his
cheeks causing him to shiver.

"Jesus, Dana..."

"Don't stop, Tony.  I'm getting close..." she
was able to tell him, her voice part of her
low moan.  He thrusted with more force,
moving a hand under her to her bottom,
pushing her tighter against him while he
continued to move to find just the right spot
for her.  He could tell by the rhythm of her
body and the pitch of her sounds that she was
getting closer, him feeling his own release
eminent.  He liked it when Dana climaxed
before he did, but he didn't always get what
he wanted.

Suddenly, the sound of a firm knock at her
front door filtered in from the other room,
both of them hearing it through their haze.
"Shit," Tony said as he continued to move,
wondering who would be at her door and why
whoever it was couldn't have given them just
another five short minutes.

"Hurry, Tony," Scully panted, Tony's
movements speeding up before she even
finished saying it.  He realized he was
closer than she was, unable to stop his
impending release, emptying into her in
several erratic thrusts.  He tried to keep
moving, hoping she would follow, but realized
she wasn't going to finish when they heard
another knock, this one more urgent.  "Let me
up, Tony," Scully said, helping him to ease
out and off of her.

"Dana..." he said as he tried to calm
himself, reaching to grab her hand as she
moved to get off the bed.  "I'm sorry..."

"I'll collect what you owe me later..." she
smiled, bending to give him a lingering kiss
before grabbing a few tissues and her robe.
"Dammit..." she said under her breath when
she felt an unrequited need tingle between
her legs as she headed to find out who the
hell was at her damn door...

Scully looked through the eyehole and was
surprised to find Walter Skinner standing in
the hall, shifting nervously from foot to
foot.  She pulled her robe further closed and
unlocked the chain before opening the door.
"Sir?" he questioned as she stepped out of
the way to let him in, hoping that Tony
stayed in the bedroom.

"Scully," he said, his look as stoney serious
as she'd ever seen it as he just stood there.

Scully knew something was very wrong and she
couldn't imagine what it could be that
Skinner would come to her apartment late on a
Sunday night to tell her about it.  "Dana, I
need to tell you something and, um, I don't
know how to tell you except just to say it,"
Skinner said, his tone changing, now softer,
worrying her.

"Sir, you're scaring me," she said as she sat
next to him, pulling her robe closer together
at her knees.

Skinner took a deep breath and looked
directly into her eyes as he spoke.  "Dana,
Mulder is alive."

Scully just looked at him for several long
moments before finding herself laughing.
"What?"

"I think you heard me, Dana," he said softly.

"But... What?  This can't be; it's got to be
an imposter or a... a... shape shifter or..."
she stuttered, standing from the couch and
staring down at him.  "I saw those reports,
Sir and that book.  It was his DNA in that
fire!" her voice finally breaking, Skinner
standing to grasp her shoulders.

"It's him, Scully.  We tested him this
morning."

Scully shook herself from his grasp and
backed away from him.  "It can't be him.
Don't do this to me, Sir!" her voice now to a
level that Tony heard.  Skinner started to
move to her again but stopped dead in his
tracks when he saw Tony come out of her
bedroom in nothing but his slacks, the button
and belt undone.

"What's going on here?" Tony asked as he
entered, seeing that Scully was in tears.  He
moved to put his arm around her, his gaze
moving quickly from her to Skinner and back.

Scully slowly moved to the couch, holding
onto the arm for balance as she eased herself
to sit, her color pale and her breaths
shallow and quick.  "What's happened?" Tony
asked Skinner directly.

"Um, I think Agent Scully needs to explain
that to you herself, Agent Easton," Skinner
told him plainly, obviously now having
realized that Scully and Tony were more than
co-workers.

Scully was screaming inside, wanting to see
him in the flesh, but being scared to and
being conflicted about Tony.  "Where is he?"
Scully asked, still not having looked at
Tony, even after he moved to sit next to her
on the couch.

"He's at my apartment," Skinner said softly.
"He wanted to come here in person, but I..."

"Is he alright?" Scully interrupted, Tony
still totally clueless as to who they were
talking about.

"Physically, he's fine, Dana.  He wants to
see you," Skinner told her resignedly.

Scully looked at her hands as they fidgeted
in her lap for several long moments, taking a
deep breath before speaking.  "I can't... not
right now.  I need some time," she said,
finally looking at Tony, knowing she needed
to talk to him first, Skinner understanding.
"I'll, um, I'll call you in the morning."

Skinner nodded and moved to let himself out
of her apartment, the snick of the door as it
closed startling her exhausted nerves.

Tony sat in silence for a few minutes, trying
to be understanding, but losing his patience
at being excluded from what was happening to
her.  "Talk to me, Dana," he said to her
considerately, trying not to push but wanting
to know what the hell was going on.

"Oh, Tony..." she sighed and she spent the
next three hours telling him her history with
Fox Mulder.

WALTER SKINNER'S APARTMENT
BETHESDA, MARYLAND
Early the next morning
Scully hadn't slept at all the previous
night, not really even trying.  After she and
Tony talked, he left when she promised him
she would call later in the day.  'God, what
must be going through his mind right now,"
Scully worried to herself.  As soon as he'd
gone, she'd gotten dressed and found herself
heading to Skinner's apartment as if her body
wouldn't let her do anything else.  Maybe
that's what she had intended to do all along.

Skinner opened his door without a word,
nodding toward his living room letting her
know that was where Mulder was.  Without a
word, he headed up the stairs to his bedroom,
leaving her to go into the living room alone.

Scully walked slowly in, the only light in
the room the flickering glow of the muted
television.  She slowly moved around the end
of the couch and she saw him, sleeping on his
stomach, his arm hanging off the edge.  Her
gasp was audible, her whole body crumbling
into the closest chair, her hand covering her
mouth to muffle her sobs.  "Mulder..." she
said out loud without intending to.

Mulder stirred, quickly rolling to his back
without yet noticing her.  As he woke, he
looked around the room and, suddenly, he saw
her, sitting in the shadows hiding her face
with her hand.  "Scully?" he said, sitting up
on the edge of the couch, rubbing his eyes.
Then, she looked up and, even from across the
dim room, knowing immediately that it was
really him.  She froze in her place on the
chair, her voice and her breath hitching in
her throat as she tried in vain not to cry
again.

But then she couldn't continue to resist, him
standing as she moved toward him, both of
them embracing almost desperately.  He held
her as she sobbed, remembering the smell of
her hair, the sound of her breathing, the
feel of her breasts against his chest.  They
embraced each other for several long minutes,
before she finally released her grasp and
slowly stepped back to look at him.  They
held each others' gaze for several long
seconds before she reached back and slapped
him-- as hard as she could across his left
cheek, the sound of flesh against flesh
echoing in the darkness.

"Goddamn you, Mulder.  Goddamn you!!!" she
yelled, her whole body shaking, her tears
returning in full force.

"Scully..." he said, trying to move toward
her.

"Don't you fucking touch me," she warned,
pointing her shaking finger at him, Mulder
almost startled at her seldom used language.
"How could you do this to me, Mulder?
Considering what I've already been through,
how could you do this to me again?!" she
yelled, still as angry as he'd ever seen her.

"If you would let me explain, Scully..." he
started, hoping he didn't sound like he was
begging, but he would have.

"Mulder, you could have no conceivable
explanation that could possibly justify what
you've put me though the past two years.
None," she said, still standing before him
with her hands on her hips.

"Well, I do have an explanation if you could
just calm down and listen to me," he said,
his impatience with her beginning to show.
Scully stared at him angrily for a few
seconds, then sat back down in the chair and
looked to him with an expectant look, albeit
a look that was still angry.

Mulder explained to her that he was hiding
out with Albert Hosteen's son and grandson in
New Mexico for most of the first year he was
gone.  He was able to get bits of information
periodically and knew that it wasn't safe for
him, or anyone, if he returned home or tried
to contact her after the incident with the
train.  The horrible memory of that
disappointment made her begin to cry again.

"I couldn't put you in danger, Scully.  And I
knew they were trying to get to William to
try and get to me," he said softly.

"Mulder..." she sobbed, wanting to stop him
before he said any more about William.

"Scully, I faked my death to try to save
William.  I thought if they thought I was
already dead they would leave him alone."
Mulder stood and walked over to where she sat
in the chair and crouched down in front of
her, taking her hand in his.  "I know about
William, Scully.  I heard.  That's why I came
home," he said softly.

"Oh, Mulder," she said, bending into his
embrace as she sobbed.  "Can you ever forgive
me?" her words barely discernable within her
tears.

"Look at me, Scully," he said, moving back
from her just far enough to see into her
eyes, grasping her hands.  "Doing what you
did was the most selfless, brave thing you
could have done.  You had no choice," he told
her tenderly.  "You did it to save our son."

"So did you, Mulder.  You gave up your
existence to try to keep him safe," she told
him softly, her palm stroking the tears from
his cheek.

"He is safe, Scully.  Because of what you
did, he will live a safe life and never have
to know the things we know," he said, both of
them almost whispering to each other.  Scully
nodded and they embraced again, holding each
other for a long time.

Then she felt him slowly start to nuzzle her
neck, his lips forming a soft kiss against
her warm skin.  She found herself relaxing
into the feeling, remembering what it had
been like to have Mulder touch her, to make
love to her.  "Let me go home with you," he
whispered against her ear.

"Mulder...  Mulder," she said, suddenly
moving from his embrace, sitting back into
the chair away from him, but still holding
onto his hands.  "We need to talk," she told
him softly.  "A lot has happened since you've
been gone..." she continued, her voice
trailing off.

It only took Mulder a second to know what she
was saying, the two of them still so in tune
with each others' unspoken language.
"There's someone else," he said plainly as he
stood.  Scully finally looked up at him and
nodded slowly, her gaze never leaving his.
"I see," he said, the hurt creeping into his
voice as he turned away from her, beginning
to pace within the living room.

"I thought you were dead, Mulder," she told
him, almost pleading with him to understand.

"How long?" he asked gruffly.

"Only a few months," she answered plainly,
knowing he wanted to know if she'd given up
on them before she'd been told he had died.

Mulder nodded, his anger dissipating into
pure sadness.  "I understand," he said
softly.  He didn't blame her but somehow that
made it more difficult to accept.

Scully stood and grasped his biceps, turning
him so that she could look him directly in
the eyes to speak.  "No, you don't," she
started.  "For god's sake I thought you were
dead!  I had lost William and my life was so
empty and meaningless that I could barely
make it through each day."

"And you met someone," he said, a statement,
not a question.

"Yes.  It just happened.  I didn't go looking
for a relationship," she said, letting go of
her tight grasp on him.

Mulder looked at the floor, trying to find
words to say besides what he was feeling at
the moment.  "I, um, think we need some
time," he said, still unable to look at her.
"Look, Scully, I'm, uh, tired; I haven't
slept in almost two days and, uh," he
stuttered, his voice impersonal.

Scully silently nodded to him, her lips
pursed as she always did when she was hurt
but didn't want him to know.

"Scully, you have some decisions to make and
I think it would be best if I just stayed out
of your way until you do that," he finished,
walking down the hall, the noise of the
bedroom door closing ringing in the silence.

TONY EASTON'S APARTMENT
BETHESDA, MARYLAND
The next day
"Dana, please listen to me," Tony pleaded
trying as he could to save his relationship
with her.  "You can't just forget what we
have together."

"Tony, I'm not," Scully said, trying in vain
not to cry.  "You can't imagine what I have
been through in the last 24-hours."  Her hand
shook as she dabbed at her eyes with a
tissue, her sleep deprivation catching up to
her in a big way.  "I just need some time to
sort out my feelings.  I told you about
Mulder, our history, our son.  You can't
think that I wouldn't still have feelings for
him."

Tony pulled the chair out from the table and
sat next to where Scully had been sitting
since she had arrived.  After leaving Mulder
at Skinner's apartment, she drove along the
Potomac for over an hour, crying and thinking
and crying again.  She had promised Tony that
she would not leave him hanging and she owed
him her honest feelings.

"Dana, these past months have been the best
of my life," he told her, his voice beginning
to crack.  "I never knew that love like I
feel for you even existed."

"Oh, Tony," she sobbed into her hand.

"Just promise me you won't end things-- that
you'll think about what you are going to do,"
he implored, moving closer to put his hand on
her knee.  "Give it some time.  And anyway,
maybe this Mulder doesn't even want to get
back together.  He left you before, Dana."

Scully knew Tony was saying things in anger
and wasn't deliberately trying to hurt her.
He also didn't know how close he'd come to
the truth that always nagged at her soul,
even in her best days with Mulder.  Scully
finally composed herself enough to stand and
turn to Tony before she opened the door.  "I
promise, Tony."

Tony walked her to the door and stood
silently until she was leaving.  "I would
never leave you, Dana," he said as she left.

DANA SCULLY'S APARTMENT
GEORGETOWN, WASHINGTON, DC
One week later
After her scene with Tony, Scully had finally
gone home.  She had taken a bath and a
sleeping pill and tried to shut down, at
least long enough to rest.  She was still
trying to resolve within herself that Mulder
was actually alive, not even able to think
beyond that at times.

In the last week, Tony had called every day
and had not tried to convince her of
anything, simply calling to check on her.  He
had sent flowers and had dinner delivered to
her apartment on three different evenings.
He had telephoned Monica and asked her to
check on Scully, sensitive to the fact that
Scully probably didn't want to see him.  But
he was honestly worried about her.  However,
in the last week, she hadn't heard a word
from Mulder.

Scully knew deep down she would always love
Mulder; she knew that even when she was
dating Tony.  But there were things other
than love-- trust, honesty, respect,
stability, a sense of comfortableness.  She
felt all of those things with Tony and had
deep feelings for him, but she knew she had
always felt something was missing, something
that had never been missing in her
relationship with Mulder.  Pure, absolute
love.  Deep, abiding love.  Love.

Scully had taken a couple of days off, just
needing to be alone to think.  The only
person she had considered consulting about
her feelings was Father McCue but then
figuring a celibate priest wouldn't be much
help to a woman and two men who were both her
lovers. She had slept and cried and then
slept and cried some more, spending her days
alone to sort her feelings.  Mulder had been
her life, but Tony had become so much more
than she ever thought she'd have again after
Mulder's 'death'.

Late on Friday night, her cell phone rang and
she figured it was Tony even though he had
called her earlier in the day.  "Dana
Scully," she answered when she flipped it
open.

"Hi, Scully.  It's me," Mulder said, the
sound of his voice startling her.  She felt
her heart rate begin to increase and her
breathing become shallow just from hearing
him.  "I want to talk to you."

She sighed, taking a deep breath.  "When?"
she asked.

"Right now, if you'll let me in.  I'm in your
hallway," he said, his little trick not
really surprising her.  It was so Mulder.
Scully opened the door, motioning to him with
her hand to come in.

"I, uh, lost my key sometime in the last
couple of years," he said, his smart-assed
sense of humor still in its place.  He moved
right into the living room and sat on her
couch.

"Mulder, I'm not sure this is a good idea,"
Scully told him, still standing by the door
watching him make himself at home.

"As opposed to what?  That 'good idea' of not
talking to each other?" he said
sarcastically.

Scully considered him a moment, then taking a
deep breath before joining him in the living
room, sitting in the chair opposite the
couch.

"Scully, we can't just continue to ignore
each other," he said leaning to rest his
elbows on his knees.  He looked at her,
studying her face, still able to read her
thoughts just from her expression and body
language.  He could tell she was hurt.

"I haven't been ignoring you, Mulder.  I've
been trying to sort out my life... alone,"
she said resignedly.

"Alone?  The boyfriend hasn't been helping?"
Mulder said, the tone in his voice almost
nasty.  Scully was used to the callous side
of Mulder's personality rearing its ugly
head, usually when his feelings had been
hurt.  She didn't comment on his questions.
"So, tell me about him, Scully.  Do you love
him?" he asked bluntly.

"Mulder, I'm not going to discuss Tony with
you," she answered sharply.

"That's his name--Tony?" Mulder quickly
queried.  "Italian boy, huh?  Or maybe the
Greek god type?"

"Yeah, that's it," she said, her irritation,
along with her hurt feelings, beginning to
grow and she was losing her patience with
Mulder's wounded wiseass routine.  "Mulder,
what do you want?  I'm tired and I'm not in
the mood to sit here and let you bounce
insults off me," she said tiredly.

"You're tired..." he mocked.  "I'm sorry.  I
guess it would be too much to expect that you
had exerted enough energy to make some
decisions, huh?"

Scully stood from her chair, now more than
angry.  "Fuck you, Mulder.  You have no idea
what I have been through in the last week,"
she yelled at him.  "For that matter, what
the hell do you think I've been through in
the last two years?!"  Her hands were on her
hips and she was practically shaking with
anger.

Mulder stood, beginning to realize what hell
she probably had been through and how he
wasn't making things any better.  "Scully,"
he said, moving toward her.

"Don't you come near me, you son-of-a-bitch,"
Scully warned, backing up a step.

"Scully...," he said again, just wanting her
to calm down at that point.

"I thought you were dead!" she yelled, her
tears finally coming.  "You let me think you
were dead..." she said, all of her energy now
seemingly gone.  Mulder thought she might
collapse and went to her, his arms wrapping
to hold her.

"You let me think you were dead...," she
cried her fists hitting his chest, but all of
her fight long gone out of her.  He felt her
knees give and he caught her, picking her up
to carry her with him to sit on the couch.
He held her in his lap for a long time while
she cried, neither of them saying anything.

Finally, Scully lifted her head from his
shoulder taking her time to make eye contact
with him.  And when she did, she could see
that he had been crying as hard as she had
been.  "Oh, Mulder," she said, wrapping her
arms around his neck.

After a few moments, Mulder moved her away
from him, taking her face into his palms,
giving her only a glance before kissing her.
And she didn't resist, her hand snaking into
his hair, her other going further around his
neck.  They continued to kiss and it became
harder and more heated, both of them panting
through their nose until Scully pulled away
to breathe.

Mulder buried his face in her neck, softly
chanting her name.  "I've missed you so
much... I would've never left you, Scully, if
it weren't for William.  Never," he
whispered, tears still staining his voice.

"I know, Mulder.  I know," she said, kissing
his cheek, his neck.  Mulder moved back to be
able to see her again, the meaning behind the
look in his eyes very obvious to her.  They
both stood and he kissed her again, lifting
her to his chest, her feet dangling against
his shins.  They were both kissing like they
were trying to make up for the last two
years, walking slowly toward her bedroom.
And she didn't resist.

Even as he carried her, Mulder kissed her
passionately, almost forcefully, his gait
half-stumbling.  Finally, he set her down on
her feet, their lips barely parting even as
he did.  It was Scully who pushed his jacket
over his shoulders and began to pull his t-
shirt from his pants.  Mulder only stopped
kissing her long enough to pull her cardigan
over her head without regard for the buttons.
Scully reached behind her back and unfastened
her bra even as Mulder was reaching for the
button of her pants.  "God, Mulder," she
panted, grabbing for the button of his jeans,
now noticing his sizable bulge.  Mulder's
lips latched on to a nipple, his suction
taking a sizable portion of the end of her
breast into his mouth.

Scully started to pull down the zipper of
Mulder's pants, but he jumped back from her.
"Ouch!" he said, cupping himself, his
erection now painful confined in his jeans.
Suddenly, Mulder flopped down onto the bed on
his back, relaxing the pressure of his jeans
on his erection making him able to unzip his
fly.  As Scully watched him, she hurriedly
pulled off her pants and panties, kicking
them off her feet.  Mulder squirmed enough to
pull his boxers and pants just far enough
down to allow his penis to spring free, the
movement making him grimace.  Scully grabbed
the waistbands and pulled both garments down
his legs and off his feet that were still
hanging over the edge of the bed.

"Mmmmmm, Scully," Mulder managed as she
crawled up over him, her breasts pressed
against his chest, as she kissed him for all
she was worth.  Mulder grabbed and squeezed
her bottom as she lay atop him, her groan
caught in his mouth.  Mulder then grabbed her
shoulders, rolling her off of him, his body
moving over hers in one move.  "God, Scully,
I can't wait," he moaned, kissing her neck,
his groin nuzzling hers.

"Mulder... God, now.  Now!" she panted,
reaching for his penis to help him put it
where she wanted it.  He pushed into her
quickly, hard, both of them grunting from his
action.

Mulder's back arched at the feeling of her
warm, tight canal, him tightening himself
trying not to come at that very moment.
"Scully, I... I..." he stuttered barely able
to speak.  "I'm not going to, uhhhhh, last
long."

Scully began undulating against him, wanting
him to move, needing him to move.  She held
onto him low on his hips and pulled her knees
up so that her feet were sitting on top of
his bottom.  He shifted on top of her, moving
his knees closer to her thighs which put more
pressure on her pelvic bone.  "Oh, oh,
Mulder.  Yesssss, there. There," she gasped,
his pubic hair making sweet friction against
her swollen clitoris.  The smack of flesh
against flesh echoed in the bedroom as they
were both almost desperate to make each other
come.

Mulder shifted against her again and thrusted
harder and deeper, her body arching
underneath him as her climax hit, her pelvis
jerking underneath him as he continued to
pound into her.  She moaned after she was on
the downside, his orgasm hitting just as she
was able to focus and lift herself up to kiss
him as he yelled her name.  He emptied into
her with several more erratic, forceful
thrusts, his body collapsing over her
afterward.

"Scully, Scully, Scully," was all he could
say, his voice muffled into the flesh of her
neck.  He balanced himself on his forearms
and his hips continued to move sinuously
against her until his penis slipped out but
she could still feel it moving against her
folds.

Mulder held himself over her, the full length
of their bodies pressed together, both of
them still moving slowly against each other.
His eyes never left hers and they looked at
each other without speaking for several long
minutes.  "I love you, Mulder," Scully
finally said, holding his face between her
palms.  "I never stopped loving you."

Mulder moved off of her rolling to his side
next to her as she lay on her back.  They
were still lying across the bed, never having
made it to lay lengthwise. "Scully, I need to
know," he said, drawing his finger against
her skin from her breastbone to her pubic
hair.  "Scully, I know you slept with him and
I don't blame you for that, but I have to
know-- Did you tell him you loved him?" he
asked, dreading the answer.

Scully moved to kiss him, her arms wrapping
around his neck, her leg hanging itself over
his hip as they faced each other.  "No,
Mulder," she said plainly.  "Sometimes I
wanted to think I loved him, thought I needed
to, but I couldn't.  It was never what I had
with you," she finished, kissing him again as
she felt his tear against her cheek.  She
kissed it away and nuzzled further into him
to hold him.  Finally, they moved into the
bed and covered each other before falling
into a sated sleep.

The next morning, Scully roused slowly, the
familiar feeling between her legs bringing a
small smile to her face.  She stretched as
she rolled to her side, trying to wake.  Then
she saw Mulder next to her and remembered
that it wasn't Tony that she'd been with, her
current situation returning to her.  She
moved away from Mulder, sitting to let her
legs hang over the edge of the bed,
questioning herself about what she was going
to do next.

Scully felt a warm hand begin to stroke her
back, over her shoulders.  "Still respect me
in the morning?" Mulder said with his usual
humor.  Scully turned to look at him giving
him her usual response.  Mulder moved over to
her, sitting up behind her and wrapping his
arms around her shoulders.

"Mulder, don't," she said softly, reaching
for the sheet to cover herself.

"What's the matter, Scully?" he asked as he
pulled his arms from her.  "Don't tell me you
regret what happened last night."

Scully turned slowly to look at him, taking
him in for a few moments before responding.
"No, Mulder.  I'll never regret loving you,"
she said quietly.  "It's just that I have
something to do today and I'm not sure how
I'm going to do it..." Mulder knew what she
meant and even though he was relieved to hear
her admit it, he almost felt sorry for the
poor bastard who would be hearing from her.

TONY EASTON'S APARTMENT
BETHESDA, MARYLAND
Later that day
"Dana... Hi, come in, come in," Tony said,
surprised to find Scully at his door.  Scully
walked in uncomfortably, not really able to
look at him, but not wanting him to draw
conclusions about her demeanor.  And she
guessed he didn't when he moved to embrace
her snugly.  "God, it's so good to see you.
I've missed you so much," he said, beginning
to caress her further, very obviously glad to
see her.

Scully moved away from him, trying not to be
insensitive, but not wanting to encourage him
either.  "Tony, we need to talk," she said,
finally making eye contact.  She knew by the
tone in her voice and the look on her face
that he had surely guessed that she was not
there bearing good news.

"Can I get you something to drink?" he asked,
seemingly clueless to her unpromising
attitude.

"No, thank you, Tony.  Um, could we just
sit?" she asked, sitting in the closest chair
at his dining room table.

Tony sat and looked at her and smiled, his
cheery demeanor somehow unsettling to her;
this was going to be difficult enough.
"Tony, I want you to know something," she
started, figuring the best way to tell him
was just to be straightforward and get it
over with.  "I have had very deep feelings
for you and I don't ever want you to think
that I didn't."

"Dana, I love you and I know in your way,
somewhere in there, you love me," he said,
still smiling at her.

"Tony..." she sighed, realizing that he just
wasn't getting it or was refusing to accept
what he had to know was coming next.  "I told
you about Mulder; you understand what kind of
relationship we had.  Had he not had to leave
to protect our son, I would never have been
without him.  And had I not thought he was
dead, I would never have become involved with
someone else."

"I understand that, Dana.  But we did become
involved and it isn't something that we
should give up on," he said, reaching to
touch her hand that she slowly withdrew.  "I
know this is a rough spot in our relationship
and I think you know I'm a patient person.
So if you need more time..."

"No, Tony.  I don't need more time," she
said, looking him directly in the eyes.
"I'll always be in love with Mulder.  I know
that now.  We can't see each other any more,
Tony.  I'm sorry.  I never expected any of
this to happen but it has."

"Dana?  You're ending it?" he asked,
seemingly totally shocked.  "But you can't.
You can't, Dana.  Take more time; all that
you need, but don't just end things," he
pleaded, his expression becoming almost
desperate.

Scully looked at him and gave him a sad, but
resolute smile.  "I don't need more time,
Tony.  It would only make things worse."

"Worse for who?!" he yelled as he stood,
beginning to pace the kitchen floor.

"Tony, I'm sorry.  It isn't anything you did
or didn't do.  It has nothing to do with
you," she said, trying to help him
understand. "I didn't plan this, but I can't
help who I am in love with."

Finally, he turned back to her, his hands on
his hips, his whole demeanor now defiant.
"If this Mulder hadn't come back, would you
have stayed with me?"

"I can't answer that, Tony," Scully told him
truthfully.

"But you weren't planning to leave me, were
you?" he challenged.

"Tony, this isn't getting us anywhere," she
said noncommittally.  "I hope we can still be
friends, see each other at work, but I don't
know if that is possible."

He looked at her, both his anger and hurt
churning up a storm within him.  "Well, we
don't have much choice, now do we?" he said,
still angry.

Scully stood, nervously adjusting her jacket
before speaking, figuring it was better to
just put an end to it.  "I'm sorry, Tony,"
she said softly in leaving, letting herself
out the door without looking at him again.

Continued in Pt. 4

TITLE: Nothing Is As It Appears Pt. 4

DANA SCULLY'S APARTMENT
GEORGETOWN, WASHINGTON, DC
Later that evening
Scully hadn't gone home with much expectation
of finding Mulder there.  As a matter of
fact, she hadn't really thought about it.
She had felt like she was actually going to
throw up when she had left Tony's apartment
and decided to go for a long run to wear
herself out.  Then she thought she could just
take a shower and pass out and sleep off her
terrible day.

But after she returned from her run, she
found Mulder on her couch, surfing through
the TV channels.  "How did you get in here,
Mulder?" she asked as she came into the
living room.

"Scully, your door wasn't locked," he said
almost apologetically.  "I just wanted to see
how things went earlier."

Scully looked down at him as she unfastened
her hair, her initial irritation dissipating
quickly.  She literally fell onto the couch,
her head leaning against the back cushion as
she sighed.  "It was terrible.  I have never
felt like a bigger piece of crap in my life,"
she said, staring at the ceiling.

"Well, at least it's over," he commented, his
words catching her wrong.

Scully turned to him, glaring through him as
she readied to speak.  "Mulder, I want you to
know something.  I want you to know that Tony
is a wonderful man.  He is intelligent, kind,
loyal and I don't regret the time I spent
with him," she started, shifting her body to
look directly at him.  Mulder just looked at
her almost afraid of where she was going with
the conversation.  "But I want you to know
something else-- I love you.  But that didn't
make it any easier to hurt someone like
Tony."

Mulder nodded, feeling very much like a child
who had been put in his place and feeling
guilty for not realizing how traumatizing all
this was for Scully.  "I'm sorry, Scully," he
said finally.  "I should've thought more
about how difficult this is for you instead
of just being concerned about myself.  It was
self-centered and I apologize," he told her
reaching for her hand that sat in her lap.
"And it's not like me to be self-centered,"
he said facetiously, giving her one of his
self-deprecating smirks.

Scully returned his small smile and
contemplated him for several long moments
before speaking.  "I am still in a state of
shock that I have you back with me," she said
softly.  He moved closer to her, wrapping his
arm around her shoulder, her hand still in
his.

"And I have you back with me," he said before
kissing her.  He could tell by the way she
responded that it probably wasn't a good time
to try to take things further and he figured
she could probably use some time alone.  "I
think I'll go, Scully," he smiled to her.
"I'll check in on you tomorrow."

Suddenly, something occurred to Scully that
she hadn't really thought about before.
"Mulder, where are you staying?"

"I got tired of seeing Skinner in his
underwear, so I got a room at the Westin in
Westchester," he joked.  "So, I'll see you
tomorrow, okay?" Mulder stood from the couch
and put on his jacket, heading for the door
to leave.

"Mulder?" Scully said from her spot on the
couch.

"Yeah?"

"Would you stay tonight?" she asked quietly,
finally turning around to look at him.

"If you want," he said, walking back over by
the couch where she sat.

Scully stood and wrapped her arms around his
neck, stretching up to give him a soft kiss.
"I don't want to be alone and... I just need
you to hold me."  He took her hand and as
they walked down the hall to her bedroom, she
told him, "And you can get rid of that hotel
room..."

DANA SCULLY'S OFFICE
QUANTICO, VA
Two weeks later
Scully took her glasses off and tossed them
to her desk, pinching the bridge of her nose
wishing her headache would go away.  She had
several recruits who were giving her
nightmares and several instructors were
meeting later to determine if a couple of the
recruits might need to leave the program.
And she knew the meeting would include Tony.

She had managed to avoid him for two weeks,
really not much of an effort since she had
been so busy with several autopsies for John
and Monica and a couple for the VCU.  At
least being this busy was keeping her mind
occupied at work and Mulder managed to do
that at home.

Scully looked up when she heard a soft knock
at the door, "Come in."  To say that she
wasn't shocked to see Tony enter would be a
bold-faced lie.  "Tony... Hi," was all she
could muster.

"Hi, Dana.  I, uh, just wanted to talk to you
a minute before we have to sit in that
meeting together," he started, moving to sit
in the chair next to her desk.  He looked
good; tired, but good.

"Okay..." she said, unsure of why he was
there and what he was going to say.

"I just want you to know that I'm doing okay
with this," he told her.  "I've had some bad
days, but I'm working through things.  And I
don't want things to be uncomfortable between
us when we have work to do."

"I don't either, Tony," she told him
sincerely.

Tony stood, giving her a small smile as he
moved toward the door.  "You doing okay?" he
asked almost as a second thought.

"I'm doing okay," she answered, truly
impressed by his straightforwardness and his
concern.

Tony nodded slowly, "I'll see you at the
meeting, then," and left, the blinds on the
door clattering as it closed.

OFFICE OF WALTER SKINNER
FBI HEADQUARTERS
One week later
Skinner had pulled every string he could
muster and had managed to get Mulder
reinstated on a probationary basis.  "Mulder,
if you screw this up, I'll have your ass,"
Skinner warned him.

"Oh, you know me, Sir, I'll be a good little
boy," he smiled from his spot in the chair in
front of Skinner's foreboding desk.

"At least behave long enough to make it
through your probation.  Then you're on your
own," Skinner told him.  "Here, take a look
at this," he continued, handing Mulder a
file.

Mulder looked through the file, the autopsy
report, individual field notes from the
various agents who had been assigned to the
investigation.  Then he noticed a profile,
written several weeks earlier by one Special
Agent Anthony Easton.

"I want you to contact Agent Phelps, the SAC
on this, and see what you can add.  They're
having difficulty getting a handle on what
exactly they're dealing with and I think you
can be of some assistance," Skinner told him
matter-of-factly.

"Will do," Mulder answered quickly standing
to leave, his eyes still scanning the profile
report.

"And behave yourself," Skinner called to him
as he exited through the hall door.

Mulder headed to the basement, unable to stop
reading Tony's report.  Neither John nor
Monica was in the office, much to his relief.
Mulder had to admit that he was impressed
with Agent Easton's profile.  And based on
the evidence in the file, Mulder felt that
Tony was right on in his description of the
likely perpetrator.  He was VERY impressed.

After reading Tony's work, Mulder's curiosity
was peaked and he booted up the computer.  He
entered Tony's name and his FBI file, along
with his ID picture, popped up on the screen.
Mulder didn't know what he expected, but it
wasn't someone like who he saw.  He figured
Scully had picked an older bookish type, a
guy who might view a trip to the Smithsonian
as living on the edge.  Instead, he found a
very handsome, well-built guy who was five
years younger than her.  He had two Master
degrees, one in Anthropology and the other in
Physics, having graduated Magna Cum Laude
from Stanford.  Shit...

He had four, count 'em, four commendations in
his file, one that credited him with saving
his partner's life in a hostage situation.
And Scully had a relationship with this guy;
a nice stable life with a man she was much
more deserving of.

What did he have to offer her?  Hell, he
couldn't even protect his own son or his
mother and had left them to fend for
themselves.  'Maybe Scully would have been
better off if she'd have had a life with Tony
Easton instead of Spooky Mulder,' he thought
to himself.

DANA SCULLY'S APARTMENT
GEORGETOWN, WASHINGTON, DC
That evening
Mulder was out of town on a case with Doggett
and Scully figured neither one of them was
having much of a good time.  They respected
each other, but neither of them was probably
ever going to invite the other to a picnic.
Scully figured their strained relationship
was probably some territorial thing to do
with her, but she didn't really want to know.

Scully had gone home late from work but still
took the opportunity to get some things done
since Mulder wasn't around to get in her way.
She was just readying for bed when she heard
a knock at her door.  She picked up her gun
from her nightstand and slipped it in the
pocket of her robe before going to see who
was knocking.  When she looked through the
eyehole, she couldn't quite believe who was
there.

She opened the door, but didn't move out of
the way or offer him an invitation in.
"Tony?" she said surprised.

"Hi, Dana," he said calmly.

"Tony, what are you doing here?" she asked
him as unemotionally as she could.

"I just want to talk to you, Dana.  Can I
come in, just for a few minutes," he said,
hoping she would give him the opportunity
that he wanted.  He had tried to take their
break-up in stride, tried to be decent and
adult about everything.  But he had let his
curiosity get the best of him and had looked
up Mulder's file in the FBI data base.  He
couldn't believe what he saw.  Yeah, he had
an Oxford degree, graduated at the top of his
class at Quantico and had a couple of
commendations with the VCU.  But after he
began working on the X-Files, his personnel
record looked like the FBI equivalent of a
rap sheet.  'What in the hell could Dana
possibly want with a man like this Mulder?'
he asked himself.  Surely she could be
convinced that he had so much more to offer
her.

"It's late," she said to him, not wanting to
talk to him about what she knew he wanted to
talk about.

"Dana, please," he said sweetly.  Against her
better judgment, she let him in figuring she
owed him a few short minutes.  Scully flipped
on the kitchen light, sitting down at the
table wanting to keep things a bit less
comfortable than the living room.

Scully waited for him to start, not wanting
to offer any basis for him getting the wrong
idea.  "Dana, I'm ready to give you all the
time you need," he started, Scully not really
understanding what he could possibly mean.
"But I really feel that you should re-think
your choice in associating yourself with this
Agent Mulder."

Scully was stunned, but his statement was all
it took for her to realize that she was not
going to have this conversation with him.
"Tony, please don't do this," she said,
almost sad that he seemed so desperate.

"Dana, I didn't want to, but I looked up this
guy's record.  You deserve better, Dana.
Please don't screw up your life with this
guy.  Look what he's already done to you," he
said, unable to stop himself.

"And is it just a coincidence that you show
up here when he's out of town on a case?" she
asked beginning to feel uncomfortable.  He
didn't answer, but she could tell by the look
on his face she was right.  "Tony, I think
you need to leave now," Scully said, standing
from her chair and walking toward the door.

"Dana, what can you possibly see in this
guy?" he asked, his volume level rising.
"And you told me you wouldn't have left me if
he hadn't come back."

Scully opened the door and stood there
looking at him, her expression telling him
everything.  "I'll give you everything you
want, Dana," he said moving closer to her and
then she could smell the alcohol on his
breath.

"Tony, please," she said, unable to look at
him instead just motioning to the door.

He glared at her, still not quite believing
that she was choosing what he felt was the
wrong path.  "You know where you can find me,
Dana, if you change your mind," he said as he
stepped into the hall.

"I won't, Tony.  I won't," she said sadly to
him as she closed the door softly.  She took
a deep breath of relief thinking that things
could've gotten a lot worse and hoped that
would be the last time she would ever have to
speak to Tony about what he just needed to
accept.

DANA SCULLY'S OFFICE
QUANTICO, VA
Three days later
"Monica, I wish you'd told me you were
stopping by.  I'm way behind and I've got to
work through lunch," Scully told her
gathering some files from her desk.

"Actually, I was in the neighborhood," Monica
smiled.  "I came out to pick up some trace
evidence samples from the Saunders case."

Scully nodded, remembering that as the case
John had worked with Tony in New York when he
had first moved to Washington.  "Oh, is it
coming to trial?"

"No, not yet.  It seems there are some
records missing from the case and they're
trying to see if they still have enough to
prosecute," Monica said almost offhandedly.

"You're kidding," Scully said wondering how
something so sloppy could have happened,
remembering that was the New York case she
had worked with Tony when they had first
starting seeing each other.

"No, but, um, that's not why I stopped by
your office," Monica admitted.  Scully
stopped shuffling her papers sensing a more
serious tone in Monica's voice.  "Tony called
me last night."

"Oh, Monica," Scully sighed as she sat
tiredly in her desk chair.  "I'm sorry he has
involved you in this.  I'd hoped he had
finally let it go."

"Dana, Tony is moving to the New York Bureau
office.  He asked for the transfer," Monica
told her, sitting in the chair next to her
desk.  "I thought I should tell you in
person."

Scully didn't know what to say and sat
silently for several moments before gathering
her thoughts.  "Well, I'm sorry that he felt
he needed to do that.  I don't think he
really wanted to do field work full time
anymore," Scully said, nervously picking at a
fingernail.  On one hand, she felt relieved
that she wouldn't have to worry about running
into him but on the other hand, she somehow
felt guilty that she'd disrupted his life.
She knew she had hurt him deeply and she
regretted that things had to end as they did.
"What did he say?" she finally asked Monica.

"He wanted me to tell you about his transfer.
He didn't think you'd want to talk to him.
And he said for me to tell you he was sorry
about the other night," Monica told her,
waiting for an explanation of what that might
mean.

Scully smiled a small, sad smile and nodded
to herself, then looked at Monica.  "He came
by my apartment the other night after having
a bit too much to drink, I'm afraid," Scully
explained.

"Really?  That doesn't sound like Tony."

"No, it didn't.  It doesn't," Scully said
plaintively.  "Frankly, it worried me.  But,
hopefully, he wants to make a new start and I
think that might be the best thing.  I wish
him well.  And if you talk to him again,
please tell him that."

CORNER OF ADAMS AND 68TH ST.
BROOKLYN, NY
Three weeks later
"So, tell me again why I should believe you,"
Tony asked.  He and his new partner were
questioning a local informant, a sleaze ball
who would rat on anybody to get a few bucks
to feed his habit.  The FBI didn't exactly
like dealing with him, but he seemed to be
able to get accurate information just about
anytime they needed it.

"You know me.  I don't lie to you, man," he
said, fidgeting so much he was beginning to
make Tony nervous.

"So, you think this McMasters is responsible
for the murder?" Tony's partner asked.

The informer looked around nervously checking
the shadows in the dark before speaking.
"Well, if he didn't do it himself, he sure as
hell helped get someone to do it.  He can get
a hit done anytime.  Five hundred bucks.
Told me so himself once."

"That's a pretty cheap fee for a life,"
Tony's partner commented.

"Well, what's worth a lot of money to one
person can be worth just about nothin' to
someone else," the informant said, holding
his hand out for his usual fee before
disappearing again back into the dark.

DANA SCULLY'S APARTMENT
GEORGETOWN, WASHINGTON, DC
Friday, one month later
"Mulder... I can't believe you did this," she
told him, her smile outweighing her surprise.
Mulder had been out on several cases in the
past month to various points and Scully had
been working long hours and a couple of
weekends and they felt like they barely saw
each other.  Granted, they kept hours like
this all the time on the X-Files, but they
spent them together, not apart as they had
been lately.

"That's for next weekend and we are going, no
excuses," he told her, Scully's attention now
on reading the vacation print out he had
given her, propped comfortably against the
counter in the kitchen.  Mulder had made
reservations at a seaside resort at Bethany
Beach in Delaware and he was determined to
make sure they both stayed available to go.

"I don't know, Mulder.  You sure this'll be
more fun than running around the country with
John and Monica?" she teased before giving
him a lingering kiss.

"Maybe you have a point, Scully.  I guess we
could ask them to go with us," he shot back,
wrapping his arms around her, moving his body
against her.  She gave him 'the eyebrow' and
then he smiled that smile and her body almost
dissolved against him, her head falling to
his shoulder.

"God, I love you..." she sighed.

He picked her up, holding her against his
body, hers almost dead weight except for her
legs that wrapped around his waist.  He could
hear her soft murmurings; feel her breath
against his neck as he walked toward the bed.
He laid her down, kissing her before he stood
and walked around to the other side of the
bed.  He pulled his slacks off, almost
forgetting his socks; Scully hated to see him
in his underwear with socks.  He pulled his
sweater off, watching her laying there
watching him, hearing her breath beginning to
quicken.  He crawled onto the bed, moving
over to her side, bending to kiss her softly.
"Let me undress you, Scully..." She gave him
a quietly assured smile, his confirmation
that she trusted him, loved him beyond what
he had ever imagined.

They made love three times during the rest of
the night and early morning. Slow and loving;
frantic and passionate, their last time them
pleasuring each other separately. They had
never had oral sex in isolation, having
always previously pleasured each other as
foreplay before intercourse, needing that
closeness to finish.

Scully had stirred in the middle of the
night, opening her eyes briefly, finding
Mulder just watching her, the amber from the
streetlight outside reflecting in his eyes.
She smiled at him, reaching her hand up to
caress his face, her thumb rubbing across the
bone of his cheek.  He kissed her, moving his
body over hers, his hand slipping between her
legs as he continued to kiss her, his tongue
tangling with hers. She reached for his
penis, moving her hand from base to tip,
squeezing and releasing him softly as she
did.

"Lay back, Mulder," she whispered to him,
moving under him so that he would roll to his
back.  She laid over him then, moving down
his body, kissing and licking him as she
went, hesitating at a nipple, his navel. She
took his tip in her mouth, sucking lightly as
she massaged her tongue against it.  She held
onto the base, moving her hand up and down as
she continued to suck him, swirl her tongue
around the underside of the ridge.

She licked up and down his length, massaging
his scrotum, running a fingernail lightly
against his perineum, her last gesture
causing his hips to buck forcefully.  "Jesus,
Scully. Goddamn..." he said, barely able to
speak between his panting. "I'm a... uhhh,
god... if you want..."  She continued to
alternate between sucking him, taking him in
as far as she could, and licking his length.
"...to change your mind," he panted.  "You'd
better do it now..."  She gave him an extra
hard suck, pumping his shaft with her hand,
getting so wet herself that she felt her
fluid start to leak onto the inside of her
thigh.  She continued to stroke him, caress
and lick and suck, then doing it again and
again until his was practically squirming
underneath her touch.

"Oh, shiiiiiiittttttt..." Mulder gasped as he
let loose, Scully covering him with her
mouth, taking most of it in, massaging a few
errant drops into his abdomen with her
finger.  She crawled up over him, lying on
top of his body as he tried to breathe again,
her body needing satisfaction soon.  He
grabbed her bottom, squeezing her cheek
before sliding his hand down, his finger
slipping inside her. "Doing that turned you
on that much?" he asked her, feeling how wet
she already was just from pleasuring him.
She nodded, her head lying on his chest, her
fingers playing with his nipple.

She moved up on him, her head now buried near
his neck, the feel of his chest hair moving
against her breasts giving her goose bumps.
He rolled them onto their sides, kissing her
before moving down her neck, rolling her onto
her back.  He continued kissing and licking,
lingering on her breasts only briefly before
kissing his way further down her abdomen,
lifting her now-limp legs over his shoulders
before settling at her center.  He inserted a
finger, then added a second as he licked her
labia, his other hand holding her lips open
to expose her engorged clitoris.  He could
feel the muscles of her thighs beginning to
tighten against his face, moving one finger
out of her to open his palm against her as he
continued to lick.  He pushed against her
anus with his now free finger, and massaged
it against her, feeling her sphincter tighten
as she moaned at the pleasure.

Mulder began moving his other finger to
search for her g-spot as he finally took her
clitoris in his mouth to suck it, his slight
nip of it with his teeth sending her
skyrocketing, her hips coming up off the bed.

"Mulder, God!" she panted, her orgasm so hard
it felt almost painful. "Please stop for a
minute... I can't..."  She couldn't finish,
her body still shuddering, her internal
muscles throbbing against his fingers, her
anus quivering. He let her come down for a
few moments and then licked her softly,
removing his fingers to massage her lightly,
slowly, helping her to try to come down. He
moved up to lay his head beside hers on the
pillow, her eyes still clamped shut, her
breath still coming in hard
pants.  He placed his hand on her heart,
feeling it pumping, at least, double its
usual rate.

"You okay?" he said softly to her, his hand
smoothly running over her stomach, her
abdomen, taking her hand in his to kiss her
fingers.  "You finished?" he asked when he
noticed she still seemed aroused.

"Close... but not... oh, god," she sighed,
taking his hand in hers and moving it between
her legs, clamping her eyes closed again.

"Still need some help?" he asked her quietly,
rubbing his palm against her slowly, feeling
her labia still twitching. He quickly
inserted two fingers again, his thumb
searching in her folds until he found her
clitoris and then he pressed, pushing her
hard bundle against her pubic bone, sending
her skyrocketing again.


"Ohgodohgodohgodohgod," her chants barely
audible, her eyes still clamped shut.  Her
hand subconsciously stroked up her body and
began to caress her own breast, Mulder's hand
still moving inside of her slowly.  He bent
to kiss her fingers that grasped her breast
and then took her nipple into his mouth.
Mulder began to pump his fingers hard again,
his thumb rotating her clitoris against her
again and again, her hips jerking off the
mattress, her thigh muscles quivering.  He
watched as her entire body took pleasure in
her orgasm, thinking he had never seen
anything more erotic in his life.
Scully felt his hand begin to move again, but
somehow found the wherewithal to reach down
and take hold of it.  "Mulr, cn't," she
mumbled, barely able to let him know she
couldn't go again.  Finally she opened her
eyes taking a couple of seconds to actually
focus and look at him. He thought if at that
moment, he looked up the word 'sated' in the
dictionary, he would find her picture there.
"Mulder..." she said, her voice barely more
than a breath.  "I have never climaxed that
hard in my life... never."

Mulder smiled at her, kissing her softly.
"Oh, I don't know, Scully.  Does the couch in
my old apartment ring a bell?" he reminded
her, remembering when they were first
together.  Mulder continued to help her come
down, caressing her slowly, kissing her, just
holding her.  Finally, Scully was able to
move and quickly shifted to lie half over
him, burying her face against his shoulder,
seemingly embarrassed at her display.
"You're so beautiful when you come, Scully,"
he told her, trying to alleviate some of her
shyness about it.
She chuckled against his chest, snuggling
closer to him as he pulled the sheet and
spread over them.  "You have such a way with
words, Mulder," she said, lifting up to give
him a kiss, laying her head back against him.
Mulder knew her, knew that she would be
asleep as soon as she laid her head back
down.  And she was.
The next morning, Mulder had let Scully sleep
and had headed out for his morning run.  As
he reached the curb in front of her apartment
building, the distant sound of a gun being
fired echoed in his head just a second after
what felt like a hot, searing stab just under
his left shoulder blade.  It was only when he
fell to the ground that he realized he had
been shot.
GEORGTOWN MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
GEORGETOWN, WASHINGTON, DC               Four
hours later                               "It
was definitely a hit, Dana," John told
Scully, Skinner and Monica sitting with her
in the family waiting room.  Mulder was still
in recovery from his surgery, his life very
much still in the balance.  "We found spent
shells from a high-powered rifle that had
evidently been fired out of the back of a
pick-up truck down the block.  Luckily the
other shot missed."
"Who would want to do this?" Scully asked
softly.  "We aren't a threat to anyone
anymore."

"We've got all available manpower on this,
Scully.  We'll find who ever did this to
him," Skinner told her.  From what could be
determined, based on what witnesses saw,
there were two men, one the driver and the
other the shooter. They had definitely been
there for the sole purpose of shooting
Mulder. As a witness relayed, the simple fact
that Mulder had bent over to tie his shoe
probably saved his life, the other shot
sailing over his head.
Finally, Scully was allowed in to see him
after he'd been moved into the intensive care
unit.  Scully moved slowly, peering around
the edge of the curtain that was pulled only
partially closed across the entry to Mulder's
room.  She staggered at the sight before her,
nearly falling as she reached her hand up to
hold on to the door jamb, only to find the
curtain and nearly stumbling. Mulder's eyes
were closed, the labyrinth of wires and tubes
going into him and coming out of him seemed
all new to her, like she had never seen this
kind of sight before.  The gasps of the
ventilator, coupled with the competing beeps
and lights of the monitors seemed deafening,
almost too much for her.  She moved toward
the bed, finding his hand to hold, bending to
kiss next to his mouth.  She said nothing to
him, simply looked at him for uncounted
seconds before moving a chair close to his
bed before she collapsed into it.  She closed
her eyes... and prayed.


X-FILES OFFICE                             J.
EDGAR HOOVER BUILDING                  The
next morning                         After
John and Monica left the hospital, they had
gone back to the site of the shooting and
gone over every piece of evidence with a fine-
toothed comb.  Several agents were assisting
in tracking down every type of gun that took
the kind of shells found at the scene.  There
was a vague description of the truck, an even
vaguer description of the two men, but the
shell casings were a place to start.  They
weren't exactly common issue.  The lab was
trying to get DNA samples from a cigarette
butt that could have belonged to one of the
suspects.


"Who would want to kill Mulder?  Who could
possibly have a motive?" Monica ruminated
over and over in her head and finally out
loud.
"It could be a case of mistaken identity,"
John added, more trying to play devil's
advocate than really believing what he'd just
said.  "You know, it could've been a hire; I
mean the shooter may not have been the person
who wanted him dead."
Monica thought a moment and nodded in
agreement with John's observation.  "But
there would still be a person out there who
specifically wants Mulder out of the way and
I can't think of anyone."
"Yeah, no one except maybe Tony Easton," he
joked, his meaning obvious.
"Why would you say that?" Monica snapped,
wondering why such a thought would even come
into John's head.
"It was a joke, Monica.  A joke," John
teased.  But Monica didn't necessarily think
his observation was so funny.


MONICA REYES' APARTMENT
ARLINGTON, VA
Later that evening
Monica had been working on Mulder's case
until her eyes were starting to cross.  She
had stopped by the hospital earlier and spent
some time with Scully and had run by her
apartment to take care of the mail and
newspapers.  Mulder was holding his own, but
hadn't yet roused much from his sedation;
probably for the best, she thought.

The ringing phone almost startled her from
her concentration.  "Monica Reyes," she
answered.

"Monica?  Hey, it's Tony.  Tony Easton," he
said calmly.

"Tony?" Monica questioned, totally taken by
surprise at who had called her.

"Yeah.  Listen, I hadn't touched base in a
while and was just wondering about Dana," he
said.  "I know I'm not supposed to care
anymore, but, of course, I do."

Monica didn't exactly know how to respond and
thought it was a bit of a strange coincidence
that he would call just as Dana's life had
been turned upside down.  "I guess you
haven't heard about Fox Mulder," Monica
started, just to gauge his reaction.

"If I don't ever hear about Fox Mulder again,
I would be a happy man," he laughed, but
Monica wasn't sure he was kidding.

"Well, someone tried to kill him yesterday,
Tony," she told him.

"Tried?  Tried to kill him?  How?" he asked
quickly, correcting himself.

"Shot.  In front of Dana's apartment
building," she told him simply.

"How's Dana taking it?" he questioned, the
first time Monica had noticed any sincerity
to his voice.

"She's a tough woman.  You know that, Tony,"
Monica told him. "And she'll weather whatever
is given to her."  Tony made some more small
talk, asking about her and the X-Files, but
she knew he had called for another reason.
And she also knew that he had already known
about Mulder's shooting.  She could feel it.

Continued in Pt. 5

TITLE: Nothing Is As It Appears Pt. 5

GEORGETOWN MEMORIAL HOSPITAL
The next morning
"Mulder... Mulder, it's Scully," she told him
as she saw his eyes flutter open.  His eyes
swam a bit until they located hers and she
smiled at him.  "Don't try to talk; you have
a tube in your mouth.  Just relax," she
explained, leaning over to give him a small
kiss next to his mouth.

After Mulder had roused further, they were
able to take out the ventilator tube and he
was breathing on his own.  Scully had tried
to get him to take more pain medication, but
he wanted it as low as he could stand it
because he didn't like being so out of it.
Scully had gone home to shower and change and
he had slept the entire time she was gone.

When she returned, she checked his chart and
compared his monitors and felt comfortable
that Mulder had again escaped the fingers of
death.  "Here, Mulder.  Eat a little of this
ice," she said softly as she spooned a little
bit to his lips.

"Mmmmm, good," he slurred, the cool melting
to wet his dry mouth.  "More."  Scully smiled
and gave him a small kiss before spooning
some more of the chips into his mouth.  She
gave him only one more spoonful not wanting
him to have too much liquid on his stomach.

"So how bad is it?" Mulder managed to croak.

"You're fine and you are going to be fine,"
Scully told him softly, but he could tell by
the tired and worn look she wore that things
had been bad.

"When... what day?" he stuttered, his throat
drying again.

"You've been here three days, Mulder," Scully
told him, spooning a few more ice chips into
his mouth.  "But you are okay," her voice
finally cracking a bit.  She stood and leaned
over him, holding on as she could in their
awkward positions.  Mulder wrapped his arm
around her as he could and kissed the side of
her face that he could reach.  She moved to
give him a lingering soft kiss, her thumb
wiping the tear that slipped from his eye.
"I love you very much," she told him, her
eyes never leaving his.  "I can't be without
you again, Mulder."

"I know," he answered.

"Hey, you two," Monica said as she appeared
at the door to his room.

Scully turned to see her and then returned
her attention to Mulder.  "It's Monica,
Mulder," she explained, Mulder being unable
to see her from his position flat on his
back.  "Hi, Monica," Scully said.

Monica didn't want to bother or be in the
way, but she found herself really needing to
get Scully's read on Mulder's shooting.  She
was having some unsettling vibes about it and
since she respected Scully's instincts so
much, she wanted to bounce her thoughts off
her before she and John got too far down the
wrong path.

"Hi, Dana.  How are things going?" she asked
quietly.

"Much better," Scully smiled, giving Mulder's
hand a soft squeeze.  "How's the
investigation going?"

Monica glanced from Mulder to Scully looking
for some confirmation that it was okay to
speak about it and Scully's expression gave
it to her.  "Well, we seem to be stuck on
identifying someone with a motive," Monica
started.  "But I have some thoughts..."

Mulder stayed silent, Monica not even sure he
was alert enough to really understand what
she and Scully were talking about.
"Considering that everyone within the
Consortium is dead, my list is at about
zero," Scully admitted.  "You're sure it
wasn't random?"

"Positive.  It was a hit, Dana.  Pure and
simple."

"Why?  Who on god's earth would have any
reason to do it?" Scully said incredulously,
almost to herself.

"Tony," Monica said plainly, her propensity
for getting bluntly to the point most
evident.

"Who?" Scully said, truly not realizing who
Monica meant.

"Tony Easton."

If Scully hadn't been so instantly angry, she
probably would have laughed.  "You can't be
serious!  That is ridiculous," Scully said,
her anger very evident.

"Dana, he called me last night," she started.

"Monica, I'm not even going to have this
conversation with you," Scully said.  "If
that's where your investigation is, then you
are in serious trouble."

"Okay, okay," Monica said sheepishly.  "I
won't mention it again.  I didn't come here
to upset you.  I'm sorry," she said,
sincerely meaning it.  They said their good-
byes, Scully really not giving Monica's
theory a second thought.  But what neither of
them noticed was that Mulder had been
listening to their interchange and what they
also had no way of knowing was that he didn't
throw out Monica's theory as Scully had done.

X-FILES OFFICE
J. EDGAR HOOVER BUILDING
Fourteen days later
"Found out who shot me yet?" Mulder said by
way of entrance, Monica and John startling at
his voice, exactly Mulder's intention.  "And
you can't do that with your feet on the desk,
Agent Doggett."  Despite himself, John's feet
flew off the desk like a paper in the wind.

"What the hell are you doing here, Agent
Mulder?" Doggett said, irritated at Mulder's
insinuation-laden comments.  Monica stood
from her desk, moving to Mulder with a smile
on her face.

"Good to see you out, Mulder," Monica said
sincerely.  "But are you sure you're well
enough to be here?"

"I'm well enough to be here, but if Scully
finds out I came, I may not be later," Mulder
joked, but not really.  He hadn't talked to
either of them while he had been
recuperating, a promise that Scully had made
him make and he had honored that.  But he was
out among the living now, and he hadn't
forgotten what Monica had said in his
hospital room about Scully's ex boyfriend.

"So, are you going to tell us what you are
doing here?  'Cause I know you aren't
reporting for active duty," Doggett said.

Mulder looked at him and smiled knowing that
Doggett would be just as glad if he never
came back to work at all.  He only tolerated
Doggett because Scully liked and respected
him and he knew that Doggett only tolerated
him for the same reasons.  "Sorry to
disappoint you, Agent Doggett, but I'm
actually here to speak to Agent Reyes,"
Mulder said, turning his back to John to face
Monica.

Monica smiled, initially thinking he was just
pulling John's string, but realizing he was
serious when she saw the look on his face.
"Okay..." she answered.

"You said something while I was in the
hospital that, uh, didn't strike me as
ridiculous as it did Scully," Mulder started,
Monica immediately knowing what he was
talking about.

"About Tony Easton," she said.

"Oh, please.  You can't be serious, Mulder.
This is beneath even you," Doggett said,
moving closer to where Mulder and Monica were
talking.  "He's a fellow Agent and a good one
at that."

"I don't disagree with either one of those
points, Doggett.  But that doesn't mean he
may not have other points to his
personality," Mulder followed up.  "You ever
taken a look at this guy's background?  He's
just a little too perfect, don't you think?
He fits the profile of someone who could
easily snap if all of a sudden something
didn't come so easily to him."

"Like Dana..." Monica finished, knowing
Mulder could be right.  "I knew him in New
Orleans and I thought he was a terrific guy,
a great agent.  But, I have to tell you, I've
had... I guess you could say, strange vibes
about him ever since you were shot and
especially after he called me."

"He called you?  When?" Mulder asked.

"Only a couple of days after you were shot.
He pretended he hadn't heard about it; that
he was just wondering how Dana was doing, but
I could tell he knew about your shooting
before he called," Monica relayed to Mulder,
John still questioning Mulder and Monica's
sanity.

"I think it's something we should look into,"
Mulder said, hoping for Scully's sake that he
and Monica were way off base.  But deep down,
he knew there was more to Tony Easton than
Scully had ever realized.

John moved closer to Mulder, in disbelief
that Mulder thought he was able to work.
"You are not ready to return to duty.  You'll
never get a doctor to sign a release and,
without it, Skinner won't let you back in the
door," Doggett told Mulder.

"He's right, Mulder.  Let us take care of
it," Monica told him calmly.

Mulder laughed looking back and forth between
the two other agents.  "'Us' as in you and
him?" Mulder asked Monica but pointing at
Doggett.  "Yeah, that'll be the day."

Even though John was steaming, he was, after
all, Monica's partner and she felt there was
a lead in Easton, so he would support her.
"Personally, I think you are both out of your
minds, but my partner and I will follow up on
this lead, no matter how flimsy I think it is-
- if for no other reason than to prove you
wrong," Doggett said to Mulder.  "You go home
to Dana and keep your mouth shut.  Since it
will obviously turn out to be nothing, she
doesn't need to know anything about this.
Because if she does, she's gonna kick your
ass."

DANA SCULLY'S APARTMENT
GEORGETOWN, WASHINGTON, DC
Later that night
By the time Mulder had made it back to
Scully's apartment from the Hoover building
that morning, he realized Doggett and Monica
were right.  He wasn't able to return to
work. He felt like hell and made a straight
line to the bed, stripped and fell asleep as
soon as he'd hit the mattress.

"Mulder?" Scully said softly as she sat next
to him on the bed.  Scully had come home from
the office and found him sleeping so soundly
he was snoring.  She let him sleep until she
had changed and put something to eat on the
table.  "Hey, you gonna wake up?  It's time
to eat."

Mulder roused slowly soon realizing that he
had slept the rest of the day away.  "Hi," he
finally said to her, also realizing he'd had
a very nice dream about her.

"Missed you today," she smiled as she kissed
him.  "How was your day?"

"Oh, you know..." he said non-committally.

Scully looked at him for several moments,
then touched the back of her hand to his
forehead.  "You feeling okay, Mulder?" she
asked, reaching down to check his pulse.
"You're flushed."

"Just tired," he said, feeling a bit sheepish
that he wasn't telling her the whole story.

Scully smiled at him, still just glad to have
him home in one piece.  "Hungry?" she asked
quietly.  "I've got Gyro's from Magolias's."

"Scully, that was way out of your way," he
told her knowing she had probably driven
twenty miles out of her way to pick up one of
his favorite things on the planet.

Scully crawled up on the bed and snuggled up
close to him, laying her head on his
shoulder.  "I know," she said softly.  "I
wanted to surprise you.  And I felt sorry for
you being here by yourself all day," she told
him, wrapping her arm under the blankets and
around his torso, giving him a stronger
embrace.  "Mulder..." she said, her voice
teasing.  "Are you naked under there?"

"As a new born babe.  Care to join me?" he
said wagging his eyebrows at her, pulling her
closer, being careful with his other
shoulder.

Scully moved up enough to kiss him, then
lying back against his shoulder.  "I don't
think you're up for that," she said softly.

"I think you know not of what you speak," he
teased taking her hand and moving it down to
his crotch, his semi erect penis backing up
his statement.  She stroked him several
times, looking in his eyes to gauge if he was
serious about trying to be together.  Without
saying a word, she stood from the bed and
undressed as he watched, then slipping under
the covers next to him, his favorite food
temporarily forgotten.

"Better?" she asked as she snuggled in next
to him her hand snaking down his abdomen
again.

"Oh, yeah," he teased, his eyes snapping shut
as Scully grasped him.  She kissed his chest,
his nipple, taking it into her mouth to
softly suck.

"What do you want?" she asked him lovingly as
she let go of him and moving up to see his
eyes.

"You," he replied simply.  Scully smiled and
moved over him, straddling his thighs
figuring she would need to be on top if
things were going to work at all.

Scully lay against his chest, trying to be
careful of his residual soreness and
languidly kissed his lips. She rubbed herself
against him as she continued to kiss him,
Mulder's arm slowly stroking her back, down
her bottom.  Finally she sat up, shifting her
weight to her knees as she reached for him
again, centering him at her opening.  She
slid down on him slowly, Mulder watching her
every move, his hands attentively caressing
her body.

Mulder moved his hands to hold her breasts
while Scully continued to move against him,
the feel of him inside her something she had
definitely missed in the last few weeks.
"Feel good?" he asked her, smiling at the
look of arousal evident on her face.

"No, this is absolutely awful," she said
facetiously, her hands flat against his
abdomen.  Mulder smiled, both at her comment
and her increasing arousal.

"I love watching you in this position,
Scully.  You are so beautiful..." he said,
almost whispering.

Scully leaned down over him again, kissing
him as she continued to undulate.  "You make
me feel beautiful," she told him against his
lips.  Scully rode him slowly for several
long minutes, her hands stroking his abdomen,
up his chest, playing with a nipple.

Mulder petted her skin anywhere he could, his
hand slowly moving towards her apex, his
thumb finally slipping between her legs to
massage her clitoris. Scully's eyes closed as
her head fell back, her hands barely able to
hold on to the sides of his abdomen as her
back arched to the sensation. Mulder reached
for her hands and intertwined his fingers
with hers, lifting their fists so that she
had better balance, better leverage.  He
could feel her strength through her hands,
grasping his, pushing against him as she
continued to pump against him.

"You okay down there," she was able to ask
slowly, Mulder barely hearing her as his
attention was focused on the sight of him
moving in and out of her.  He managed an
absent nod.  He could see her fluid
glistening on his penis, some of it smeared
against her pubic hair and his.  The muscles
of her abdomen tightened and relaxed as she
moved up and down, the creases of her hips
deep and tight.

Scully let go of his hands, shifting her
weight as she rested her palms against the
mattress, her weight pressing her clitoris
into his pubic bone.  She pushed harder and
faster, trying to find the glorious friction
that would take her where she wanted to go.
Her breath quickened and the timbre of her
sounds increased as she worked against him,
Mulder reaching to grasp her bottom to help
her push.

"Come on, Mulder," she said to him, Mulder
knowing she wanted him as close as she was.

"I'm gettin' there," he panted, his hips
trying to move against her despite the pain
in his back.  Scully's thighs suddenly
tightened against his hips, her internal
muscles grabbing him in spasms.  She
collapsed onto his chest, her tissue still
fluttering while she tried to catch her
breath.  She struggled to shift her weight to
her forearms, undulating against him as best
she could to help him finish.

"Oh, oh, yeah, ohhhhhh, yeaaaaahhhhhh," he
groaned, his warm fluid coming in spurts, his
hips jerking erratically as he fully emptied
himself into her.  Scully lay down across his
chest again, her cheek against his sternum,
Mulder's exhausted panting ruffling her hair.

Scully moved up just enough to look at him to
make sure he was alright, his sated smile
enough proof for her.  She kissed him then,
lingering for long seconds on his mouth, her
lips continuing a soft path under his chin to
his neck and around to his ear.  "Feel
better?" she whispered against his, the smile
evident in her voice.

"Much," he said, kissing her cheek.

Scully moved up to slide her arms over his
shoulders, the loss of him filling her as he
slid out causing her to sigh.  "Mmmmmmm,"
Mulder moaned, the fresh air cooling her
wetness on his penis.

"You know, Mulder, the endorphins produced
during sex have been proven to be medicinal,"
she told him teasingly, softly kissing him.

"So this was a doctor/patient exercise only
done to help me heal?" he teased back,
stroking her back.

"Oh... I wouldn't say only," she smiled.

Mulder kissed her, just happy to be among the
living let alone finding himself lying in
naked sated-ness with Scully.  "I love you,
even if you are just here to provide health
care."  She chuckled, then giving him a long,
deep kiss, her tongue caressing his, her body
subconsciously moving slowly against him.

"Love you, too..."

FBI FIELD OFFICE
NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK
One week later
Mulder had recuperated fairly well and had
gone back to work, desk duty only.  Scully
had made him promise that he would behave
himself and not do anything too dangerous.
But, he could barely wait to get back to
follow up on Monica's theory about Tony
Easton and she was more than amenable to help
him.

Monica and Mulder had requisitioned to go to
New York and John had told them they were
headed on a wild goose chase and refused to
be a part of it.  Mulder had practically
threatened him with maiming if he mentioned
anything to Scully.  'Whatever shit you get
yourself into with Scully is none of my
business' Doggett had told him, leaving
Mulder and Monica to fly off to New York.

While Monica knew that Mulder understood what
it was to have a 'feeling', a vibe, a hunch,
she also knew that Scully had taught Mulder
that without hard evidence, all the hunches
in the world wouldn't convict a subject.
"You know, Mulder," Monica started as they
were reviewing the case during their flight.
"John and I had a case some months ago in New
York and Tony was brought in to help us with
a profile."

"Yeah, the Saunders case," Mulder answered,
Monica impressed with his seemingly unending
pool of knowledge.  "Easton's profile was
perfect."

"But did you know that most of the pertinent
evidence in that case had ended up
mysteriously missing?" she asked.

"You're kidding," he said, thinking that it
was too strange to be a coincidence.

"And that an informant in that case, a guy
named Leo Monroe, seems to be Tony's favorite
snitch?" she continued.  "I think he might be
someone we could, at least, check out; see if
he knows of anything dirty that might include
Tony."

Mulder just looked at her and nodded,
impressed that she had been working so hard
on his case, despite her former friendship
with Agent Easton.  Mulder and Monica had
decided the best approach would be to
surprise Tony and see how things went from
there; give him some bait and see if he takes
it.

"Agent Reyes," Tony said by way of greeting,
shaking her hand.

"Tony," she acknowledged.  "Um, this is Agent
Mulder.  I'm not sure you've met."

"Not exactly," Mulder said, his arrogance
already pissing Tony off, but he shook his
offered hand anyway acting like it didn't
bother him in the least to be in Mulder's
company.

Tony turned to Monica, trying to exclude
Mulder from the conversation.  "What finds
you in New York, Monica?" he asked, Monica
picking up on his discomfort.

"We're here investigating my shooting,"
Mulder spoke up answering the question for
her.

"Really?  I thought you said that he was shot
in Washington, Monica," Tony offered.

"Actually, it was just under my left scapula,
but that's beside the point," Mulder
retorted.  "We've got several leads right
here in New York."

"Really?  What've you got?" Tony asked,
trying to feign nonchalance.

"We've come to ask if you could help us find
Leo Monroe," Monica said, just letting her
words hang in the air to see how Tony would
react.

"Leo?  What the hell would you want with him?
He's an unreliable snitch who'd say anything
for a few bucks," he said nervously.

"Well, he led us to Larry Saunders.  Maybe
we'll get lucky again," Monica answered.  "He
still hang around in Brooklyn, the biker bar
on 68th?" she asked.

"Wouldn't know.  I don't think I've seen him
since Saunders," Tony answered.  Mulder just
watched him being played by Monica, watched
her lead him right into his first lie, now
knowing that he and Monica were right about
Scully's ex.

THE DOWNTOWN LOUNGE
68TH ST., BROOKLYN, NY
Monica and Mulder had bid their farewells to
Tony and headed out to see if they could
rustle up any leads on where they might find
Leo Monroe.  They had checked at his favorite
bar, where Monica and John had been able to
find him before.  The disinterested bartender
said she hadn't seen him yet today, but that
odds were he'd show up before closing time.

"You ever seen this guy in here?" Mulder
asked, showing her a picture of Tony.  She
looked at it closely, then looking Mulder and
Monica over, seemingly deciding that she
didn't want to say any more.

"No, I'd remember somebody that looked that
good," she told them, both knowing that she
had indeed recognized him.

They thanked her and left, going to their
rental and driving around the area for a few
minutes looking for the best place to park to
stake out the bar.  They found a fairly well
hidden place between a dumpster and the alley
entrance to an abandoned laundry mat across
and down the street.  They settled in to
wait, hoping that Monroe would find himself
in need of a drink.

It had begun to rain and the windows in the
car would steam up, making their wait even
more tedious.  Mulder had considered calling
Scully and confessing his location, but since
it was still mid-afternoon, he knew she
wouldn't yet be missing him.  He decided to
wait, but realizing sooner or later she was
going to have his ass.

Fortunately, in only a few hours, Monica
recognized Monroe walking quickly toward the
bar entrance, his head down against the
pouring rain.  "Think we should approach him
now or let the bartender tip him off and then
see what happens?" Monica said to Mulder.

"I think we should wait, at least a few
minutes," he said, keeping his eyes on the
bar entrance.  Sure enough, only a few
minutes later, Monroe came out of the bar,
nervously looking around as he jogged across
the street to a pay phone.  "I didn't know
anyone still used those," Mulder quipped.
They could tell Monroe was talking to
someone, his mannerisms animated and nervous.
He hung up quickly and headed down the street
in the opposite direction.

"You trace the call and I'll follow him on
foot," Mulder told Monica, both of them
quickly exiting the rental.  Monica went
quickly to the payphone and gave her ID
number to the operator to find out who Monroe
felt the need to call.  But she knew before
the operator had come back on the line with
her finding, "Tony Easton, 1226A Plaza
Apartments..." the voice started, but Monica
hung up before hearing the rest, heading to
follow Mulder and Monroe, now knowing for
sure who he was going to meet.

Mulder followed Monroe for over seven blocks
before the man stopped and sat on a bus bench
in the dark, the drizzling rain going
unnoticed.  Mulder hid a safe distance away
and waited, Monroe obviously either waiting
for a bus or waiting to meet someone, most
likely the person he had called.  Then,
swinging around the corner, a metro bus
pulled up in front of the bench and Monroe
got in, Mulder muttering an audible 'shit',
hoping that wasn't going to be Monroe's
option.

Mulder began running back toward the rental,
spotting Monica coming toward him.  "He's on
the bus," he yelled to her, both of them
running across the street and back to their
car.  They were able to catch up to the bus
and followed for several more miles before
they saw Monroe hop off, immediately looking
around nervously.

"He's meeting Easton, I just know it," Mulder
said into the dark of the car.

"Yeah, that's who he called," Monica told
him.  Monroe walked around the corner and
Mulder turned the car to follow him at,
hopefully, a safe distance.  Monroe walked
another block or so and then turned down an
alley.  "I'll stay on him," Monica said,
exiting the car quickly and following while
Mulder found an inconspicuous place to park
the car.  Mulder stayed behind, but could see
both Monroe and Monica ahead of him in the
dark.

Finally, Monroe stopped moving, standing
nervously under a streetlight at the other
end of the alley.  Mulder stayed back, hiding
in the doorway of a dilapidated apartment
building, Monica closer to the end of the
alley where Monroe waited.

Soon, a tall figure in a long overcoat moved
into the glow of the streetlight and Monica's
heart fell.  It was Tony.  She guessed she
had hoped against hope, for Tony's and Dana's
sakes, that she had been wrong about him.
But there he was, meeting with Monroe.  She
was too far away to hear what was going on,
so she moved behind the dumpsters and trash
cans trying to get closer to hear.

Suddenly, she could see the silhouette of
Tony's arm come up and then the flash of a
pistol being fired, Monroe crumpling before
him.  Almost before she could react, Tony
pointed the gun down and fired again,
Monroe's body jerking in response.

"FBI!  Throw down your weapon or I will
fire!" Monica yelled, Mulder running to back
her up.  Tony turned and fired, Monica and
Mulder taking cover behind an abandoned
station wagon.  Tony turned to run, but,
instead, spun around and fired again when he
heard his name.

"Give it up, Easton," Mulder had yelled, Tony
realizing the game was up.

"Drop the gun, Tony," Monica told him as he
just stood there, illuminated under the
streetlight like he was ready to sing a
ballad.  But instead, he pointed the pistol
to his temple and blew his head off.

Mulder and Monica cursed as they ran toward
him, both of them knowing there was no way in
hell he was alive.  And they were right.
Mulder checked Monroe, Monica visibly shaken
by the sight of Tony and Mulder was shocked
that he felt a faint pulse in Monroe's neck.

Later, after the ambulances and paramedics
had arrived and the Brooklyn police had taken
charge of the area, Mulder had had a chance
to finally speak to Monica.  "You okay?" he
asked quietly.  She nodded at first, but then
her tears came, Mulder enfolding her against
his wet coat.  "I'm sorry this had to happen
the way it did, Monica."

She composed herself and stepped back from
his embrace giving him a small smile of
thanks, but then becoming serious.  "I think
you have a phone call to make, Mulder, and I
think you better make it before she hears
what happened from someone else," Monica told
him, giving his arm an affectionate squeeze
before walking off to talk to one of the
other officers.

Continued in Pt. 6

TITLE: Nothing Is As It Appears Pt. 6

DANA SCULLY'S APARTMENT
GEORGETOWN, WASHINGTON, DC
The next day
Mulder had followed Monica's advice and had
called Scully, not even noticing the time
until he pulled his phone from his pocket.
And at 9:10pm, she had been getting very
worried about why he was so late.  He
admitted that he and Monica had gone on a
case in New York, but didn't tell her any
details.  Since it was Friday night, he knew
she wouldn't be talking to anyone at the FBI
until after he got home and he told her he
would be home the next day as soon as he
could get a flight.

They had wrapped up what they could with the
case, knowing that as soon as Monroe regained
consciousness, they would want to return to
question him.  But for now, their actions
were directed toward finding the next flight
back to Washington.  Monica said she would
get started on the report they would have to
submit to the FBI and she would touch base
with Mulder later.  She knew he was dreading
telling Scully so she thought the least she
could do was take care of some of the paper
work.

Mulder had arrived at the apartment just
before ten on Saturday and Scully was in the
back room finishing some laundry.  He could
see that the dry cleaning was at the door
ready for pick-up, sensing that Scully had
been cleaning, something she did when she was
upset.  "Scully?" he said as he entered,
hanging his wrinkled, still damp top coat on
the rack.

Scully walked in from the back, seeing his
disheveled, tired look, blood stains on his
shirt and tie.  He could tell she was angry,
but she moved closer so that she could see
him better.  "Are you okay, Mulder?  Were you
hurt?" she asked quietly.

"I'm fine. Um, not my blood," he said,
removing his suit jacket and tie as he sat
down at the kitchen table.  "Sit down,
Scully. I need to talk to you," he said
tiredly, unsure of how he was going to break
the news.

"Mulder, I don't think it's a good time for
you to discuss New York with me.  I'm so
goddamned angry with you right now, I'm not
sure I can be rational," she said, almost too
calmly.

"This isn't about New York, Scully," he said,
Scully now noticing the distressed look on
his face.

"What?" she said, sitting in the chair next
to him, sensing that something had gone
terribly wrong.  "Is it Monica?"

Mulder looked at her and shook his head, his
hand reaching out to grasp hers as it lay on
the table, more for his comfort than hers.
"The reason Monica and I went to New York was
to follow up on a case... my shooting to be
exact," he started, finding it hard to look
at her.  "Easton was involved, Scully."

"Oh, please, Mulder.  You will never convince
me of that, no matter what theory you and
Monica come up with," she chastised.

"Please just listen," he asked quietly before
continuing.  "I'll tell you details later,
but... things went badly and...," he
stuttered.  "Scully, Tony Easton is dead."

Scully didn't move, didn't react at all for
several long seconds, unable to process what
Mulder had just told her.  "Mulder," she
said, her voice catching as she spoke.  "What
hap... was it you?" she managed to ask.

"No, no. He knew we had him, Scully, and he
shot himself," he told her softly.

"My god," she sighed in disbelief.  She tried
to contain her emotion, but eventually buried
her face in her hands and began to softly
cry.  "W..why w..would he do th..this?" she
stammered through her sobs.

"I'm sure he had figured out we had enough
evidence to tie him to my shooting," Mulder
explained.  "He saw no other way out."

"No, I mean why would he want to kill you?"
she asked, looking at him, hoping he was
going to offer her a reason other than the
obvious one.

"Scully..." he said, not wanting to spell it
out to her, but his answer telling her what
she already feared.

"No, please no," she cried again, laying her
head on her arms on top of the table.  Mulder
scooted his chair closer, putting his arm
around her, reaching to hold her hand.

"I'm sorry, Scully," he told her softly and
meant it.  "I really didn't want our
suspicions to be true, let alone for things
to end this way."

Scully finally stood and went to the desk for
a tissue, wiping her eyes as she composed
herself.  "Mulder, I want you to leave," she
told him, again almost too calmly.

"Scully, I know you're angry and you have
every right to be, but," he started.

"I want you to move your things out of the
apartment," she continued, surprising him.

Mulder sighed, "Scully, you're overreacting."

"No, Mulder, I'm not.  You made promises to
me and you broke every one of them and I'm
not going to live like that, Mulder.  I'm
not," she said, her voice barely above a
whisper.  "I thought we were past that."

"Scully, this man was guilty!  He tried to
kill me!  Or at least, have me killed and all
because he couldn't have you," Mulder said,
irritated at her reaction.

"Goddamn it, Mulder!  This has nothing to do
with that.  You lied to me; you promised me
you wouldn't go to New York or pursue Tony
and you did anyway," she said, her voice now
angry.

"But he was fucking guilty!" Mulder yelled.

"But you didn't know that!  And you promised
me YOU wouldn't become involved with it.
John and Monica could've handled it."

"No, John was too busy sticking his head in
the sand along side you and I couldn't very
well let Monica go alone," he tried to
justify.  "It's my job, no matter who had
slept with the suspect," he yelled
immediately regretting what had just flown
from his mouth.

"Get out. Get out!" she said, now so livid
she was shaking.  "Get out!!"

Mulder looked at her for a few seconds,
before moving to leave, giving her one final
stare before exiting and slamming the door.
Scully collapsed into the nearest chair and
began to sob as hard as she ever had.

DANA SCULLY'S OFFICE
QUANTICO, VA
Four days later
Scully hadn't really seen Mulder since she
had thrown him out of the apartment.  He had
come by, she guessed while she was at church,
and taken some necessities, but not removing
all of his stuff, she noticed.  He had left a
short note, apologizing once more and letting
her know he was staying at the Westchester
Westin again and that he wanted to talk when
she was ready.

Scully had just finished her last class for
the afternoon and was looking forward to
getting away a little early.  She hadn't been
sleeping well and felt overly tired and tense
and had scheduled a massage for after dinner.
She was packing up her laptop and briefcase
when she heard the blinds clang as the door
to her office opened.

"Monica," Scully said as Agent Reyes entered.
"Knocking is customary," Scully said, just
about as angry at Monica as she was Mulder
even though she wasn't sure why.  Monica had
just been doing her job.

"I figured if I knocked you probably wouldn't
have let me in," Monica said, trying to
smile.  "And I need to talk to you."

Scully sighed and sat down in her desk chair,
the leather squeaking against her legs.  "You
know, Monica, I'm not sure I want to hear
anything about what I know you're here to
talk about."

"Well, maybe you aren't, but I'm going to say
it, Dana.  There are things you need to
know," Monica started as she sat in the chair
next to Scully's desk.  "I liked Tony; I
think you know that.  I was thrilled when the
two of you were involved."  Scully looked
down at her hands as they fidgeted in her
lap, knowing what Monica was saying was true.

"But Tony wasn't what either of us thought he
was, Dana," Monica said, Scully finally
looking at her.  "His father wasn't a cop; he
never knew his father, a white man who left
his black mother high and dry.  And his
mother wasn't an attorney, but worked as a
secretary to a secretary in the Chicago DA's
office during the day and worked at a
convenience store at night so that her son
could attend one of the best colleges in the
country."

Scully just sat there in silent disbelief,
her heart rate beginning to increase as she
began to realize that she had been seriously
deceived by a man she had cared about deeply.
"He did everything he could and finally got
into the FBI.  As soon as he did, he left his
mother in Chicago and she never heard from
him again.  She died in a nursing home three
years ago.  Shall I go on?" Monica asked and
Scully nodded slowly, tentatively.

Monica softened her voice a bit, realizing
she had come on a bit strong when she had
first entered Scully's office.  "He became an
over achiever within the FBI, but a lot of
people in San Diego weren't sorry to see him
go.  Then he found you, something to
reinforce the image he wanted to exude;
successful and wealthy."

"But, Monica, he had money from somewhere.
His car, his clothes... and you should've
seen his apartment," Scully said, stunned at
what Monica was telling her.

"He was in hock up to his eyes, Dana.  Credit
cards all over the place, loans that he never
paid everywhere else," Monica said sadly,
realizing how Scully must be feeling.
"When Mulder returned and he lost you, well,
I guess that just spoiled all his plans.  He
was used to getting whatever he wanted,
anyway he could.  He had hired someone
through an informant he had initially met
when we all worked on the Saunders case in
New York."

"The missing evidence?" Scully asked, almost
knowing the answer to her own question.

"Tony destroyed it as part of the deal to
hire the shooter.  Leo Monroe, the informant
that Tony used in New York woke up Sunday and
Mulder and I questioned him.  Seems if Tony
got the guy off in the Saunders case, the
group of criminals he was involved with would
owe him a few favors.  So, Tony destroyed the
evidence and Monroe found him a hired gun."

"My god," Scully sighed, not sure she was
able to grasp everything.  "How stupid could
I be?"

"Dana, don't do that to yourself," Monica
told her firmly.  "Every single person in
Tony's life was deceived by him, including
me.  Hell, including his own mother," Monica
pointed out, trying to make her feel better.
"Nothing about him was as it appeared."

"It's so sad, really," Scully finally said.
"He was so intelligent, had so much going for
him.  If he would've just been honest, lived
his life with what god gave him, he would've
been as successful as he only pretended to
be."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Monica said,
sad that everything had to happen the way it
did.

Scully looked at Monica, giving her a small
smile.  "Thanks for coming over here and
explaining this to me, Monica.  For making me
listen," Scully said softly.

Monica nodded and then stood, moving toward
the door to leave, but then turning to look
back at Scully.  "I'm going to say something
else that isn't my business, but..." Monica
started.  "Mulder was right in what he did,
Dana.  He didn't let his personal life
interfere with what he needed to do
professionally.  He has instincts that I can
only dream about and he knows to trust them
until evidence tells him he's wrong," Monica
told her.  "And he wasn't wrong.  He did what
he needed to do and it was the right thing."
Monica moved closer to her and looked her
straight in the eyes as she finished.

"Don't let any of this come between you and
Mulder.  Nothing is worth that.  Nothing.
Face it; he was right about Tony and you and
I were wrong.  Swallow your pride and go talk
to him, Dana.  Don't let Tony destroy
anything else," Monica finished boldly, the
blinds rattling again as she closed the door,
Scully still sitting in stunned silence.

WESTIN HOTEL
WESCHESTER, MARYLAND
Later that evening
Scully had sat for several long minutes
thinking about what Monica had told her,
admiring her friend for having the courage to
be so brutally honest with her. And Scully
suddenly felt very adolescent about her fight
with Mulder and her self-imposed isolation
from him.  Monica was right.

Scully went home after work, thinking she
needed some time to think about what she
wanted to say to Mulder, how she was going to
say it.  But after only a few minutes after
she had entered her apartment, she realized
she should just go talk to him; just say
things as she felt them.  She changed into
her jeans, brushed her teeth and headed to
Westchester.

"Fox Mulder," he answered the room phone
beside the bed.

"Hi, it's me," came the familiar voice.  "Um,
I'm in the lobby."

"1610," he said, knowing they wouldn't give
out room numbers at the desk.  Mulder was
standing in front of his open door when she
got off the elevator, anxious to see her, but
dreading what he feared she might be there to
tell him.  He hadn't tried to contact her
since their big fight knowing it was best to
let Scully think a while, but had she not
been the one to make a move, he would have.

"Hi," she said as she approached his room.
Mulder moved out of the way to let her in,
still towering over her in his sock feet.

"You'll have to excuse the housekeeper.  I
keep forgetting to take the 'Do Not Disturb'
sign off the doorknob," he joked, feeling
somewhat uncomfortable about the disarray.

Scully gave him a small smile in return, her
enigmatic one, he thought, wondering what she
was going to do next.  She looked around for
a couple of seconds before sitting down in
one of the chairs at the small table in the
corner of the room.  There were numerous
empty small liquor bottles sitting on the
table, obviously from the honor bar in his
room.  She picked one up and slowly turned it
upside down before looking up at him with a
look that about melted his heart.

"I'm causing you to drink?" she asked, her
voice a sad tease but her meaning clear.

Mulder just shrugged and tossed a pair of
jeans from the chair opposite her to the bed
and sat down.  "There's still a couple left
in the bar if you need one," he retorted,
idly scooting the bottles away from him with
his fingers.

"I'll pass," she said, not really making eye
contact with him.  The light hanging over the
small table glared, making it somewhat hard
to see his features distinctly.  Scully sat
there looking at her hands for several long
moments, but she could tell he was watching
her, totally comfortable with not saying
anything until she did.  "Monica came to see
me," she started.  "She told me everything
about New York, about Tony."

"Scully, I told you I would've explained
everything to you, but you didn't seem to
want to listen," he said softly, but not
accusingly.

Scully nodded, knowing he was right and
feeling guilty that she had been so unwilling
to talk with him before.  "No, I didn't.
But, uh, I'm sorry, Mulder," she said,
finally looking at him.  "I was upset with
you that you had gone to New York and then
hearing about Tony..."

"I understand," Mulder said in response.

"No, Mulder, you don't understand, but I'd
like to explain so that you can," she told
him carefully.

"Okay..."

"I lived in fear, wondering where you were,
how you were, if you were even alive for
almost a year.  And then William..." she said
unable to finish her thought.  "And then, I
had irrefutable evidence that you were dead.
Dead, Mulder.  Never to see you again in my
life dead, Mulder.  You have no idea what
that was like."

"I was afraid I would never be able to see
you again either, Scully," he responded.

"But you knew I was alive, was still living a
life.  Trust me, it's very different," she
said firmly.  "Anyway, when you came back and
we started our life together again, you
promised me several things as I did you.  One
of those things being that you would not take
off on me again and that we would be
absolutely open and honest with each other,
no matter what."

"But, I was working a case," he started to
explain.

"I know that, Mulder, but you weren't honest
with me about going back to active duty,
putting yourself in danger and leaving town
and I could just see your old patterns
starting again.  And I... I just couldn't
deal with it," she explained.  "And whether
you or I want to admit it, everything
surrounding Tony was devastating to me."

Mulder looked at her, thinking that maybe he
had misjudged how much Scully had cared for
that man.  "And I don't just mean his death,
Mulder.  I felt so used... and gullible
and... foolish that I had fallen for his, his
lies that now seem so obvious."

"Scully, you were lonely and vulnerable and
he played to the parts of you he was an
expert at determining you needed," Mulder
told her honestly.  "He profiled you and
acted upon that."

Scully nodded slowly, knowing intellectually
that Mulder was right, but still feeling
embarrassed that she had been so emotionally
led by the man.  "You know, everything about
Tony, his life and death, just seems so
matter-of-fact to everyone else, but the
memory will stay with me for the rest of my
life," she confessed, wishing what she'd said
wasn't true.

Both of them sat their for several minutes
without saying much; Scully commenting that
it was cold in the room; Mulder joking that
he was sweating.  "So..." Mulder finally
said.

"Mulder, I want to apologize for losing my
temper and asking you to leave my apartment.
I had no right," she started.

"You were angry; I hadn't been totally honest
with you.  You had every right."

"That apartment is 'ours' now, Mulder.  Ours.
We should've talked things out and maybe I
should've sent you to the couch..." she said,
giving him a small smile.  "But I had no
right to throw you out of what is now your
home, our home."

Mulder was touched by her words, realizing
that they were together for the duration,
that whatever happened, how ever much they
disagreed, they would never leave each other.
"I'm sorry I wasn't honest with you, Scully,"
he started.  "But, I'll tell you honestly
now; it won't happen again.  I promise."

"Thank you," she responded quietly and gave
him a loving smile.  Finally, Scully stood
and went over to the closet and pulled his
suitcase out, slinging it to the bed before
opening it.  "Come on, get packed.  Let's go
home."

SCULLY & MULDER'S APARTMENT
GEORGETOWN, WASHINGTON, DC
Later that night
Both of them drove their own cars to the
apartment, not wanting to leave one all the
way in Westchester.  Mulder arrived home
before Scully and was waiting at her door
with his suitcase when she got there.
"Where's your key?" she asked.

"I hope it's in a pair of my pants," he said
absently, noticing, maybe for the first time
that night, how tired and worn Scully looked.
After they entered, Mulder carried his
suitcase on into the bedroom and took a few
necessities out of it.  When he realized
Scully hadn't followed him into the bedroom,
he went to look for her.

"Scully?" he called, then noticed her sitting
at the kitchen table.  Mulder pulled out the
chair next to her and sat down, everything
about her telling him something was wrong.
"What's the matter?"

"I don't know... I'm a... I think I'm just
tired," she tried to explain, truly not
really knowing what had seemed to suddenly
come over her.  "I think I'll take a shower
and, um, get ready for bed," she told him
quietly, giving his hand a squeeze before
heading for the bathroom.

Mulder finished unpacking the things from his
suitcase, most of it ready for the laundry
instead of the closet.  He could hear the
water of the shower running as he busied
himself.  He checked to see that the
apartment was locked and the lights were out
and took a swig from her orange juice carton
before returning to the bedroom.  He was
surprised to hear the shower still running,
Scully having been in there for a good twenty
minutes.

"Scully?" he said as he slowly opened the
door to the bathroom.  He moved closer to the
shower and could see her hazy silhouette
huddled on the floor of the shower stall, the
water continuing to run.  "Scully?" he said
again, but, again, no answer.  Mulder opened
the door a few inches to look in and could
feel the ice cold spray from the water.
"Scully, my god, the water is freezing," he
said as he hurried to shut it off, but still
she didn't move.

Mulder rushed to grab a towel and wrapped the
fabric and his arms around her, struggling to
lift her from the wet floor of the shower.
"Scully..." Mulder repeated, carrying her
into the bedroom and laying her on top of the
bed.  He dried her body as she lay shivering,
trying to get her chilled skin to warm.  He
grabbed an extra blanket from the foot of the
bed and wrapped her from her neck to over her
feet and crawled up on the bed to then wrap
himself around her.  "Scully..." seemed to be
all he could say.

Mulder could feel her body continue to shake,
realizing that part of her movement was
caused by sobbing.  "God, Scully," he said,
his fear obvious in the tone of his voice.
He just held her close, kissed her face, her
wet hair, using his hands to stroke her
everywhere he could reach, both to warm her
and to try to comfort her from whatever demon
seemed to have taken hold of her.

Scully finally began to move, struggling to
get her arms free from the confines of the
towel and blanket to return Mulder's embrace.
"Mulder..." she murmured against the skin of
his neck, trying to burrow closer to him,
but, seemingly, barely having the strength.

"Scully, honey, I'm right here," he whispered
to her.  "You're scaring me..."

Eventually, she relaxed against him and he
finally felt he could let go of his hold on
her enough to move back to look at her.  He
found her sound asleep.  Mulder moved away
from her carefully, trying not to wake her.
He pulled the spread and the sheet down and
gingerly moved her into the bed.  He removed
the dampened blanket and towel that was still
mostly wrapped around her body and covered
her with the bedclothes.  Through it all, she
didn't stir.  He cleaned up everything in the
bathroom, undressed and snuggled himself
against her naked body and tried to find
sleep for himself.

SCULLY & MULDER'S APARTMENT
GEORGETOWN, WASHINGTON, DC
The next morning
"Hi," she said drowsily, happy to wake up to
his beautiful face.

"Morning," he said, offering her a cup of
coffee, the aroma smelling wonderful to her.

Scully scooted up in bed, Mulder helping her
pile a couple of pillows behind her against
the headboard.  She covered herself a bit
better with the sheet and took a measured sip
of the steaming coffee.  "Ummmmm," she sighed
softly at the taste.  "What time is it?" she
asked, the events of the previous night
starting to come back to her.

"Almost noon," Mulder answered, smoothing her
mussed hair with his palm.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly to him,
starting to feel self-conscious about the
past night's display.

"Sorry?  For what?" Mulder replied, hoping
she wasn't apologizing for what he figured
she was.

Scully looked at him, giving him a soft
smile.  "I don't know what happened to me,"
she started, trying to clear things in her
head.  "Suddenly, I just felt so... so
overwhelmingly tired.  I couldn't stand up,
I... felt like I was going to pass out or
something, so I sat down on the floor of the
shower, I think."  She took another sip of
her coffee, Mulder sitting at her hip just
letting her get everything out.  "I don't..."
she strained to remember.  "Then I remember
being on the bed with you.  And... I...
that's all I remember, Mulder," she said, a
hint of fear in her voice.

"Well, there wasn't much more to it, Scully.
I found you in the cold shower and brought
you to bed," he said calmly to her.  She
looked down, unable to make eye contact with
him, feeling embarrassed that she had fallen
apart in front of him.

"I'm sorry," she said again.

"Scully, don't ever apologize for letting me
see your emotions," he told her softly,
moving closer to her to embrace her.
"Please."

Scully returned his embrace and gave him a
soft kiss before leaning back against the
pillows.  "I had this overwhelming
realization of everything that had happened
to me... Missing you so badly I could barely
breathe; everything with... our son; being
told that you had died," she began to
explain.  "And then Tony, trusting him, being
with him and then... what happened to him.
And then having you return... It was just too
much to process, I think."

"It's understandable, Scully.  Jesus,
everything you've been through," Mulder said,
shaking his head as if in disbelief.  "Anyone
would've reacted the way you did, Scully.  I
think your body, just needed to rest from it
all."  Scully gave him a small smile, leaning
up to kiss his lips.

"Thank you for being here for me," she told
him sincerely, reaching to touch his face
with her palm.  "I love you, you know," she
smiled.

Mulder leaned in to kiss her, his arm going
around her waist, his other hand cupping her
cheek.  The kiss lingered for several long
seconds until Scully pulled away.  "I'm going
to spill my coffee," she chuckled.  Mulder
took it from her and sat it on the night
stand, quickly resuming their kiss.

Scully wrapped her arms around his neck and
slid further down in the bed to lie flat,
bringing Mulder down with her.  "I love
you..." she told him again.

"I love you," he said, kissing her face, down
her neck.  He sat up, his hand slowly pushing
the spread and sheet down to her waist, her
breasts now exposed to him, her nipples
stiffening in the cool air.  "You're so
beautiful, Scully," he said to her softly,
bending to take a firm nipple into his mouth,
his tongue licking around the areole.

"Oh, god," she sighed, the heavy feeling of
arousal immediately centering between her
legs. Mulder moved his mouth to her other
breast, his hand covering the breast he had
just had in his mouth, his fingers massaging
slowly, firmly.  He kissed her again before
standing, taking off his clothes as she
watched, neither saying anything nor making a
sound, until Mulder's penis bobbed free from
his pants and Scully moaned.  She lifted the
blankets and he scooted in next to her,
pulling her into an embrace and then
maneuvered her on top of his body as they
kissed.

Scully wrapped her arms around his neck, her
breasts pressed into his chest by the weight
of her body on top of him.  They kissed and
kissed and kissed, Mulder's hands moving and
caressing and squeezing everywhere they could
reach, her body lithely moving her skin
against his.  Mulder stopped kissing and took
Scully's face in his hands to look at her.
"You sure this is okay?" he asked softly.

"Why wouldn't it be?" she responded, not sure
why he would ask her that.

"I was worried about you last night, Scully,"
he admitted, his thumb stroking her cheek.

"I know, Mulder.  I know," she said softly,
giving him a tender kiss.  "But after
fourteen hours of sleep, I think I'm ready
for about anything," she added, smiling to
him.  Scully moved to take his nipple in her
mouth, sucking it softly as she moved her leg
over his.  "You want me?" she smiled, her
hand moving down his abdomen to between his
legs.

"Mmmmm, yeah, I do," he said, wrapping his
arms around her back, his hands sliding to
grasp her bottom.  She shuddered, feeling her
center lubricating, the gooseflesh making its
way over her entire body.  "What is it about
your butt, Scully?  All I have to do is touch
you there and you're off and running..." he
teased, sliding one hand further to find her
core with a finger.  "God, Scully, you are so
wet."

"I want you, too," she smiled to him before
closing her eyes to kiss him, a long
lingering kiss that felt so good.  "I love
kissing you," she whispered to him as her
lips crossed his cheek, finding their way to
his neck.  Her body moved languidly against
him, feeling him growing rigid against her
mound, the hair of his chest teasing her
breasts.  Her low moans and sighs as she
continued to kiss him, her tongue caressing
his, made his breathing more labored than if
he'd run a mile.

Mulder's hands stroked her body everywhere he
could reach, his words slurred with arousal.
"If you were any more sexy, Scully, I think
I'd explode..." he told her.

"Not yet," she murmured, her ability to speak
at the moment no better than his.  Her hands
moved from his hair to his shoulders as she
slid down slightly, again taking a nipple in
her mouth to tongue, to suck.  When Mulder's
hands moved to grasp her waist, she reached
behind herself to grasp them, moving them
from her body to the pillow beside his head.
"Just lay back," she whispered.  She kissed
his mouth again, her lips caressing his, then
licking and sucking his lips, kissing and
kissing before nuzzling his neck.  She
unclasped her hands from his, moving further
down, her kiss to his stomach and the glide
of her breast against his genitals as she
moved further down almost more than he could
take.

"God, Scully..." he groaned, his voice barely
more than a breath.  She took his shaft in
her hand, her fingers massaging him, her palm
closing over the head each time she stroked
him.  Mulder felt her slight shudder, still
in disbelief that she always was, at least,
as turned on by what she was doing to him as
he was by what she was doing to him.  She
took him in her mouth, her fingers moving to
his sac, massaging him as she moved her lips
up and down on him, her tongue lapping
against him as she sucked.  "Scully, ssstop,"
Mulder hissed when her teeth scraped against
his glans.  "Jessssussss..."

Mulder reached for her, her mouth leaving him
with a soft pop.  She moved up over him,
intending to be on top, just wanting him to
let her make love to him.  "I'll love you
forever..." she said, moving to kiss him
softly. She moved on top of him, kissing him
soundly, their tongues vying for control.  He
wrapped his arms around her, rubbing her back
down to her thighs.  She spread her legs,
moving her knees to the bed, lifting herself
over him as he held his penis for her.  She
centered herself and then slid down on him,
both of them sighing at the sensation.  She
didn't move for a few seconds, just savoring
the feeling of him inside her.

Mulder held on to her waist as she set up
fully, feeling his length push against her
cervix. "God, you feel so good," she moaned
as she began undulating against him.  She
placed her hand on his stomach, holding onto
his sides as she began moving up and down on
him.

"Jesus, Scully..." Mulder sighed, his head
tilting back onto the pillow, his eyes
clamping shut. "Uhhhhh, just like that..."

She smiled, watching him, feeling her arousal
soar seeing his reactions to her movements,
her loving of him.  She bent forward a bit,
her hands sliding to his shoulders, causing
her clitoris to rub against his pubic hair.
She pushed harder, feeling the eminent
release of her orgasm spiral within her
abdomen.  She moved her hips side to side a
couple of times and that was all it took, her
hips jerking, her thighs trying to squeeze
together against his.  She held her breath
while her muscles clamped him, the tissues of
her fleshy folds throbbing against him.

"Ohhhhhh, god..." she finally breathed, her
body melting to lay over him, the hair on his
chest against her breasts giving her entire
body goose bumps.  She tried to start pumping
against him again, but he needed more.

Mulder rolled her off of him, onto her
stomach, then laying half over her back, his
erection rubbing against her hip.  "Is this
okay?" he asked, not knowing if she would
want to finish this way.

"Whatever you need..." she answered softly,
barely more than a breath.  He moved her
knees forward, raising her bottom into the
air as he moved over her, bending to kiss the
back of her neck, behind her ear, down her
back.  He held his weight on the hand of his
outstretched arm, using his other hand to
find her opening with his penis.  She was
still incredibly wet, confirming to him that
she just wasn't doing it this way to please
him.  He slid in easily, moving his arm to
hold her around her abdomen.

"Oh, my god..." she said as he began to pump,
the feeling of him very different this way
than he felt in the other positions. He moved
his hand, fingering her clitoris as he
continued to move in and out of her and she
climaxed again as soon as he pushed hard on
her engorged bud.

 "Ohgodohgodohgodddddddd..." she cried, her
body shuddering, barely able to handle the
sensations he was creating in her.  He held
onto her hips, shifting his weight from his
arms to his knees as his thrusting became
harder, his hips slapping against her firmly,
as she tried to keep from screaming,
literally screaming.

Mulder could feel his orgasm in every muscle
of his body, his semen erupting into her with
every thrust he could manage.  She collapsed
under him, the words of her whimpers
indiscernible to him, the sound of his
rushing blood almost deafening to his ears.
He managed to shift most of his weight to his
side before collapsing on top of her, his
penis slipping out of her as he did.

Scully reached back to stroke him, feeling
both of their fluids on him, now on her hand.
He knew what she was asking for when she did
that and reached between her legs to stroke
her softly, helping her come down.
Mulder shifted to his back, his breathing
still erratic and labored as she rubbed her
palm against his length one last time before
lying next to him, the feeling of her hand
against his sensitive skin sending little
shock waves through him again. Her head
dropped to his shoulder, the muscles of her
body so sated, they barely responded to what
her brain was trying to tell them to do.  A
few minutes passed before either one of them
said anything.  "Scully..." Mulder sighed.

"I know, I know..." she said, the movement of
her lips against his skin tickling him.  He
moved to lay her on her back then, shifting
to hold his weight on his elbow so that he
could see her.  Their eyes held each others,
both of their smiles growing in tandem.

"That was... I don't even know what that
was," she smiled, her voice still not much
more than a breath.

"I think that is what's known as great make-
up sex," he teased, bending to kiss her
softly.  "God, we're good together..."

"Yes, yes we are..." she said, snuggling into
him as he wrapped his arms around her.  They
lay there quietly for a long time, Mulder
thinking to himself how things in life could
happen so surprisingly matter-of-factly, but
the memories would indelibly stay with you
for the rest of your life.

Scully kissed his chest, cuddling closer into
his side, her leg wrapping further around
his.  "Don't ever leave me," she whispered
into the still of the room.

Mulder turned on his side to look at her, his
hand softly brushing her hair from her face,
their eyes meeting before he spoke.  "Never
again."

END