From DnRdl@aol.com Sat Mar 31 15:55:09 2001
Date: Sat, 31 Mar 2001 07:38:58 EST
From: DnRdl@aol.com
Source: direct

Title: It all began so long ago... (Part 1)
Author: Daniela Riedel
Rating: G
Category: story/romance
Classification: MSR/ pre-XF
Spoilers: none
Summary: He was 20 and she was 17 when it happened...
Disclaimer: I don't own Dana Scully, Fox Mulder and the Scully family. 
They all belong to CC, FOX and 1013... unfortunately.

~It all began so long ago... ~

He was 20 and she was 17 when it happened. The first time 
Fox Mulder layed eyes on Dana Scully he knew he was lost.
Two days ago he had signed a hire-purchase agreement with 
William Scully that he could live in the small apartment 
above the Scullys' garage. Now he was busy bringing all of his 
stuff to his new home. He had left his parents' house because 
he couldn't bear to live there any longer. His father always 
argued with him about Samantha even though it was already 
8 years ago when she had been taken away from them. It was 
not enough that he blamed himself for what had happened to 
his little sister but his father had to make everything worse. 
So because of not being able to afford a real apartment he 
rented the small apartment which actually was a single room 
with a little bathroom and a corner that served as a kitchen. 
But it would be enough and nobody would be there to make 
any accusation at him.

In the middle of his move-in a girl walked up the driveway to 
the Scully house. She looked as if she was about 17 or 18 and 
she was the most beautiful sight Fox Mulder had ever seen. 
She was rather short but not stocky. She was very slim and 
the dress she was wearing showed off her body's curves. 
What amazed him the most about her appearance was her 
flaming red hair and her baby blue eyes which he was lost to 
already. She walked up to him with a smile on her face.

"Hello sir, may I ask what you're doing in my family's 
driveway?"

"You're living here?"

"Yes but could you please answer my question." 

He couldn't believe his luck that this beautiful girl would live 
in the same house as he was.

"I'm sorry, my name is Fox Mulder and Mr. Scully rent the 
apartment above the garage to me. So as soon as I get my 
stuff in there I'll be living here too." He said with a bright 
smile on his face.

"Oh, my father didn't tell me about somebody moving in 
there. Hi, I'm Dana."

"A pleasure to meet you." He could die out of happiness 
right away though she had just said her name.

"So I suppose we'll meet more often in the next time" he told 
her.

"Yes, it seems so," she smiled at him again and then went 
into the house.

He hurried to get all his stuff inside so that he could unpack 
but he had quiete a hard time to get Dana Scully out of his 
mind. 
A knock on the door brought him out of his thoughts.

"Come in," he yelled.

Mr. Scully appeared in the doorway.
"I see you're making yourself at home," he said taking a look 
around.

"Yes, sir."

"My wife asked me to invite you over to dinner tonight since 
you just moved in and wouldn't have any food here already. 
It's also a good chance to meet the whole family."

"Thanks for the invitation. I would be glad to come." He 
tried to not show his excitement about the invitation too 
much.

"Okay, then be there in an hour," Mr.Scully said before 
turning to go.

"Okay, thanks."

Wow, the first evening and he got to see the girl of his 
dreams again - hopefully.

When he came down to dinner he could hear many voices 
talking. Mr. Scully escorted him into the dining room where 
curious faces stared at him.

"May I introduce you to my family - this is Melissa," he 
gestured towards a young woman looking a bit older than 
Dana. She smiled appreciately at him after eyeing him up and 
down.

"This is Charles," he gestured towards a boy, maybe 14 or 
15.

"And this is Dana," he said gesturing at the girl sitting at the 
end of the table smiling a bit shyly at him.

"There is a fourth one, Bill, but he already left the house 
because he joined the navy," he said with fatherly pride. 
Having some difficulties Mulder drew his gaze away from 
Dana and towards Mr.Scully.

"Kids, this is Fox Mulder. He moved into the small 
apartment above the garage today."

"Cool, so I have another big brother instead of two big 
sisters," Charly said making an annoyed face at his older 
sisters.

"Nice to have you here, Fox" Melissa said with obvious 
interest. But his interest was totally focused on the quiet one 
still looking shyly at him.

"Don't you say something, Starbuck?" Mr Scully asked his 
daughter.

"We already met this afternoon, dad," she said never leaving 
Fox's eyes for a moment. 

"Okay guys, dinner is ready." A woman came in the room 
carrying two bowls of food.

"Oh, and this is my lovely wife Maggie but you met her 
already."

"Hi Fox, glad you could make it. Take a seat." 
He happily discovered that the only seat not taken was one 
next to Dana. 

Dinner went fairly well. Of course, everybody was interested 
in the new neighbor and he had to tell them everything about 
his family (leaving out the bad parts) and his plans for the 
future. Everybody kept asking him questions especially 
Melissa. But Dana kept relatively quiet throughout dinner. 
He didn't like this but of course he couldn't ask her right 
away because his interest would have been too obvious.
Later that night laying in his bed he thought about his new 
living situation. He was lucky to find this apartment. He liked 
the Scully family, all of them were very nice and friendly, 
nothing he was used to from his own family. But still he 
couldn't keep his mind off of the youngest daughter who 
seemed to have the least interest in her new neighbor.

The next weeks flew by rather quickly. He soon got familiar 
with his new surroundings. He had a good relationship to all 
of the Scullys although Melissa was getting on his nerves a bit 
by showing up at his door ever so often to ask him about 
trivial things. He said to her once that he wasn't interested in 
her but she didn't seem to get it. During all that time he 
treasured the times he saw Dana. She still kept being very 
quiet around him but he couldn't find a reason for it. He was 
determined to find it out. 

He got his chance one evening when he saw her out on the 
swing alone in the garden. He walked over to her willing to 
risk it now.

"Hey Dana, how are you?" he asked.

"Huh... I... I'm fine thank you." She nervously looked up to 
his face. 

"Dana, why are you so quiet? You don't seem to want to talk 
to me? Is there any reason for it? Whenever I see you you 
hurry to get into the house or away. Are you afraid or 
something? Other parts of your family don't have a problem 
with talking to me permanently," he smiled at her.

He was showing interest in her... in her. Not Melissa. She 
was stunned. Why would he want to talk to her?

"No, I'm not afraid. It's just that..." she sighed.

"Just what?"

"I don't know. Nobody was interested in talking to me much 
before - especially not boys." She couldn't look him in the 
eyes while talking, too embaressed and too afraid of him 
starting to laugh.

She must be joking, nobody interested in her?

"You're kidding?" he asked needing confirmation.

"No, no boy ever wanted to talk to me at school. Every boy 
always runs after Melissa and you..."

No, she couldn't possibly think he'd be interested in Melissa.

"You think I'm running after her too?"

She nodded slowly. She still didn't look at him so he gently 
pried her face upwards by nudging her chin.

"That's maybe something she wants but not what I want. 
You know there's this girl in my new neighborhood. She's 
really beautiful but nobody seems to notice..." 

Could he really mean her? She had liked him from the first 
moment they had met but never dared to hope he wanted to 
get to know her better. He was not only good-looking, tall, 
well-build and very handsome but he was also some years 
older than she was. So she never saw a real chance.

"Dana, I can't explain why you underestimate yourself that 
much but believe me the moment I saw you I fell."

He took her face in both of his hands and stroked her cheeks 
tenderly. She didn't know what to say to him.

"Dana" there was a voice coming from the backdoor of the 
house. It was her mother.

"Yes, mom"

She couldn't see them so she just kept yelling.
"Dana, come inside it's getting late."

"Okay, I'll be right there."

She looked deeply into Fox's eyes seeing them shining with 
affection.

"I have to go inside." She stated unmoving.

"I know."

He let go of her. She got up from the swing and started to 
walk towards the house but he caught her by the hand. He 
pulled her against him. Bending down he placed a sweet little 
kiss on her lips.

"Remember, I'll be around." He whispered into her ear 
before letting go of her completely.

"Okay," with that she disappeared into the house.

Fox Mulder had to suppress a cry of joy afterwards. So there 
was a chance for them. She had been just too afraid that he 
would be after her sister like every other guy but Fox Mulder 
knew that nobody could ever compete to Dana Scully.

In the next days they met more frequently but couldn't show 
their affection towards each other so they used every little 
chance they got to be near each other.

One morning before leaving to school she took more time 
than usual and all three, Charles, Melissa who actually went 
to university and Dana missed the bus. So in order to be on 
time they had to find another drive. Of course Dana knew 
when Fox left for his study so not 5 minutes after seeing the 
bus drive away without them he came down.

"Hey what are you still doing here? Shouldn't you be on the 
bus already?" he asked smiling at all three but concentrating 
on Dana of course.

"Yes, but Dana took too much time to dress up so we missed 
the bus," Charly said with annoyance in his voice.

"That's a pity. Shall I give you a ride then?"

"Sure." Dana nodded, smiling knowingly at him.

"Okay, then let's go." They started to walk towards the car.

"I'm sitting in the front." Melissa stated.

"Why you, I'm sitting in the front" Charly countered.

"No me"

"No me" 

They argued for awhile until Fox stopped all by saying "Dana 
sits in the front. No argument."

Charly and Melissa had to accept for it was his car but 
nevertheless both of them pouted. Dana had to hide a smile 
while getting inside. She wanted to kiss him for it but 
couldn't of course. Her father would explode if he knew that 
there was something going on between them although it 
hadn't really started yet.

Some days later there was a knock on the Scullys' door one 
evening.

"Fox, do you need something?" Maggie answered after 
opening the door.

"No everything is allright. I just wanted to ask something." 
He was a bit nervous about asking but tried to be brave.

"Sure, what is it?"

"Nothing serious. It's just... I'm going out watching a movie 
with some of my friends and I wanted to ask Dana if she 
wants to come with me."

"Dana?... Okay, I'm going to get her. DANA." She yelled 
through the house. 

It was obvious to him that even her mother found it hard to 
believe that he wanted Dana to come with him instead of 
Melissa.

"What is it mom?" Dana came down the steps looking a bit 
frustrated. Then she saw Fox standing in the doorway and 
she smiled. He wouldn't mind seeing that smile 24 hours a 
day.

"Hi Dana... ehm... I'm going to the movies with some friends 
and I wondered... do you want to come with me?" She was 
stunned. Did he really want to go out with her? Did he want 
her to meet his friends?

"I would love to but..."

Maggie could see the looks those two exchanged. Fox was so 
obviously in love with her little daughter and Dana too had 
this dreamy expression on her face an expression she had 
never seen on her before. He must have impressed her big 
time.

"Dana, honey, you can go if you want. I'm sure you'll have 
fun and I have no doubt Fox will bring you home 
afterwards."

Wow, she hadn't thought her mother would say yes so easily.

"Okay, then, but I need a couple of minutes to get ready."
He would wait for her forever.

"Of course, take your time. We meet them at 7. So you have 
plenty of time. I'll pick you up in half an hour okay?"

"Sure fine. See you then."

When he came to get her and saw her he was speechless. She 
didn't all dress up but was beautiful nontheless. 
Unfortunately it was getting colder now so she couldn't wear 
one of the short dresses and skirts he had seen her wear 
during the summer. She had decided on a pair of black pants 
and a very tight fitting dark red buttoned shirt. Her red hair 
framed her face by hanging loosely around it. 

"Hey are you ready to go?" he asked after finding his ability to 
speak again.

"I'm ready when you are"

"Let's go then."

"Bye mom, dad."

"Have a nice evening, Starbuck. And Fox... don't bring her 
home too late, I know where you live." Mr Scully said in a 
warning tone but smiled at both of them. It was hard for him 
to see his Starbuck growing up but he knew that Fox Mulder 
was a good man and that he wouldn't hurt her. 

It was the first evening that they went out together and he was 
determined to make it a night to remember. The drive to the 
cinema went in a comfortable silence and while stopping at a 
red light he even became brave and took her hand. She 
entwined their fingers and they never broke the contact until 
they arrived at the cinema.

"Hey Fox, you never told us you had a new girl friend." One 
of his friends said when they entered the cinema.

"Right. Who is she? And where did you hide her?"

"Guys this is Dana Scully. She lives in the house where I 
rented the small apartment. Dana these are Tim and his 
girlfriend Jessie, Alex, Patrick, Susan and Sara."

Everybody looked at Dana now and she began to feel 
uncomfortable. Fox seemed to sense her discomfort and 
placed his left arm around her shoulder. 

During the movie he  glanced at her every few minutes until 
she caught him.

"Sorry it's hard to concentrate when there's someone this 
beautiful around," he whispered in her ear. He put his arm 
around her again and to his surprise she moved a bit closer 
and layed her head on his shoulder. Both of them could have 
sat there forever and they were sad when the movie ended.

"Okay where do we go now?" Alex asked after leaving the 
cinema.

"We could go to our usual caf‚." Jessie suggested. Everybody 
nodded.

"Great, what do you think Fox?"

"I don't know. Dana when did you father said you should be 
home?"

"He didn't say a time but I better call."

"We'll be right back guys." 

He took her hand and they went towards the movies again to 
look for a phone booth.

"Okay dad bye" She hung up the phone and turned around, 
her head turned towards the floor.

"What's wrong? What did he say?"he asked concerned.

"He didn't allow me to go to the caf‚. I'm expected to be 
home soon. I'm sorry."

"Don't be. Come on."
They went to meet the others again.

"I'm sorry guys but we won't go with you." Did he say 'we'? 
"Maybe next time."

"But why?"

"Just because, okay?" 
With that they said goodbye to everyone and went towards 
the car.

"You could have gone to the caf‚ with them."

"Yeah sure and let you drive home alone? Not only that your 
father would have killed me but also that I wouldn't be 
comfortable with it. I would worry about you all evening."

"Really?"

"Of course"
She shivered only slightly but he of course noticed it. 
Without saying a word he took off his jacket and put it 
around her shoulders.

"Thanks." She smiled up at him.

"You're welcome." Added to the warmth of his jacket he 
draped an arm around her waist pulling her close to him.

When they arrived at home they had difficulties saying 
goodnight. They just sat in the car holding hands and staring 
at each other. 

"Thanks for inviting me tonight. It was great to meet your 
friends."

"Next time, I'll promise we'll be alone." 

He leaned towards her to kiss her. She met him halfway and 
they shared their first real kiss different to the one he had 
given her in the garden that one evening. They were in each 
other's arms within a few seconds.

A few minutes went by and they kissed softly enjoying the 
feeling. Both could have melted after the first contact. The 
lack of air forced them to seperate. They looked into each 
others eyes again something they were doing constantly lately. 
Moments later Fox exited the car. Dana was beginning to be 
afraid. What if she had disappointed him? She didn't have 
any experiences with men. So she thought he might want to 
turn away from her now. She was brought out of her 
thoughts when Fox opened the car door for her. She took the 
hand he offered and stepped out. They walked towards the 
front door.

"Dana, I'm sorry I rushed out of the car so suddenly but I'm 
not sure what would have happened when we stayed in 
there," he whispered into her ear. She let out a breath she 
didn't know she was holding.

"What? You didn't thought I would be... I don't know 
disappointed, did you?"he asked in disbelief.
She looked to the ground.

"Dana, how many times do I have to prove how much you 
mean to me. I know you don't have much experiences but..." 
he didn't know how to explain what he felt so he just kissed 
her again. Her arms went around his waist willingly after he 
pulled her close to him again.

"You kiss beautifully. I'm glad no other man ever had the 
pleasure to make this experience. And believe me I won't 
allow this to any man in the near future." 
How could she be this lucky? She was only 17 and she only 
knew Fox for a couple of months now but she could imagine 
living with him for the rest of her life already...

Melissa turned green with jealousy when she heard that Fox 
had asked her little baby sister out on a date and not her. She 
couldn't understand what he saw in her but after a while she 
learned to accept it. It was hard but seeing the looks in both 
of their eyes told her enough. Nobody of the Scully family 
seemed to mind that Fox and Dana grew closer each day. 
They passed as much time together as possible without 
neglecting school, study or family. Sometimes they went out 
with Fox's friends but mostly they enjoyed being alone 
together. Nothing serious had happened so far just kissing 
and lots of snuggling but they didn't take the final step by 
sleeping together. Fox didn't seem to mind waiting. He was 
happy just to be with her.

The time went by until it was the end of February. It would 
be Dana's birthday in a few days and Fox decided to try to 
take this last step. He planned on doing something romantic 
but the family plans interfered. There was a birthday party in 
the house that day. So that meant he had to go through a 
party before having the chance to be alone with her...
After three hours of waiting he decided to try it. He 
approached her from behind.

"Hey, beautiful... do you think we could go somewhere where 
we can be alone?"

She turned around after hearing his familiar voice in her ear.

"I think so. Why?"

"You'll see..." he took her hand and led her outside.

"Could you wait here for a second?" he asked her needing 
some time to get her present from his apartment.

"Sure but don't be too long. It's freezing out here."

"I promise."

Some moments later he came back carrying a huge bouquet 
of red roses and a blanket.

"This is my present Fox, a blanket?" she teased him trying to 
cover up the shock about the roses. Sure he had given her a 
single rose before but never that many.
He put the roses aside for a moment and draped the blanket 
around her shoulders.

"Dana, first of all happy birthday. I didn't say it earlier 
because I wanted to be alone with you to tell you this. I never 
knew I could be this lucky by meeting a woman like you. I 
love you Dana Scully."

She didn't know what to say. She could just stand there and 
look at him. He picked up the roses again and handed them 
to her. Then he pulled out a small long present giving it to 
her, too.

"What is this?" 

"Just open it and you will see."

He snaked his arms around her waist waiting for her to open 
the present. 

After tearing away the wrapping paper she opened the box 
and it revealed a beautiful necklace with a litlle heart-shaped 
pendant.
"It's beautiful but..." He layed his index finger on her lips.

"No buts just read the back." 

" 'Love forever Fox' Fox I don't know what to say just thank 
you doesn't..." He silenced her with a kiss.

"Happy birthday, Dana"

He hugged her close to him and she felt safe and warm even 
though it was february. He didn't want to ruin the moment 
but he couldn't wait to ask her.

"Dana?" She wasn't willing to lift her head from his chest.

"Mmmh?"

"I... ehm, I want..." That got her attention and she looked 
him in the eyes.

"Fox, what's wrong?"

"Dana, I want you to spend the night with me." He looked at 
her unsure of her reaction.

"Fox... I want it too but I'm not sure if I'm ready."He stroked 
her cheeks tenderly.

"Sweetheart, nothing has to happen. I just want to be with 
you tonight. I want to hold you during the night. We don't 
have to sleep together if that's what you're afraid of." Though 
it was something he hoped for. She was glad that he 
understood her worries.

"Okay, I'll stay with you."

A smile broke on both of their faces. They turned to go back 
inside. Before they entered he stopped her.

"Wait, you forgot something." He placed the necklace around 
her neck and fastened it.

"Well, here you go. It looks great" he commented.

"Thank you, I love it." She kissed him lovingly.

"And I love you." With that they both returned into the 
house.

Later that night she came to his apartment knocking 
nervously. He was there to open it in an instant. 

"Hey, come in." He seemed to be a bit nervous too.

She looked around the room. Everything was lit by 
candlelight and there was romantic music playing softly. It 
was perfect. He snaked his arms around her waist from 
behind bending down to kiss her neck. She turned in his 
arms to look at him. His loving eyes looked into hers. They 
leaned into each other for a kiss. 

That was the beginning of a wonderful night for them. After 
her initial nervousness she became more relaxed and Fox was 
as gentle as possible not forcing her to do something she 
doesn't want. They slept together for the first time that night 
and it was wonderful for both of them. It wasn't the first time 
for him but he had never enjoyed it more and he felt nothing 
but love for this girl who trusted him so much to let herself 
go in his arms for the first time. She had been afraid of the 
first time but as usual everything turned out well when it was 
with Fox Mulder. 
They fell asleep in each others arms that night. Both of them 
had never felt this happy before.

William Scully had never seen his daughter this happy 
before. Maggie had told him that Dana and Fox loved each 
other deeply and he could see it everytime he saw them 
together. He had heard it when Dana had left the house after 
her birthday party and he was sure she would go to Fox. He 
knew exactly what would happen that night and although he 
had a hard time to accept that Dana wasn't his little girl 
anymore he trusted Fox and was even a bit grateful that it was 
him she was with. 

After her birthday Dana beamed with happiness and she and 
Fox felt closer to each other than before. She was very grateful 
that her family especially her father accepted her relationship 
with Fox. She had feared he would forbit it and throw Fox 
out or something. But he just talked to her to be careful and 
all this stuff but she knew she and Fox wouldn't risk 
anything.

So the relationship went on and ran deeper with each 
passing day. In June there was her Graduation Ball. 
Although she knew that Fox loved her she was unsure if he 
would go to this event with her. He was already 21 after all 
and might see this Graduation Ball as juvenile.

One afternoon they sat in the park. She was sitting with her 
back to his chest and her head leaned on his shoulder. He 
had his arms around her protectively like always when they 
were together somewhere.

"Dana?"

"Mmmh?"

"Your mom told me that you have Graduation Ball the week 
after this. She assumed I would know about it. Why didn't 
you tell me? I have to prepare."

"What?" She turned around in his arms to look him in the 
eyes. Could he really want to go with her?

"I said you should have told me."

"Sorry, I thought you wouldn't want to go because it's too 
silly."

"Dana, is this important to you? Do you want to go there?"

"Yes," she told him truthfully.

"Then we'll go."
Everytime when there was something of what she thought he 
wouldn't understand or agree to he surprised her. So she 
would go to this Ball with him and her excitement grew 
within her.

Two weeks later she heard Fox enter the house and talking to 
her parents when she emerged from the bathroom ready to 
go. She quickly went down the stairs and saw him. He wore a 
suit nothing she had ever seen him wearing and had a small 
bouquet of roses in his hands ready to put on her wrist.
The moment he saw her he was stunned not the first time 
when seeing her but this time was different. She wore a dark 
blue ball dress with thin straps across her shoulders. Her hair 
was pulled up leaving just a few strands out in curls to frame 
her face. With the help of the dress her eyes shone more than 
usual.

"Wow. You look amazing."

"Thank you."

He held out a hand to her which she took of course. After 
fixing the flowers on her wrist and saying goodnight to her 
parents they left for the Ball.

When they entered the room some of the others turned 
around to see who had arrived now. When they saw Dana 
Scully walking in with a handsome man that looked older 
than the boys at school they were shocked. She was never one 
with many friends at school and nobody had expected her to 
show up here but she not only showed up but also made all 
the other girls with their partners for this dance jealous.

"I guess they didn't think I would come."

"Guess they didn't know what's in you."

They went to one of the tables to sit down. One girl fought 
her way to them grinning develishly at them.

"Well Dana, I never thought you would come."

"See, I can surprise you." Fox immediately recognized she 
didn't like this girl. The girl turned her attention to him.

"Hi I'm Angela."

"I'm Fox." He replied coldly.

"So Dana, how much did you pay him to accompany you?"

Before Dana could say anything Fox interferred. He took 
Dana's face in both his hands and turned her head towards 
him. He then kissed her passionately. They usually didn't do 
this in public but this girl should see that Dana didn't need 
to pay him. After coming over the initial shock Dana 
responded with all her love for him forgetting for a while why 
he had done it in the first place.

When they broke apart Angela was fuming and her mouth 
stood wide open. 

"So anymore questions?" Fox asked her in his sweetest voice.
She stormed away. They broke out laughing when she was 
out of sight.

"You want to dance?" Fox asked when a slow song came on.

"Sure"

And together they walked to the dance floor immediately 
melting into each others arms. Fox held her close to him 
while dancing and they were lost together in their own world 
for the next minutes.

The evening went on and Dana could sense the envious 
looks she received from her classmates. She enjoyed the 
evening not only because she could show everybody that she 
wasn't the wall flower everybody saw in her and that she 
could attract men but also because she was with Fox the man 
she loved so deeply...

Their happiness went on for the next year and nobody ever 
had a chance to break them apart but of course unlike every 
fairy tale there had to come a time when their happiness got a 
break. Fox got the chance to study in Oxford the next three 
years. He wanted to turn down the offer but Dana insisted he 
should go so he wouldn't throw away this chance. So they 
had to say goodbye for awhile in July the next year. He didn't 
leave without the promise to write and visit her as soon as 
possible. But nevertheless she feared that she would lose 
him...

END (PART 1)

~It all began so long ago... (Part 2)~

It was the first evening after Fox had left and Dana felt 
absolutely terrible. She already missed him so much. She 
didn't know how she would survive the time until Christmas, 
until the next time they would see each other. 
She heard the phone ringing downstairs but didn't move an 
inch for she thought it would be for her sister anyway. She 
was surprised when her mother called her.

"Dana, come down, there's someone on the phone for you."

"Mom, I don't want to speak to whoever it is."

"I'm sure you want to talk to this person."
That was enough for her to run downstairs and grab the 
receiver out of her mother's hands.

"Hello?"

"Hey beautiful, how are you?" 
She couldn't believe it. It was really him.

"Hi Fox, to be honest I feel terrible. I miss you already. I 
don't know if I could bear waiting until Christmas to see you 
again."

"Don't say that. I miss you, too. But think about it - the 
more we miss each other the more we'll enjoy seeing each 
other again."
He always knew the right words to make her feel better.

"I still miss you..." 

"Hey, you want to know what I'm doing at the moment?"

"Sure," as long as he kept talking, she thought.

"I'm unpacking my suitcases and on top of all my clothing is 
the most important thing I need here." She could hear him 
smile while he spoke.

"What is this?" She had no clue.

"It's a picture frame. And inside there's a photo of the most 
beautiful girl I've ever seen..."

"Fox," he just knew she blushed at his words.

"What? It's true. Oh wait, there's a second picture frame. 
Again this beautiful girl but this time someone has his arms 
around her protectively holding her close to him. I just know 
he actually wants to do this for 24 hours a day."

She knew right away what picture he had just described. It 
was a photo her mother had taken during a garden party last 
summer. She had said she just needed a picture of them 
together but later she had given it to him. He had liked it and 
now carried it with him whereever he went.

"So how is Oxford so far?" She secretely hoped he would say 
'horrifying' and that he would come home.

"Nothing really exciting. I only start studying the day after 
tomorrow. The campus seems nice though. The room is okay 
but I preferred the one I had back home much more."

"Good to hear."

They kept talking for another half an hour until they said 
goodbye with a heavy heart.

Three days later there was a letter for her in the mail.
She teared it open after recognizing Fox's familiar 
handwriting.

"Dear beautiful,
I don't really want to tell you about Oxford because I know 
you would be sad and I don't want to make you sad with this 
letter.
So what else could I write except... I never really thanked you 
for being there for me. I never told you about this but the 
reason for moving out of my parents' house was that my 
father always made me responsible for Sam's disappearence. 
I couldn't live with his accusations anymore so I moved out. I 
never thought I would be so lucky to find a family like yours 
and above all to find a person like you. You didn't really 
know this until now but with your affection and love you 
gave me much strength and I want to thank you for it.
Now, I made you feel sad, right? I'm very sorry.
Dana I miss you so much. I'm not used to sleeping alone 
anymore. I miss to feel you in my arms but thinking about 
the christmas to come gives me the hope that we'll see each 
other again very soon.
Last thing to say - I love you very much Dana, I can't really 
express how much and I can't wait to see you again. 

Love, Fox"

The tears were rolling down her cheeks. Why does he have to 
be so damn nice? She knew she could never feel the same 
way about any other person even though he was the first man 
in her life. He gave her so much. For what else could a 
woman ask in her life.

It went on like this for the next couple of months. They 
phoned at least once a week and they exchanged letters on a 
two-week basis. One time he even surprised her by sending a 
little package filled with roses and a teddy bear. He knew she 
loved both. So he had send her this to make her feel better. 
He never mentioned it on the phone or in letters but as soon 
as the package had arrived at her doorstep she called him and 
thanked him several times.

Dana was laying in her bed and thought about Fox. She still 
had to wait a whole week until he would come home for 
christmas. Home meant for him the Scully family. His own 
parents couldn't care less about their son. She was already 
excited and couldn't wait for the day to arrive. With these 
thoughts on her mind she fell asleep.

When she came downstairs the next morning somebody 
knocked on the door. Opening it she looked in the smiling 
face of Fox Mulder.

"Fox, what are you doing here?"
She was too shocked to move.

"Shall I go again?" he teased her.

She came out of her state of shock and hugged him tightly.

"No, of course not. Stay, stay forever and never leave me..." 
she had tears in her eyes now.

"Wow, what a welcome..." he was glad to have her back in 
his arms.

"I missed you so much Fox" she couldn't stop crying.

"Hey it's okay. I'm here now and I missed you too. That's 
why I came a week earlier than expected. I couldn't wait 
anymore."

Eventually she released him and they went into the house.

"Dana, who..." her mother came out of the kitchen to see 
who had knocked on the door.

"Oh, hi Fox. How was your flight?" she asked casually, too 
casually for Dana's taste.

"Mom, you knew about this? About him coming a week 
earlier?"

"Yes," she admitted feeling a bit guilty suddenly for she knew 
how much her daughter had missed Fox.

"And you were hiding this from me?"

"I'm sorry honey but it's a better surprise this way, isn't it?" 
She was right and Dana knew it.

"Okay, you're right. Sorry."

"So what about breakfast you two?"

"Sounds great to me," Fox answered.

Every short time Maggie Scully saw Dana and Fox together 
this day she was amazed. They were still so young but 
nevertheless they seemed to feel so much love for each other. 
The whole day they couldn't let go of each other. When they 
were walking they walked hand-in-hand, when they were 
sitting somewhere Fox always had an arm around her. Dana 
didn't let him out of her sight for one second.

"Fox?" Dana asked later that night when they were laying in 
bed together.

"Mmmh..." he replied, busy kissing her face while she spoke.

"Do you remember when you cut yourself with the knife and 
I had to nurse your wound?"

"Yes, it was painful but you kissed my pain away" he smiled 
at her. Both of them knew that he wasn't only referring to 
this cut he gave himself but rather to the mental pain he 
suffered from over the years with his parents.

"Do you remember what you said to me then?"

"You mean besides all my 'ouch's'?"

"Fox..."

"Okay, okay, I said you would be a good doctor. Why?"

"Because I decided to study medicine. What do you think 
about this?"

"It sounds great. I will have my private doctor then," he 
teased but when seeing her face he became more serious.

"I think you will be a great doctor and I'm sure you'll make it 
through the study. Look at you at school. You worked so 
hard and you always received the best results so what shall go 
wrong?"

"I think you're right. So I'll apply."

"So is this conversation over now so that we could 
concentrate on other things?" with that he returned to kissing 
her and this time she didn't complain but enjoyed his 
caresses she had missed so much...

Christmas with the Scully family was great for Fox. It had not 
been the first christmas he had celebrated with them but this 
year he was particularly aware of the love that was spread 
within this family. He had never felt so much love in his own 
family so he was grateful for being with the Scullys instead. 
Her christmas gift for him was a photo album containing of 
course pictures of them together, pictures of the two years 
they had spent together. He was very thankful for it because 
now he had some more to rely on to remember except his 
memory. 

In return his gift for her was a three-day-trip to New York to 
celebrate the arrival of the new year. So December 30th they 
went to New York together. Of course it didn't really matter 
to them where they were as long as they only were together. 
They visited all tourist spots in New York and when the clock 
struck midnight they stood together on Time Square to see 
the ball drop. The only thing was that they didn't see it 
because they were too busy kissing - kissing goodbye the old 
year and welcoming the new one, both of them aware that it 
would be another year they would spend in the knowledge of 
their love...

The three weeks he was there went by fast, too fast for their 
liking. They enjoyed each day feeling as though he had never 
been away. So with the exception of their trip to New York 
they passed their days with walking, talking or going out. 
Sometimes they simply stayed inside snuggling and just 
enjoying each others company. Both of them not thinking 
about the day when they had to say goodbye again. 

It was even harder for them to say goodbye now with their 
love stonger and deeper than ever. Fox nearly missed his 
plane because they couldn't let go of each other. 
Maggie Scully began to wonder if it was healthy to love 
someone so much and she was sure that her daughter would 
or could not love someone as much as she loved Fox ever in 
her life. She was also sure that they would always find a way 
to see each other. Their love was strong and, in her eyes, 
everlasting...

When Dana came home from the airport Maggie knew right 
away that the next weeks would be hard for her. She and her 
husband had expected it. So they had developed a plan of 
which they were sure Dana would be happy about.

"Dana, do you have a minute?"

"What is it mom, I'm not really in the mood for talking right 
now." Maggie had expected that, too. The last time Fox had 
gone away she had stayed in her room most of the time 
crying. 

"But it's important. Your father and I would like to talk to 
you."

"Okay." It was unwilling but she sat down on the couch.

"So what is it?" she asked not willing to make this 
conversation unnecessarily longer.

"Honey, how do you think your relationship with Fox will 
continue?"

"What do you mean?"

"I mean he is in Oxford and you're here. So do you think 
you can keep this relationship working for as long as he is 
there to study?"

"Of course, I know he loves me."

"Yes, that we know too, we just have to look into your or 
Fox's eyes to see the love you two feel."
Maggie smiled at her but Dana blushed nontheless. Her 
father continued the conversation.

"Starbuck, have you decided yet, where you want to apply to 
study?"

"No, not yet, why?"

"Because we thought that maybe you would want to go to 
Oxford to study there."

She stared at her parents not able to say anything. Why 
hadn't she or Fox thought of this before? This could be 
perfect. They would have the chance to be together again and 
this time not only for a few weeks but really together. 

"Do you mean this seriously?"

"Of course, what do you think?"

"I... I don't know what to say. You wouldn't mind me 
moving to Oxford?"

"Of course we would miss you but we can see that you miss 
Fox more than anything. The only we want you to be is 
happy. And we surely know that Fox makes you happy."
She was still shocked about her parents' offer.

"Listen, why don't you visit him in Oxford to see if you 
would like living there. And you can also talk to him about it. 
Ask him about his opinion, what he thinks of it."

Dana couldn't be happier. She rushed from the couch to her 
parents and hugged them tightly.

"Thank you, thank you so much."

The next morning Dana came downstairs with a bright smile 
on her face.

"Morning honey, how did you sleep?"

"Wonderful, mom."

"So what are your thoughts about Oxford?"

"I think I will visit Fox, just to see how it is there and to talk 
to him about it."

"Sure, why don't you fly there over your birthday?"

"Sounds great but I will not tell him about it." She smiled 
just thinking of the expression on his face when she arrived 
there.

"Why not?" her mother was confused. She had expected her 
to run to the phone to tell him.

"He surprised me on christmas with your knowledge I might 
add. So it's my turn now."

"Okay..."

Fox sat in his room trying desperately not to think about his 
Dana when there was a knock on his door. He really didn't 
want to see anybody. Nobody could lighten his mood 
except...

"Dana, what are you doing here?" he was too shocked to do 
anything but stare at her in disbelief.

"Shall I go away again?"

He remembered having this conversation at christmas when 
he had come without her knowledge. So he didn't disappoint 
her.

"No, of course not. Stay, stay forever and never leave me..." 
he hugged her to him while pulling her into the room. It took 
awhile for them to let go again both too happy to actually feel 
the other after two long months.

"So really what are you doing here out of the blue?"

"What do you think I'm doing? Visiting you of course." She 
smiled brightly at him.

"But why haven't you told me about this before."

"You didn't told me the last time either. So I thought it 
would just be fair to..." He silenced her with a kiss. All words 
were forgotten for awhile...

"Fox?"

"Mmmh...?"

"Do you miss me when I'm at home and you're here in 
Oxford?"

"How can you ask this? Of course I miss you." 
He couldn't explain why but he saw doubt in her eyes.

"Hey beautiful, don't you trust me? I love you so much and I 
miss you every minute of the day. It's great that you're here 
now and I wish you could stay so that we could have some 
more time together than just a few short days."

Silent tears streamed down her face. He wiped them away. 
Hearing his words made her realize that he really truly loved 
her and was happy about every moment they had.

"What would you say if I would indeed stay here?"

"How... what..."

"Fox stop stammering," she teased him.

"You want to stay here? But how?"

"My parents asked if I would like to study here in Oxford. 
They offered me to visit you here and to talk to you about this 
and then I should decide."

He said nothing and she began worrying again. Suddenly he 
jumped out of the bed and began dancing around in the 
room yelling out of joy. The next moment he picked her up 
taking her in his arms and swinging her around the room.

"Wow, that's unbelievable, that's great. Please Dana, please 
stay with me here in Oxford. I'm sure we could make it 
together. We could look for an apartment where we could 
live together and we could..."

This was even better than she had expected. He was not only 
happy if she moved to Oxford but he already began making 
plans for them.
The rest of the night was spent talking about the years to 
come, the years they would spent together in Oxford.

Dana felt a bit guilty in the next days because Fox refused to 
go to his studies or at least to most of them. Most of the time 
he was with her showing her around in Oxford, introducing 
her to his little number of friends and what was most 
important building up their life together. Every day they went 
to different apartment buildings to look for an apartment 
they could afford but which wasn't a ratwhole either. She 
talked to her parents on the phone telling them about their 
plans and as expected they were happy for their daughter and 
Fox. They promised to support them as much as possible.

On Dana's birthday Fox made a special plan. After dinner in 
one of the most expensive restaurants in town he took her to 
the apartment they had agreed on to take two days before.

"Fox what are we doing here?"

"You'll see..." with that he blindfolded her eyes and led her 
up the stairs.

"Stay here for a second, will you?"

"I surely won't run away now." She gave him a smile.
A few short moments later he returned to her laying his 
hands on her shoulders. He released her eyes and she took a 
look around. She didn't know how he had managed this but 
there was a big bed in the middle of the room - a big bed and 
probably a hundred candles.

She turned around to look at him.

"How did you manage to do this?"

"It's my secret. So you like it?"

"Sure I do." He took a step back and took hold of her hands.

"Dana, I can't really express how happy I am right now 
knowing that we'll live here in the near future, just the two of 
us... I love you so much Dana, so will you marry me?"

No, this can't be, she thought. This man isn't real. He 
handed her the world. He had chosen her to be with him a 
long time ago and since then he had been so nice, always 
surpising her, caring for her, loving her and now this... She 
couldn't think of the reason why she would deserve so much 
luck and happiness.

"Dana?" he looked at her concerned for she didn't give him 
an answer yet.

"Yes, of course I marry you. I just couldn't believe it."
"Believe it my beautiful, you're stuck with me now." He took 
out a jewlery box and handed it to her. Leaning down and 
whispering in her ear he said, "Happy birthday Dana."

She opened the box and took out the ring. After giving it to 
him again he put it on her finger.

"Good morning, beautiful," Fox whispered in her ear the 
next morning.

She felt too comfortable to move. She was laying warm and 
save in the arms of her husband-to-be. The bed they were in 
stood in the apartment that would be their new home in the 
near future. She was the happiest woman alive.

"Morning," she replied sleepily.

Fox was snuggled up against her from behind his arms 
around her middle section. So she had to turn around to see 
his face. He immediately lifted his hand to her face to tuck a 
loose strand of hair behind her ear.

"So how was your first night in your new home?"

"Mmmh, wonderful. I can't wait to move in here."

"Me too"

A few weeks later they moved into their new home. Fox 
continued his study and was able to concentrate at last 
because he knew that Dana was just a few rooms away. As 
planned Dana had started studying medicine some days ago. 
Both were happy with the newsituation. Finally, they had the 
chance to be together again. They enjoyed their time together 
- the quiet evenings snuggled up on the couch, the long 
walks through Oxford, the lazy weekends when they 
remained inside their apartment most of the time. In 
addition to that they were looking forward to their wedding.
Everything was perfectly fine... until Dana began doubting 
her luck yet again. She couldn't believe that she was meant to 
be this hapy. She couldn't believe that a man like Fox Mulder 
would chose her to live his life with. It wasn't that they didn't 
come along with each other. They didn't quarrel and she still 
loved him more than anything. Nevertheless she became 
unsure.

Of course Fox noticed it but couldn't find a reason for it. She 
never answered his question. He on his part began to fear 
that he wouldn't be enough for her, that she would leave him 
sooner or later. 

One evening they went to a bar.They sat together for a while 
talking about everything and nothing, laughing, just enjoying 
each others company. But still the doubts kept nagging on 
Dana's mind. Fox had decided earlier that day that he 
wouldn't ask her anymore about it. He still didn't know what 
*it* was but he knew Dana very well and was sure she would 
talk to him sooner or later. 

Suddenly he spotted someone at the other end of the bar. 
And a smile came across his face together with an idea 
forming in his mind. 

"Dana, would you excuse me for a minute?" he asked trying 
hard to hide his smile.

"Sure, but wher are you going?" A look of panic crossed her 
face, he couldn't explain why.

"Hey, don't worry. I'll be right back." He stood up and left 
the table - out of her sight.

While she lost herself in thoughts somebody's hand landed 
on her shoulder. She had to smile for she thought it was Fox. 
But turning around she looked in the face of a stranger. A 
guy in the middle of his twenties stood there together with his 
friends eyeing her.

"Hey babe, feeling alone?"

"Actually, no, my... my boyfriend... he'll be back in a few 
moments." The looks in their eyesbegan to make her 
nervous. She looked around but couldn't spot Fox. The men 
aproached her, surrounded her. Some of them began 
touching her - her face, her neck, her thighs. They were 
everywhere and she couldn't get away. 

"Come on baby, why aren't you a bit nice to us?"

"Leave me alone," she nearly cried.

"No, you're hot, let's have some fun."

The man talking to her started touching or better groping her 
breasts trying to get his hands under her shirt. Moreover his 
face came nearer wanting to kiss her. She tried to fight them 
off as good as possible but couldn't get rid of him. All the 
others seemed to have fun watching their friend. Nobody was 
willing to help her.

"What do you think you're doing?" asked a familiar voice 
suddenly.

In a matter of seconds Fox pulled this man away from Dana 
and pushed him against the next wall. He kicked him a few 
times before he said, his facec only inches away: "Don't you 
dare to touch her again or your own mother won't recognize 
you again. Did I make myself clear?"

Watching in horror what this guy was doing to their friend 
not one of them interfered but turned around and fled as fast 
as possible.

"Fox." It was just a whisper but he heard it.

"You're not worth it." With one last push against the wall he 
let  him go.

Fox rushed to Dana's side and led her outside quickly.
Once outside he turned her towards him and pulled her into 
his arms.

"God Dana, I was so scared. I couldn't live if something 
happened to you. I love you so much, I couldn't bear loosing 
you." The words flowed out of him without thinking. But 
suddenly he stopped talking realizing Dana had started 
crying.

"Sssh, sweetie, it's okay. I'm here."

"Don't leave me ever, please. I love you so much," she 
sobbed.

It began to dawn on him why she had behaved like this the 
last days. He didn't want to mention it but he wanted to 
show her what she meant to him instead. He took her face in 
both of his hands stroking her cheeks with his thunbs. 
Looking at her lovingly he kissed her softly. She immediately 
returned the kiss clinging to him for dear life.
After parting he looked into her eyes again.

"Dana, do you want to know where I went earlier?"

She looked at him confused. She thought he had gone to the 
toilet. She didn't need to answer, he could everything in her 
eyes.

"When we sat there I saw this guy. He had caught my 
attention because he sold roses. I went to him and bought 
one for you, to make you smile for me again. But then I saw 
this guy..."

She silenced him with a kiss. Why did I ever doubt him? She 
asked herself. He proved his love for her each and every day 
in the sweetest and most surprising ways. She knew now that 
everything was fine.

"Fox can we go home?"

"Sure." He just had to ask: "Dana?"

"Mmmh?"

"Are we okay now?"

She kissed him again and then smiled at him.

"Yes, we are," she said.

So they went home their arms around each other not an inch 
of space between them.

They married a few weeks later. Though Dana's parents had 
their doubts about them marrying at such a young age but 
looking at them was enough. The happiness and love that 
surrounded them whenever they were together had convinced 
them a long time ago. In their eyes, Dana and Fox weren't a 
usual couple. Since the day they had met years ago they were 
drawn to each other. There was a special connection between 
them nobody could ever break even before they became a 
couple.

They lived together happily in Oxford for four years. Then 
Fox got his graduation. They had decided to move back to the 
USA some time ago to live nearer to Dana's family. Dana 
would finish her study at the university of Maryland and 
would apply for a job at a local hospital afterwards.
Not a week after they got back Fox was asked to join the FBI. 
They had heard about his abilities and qualities so they 
wanted him at the Bureau. He got a job at the VCS to work 
out character profiles in order to help convict them. Hearing 
the stories about the cases Dana got curious...

One evening she decided to ask him about her idea.

"Fox, what would you say if I joined the FBI, too?"

"What do you mean 'join them'?"

"You know, work for them."

"Real cases, field work and all this?"

"Yeah, sure."

"But it's dangerous." She rolled her eyes at this comment.

"I know, but they'll train me at Quantico. You've been there, 
too."

"Mmmh, I don't like the idea of you risking your life and 
going on cases..."

"...with other men, you mean?" she finished.

"Yes"

"You know there'll be no other man. I love you and nobody 
could ever change that."

He looked at her apologatically wearing his puppy-dog-face. 
Like always she melted.

Nevertheless, after finishing her study she applied for 
Quantico and got accepted. To have an equal chance and not 
being judged by Fox' reputation she used her birthname 
instead of Mulder. During her training Fox discovered the X-
Files. He read one case-file and got addicted. After talking to 
his supervisor he got transferred to the one section within the 
FBI that nobody wanted to work on. He started working 
against the Bureau's rules so they decided to give him a 
partner. He didn't like the idea but had to live with it. He 
didn't know yet who this new partner of his would be. He 
didn't really care anyway for he knew that he or she would 
work against him. 

Dana on her part had very good news for Fox, something 
they had 'worked on' for a while. But before she could tell 
him this evening she had an appointment with with Section 
Chief Blevins -whatever he wanted. She didn't even know 
him.

When she left his office she couldn't hide a smile, now she 
knew what he had wanted.

Fox was occupied sorting out slides of his new case when 
there was a knock on his door.

"Nobody down here except FBI's most unwanted."
He didn't even look up, not interested in who his new 
partner was.

Actually, Dana wanted to go over to him and hug him but 
instead she took a look around the room. She had never 
been there but what she saw was exactly what she had 
expected.

"Agent Mulder?"

I know this voice, he thought but couldn't imagine that it was 
really her. He slowly turned around. It was really her but she 
played a game... and he played along.

"I'm Dana Scully. I've been assigned to work with you."

"Well, isn't this nice. What have you done that you were 
assigned down here, Scully.?"
He had used Scully on purpose to play the role.

"Nothing and I'm looking forward to work with you."

That's for sure, he thought. This would be great. He smiled 
at her. Seeing his face she couldn't hold it anymore, she burst 
out laughing. He took her hand and pulled her down to his 
lap. She was still laughing so he silenced her with a kiss.

"Dana, this is great. How did you manage this?"

"I have no idea. I had an appointment with Section Chief 
Blevins and he assigned me to Spooky-Mulder. You still 
don't want me to work in the field?"

"Mmmh, since you're going to be my partner and I don't 
have to share you... Plus I know your qualities... in medicine 
I mean," he added the last with a grin. "it's not that bad."

She punched him for the last comment.

"Ouch, okay, I think it couldn't be any better."

They sat in silence for a while she in his lap their arms 
around each other both picturing their future with the 
difference that in Dana's visions there was something more.

"Fox?"

"Mmmh?"

"I have to tell you something." She sounded serious and it 
caught his attention immediately.

"Dana, sweetheart, what's wrong? You know you can tell me 
everything."

She looked up into his eyes with a hint of a smile.

"We're going to be parents."

"What?" he needed to hear it twice.

"I'm pregnant."

He stood up in a rush, making her stand up, too. He began 
walking through the room. Dana just followed him with her 
eyes waiting for a reaction.

"This is... this is..."
He came back to her taking her hands.

"This is great, wonderful..."
He hugged her to him tightly lifting her off the ground in his 
joy.

That was what Dana wrote down in her diary that evening:
"Could life be any better?
I doubted my luck many times in the past years but I can't 
really say why. I'm happy, as happy as anybody could be. I 
have the absolutely best partner - in my private life as well as 
my professional life. I love him su much but everytime he 
looks at me with his warm hazel eyes I love him even more. 
And in a few months we're going to have our first child. I 
know he`s happy about it, I know it everytime I watch him 
stroke my tummy talking to our little baby. We wished for it 
so many times and now it's going to be real.
I don't know if life could be anymore perfect but I surely 
hope that there are more people on earth who have such a 
life..."

END (PART 2)
1

1