From: Kirsten Kerkhof Date: Thu, 1 Jun 2000 14:52:29 -0700 (PDT) Subject: New stories submission Source: direct TITLE: "Desert Island" AUTHOR: Kirsten Kerkhof * kirsten_xf@yahoo.com CLASSIFICATION: MSR KEYWORDS: S R RATING: NC-17 SUMMARY: Mulder and Scully on a desert island. SPOILERS: None DISCLAIMER: Could it ever be??????? Alas, they are not mine. They belong to CC, 1013 and Fox. Suppose they're in good hands there ... FEEDBACK: For a Mulder? Of course ... ARCHIVING: Certainly. Just keep my name and e- mail addy attached and tell me where you put it so I can come visit. XxXxX DANA SCULLY WOULD PROBABLY never fully understand why she had agreed to go on holiday with her partner Fox Mulder. She had never gone on holiday with him before and she couldn't imagine why she had said yes to his offer. But she had and actually, she was quite looking forward to it. Just weeks before Mulder and she had finally decided that it was about time to do something about the direction their relationship was heading: they were madly in love with each other, so ... It's not that they had started dating or something like that. In fact, precious little had changed. They still were partners, worked together on cases and they hadn't slept together. Yet. They had only admitted that they were in love and this confession had really taken a load off of Scully's mind. Now she didn't need to hide her feelings anymore, or mind the barriers, the taboo on partners getting involved. It was still a taboo of course, but at least they knew it of each other. It was all very innocent and very comfortable. And now she was going on holiday with him. Mulder had arranged with an uncle of his that they could use his uncle's holiday home in Florida for a week. It was on a tiny island Mulder told her, the only house on the entire island. Nobody else lived there. They'd be all alone. Now why did that make her heart-beat speed up so much? "Hey, Scully, you're all packed and ready to go?" she heard his voice behind her. She snapped out of her thoughts and said: "Yeah, yeah, I'm ready ..." She picked up her bags and carried them to the car. Mulder took them and put them in the trunk. "You sure we haven't forgotten anything? We can't go back and there's nothing on the island", he said. She shook her head and he closed the trunk. "Oh, maybe this", she said. "Do you have A.D. Skinner's address? Perhaps we should send him a post-card ..." "Great idea! That should really get him pissed off!" Skinner hadn't been happy about their going on holiday together. They hadn't told him about their relationship but then again, Mulder had said: "They didn't make him Assistent-Director of the FBI for nothing" and they had decided that he probably already knew. Scully laughed and got into the passenger's seat. They had decided to take turns driving the long way from DC to their holiday destination in Florida. They didn't talk very much during the trip. They stopped at a restaurant about half way and after lunch Scully drove. Mulder had decided that the world would be able to function just fine without him and had fallen asleep. XxXxX "HEY, MULDER!" HE HEARD her voice far away. He managed to open one eye and reluctantly got back to this world. "What?" "We're almost there", she answered. "You said you were going to drive those last few miles, so it's your turn." She had pulled over at a parking lot near a supermarket somewhere along the highway. "Mm, okay", he said and stretched to get the sleep out of his bones. Then they changed seats and Mulder drove towards the sea. It was beautiful. Blue and calm the sea looked like one of a post card. The road was very narrow and sandy and obviously not in regular use. Mulder had to keep a really good look at where he was going, but at one point he stopped the car and got out. Scully did the same and went to stand next to him. "Look", he said and pointed to some islands. "The largest one will ours this week!" "Looks just great", Scully said. A whole week with Fox Mulder on a desert island, her idea of heaven! Then they got back into the car and drove to the sea. On the beach there was a boat and Mulder carried their luggage from the car to the boat. Meanwhile Scully enjoyed the sunshine. She'd be getting freckles she knew. Curse of a red head. Then suddenly something struck her. "Hey, Mulder. Did you think about food and stuff like that? I don't suppose there's a restaurant on the island so ..." "My uncle said there should be plenty of food in the house. More than enough for two people for a week." "Then that's alright too, I suppose", she said and closed the trunk of the car as he carried the last pieces of luggage to the boat. She locked the car and got into the boat, joining Mulder who was moving a few pieces of luggage. "Well, you can steer the boat", he said to her. "You're the sailor's daughter!" She smiled, switched on the engine and managed to get the boat of the beach, towards the island. Their island. XxXxX "HEY, MULDER", SCULLY SAID and he turned his head to look at her. "You're not even sea-sick!" Mulder chuckled. He knew perfectly just how bad a sailor he was, but he was surprised that today nothing seemed to go wrong. Well, how could anything go wrong today? "You'd better keep your mouth shut", he smiled. "We're not there yet ..." "Mwah, if you could keep everything alright for the next five seconds, there shouldn't be too much of a problem", Scully said as she steered the boat onto the beach. They climbed out of the boat and walked across the beach towards the trees. Then they turned around and enjoyed the view. "It's beautiful ...", Scully said. She felt Mulder's arms around her waist as he stood behind her and leaned his head on top of hers. "You're beautiful", he said. Scully smiled and said nothing. She couldn't believe this was all actually happening. "This isn't a dream, is it, Mulder?" she said. "No, it's all perfectly real. And that's probably even the best part of it", he answered. "The sea looks so great. I'm really looking forward to going swimming." "Then you go and do just that", Mulder said and let her go. "I'll take care of the luggage." "No, Mulder, you don't have to do that. I'll give you a hand." "No, you won't", he said and turned her around. She wanted to protest but he stopped her by placing his finger over her lips. "No, you won't", he repeated. "You'll go swimming. I want you to have a pleasant time here. You can do whatever you like." He kissed her forehead and pushed her out of his arms. "Go on, get changed and enjoy the sea. If you're still in the water when I'm finished I'll join you." She laughed and went to get her bikini. After she had put on her bikini she walked towards the blue sea. Carefully she tried the temperature. It was perfect. 'Why is everything just perfect today?', she wondered and laughed. Then she walked further into the water. She dove under and laughed as she came up, bubbles sizzling all around her. Then she let herself float on the water, carefully keeping an eye on the shore to make sure she wouldn't drift away. Then suddenly she felt two strong hands around her waist, lifting her up and throwing her away. She shrieked, then burst out laughing when she saw Mulder's grinning face. He swam quickly towards her. She splashed water in his face to punish him for surprising her like that. Mulder looked at her and smiled in amazement. Was this really the woman he worked with? Was this laughing, fun-loving girl really that cool agent everybody knew? Her eyes were just sparkling and he suddenly realised this was a part of her he just never knew a thing of. But now he did ... He hit the water with his hand and as she turned her face away to avoid the little wave he'd caused he swam towards her and took her in his arms. Her laughter filled his ears and his mind, and as he pressed her small body against him he couldn't believe how incredibly happy he was feeling. She wrapped her arms around his neck, gave him a short kiss on the lips and smiled. Then her smile faded and she slowly bent a little forward in his arms. She touched his lips with hers and for a moment they just did nothing. He weaved his hands in her hair and as they deepened their kiss she felt one hand trailing off, over her shoulder, down her back, staying on her hips. She felt the heat of his hand on her hip but she didn't react. It wasn't important. And it wasn't a threatening emotion. On the contrary, it seemed perfectly natural. This kiss. She wished it would never end. It was perfect, it was all they'd been waiting for so long. She felt tears sting in her eyes as the kiss went on. Her tongue slowly explored his mouth. And as she felt him doing just the same to her, she knew she was going to explode with need and pleasure if they weren't going to stop very soon. Then she felt Mulder's lips releasing hers. "Don't stop ...", she murmured. "Scully, you're cold", he said. "Then warm me", she whispered. She opened her eyes and looked at him. "Kiss me, Mulder. We have all the time in the world. There's no need for something else now. He smiled and as their lips locked once more she knew she had made the right decision to go on holiday with him. XxXxX THE KISS HAD BEEN fairly short but very satisfactory, at least that was how Mulder felt. And Scully gave the impression she felt the same. He was happy about that. He wanted her to have the time of her life. They hadn't stayed in the water for very long. They had gone back to the beach and from there to the house. They had taken a shower and changed clothes. And now they were back on the beach, walking slowly hand in hand along the sea. Sometimes the waves were powerful enough to get onto the beach so far that they hit their feet, but most of the time they weren't. Not that Mulder cared. He felt her hand in his, her small body close to his side, her head leaning against his shoulder. This was all he needed. The sun was setting. This moment was precious to him. He looked at her. She was wearing a brightly coloured pareo as a skirt and a bikini-top. Her hair was falling over her shoulders - he suddenly realised she must have been letting it grow. It had been much shorter first - and she held her hat in her hands. She was absolutely gorgeous in his eyes. He smiled. He was sure he must be the happiest man on earth. "It's beautiful, isn't it, Mulder?" she said softly. "Yeah" She stopped which caught him a little on surprise. He saw her picking something up from the sand. "What is that, Scully?" "A shell." He saw her looking at the shell, then at him and then back at the shell. He couldn't really read her expression. Then suddenly she threw the shell away and wrapped her arms around his waist. She chuckled. "What?" he asked. "Something just struck me", she answered. "What's that?" "Who needs a shell?" she said and made him bend over a little. Her lips touched his and he felt himself melt away in her arms. Even though she was over twenty centimetres shorter than he, he knew who the one with power in their relationship was. And it wasn't him. Definitely not. "Are we going to spend our entire holidays here kissing?" he smiled. She gave him a beautiful smile which made his heart stop. "I don't see the problem, Mulder", she said. Then her smile faded and a strange gleam appeared in her eyes. "What?" he asked. Eyes like these were deadly to his sense of balance. "Just kissing, Mulder?" 'No way', he thought. It was as if she had read his thoughts for she took his hand and started walking towards the house. XxXxX THEY HADN'T MADE LOVE that night. She didn't really know why not, but she felt good about it. They would. Before they went back to DC at the end of this week, they would have. But not now. Not yet. It was as if they granted the other that time to get used to each other. To being so close. 'Used to each other', she thought and chuckled. As if Mulder and she weren't used to each other. She was sitting in a chair on the verandah of the house. Mulder was busy preparing breakfast. He hadn't allowed her to help. She had to be cautious, she remarked, she was in serious threat of becoming incredibly lazy here. But it was perfect. It felt perfect. "Good morning, beautiful", she heard Mulder say and he kissed her swiftly. She smiled and got out of the chair. She sniffed. "Mm, Mulder, this really smells delicious!" "I hope it'll taste as good as it smells then", he answered and put the tray on the table. "You can count on that", Scully said as she saw what was on the tray. XxXxX AFTER BREAKFAST THEY HAD left the house. She knew they'd be walking on the island every day, all day. Just walking, lying in the sun, swimming. She had never liked this sort of holidays very much. She had always liked more active ways of spending her holidays, visiting cities, going to museums, enjoying the culture of the country she visited. But with Fox Mulder it was alright. Alright to do nothing. To do nothing? She was having her hands full! She was incredibly busy! Busy being madly in love with him ... She felt his hand playing with the shoulder strap of her bikini. It was alright. She had her arm around his waist and leaned into his warmth. "Shall we go see what on the island apart from the beach?" she heard him ask. She nodded. Anything. As long as he was with her. He let her go and climbed the small dunes, then helped her climb over them. They started walking towards the centre of the island. The island was quite small and from every point they could see the sea. But now they were in a place hidden between trees and bushes. It felt very safe. "Hey, Scully, look at this tree!" He pointed towards a tree that had been struck by lightning years ago. "Well, at least it stopped smoking", she said. "Never smoke Morleys", Mulder said severely to the tree. "Very bad. Very bad for your health!" Scully laughed out loud. "Scully! This one looks just like Skinner!" He pointed towards a slightly smaller tree that had somehow lost its top. "Completely bald!" He laughed. "You just wait until the Bureau hears you mocking one of their beloved Assistant-Directors! Then you'll be sorry!" she said and laughed. "Don't worry, Scully. The only bugs here are ones that fly and buzz. They don't tell tales!" He looked around and grinned broadly. He walked towards three smaller trees, standing all by themselves. Three completely different trees, but together and out of the reach of other plants and trees. "Agent Scully, I'd like you to meet The Lone Gunmen!" Scully smiled but didn't look at him. Instead she was looking at two other trees. One bigger than the other, their branches had become entangled over the years. Two branches of the bigger tree were like arms reaching for the sky, while the smaller tree seemed to hold the bigger tree down. It brought tears to her eyes. "These trees are you and me, Mulder", she said softly as she felt him standing close to her. "The bigger tree reaching for the stars, the smaller tree keeping it safely on the ground. Two completely different trees grown into one single tree, never to be parted because Nature has made them that way ..." He pulled her close. If he had ever been in doubt about their bond, it was all so clear now. They belonged together, always had, always would. He would ask her to marry him. Not today, but soon. She leaned her head against his chest and listened to his heart beat. It was slow and rhythmic. It was soothing and comforting. This man. She loved him more than words could express, than her heart could comprehend. He made her life worthwhile, worth all the hard-ships she had endured, even as his partner. It was all worth it. This was the man she had been waiting for all her life, a man who loved her so much that she wasn't sure she deserved it. Nobody really deserved so much love, but she had it. He looked at her, standing with her head against his chest, eyes closed, arms around him. She trusted him completely. He could see she had placed her life, her future, her fate in his hands, to do with it whatever he wanted. Trusting him to make the right decisions. He had always thought it impossible to love a person as much as he loved her, but now he wasn't so sure anymore. He got the feeling he loved her more than was good for him. He loved her too much! No, he didn't love her too much, all the love he felt was what she deserved to receive from him. "I think I'm in danger of loving you too much, Mulder", he heard her say. He was genuinely surprised at hearing her say the exact same things that he was thinking. "That's alright, Scully. The danger is all mine." At that moment he saw her open her eyes and look at him. No, she was looking right through him, straight at his soul, his heart. This woman. She knew him better than he knew himself. Better than she knew herself probably. He was so lost in thought that he almost didn't notice their lips touched. The kiss started slowly, almost hesitatingly, but soon turned passionate, drugging. Her touch, her sweet breath, her whole being set him on fire, let him feel a way no human being had a right to feel. So perfect, so alive. He wanted her. He wanted her body, her soul, her feelings, her love, and her trust. He loved every fibre of her, he wanted every fibre of her. He felt her hands trace his back, slowly and passionately. Her nails scraped his back, sometimes quite hard and painfully, sometimes softer than the touch of a feather. He needed her. Now! His trembling fingers managed to undo the button of the shorts she was wearing over her bikini. They pooled down at her feet. She stepped a little step forward and kicked them away. She felt his hands resting on her hips, the heat burning hot. Her eyes were closed, her body trying to keep up with the passion that raced through every particle of her existence. Her lips momentarily released his, her lungs fighting for air. Then she slanted her mouth over his again. She couldn't stop. Not in any way. She quickly undid the buttons of his shirt and pushed it away. Her hands stayed on his chest, feeling him, tracing him, almost tasting him. She tasted him through her fingers, because her mouth couldn't do it right now. She had to feel all of him. She wanted him. Right now. Desperately. She felt his fingers undo the knot of her bikini, slowly and hesitatingly. But he didn't push it off her body immediately, but looked at her, silently asking her permission to proceed. She was genuinely moved by his consideration. She couldn't speak, but covered his hands with her own and guided them, baring herself to him. His lips stopped the drugging work on her lips, started to trail off, slowly, teasingly. He kissed her lips, her chin, her throat, her ear- lobe, suckled it, making her moan softly. Then she gasped as she felt his hand moving down. It slowly moved from her hips to the juncture of her legs. Stroked her, touched her. Her hand covered his, guided it as she threw her head back in ecstacy. Then she suddenly pulled his hand away and looked him straight in the eyes as she lost every bit of control she had still left in her. She couldn't be blamed, he made her act that way, she thought. She pushed his shorts down, taking his boxers with them. He pulled her panties away, covered her mouth with his own, kissing her hard and demanding, there was no tenderness there now. He wanted her. He wanted to feel her. He had to, he must. He was going to burst if ... He kneeled down in front of her, kissed her belly, but instead of standing up again he forced her to kneel down as well, his lips covered her body, kissing, feeling, licking, tasting. Mostly tasting. Her skin was softer than he had ever imagined. She was his. Entirely. And he was hers. They sat on their knees, eyes closed, lost in sheer passion. Then she softly pushed him down. She kissed his stomach, going up, kissing his chest, his collarbone, his throat, his jaw, his lips. She felt his lips parting under her touch. She thought she was going crazy with delight as she felt his tongue slowly circle hers, suckling, exploring. He flipped her over so that she was under him. Her nails dug into his back muscles as she moaned softly. "Make love to me, Mulder ...", she whispered breathlessly. "Please ..." She parted her thighs in silent invitation, welcoming him, demanding him. Demanding release. She wanted to feel him inside her, she needed him. In one long slow stroke he entered her, buried himself inside her, making her utter a deep gutteral moan. He buried his face in the curve of her neck as he slowly started to move. She followed his movements, completing them, encouraging him to give her all. He felt her nails raking sensually over his damp back. His body was surging with need and passion, he felt her body radiating heat as they slowly reached their climax. He felt her body tense, then relax as the climax crashed over her, at exactly the same time as he came himself. It had never happened to him that a woman had been so much his equal. Never. But then he realised that Scully was his equal, she had always been his equal in everything, and that he had subconsciously expected this from her. She hadn't disappointed him. She had never disappointed him. And as he started to collapse he felt a tear rolling down his cheek. He was crying. He really did love her too much after all. Then he blacked out. It was good. XxXxX SCULLY SLOWLY RETURNED FROM heaven. She heard birds, waves, leaves. She felt the cool breath of the wind. And the heat of his body. She opened her eyes and looked at him. He was asleep. He looked as innocent as a little child. She softly weaved her hand in his damp hair, lifting it up in a thousand spikes. For a moment she considered leaving it like that, it was so cute, but then she flattened the spikes. He didn't like looking like that very much. She got up, careful not to wake him and started to put her bikini back on. She didn't care about the shorts. She considered going to the sea, swimming, cooling down, but then she stopped. Not without him. She wasn't going anywhere without him. Ever. So what had happened? They had made love. At last. Strange place for their first time together. Strange time too. Well, they had always been different, doing it in bed would have disappointed her, she guessed. She felt her aching muscles. God, he had almost made her faint. Had made her want to die with pleasure. She sat down and touched his face, smiling. He moved in his sleep. Then he opened his eyes and smiled. He pushed himself up. She was sitting next to him, her hands around her knees, smiling, not saying anything, just waiting. "Hello, beautiful", he said. "So, how do you feel?" Scully smiled. "What do you think?" he said as he kissed her quickly. Then he got up and put on his boxers and his shorts. He didn't care about the shirt. "So, what do you think the FBI will say of all this?" she said. Mulder frowned. He didn't understand. "The FBI?" "Well, we had quite an audience ..." Scully said and pointed towards the trees. Mulder laughed. "I think Frohike is heart-broken at the moment, the Cancer Man will probably do nothing as he stopped smoking and must consequently be dead. And as for Skinner ..." he thought "... he'd better not say anything ..." "And what about those two?" she said, pointing towards their own trees. "The bigger one approves, that's for sure", Mulder answered, his voice unexpectedly serious. "So does the smaller one ..." She got up, closed her eyes and let the sun caress her body. Then she took his hand and pulled him up. He wrapped his arm around her and drew her closer as they started walking towards the sea. XxXxX MULDER WAS SITTING IN front of the house, waiting for Scully to join him. She had insisted on cooking their supper as she had said, "You cooked breakfast, I'll make supper", and had immediately ignored all of his objections. Not that it really mattered, she was probably a better cook than he was for one thing. And supper had been delicious, there was no doubt about that. "Well, Mulder, you feeling selfish right now?" he heard her voice behind him. He turned around and saw her stand there with her hands on her hips. She walked down the three steps and faced him. "Selfish?" "Well, there isn't much room for me to sit, is there?" "On the contrary, there's plenty of room. Right ... here", and he pulled her onto his lap. She shrieked at his sudden move, but started to laugh as she flung her arms around his neck and pressed her body against his. "So, what do we do now?" he asked. "Don't know", she answered, still holding him close. "Watch the sun set?" "It won't set for another two hours, Scully!" "And?" He grinned. "You're right. Who cares?" She closed her eyes and sighed. She felt so happy, so safe here. Nothing bad could happen to them. Nothing unexpected, nothing that wasn't planned. Nothing unexpected or that wasn't planned? Well, there was one thing ... She could be ... She frowned. Then she shrugged. So, who'd care. Maybe she wanted it. And maybe it was just inevitable. It was. It had always been inevitable. She was young, he was young and you just couldn't fool Mother Nature ... She wondered if he'd ask her to marry him. If he wouldn't ask her, she'd ask him. Not now, not today. Soon. Very soon. XxXxX SCULLY WAS SITTING IN the bath washing away the sand, salt and sweat that made her feel all sticky and dirty. It felt great, the warm water and soft foam covering her body. She leaned back and relaxed. And as she played with the cake of soap she thought about today. It had been unbelievable, that was certain. How had they arrived at having sex right in the middle of the day? Pretty incredible sex, too actually ... They had seen those trees and ... She smiled, Mulder had been talking so patronisingly to that burnt tree. It had made her feel good. And their own trees, strong together but in desperate need of each other for survival. He was always reaching for the stars, always would. The truth was indeed out there, she was so certain of that now, but he had learned to accept more down-to-earth theories, too. She felt proud at the knowledge that she had taught him that. But meanwhile, what had happened to her? She had learned, experienced that science wasn't the only thing that mattered. Sometimes you just had to trust an instict, a hunch. Go for it, even though you're not really sure. Her partnership with Fox Mulder had taught her more than all those years in school and in college combined. And he had learned her to trust him, if no one else. She had found out that he never ever let her down. And although she hadn't always shown it to him, she felt so grateful for it. She was feeling tears sting in her eyes when suddenly the cake of soap slipped out of her hands. She tried to catch it, but failed miserably. It bounced on the edge of the tub and then, with a 'splash', it landed in the middle of the floor, where it grinned mockingly in her face. She sighed. Now she had to get out of the tub to get it. Where were all the gentlemen when you needed them? "Here, you looking for this?" she heard his voice. She looked up and saw him handing her the soap. She grinned. Well, here was one gentleman who'd always be around ... "Thanks, Mulder", she said and took the cake of soap. "Whoa ..." she reached out to try and catch it. It was really incredibly slippery. She saw his hand reach for it, but he failed to catch it as well. With a loud 'splash' it landed in the water. She leaned back and laughed. She saw he was looking at her attentively. "What?" "Oh nothing", he answered. Now that was a bad answer for it only made her even more curious. "No, no, no, wrong answer. What is it?" He looked at her and smiled. "Just thinking how lucky I am. How good you make me feel ..." His look was almost apologetic, although Scully really didn't know what he thought he had to offer his apologies for. He seemed to want to say something, but hesitated. She waited. She could wait. All week, all her life if she had to. There was no reason to hurry anything. "I can't believe we actually ..." he said and paused "... we actually made love this afternoon ..." "Did you like it?" He smiled. "Yeah. It was truly unbelievable. I've never experienced anything like this in my life." "What do you mean? You've been with other women before. I know that." "That's true, but ..." "But what?" She wanted to know everything now. "But with you ... it was different. You are different. You have no idea how much you mean to me, how special you are and ... no, listen to me, Scully!" as he saw her about to protest "I mean it! With other women, I ... I felt good, well, most of the time I did. But most of all I did it for the sex. I dated them for sex. I know that doesn't sound very gentleman-like, but it's the truth. But you ... I never thought about sex when it came to you, even when we finally decided to be more than just partners. Maybe ... sometimes I wondered what would happen if you and I were to have sex, and maybe sometimes I even wanted to have sex with you, I don't know. But ..." He paused and seemed to think about how he'd put it. "... but, well, we weren't put together as friends in the first place. You were just my partner and well, one wouldn't date one's partner I suppose, especially when he or she was sent to be your down-fall. But even in these last few weeks, after we had become lovers, I ... I couldn't ... I couldn't take you to my bed. I know this may seem silly, but ... you just meant too much to me for something as trite as sex ..." He looked at her and smiled nervously. "Tell me if I've just made a complete fool of myself ..." She shook her head. "You've got no idea how important it is for me to hear all this", she said softly. "You know, sometimes I wondered about it myself. Why we had never done it. Everybody in the Bureau 'knew' we had, except for these two agents!" He smiled "But although I came to love you more than anything in this world, I felt exactly the same as you did. Maybe sometimes I wanted you, wanted to feel you, wanted to make love to you. But I knew that what we had was too special to give up for a wild night. I knew that when it would finally happen, and now it has, it would be alright. We'd be ready for it and so I trusted you not to hurry, just as I would never hurry. I could wait. Wait till the moment arrived and then I'd know it would be perfect." Her voice had become nothing more than a whisper during these last phrases, but that didn't matter. Mulder was holding his breath at hearing these words. His voice shook as he turned around and said: "I'll let you enjoy the bath ..." "No, Mulder!" she said. He turned around and looked at her. "No, Mulder. Join me. Come join me here ..." "You sure?" She nodded and he smiled. "Okay, but you'll have to turn around. I'm not going to strip in front of your eyes!" "Mulder ..." "Yes, yes, I know you've seen me naked, but ..." "Only kidding, Mulder. I won't look, I promise." "Thanks Scully. I really appreciate that." She didn't look. She kept her eyes closed until she felt his legs on both sides of her, his body warm against her back. "I've never done this before, Scully", he said softly. "So, enjoy it", she answered. She hoped he'd like it. She did. She felt his arms around her waist and sighed. This was another thing she loved about this man: he left her alone. He seemed content with just holding her, even when she was so ... well, vulnerable. She had been with other men, and she had often had the feeling she had to protect herself from them. But Mulder was different, he didn't grope, touch her when she didn't want him to do that. He always asked her permission, sometimes with words, other times silently, but never did he do something without her consent. It made her feel very special. "Are you happy?" he asked. "Mm-mm", she answered. The word 'yes' had exactly three letters too much for her now. She felt his lips press little butterfly kisses on her neck and her spine. She closed her eyes and savoured the sensation. It made cold shivers run down her back. It was delicious. She bent her head forward so that her hair would fall away from her neck. She was encouraging him to give her more she knew, but that was just what she wanted. She wanted more, she hoped he'd continue for a while. But then she felt him stop. "It's late, Scully. Don't you think we should go to bed?" "Spoilsport!" she murmured, but then she smiled. "This must be one of your other talents I never knew a thing about ..." "What talents?" "Well, for one thing, making a girl absolutely mad with desire and then stop to say something like that!" "We could continue in bed ..." "You'd better count on that, Fox Mulder!" she said as she got out of the tub. XxXxX NEXT MORNING, AS THEY were having breakfast, they discussed about what they'd do today. "You know, I'd like to see a little more of what's on the rest of the planet outside this island", Scully had said. "And perhaps we ought to do some shopping." "You're right. Well, we can go wherever we like. We are in Florida, wanna go to Disney-world?" "Nah, too many people, too far away, too." "Everglades? There are no people there ..." "In that case we'd better stay here. There are no people here either." He grinned and said: "How about just going to the mainland and look where we'll find ourselves?" "Sounds like a deal to me", she answered and started cleaning up breakfast. After breakfast they went to the boat and from there to the mainland. "Well, at least the car's still there", Mulder said. "We could consider that a small miracle", Scully said. "if I hadn't known you never lock your car. Even in DC you always leave your car open. I really don't understand how you manage not to get your car stolen every second day. Tell me, Mulder, do you put stickers on your car saying 'Don't try to steal me, you bastard. I belong to an FBI-agent, he'll find you anyway' or what is your secret?" "No", he answered and smiled. "I put stickers on them saying 'Don't try to steal me, you bastard. I belong to an FBI-agent and his gorgeous partner will find you anyway as he's too busy being in love to do it himself.'" 'There', she thought. 'A little dose of sweet talk, Mulder style.' Things were going smoothly. XxXxX THEY HAD SPENT THE day in a town Mulder really couldn't remember the name of. Didn't matter either. They had walked slowly through the streets of the town, looking at shop windows. Occasionally they had entered a shop, mostly when Scully had seen clothes she wanted to try on. He had always hated to go shopping like that, but today he had actually enjoyed it. They had also visited a jeweller's. They had looked at wedding rings, though they both knew they'd probably wait for at least another few months before they'd get married. If they'd get married at all. Mulder had thought about it for a moment. Yeah, they would marry ... Scully had bought herself a necklace. It was a gold dolphin, it seemed to dance on the milk-white ocean of her skin. At least that was how it seemed to him. After that they'd returned to the car, done the groceries and then they had headed back for the island. And now they were sitting under a palm tree, watching the sea gulls soaring through the air. It was so peaceful and serene. Everything was alright. He was sitting behind her with his back against the tree. He had his arms around her waist, his head on her shoulder. Neither of them spoke. There was no reason for them to speak. Everything either of them would say now would be superfluous. He heard her sigh as she slowly stroked his hands. She had done so for the past half hour or so, thoughtlessly, but he enjoyed it. He kissed her ear, which made her giggle. That was all the encouragement he needed to kiss her ear over and over again. "Mulder, stop it!" she laughed. "Mulder! Stop! Stop it!" "You don't want me to stop", he said. "Yes, no! I do! Mulder!" She suddenly turned around in his arms causing him to fall down on his back. She was lying on top of him and looked at him. Her eyes were positively sparkling. Then she slowly bent down and covered his lips with hers. The kiss was slow and tender. They smiled. God, he absolutely worshipped this woman! They ended with countless short kisses. She couldn't get enough of him. When they had seen, and actually tried a few of those wedding rings, she had been in doubt whether she'd ever be lucky enough to marry this man. But now she knew she would. She would! She laughed. She couldn't believe it, but she knew she was going to marry him. And if he didn't propose tonight, she would. Simply because this was the only man in the whole wide world she loved enough to want to share her life with. And she wanted him for her husband, there was no doubt about that. She would never grow tired of him. On the contrary, she'd constantly discover new things. And she'd be happy for the rest of her life. She rose and pulled him up. He went to lean his back against the palm tree and she sat down between his legs again. She took his hand and played a little with his fingers, tracing them, feeling them. "You know, Mulder", she began, speaking softly and rather to herself. "When, way back in 1992, I started with you I never would have believed we'd be doing this. If anybody had predicted that in a few years I'd be sitting here with you on an island, of my own free will and actually enjoying every second with you, I'd have laughed at him. Or kicked him in the ass." He chuckled. "When I entered your office for the first time on that fateful day, I saw you sitting there examining those slides, wearing your glasses and as you finally turned around to see who had had the guts to so much as enter the office of 'The FBI's Most Unwanted' you approached me with an air of 'I know what you want and I can tell you, it's not gonna work!'..." he chuckled and she smiled. "... it's true, isn't it?" "Yep, you're right", he sighed. "I know you didn't really like me then ..." "I really didn't like you then", he admitted. " ... and I can safely say that I disliked you just as much ... But anyway, you tried to make me lose my cool by asking the weirdest of questions: 'Do you believe in the existence of extraterrestrials?"' and I was shocked that such a capable agent as yourself really believed that kind of nonsense, even though I knew of your reputation. "And after explaining about that case in Oregon you and I were to investigate, you kind of kicked me out of the office with the message to be on the plane to Oregon with you the next morning and basically to get lost and leave you alone. This is all true, isn't it?" "All true, can't deny a thing ...", he sighed and smiled. So, even then she'd been able to look right through him. And he'd always prided himself on being hard to read ... "Anyway, when I came home that evening I called a friend of mine who had also been transferred from Quantico to HQ. She was a colleague of mine, she taught at the Academy as well and we'd both heard we'd been transferred. We weren't particularly good friends, but every now and then we ate lunch together and sometimes we called on the phone to catch up with the gossip and what the latest developments regarding the love-life of our colleagues were etc. etc. Well, we had agreed that I'd call her on the evening of our first day in the new jobs, to discuss how the agents we'd been teamed up with turned out to be. And also of course whether they were handsome, single and things like that. In short: worth our while ..." "Was I ?" he asked. "You were cute, yes, and single. But at the time I definitely didn't think you worth a penny!" He laughed. "But okay, so I called her and asked her to tell me all. Well, agent Jenners was alright, she said, not handsome, but he was married so that didn't really matter anymore. He was nice and friendly and generally she thought they'd be able to work together just fine. "So then she asked me who I'd been teamed up with. I have to admit I wasn't overly happy to confess it to her, but I had to, so I told her I'd become agent Fox Mulder's partner. And her laugh wasn't a very sympathetic one either actually ..." "Wonder why?" he murmured. "I've always tried to be such a good boy ..." "Yeah, right!" she commented. Not even! "But alright. I said, yes that's him. 'Spooky' Mulder. I didn't care about you being called 'spooky', in fact I thought exactly the same at the time. But then she said, 'Well, I guess that makes you ... Mrs Spooky then'. I think I've never before or since ended a phone-call as quickly as that one. I was absolutely furious! Calling me 'Mrs Spooky'!" She smiled. "I was silly then." "No", he said. "You were just like the others and I can't blame you. I was crazy then. I think I'll have to thank you for putting my two feet back on the earth again, even though I'll never lose my reputation of being 'spooky' in my life. And I don't think you'll lose yours either." "Well, Mulder, then maybe we ought to do something about that, shouldn't we? You know, I wonder ..." "What?" She turned around in his arms so that she could look him in the eyes. She took a deep breath and looked him straight in the eyes. "I just wonder, Mulder, if ... if you'd let me become 'Mrs Spooky' for real? Fox Mulder, will you be my husband?" He was silent. He was perplexed. "What, Scully?" he managed to say. "Will you marry me, Mulder? Say yes, please! Say you'll marry me!" His face broke into a beautiful, radiant smile. He took her in his arms and laughed. "Of course I will marry you, Scully!" he said. "With all my heart!" She swallowed as realisation of what she'd just asked him and what he'd just answered dawned. "You really do want to marry me then, don't you ...", she said softly and she felt herself alarmingly close to crying like a baby. "Oh, Mulder ..." This was all she could say before she had to bury her face against his shoulder and cried. He pressed her against him, held her close and smiled. No, he didn't smile, he laughed. And smiled. And cried. It was the most extraordinary experience. She lifted her face from his shoulder and looked at him. His whole face, his whole body was just beaming with happiness. She laughed, they both laughed as they fell in each other's arms, not believing what had just happened. Then they stopped laughing and looked at each other. Very slowly they let their lips approach the other's, very slowly as if they wanted to prolong this moment of intense love and longing. But as they finally found each other, it was as if a lightning bolt had struck them. They couldn't stop. Not in any way. Finally Scully found herself fighting for air and she reluctantly dragged herself back to reality. Despite his protests she let him go. "Mulder ..." "Oh come on, Scully. Don't stop ..." "Mulder! There's something I want to give you." "Is not important ..." he muttered. He still had his eyes closed. "Mulder, it is!" "No, it isn't. You've just given me your heart. That's all I want ..." "Mm, good answer, but still ... wake up!" "You're terrible, you know that?" "Yep, I know I am. And you just decided you're going to marry me ..." "Oh, I am. Definitely!" "Mulder ..." "Okay, okay ..." He opened his eyes and looked at her. She had something in her hand. "By the way", he said. "You know it's not really traditional for the woman to ask the man." "Traditional, we? Ha!" She kissed the tip of his nose, causing him to wrinkle. "We've never been traditional, you can ask our colleagues!" He smiled. Then he became serious as she took the object she had in her hand and showed it to him. She took a deep breath. Oh God, she was going to cry! She couldn't believe it! "Usually the man buys the woman a ring, but ... well, I didn't want to buy you a ring, I ... I wanted to buy you something that would prove how ... how much you really mean to me and ..." she wiped away a few tears. Mulder held his breath. "... well, it isn't much, but when I saw it, I just knew this was what I should give you. I ..." She couldn't speak anymore, but showed him what she had in her hand. It was a gold locket. She looked at him, anxiously awaiting his reaction. She wasn't disappointed. His fingers trembled as he took the little jewel out of her hand. He looked at it. It had his and her initials on the top. He looked at her as he opened it. "Oh, Dana, this is ... oh, my God, Scully!" he gasped as he saw the little photo inside. It was Samantha. "Your mother sent it to me, Mulder. She had recently found the photo in a box of family pictures and she wrote that you'd never seen it before. So, I had a locket made for it ..." She felt tears in her eyes. "So you ... you could always wear it, Mulder. Keep her close to your heart and ... and when you'd ever lose faith in your goal you'd ... know what we're doing it all for ... and ..." She saw tears running down his face and she threw herself in his arms, crying uncontrollably. "You're the best thing that ever happened to me, Dana. I ..." "Why do you call me Dana?" she interrupted him. "I'm Scully to you!" She wiped the tears from her face. "Well, soon you won't be. You will be Mrs Mulder." She felt a delicious tingling in her stomach at the idea of becoming Mrs Mulder, but still, it didn't sound right for him to use her given name. "Yes, I will and if you don't know it already, I'm delighted about that, but ..." "But what?" "Promise me to call me Scully, even after our marriage. I'll be Dana to the rest of the world, just as you'll be Fox, but to me ... to me you'll be Mulder for the rest of your and my life. Promise me to call me Scully. Please, Mulder?" "Actually, I'm glad you're asking, because Dana just doesn't sound right ...", he grinned and kissed her quickly. "Right ..." she managed to say before all words were cut off by his kiss. And as she felt herself fly away in ecstacy she knew she must be the happiest woman on earth. Those bastards of the consortium had thought she'd be their ally to destroy Fox Mulder ... She laughed inwardly at the sheer stupidity of their ideas. But what did she care about them? She was to be with Mulder for the rest of her life! And as she felt his hands slowly exploring her body, undoing the zipper of her dress, she knew she'd finally reached paradise. The End Kirsten Kerkhof The Netherlands, 1997 NOTE: My very first NC-17 story, caused by a bet gone beyond control. It was written in 1997 when Samantha was still a mystery and pregnancy for Scully wasn't as unlikely as it is now. Sorry ...