Title: A Nice Little Trip to the Forest

Author: Andrea

Rating: PG

Category: MSR, S, Scully POV

Spoilers: Big time, through season six
and BTW season seven hasn't happened

Disclaimer: If CC knew what he was doing...oh
right, they are his after all...never mind

Archiving: Please

Feedback: Why do you make me beg?
ardywyn@ hotmail.com

****************************************************************

Scully raised her trademark eyebrow at Mulder when he walked into
the office and closed the door behind him.

"Forced vacation, two weeks, starting next Monday," he answered
her.

She sighed, "I still don't understand why this is such a hardship,
Mulder, I love my vacations."

"You have family to visit, places you want to see, things you want
to do. I don't."

"Surely there is some place you want to go; something you would
like to do or see?"

"Not alone."

"Being alone doesn't mean being lonely, Mulder."

"Not to you Scully...it does to me. Why do you think I'm here all
the time? Dropping in on you? Why do you think my TV is on all
the time?"

Scully thought her heart might break. Blinking hard to fight back
her tears, she took a deep breath.

"Then do something where you won't be alone. Go on a cruise, book
a tour with a tour group, you could visit haunted castles in
Europe..."

Mulder wasn't buying it.

"Disneyworld?"

"Rides make me puke."

"Club Med?" Scully knew she was grasping at straws.

Mulder just snorted.

Deciding to another tactic, Scully took another deep breath.

"Okay, if someone went with you, where would you like to go?"

"Let me think," he said.

Leaning back in his chair, he put his feet on his desk and his
hands behind his head. Scully's heart swelled. He had his glasses
on, his sleeves rolled up and was looking at the ceiling. She
loved it when he did that. She tried to slow her breathing. He
turned his gaze on her.

"You know what I'd really like to do, Scully?"

She shook her head, afraid if she spoke her voice might betray
her.

"I'd like to go camping...hike in somewhere and rough it for two
weeks."

A big grin spread over her face.

"That sounds like a great idea, Mulder. Why don't you?"

"Not alone, Scully. I'd go crazy if I spent two weeks alone."

She thought for a moment, "Take the gunmen," she suggested.

"I'd go crazy if I spent two weeks with any or all of the
gunmen."

She laughed out loud, "Is there anyone you could be alone with
for two weeks who wouldn't drive you crazy?"

"Only one person I can think of."

"There you go."

"She wouldn't agree to come with me."

Scully's heart fell. She had suspected that Mulder might be in
love with 'someone else'. She knew that she didn't have any real
claim on him, but that didn't make it hurt any less.

"You never know until you ask," she tried to say brightly,
covering her true feelings.

"You think?"

Scully cocked her head, "She might surprise you, Mulder. Maybe
she's been waiting for you to invite her somewhere. You never
know."

Mulder thought about this for a while. Then he took a deep
breath. "Okay, Scully! You talked me into it."

He stood up, put on his suit jacket on and strode out of the
office. Scully felt a lump growing in her throat. She would not
cry, not at the office. She could wait until she got home.
So she bit her lip instead. She jumped when her cell phone
rang. She cleared her throat before she answered.

"Scully."

"It's me."

"Mulder! Where are you? You've only been out of the office for
thirty seconds. Have you chickened out already?"

"No. I'm in the men's room."

"Well?"

"Well, what?" he asked quietly.

"Why did you call, Mulder? Did you need some words of
encouragement?"

"Yes, please."

She couldn't believe he was asking her to do this. He was totally
clueless.

"Look, Mulder, I don't know why you doubt yourself. You are smart.
You're funny, although a lot less often than you think. You're
good looking. There are lots of women who would love to have you
ask them out. Probably not all of them would like to go camping,
but..."

"You really think so, Scully?"

"That lots of women would like to have you ask them on date? Yes,
I do."

"No, I meant do you really think I'm good looking?"

She felt her cheeks flushing.

"Yes, I really think so...and I have heard other women talking,
too, Mulder."

"So, you think I should just go ahead and ask?"

"What's the worst thing that could happen?" she asked.

"She could laugh at me."

"Look Mulder I can't hold your hand. You have to do this by
yourself. And if she laughs when you ask her, make sure that
she's not actually laughing with you before skulking off, 
okay?"

"Okay."

Pressing end on her phone, she set it back down on her desk.
Sometimes he made this unbearably hard for her. She jumped
when her cell phone rang again.

"Scully," she answered, sounding defeated.

"Hi, it's me again."

"What now, Mulder?"

"I just have one more question, Scully."

"Go ahead."

She steeled herself against the next question, fearing it would
pierce her heart.

"Wanna go camping with me for a couple of weeks?"

She laughed again and then sighed, "Thank you, I needed that."

"You're welcome. Can I ask one more question, please?"

"Fire away!"

"Were you laughing with me or at me?"

Scully caught her breath.

"Were you just practicing on me or were you really asking?"

"I was really asking."

"Okay, now it's my turn to ask a question, Mulder."

"Okay."

"Why the hell are we having this conversation over the phone?"

"I didn't want to see your face when you turned me down."

"Just get your sorry ass back here so we can talk about this like
grown ups, okay?"

"Kay."

Scully pushed end on her phone and put it down on her desk. And
men said women were hard to understand. She was still shaking her
head when Mulder slouched back into the office. She laughed again
when she saw him.

"I don't think I'll ever understand you, Mulder. How could you
possibly be afraid to ask me that? Surely you realize that if I
say no, it is with good reason, not because I don't like you or I
don't want to spend time with you."

"So, you *are* saying no? I thought you might enjoy a nice trip
to the forest."

Scully couldn't help laughing again, but her expression quickly
turned serious.

"Mulder, I don't have two weeks of vacation left. I only have a
couple of days left and I already have plans for them."

He nodded, eyes downcast, looking totally defeated. She hated
seeing him like this.

"I wish I could go. I love camping."

"Even roughing it?"

"It's the only way to go. Otherwise, you might as well stay
home."

Mulder sighed, "God, I wish you could come, Scully. It would be
great, the mountains, the fresh air, hiking, fishing."

She sighed as well. She would truly love to go camping with
Mulder.

"We could plan a trip for next year, Mulder. I could save my
vacation."

He nodded. He was racking his brain, trying to figure out a way
that she could come with him.

"Leave without pay? I could make up for your lost pay," it was
his turn to grasp at straws.

"Jesus, Mulder. You do not need to pay me to go on vacation
with you. I can easily afford the two weeks without pay. I just
don't think there's a hope in hell of Skinner approving it!"

"Never know until you ask," he grinned at her.

She couldn't help laughing again.

Walking over to his desk, she picked up the phone and dialed
Skinner's extension.

"Hi, Kimberly, it's Dana. I was wondering if I could get in to
see him today?"

"Let me look at his schedule, um, how about 3 o'clock?" Kimberly
suggested.

"Sure 3 o'clock is great."

"Will Agent Mulder be coming as well?" Kimberly asked.

"No, just me."

"Okay, see you at 3."

"Thanks a lot Kimberly," she said and hung up the phone.

Mulder looked at his watch. It wasn't even 10 yet.

For the next three and a half hours, Mulder nearly drove her
crazy. He paced. First he convinced himself that Skinner would
agree and made all kinds of plans. The next instant he was sure
Skinner would say no and he would mope around the office. Then he
thought up ways she could get Skinner to agree.

"You know what Mulder?" Scully finally said at 1:30, "If you
don't stop this, I am going to cancel my appointment with
Skinner. I certainly couldn't handle two weeks of this."

"Sorry," he mumbled and he sat down at his desk and turned on
his computer.

There was relative quiet for a few minutes, with the exception of
Mulder's mouse clicking and his hunting and pecking. Scully
finally had a chance to process some of what had happened that
day.

"You don't think that being alone with me for two weeks would
drive you crazy?" she broke the silence.

"You've had 6 years and you haven't succeeded yet. Close, but not
quite," he grinned at her.

"I think that's the nicest thing you've ever said to me,
Mulder," she grinned back at him.

She went back to the file she was working on. At quarter to
three Scully stood up and smiled at Mulder.

"Would you like me to call you as soon as I know?"

"Please."

Scully stopped at the ladies room before heading to Skinner's
office. She checked herself in the mirror before she left. She
didn't look desperate. She strongly doubted that Skinner would
agree to give her two weeks off without pay just to go camping
with Mulder; but she still hoped with all her heart that he would.

She arrived in Skinner's at five to three, characteristically
early. Kimberly announced Scully's presence to Skinner. He popped
his head out of the door about thirty seconds later.

"Come in, Agent Scully."

She went in and sat in her usual chair. Skinner closed the door
behind her, walked over and sat in his chair.

"What is it Agent Scully? This looks serious."

She smiled, "Sorry, sir, no it's not serious. I just need a
really big favour, that's all."

"I'll do my best, you know that. What do you need?"

"I'd like to request two weeks off without pay. I don't have any
vacation left."

"Is there a family emergency Agent Scully? You're not ill are
you?"

"No, sir, it's nothing like that. Like I said it's not serious.
I wouldn't be so afraid to ask if it were."

"Okay. You've certainly piqued my curiosity, Agent Scully. What
do you need the two weeks for?"

She was looking at her lap, "To go camping with Mulder."

When he didn't answer she looked up at him. She was surprised
to see an amused look on his face.

"Camping...with Mulder?"

Scully started to talk quickly.

"You are the one who told Mulder he had to take the two weeks
off. I tried to talk him into some other kind of vacation, but
he said he didn't have anyone to go with. Then he mentioned
camping. I thought that sounded like a great idea, but he didn't
want to go alone. He wants me to go with him. You know it would
really be good for him, sir."

Skinner's eyes got wider as she spoke.

"Is that you're professional opinion Dr. Scully?" he grinned.

"And personal, as his friend, he won't go without me."

"He really needs the time off...to get his head out of the work.
I could call it an assignment, that way you wouldn't lose any
pay."

"I'm certainly not going to do this on bureau time. Do you know
how long it took me to win Mulder's trust? If he ever found out
that I was allowed to go because it was considered an assignment,
no matter how much we tried to convince him that it was just an
excuse, he would never trust me again. I couldn't live with that
hanging over me."

"I could call it stress leave," he offered.

She laughed, "That shouldn't be too hard to sell."

"I'll even make it my request. That way you won't have to sign
it."

Taking a deep breath, she let it out slowly.

"Thank you, sir," she stood up and shook his hand.

"Anything I can do to help. So, that's two weeks starting next
Monday?"

"Yes, sir."

"Okay, I'll take care of it."

"Thank you again, sir," she said as she walked to the door.

"You're welcome, Agent Scully."

Stepping into the outer office, she closed the door behind her.
After taking a couple of deep breaths she thanked Kimberly
again and headed into the hallway. When she thought she was
out of earshot of anyone who cared she called Mulder.

"Mulder," he answered the phone on the first ring.

"He said yes."

She had to pull the phone away from her ear as Mulder whooped
loudly.

"How'd you talk him into it?"

"Actually, it was easier than I thought it would be. He's going
to call it stress leave."

"Is that okay with you, Scully?" Mulder sounded surprised.

"Yeah, I think I could really use a nice little trip to the
forest."

This time it was Mulder who laughed out loud.




When Scully closed the office door behind her, Mulder swooped
over, picked her up, spun her around, set her down again and then
gave her a big kiss. It was a friendly kiss, even chaste, but it
was the first time they had actually kissed on the mouth. Mulder
didn't seem to notice, but Scully felt a little dizzy. Mulder put
a hand on her shoulder to steady her.

"Sorry, Scully, I didn't mean to spin you around so fast."

She blinked hard a few times and took a couple of deep breaths.

"You okay now? We've got a lot of planning to do."

She nodded, "I'm fine now. Did you already have a place in mind?"

"We don't have to go where I want to go."

"This is your show, Mulder. I'm just along for the ride."

All the excitement drained out of Mulder's face.

"Let's just forget it. I thought you really wanted to come."

Her cheeks were ablaze instantly, "Forget it?! Jesus Christ,
Mulder! Do you really think I would talk Skinner into putting me
on stress leave if didn't really want to come?" Her hands were
planted on her hips, her eyes burned with blue fire.

"I'm sorry, Scully, but when you said you were just along for the
ride..."

"I guess it was a bad choice of words, Mulder," she admitted.
"What I meant was that this is your idea, what you want to do. I
will be happy with whatever you decide."

"That'd be a first," he said, trying to lighten up the mood.

"Sometimes I can just kick back and enjoy letting someone else
be in control, you know, Mulder," she defended herself.
"Sometimes it's fun just to be along for the ride when the
other person is getting so much pure joy out of it."

"You know, Scully, I think that's the nicest thing you've ever
said to me."

Mulder grinned when she laughed again, apparently pleased at the
success he was having at making her laugh today

"So, where did you have in mind, Mulder?"

"Actually, not far, a friend of mine told me about a mountain
meadow in Shenandoah National Park. It's a short drive, a little
over an hour."

"But quite the hike in, when we get there. It'll probably take
two days of good hiking, but that's not a problem, Mulder. I love
to hike and it's a good thing, too, with all the traipsing around
I do with you."

"I really hate to disappoint you Scully, but this friend that I
mentioned, well he's an old friend of mine from back on the
Vineyard and now he works for the park service. Last time I ran
into him, a couple of months ago, I talked about doing something
like this. He told me to call him and he would arrange to have me
driven up most of the way. He said it would be another couple of
hours hike after that, maybe four for tenderfeet."

Scully arched an eyebrow, "I guess it's good to have friends in
high places." She smiled as she saw her little joke sink in. "Can
I ask you one question, Mulder?"

"Sure."

"You seem a little touchy, so please don't take this the wrong
way."

"I'm sorry, Scully. I guess I'm just really wound up. Fire away,
I'll be gentle."

"Is Shenandoah National Park some kind of hub of UFO sightings
or anything?"

"Cross my heart Scully, this is not work related. Work stays
here. But that doesn't necessarily mean we won't have a close
encounter while we're there," he waggled his eyebrows at her.

Secretly she hoped that on this trip he would finally make good
on all of his innuendo and they *would* have a close encounter,
but she just smiled, "Okay, Mulder, just checking."

"Just a nice trip to the forest, this time...I promise. I owe you
one."

"You owe me a helluva lot more than one," she laughed.

He called his friend and made arrangements to have someone meet
them at ten o'clock on Saturday morning. The ranger station
was located near the southeast end of the park.

"So do you have any equipment, Scully?" he asked when he got off
the phone.

She shook her head, "I haven't been camping since my undergrad
days, Mulder, and even then all I had was a sleeping bag and
a backpack. Everyone else had the equipment. I think my brothers
have most of the equipment from when we were kids, but I have no
idea what condition it would be in. What about you?"

"I did, but I lost it."

"You lost it?"

"Remember when we went to Area 51?"

She nodded.

"Well, when we came back, someone had cleared out all the stuff
that I had stored in my bedroom and replaced it with bedroom
furniture."

She looked at him in total disbelief.

"I'm serious, Scully. I thought it was the Gunmen, but to this
day they still deny it. Anyway, all of my equipment was in there
and I haven't replaced it yet."

"Friends in the furniture business, too?"

"Friends with godawful taste. That's why I haven't shown you. I
didn't want you to think that I would pick out that kind of
furniture myself."

"I guess we're going shopping then, Mulder."

He looked at his watch, "It's quarter to four, wanna go now?
Store's probably open until six."

Smiling, she grabbed her purse and briefcase, and they headed to
the car.

Arriving at the outdoors store a half hour later, they were
surprised to find all of the camping equipment on sale.

"Probably because it's the last week of September," she pointed
out.

"Ooo, we'll be able to buy the really good stuff, Scully."

She smiled. He looked like a kid in a candy store. Being along for
the ride could be heaven sometimes.

"How big do you think the tent should be, Scully?" They were
looking at the displays.

"Well, fairly big I guess. If it rains we are going to want some
space to stretch out in."

"You could stretch out in a pup tent, Scully."

Holding nothing back, she rewarded with a punch on the arm for his
comment. He rubbed his bicep while they inspected the various tents.

"Do you want one with rooms, Scully?"

She shook her head, "Not for my benefit. I camped in a tent with
my brothers, Mulder. If I have to change while you're in the tent,
I can do it my sleeping bag. Besides, from my experience of
camping in September, it'll be so cold I'll want to change in my
sleeping bag. I don't think rooms would count as roughing it,
anyway."

They quickly agreed on one that was called a ten-person tent that
looked like it might comfortably sleep half that. It would give
them room to move around a bit if they had to. Mulder also picked
out a two-person tent to keep their supplies in. Both tents were
geodesic. Then they started picking out everything they thought
they might need including sleeping bags, air mattresses,
backpacks, a cooking grill, various pieces of cooking equipment,
two collapsible fishing poles and some tackle, a battery operated
lantern, a small shovel, a saw, and an axe. They also picked out
quite a few nifty things that they probably didn't need, but that
they agreed looked really cool.

"Mulder," Scully grinned, "We're really starting to stretch
roughing it."

"You think we've gone too far?" He looked at the growing mound.

She grinned, "We're teetering on the brink."

"Okay, let's stop here. We can go through everything tonight
to see if we've forgotten anything."

The next three days flew by in a flurry of work and packing and
more shopping. Scully went shopping for some warmer clothes and
they shopped together for food on Thursday night. They bought
mostly packaged food like macaroni and cheese, dried soup, dried
pasta and sauces, dried rice side dishes and some boil in the
bag meals that Scully looked skeptical about. Mulder assured
her they were delicious.

"Besides, I'm gonna catch lots of fish for us."

Scully was quite amused by this thought, but she tried to keep it
to herself. They bought a few canned things; not many, they would
be too heavy for hiking in. Scully bought the ingredients for
trail mix. Mulder bought what he hoped would be enough seeds to
last him for two weeks.

Scully had made up a menu plan to make sure they had enough food.
When they were finished, by her estimate they had more than enough,
and if Mulder really did catch fish, they would probably be hauling
food out. Things like garbage bags and dish detergent they had at
home, although Scully insisted on buying one-ply toilet paper
because it broke down more quickly. Scully would supply the first
aid kit, and flashlights wouldn't be a problem.

Friday at work they set out their limits.

"I say we only back out due to illness or injury," Scully
suggested, and Mulder nodded in agreement.

"No guns or cell phones either, okay?" she added.

"No guns?" It was Mulder's turn to sound skeptical.

"You bought a hunting knife, didn't you?"

"Okay, you're right, no guns."

After a brief silence Mulder spoke up, "Scully, why don't you
sleep at my place tonight? We'll get a bit of extra sleep that
way. I figure we should be on the road by eight."

"Sure, I'll pack up my stuff and be at your place about eight,"
she concurred.

Scully arrived right when she said she would be there. All of the
food and camping equipment was at Mulder's. Scully had just packed
her clothes at home. As it turned out they didn't have enough room
for all the food that they had bought, no matter how many times
they packed and repacked it wouldn't fit.

"Why don't we take out the bulky stuff like the bread and
marshmallows and put them in shopping bags. I'm sure we could
each manage one bag on a two or three hour hike," Scully
suggested.

"Right! We'll keep the heavy stuff on our backs," Mulder agreed
quickly.

After they separating the food that way, they had plenty of room.
It was midnight when they finally finished packing. Mulder was
sitting on the couch surveying their handiwork.

"It's getting late Mulder, I'm gonna hit the hay," Scully told
him and then headed toward the bathroom. When she came out Mulder
had the TV on.

"This isn't too loud, is it?" he asked when he saw her.

She shook her head and smiled, "No, but I am so keyed up that I
think I'm going to have a hard time getting to sleep."

Mulder grinned back at her, "I know, me too. What time did you
want to get up?"

"Umm...six-thirty? I'd like to have a shower, make a big breakfast
and some sandwiches for the hike."

"Oh, is that *all* you have planned?" he laughed. "What can I do?"

"The dishes, while I make the sandwiches."

"Okay, goodnight, Scully."

She smiled at him, "Goodnight, Mulder."

She was halfway to the bedroom before she realized that she had
kissed him goodnight. All she had to do was keep walking to the
bedroom, and he would never suspect that her knees had turned to
jelly.  Scully leaned up against the bedroom door when she closed
it. What the hell had she been thinking? Not much apparently. What
must he be thinking? After getting into bed she tossed and turned
for a long time before she finally fell asleep.



Scully woke up suddenly. Mulder was shaking her shoulder.

"It's seven o'clock, Scully. I'm sorry, I slept through my alarm.
I've already showered. While you shower, I'll make pancakes."

She nodded, still groggy from sleep.

"Good morning, Scully," he grinned and leaned over to kiss her.

He left her sitting in stunned silence, not being quite sure how
to take what had just happened. Was he just teasing her about
last night or were they taking their relationship to a higher
level?

When she emerged from the bathroom, she could smell pancakes,
bacon and coffee. Sitting at the table, she watched him move
around the kitchen. She had never actually seen him use it
before.

"This is great, Mulder. I didn't know you could cook."

"Thanks. I can cook, I guess, I just don't usually. I can't be
bothered."

"You should bother, this is really good."

"Is this your way of getting me to do all the cooking when
we're camping?" he said with mock suspicion.

"Damn! I didn't think you were bright enough to figure it out,"
she played along, enjoying how easy things were between them.

Sometimes she wondered if it really mattered if things went any
further. If this was all she could have, she could probably be
happy. Well, maybe if he would just stop teasing her with his
constant sexual banter.

They finished breakfast quickly and Mulder did the dishes while
Scully made sandwiches. It was ten to eight when they picked up
their respective packs and shopping bags and headed out of the
door. Mulder thought her pack might be too heavy, but Scully
insisted that it was fine.

"Did you want to stop for a coffee?" he asked once they were
underway.

"Not for me, but you go ahead if you like. If I had a coffee now,
I know that sometime in the middle of the hike I'd be looking for
some place to pee."

"I knew there was a reason that I like having you around. I never
think of things like that."

"I'll take that as a compliment, Mulder," she looked at him
sideways, a small smile on her lips.

"What else would you take it as?" He looked confused.

"A dig at how I'm too organized."

"You are perfectly organized. If we were both like me, our lives
would be a total disaster."

"And if we were both like me?"

"We would have driven each other crazy by now."

They arrived at the ranger station forty-five minutes early.
Apparently that was fine with the ranger who was going to
drive them up the mountain. He explained that it suited his
schedule to get his ferrying over with early. Looking at the
packs that they put in the box of the truck, he turned and
looked at Scully.

"Are you carrying one of those packs, ma'am?" He asked.

"I am," Scully answered nonchalantly.

Ignoring the look of disbelief that the ranger shot Mulder, she
climbed into the cab of truck. In an hour he dropped them off and
pointed them in the right direction.

"The trail to the meadow is marked with orange tape every thirty
feet or so. It's really easy to follow. So? We should expect to
see you folks two weeks from tomorrow?"

"Yup, we'll hike it all the way out to the ranger station." Mulder
informed him.

"It's certainly a lot easier going downhill. If you leave bright
and early on Saturday, you could probably make it out before dark."

"Thanks a lot for all your help," Scully smiled.

He just nodded in reply and watched in amazement as she hoisted
her pack, because it was nearly as big as she was.

After the ranger drove off, they headed up the mountain in the
direction that he pointed. It was fairly steep and rocky but
they had both worn good hiking boots and they seemed to be
making good progress.

"Let me know if you need to take a break," Mulder said after
about an hour.

"Okay, you too." She was breathing fairly hard, her face felt hot,
and she was wet with sweat but she would never ask him to stop.
After an hour Mulder finally stopped.

"I could use some water," he told her.

"Me too," she admitted.

They stopped for about five minutes while they took long drinks
from their canteens. Once they started going again, Mulder spoke
without turning around.

"You know I wouldn't think less of you if you needed to stop for
a while, Scully."

"We just got going again, Mulder!"

"I meant in general."

"Oh. Well, I'm fine. I'm just getting warmed up. Oh, and
Mulder..."

"Yeah?"

"I wouldn't think less of you, either."

Shortly they saw the trees starting to thin ahead of them.

"I hope that's it," Scully sighed, "I've been switching this damn
bag from hand to hand, but they are both really sore. I should
have worn gloves."

"I know; me, too," Mulder told her.

Sure enough in about ten minutes the trees gave way to a meadow
of knee high grass. They were at the northernmost end of the
meadow that was about two acres in size. It was almost flat and
they could see a stream running through it near the southernmost
end of the meadow. Rising up to the west was the final third of
the mountain, dotted with white pine trees.

"Mulder, it's gorgeous!" Scully sighed.

He smiled at her, "It is beautiful, isn't it?"

They stood just admiring it for another couple of minutes.
Mulder broke the easy silence.

"Should we make camp down near the stream?"

"Sounds good, but, can we eat before we set up camp, I'm
starving!"

"We can eat right here if you like."

"No way, because once I take this pack off, it's staying off!"
She told him with conviction.


"Alright," he laughed.

In ten minutes they had their packs off and they were sitting in
the early fall sunshine, eating the sandwiches that Scully had
made that morning. After she took a drink from her canteen, she
sighed contentedly.

"Lets get the tents set up, Mulder. After we do that I'd like to
take a bath in the stream. I don't know why I bothered to shower
this morning. I must reek."

"You never reek, Scully. Well, there was that one time..." he was
grinning.

"You don't need to remind me, Mulder. I remember only too well,"
she smiled thinly at him.

The tents went up quickly. In no time, they had both tents up,
their air mattresses blown up and their gear stowed.

"You know, Scully, I didn't think you would use an air mattress
if you liked to rough it so much," he said, with more than just a
hint of sarcasm.

"I might be able to sleep a night or two without one, but not
two weeks. Remember a tired Scully is a grumpy Scully," she
ignored his sarcasm.

"Kay, I don't like grumpy Scully as much as playful Scully," he
grinned unabashedly at her.

"Well right now I'm smelly Scully...so I'm gonna go take that
bath. I hope the stream isn't too cold."

"Don't count on it," he told her. "I'll go collect some fire wood,
while you take your bath."

"Oh, I didn't mean to leave you with all of work. Why don't we
both do it?"

That's okay, Scully. Go have your bath. You can collect the fire
wood tomorrow."

"Okay," she agreed.

Grabbing her towel, clean clothes, soap, shampoo and a pot to
rinse her hair, she headed towards the stream. She wondered if
Mulder would try to peek, she certainly hoped so. By the time she
was undressing she could hear the saw in the woods. She dipped her
toe into the stream. Mulder was right. It was freezing. Well, the
sun was warm; she would warm up quickly. The hardest part was her
hair. Pouring that cold water over her head was torture. Maybe next
time she washed her hair, she would warm some water over the fire.

When Scully came back to the tents, she saw Mulder heading over
from the other side of the clearing, with an armload of wood. He
dropped the wood about ten feet from the tents.

"I see the water was as cold as I thought it would be," he grinned,
looking openly at her chest.

Scully looked down. Her nipples were standing out proudly against
her t-shirt. She was glad that Mulder seemed to be appreciating
her decision not to put a bra on. Deciding not to let on, she
arched an eyebrow at him.

"The cold water will have exactly the opposite effect on your
anatomy."

"Just like a cold shower?" he asked playfully.

"That's actually a myth, Mulder. Cold showers only serve to 
increase one's sex drive."

"And you still trust me to have a bath in the stream?" he laughed.

"I trust you completely," she was very serious.

"Well...no peeking," he warned.

"Turn about is fair play Mulder," and she laughed at the stunned
look on his face, "Some Indian guide you are! I heard you crashing
through the trees towards me, then you stopped for a minute and
then crashed away from me again."

"I really didn't mean to. I just looked up and there you were, and
I...I'm sorry, Scully," he stammered.

"I know you didn't purposely hide in the bushes to spy and well,
it was sort of flattering that you stopped to watch for a minute,"
she admitted, "Now go and have your bath, because you are starting
to get ripe."

He grinned, sheepishly, "Okay, you can peek too, if you like."

"I didn't think you'd want me to when the cold water was having
its affect on you," she said, teasing him.

"Oh, right, cancel that invitation."

"When you come back I'd like to dig our latrine. Did you see any
promising locales while you were tromping around out there?"

"Yes, actually, I did. Let's do that first, I don't want to get ripe
again so soon after my bath."

"Okay, I'll try to stay upwind," she made a face.

"Do I really smell that bad?"

"Sheesh, Mulder, you really need to learn how to be teased. I
learned how to ignore my brothers a long time ago."

"Is that why you always ignore my jokes?"

"Yes, Mulder, that's why I always ignore your jokes."

Mulder showed her the place he'd seen, and he was right. It was
perfect. He quickly dug a hole.

"Hey! Bait!" he said picking some worms out of the soil. "We can
go fishing later. What can I keep them in?"

"Give them to me, I'll find something," Scully held out her hand.

Mulder put six big dew worms into her hand.

"After your bath we could walk upstream and see if there is a
small pool or at least a bend where the water slows down a bit,"
she suggested.

"You know how to fish, Scully?"

"I thought you knew I was a tomboy. Just trying to keep up with
my brothers I guess."

"If you'd been trying to keep up with Melissa you would have been
a lot flakier," he laughed, as they headed back to the campsite.

"And I never would have been assigned to the X-files," she pointed
out.

He shuddered, "I don't even want to think about that."

"No," she agreed, "It doesn't do any good to waste your life
wondering about 'what if'."

They were quiet as they walked back to the meadow.

"Jesus, Scully has anything good come out of your assignment to
the X-files?" Mulder asked when they were almost back to the
campsite.

"We have one of the best case solution rates in the bureau,
Mulder. I think that's good, don't you?"

"I meant personally."

She didn't miss a beat, "I met my best friend."

"Jesus, Scully!" He turned to her and pulled her into a hug.

"It doesn't seem like much compared to what you've lost," he said
as he kissed the top of her head.

"Mulder," she said, her voice muffled because he was holding her
so tightly.

"Mmm hmm?"

"You're squashing the worms."

He started to laugh as he released her from the hug.

"Mulder, I don't have a balance sheet set up keeping track of my
wins  and losses. This is the road I have chosen. Besides, aren't
you a fatalist? Wouldn't all of this have happened to me anyway?
What I have been through has made me who I am. I think my fight with
cancer has made me a better person. I appreciate every day I have
now. My ability to have children was taken away from me, and then
I was given Emily. She may have been a fleeting gift, Mulder, but
she was the best gift I was ever given."

Mulder reached up and brushed the tears off her cheeks with his
thumbs. She cleared her throat and forced a smile.

"You see what happens when you think about 'what if'? I'd rather
enjoy the here and now, and look forward to what might be."

"I'm sorry I dredged that stuff up, Scully."

"It's never very far below the surface, Mulder. Would you please
hurry up and have your bath, because right now I'm looking
forward to going fishing with you."

He smiled, took her face in his hands and kissed her on the
forehead. She pushed him away with her free hand.

"Okay, I'm going, I'm going," he laughed.

While he was at the stream, she emptied one of the plastic
shopping bags they had brought and put the worms in it. She added
another shovel full of soil and then dampened it with water from
her canteen. Then she rolled the edges of the bag down to ensure
that the worms got enough air and didn't get too hot.

After setting the worms in the shade, she collected up the fishing
rods and then put the tackle into the small haversack she had
decided to bring. Mulder walked up just as she was finishing.

"That water was frigid, Scully. I think I had a temperature
induced sex change."

She laughed, "I'm sure you'll recover nicely. We'll have a nice
warm fire later."

"If that doesn't work, can we snuggle?"

"How can I be sure if you've recovered or not? You might be just
trying to cop a feel."

"Would I do something like that?" Mulder looked offended.

"Yes."

"Well, that's true, I guess. Is there anything wrong with that?"

"Not as long as you're honest about your intentions. Are you
ready to go? I've got everything packed."

Mulder stood there speechless as Scully handed him his fishing
pole and the bag of worms.

"Are you going to bring some seeds?" She asked, ignoring how
flustered he appeared to be.

He just nodded as she headed towards the stream. Scully was
smiling to herself. She must have shocked him. She didn't think
she'd ever rendered him speechless before. She considered it quite
an accomplishment.

"How far are we going to walk?" She asked when she heard him
catching up to her.

"It's four o'clock, now. Not more than an hour, we should be back
before it gets dark, which is around seven."

"Sounds good," she said as they headed up the mountain following
the stream.

When the trail began to narrow, Mulder ended up in front of her
again. They had been climbing for about fifteen minutes, chatting
about the scenery and fishing when Mulder stopped suddenly.

"You can take the lead if you're tired of looking at my ass,
Scully."

"That's okay, I'm not tired off looking at your ass yet," she
grinned.

He raised his eyebrows in surprise, "Well, maybe I'd like to look
at your ass for a while."

"I think you're way ahead in the ass viewing department today,
Mulder."

He laughed, "Hey! You spent three hours looking at my ass on the
hike in."

"Nuh uh, your backpack covered up your ass," she pointed out.

He sighed in mock resignation, "Fine, but tomorrow we start off
even, and you have to take the lead sometimes."

"Deal," she consented.

About five minutes later Mulder stopped and turned around again.

"Are you really looking at my ass?"

"Does that bother you?" She laughed.

"Well, I had no idea that you thought my ass was worth looking
at. It makes me a little self-conscious I guess."

"When I said I thought you were good-looking, I wasn't only
referring to your face, Mulder. I meant the whole package, no pun
intended, but if makes you uncomfortable, I'll avert my eyes."

"That's okay, Scully, I don't want to ruin your fun."

"That's awfully considerate of you, Mulder," she thanked him,
dryly.

"Don't mention it," he turned and headed back up the mountain.

In another ten minutes they found exactly what they were looking
for; the ground had leveled out and there was a small
waterfall, about a ten-foot drop, that fell into a pool that was
about twenty-five feet in diameter.

"Wow, Mulder, this is idyllic," Scully sighed, looking at the
waterfall and the soft mosses surrounding the pool.

"It certainly is!" he breathed.

"It reminds me of one of those scenes from the movies where
they show lovers frolicking under the waterfall."

"I had the same thought," Mulder admitted.

"Too bad the water's so damned cold," she laughed.

"Yeah, I guess there wouldn't be too much frolicking going on
with a temperature induced sex change," Mulder agreed with her.

Scully was quiet as images of frolicking in warmer water played
in her mind.  Mulder seemed to be thinking about something too.
He broke the silence first.

"Well, let's see if any fish have managed to frolic in here,
Scully."

She smiled at him as he began to extend his collapsible fishing
pole. Opening her haversack, she retrieved the tackle and in a
couple of minutes they were sitting on the bank of the pool with
their lines in the water.

Scully got the first hit. Jerking her line to set the
hook, she began to reel it in. The fish ran on her a couple of
times but she landed it quickly. When it was close, Mulder
grabbed the line and they both turned so it was over dry land.

"Nice one, Scully!" Mulder told her as he unhooked the fish.

"Couple of pounds?"

"Yeah, I heard there were some nice brook trout in here."

"Your friend from the park service?" She enquired.

He nodded, "One more that size should be plenty for tonight,"

"Mmm, my stomach is rumbling already," Scully said, rubbing her
belly.

After putting it on a stringer, she set it back in the water to
keep it cool. Then after baiting her hook again she cast in the
direction of a log that had fallen partially into the stream.
A couple of minutes later she had another hit and landed it
quickly. This fish was much smaller and they decided to release
it.

"You're starting to embarrass me here, Scully," Mulder said when
she had her line back in the water.

"I didn't realize it was a competition," she was sincere.

"It's not a competition, I just thought...never mind."

"I'm not ruining your fun, am I Mulder?" She was still sincere.

"Will you let me clean and cook them then?" he asked.

"If that'll make you happy."

"I don't mean to be a spoiled sport. I thought that you were just
coming with me to keep me company."

"Well that and to look at your ass," she grinned.

A big grin lit up Mulder's face.

"But, I really enjoy fishing, too. I like all of this outdoors
stuff."

Just then Mulder got a hit. His fish put up more of a fight than
Scully's did. When he finally landed it, it turned out to be a
little smaller than hers, but a definite keeper.

"Since we both caught one, would you like me to help you clean
them?" she offered as they headed back down towards the meadow.

"No, that's okay. Do you want to make one of those sidedish
things?"

"Sure. Do you want pasta or rice?"

"Whatever you decide will be fine with me," he shrugged.

When they reached the campsite, Mulder headed to the stream to
clean the fish  Scully looked at her watch. It was six o'clock.
After fetching the shovel, she turned over some soil to make a
circle about a foot and a half in diameter and then stamped in
down. Then she cleared some grass from around it. She threw the
grass into the center of the circle. Breaking up some of the
smaller branches that Mulder had collected, she arranged them in
a teepee over the grass. She retrieved the matches from the supply
tent and lit the grass. She was putting the matches away when
Mulder came back with the fish.

"Much easier with matches, isn't it Scully?" he grinned at her.

"Especially when the kindling isn't soaking wet," she agreed with
him.

She got the frying pan for him and inspected his work as he put
the fish into it.

"Nice filleting Mulder," she told him.

"It's been a while," he admitted, "But I guess it's like riding a
bike, it came right back to me."

"Will you look after the fire while I get some water for the rice,
please?" she asked.

"Sure, how long will the rice take?" he asked.

"About ten minutes after the water boils. I'll cook it first,
with the lid on it should stay more than warm enough while you
cook the fish."

"Yeah, the fish cooks fast," he agreed with her.

When everything was cooked they watched the sun as it set behind
the mountains. Scully still had another piece of fish left on her
plate when she couldn't eat another bite.

"Here, Mulder," she offered it to him, "I am too full."

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"Oh, yeah," she sighed, patting her stomach.

He finished it off in a couple of bites.

"You did yourself proud, Mulder. The fish was delicious!"

"Everything tastes good when you're camping," he brushed off the
compliment.

"Why do you always sell yourself short, Mulder? The fish was
excellent."

He smiled, quite shyly for Mulder, "Thanks, Scully."

"And as your reward, I'll do the dishes," she said, taking his
plate.

"Aw, I was hoping for a kiss," he pouted.

Without missing a beat she leaned over and kissed him softly on
the mouth. This kiss lasted the longest of all of their kisses.
As she straightened up, she brushed a lock of hair off of his
forehead.

"Better?" She asked, smiling.

"Much," his voice was a little hoarse, "Does this mean I have to
do the dishes now?"

She laughed, "No, I'll do them."

She grabbed the big pot out the tent and handed it to Mulder,
"But you could fetch the water for me."

"Your wish is my command."

As he headed to the stream, Scully wondered what other surprises
this trip might hold. Mulder was back quickly with the water and
set it on the fire.

"Thanks," she smiled at him.

"No problem, I'll be back in a couple of minutes," he told her.

Taking what he needed from the tent, he headed off in the
direction of the latrine.  Scully was pleased to notice that she
wasn't the only one suffering from the effects of their last kiss.
She had a decision to make, and her heart was winning out over her
head by a long shot.

The fire heated up the water quickly and by the time Mulder came
back from washing his hands; she had already started the dishes.
Mulder grabbed a towel and together they had everything washed,
dried and put away quickly. Mulder put some more wood on the fire
and Scully sat down cross-legged and sighed.

"I think sitting by the fire is my favourite part of camping."

"Beautiful," he said, sitting down beside her.

"I know, I could watch a fire for hours," she agreed with him.

"I wasn't talking about the fire," he said softly. "I was talking
about the way the firelight looks in your eyes.

She turned to look at him. Even in the firelight the emotion in
his eyes was unmistakable. She started to say something, but
Mulder leaned in and kissed her. Leaning into the kiss, her mouth
opened immediately. When she felt his tongue run along her lips,
she moaned into his mouth. She felt hot and cold all over at the
same time. He was gently pushing her onto her back in the grass. She
had both of her hands in his hair, never letting their lips break
contact as they lay down in the grass.

She felt his hand pulling her t-shirt out of her jeans. He pushed
it up exposing her breasts to the cool night air. She moaned into
his mouth again when he began to squeeze her breast. Suddenly she
pulled out of the kiss. They were both breathing heavily.

"Mulder, before we go any further, there's something I have to
tell you," she panted.

"I know, Scully, I love you, too" he started to kiss her neck.

"God, Mulder, I love you more than you'll ever know, but that's
not what I wanted to say."

He propped himself up on his elbow and looked at her, "Well,
what then?"

"I just want you realize that if we go any further, I should
probably put in for a transfer."

He laughed, "In my mind, Scully, we crossed that bridge when you
kissed me last night."

She pulled him back down close to her, "I didn't even realize I'd
done that until I was halfway to the bedroom. I thought my knees
were going to give out on me."

"But it felt completely natural, didn't it?" he said kissing her
softly.

"Mmmm, so does this," she sighed.

"We've been skating around this for so long, Scully. Why do you
think making it official will change anything?"

"You don't think it will affect our partnership?"

"I think I'll probably get more work done if I'm not constantly
staring off into space, fantasizing about doing just this," he
smiled before he leaned in to kiss her again.

"Beyond that, Scully, I can't really see you questioning me less,
or me becoming more protective of you? Can you?" He continued to
argue his point.

"No, I guess not," she admitted.

"And we wouldn't be breaking any rules," he added.

"So, why didn't we do this sooner, Mulder?"

"I don't know, Scully. I guess our stars have finally aligned,"
he captured her mouth with his again.

As Mulder's tongue caressed hers, Scully no longer cared about what
this might do to their partnership. She would do whatever it took
to make this relationship work. And for the next two weeks, it
would be just the two of them, enjoying what was shaping up to be
a better trip to the forest than she could ever have possibly
imagined.


end


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