From: ANGELA WARD Title: "Access Denied" Author: Angela W. Rated: 17+ Category: MSR/Crossover/Actual XF-type case Summary: Mulder and Scully investigate a case of computer-generated killings in Texas. Timespan/Relationship Status/Spoilers: Mulder and Scully are married in this; I got tired of waiting for Chris Carter to get them together and just did it myself! If you've read any of my other fanfic, which is more linear than most people's, this one comes after "Movie Night". As far as the real show, I guess I'd put the timespan between Seasons Six and Seven, since that is when this is being written. Small spoilers for "Kill Switch" , "The End" and "Detour". Disclaimer: The characters of Fox Mulder, Dana Scully and anybody else related to "The X-Files" are the property of Chris Carter and 1013 Productions. The characters of Michelle and Austin James are the property of Isaac Asimov. Archive: Feel free to archive anywhere! Feedback: Only if it's nice! If you don't like the idea of Mulder and Scully being married and doing married-type things, don't read it! Note: The characters of Michelle and Austin are from a VERY shortlived TV show of the late 80s called "Probe". I may have been the only person who ever watched it! They weren't married in the show, but they got further with each other in six weeks than Mulder and Scully have gotten in six years, so I have them married in this. I'd especially appreciate feedback from anybody who actually saw the show. Special Agent Fox Mulder stretched as he surveyed the files piled on the desk in his basement office at F.B.I. headquarters. The reports of random deaths throughout the Southwest might be an X-File. On the other hand, they could turn out to be nothing more than a waste of time. "So, what do you think, Scully?" he asked his partner - and wife - who was sitting on the other side of their office. Special Agent Dana Scully raised her head and smiled at him. Just a little smile, the kind she could get away with at the office without blowing their cover. "I don't know, Mulder. The victims were of different ages, races and genders and found in three different states." "Each one found in front of a computer screen," Mulder reminded her. "Well, there have been documented cases of television programs inducing epileptic attacks by the frequency of light pulses. Maybe something similar happened here. Of course, all the victims would have to share some sort of underlying medical condition. Television can't cause epilepsy, just trigger the seizures in someone who already has the disease," she stated. "What I'd really like to know is why we got this case." "Why not? Mysterious deaths are what the X-Files are all about." "Yeah, but these killer computer things aren't really our area of expertise. I know we've dealt with them before, a couple of times actually, but I just don't know why Skinner assigns them to us. I mean, you're a psychologist and I'm a medical doctor. Mutants, aliens, serial killers. . .those we understand, at least as well as anybody can. But the bureau has dozens of agents more technologically savvy than we are when it comes to computers." "I think you've been hanging out with me too long, Scully," he said with a smile. "What you're saying is that you'd rather have a nice case involving alien vampires or psychic mutant clones than a case in which it might actually be possible to find a rational, scientific answer that will hold up to scrutiny by the F.B.I. oversight committee." "Well. . ." Scullly had the good grace to look slightly embarrassed. "Honestly, I think that's exaclty why Skinner throws us these cases once in a while. He's on our side, as much as he possibly can be given bureau regulations, but he has his own superiors to answer to. The fact that he can point to the occasional non-mutant serial killer we've captured or malfunctioning computer program we've disarmed gives him some sort of credibility when he argues for the continuing existance of the X-Files." "So, where do we go from here?" she asked. "Well, we could go home and. . ." he let his words trail off with a smile. "Don't even start, Mulder," she said. Then, catching a glimpse at the look on his face, she added, "And quit looking at me like that!" "Come on, Scully. I never promised not to LOOK at you when we were in the office. Just to keep my hands to myself." "Well, you never looked at me like that before we got married!" "Sure I did. I was just damned careful not to let you CATCH me looking at you like this," he said with a chuckle. Their banter was interupted by a soft knock on the door. Holly Patterson, the researcher who often assisted them in their cases, peered around the door. "Hey, Dana. Hey, Mulder," she said with a small smile. "I brought you another file. Assistant Director Skinner said for you two to look it over and see if it matches the criteria in the other ones." "Thanks, Holly," Scully said with a smile. "You know, I haven't really mentioned it since we've been back, but we do appreciate all your help." "Sure, anytime," Holly answered. As Holly walked back upstairs, she pondred the relationship between the two agents she'd just left. The exact nature of what went on between Scully and Mulder when the two of them were alone together had been the source of much bureau gossip and speculation for years. Most people thought they slept together, but a small, vocal minority insisted they were just good friends and dedicated partners. Since Holly worked more closely with them than just about anyone else at the bureau, she was often pumped for her insight. For years, she'd been in the camp that held there was nothing sexual going on between the two agents, but just recently she'd begun to have her doubts. There had always been a great deal of tenderness, respect and affection between them, as well as absolute trust in each other. Lately, though, a new element had been added. There was a. . .heat, an intensity in the way they looked at each other that had been absent before. She'd first noticed it after they came back from an assignment in Nevada that had led to the capture of a rogue agent named Krycek. Shortly after that, the agents had been away from Washington for almost two months, working on an an assignment where only Skinner knew their whereabouts. Now they were back, and the way Mulder had been looking at Scully when she opened the door. . . Mulder flipped through the file Holly had left and said, "I think we need to go out there, Scully. We can swing by Skinner's office and let him know where we'll be, then get the travel office to get us tickets on an early morning flight to. . .well, Austin, Texas, I guess. That's where the most recent death occurred and it would probably be easier to jump into an ongoing investigation than reopen one that's already been closed. Besides, if you look at all the deaths, Austin is more or less in the epicenter of them. Also, it's supposed to be a really high-tech, happening kind of town - sort of the Texas version of Seattle - so we ought to be able to hook up with some sort of computer hotshot down there without too much trouble." "Maybe be we could catch a redeye instead," Scully suggested. "It's only 4 p.m. and that would still leave us plenty of time to get packed. That way, we'd be in Austin first thing in the morning instead of wasting half of tomorrow on travel." "No, Scully." "Why not?" "Two reasons. First, I think we need to talk with the Lone Gunmen tonight, see what insight they can give us into these killings. You were right when you said these sort of cases really aren't our area of expertise." "And the second reason?" "Because," he said, lowering his voice as he bent his mouth to her ear, "unless you've recently developed a streak of exhibitionism of which I'm unaware, you don't want me attempting what I've got in mind for tonight on an airplane." Mulder laughed as she blushed and rolled her eyes. He'd always enjoyed flirting with her, teasing her, making an occasional innuendo when he felt he could get away with it. But ever since their marriage, he'd practically become addicted to it. Scully was such a contrast! When he said anything even faintly suggestive while they were at work, she acted as if she were offended. But this was the same woman who had been known to literally rip his clothes off when they were at home. The same one who had dragged him down on top of her in beds, bathtubs and beaches and begged - or demanded - that he do to her what he was dying to do anyway. As the agents entered Skinner's office, Scully felt Mulder's hand resting lightly against the small of her back. Okay, that's allowed, she thought. Even before we were married, long before we'd ever even kissed, he used to put his hand there. It was a gesture that managed to be polite and, at the same time, vaguely possessive. She liked it. "Sit down, agents," Skinner said. "So you think you can get to the bottom of these deaths out in Texas and the surrounding states?" "Yes, sir," Scully answered. She quickly gave him a brief overview of her theory. "Do you have a conflicting theory, Agent Mulder?" Skinner asked. "Not at this time, no sir," Mulder replied. "Okay, get out there, let me know what you find out," Skinner replied, shooing them out of his office. An hour later, Scully and Mulder entered the headquarters of the Lone Gunmen, also known as Frohike, Langley and Byers. Or, as Scully was prone to refer to them as, the three most paranoid individuals on the face of the planet. Mulder had seen them since their marriage, but she hadn't. She was actually slightly nervous about facing Frohike. The dimunitive man had always let it be known that he had a crush on her and had asked more than once if Mulder was the reason she refused to go out with him. She'd denied her attraction to her partner several times - mainly because she wasn't sure her feelings were reciprocated - and now here they were, married to each other. She honestly liked Frohike and was afraid the news of their marriage had hurt him. Her fears proved unfounded. Frohike opened the door with a smile on his face and said, "Hey, if it isn't my favorite couple! How you doing, guys?" "We're fine, Frohike," Scully answered with a smile. "Do I get to kiss the bride?" Frohike asked. "Only if you remember that the groom is right here watching and that I'm armed," Mulder replied. Scully smiled as Frohike brushed her cheek lightly with his lips. Then he said, "Hey, we got you a wedding present! Hold on." "I wonder what they got us?" Scully murmured as Frohike disappeared into the back of the building. "Depends on who picked it out," Mulder deadpanned. "If Byers chose, it's probably a blender. If Frohike did, it's an illustrated version of "The Kama Sutra". And I don't even want to contemplate what they got if Langley did the shopping." Frohike returned in a minute. He was carrying a small, flat box and was followed by Langley and Byers. "Hey, congratulations, Scully," said Byers. "Or condolences, as the case may be." "Watch it," said Mulder with a smile. "Um, yeah, we're happy for you guys," Langley interjected. "Go ahead and open your present." Scully smiled and reached for the box. Undoing the paper, she lifted out a heavy silver frame. Inside was a picture of herself and her husband, smiling into each other's eyes. "It's. . .it's beautiful guys, it really is!" Scully said. She was amazed that they had found such a thoughtful gift. "But when. . .?" She didn't remember ever posing for the picture. "A couple of years ago," Langley answered. "We were trying out some new surveillance equipment and caught you guys when you weren't watching. We kept it as a memento of our two favorite F.B.I. agents. Frohike kept wanting to airbrush Mulder out of the photo and digitalize an image of himself in, but Byers and I wouldn't let him." "Thank you," Mulder said. "Okay, enough chitchat," Langley said. "What do you need?" "Do you know anybody computer savvy in Austin who might be willing to talk to us about a possible X-File in that area?" Mulder asked. "Austin?" Byers repeated. "I know exactly who you need to talk to. Have a seat." Byers sat down in front of the computer and pushed a couple of keys. The large screen showed the image of a pretty woman in her early thirties. "This is Michelle James," Byers said. "She works - or rather, used to work - for a company down there called Serendip." "And she knows a lot about computers?" Scully asked. "Actually, no," Byers replied. "In fact, I'm not sure that Michelle is capable of successfully programming a VCR. She's the single most technologically incompetent person I've ever encountered in my entire life." "Then why. . .?" Mulder asked. "Because," Byers said, "contacting Michelle is the only way you get to speak with her former boss - and current husband - Austin James. He IS a computer genius. In my opinion, he's right up there with Bill Gates and Steve Apple, although he's so publicity shy only a handful of people have ever heard of him." "His name is Austin AND he lives in Austin?" Mulder inquired. "Hey, I've got an Aunt Virginia who lives in Virginia," Frohikie answered. "It happens." Byers hit a couple more keys and another picture showed up. This one had obviously been taken from a distance. It showed Michelle again, this time with an attractive man in his mid-40s. "That's him?" Scully asked. "The one and only," Byers replied. "The man has such a thing for privacy, he makes the three of us look like exhibitionists!" Scully jumped slightly as Mulder poked her gently in the ribs. She knew that word had triggered his memory of their earilier discussion about which flight to take. She rolled her eyes at him. "You mean he's paranoid, too?" Mulder asked. "Actually, no," Byers answered. "He just doesn't like people. Except for Michelle. And Parker, I suppose." "Who's Parker?" Scully inquired. "Their son." "They seem like sort of an odd couple," Scully said slowly. "In some ways, they remind me a little bit of the two of you," Byers said. "Except that the roles are reversed. Michelle believes anything is possible - telepathy, direct intervention in human lives by angels, UFOs - for all I know, the woman believes in the Easter Bunny! Austin, on the other hand, has never yet met a bizarre occurance he couldn't come up with an underlying scientific base to attribute it to." "Sounds like my kind of guy," Scully said. "Watch it, sweetheart," Mulder growled into her ear, "or I'll go into my cave man mode right here and now." Scully leaned up to kiss him lightly on the jaw, then turned back to Byers. "You know how they got together?" she asked. "Actually, yeah, I do, more or less," Byers said. "Hey, you never told us," Frohike said. "Everybody get comfortable; I'll explain how they ended up together," Byers said. "See, Austin was one of the founders of Serendip, but he never wanted to actually come into the office. He preferred working out of his. . .well, it was sort of a place like we've got here, actually. Combination home, office and lab. Others at the company dubbed it the bat cave. Company execs kept assigning him secretaries and research assistants and stuff like that, and he kept firing them. Said he preferred to work alone. Until about eight years ago, when Michelle was assigned to him. He tried to fire her, too, at first, but she was tenacious. Not to mention a big help to him. Austin is brilliant, but his people skills leave a little to be desired. . .in the sense that he makes Frohike look like Mr. Popularity!" "Hey, I resemble that remark," Frohike said. "Anyway, the two of them ended up working remarkably well together. . .almost as well as the two of you," Byers said, with a glance at Mulder and Scully. "He had the genius and she had the common sense and politeness. Although, I must admit, they were never particularly polite to each other." "What do you mean?" "They argued all the time. I don't mean just about cases, like you two do sometimes. About everything! Austin was always hollering at Michelle that if she'd think with her brain instead of her pulse points, she might make sense. She was always screaming back at him that he didn't have pulse points, because he didn't have a heart! It was like watching a Hepburn-Tracy movie." "She stayed with a man who treated her like that?" Scully asked. "Austin's bark was worse than his bite. I just think Michelle was the only person who ever realized it. The funny thing was, despite the fact that he was always yelling at her, Austin could be amazingly tender with her, too. Just not very often." "Like how?" "Well, Michelle has this thing about thunderstorms. They terrify her. I don't mean just unnerve her, I mean truly freak her out. Austin understood that and whenever one rolled through, he'd hold her hand. I've heard that he once left a business conference involving a multimillion dollar deal because he head thunder and knew Michelle would be in the outer officer cowering. Once, I was at the bat cave with them when a truly hellacious storm rolled over. It pretty much scared me, too. Austin held Michelle in his lap the whole time it was going on. She buried her face in his shoulder and he stroked her back, murmuring to her that it was going to be okay. Then, the minute it stopped raining, he pushed her off his lap and started demanding she make sense out of some theory she'd propounded just before the storm began. It was just plain weird!" "So, how did they end up getting marred?" Mulder asked. "Well, eventually Serendip assigned this other, younger computer tech to work with them. He was close to Michelle's age and kept flirting with her. Austin hated having the guy around. I suggested he was jealous, and he admitted that was exactly his problem. I meant professional jealousy, of another genius taking over his boy wonder mantle, but that's not what Austin meant. He was sexually jealous; he didn't like the way this guy flirted with Michelle, complimented her, things like that. It turned out that in this one instance, Austin's instincts were right. The guy was an industrial spy. He worked for a a rival company and was trying to steal an encryption code Austin was in the process of designing. He ended up kidnapping Michelle and demanding the disk with the code on it as ransom." "What happened?" Scully asked. "Austin gave him the disk. I went with him to make the trade." "Was he mad? At Michelle, I mean?" Scully asked. "No. I thought he would be. I watched as he handed the disk over to the guy and reached for Michelle. I expected fireworks, yelling, him berating her for being so stupid as to trust the guy. . .the whole works. You have to understand, this was a project Austin has spent years working on and just as it reached the point of commercial viability, he had to let someone else get both the profit and the acclaim." "I can see where he might be somewhat perturbed." "He didn't say a word," Byers continued. "He just walked her back to the car. Then he tossed me the keys and got in the back seat with Michelle. He was holding her on his lap again, like he had during the storm. For the longest time, nobody said anything. Finally, Michelle said, 'I was so scared.' and Austin answered, 'I know. I was, too.' . Then, after another long silence, Michelle said, 'I want to go home.' . Austin asked if she meant home to her mother; she lived with her mother. Michelle said, 'No, with you.' So, I took them home. To the bat cave. I left and I think maybe after that there might have been fireworks of a sort, just not the kind I had been expecting, because a couple of months later I got an invitation to their wedding." "Did you go?" "Yes, I went. It was amazing. Michelle has all these friends and this huge extended family and she'd invited all of them, plus most of the employees of Serendip. I didn't think Austin would ever agree to such a lavish production, but he showed up. Now that I think about it, he must have footed the bill, too, because Michelle's Dad was dead and there's no way she and her mother could have afforded such a splash. Anyway, I've never seen a man so in love with his wife - at least not until just now," Byers said with a smile at Mulder and Scully. "So," Byers continued, "he came for the wedding, he and Michelle stayed for about thirty minutes of the reception, then they left. The rest of us partied for half the night." "His dislike of people was so intense he wouldn't even stick around for his own wedding reception?" Langle asked. "Even I'm not that weird!" "Actually, I don't think that's the reason he left in such a hurry," Byers replied. "Michelle's an extremely devout Catholic. My bet is that their wedding night was the first time they were going to. . ." "What is it about you Catholic women?" Mulder murmured in Scully's ear. "That's the exact same reason I sprinted out of the Little Chapel of Eternal Love in Las Vegas so quickly." "Hey, I'm not the one who insisted we get married right then and there," she whispered back. "Sweetheart, you offered to do ANYTHING I wanted that evening. Did you really think I was so stupid I was going to waste an opportunity like that on just making love with you for one night? I wanted you legally obligated to keep showing up every night," he said softly. "Uh, do you two need some privacy?" Frohike asked. "This is our place, but I suppose we could leave." Mulder laughed and pulled Scully closer to him, resting his chin on top of her head. "Okay, okay, we'll stop flirting. Do you have a way we can contact Michelle and thereby Austin?" "Let me run it for a minute," Byers said. "Austin doesn't like anybody contacting him and he has the computer savvy to set up a pretty complex code. However, since Michelle keeps giving out their passwords to her mother, her grandmother, her aunts, all nineteen of her cousins and her two dozen best friends, I should be able to tap into somebody's data base and. . .here it is! This is their home telephone number and e-mail address. I'll give you the main number at Serendip, too, but it's honestly not going to do you much good. Now that Michelle doesn't actually work for the company anymore, I'm betting Austin only checks his messages about once a month. If that often." "Why doesn't she work there anymore?" Mulder asked. "Michelle's a pretty traditional kind of lady," Byers replied. "She quit her job right before Parker was born in order to be a full-time mother. Really, I can't see that it makes much difference to them either way. Austin's a millionaire several times over from all his patents and stock options, so they've got plenty of money. On the other hand, he works almost completely out of their home and he still bounces his theories off Michelle all day long, which is the exact same thing he did when she worked for him, so I guess a pretty good argument could be made that she's still doing the same job, just not getting paid for it." "Do they still live in the bat cave?" Scully asked. "No, they moved. It's still sort of isolated, but it's a brand new house. They designed it together, with Austin having say-so on his lab area and Michelle making choices about the rest of the house. Anyway, I'll e-mail Michelle and tell her you're on the way. Here's directions to the house, too, and the password to their gate. Just let thim know I sent you, and don't be put off too much by Austin. Convince Michelle he has to help you and leave it to her. That man would do anything for his wife." "Sounds like somebody I know," Scully whispered in Mulder's ear. "Are you guys going to start that again?" Frohike asked. "Don't you run out of stuff to say, being with each other all the time?" "Nope," Mulder replied. "Hey, you sleeping okay?" Langley asked Mulder. "I'm sleeping fine. Never better. Why do you ask?" "Well, I just wondered. I know you sometimes have problems with insomnia and now that you're married. . .I mean, I remember that Diane use to complain that you. . ." Langley noticed that Byers, Frohike and especially Mulder were glaring at him, while Scully was watching him with an amused, quizzical expression on her face. "I think I'll shut up now," he said quickly. As they left the Lone Gunmen's place, carrying their present and the information Byers had supplied them with, Scully shot an amused glance at her husband. She knew how much he hated her bringing up any of his past romances, but this was too good to pass up. "Okay, Mulder, out with it. What did Diane complain about?" "Listen, Scully, I don't want to talk about it." "I know, but I do. What was it? If I have to spend all night getting it out of you, I will. And that would be a shame, because I had so many better ideas of what we could do tonight. If you really want me to spend all night long repeating the same question over and over again - while remaining fully clothed, of course - I can do that. But if you'd rather. . ." "Okay, okay," said Mulder as they got in the car. "It's not really that big a deal, anyway. She just used to complain that I wouldn't actually sleep over at her place. After we had, uh, finished, I'd get up and go back to my own place to sleep. Not immediately; I did have the good manners to stay for a little while, but then I'd leave." "Why?" "So I could sleep! That's what I'm trying to explain. I can't - well, that is to say, I couldn't - actually sleep in the same bed with another person! If I tried - and I honestly made the attempt several times, both with Phoebe and Diane - I just ended up lying awake staring at the ceiling. Or wandering around the apartment all night. I was working violent crimes, for God's sake! I needed a good night's rest so I wouldn't shoot somebody by accident the next day!" "But you don't have that problem with me," Scully said. "In fact, I think you sleep better with me than you did before we were married. You used to call me in the middle of the night or show up at the door at all hours to discuss cases!" "Of course I sleep better with you in my arms than I did before we were married! I'm not worried that somebody's trying to take you away from me!" "Is that what kept you awake all those nights?" she asked softly. "It used to be Samantha," he said. "I couldn't sleep because of her. Then, after the Duane Barry incident, it began to be you and her both, mixed up together. After you got cancer, it was just you." "Do you know why this kept you from sleeping?" "Yeah, I think so. See, when Samantha and I were real little we used to sleep in the same bed sometimes. Mom made us stop that a couple of years before she was taken, when I turned 10. But I think, subconscioulsy, I always felt that if we had been slepping together, she would have been okay. I could have protected her. Later, I felt the same way about you. If I'd been with you when Duane Barry came that time. . ." "Mulder, you saved me," she put in softly. "Want to know the first time since I was a pre-adolescent kid that I actully spent the whole night sleeping close proximity to another human being?" "When?" "That time we were in Florida on the trail of the mothmen. I was cold, I was hurt and and I was lying on the ground with my head in your lap. It should have been impossible for anybody to sleep under those conditions! But I zonked out completely and had wonderful, sweet dreams about singing bullfrogs and raining sleeping bags and getting lucky with a beautiful woman who came into my hotel room carrying a bottle of wine." "Really?" "Yep." Scully smiled at her husband. Lord, how she loved this man! It made her feel so special to know that, while other women may have had the benefit of his considerable sexual skill, none of them had had the pleasure of having him fall asleep next to them night after night. When they got back to their apartment, Scully headed for the kitchen. "What did you want for dinner? I can," she was stopped by her husband's hands around her waist, turning her to face him. "Wrong room, Dana. That is, unless you wanted to try something really innovative involving the kitchen table." "Mulder, I'm hungry!" "Me, too. For you." Scully smiled. There was no way she was going to win this argument and, to tell the truth, she didn't really want to. It was obvious how much he needed her. "Well," she purred, rubbing up against him, "since you obviously have a more, er, pressing need. . ." He scooped her up and quickly transversed the short hallway to their bedroom. "You wanna undress me?" he growled into her ear as he lowered her to the bed. "Might be quicker if you did it yourself." "Access Denied" (Part 2) XF fanfic/ Mulder&Scully married "That bad, huh?" She smiled and nodded, watching as he stripped off his clothes with a quick economy of movement. He has such a wonderful body, she thought. Really, his build was only hinted at when he was in his habitual suit and tie. She got a better idea of what it was like when he wore jeans and a T-shirt, but nothing was as good as this! "Take off your clothes, Scully," he said, his voice low and husky as he stood before her, naked. "Okay," she whispered. Standing, she rapidly peeled off her jacket, blouse, skirt and half-slip. Now she was down to her bra, panties and garter belt, along with her stockings and high heels. Mulder blinked at the array of lacy black lingerie encasing his wife's figure. "Damn, Dana! I had no idea you were wearing that underneath your suit!" "I know. I put it on while you were in the kitchen making coffee." "I don't think I've seen this one before." "Nope. Bought it last week when I was out shopping with my Mom." "Hey, you said you didn't get anything interesting! You little liar." "If you'll recall my exact words, lover, all I did was ask you if you thought I'd buy something like this in front of my mother! It was hardly my fault you thought I wouldn't." "If I had known this was under that business suit you had on all day. . ." "What?" she purred, wrapping her arms around his neck. "We wouldn't have gone to the Lone Gunmen's" he growled bending his lips to hers so they could kiss. After a long time, he came up for air. "In fact, we would have left the office around three in the afternoon. No, skip that, we would have take a long, early lunch!" Mulder moved his hands to her back and unsnapped her bra, tossing it toward the dresser. Then he knelt down and slid off her panties, letting her balance one hand on his shoulder as she stepped out of them. Scully put a hand to her garter, intent on removing her stockings, but felt his hand gently lift hers away. "Leave those on?" he asked. "Your heels and the garter belt and the stockings?" "Sure, if you want me to." He lay back on the bed and pulled her down on top of him. He lifted her above him so that his mouth could find her breasts and suckled first one, then the other. "Mulder, why do you almost always want us to make love like this?" "With you on top, you mean?" "Yeah. I thought most guys preferred the missionary position." "I'm not a missionary." "Be serious." "I don't know. Couple of reasons, I guess. For one thing, it gives me complete access to your whole body. I can use my mouth on your breasts and put my hands on your ass at the same time. . .all while feeling you riding me. Also, because you're so tiny. I think that was the main reason I was able to refrain from taking our relationship to a sexual level for so long. I used to fantasize about you, but I also used to really worry about the difference in our sizes. I was honestly afraid I'd hurt you, and I still worry that I might sometimes when I'm on top. This way, you get to set the pace." "You never hurt me, Fox. You're so gentle, it's amazing!" she whispered, leaning down to lick his neck and place a kiss at the base of his throat. "Dana," he growled, a pleading note in his voice. She paused for a moment to savor the feeling of his big hands gliding up and down her sides and across her back, then scooted down and sheathed him inside her. Dana wiggled and moaned and pushed back on him. She leaned down to kiss him and whisper sweet nothings in his ear. Spreading her legs wider as she sprawled on top of him, she whispered, "Fox?" "Yeah?" "I want. . " "Yeah?" a big smile on his face. He loved it when she told him what she wanted. He knew it was difficult sometimes for her to verbalize her sexual desires, but did his best to encourage her. "Bend your legs and bring you thighs up so I can push back against them." "Like this?" he asked, following her request. "Yes! Just like this!" She pushed against him, wiggling wildly. It felt so good to feel his firm thighs against her bottom while feeling something else, even firmer, deep inside her. When he latched on to one of her breasts and sucked hard, she moaned his name and climaxed. Mulder waited until she was finished, watching the delightful array of emotions that passed across her beautiful face. Then he began to move inside her and soon his own groan of ecstasy was bouncing off the walls. "Lover?" "Yeah?" "Can I take off my shoes now?" "Want me to do it?" "Mmm. Please." He rolled her gently off his body and slid down the bed until he could reach her feet. He pulled her shoes off and dropped them on the floor, then unsnapped her stockings and slid them slowly off first one leg, then the other. Reaching up to touch the garter belt still around her waist, he lifted her slightly so he could slide it down her hips and pull it off. "Hey, Dana?" "Mmm?" "You still hungry?" "God, Mulder, are you crazy? I couldn't do it again right now if my life depended on it." He laughed. She seemed to think everything, even his most innocent comments, contained some sorot of sexual innuendo; maybe because the majority of them did. But that honestly wasn't what he meant at the moment. "No, sweetheart. I mean for food. I wouldn't even let you eat dinner. You want me to go make you a sandwich or something?" "Mmm. No, but thank you for offering. I just wanna snuggle. We can eat a big breakfast in the morning." Mulder reached up to turn off the light, then drew her drowsy body back into his arms. He was on the verge of sleep himself. Insomnia? Ha! The plane ride to Texas was blessedly calm. Thank you, God, Scully whispered softly as they circled Austin's brand new airport. Although she didn't mind flying, any hint of turbulence would have disturbed her after the huge breakfast her husband had fixed for them. The only thing she was disturbed about at the moment were the looks a certain flight attendent kept flashing at Mulder. Not that he was paying any attention. Despite the fact that he'd bene somewhat of a flirt before their marriage, he literally never seemed to notice any women other than his wife now. He lifted their entwined hands to his mouth and dropped a soft kiss on the inside of her wrist, causing her pulse to jump slightly under his lips. When she met his eyes, he smiled at her. "Just wanted to," he whispered in reply to her unspoken question. As they headed towards the outskirts of Austin in their rental car, Scully used her cell phone to call the James' house. She got a terse, electronically-masked voice telling her to leave a message. "This is Special Agent Dana Scully with the Federal Bureau of Investigation. My partner and I would like to speak with Austin James about some computer oddities in this area. I believe Byers, er," she glanced over at her husband for help. She'd gone blank on Byers' first name. "John," Mulder mouthed. "John Fitzgerald." "John Byers," Scully continued, "has e-mailed you about this; we'll be at your house in approximately 30 minutes and would appreciate your cooperation." When they reached the house, Mulder punched in the gate password they'd received from the gunmen. Soon they were pulling up in front of a large house with a well-manicured lawn. There was an annex to one side, with a breezeway connecting it to the rest of the house. Scully was willing to be that was Austin's lab. Ringing the front doorbell, they were almost immediately greeted by a pretty, obviously pregnant woman with a toddler on her hip. Scully recognized her from her picture as Michelle James. "Hello, we're with the F.B.I.," Mulder said as he and Scully flashed their badges. "Oh, yeah, hi! I'm Michelle and this is Parker. We got your messages; the e-mail one from John and the phone one from you, Agent Scully. Come on in and have a seat." As Scully and Mulder sat down in the living room, they looked around. It was basically clean and the furniture was obviously high quality, but it was equally obvious that this was a house inhabited by a small child. There were toys scattered across the rug and a collection of picture books were piled haphazardly on an end table. "Can I get you anything to drink? Coffee or a soda?" Michelle asked pleasantly. "Actually, Mrs. James, we really need to speak to your husband," Mulder said tersely. "It's a matter of some urgency. Is he available?" "I'm here," said a quiet voice from behind Mulder's shoulder. He and Scully turned and found themselves face-to-face with Austin James. He was several years older and several inches shorter than Mulder, with brown hair that was going silver at the temples. The most noticeable feature about him, however, at least to Scully, were his eyes. They were an intensely deep blue and shaded by lashes that most women would envy. "What do you want?" Austin asked. His voice wasn't exactly rude, but it certainly didn't match the polite cadence of his wife's tone. "Are you aware that six individuals in Texas and the surrounding states have died in front of their computers during the past two weeks?" Mulder asked. "Are you aware that at least twice that many people have probably died in the same area and timespan from heart attacks suffered during sexual intercourse?" Austin challenged. "I don't see the F.B.I. out here investigating those mysterious deaths. You people are just technophobic. As computers become more common, as people spend more time in front of them, it's going to become more natural to find people dead in front of them. The typical computer user isn't a teenage boy anymore. Plenty of people with heart problems use computers. If they happed to access something that excites or upsets them, the stress can cause a heart attack. It's sad, but hardly calls for criminal investigation." "Mr. James," Scully broke in, "four of the six individuals were under the age of 40. Two of them were women under the age of 35, a group that, statistically speaking, has an almost zero chance of suffering fatal heart attacks. There's also the minor matter of five of the six victims having no previous history of heart problems." "And the sixth victim?" Austin asked. "He was a 52-year-old man who had suffered a minor heart attack eight months previously," Mulder replied. "It's possible that he really did see something online that upset him to the point of causing a heart attack. If so, his death is probably just coincidental and not linked to the others." "So you're willing to accept the fact that one of your mysterious deaths may be a natural occurrance?" "Yes, if the evidence so indicates," Scully answered. Mulder nodded. "Okay," Austin said after several moments of silence. "I can work with you, then. Just wanted to make sure you weren't so boxed into a theory you were unwilling to look for alternative explanations." "Believe me," Scully said, "Agent Mulder is always willing to look for alternative explanations." "Where do we go from here?" Austin asked. "The latest victim was found right here in Austin. I'd like you to come with us to the death site, see if you can run a back trace through his computer and see what was going on - both in terms of access and electric pulsations - right before he died," Mulder told Austin. "I'd like to get a look at the body, as well," Scully added. "I guess I'll need to contact the local coroner for that." "We can probably help you set that up," Michelle interjected softly. "He's a friend of ours." After the necessary arrangements were made, Austin turned to Michelle. "Are you coming with us? You know I always welcome your input." "No thanks, honey. It's almost time for Parker to have lunch, then I think he and I will probably both go down for a nap. Either that or I'll try to finish cleaning out the closet in the nursery." "You rest," Austin stated firmly. "We'll work on the closet over the weekend. I'll take my cell phone with me; you call when you wake up and I'll fill you in on what's happening." Bending to scoop up the small boy, Austin said, "Daddy's going out for a while, Parker. You be a good boy and don't give Mama a hard time." He bent his head to the child's chubby cheek for a soft kiss. "Bye-bye, Da-Da," the boy responded, opening and closing his small hand in the semblance of a wave. "Bye, sweetheart," Austin said, bending his head to Michelle's for a long, sweet kiss. Both were obviously unfazed by the fact that they had an audience, which caused Mulder to turn away in amusement, shepherding Scully out the door. Scully bit back a sigh of bittersweet longing. She wished she and Mulder had that freedom - to kiss each other openly, no matter who was watching. Only a handful of people knew about their marriage and, if they wanted to continue their professional partnership, it would have to remain that way. "I'll get in back," she said as the trio reached the car. "You two guys can have the front." As Mulder opened the door for her, he managed - just subltly - to blow in her ear. When she glanced up, startled, he winked at her. She smiled. Maybe having to be careful in public had its advantages, after all. After dropping Scully at the coroner's office, Mulder and Austin proceeded to the latest death site. Scully met the local coroner, a man in his mid-sixties who was named Dr. Thomas. The two of them completed the autopsy he had begun earlier in the morning. It looked not as if the victims had been killed through a power surge so much as if something in the computer had altered the electrolyte balance in their bodies to the point where they had gone into shock. Mulder and Austin, meanwhile, were at the death site. Mulder was interviewing the victim's family members while Austin ran a backtrace through the computer itself. "Be careful," Mulder warned the other man. "It could still be malfunctioning." "I don't think so," Austin said slowly. "In fact, if I'm reading these pulsations correctly, this machine never malfunctioned at all." "What did you mean back there?" Mulder asked as the two men got into the car. "Okay, it's just a theory and a pretty bizarre one at that," Austin answered. "Hey, bizarre theories are what I live for." "There have been rumors," Austin said slowly. "For years, there have been rumors in the computer community." "Rumors of what?" "A suicide site." "What?" "A specific site, a website, that when accessed triggered death by a combination of light pulses, electric impulses and subliminal suggestions. A sort of internet version of Dr. Kervorkian." "You think these deaths were suicides, then?" "Some of them might have been," Austin said. "It would be the perfect way to commit suicide for someone who didn't want it known - say, for insurance purposes - that their death was self-inflicted. A scarier possibility is that some or all of these people accidentally accessed the site while they were surfing the web." "Let's go talk to Scully, see what she thinks," Mulder suggested. While the two agents were conferring with Dr. Thomas and Austin, Austin received a phone call. After talking for several minutes, he turned to the rest of the group. "It's Michelle. She wants all of us to come back to our place for dinner, finish discussing the case over there." "Is she on one of her craving kicks again?" asked Dr. Thomas. "Yeah. Apparently it's Italian tonight," Austin said. "What do you mean?" Scully asked. Austin sighed. "Other pregnant women get food cravings and are content to send their husbands out in the middle of the night for Chinese food. Not Michelle. She feels compelled to actually cook whatever it is she wants. Don't ask me why. I had to eat chocolate chip pancakes for lunch everyday for three months when she was pregnant with Parker. Anway, she is currently cooking a meal which can feed all of us tonight, or the two of us for the next week. I'd honestly consider it a favor if you'd come home and help me eat this stuff." "Is Michelle a bad cook?" Mulder asked, suspicious. "No," answered Austin and Dr. Thomas simultaneously. "She's a great cook," Austin amplified. "I just don't like leftovers and she doesn't believe in tossing anything out." "Just a moment," Mulder said, gesturing for Scully to step outside into the corridor with him. When they were out of earshot, he backed her against the wall and put a hand on either side of her head, leaning down so their noses were almost touching. "Scully, do we give off married couple vibes or what?" he asked. "What do you mean?" "Six years, Scully. We were partners for six years before we got married and nobody ever invited us over for dinner. Now we're the most popular dinner guests since Demi Moore and Bruce Willis broke up! We haven't been on a case since we got married that we didn't end up going to somebody's house for dinner." "So. . .what?" Scully asked. "You don't want to go?" "I guess we'd better. Austin seems to have some interesting insights into this case and Michelle may, too. Byers told us she has a way of seeing the obvious that Austin often misses. I just think it's weird, that's all." "Maybe we do give off vibes. Or maybe people are just more observant than you think. I noticed what you did when we were getting in the car earlier." "What?" Mulder asked, his face a picture of choir boy innocence. Scully smiled. She could have told him, but she was always one to believe that actions speak louder than words. Luckily, Mulder was bent over her so they could talk quiety or she would never have been able to reach her target. Even with him putting his face down near hers, she had to stand on her tiptoes to do what she had in mind. "This," she said, blowing softly into his ear, then winking at him when he turned his face to hers. "Scully, do anything like that again and we are returning directly to the hotel," he said. Scully debated. It had already been almost twelve hours since they boarded the plane in Washington that morning and her fingers were literally itching to touch him. But they were working and she damn sure wasn't going to start letting her hormones interfere with her job at this point in her career. There was also the fact that she honestly liked Michelle and didn't want to hurt her feelings by refusing. "We'll go," Scully said. "I'll even be good. At least, until we get in the car to head back to the hotel." Mulder opened the door to where Austin and Dr. Thomas were waiting. "Count us in," he said. As they entered the James house for the second time that day, Scully was struck by the beauty of the setting . The late afternoon sun highlighted the gently rolling countryside and sent beams of gold dancing along the hardwood floors. She was also uneasily aware that she didn't know if she should behave as if this were a business dinner or a party. Mulder had been right, she mused, that ever since their marriage they had developed a knack for getting themselves into situations that skirted the line between business and social. First there were all those dinners at the home of John Lau, their acting boss in Hawaii. Now this. Scully could handle herself in either business or social situations and for years she had dealt easily with the "more than professional but not quite personal" relationship between herself and Mulder. Yet she didn't know if she ought to stay in the living room to discuss the case with Mulder and Austin, as her professional instincts demanded, or go into the kitchen and offer to help Michelle, the way a polite dinner guest would. Luckily, Michelle solved the problem for her, by calling out from the kitchen, "Austin, if you say one word about the case before we sit down to dinner, I'm dumping this pan of lasagna on your head! I want to be in on what's going on. Send Dana in here with me and take her, uh, partner and show him your new-and-improved bat cave; I'm sure John Byers will be pumping him for information when they get back to Washington." "What about me?" Dr. Thomas asked. "Whichever you want," Michelle replied. Dr. Thomas elected to join the other men in the lab, leaving Dana with Parker and Michelle in the kitchen. "Is there anything I can do to help?" Dana asked politely. "You can set the table or hold Parker for me, whichever you'd prefer," Michelle said. "I'll take him, if he'll go to me," Dana said, reaching for the child. He went to her and she balanced him on her hip while they smiled at each other. "You seem to like children," Michelle said as she reached for the plates. "Yes, I do. I have a nephew about his age," Dana said. "How do you manage all this?" "All what?" "Well, putting together a dinner for six while caring for a toddler and obviously in an advanced state of pregnancy. You didn't even trash your kitchen, either! It's all I can do to prepare a simple meal for two adults and even then, my kitchen usually looks like a tornado hit it." Michelle laughed. "We all have our talents, I guess. It's like me asking you how you manage to be both a doctor and an F.B.I. agent." Michelle bustled about the kitchen and in and out of the dining room, while Dana bounced Parker on her hip and cooed to him. Finally, when the table was set and the drinks were poured, Michelle untied her apron and reached for her son. "Come on, let's go find our fellas," she said. At dinner, the other adults filled Michelle in on their theory. "So you're saying a computer could actually induce someone to commit suicide?" she asked her husband. "Not just induce, honey," he replied. "I'm saying the computer actually creates a biochemical reaction in the body which causes death." "But why would someone do that?" Michelle asked. Mulder, the psychologist in the group, elected to answer. "If you mean why would someone commit suicide, Michelle, that's a question that's been puzzling philosophers for centuries. If you you mean why would they choose this particular method. . .well, it's quick, presumably relatively painless, not messy and easily available to anyone who has internet access and knows the password." "Do you really think we can stop these deaths?" Dr. Thomas asked. "If people are really intent on committing suicide, there's probably no way to stop them," Scully said softly. "On the other hand, anything we can do to prevent it from being easy may save some lives." "In any case, " Austin said, returning to what, for him, seemed to be the salient point, "I'm not so worried about people who are deliberately seeking death as people who may be stumbling onto the site by accident." "Could that happen?" Scully asked. "Sure it could. Haven't you heard the stories about kids trying to access educational sites and accidentally logging on to pornography? It could be the same type of thing. It's easy to do on the internet. One wrong stroke of the keyboard and you're miles away from what you intended." "I guess our next step will be to look into the backgrounds of all the victims, find out if any or all of them were indeed suicidal," Mulder said. "That can be first thing on the agenda tomorrow," Scully agreed. "Austin, we may contact you tomorrow afternoon to try to figure out more about the computer connection, but I think right now we need to go back to our hotel and look over the case files, then spend tomorrow morning doing some old-fashioned leg work; interviewing all of the victims' families and friends," Mulder said. "Thank you for a delicious meal," Scully said. "Can I help you clean up?" "You two go ahead," Dr. Thomas said affably. "I'll help Austin clean up while Michelle gets Parker ready for bed." Once they were in the car, Dana turned to her husband. "Did you really want to look over the case files when we get back to the hotel?" "Maybe for about five minutes," Mulder answered. He lifted one hand from the steering wheel and slid it along her thigh, up under her skirt. Scully whimpered. "You like that?" "Yes. Mulder, put your hands back on the steering wheel." "I can drive with one hand. What do you think I'm doing all those times when I call you on my cell phone while I'm in the car?" "I don't. . . .Mmm! Fox, really, I think you'd better quit." "I like your legs, Dana. Is it just my imagination, or are you wearing skirts a lot more often now than you did before we got married?" "Uh, yeah. It started when we were in Hawaii. It just seemed more natural to wear skirts there and I haven't really switched back." "Don't do it on my account. I like your skirts better." "You don't like the way I look in pants?" "Depends on the pants. The ones you wear to work don't do much for you. Now those jeans you wear sometimes, the ones that are real tight across your. . ." "Mulder!" "Anyway," he said with a grin, "those are nice." Scully decide to grab her husband's hand and hold it with both of her own. In a nice demure spot down near her knees. She was afraid if she didn't, they'd end up pulled over by the side of the road, making love in the backseat like a couple of teenagers, instead of getting back to the hotel . She wasn't embarrassed by the fact that he turned her on so intently. They were married, after all, and she knew she had the same effect on him. She just wanted a little more privacy when they started ripping each other's clothes off. "Hey, Scully?" there was a teasing, challenging note in Mulder's voice. "Yeah?" she asked warily. Everytime he got that look in his eyes, she ended up doing something she'd never dreamed of doing before. . .something she would have sworn no sane person would ever do. For most of their relationship, that had meant chasing after alleged extraterrestrials, vampires and mutants. More recently, it had resulted in them doing something sexually adventurous. "Want to play a game?" "What kind of a game?" "Just a little bit of make believe." "What, Mulder?" Scully was already almost certain she was going to agree to whatever he had in mind. For one thing, she trusted him completely and knew he would never suggest anything that would hurt her, either in an emotional or physical way. For another, she loved him and wanted to please him. But it wouldn't hurt to keep him in suspense for a few minutes. And to find out a few more details about whatever she was getting herself into. "Well, we've got separate rooms at the hotel, right?" "Sure, with a connecting door. Just like always." "You've grown you hair out some since we've been married, too, haven't you? It's about the same length now as it is when we first met." "Yeah, it probably is. You've never said, but you seem to like it longer. You're always playing with it." "I do like it better this way. The first year we were partners, before they closed down the X-Files that first time, you used to pull your hair back in a ponytail sometimes. Remember?" "Sure. You want me to do that tonight?" "Yes, but that's only part of the game. I want us to pretend. . " "What, Mulder? That we're a couple of 1950s high school kids?" "No, but that has interesting potential. We'll save that one for another night. What I've got in mind for tonight. . ." Dana was pretty sure she saw where her husband was going wtih this, but if he didn't complete one of these sentences soon, she was going to shoot him. Again. "What, Fox? You can tell me." "That we've only been partners a few months. That it's before all the crap! Before your abduction and your cancer, back when your sister and my father were still alive. Before we'd realized exactly what a hornets' nest we were stepping into and what hell they were going to put us through for daring to search for the truth! I want you to come into my room, like you used to do, when you were scared or worried about me or just wanted to discuss some aspect of one of our cases." "Is that what we're going to do?" she asked softly, with a smile on her face. "Discuss the case?" "No," he answered gently. "This time we're going to do what I wanted to do each and every time you burst into my hotel room over the years." "Access Denied" (Part 3) Mulder/Scully married "Mulder, why didn't you ever? I used to wonder sometimes." He sighed. "At first, there was the whole issue of sexual harrasment. I'm the senior partner, after all, and the more experienced field agent. If I'd made a move and you objected, it would have been the end of our partnership; maybe even the end of my career. There were times, in the early months, when I even wondered if the whole point of assigning a woman as beautiful as you to assist me wasn't to get me to cross that line. It would have been the quick and dirty way to discredit me." Scully nodded. Ever since they met, in every aspect of their relationship, Mulder had always treated her as a complete equal. A partner he trusted, respected and now loved. It was hard to remember that he could have pulled rank on her in the early years, because he'd never done it. "But later?" she asked softly. "I've explained part of this to you before. . .I didn't want to demand any more of you than I already was. You were already my partner, my best friend, the person I depended on to get me out of trouble and patch me up when I was hurt. I loved you so much and I didn't want you to be used as a pawn in the game I was playing with the dark forces. I entered into the game willingly, after all, even if I wasn't quite aware how high the stakes would be. You were assigned to it. It's only been recently that it occurred to me.. ." "What, lover?" "That maybe it would have been better for you if I'd made my move years ago. By trying to be noble, I was not only denying myself the considerable pleasure of your beautiful body, but denying you the protection of my presence. After all, you haven't been abducted, shot at or hospitalized once since our marriage four months ago - which I think has to be some sort of record in our relationship!" "So for tonight we pretend?" "That I wasn't so slow on the uptake. That within, say, seven or eight months of when we first met I invited you into my arms, my bed and my heart. Would you have said yes?" "I think so. It's hard to be sure in retrospect. I know there were times I wanted to." "Tonight, be sure, Scully. Give it about five minutes after we arrive at the hotel, then come to me." "I will, Mulder. What am I supposed to wear for our little slumber party?" "Whatever you want. Considering that you came into my room, at various times during the first year of our partnership, wearing a robe, jeans and a T-shirt or your business clothes, I think anything short of stark naked would be in character!" "So you don't want me to pretend I was taking a bath when I was freaked out by the friendly neighborhood mutant and come running into your room dripping bubbles and wearing nothing but a look of panic?" she teased. "Uhh," he gulped, "I guess that would work, too." Scully laughed. "We'll see." They pulled into the hotel parking lot and Mulder said, "Okay, we start now. Let the time warp begin." They walked through the lobby with his hand on the small of her back, making desultory small talk and gentle jokes. When they were in the elevator, Scully resisted the urge to turn into his arms and draw his lips down to hers. That would come. She could wait. He wanted to play and she realized she did, too. Rolling her eyes, she said, in her most exasperated, scientific voice, "Really, Mulder, even for you that theory is far out! I can't believe you could actually consider something so absurd!" It took him a moment to catch on to what she was doing, then he gave a small smile and replied, "What other explanation coud there be, Scully? You saw the same thing I did! Why are you so unwilling to admit the possibility of paranormal phenomena?" As they exited the elevator, Scully spotted another couple just emerging from the doorway immediately across from her room. Striding down the corridor, she inserted her key and turned to Mulder at the adjoining door. "I'm going to get some rest; I suggest that you do, too. We can talk about this more in the morning," she snapped. Closing the door to her room, Scully gave a small smile. This was even more fun than she'd imagined it would be! She quickly slipped off her jacket, shoes and stockings, then tried to decide exactly what to wear for this fantasy. Nothing overtly sexy. Before their marriage, she'd always been extremely careful not to even pack anything that hinted at intimacy, just in case Mulder ended up seeing her in it. She reached for the oversized T-shirt that she somtimes slept in. Okay, good, she used to wear this before they were married. Stripping down to her panties, she pulled the shirt over her head, then fixed her hair into a ponytail. While waiting for the five minutes to be up, she double-checked the locks on the door and studied her reflection in the mirror. She did look younger like this, she thought. The sleep shirt was perfect, too. Sexy, but not blatantly so. When the time was up, she gave a perfunctory knock on the connecting door, then swung it open. "Mulder," she announced, striding into the room, "I've bene thinking about it and. . ." "Why, what a coincidence, Agent Scully. I've been thinking about it, too," he replied with a devilish smile on his handsome face. It took Scully a moment to process his remark. First, she had to notice the way he was dressed - or, rather, not dressed. He'd stripped down to his heather gray T-shirt and black silk boxers and was lying on the bed with his hands linked under his head. The position stretched the shirt tightly over his upper body, highlighting his taunt stomach and well-muscled arms. Attractive though that was, it wasn't the part of his body above the waist that was drawing her attention. It was the obvious sign of his arousal. She didn't need to be doctor, or his wife, to notice that. In fact, she would have had to been blind not to notice! "Umm," she said, not sure how to proceed. Not what she would have done if she'd ever walked in on Mulder before their marriage and found him in such an obvious state of excitement. "C'mere," he said, scooting over on the bed and patting the place beside him. Scully crossed the room slowly and sat cautiously down on the side of the bed. He reached for her and drew his fingers slowly up her arms, until his hands were resting on her shoulders. "Mulder," she said softly, placing her hands on his chest. "Shhh!" he whispered, moving his hand to the back of her neck and drawing her mouth down to his. He went very slowly, first outlining her lips with his tongue, then pressing his mouth gently onto hers. She was the one who whimpered and opened her mouth, then used her tongue to pry his open as well. While they were kissing, he pulled her down beside him so that they were lying side by side on the bed. His arousal was pressing into her thighs, which were bare under the brief shirt. Finally, Mulder lifted his head and looked down into her eyes. "Scully, if this isn't what you want, tell me NOW! Then get out of here." It took her a startled moment to realize he was still pretending. He was letting her know he would never have used anything - his superior strength, his position as senior partner, even her own feelings of tenderness and concern for him - to coerce her into making love with him. "It's what I want," she whispered. "You're what I want." Mulder nodded and moved just fractionally away from her. He crossed his arms and pulled the T-shirt off. Dana moved closer and ran her fingers down his chest, tangling them in the patch of hair at the center. He lowered his mouth to her neck and began sucking on a spot just under left ear. Dana moaned and wiggled against him. Good grief, he was huge! Now he was moving his hands under the shirt, gently tickling her ribs. She giggled and wiggled some more. "Oooh, a giggle! From the ever-so-serious Dr. Scully!" When Mulder reached her breasts, he brushed his thumbs across her nipples. She gasped with pleasure, then arched her back upwards. "Please," she murmured, as he lifted the shirt higher and moved his mouth lower. Mulder took his time on her breasts, using his fingers on one and his mouth on the other at the same time. First he flicked his tongue against one nipple while using his fingertips to play with the other, then used his whole hand to squeeze and mold one breast while sucking on the other. Then he transferred his mouth to the other breast and brought his opposite hand up to the one he'd just left. Scully moaned while he was doing this to her, then gave a groan of disappointment when he finally pulled away. "Let's get naked!" Mulder said with a grin and a husky growl. He lifted the big shirt over her head, then gently pulled her hair free of its ponytail. Sliding his hands lower down her body, he pulled off her panties. Then, with one quick, fluid motion, he stood and divested himself of his shorts. Reaching out, Dana let her small hands cover his arousal. He groaned. "Geez, Mulder, how many women have you killed with this thing?" Mulder chuckled, then his eyes grew thoughtful. "I know I'm big, Scully, especially for someone as petite as you. That's why I'm going to make sure you're very, very ready for me." Dana drew in a deep breath. She knew what that meant. Being teased by those skillful fingers and that mobile mouth until she was almost out of her mind. Being kept right on the edge of ecstasy until she begged him to take her over, followed by an earth-shattering orgasm. Mulder began tracing his fingers up her thighs, tickling, rubbing, even pinching her lightly. All the time kissing her and murmuring endearments. Telling her how beautiful she was, how much he loved her, how crazy she was making him. When he finally touched her core, she moaned out his name. Scully ran her hands along his sides and down his legs, then slid in between them to touch his arousal. She stroked the whole length of him, listening to his ragged breathing in her ear tell her how much it was turning him on. "I want you on top tonight, Mulder," she murmured.' "Okay, but not yet." He touched her some more, tickling her with his fingers, then with just the tip of his erection. She slid her hands up and down his shoulders, his back, his butt. Finally, when she thought she was about to scream from the intensity of her arousal, he began to push in. Slowly. Letting her feel every inch of him, gazing into her eyes and murmuring his love while he was doing so. Once he was buried to the hilt, she began to rock on him, shifting from side to side while he plunged in and out. "Scully, Dana, baby, you need to stop." "No. I don't want to. You feel too good." Arching beneath him, she inched her legs up even higher on his back, then pushed down onto him hard. She screamed her release and was rewarded, moments later, by an answering moan from her husband. After a few moments, he pulled out and spooned her close to him. "Mulder?" "Mmm?" "Are we still pretending we're not married?" "Don't suppose so, unless you want to. Why?" "Could you go get our rings? I left them on the dresser in the other room." "Sure." He leaned over for a kiss and a gentle pat on her bottom. "Be right back." When he came back to bed, she turned toward him. They slid the rings onto each other's fingers, a process that had become a habit with them, since they had to remove their rings so often for professional reasons. "Fox?" "Mmm?" "Could you, um, touch me some more?" "Hold you closer you mean, sweetheart?" "No. I mean, I like it when you hold me, but. . ." It took Mulder a minute to get what Scully was asking. It wasn't unusual for her to climax twice when they were making love, although the first time it had happened she'd been amazed. Before, though, her first orgasm had always been while he'd been touching or tasting her, with the second orgasm coming during intercourse. Tonight, apparently, she wanted to reverse that process. Mistaking his silence for distaste or exhaustion, she added, "It's okay. You can just hold me. I know I'm all icky and," he interupted these ramblings with a mind-blowing kiss. The kiss went on and on and she began to squirm against him. He knew it was hard for her to ask him to pleasure her and he loved it when she did. There was no way he was going to deny her anything. He loved to make her come. "You're not all icky," he murmured, positioning her head against his shoulder and running his hand down to the top of her legs. He lifted one of her thighs up and opened her to his fingers. "You're sticky. From me. I like feeling you like this, knowing I'm responsible. I like seeing you like this," he added as he twirled his fingers inside her. Dana whimpered his name. "Do you know how beautiful you are when you come, how abandoned?" Another whimper answered him, along with her fingernails digging into his shoulders. "What I love most about you, I think, sweetheart, is the the contrast. As my partner, you are so cool, so professional; you don't tolerate screw-ups and it's a wonder you even put up with me. But as my wife. . .you are so hot, so erotic; you need me so much and want what I can give you so bad. . ." Scully was moaning now, writhing against him, shimmering on the brink of ecstasy. With one final, almost careless thrust of his fingers, he pushed her over the edge, then bent to finish whispering in her ear, "and you come so damned hard, it's amazing you haven't killed me by now." "Fox?" "Mmm?" "I don't think you have to worry about me killing you. You're man enough to handle me." "You're right about that, sweetheart. Are you ready to go to sleep now, or are we going for a hat trick?" "What's that?" He chuckled. "A hat trick, my little beach bunny, is a hockey term. It means to score three times in a row. Might be interesting. I haven't made much use of my mouth yet tonight." "Umm, no, lover. I just want to cuddle up and go to sleep." "You're sure?" "Yes. I love you." "I love you, too, Dana." "G'night," she yawned. "'Night, sweetheart," he whispered. They drifted off to sleep in each other's arms. A distant roll of thunder dragged Austin James to the edge of consiousness. Storms didn't bother him, but they unnerved his wife, Michelle. He reached out and dragged her closer to him, spooning her back against him and reaching out to splay his hand across her rounded abdomen. He felt their baby kick gently. "It's okay, Michelle," he murmured in her ear. "I'm here." "I'm fine, Austin. Thunderstorms don't scare me as much any more as they did before we were married." "I know, but it's a good excuse to cuddle and whisper sweet nothings in your ear. Between Parker and now this new baby, I don't get to give you as much attention as I used to." "Feeling neglected?" she asked. Although her face was turned away from him, he could hear the smile in her voice. "No, just worried you might be feeling overwhelmed. I know I'm not the easiest man in the world to be married to and now two babies in less than two years. . .I keep worrying you're going to ditch all of us and run off to Bermuda or something." "Never, Austin. I love you - all three of you - too much." "I love you, too, Michelle. I know I don't tell you that nearly often enough." "It's okay; I enjoy hearing it, but you show me all the time. In fact," now there was outright laughter in her voice, "I do believe you're showing me right now!" "Um, sorry about that, sweetheart." He pushed up on one arm, intent on rolling onto his back, but she reached a hand around behind her and grabbed his thigh. "Austin," she purred in a throaty voice. He was lost now. "You're sure, 'Chelle? I don't want to hurt you or the baby." "You won't hurt us. Not like this. Just go real slow." "Hey, who's the boss around here?" he whispered. It was an old joke between them, dating back to the time before their marriage when she had worked for him. As expected, she answered, "Boss, schmoss. The question you need to ask is 'Who's making more sense?'." Austin was engrossed in kissing her neck and sliding her loose-fitting nightgown up her body, but he paused to answer, "Sense is not exactly what I'm in the mood to make right now, sweetheart." They went slowly, the encounter fueled less by heavy duty passion than tenderness and a desire to merge together. Michelle climaxed first, followed moments later by her husband. Followed moments later by the sound of their son calling out from his crib in the room across the hall, "Mama, Mama!" "I'm coming, Parker," Michelle called. "Just now?" Austin asked with a grin. "I thought you did that a minute ago." It took Michelle's sleep-addled brain a few seconds to catch the double-entendre of his comment, then she giggled. "That was for you, Daddy. Now your son needs me." "I'll go get him, Michelle. You snuggle back under the covers." The family spent a happy few minutes cuddling and chatting in bed, until finally Austin asked, "So what's on the agenda for today, Mama?" "Well, we've got those F.B.I. agents who are supposed to come by again sometime this afternoon, so I guess we need to be ready for them. Do you supposed they've admitted to themselves or each other that they're in love?" "Michelle," Austin said with a long-suffering sigh, "I wish you'd stop doing that." "What?" she inquired innocently. "You know darn well what! Trying to match up everybody you meet! I'm sure Agent Mulder and Agent Scully have a strictly professional relationship!" "Oh, come on, Austin! Did you see the way they were looking at each other? And the way she'd start a sentence and then he'd finish it, or vice versa? It's obvious how they feel about each other! My only question is, are they just trying to hide it from other people, because of the fact that they work together, or are they trying to hide it from themselves and each other, too?" "Michelle, people who work closely together on a one-on-one basis often develop that sort of unspoken communication. We used to do it when you worked for me!" "Your point being?" she asked with a smile. Austin realized that he had somewhat boxed himself into a corner and had the good grace to give Michelle a slightly shamefaced smile. "Okay, okay. We aren't a particularly good example. But do you honestly think everytime a man and a woman work together in close proximity it leads to this?" he gestured at their rumpled bed, their son sitting between them and Michelle's obviously pregnant form. "Not everytime," Michelle admitted. "But I think if you have two unmarried adults of the opposite sex and approximatley same ages, and you put them in a situation where they spend a lot of time alone together, that more often than not it does lead to some sort of personal involvement." Austin sighed. "You're a hopeless romantic, Michelle." "I just want everybody to be as happy as I am with you, Austin. And I like Dana." Austin smiled. "Come on, Miss Matchmaker. Let's go have breakfast." In a hotel room on the other side of town, Dana Scully rolled over in bed. Her arm went out automatically, seeking her husband's body, but encountered only empty space. "Mulder?" she called out. "In here, Scully," he answered from the other side of the open connecting doors. Not anxious to flaunt their relationship to other members of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, they had taken two rooms with connecting doors, as usual. The room where they had been sleeping was the one registered to him. After pulling on the oversized T-shirt that had ended up tossed on the floor the previous evening, she crossed the carpet to see him sitting at a table near the unused bed in the room registered under her name. "Whatcha doing?" she asked sleepily. Fox Mulder looked up from the pile of papers scattered across the table and held open his arms to his wife. She came and sat down in his lap, kissing him softly on the cheek. He slid a hand up her bare thigh and settled it on her hip. "Profiling of the murder victims. Why don't you get dressed and we can go over them?" "Oooh, that's got to be a first, Mulder!" "What?" "You asking me to my clothes ON." He chuckled. "Unfortunatley, Scullybaby, we've got work to do." "Scullybaby?" she asked, with one eyebrow raised. "Go!" he ordered with mock ferocity, pushing her gently off his lap. After a long day of reviewing cases and interviewing witnesses, Mulder and Scully headed toward the James household, intent on discussing their findings with Austin. As a computer expert who had a knack for getting mixed up in odd situations, he was working with them as a consultant on the case. "I want to get Michelle's insight into this, too," Mulder added. "May I ask why?" Scully inquired. "She's a nice woman; I like her. But, as the gunmen told us, a technological genius she's not." "They also told us that she sometimes has flashes of insight that allow her to see the forest when everybody else is staring at the trees. Besides, Austin obviously gives her views considerable weight. He outlined the whole case for her over dinner last night." "Well, she's his wife. Naturally he's interested in what she thinks of things." Mulder chuckled at that. "You're spoiled, Scully." "What do you mean?" "Just because I'm interested in everything you have to say doesn't mean all men treat their wives that way," his voice grew more serious as he added, "to take one example, it certainly wasn't the way my father treated my mother." "I know your parents didn't have a particularly good marriage, but I think to a certain extent some of their lack of communicaitons may have just been generational," Scully said. "My Mom and Dad had a good marriage, by their standards. They loved each other, enjoyed each other's company for almost forty years, right up until Daddy died. But, especially while Dad was in the Navy, he never discussed his work with her. It was like there was this whole part of him he never shared with her. From what we've gathered, even Skinner - who isn't that much younger than my Mom - treats his wife that way; he loves her, but he doesn't want to discuss his work with her." Mudler was quiet for a moment, then said, "Maybe I phrased it the wrong way. Who did the gunmen say compared to me in the James marriage?" It took Scully a minute to replay the conversation of a few days ago in her head, but then she said, "They said the Jameses were like us, except in reverse. That Austin is the logical, analytical one and the Michelle is, er, the one who's, um," "Michelle's the flakey one, just like me," Mulder said. "So maybe the real comparision is - you're willing to listen to what I have to say, even when it seems a little off the wall, and Austin seems to treat Michelle the same way you treat me." "I think you were right the first time, Mulder." "Huh?" "I'm spoiled," Scully said, lowering her voice to a throaty purr and lowering her hand to his thigh. "I'm definitely spoiled." Mulder drew in a deep breath. Sometimes he didn't know whether he had suffered more from his sexual desires before or after his marriage. For five years, she'd never consciously made a move to turn him on, but he'd been practically tortured by the unfulfilled desires she was able to raise in him just by being herself - the way she walked, the way she talked, the way she smiled at him. Now, his desires were definitely fulfilled. Virtually every night. On the other hand, now she did it on purpose. Flirted with him, knowing the effect it had. Tried to make him so impossibly horny that it took all of his prodigious self-control to keep from simply pulling over to the side of the road and dragging her into the backseat right there in broad daylight. "I think I'm the one who's spoiled," Mulder replied. "Not only do I get to work with a beautiful woman who inspires me to all sorts of sexual fantasies, I've got a loving wife who makes them come true!" They had arrived at the James' front gate by now and as Mulder punched in the code to open it, he took advantage of the momentary stop to kiss her quickly. "Behave yourself," he growled into her ear. "You started it," Scully said. "Did not." "Did too!" A few minutes later, the agents were ensconed in the Jameses' living room. They sat side by side on one couch, while Austin and Michelle sat across from them on another one. "Where's Parker?" Scully asked pleasantly. She enjoyed babies and had hoped for another chance to hold the cute little boy. "He missed his nap today and conked out about five minutes ago," Michelle answered. "Either he'll think this is his nap, and be awake from 9 p.m. to midnight this evening, or he'll sleep through the night and wake before dawn tomorrow." So, anyway, what did you come up with on these deaths?" Austin asked. He adored Parker, but didn't share his wife's belief that everyone else was as interested in their son as they were. "Well, I think you were partially right," Mulder said. "I do think there is a specific website that is triggering these deaths. And, with one possible exception, I don't think they were deliberate suicides. The computers caused the deaths, because of what the people were doing." "That's pretty much what I said last night," Austin agreed. "So why am I only partially right?" "Because I don't think these are accidental deaths, caused by somebody inadverdently stumbling onto a website. I don't think what we're dealing with here is really a website; it's more like a virus. To be specific, it's an evil computer program run amok that's deliberately killing specific individuals." Scully leaned her head on her hand. Even for Mulder, this was bizarre. Just once, she wished he'd come up with an explanation a little more mundane. Like, say, teenage computer hackers or something. Apparently, Austin shared Scully's feelings, because pretty soon the two men had stood up and raised their voices. Fearful that the noise might wake Parker, Michelle slipped into her old role as the voice of reason, trying to make Austin at least consider views other than his own. "Maybe Agent Mulder is right, Austin. Some computers can respond almost like sentient beings," she said. "Almost is the key word there, Michelle. Neither you nor Agent Mulder know enough about computers to even realize how ridiculous his theory is!" Michelle was stung. Okay, so she didn't know as much about computers as he did and probably never would. But she hadn't worked for him for three years and been married to him for six without gaining some sort of knowledge of computers. "Austin is actually making a much more compelling case for the way he believes the deaths are occurring, " Scully put in. Suddenly, all four adults were attempting to talk at the same time, their voices crossing over and under one another's. Finally, while the women were both catching their breath, each man pointed to the other one's wife and yelled, "She is the only person making sense around here!" There was silence for a moment. Then Michelle replied in a cool, icy tone, "Then maybe YOU should have married HER!" She turned and left the room. Austin stood in the middle of his living room, flummoxed. Walking out on two federal agents in the middle of an ongoing case didn't seem like a smart idea, but letting Michelle go off in a huff like that seemed like a worse one. He hurried after her. As soon as Austin was out of earshot, Scully snapped, "Ditto." She headed for the door and pulled it open. What the hell is this all about? Mulder wondered, genuinely perplexed. He and Scully fought about cases all the time, even in front of other people. It didn't usually effect her like this. Hurrying out behind her, they headed for the car. "Access Denied" (Part 4) Mulder/Scully married Austin found Michelle in the nursery they were preparing for the new baby, sitting in a rocking chair and sobbing softly. "'Chelle?" he whispered gently. "If I hurt your feelings in some way, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell." He knelt down before her so they were at eye level. "It. . .it's not so much the yelling," she managed to gasp out softly between sobs. "What, then, baby?" "It's just that, that maybe you should have." "Should have what?" he asked, genuinely puzzled. "Married somebody like her. A smart person. A scientist who could understand your work. Not a moron like me." "Michelle, you're not a moron!" "It's not the fist time somebody's suggested we're an odd match, Austin. Remember that science groupie who used to hang around and wanted you to fire me and take her on as your assistant?" "Michelle, I love you. You have the most fascinating mind of anyone I've ever met. No one else could ever do for me what you do, be to me what you are. I knew it the first day we met. You solved the riddle, remember sweetheart? You're the only one who ever did." "That was pure, dumb luck and you know it!" "No, Michelle, I don't believe that. I believe it was God, leading you to me. Because, God knows, I needed you. I was in danger of suffocating or dying of loneliness in my self-imposed exile. You helped me to live, really live, for the very first time. You allow me to be a human being, a flesh-and-blood man instead of some sort of wizard." "I complicate your life. I caused you to lose the encryption code you'd worked so hard on." "I gave it up. Willingly. To have you back. And I'd do it again, in a heartbeat. In a way, I owe that creep a debt of gratitude. He finally jolted me out of my lassitude. Made me realize how much I love you." "Agent Scully. . ." "Is probably in love with her partner, just like you said." "I thought you didn't believe that." "Quite frankly, Michelle, I don't care. But even if she throws herself at me - which seems unlikely- I'm not interested in her. I love you. I'm sorry I said she was the only one making sense. I think I was just mad because you were agreeing with Agent Mulder instead of me." "You said I didn't know enough about computers to. . . " "Sorry. That didn't come out right. I keep forgetting that, compared to the average person, you know quite a bit. Am I forgiven?" "Yes." Austin kissed Michelle gently. "Mmm. Michelle, I'd like to stay here and neck all evening, but we do have the small matter of two puzzled, angry federal agents in our living room." The agents were definintely puzzled and angry, one each, but they were no longer in the living room. Scully had stomped out to the car, intent on getting in it, only to be stopped by the realization that Mulder had the keys. Of course, he had the keys. Mulder always had the keys! Mulder reached his wife just as she was slamming her hand down on the hood of the car in frustration. "Don't do that, " he said automatically, "you'll hurt yourself. And what the hell did you mean by saying 'ditto' back there? That I should have married Michelle? The woman is a raving lunatic, Scully. I'm trying to be kind and chalk it up to pregnancy hormones or something, but she makes even less sense than I do! Scully let out her breath in a ragged sob. "Well, if not her, someone like her. Phoebe or Fowley or any of those dozens of other ex-girlfriends of yours who are always popping out of the woodwork! Somebody who agrees with all your beliefs on aliens and ESP and government consipiracies and. . ." So that's what this is all about, Mulder realized. He was still somewhat confused, but she was clarifying matters at least a little. If he'd only stopped to think about it, he would have remembered that the only time his logical, rational partner started behaving this way was when she was jealous of the attention he was paying to another woman. God forgive him, before their marriage there had been times when he'd done it deliberately, because it was sometimes the only way he had of convincing himself that she cared for him on more than a platonic level. This time, however, he was honestly innocent. He hadn't been deliberately trying to make her jealous. He no longer had need of such childish games. Now he knew how much she loved him. Scully continued with a whispered sob, "somebody who could have your baby." "Sweetheart, is that what this is all about?" Mulder asked tenderly, drawing her into his arms. "Does it upset you to be around pregnant women or women with babies?" Scully gave another sob and nodded. "Why didn't you tell me?" "I just. . .it sounds so. . .I didn't even realize. . ." "Dana, do you want a baby?" "It doesn't matter what I want. I can't. You know that." "I know it's unlikely; that doesn't mean it's impossible." "Fox, you were there with me! The doctor said I couldn't. Not ever." "This the same doctor who told us you were dying, remember? But your cancer's not just in remission, it's gone! He was wrong about that. What's to say he's not wrong about the effect on your fertility, too?" "Would you want us to have a baby?" "If it's what you want." "Fox, that's not really an answer." "Dana, it's the best one I can give you. I'm not trying to dissemble, I'm just trying to be honest! I don't think men are as. . .passionate about the idea of having children. I"ve known women whose whole goal in life was to be a mother and women who were adamantly oppossed to the idea! Men just aren't usually like that. I guess we figure it's kind of up to the woman to decide. I suppose we should have talked about this before, but. . ." "We sort of mentioned it on our wedding night, and said we'd discuss it later, but we never really have." "Look, sweetheart, the best answer I can give you is. . .you're my whole life. Nothing else matters to me, not really. Not my career, my search for the truth, anything. By your actions today, I'm going to assume that you'd like a baby, right?" Scully gulped back a sob and nodded. "Well, okay. I'm not oppossed to that idea. If we can't conceive one in the usual manner, there are all kinds of new, high-tech medical options. You're a doctor; you know that. There's also plain, old-fashioned adoption. The only thing is. . ." "What, Fox?" "Does it have to be right away? I'm sorry if that sounds selfish, Dana, but we've only been married a few months. I want you to myself for a little bit longer. If you got pregnant, or we started adoption proceedings, we'd HAVE to go public with our marriage." "I know that. It would mean us splitting up as partners; ending the X-Files while I went back to Quantico and you returned to violent crimes." "Before we were married, I used to ask myself sometimes, if the trade off would be worth it. If I'd be willing to give up working with you everyday in order to come home to you every night. For a long time, it was a question I couldn't answer. That's one of the reasons I waited so long before revealing my true feelings. I know now. As much as I like having you as my partner, I NEED to have you as my wife. If it's what you want, we'll tell Skinner as soon as we get back to headquarters and request reassignment for both of us." "No, that's not what I want. At least not yet. I enjoy being with you night and day. I feel better now. I'd like to wait until our first anniversary and then get a second opinion from a doctor, get some tests run, make a mutual decision about whether we want to look at medical options or pursue adoption." "That sounds great to me, sweetheart." Mulder gently pulled his wife's chin up and wrapped his arms around her waist. Bending his head, he kissed her softly. "I love you," he whispered. "I love you, too, Fox. I'm sorry I acted like such a baby." "Shh! It's all right, Dana. Just please. . .tell me, okay? Let me know when something's bothering you." "I will. I promise." "Scully, I would dearly love to take you back to our hotel room, but I think we need to go finish our conversation with Austin." "And Michelle," she added. From the living room, Austin glanced out the window then turned to Michelle. "Michelle, you were right. Again." "About what?"' "Remember this morning, when I was insisting that Agent Scully and Agent Mulder had a purely professional relationship?" "Yes. I said I thought they were in love with each other." "Well, you win. They're standing in our driveway kissing each other." "For heaven's sake, Austin, don't stand there and stare at them. You'll embarass them! Don't say anything about it when they come back in, either!" Mulder knocked on the front door for the second time in less than an hour. He desperately wanted to wrap his arm around Scully's shoulders and pull her close to his body, but he contented himself with a hand placed gently on the small of her back. "Can we try it again?" Mulder asked. "I'll try not to lose my cool this time." "Yeah, me too," Austin agreed. "I'm sorry I stomped off like that," Michelle said softly. "Chalk it up to pregnancy related hormone surges or something. In fact, I think I'll go upstairs and leave the three of your to discuss this." "No, please, Michelle," Scully said quickly. "We'd really like your input on this, as well as your husband's." The four of the stared at one another for a minute, then Michelle broke the silence. "Does it really matter so much whether the computer application causing the deaths is a virus or a website?" "And does it matter whether the program is self-generated or if it's being controlled by someone?" Scully asked. "After all," Mulder said, "the important thing is to make sure we," "Shut it down," Austin finished. An hour later, Austin emerged from the batcave with several odd looking devices in his hands. "Okay, I've got a theory of how to disarm the computer deathray, or whatever the heck we've decided to call it." "How?" Mulder asked. "Okay, Mulder and Scully, you'll each need to go to one of the computer terminals I have set up in the house; I'll be at the main one in my lab." "Hey, what about me?" Michelle asked. "Sorry, 'Chelle, it's just too dangerous. If I've worked out the calculations correctly, the amount of electronic overdrive we'll be exposed to won't be harmful to adults. But I don't know what it would do to an unborn child and that's too big a risk to take." "All right," she agreed reluctantly. "Anyway, the deal is, we wear these special goggles that block out most of the light pulsations. When we all access the program simultaneously, the program short circuits. Presto! No more killer computer!" "Are you sure this will work?" Scullly asked skeptically. "Well, we won't know 'til we try and what better time than now?" As Scully and Mulder took their places before the computers, Austin's voice spoke through the intercom. "Okay, you both know the drill. I'll give the countdown. Ten, nine, eight. . ." On zero, all three of them plugged in the computer password Austin had accessed. There was a dazzling array of lights and noise from the computers, then an angry hissing noise and the screens went blank. "I think we did it!" Austin called out. "Everybody okay?" "Yeah, fine," Mulder answered. "Agent Scully?" Austin asked. "Scully?" Mulder echoed. "I'm. . .I'm not sure," Scully finally said. "I keep seeing the lights flashing, even when I close my eyes." "Okay, Agent Scully, here's what I want you to do," Austin called out calmly. "Close your eyes and keep them closed. Let your partner walk you to the couch and lay down. Do not open your eyes." Mulder got up from the terminal he was sitting at and hurried over to the one where Scully was. Slipping an arm around her shoulders, he whispered in her ear, "Okay, baby, I'm here. Can you make it to the couch?" "Sure. Just guide me." She leaned into him, resting her weight on him. Soon he had her settled on the couch and was sitting on the floor beside it. Austin and Michelle soon joined them in the room. "Should we call a doctor?" Michelle asked. "I AM a doctor," Scully pointed out. "Well, okay, then," Austin said reasonably. "Based on how you feel, should we take you to a hospital?" "No, I'm. . ." "Scully, if you say you're 'fine', I'm going to strangle you! You know it drives me up the wall when you say you're fine and you're obviously not!" Scully smiled. "Okay, Mulder, okay. I'm not 'fine', but I don't need to go to a hospital, either. Not unless Austin thinks there's something in the way the computers functioned that could have messed up my neurons." "I doubt it. I think it probably just hit you harder than Mulder and me because you're smaller. I didn't really take into account your lighter body when I was making my calculations." "How DO you feel, Dana?" Michelle asked. "Just sort of. . .disoriented. I've been hypnotized a couple of times, and this is how I felt just as I was coming out of it." "That's a good analogy; in a way the program was trying to induce a form of hypnosis," Austin said. "Do you still see the lights flashing?" "Not so much. I want to go to sleep." "Is that a good idea?" Mulder asked. He honestly didn't know if he was directing the question at Scully or Austin. Suprisingly, it was Michelle who answered. "I don't see why not. She doesn't have a concussion. Just so long as you stay right by her and monitor her breathing and pulse rate, Agent Mulder." "Like I would leave?" he asked of no one in particular. Scully began to drift back to consciousness slowly. She was still feeling disoriented. She could feel - or thought she could feel - her husband's lips against her neck. The odd thing about it, though, was that she couldn't feel him anywhere else. Waking up with Mulder's mouth pressed against her neck was not an unusual occurrance; in fact, he liked kissing and nibbling on her there so much she sometimes wondered if he hadn't investigated one too many vampire cases. Usually, however, there was a corresponding touch from his hands as well as the general feeling of his body next to hers, their legs and torsos touching. Suddenly, she remembered she was lying on the couch in Austin and Michelle's living room. "What are you doing?" she whispered. "Checking your pulse rate," he answered softly. "That is NOT a scientific way to check someone's pulse rate." "Well, gee Scully, I'M not a doctor. Your pulse rate jumped when I started sucking on your neck, so I assumed that meant you were okay. Besides, it seems to me it wouldn't be a scientific way to check if someone was running a fever, either, but I seem to remember you kissing me on the forehead once and then announcing that my temperature was too high." "That was. . .different," she muttered. "How?" he asked, with a hint of amusement in his voice. "Well, for one thing, we weren't in the living room of someone else's house!" "You want to try to open your eyes and sit up?" "Yeah. Lean over so I can see your face when I open my eyes." Mulder shifted his weight and placed one hand on the back of the couch, then leaned down so their noses were almost touching. "Mulder, I can feel you breathing on me. Lean back enough so that your face will be in focus when I open my eyes." He sat up a little bit straighter and she opened her eyes. They smiled at each other. "Well? Am I still as goofy-looking as ever?" "She reached up to touch his face. "You're not goofy-looking. You're gorgeous and you know it!" Mulder slipped an arm underneath her shoulders and helped her sit up. "You dizzy?" "No, I'm fine." "Scully," he said, a warning note in his voice. "Mulder, I'm honestly, absolutely fine. My headache's gone, I'm not dizzy or anything. I'm just sort of hungry." "Well, that's probably because it's nearly nine o'clock and you haven't eaten since lunch." "You know, Mulder, if I ever decide to quit the F.B.I., I think I'm going to write a diet book. I'll call it Doctor Dana's Newlywed Diet. I hardly ever get to eat dinner since we got married! I must have lost five pounds in the past four months." "Dana, I'm not sure that's all due to skipping dinner. Some of it could have to do with the increased, um, exercise you've been getting lately," he smirked. "Well, at least I get to SLEEP now. I don't have you calling me on the phone or pounding on my door at all hours of the night." "I still wake you up in the middle of the night sometimes." "When it's for *THAT* I don't mind!" They grinned at each other for a few moments, then Mulder shifted and reached toward the coffee table. He held out a half-eaten sandwich to Scully. "Here. Michelle made this for me. You finish it." Just as she was taking a bite, Michelle and Austin walked in. Parker was toddling between them, clutching a finger of each parent with his chubby hands. "You don't have to eat his sandwich you know, Dana," Michelle siad with a smile. "I'll be glad to fix you one of your own." Scully swallowed, then smiled back and said. "It serves him right. He ate my pizza once when were were on a case in Texas." "Am I going to have to hear about that for the rest of my life?" Mulder asked. "Geez, we've been together for years, I ate your dinner ONE time and you make a federal case of it!" "Well, I'm a federal agent." For some reason, that marginally funny joke cracked everyone up. Mulder laughed so hard he thought he might strain something and Michelle dissolved into laughter so intense that he wondered if she might go into labor right there. Even Austin, who had been a pretty serious guy up to this point, chortled. Their son, who couldn't possibly have understood what was going on, cooed with laughter at the site of his parents' hilarity. When every finally calmed down, Austin asked, "So I guess this means you're feeling okay, Agent Scully?" At her answering nod, he added, "I'm sorry I didn't take into account your lighter body weight when I made my calculations; that was a real bonehead mistake." "No problem, Austin. You were under a lot of pressure to move fast and there's no lasting harm done." "So how much longer are you going to be in town?" Michelle asked. Mulder glanced at Scully, then answered, "We'll take tomorrow to go back over some of the autopsy results, maybe reinterview some of the victims' family members. Then we'll want to come back here to talk to Austin again, make sure the computer. . .virus or whatever it was, is really shut down. If everything checks out, we should be able to catch an early morning flight the day after that." "Can you stay for dinner again tomorrow night?" Michelle asked. "How about we take you out instead?" Scully suggested. "Not only have you and Austin been a great help to us, you've fed us all this delicious food. We can even ask Dr. Thomas to join us." "That would be great," Michelle said, "there's just one thing." "What?" Mulder asked. "Well, we'd bring Parker. We don't leave him." "That's not a problem," Scully said. "Just tell us a nice restaurant that's child friendly and let us know what time would work out best with his schedule." A few minutes later, Mulder and Scully were in the car headed back toward their hotel. "I"m sorry I ate your dinner," Scully said. "We can stop on our way back and get something to eat if you're still hungry." "Dana, Michelle offered to make me another sandwich. I told her I wasn't hungry and I'm not. Well, at least not for anything Michelle or a restaurant could provide me with," he said with a suggestive smile in her direction. "What did you have in mind?' "Oh, I dunno. Let's just get back to the hotel and see what, er, comes up, shall we?" They were silent for several minutes, then Mulder said, "Scully, what you you said earlier today. . .about Phoebe and Diane." "Oh God, Mulder, please don't bring that up! I hate it when I cat like a jealous, whiny brat! I KNOW you love me. And, of course, it's only natural that you have a certain amount of experience, considering that you were well into your 30s when we got married. I'm embarrassed by my behavior. Can we just forget it?" "Please, Dana, I'm not trying to embarrass you. It' s just that. . .there are some things I'd feel better about if I was sure you were absolutely clear on them." "Okay," she said with a sigh. "What do you want me to know?" "I love you." "I know, Fox. I love you, too. That's why it's not necessary. . ." "Shh! Just let me talk, okay, Dana?" At her answering nod, he continued. "I love you, but I didn't love them. Those relationship involved a certain amount of intellectual companionship combined with a certain degree of sexual compatibility. They involved my head and my hormones, but NEVER my heart! The only person I'd ever loved - really, truly loved - during the first thirty-one years of my life was my sister. I loved her, and I lost her, and I swore I was never going to let anyone into my heart like that again. Because it hurt too bad. The funny thing is, I don't think I ever even told her that I loved her. I treated her like a nuisance." "She knew, Fox. I'm sure she did. Brothers are just like that. My brothers never told me they loved me when we were kids, but I always knew they did." He smiled at her reassurance, then said, "But it happened anyway. I didn't even realize it until you were gone; after that incident with Duane Barry. The same pattern, almost step by step. Having someone come into my life who, at first, I resented. Slowly letting her into my heart. Loving her so much, but never telling her. Then losing her. I thought I was going to die if I had to go on much longer without you. Then I got you back, only to almost lose you again to the cancer." "Fox, it's over. All that's in the past. I'm here now, with you." "I know, sweetheart. And we seem to have strayed pretty far from the original topic of our discussion, which is this: I never asked either Phoebe or Diane to marry me and I would never have wanted to have a child with either of them." "Or anybody else?" she asked softly. "Any of the other women you had relationships with over the years?" "No one else. Only you. Only ever you, Dana. As for other women. . .except for those two you know about, the others weren't really. . .relationships. Just one-night stands. Probably not as many as you seem to think, either. Really, I've always been more obsessed with work than my personal life." "Fox, in all the years we were partners, before were were married, I mean, did you ever. . .?" "Only once. While you were. . .gone. I'd spent three solid weeks searching for you and the bureau finally insisted I start earning my pay again. They sent me out to California on a vampire-killing type case. I picked up a woman in a bar while I was out there, had sex with her. I thought maybe it would dull the pain. It didn't. I felt worse afterwards, as if I'd betrayed you. The weird thing about it is. . ." "What?" "I cheated on Phoebe once. Very first one-night-stand I ever had. We were supposedly in a comitted relationship, but she was back in England and I was spending a month in America with my folks. It didn't bother me at all. I just figured, hey, it was one of those things and what she didn't know wouldn't hurt her. Never felt a bit of guilt over it. With you, even though technically speaking you weren't even mine to cheat ON, the guilt was so overwhelming it just about killed me. That's when I really started getting into all those movies you always used to tease me about. I mean, I couldn't have you, but I couldn't stomach having another woman, either. And I had to have some sort of release." "Oh." "Dana, can I ask YOU about something?" "Of course." "That guy. When you got the tattoo. Ed Jerse. Did you and he. . .?" "No, Mulder. I didn't sleep with him. Ever since I first met you, Iknew that I couldn't ever be with anyone but you." "I love you, Dana." "I love you, too, Fox." "Hey, look! We're back at the hotel." This time, they didn't even bother to go through the rigamarole of going into separate rooms, then walking through the connecting doors. Instead, Mulder walked her straight into his room and pulled her down onto the bed beside him. They kissed once. Gently at first, then with increasing passion. Finally they both pulled away gasping for breath. "Dana, we don't have to do this every single night, you know." "I know," she responded with a teasing smile. "Sometimes we do it in the mornings or afternoons." "I'm trying to be a sensitive guy here, honey. You just got whammied by that computer and if you'd rather just cuddle. . ." "Oh, I'm going to want to cuddle. But that can be for dessert. I didn't get much dinner and right now I'm hungry for a big, meaty main course." She slid her hand down his chest, nimbly flicking open his shirt buttons, then began massaging the prominent bulge beneath his belt buckle. "Scully?" he gasped. "Yeah, Mulder?" "I think we better take a minute and both remove our holsters before somebody accidentally gets shot!" "Good idea. I've got to go to the bathroom, too." "Don't you dare take off your clothes while you're in there, Dana." "Why? Don't you like to see me naked?" "Of course I do! But you know damn well I like to watch!" When Dana emerged from the bathroom, her husband was leaning against the wall, naked, waiting for her. "How come you get to watch and I don't?" she asked with a pout. "You didn't ask. Stand right there and take off your clothes. Slowly." "Why right here?" she asked as she slid her jacket off her shoulders and tossed it onto a chair. He gestured toward the mirror with his head. "Because from this angle, I get to see it all." "Oh." Scully forced her hands not to hurry as she performed the striptease Mulder had requested. She didn't really mind doing this for him - in fact, it turned her on almost as much as it obviously turned him on - but it was still a little bit embarrassing. When she was naked except for both her necklaces, she walked toward him. She lifted the longer necklace, the one with their wedding rings on it, over her head and quickly unfastened the clasp. The slipped the rings on each others' fingers, a ritual that had almost become as much a part of their lovemaking as the first kiss or afterglow cuddling. Sculy closed her eyes and tilted back her head as Mulder moved his mouth down her neck. Mmm! The man definitely had some sort of vampire fixation, she thought dreamily, but she wouldn't want him to outgrow it for the world! She felt his hands on her hips, pushing her gently in the direction he wanted her to move, and assumed they were headed toward the bed. Instead, when she opened her eyes again, they were standing in front of the dresser and he was smiling at her in the mirror. "Sweetheart?" he whispered. "Yes?" "I'd like to. . ." he gulped and tried again, "like this." For a man who's always insisting I be explicit when I tell him what I want, he seems to be having a little bit of trouble with this, she thought with a smile. "Why?" she asked softly. "Well, you know I like this position. But you've said it doesn't particularly appeal to you, mainly because you can't see my face when I'm behind you. I thought, this way. . with the mirror. . .we could both enjoy it." She smiled at him, their eyes meeting in the mirror. "If you'd rather just move to the bed. . ." he murmured. She didn't answer immediately. At least, not in words. Instead, she bent down and rested her palms flat on the dresser. The action pushed her breasts up between her arms and her hips back against his body. "Like this?" she purred. Scully could see his reaction in the mirror. His face was contorted in a look that was part pleasure, part struggle for control. "Yeah," he growled. "Just like this." Mulder began moving his hands down her body. Despite the fact that she could see him, she couldn't touch him, at least not with her hands, so she still wasn't sure this would ever become her favorite position. Nevertheless, there was something incredibly erotic about watching not only his face, but his hands on her body. "Access Denied" (Part 5) Mulder/Scully married "I feel like I'm starring in one of those movies I always used to tease you about," she whispered as she watched his hands dance across her breasts and wander down her belly. "You're MUCH prettier than anyone I ever saw on a video," he whispered. "Much sexier, too. Much sweeter. Much more responsive. . ." he continued on in this vein until she wasn't sure which was turning her on more, his touch or his voice or the sight of the two of them in the mirror. "Spread your legs a little wider," he whispered, as he bent her down lower, covering his upper body with his. She complied, then gasped when she felt him entering her. "If it's painful, baby, tell me." She could see his eyes in the mirror, dilated with passion, but also tender and concerned. "No," she moaned softly. "You're not hurting me. It's just. . .intense." He began moving in and out of her, holding onto her hips. He went slowly at first, but as she began moving to match his rhythm he sped up the pace. Eventually, she felt him explode inside her and - in a reversal of the way it usually went with them - the feel of his climax triggered her own. Still gasping with pleasure, she let him lead her to the bed and pull her beneath the covers so they could snuggle together. She took advantage of the fact that they were now face to face to kiss him several times and run her fingers across his face. "Mulder?" "Yeah, Scully?" "You're incredible!" He smiled. "Funny, I was just thinking the same thing about you." The following evening, Scully and Mulder met Dr. Thomas and the James family at a restaurant not far from their hotel. The case had been completely wrapped up; they'd even gone so far as to e-mail a preliminary report to Skinner. They'd spend Monday morning filling out paperwork and submitting their final field report. "I fed Parker before we came," Michelle assured everyone. "You won't have to watch him smear his supper all over his head. He can just snack on a French fry or roll while we eat." During dinner, Scully asked, "Michelle, what are you going to name your new baby?" "Ashley, if it's a girl and Sean if it's a boy. Which reminds me of something." "What?" "What's Mulder's first name? The whole time you've been here, I've only ever heard you call him Mulder. That's all John Byers ever refers to him as, either." "It's Fox, but he doesn't like it. That's why he insists that everybody call him Mulder all the time." "Even you?" Michelle asked. "Mostly. I can get away with calling him Fox in, um, certain circumstances," Scully said with a smile, ignoring the look her husband was sending in her direction. She'd already figured out that Michelle knew darn well that she and Mulder had more than just a professional relationship. Austin glanced over at Mulder and decided to take pity on the other man. He knew from experience what it was like to have the woman in your life talk about you like you weren't there; Michelle did it all the time when they were with her mother. "Hey, come on, Michelle. Let's dance." "Dance? Austin, I'm as big as a house!" "We'll manage," he replied and from the twinkle in his eyes Michelle knew he was remembering a certain other activity they'd managed just fine the previous morning, despite her size. Dr. Thomas, who'd been pretty quiet up to this point, gestured at all of the younger adults. "All of you go dance. I'll stay here and keep Parker company." On the dance floor, Mulder pulled Scully close and tucked her head beneath his chin. "We really shouldn't be doing this," she murmured. "It doesn't look very professional." Even while saying so, she snuggled closer to him and tightened her grip on his shoulder. "Dana, it's Friday night. The case is officially closed. As far as I'm concerned, we're off duty. If it will make you feel better, I won't even put tonight's dinner and hotel charges on our expense report." "What if someone sees us?" "Sweetheart, I didn't think it was possible, but you're outdoing me in the paranoia department. I sincerely doubt that field agents from the San Antonio office are hiding in the potted palms taking pictures of us!" She smiled, sighed and relaxed against him. "Know what, Mulder?" "What?" "I don't even care if they are." Author's e-mail address: tapw63@yahoo.com