From: ANGELA WARD <tapw63@yahoo.com>

 
 "Adventures in Paradise" 
 By: Angela W.
 Category: MSR (Mulder/Scully married) and Crossover
 Rating: 17+ 
 Disclaimer: The characters of Fox Mulder and Dana Scully are the
property of Chris Carter and 1013 Productions; the characters of John
and Marnie Lau are the property of Aaron Elkins.
 Timespan/Spoilers: I'd set it after Season Six, but I think the only
spoilers are for the Anasazi/Blessing Way/Paper Clip trilogy.
 Summary: Mulder and Scully, recently married, have been temporarily
reassigned to the Honolulu Field Office.  
 Archive: Feel free to archive anywhere!

 Dana Scully stretched as the sunlight touched her face. It was very
early - barely dawn - but this was their first morning in Hawaii and
her body clock was still on Eastern Standard Time, by which she'd slept
until nearly noon.
 Dana turned to look at her husband, who was sleeping on his side, one
arm draped loosely over her body. Fox Mulder was one good-looking man,
she mused. Smart, too. And sweet. Well, at least to her, she amended
silently, knowing that most people wouldn't agree with that particular
assessment. And definitely, er, skillful, she thought, remembering
their activities immediately before falling asleep the previous
evening. She toyed with the idea of waking him up for another
demonstration of his skill, but decided that could wait until this
afternoon. It was Sunday, after all, and what better way to spend
Sunday afternoon than a nice, long, leisurely lovemaking session?
 Slipping out from beneath his arm, she made her way to the bathroom,
where she brushed her teeth and showered. Wearing a short robe, she
busied herself unpacking their suitcases and putting things away. She
was just finishing when he woke up. Scully could tell he was confused
at first, wondering where he was, then his eyes focused on her and he
smiled.
 "Good morning, sweetheart."
 "Good morning," she said, pushing a final drawer shut.
 "Come back to bed?"
 "Can you wait 'til this afternoon or do you really need me right now?"
 Mulder was torn. He wanted to make love to her now. There was no
question about that. And, if he pushed the issue, he knew she'd agree.
But she obviously had other plans for this morning and since they'd
made love three times in less than 48 hours during the past two days,
he supposed it wouldn't kill him to wait. Besides, anticipation could
be fun.
 "I'll wait," he replied, sitting up in bed. "What did you have planned
for this morning?"
 "Well, I've finished unpacking, so I thought it would be nice to go to
Mass, then maybe go out to brunch someplace. After that, we'll
definitely need to swing by a supermarket. This place makes your old
kitchen in Arlington look well-stocked. There's coffee, creamer and
sugar in the kitche and that's about it." 
 "Sounds good to me," he answered, swinging his long legs out of bed.
 "You'll come to church with me?" she asked, surprised. While her
husband respected her religious beliefs, he didn't exactly share them.
At home, she usually attended Mass alone.
 "If you don't think the building will fall down when I enter."
 "It'll be great to have you."
 
 Later, during Mass, Mulder snuck a look at his wife's face. He knew he
should have been paying attention to the priest, but he preferred to
look at her. Always pretty, when she was in prayer Dana was beautiful.
He wasn't sure that he really believed in a personal God, but he'd been
granted the miracle of her life and love, so he sent up a tiny, silent
prayer of gratitude.
 After church, they went to one of the many beachfront restaurants and
enjoyed a sumptious buffet, full of tropical fruits and juices, as well
as coffee and more traditional breakfast fare. They were hungry, since
they'd last eaten on the plane ride out, almost 18 hours earlier.
 Still later, they roamed the aisles of a large supermarket, deciding
what they needed to stock the apartment that would be their home for
the next six weeks or so. While they were doing so, Mulder mused on how
much he enjoyed this aspect of married life and how much that surprised
him. He'd always known he'd enjoy making love with Dana. That was a
given. But he was basically a loner and he knew she'd want to share
more of his life than just the sexual and professional parts. In some
ways, though, he enjoyed the intimacy of the small, trivial things they
did together - grocery shopping, laundry, watching TV - almost as much
as the more physical aspects.
 
 At home, after the groceries were put away, Dana went out on the
balcony. Mulder came out after her, closing his hands on her shoulders.
Just as he was bending his mouth to her neck, they were startled by a
loud crack of thunder, followed immediately  by a pattering of
randrops. 
 "That came up suddenly," he said.
 "Storms do that in the tropics," she replied. "Although it does seeem
a shame to have rain on our first full day in paradise."
 "Oh, I don't know. I can think of lots of very interesting things to
do with you on a rainy Sunday afternoon. Besides," he murmured,
pressing up against her back, "the storm's not the only thing that's
suddenly come up."
 Scully turned in his arms and walked him backwards into the living
room, then stood up on her tiptoes and kissed him. The kiss went on for
a long time, growing deeper by the minute. While Dana kept her arms
wound around his neck, the part of her mind that wasn't focused on the
delightful things his mouth was doing to hers could feel his hands
moving down her body;. They roamed across her shoulders, then drifted
down her back, finally coming to rest cupping her bottom.
 "Do these interesting things you have in mind involve our bed?" she
asked with a smile.
 "Well, maybe."
 "Maybe?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.
 "I want to make love. It's just that. . .we've got a whole apartment
to ourselves. We don't have to limit ourselves to the bed, unless
that's more comfortable for you."
 "What'd you have in mind?"
 "I don't know. . . the couch, the bath tub, the kitchen table, the
chairs, the floor, up against the wall. . .name your pleasure."
 "Wow! Sounds like you've got a busy afternoon planned for us," she
murmured. She could feel her face growing warmer and knew her eyes were
probably dilated with passion. He talked damn good sex and she knew
from experience that his actions spoke even louder than his words.
 Mulder chuckled and kissed her again, lightly. "Well, I wasn't
planning on using all those locations today. Although if you keep
looking at me like that, I might try!'
 "Mmmmm, hold me on your lap and kiss me again while I make up my
mind."
 He complied, sitting down in the living room's lone easy chair and
pullling her on top of him. This time it was her hands that wandered,
first through his hair, then down his chest where she deftly unbuttoned
his shirt, and ending up massaging the bulge just beneath his belt
buckle.
 After another long kiss, he moved his mouth to her neck, where he
began his way down with a nibble, suck, kiss sequence that made her
squirm with delight. "Sweetheart, if you don't make up your mind soon,
I'm not going to be able to move," he said.
 "Let's just stay here," she replied, swinging her legs over the side
of the chair and arching her back so that he could continue working his
way down her body in that delicious fashion.
 "Can I get up long enough to take off my clothes?"
 "Mmmm. . . no. I think I can get you undressed without us moving from
here."
 "Yeah?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. He was wearing a look she'd seen
many times before in their five years together. Basically, she was
being dared to follow through.
 "Yeah," she asnwered, changing position. Now she was facing him,
straddling his lap. She pushed his already open shirt off his shoulders
and tossed it onto the floor.
 "Well, that part was easy," he pointed out. "It's the rest of me that
I'm not sure we can do without getting up."
 "Mulder, you already are up!"
 "I meant. . .Geez, woman, you have a one-track mind!"
 "Yeah. You." She reached to unbuckle his belt and unzip his pants. She
wedged one of her knees between his thigh and the side of the chair and
hooked her other leg over the arm of the chair. Slipping her fingers
inside the elastic of his shorts and pressing her thumbs against the
outside of his slacks, she murmured "Lift your hips." He complied and
she was able to push his pants down to just below his knees.
 "I think you can handle it from there."
 He nodded and kicked his legs until he was completely naked.
 "I think somebody around here has too many clothes on," Mulder said.
 "Well, obviously not you!"
 Mulder began flicking open the buttons down the front of her dress,
then reached for the hem and pulled it up over her head. She was
wearing nothing but a satin ivory bra with a matching pair of tiny,
high-cut panties. He unhooked her bra and tossed it in the general
direction of her dress, then bent his mouth to her breasts and began
the nibble, suck, kiss sequence again. He took his time, flicking his
tongue against one nipple, then the other while she moaned her
approval. That was one of the many, many things he loved about her. She
was so verbal in her appreciation of what he did to her body. There was
no attempt to be coy or undermine his sexual self-confidence. His wife
loved the way her made her feel. And it just made him hotter, longer
and harder to see her like that, her eyes glazed with passion, her lips
parted with longing, her glorious hair streaming out over her
shoulders.
 "Fox, I think you forgot to remove one article of my clothing."
 He moved his hands lower on her body, tracking the lacy edges of her
panties with one finger. "Oh, did you want these off, too?"
 "Mulder!" she moaned with a soft, demanding tone.
 "Ooooh! You call me Fox when you're trying to ask nice, but it's
always Mulder when you start making demands!" He slid two fingers into
the crotch of her panties and pulled them down her legs and off her
ankles. "Good night, Dana, your panties are soaked!"
 "What did you expect, lover?"
 "I expect exactly what I'm about to get!"
 She grinned and positioned herself above him, sliding gently all the
way down onto his shaft until she could feel his balls bouncing softly
against her bottom.
 "Oh, Dana. Oh, baby! That feels so good!"
 She began to move on him; not only up and down but from side to side.
He wrapped his hands around her bottom, helping her move so that she
wouldn't have to bear all her weight on her legs.
 "You like this, lover?"
 "Damn, Dana! It's incredible."
 She began to bounce more frantically and make the soft, whimpering
sounds in the back of her throat that Mulder had learned to recognize
as a prelude to her climax. He decided to help things along by using
his tongue to trace a trail along her ear, down her neck and across her
breasts. When he took one of her nipples in his mouth, the suction was
enough to send her tumbling over the edge. He felt her clench him
tightly as she gasped out his name. His own climax was only seconds
later.
 "Mmmmmm, I love you."
 "I love you, too."
 "Explain to me again why we waited so long to. . ."
 "Because I'm a moron. Here," he said, standing up with her, "let's
move to the couch so I can stretch my legs out." He lay down in almost
the same position they'd been in on the chair, her naked body sprawled
decadently atop his.
 "It's stopped raining. Did you want to go to the beach again today?"
 "Mmmhmmm. Around sunset. We can walk hand-in-hand in the surf and gaze
into each other's eyes."
 She felt his chest rise and fall quickly beneath her and raised her
head to look at him.
 "What, too corny?"
 "Nope. It sounds terrific. I'll even hum one of the songs from Elvis'
"Blue Hawaii" album if you want."
 "Really?"
 "Well, I was sort of joking. But if you honestly want me to, I'll give
it a try."
 "Sing to me, Fox. Now, not at the beach."
 "Dana, I can't carry a tune in a bucket."
 "Come on lover! Your voice can't possibly be any worse than mine is
and I sang to you once."
 "Okay, sweetheart, okay. Hold on just a minute while I think of
something."
 He began a low, husky rendition of "Love Me Tender" as she smiled and
snuggled closer. Okay, so it was pretty clear that her husband wouldn't
be giving up his career with the F.B.I. to become an Elvis
impersonator, but she actually didn't think his voice was half bad.
 Dana had drifted off to sleep in her husband's arms while he was
singing to her. Mulder was surprised to find his own eyelids growing
heavy, as well. He hardly slept even at night and, outside of a
hospital, it had been years since he'd taken a nap. Well, correct that,
he thought. He hadn't slept much in the years before his marriage.
During the past month, he'd been sleeping like a baby. No nightmares,
no restless wandering, nothing. Just the satisfaction of knowing she
was safe in his arms and the soporific effect of the best sex he'd ever
experienced.
 
 Dana woke to a low rumbling. It's raining again, she thought with a
tiny tinge of disappointment; we won't be able to go to the beach after
all. Then she realized that the sound was coming not from outside but
from beneath her. Mulder's stomach was growling.
 She raised her head to smile at him. "Hungry?"
 "I seem to have worked up an appetite. Want to go hit a restaurant and
then the beach?"
 "I'll cook. We just went to the grocery store, remember? I know the
concept of actually having food in the house is going to take a little
getting used to for you, but. ."
 "I don't expect you to cook diner for me every night," he protested.
 "Well, if I left the cooking up to you, we'd either starve or die of
food poisoning! Besides, I'm not going to cook every night. I probably
won't want to on the days we're working. But today I feel like it. What
do you want?"
 "You're lying on top of me naked and you have the audacity to ask a
question like that?"
 "Mulder, you're a maniac! I meant for supper. We can have dessert
after the beach. As a matter of fact," she said, scooting up on him so
that she could lean down and press her forehead to his, "I seem to
remember somebody promising me that we could make love in the shower
again."
 "Scully, keep talking like that and we're never leaving this apartment
again!"
 She laughed and got up to enter the kitchen. "How about I broil a
couple of these chicken breasts and heat up this broccoli-rice
casserole we got in the frozen food section?"
 "Sure. Can we discuss this dessert idea in more depth?"
 "No. Why don't you come make some iced tea? As much of that stuff as
you drink, it must be one thing you can do in the kitchen."
 "Okay, in a minute." He settled back on the couch to watch her. She
seemed entirely unconcerned with  the fact that she was naked. He
always thought she was beautiful and it always turned him on to see her
nude, but up 'til now that had always been in the bedroom or the
bathroom and, let's face it, those were places where a man could
reasonably hope to see a naked woman. At least if he were lucky. He
sure as hell had never seen a naked woman in a kitchen before. She was
moving about with surefooted grace, removing items for the refrigerator
and freezer, stretching up on her tiptoes to retrieve baking dishes,
bending down to pop things in the oven.
 She returned to the living room and smiled at the obvious sign of his
arousal. "Oooh! Did I do that?"
 "Yep. You know, Dana, I take it back. If you make a habit of cooking
in the nude, I DO expect you to make me dinner every night."
 "I'll go ahead and put my bathing suit and cover-up on, so that we can
make it to the beach."
 
 After a lovely late afternoon at the beach, they returned to their
apartment just as full darkness fell. Mulder didn't even bother to turn
on the lights in the living room; he just walked straight through to
the bathroom and turned on the shower.
 "Dana, I know I'm a maniac. If you don't want to do this again, we
don't have to."
 "Mulder," she murmured, stepping closer to him, so that the spray
cascaded down on both of them, "have I ever, in all the years we've
been together, been shy about voicing opinions that differ from yours?"
 "No, but. . ."
 "If I didn't want to, I'd tell you. Here," she said, picking up a
bottle of shampoo, "will you wash my hair for me?"
 Dana sighed as she felt his long fingers move through her hair. It
felt so good. Of course, she thought, it always felt good when he
touched her. It always had. Even in those long years when they were
both striving so depserately to keep their relationship on a
professional basis, she had been able to live for weeks on a single
soft caress to her face, a minute or two of holding his hand. But now
she wanted more. So much more. And so much more often.
 Her eyes were closed, but she could feel him moving around her,
tilting her chin up so that the suds could rinse out of her hair. He
backed her up against the tile and kissed her. Hard and deep, but over
too quickly for Dana's liking. She could feel his arousal rubbing up
against her, but she wasn't quite ready for that yet.
 "Your hair's all sandy, too. Can I wash yours, since you did mine?"
 "You're not going to be able to reach."
  "I could if you'd kneel down."
 He nodded and followed her suggestion. He enjoyed the feeling of
Dana's small, strong hands weaving through his hair, but what he
enjoyed even more was the part of her anatomy this position but him on
eye level with. Mouth level, too, he thought with a smile.
 Mulder waited until she had finished with his hair, then made his
move. Sliding one hand up to the middle of her back, he used the other
hand and his mouth to simultaneoulsy capture both of her breasts. He
was rewarded by hearing her give a little scream of thrilled delight.
After lavishing both breasts with the attention of his tongue, he
settled back on his heels and moved his mouth lower.
 Mulder kept up the pace until he could tell she was just on the brink
of climax, then stood up and entered her in one smooth movement. The
difference in their height meant he had to hold her, supporting all of
her weight with her legs wrapped around his hips and her arms around
his shoulders. Pressing up against the wall and into her, he climaxed
immediately and realized she was doing so, also.
 Later, lying in bed, he smiled down at her. "Ready to report to the
local field office tomorrow morning?"
 "I guess so."
 "You don't sound too enthusiastic."
 "I don't want to go to work. I want to stay home and play with you."
 "Ooooh, you're pouting, Dana! I love it when pout."
 "Go to sleep, Fox."

 Mulder awoke early the next morning. He was dressed and had coffee on
before he went in to wake up his wife. It was safer that way, he
figured. If he attempted to wake her up when he was anything less than
fully clothed, God only knew what time they'd make it into work.
 "Um, Mulder?" Dana said as she sat down at the table and reached for
her coffee. She was fully clothed in her usual professional ensemble,
the only slight condenscion to the tropical weather a skirt instead of
slacks.
 "Yeah?"
 "Nature's mandating that we take a break from our sexual activities
for the next few days."
 "Oh. That time of the month, huh?"
 "Yeah," she said with a sigh.
 "By the weekend do you think we should be able to?"
 "Probably."
 "Maybe it will help us keep our mind on work this week."
 "Really think so?" she said with a smile.
 He shook his head. "Probably not."

  Mulder and Scully drove to the local field office, giving themselves
plenty of time to fight the traffic and figure out the unfamiliar
route.
 "How can you possibly pronounce all these names?" Mulder asked in
surprise as Scully directed him to turn onto yet another street with a
vowel-filled Hawaiian name.
 "I lived here when I was little, remember? The sounds got hardwired
into my brain, I guess."
 They reached the field office well before nine and presented their
credentials to the head of the Honolulu division of the bureau. He was
named John Lau, a large man of obvious Polynesian ancestry. He was
slightly taller than Mulder, but much heavier. Although the same could
have been said about Skinner, their boss in Washington, the two men
were in no way the same type. Skinner, despite being nearly fifty, had
the hunky build of a well-toned athlete. Lau was younger, probably only
a few years older than Mulder himself, and just big. Not exactly fat,
but not exactly well-toned muscle, either. Still, one look into his
intelligent, observant eyes and it was obvious he ran his office with
the same diligence that Skinner ran his division.
 "Glad to have you aboard, agents. Which one of you is the
pathologist?"
 "I am, sir," Scully answered.
 "Good; we had another mysterious death last night. I'll call over to
the morgue and tell them to let you perform the autopsy. Maybe you'll
find something the local coroner has missed. What is it you do,
primarily, Agent Mulder?"
 "Primarily, I'm a profiler. I used to work in violent crimes."
 "But now the two of you work as some kind of independent investigative
unit out of headquarters, right?" Lau asked.
 "Yes, that's right," Mulder replied.
 "Investigating what, exactly?"
 Mulder and Scully glanced at each other. They were both slightly
surprised that Lau didn't already know about that. Usually when they
were sent to a field office, no matter how remote, his reputation as
"Spooky" Mulder and, lately, hers as "Mrs. Spooky" had preceded them.
 "They're called the X-Files," Scully said. "Basically, we get anything
that doesn't seem to fit in the parameters of a typical F.B.I.
investigation. In some cases, it's not even for certain that a crime
has been comitted, as in these mysterious deaths you're dealing with
here."
 "And in others?" Lau prodded.
 "In others," Mulder answered, "there are allegations of the occult,
paranormal phenomena, alien interventions. . .things for which there
appears, at least on the surface, to be no rational explanation."
 "Do you find such an explanation?"
 "Sometimes."
 "Let me make that phone call, then we'll drop you at the morgue, Agent
Scully, and Agent Mulder and I will go out to where the latest victim
was found. Then we can all meet for luch and bat around some theories."
 
 As the three agents finished lunch - not having come to any conclusion
about the cause of death - Lau leaned back in his chair. They were on
the open air deck of a local seafood restaurant.
 "You two mind if I ask you a couple of slightly personal questions?"
 "No, sir," Scully replied.
 "How long have you been partners?"
 "Six years."
 "Either of you ever had any other partners?"
 "A couple," Mulder answered. "No one I worked with for nearly as long
as I've been with Scully, and certainly never one I worked as well
with."
 "Not me," Scully said. "Before I teamed up with Mulder, I taught out
at Quantico."
 "You're both staying in the apartment the bureau maintains for
mainland agents?"
 "Yes, sir."
 "And your respective spouses don't have any problems with this
arrangement?"
 "Our. . . ?" Scully was puzzled for a moment then she followed Lau's
glance. Her hand. Mulder's hand. In Washington, they were both
scrupulous about remembering to remove their wedding rings before going
into the office. This morning they had forgotten and both rings gleamed
in the sunlight.
 "We don't have respective spouses," Mulder answered. "Just each
other."
 "You're married to each other?" Lau asked in surprise.
 "Yes," Scully answered.
 "The bureau's letting partners do that now?" Lau sounded sceptical.
 "We've only been married a few weeks," Mulder answered. "We haven't
exactly gotten around to informing our superior at headquarters yet."
 "Usually we take off our rings before going into work," Scully
explained. "This morning we just forgot. If it's a problem, I can step
away from the investigation and. . ."
 "Don't be silly, Scully," Mulder interupted. "You're the scientist,
they need you on this one. If there's a problem, I'll be the one to
step away. I've got some vacation time coming to me; I can always stay
out here in that capacity."
 Lau smiled at the volley of your-career-is-more-important-than-mine
that the agents were engaging in, then held up a hand for silence.
 "It's not a problem, agents."
 "It's not?" they asked in surprise.
 "Look, let me explain a couple of things. First of all, things are
just. . .looser here in the islands. I'm an employee of the federal
government and I maintain absolute loyalty to my country, but that
doesn't meant the standards that are appropriate in the capital are
always going to work out here. Secondly, the two of you are hardly
going to be the first pair of agents I've had to supervise who are
romantically involved with each other."
 "We're not?" Scully asked.
 "No. Actually, you two are a relief. You're both in your thirties and
you're already married. Since you've been partners for six years,
you've obviously worked out a way to maintain your professionalism on
the job; I would never have guessed your relationship was more than
that by watching your behavior so far today," Lau said.
 "What are you used to dealing with?" Mulder inquired.
 "Look, the majority of my agents are good-looking kids in their
twenties, fresh out of the academy. They come out here and they're
thrown together with other good-looking kids in a setting that combines
the adrenalin rush of danger with the romanticism of some of the most
beautiful scenery on earth. So many of my agents have paired off that
sometimes I feel more like the captain of the Love Boat than the
director of an F.B.I. field office!" Lau said.
 "Well, then," Mulder said, obviously relieved.
 "I've only got two rules as far as my agents' personal involvements
go, but I expect them to be followed to the letter."
 "What are they?" Scully asked.
 "The first, which hardly seems to apply here, is that you'd better be
absolutely sure whatever is going on is 100 hundred percent consensual.
I don't tolerate sexual harrassment. Since the two of you are married,
I'm going to assume that you've both mutually agreed to an intimate
relationship."
 "And the second?" 
 "You don't touch each other at the office. I mean that literally. Not
a pat on the back, not a clasping of hands - nothing. Are we clear on
that, agents?"
 "Yes, sir," Scully and Mulder answered simultaneously.
 "In that case," said Lau, signalling for the check, "let's get back to
work."

 Mulder and Scully got home late that evening, another victim having
been found in the afternoon and Scully having performed yet another
autopsy.
 "Ugh!" she said, stretching. "I hate doing more than one complete
autopsy in a single day. My shoulders are killing me."
 "Come on in the bedroom, Scully, and I'll give you a back rub."
 She sighed as she felt his hands moving across her shoulders and down
her spine. His long, sensitive fingers knew just where to press her
aching muscles.
 "This is great, Mulder. But you do realize it's, uh, not going to lead
anywhere?"
 "You know, Scully, I am occasionally capable of being nice to you even
when it's not going to get me laid!"
 "Sorry," she murmured.
 "It's okay, baby," he said softly, dropping a kiss on her cheek.
 God, I love that! Dana thought. If any other many had ever called her
"baby" she probably would have kneed him in the groin, but from Mulder
she loved it!
 "If you keep that up, I'm going to fall asleep," she said.
 "Want to, or did you want to get up and eat something?"
 "No, I'm not hungry. How about you?"
 "Nope. I grabbed a bite with Lau when we were on our way back from the
second death site."
 "Just let me get up and got to the bathroom and get changed. Then will
you do it some more?"
 "As long as you want."
 When Scully had drifted off to sleep under his hands, Mulder propped
himself up on an elbow and looked at her in the last rays of the
setting sun. Lord, she was beautiful! Finally, he rose from the bed,
intent on watching a little TV before coming back for sleep, but her
voice stopped him.
 "Don't leave."
 "I'm just going in the living rooom to watch TV for a bit."
 "I want you here by me."

 Continuation of "Adventures in Paradise"
 Mulder/Scully married
 Disclaimed, summarized, rated, etc. in Part 1

 "Okay. Will it disturb you if I turn on a lamp so I can read?"
 "No, that's fine. Just don't leave."
 "Never, Scully."
 Mulder shucked off his clothes and crawled under the sheet with a
paperback book he'd had the foresight to toss in while packing. Scully
sighed and wiggled closer, hooking one of her legs over both of his.
Mulder abandonded all pretense of reading and just looked at her. She
reminded him of the nursery rhyme about the little girl who was either
very, very good or horrid. Not that she was ever horrid. But when
Scully guarded her heart and decided to maintain an aura of cool
professionalism she was very, very guarded and very, very cool. And
when she stopped doing that and let him into her heart, she'd done it
completely. No holds barred. No pretending she didn't love him, didn't
need him, wouldn't do anything for him. Just persistent demands that he
stay with her, talk to her, make love to her and a willingness to do
the same - always - for him. How did one man get so lucky?

 By Friday afternoon, the case had been cleared up and Mulder and
Scully were looking forward to another weekend in paradise. This one
unencumbered by jet lag.
 "Scully, Mulder, you got a minute?" Lau asked from the doorway of his
office.
 The agents glanced at each other. They couldn't possibly be in
trouble. Another case? They got up and followed Lau into his office.
 "You have plans for the weekend?" Lau asked.
 "We were just going to do the tourist thing," Mulder replied. "You
know, the beach, maybe some shopping or tour Pearl Harbor."
 "Marnie wanted me to ask you two over for dinner tomorrow night."
 "Marnie?" Scully asked.
 "My wife. We usually have the new agents out to dinner sometime in the
first couple of weeks they're here. I realize this is only a temporary
assignment for you two, and if you'd rather not, that's fine."
 "No, we'd love to," Scully said. "What time?"
 Once the details had been arranged, Scully and Mulder left.
 
 The next morning, Scully awakened to the smell of coffee. That wasn't
unusual, because Mulder was often awake before she was, but this time
it smelled like the coffee was right under nose. Maybe it has something
to do with the beans being grown right here in Hawaii, she mused
sleepily. Or maybe, she realized as she became more fully awake, it was
because the coffee was right next to her instead of in the kitchen.
 "Wake up, kitten. I brought you breakfast in bed."
 "Mulder, you do realize that if any other man every called me "kitten"
I'd probably shoot him?"
 "Yep. Of course, if any other man ever called you "kitten", I'd shoot
him first."
 Dana smiled and stretched. "It smells delicious. What'd you bring me?"
 "Coffee, a bagel with cream cheese and pineapple chunks."
 "Mmm," Dana sat up and reached for the tray. She ate the bagel and
drank the coffee, then looked at the pineapple chunks.
 "Lover, I'm going to need a fork or something to eat the with.
Otherwise, I'll get all sticky."
 "No fork, Dana. Two choices. Either I feed them to you or you do get
all sticky and I'll lick you clean afterwards."
 "Fox!"
 "What, you don't like your choices?"
 "No, but they both sound so delightful that I can't choose."
 He grinned down at her. "Sweetheart, after breakfast will we be able
to. . ."
 She smiled back. "Mmmhmm."
 "Here." He held a piece of the juicy fruit between his fingers. She
took the fruit between her lips and slowly used her tongue to slide it
off his fingertips and into her mouth.
 "Keep it up, Dana, and breakfast time will give way to playtime
whether you're done eating or not!"
 Dana reached for a piece and popped it into her mouth, then traced her
finger along the trail of juice that had dribbled down her neck. "See,
I told you I'd get sticky."
 Mulder removed the tray from the bed and pushed her back against the
pillows. He ran his tongue along her fingers and forearm, then all the
way down from her lower lip to the lace at the top of her nightgown.
 "Better?"
 "Well, I'm not sticky anymore, but now I'm wet."
 "Where?"
 "Certainly an F.B.I. agent of your undoubted ability is capable of
conducting an investigation into that matter!"
 "Yeah. Except that something seems to have, er, come up."
 "Where?"
 "Certainly an F.B.I. agent of your undoubted ability is capable of
conducting an investigation into that matter!"
 The smiled into each other's eyes, trailing their hands down the other
one's body. By mutual consent and years of learning their partner's
pace, they reached their goals at the same time. It was a long time
before they finally got out of bed.

 "So what are we going to do today?" Mulder asked. He'd long since
turned complete control of his personal life over to Scully. Whether
she announced they were going to scuba dive or scrub the bathroom, he'd
happily go along with it.
 "Shopping in the morning, then a light lunch, then the beach, then out
to John and Marnie's for dinner."
 "Shopping again? Do we need more groceries already? I mean, I do
appreciate this scheme of actually keeping food in the house, but. . ."
 "Not that kind of shopping. I want something new to wear tonight.
Skinner made us pack in a hurry, remember? I've got work clothes, a
couple of pairs of shorts and T-shirts and one Sunday dress with me.
Nothing that's appropriate for going over to somebody's house for
dinner." 
 "Okay."
 They walked along the streets of Honolulu, ducking into first one
seaside shop, then another. Finally, in a small boutique, a soft
ivory-colored dress caught Dana's eye. They entered the shop and she
tried it on, emerging from the fitting room to show it to Mulder. She
loved the way it swirled around her legs. It reached almost to her
ankles, but the cut and fabric made it fairly casual. 
 "Like it?" she asked. 
 "Sure do."
 "Excuse me, sir, ma'am," interupted the sales clerk. "We've got a pair
of earrings that would go quite well with that dress, especially
considering the lady's coloring."
 "Let's see them," Mulder answered.
 "Fox, I,"
 "Shh! Let's just look at them, Dana."
 The earrings were pearls. Not especially large, but amazingly
lustorous. Dana slipped the plain gold studs she was wearing out of her
ears and tried them on. They did look lovely against her creamy skin,
but. . .
 "We'll take them," Mulder said.
 "Fox, we don't even know how much they cost!"
 "Doesn't matter."
 "Fox," Dana began again, only to find herself silenced by his fingers
on her lips.
 "Shh! You can quit arguing, Dana. If you don't let me buy them for you
today, I'm just going to sneak over here one day when you're in the lab
and get them for you anyway."
 "Okay," she said.

 Scully emerged from the fitting room a few minutes later to find her
husband holding a shopping bag.
 "Ready for lunch?" he asked.
 "I have to pay for the dress first," she answered.
 He held up the shopping bag. "Already did it. Come on."
 Dana waited until they were out on the street, then voiced her
objections. "Fox, I didn't expect you to pay for the dress and the
earrings!"
 "I know. You wanted to buy the dress yourself and leave the earrings
in the store. But I'm your husband, for crying out loud! I've got a
right to buy you presents once in a while!"
 "Well, well sure you do, Mulder. It's just that I don't expect. . ."
 He brought a hand up to her face. "I know you don't expect me to buy
you things, Scully! Considering that up 'til now in our relationship
the only presents I've ever given you have been a Super Bowl highlights
tape, a key chain and a couple of bouquets of flowers - and that most
of those were get-well gifts when you were in the hospital - I think
that's pretty damn obvious!"
 "Mulder, are you mad at me?"
 "No, sweetheart, not at you. At myself, a little, maybe."
 "But why?" she was thoroughly confused.
 "For not treating you better. Making more of an effort to be sweet to
you. Buying you presents, taking you out dancing, remembering your
birthday on a consistent basis. Most women expect stuff like that."
 "You took me dancing one time. And I'm not "most women". Anyway,
you've just got other ways of showing your love."
 "Like what?" he asked, beginning to sound slightly mollified.
 "Like rescuing me from cannibals, serial killers and assorted loonies
on a regular basis," she said, standing up on her tiptoes to kiss him
quickly on the lips. "Like maintaining a vigil at my bedside whenever
I'm in the hospital." Another kiss. "Like being there for me when my
father and sister died." Another kiss. "Like dropping everything,
anytime, to run across town or fly across the country whenever I call
to say I need you." A deeper kiss this time. "Is a pattern emerging
here, or do I need to go on?" she murmured huskily when the last kiss
ended.
 "Can't I do all that stuff and still buy you presents?"
 "Sure, if you want to."
 "Okay, then."

 After lunch and a stop by the apartment to change into their bathing
suits, they spent the afternoon at the beach. They swam for a while,
then Dana persuaded Fox to try windsurfing.
 "Have you ever done this before?" he asked dubiously.
 "A couple of times. When we lived in California while I was in high
school."
 "If you tell me you had a surfer-dude boyfriend, I'm going to turn
green with jealousy!"
 "Not me. Melissa. His name was Chris and he really was an amazingly
nice guy. Sometimes he'd invited Chuck and me to tag along when he and
Melissa went surfing. He taught us all how to windsurf. Eventually, he
and Melissa graduated to actual surfboards, but Chuck and I just stuck
with the windsurfing."
 "I'm maybe going to turn just a very pale shade of green, because it
does sound like you were a little overly fond of this guy, even if he
was your sister's boyfriend."
 "Nope. He wasn't my type at all. I just thought he was a good guy and
good for Melissa."
 "So what is your type, Agent Scully?"
 "Tall, dark and handsome. Super, super smart. Incredibly sexy. And
maybe, just a little. . .Spooky, shall we say? What's youre type, Agent
Mulder?"
 "Tiny, red-headed and gorgeous. Super, super smart. Incredibly sexy.
And very, very, loving, understanding and patient."
 They leaned in for a kiss, which seemed to go on and on. "Mmm," said
Dana, when she finally came up for air. "You're not going to weasel out
of this, you know. We're going windsurfing."
 After pushing the board out to waist-deep water, Mulder asked, "Okay,
how do we get on this thing?"
 "Well, when I did it with Chuck, we stood side-by-side on the board.
But I watched Chris and Melissa and she would stand in front, right up
near the sail, and he would stand behind her; sort of straddling her,
you know?"
 "Oooh, that sound a lot more fun than standing beside you!"
 After several mishaps, they finally got the board to stay upright and
skimmed along the top of the water for an exhilirating ride. Despite
never having done it before, Mulder's natural agility and superb upper
body strength let him control the sail fairly easily. The rhythm they'd
developed with each other over the past six years meant that she
followed his movements easily as he leaned back, forward or to one
side.
 "You're right, Dana. This is a lot of fun. Of course, any activity
that allows me to rub up against you like this while you're wearing
that tiny bikini is bound to be enjoyable!"
 "Down, boy! We're going to our boss's house for dinner in a little bit
and we're not going to arrive late and out of breath!"
 After a quick shower, Scully changed into her new dress and jewelry.
She was checking her appearance in the mirror when Mulder came up
behind her.
 "The earrings are lovely, Fox. Thank you."
 "You're welcome. Considering I never even bought you an engagement
ring, I though they'd be a nice choice. Not that I won't be more than
happy to buy you a ring, too, if you want one."
 "Mulder, our engagement lasted all of twenty minutes! There wasn't
time for a ring!"
 On the way out to the Laus' haouse, Scully asked a question that had
occasionally puzzled her during the last month. "Mulder, when we were
out in Las Vegas, why did you want us to get married right then?"
 "Because I love you, of course. Haven't I made that clear by now?"
 "What I mean is, most couples nowadays. . .I mean I would have been
happy to. . .It wasn't like I'd never. . ."
 "You would have been happy to just go back to the hotel and make love
with me without  us getting married first? Is that what you're trying
to say?"
 "Yes! I mean, I love being married to you. But we could have just
gotten engaged then and waited until later to actually get married."
 "We can have another ceremony, a Catholic one with your mother there,
when we get back to Washington. I know you want that and I certainly
don't object."
 "Good, but I'm still not exactly clear on why you felt an overwhelming
need to marry me right then."
 Mulder sighed. "Because the other way would have left too much room
for misunderstanding. Too many chances for one of us to say it was an
aberration, that it was the result of the stressful situation we were
in; to decide that we couldn't be both lovers and partners. And I knew,
Dana, that if I ever made love with you, it couldn't be a one-time
thing. I managed to control myself for all those years because I was
only imagining how good it would be between us. I knew that once I KNEW
how good it was, there'd be no turning back."
 "Oh," she said softly, reaching out to entwine her fingers with his.

 When they arrived at the Laus' house, John opened the door and waved
them inside. "Come on in. Marnie's upstairs, trying to get our son
settled down quietly in front of a Barney video."
 "Do you just have the one child?" Dana asked.
 "Just the one, but he's a handful," said a voice behind them. "Hi, I'm
Marnie. You two must be Dana and Fox, right?"
 "Right. Please to meet you," Mulder answered. Dana, meanwhile, was too
stunned to speak for a minute. When she'd pictured Marnie Lau, she'd
assumed the woman would be of Polynesian descent, as her husband was,
but probably much smaller. She'd also guessed John's wife would be with
in a few years of his own age, which seemed to be somewhere between 40
and 45.
 Instead, the woman now smiling at them in welcome was Caucasian. She
was almost as tall as Mulder, which mean she wasn't too terribly much
shorter than John. Most surprisingly of all, she was obviously several
years younger than Scully, probably still in her late twenties.
 Recovering herself, Dana smiled. "We really appeciate you inviting us
to your home. It's lovely." 
 During dinner, Marnie commented, "John tells me the two of you only
recently got married?"
 "Yes, about a month ago," Scully replied.
 "And it's sort of hush-hush, huh?" Marine asked. "That's romantic,
like something out of an old movie."
 "Most of the bureau brass in Washington aren't as lenient as your
husband when it comes to partners getting, er, personally involved with
each other to the extent we are; and we don't want to quit working
together," Scully said.
 "How long have you two been married?" Mulder asked.
  "Nearly ten years," John answered.
 "Ten years!" Scully could keep the amazement out of her voice. "But
certainly, I mean. . .you look so young, Marnie."
 "I had just turned nineteen when I met John. I was twenty when we got
married."
 "You should have seen the look on her Dad's face when she brought me
home for the first time! Horrified is too kind a word to describe it,"
John said with a chuckle.
 "John, you're making Daddy sound like a bigot!" Marnie protested.
"He's not. He was just surprised - understandably I think - that you
were Polynesian. People of your ethnicity are not exactly common in
central Kansas, you know!"
 "That's true enough. I felt like some sort of museum exhibit the whole
time I lived in that state. To be fair to your father, I really think
our age difference disturbed him more than my race. I was thirty-two
already and you had only just finished your freshman year in college."
 "How did you two meet?" Mulder asked.
 "I was investigating a case in which Marnie was a key witness. I took
one look at her and I was gone. I mean, just completely blown away,"
John said.
 "Me, too," Marnie agreed. "John gave new meaning to the words "tall,
dark and handsome". I absolutely couldn't believe it when he asked me
out on a date!"
 Dana smiled at the other woman's obvious enthusiasm and love for her
husband. "Why not?"
 "Well, for one thing, no one ever had before!" Marnie said.
 "I find that hard to believe," Mulder put in gallantly. "You're a very
attractive woman."
 "Thank you, but the boys in Kansas didn't seem to think so," Marnie
replied with a smile.
 "I've explained this to you before, Marnie," John said. "They were
boys. You're tall, smart, beautiful and you don't take crap from
anyone. Undoubtedly, you scared them out of their wits!"
 "Mama always said I'd attract more boys if I'd stop flaunting my
intelligence, but I could never bring myself to do that," Marnie said.
 "I couldn't either," Dana put in. "My sister could, somehow. I mean,
she was just as smart as I was when it came to schoolwork, but she'd
act so dumb when boys were around it was unbelievable! I didn't know
whether to gag or turn green with envy everytime she went into her act
and pulled another guy in."
 Mulder chuckled.

 Later, when they were in the living room, Marnie asked, "Who's the
designated driver for you two tonight?"
 "I am, I guess," Mulder answered.
 "Considering that I have to wrestle the keys away from you whenever I
want to drive, that's a logical assumption," Scully said dryly.
 "Hey, I let you drive sometimes!"
 "Yeah, about once a year."
 "I let you drive all the way out to New Mexico that time!"
 "Mulder, you'd just been shot and you were doped up with painkillers.
It wasn't like there was much alternative!"
 Marnie laughed. "You two sound like John and me. All men seem to feel
there's an unspoken vow in the wedding nuptials to let them do all the
driving."
 "Oh, he was bad about it even before we got married," Scully said with
a smile.
 "Is there a point to this conversation?" Lau asked with a grin.
 "Yeah," answered Marnie. "I'm going to make up a pitcher of my
super-duper double strength Pina Coladas. Since we had wine with
dinner, I figured only whoever wasn't driving should have one."
 "Those fruity drinks aren't my thing, anyway," Mulder replied. "But
Dana loves them."
 "Mulder, you're making me sound like a lush in front of our boss!"
 "I didn't mean," Mulder began.
 "Forget it," John said easily. "I'm sure you don't have an alcohol
problem, Dana. These drinks Marnie makes are delicious but they do seem
to appeal to women more than men."
 As John, Marnie and Dana sipped their drinks and Mulder told a story
involving one of their less spectacular (and hence, more believable)
cases, a toddler wandered into the room.
 "Why Aaron, baby, I thought you were asleep," Marnie said, reaching
out to pull him into her lap.
 "Not a baby, Mama! Who dat?" the little boy said, pointing at Mulder.
 "That's Mr. Mulder, Aaron. He works with Daddy," Marnie said.
 "Who dat?" he asked again, pointing at Scully this time.
 "Mrs. Mulder. She works with Daddy, too."
 Dana nearly choked on her drink. She'd never been referred to as "Mrs.
Mulder" before. Once she got over her initial astonishment at hearing
the name applied to her, she decided she liked the sound of it. Sure
beat the hell out of "Mrs. Spooky"!
 "Come on, son, I'll take you back to bed," John said, reaching out to
swing the small, dark-haired child up onto his shoulders.
 As John and Aaron left the room, Marnie turned to Dana. "You don't
mind me having him call you Mrs. Mulder, do you? He's too young to
understand the concept of people in the same family having different
last names. I know you still use Scully professionally, but most women
who do that use their husband's last name socially."
 "It's fine," Dana replied.

 As they left the Laus' house later that night, Mulder wrapped an arm
around Dana to keep her from stumbling down the steps. There was an
impossibly full, bright tropical moon lending its light to the night.
 "Scully, you're drunk," Mulder said as he helped her fasten the seat
belt she was obviously having trouble with.
 "I know," she replied.
 "I don't think I've ever seen you really drunk before. Tipsy a couple
of times, sure. Like that time with Eddie Van Blundht."
 "I thought that was you!" she protested.
 "I know, baby, I know."
 "Anyway, I was already afraid to get drunk around you before we were
married," she said.
 "What, you were afraid I'd take advantage of you?" he asked. That
stung. He'd always thought Scully trusted him.
 "No, I was afraid that you wouldn't."
 "Huh?"
 "Mulder, it wasn't your behavior I was worried about. It was mine."
 "Explain yourself, Agent Scully," he said with a smile.
 "My control around you was always. . .ten you, ten you," she groped
for the right word.
 "Tenuous?" he suggested.
 "Yeah, that. It was tenuous at best. Even when I was sober. I figured
if I ever got really drunk and you came over to my apartment or into my
motel room - wherever we were - that I'd just throw myself at you. Beg
you to make love to me. And that you probably wouldn't. Because I'd be
drunk and you wouldn't want to take advantage of the situation. So I
didn't. Get drunk, I mean."
 "Dana, if you throw yourself at me tonight and beg me to make love to
you, believe me I'll take full advantage of the situation!"
 "Promise?"
 "Oh, yeah. Actually, though, it seems sort of like we ought to go home
and make love in the missionary position with the lights off. I mean,
we just had dinner at our boss's house. How long has it been since
we've done anything that normal?"
 "Oooh, I like that idea!"
 "I was just teasing, sweetheart. You know I like the lights on. I like
to be able to see you. To watch the look in your eyes when you get
excited. And you're so little, I really prefer it when you're on top,
too."
 "Nope. Not tonight, Romeo. Our bedroom's not that dark anyway,
especially with a full moon. And I'm not even going to do anything to
you. I'm just going to lay back and enjoy it."
 That'll be the day, Mulder thought dryly. He'd be willing to bet a
month's salary that there was no way Dana could keep her busy little
hands still or her marvelous mouth from moving over his body once he
started touching her.
 "You planning on closing you eyes and thinking of England?" he asked.
 "Nope. I'm just going to close my eyes and concentrate on the
wonderful things my husband is doing to my body with his big, gentle
hand and lovely, sensual mouth."
 "Keep it up, Dana, and I'm pulling over and making love to you in the
backseat."
 "Gee, you're in a retro mood tonight! First you want to make love like
a 1950s married couple, now like 1950s teenagers!"

 When they finally made it back to their apartment, Mulder opened the
door and swung Dana up into his arms. It seemed the quickest way to get
them to the bedroom. Besides, he was beginning to realize that his
pretty wife - who could find a scientific explanation for anything and
insisted on absolute equality when they were at work - liked it when he
went into what could only be termed his "cave man" mode at home.
 Dumping Dana somewhat uncermoniously on the bed, Mulder began to
remove his clothers. Dana lifted her new dress over head and tossed it
toward the dresser, then began to attempt to divest herself of her
braissiere. Mulder, who was now completely naked, sat down beside her.
"Need some help with that?"
 "Mmm. Please."
 He undid her bra with deft movements, then slid her panties off as
well. Suddenly, a noise from outside their window startled him. "Hold
on a minute, Dana, I want to see what that was."
 Mulder slipped his pants back on, grabbed his gun and walked
cautiously toward the doors leading to their balcony. He had suddenly
remembered that the reason they'd been sent to Hawaii wasn't to have
fun, or even merely to assist Lau in a peculiar case. Part of the
reason they were here was because sinister, powerful forces were
extremely unhappy with some of the things he and Scully had discovered
in the past couple of months. Skinner had temporarily reassigned them
to the Honolulu Field Office because the Assistant Director thought
they'd be safe there. But if his years of working on the X-Files had
taught Mulder anything, it was that absolute safety was a myth. Even
here, in paradise, they needed to be on their guard.
 Reaching the doors, Mulder crouched down and peered out.
 There seemed to be a drunken brawl going on out in the parking lot. It
was apparently unconnected to Scully and him and didn't really concern
them. On the other hand, he was a law enforcement official - a federal
agent who had jurisdiction anywhere in the United States. He couldn't
just stand by and watch a crime being committed, no matter how much he
was longing to go to bed.
 Sighing, Mulder picked up the phone and called the local police
precinct. Then he quickly pulled on jeans and a T-shirt and went down
to try to keep the peace until backup arrived.
 It was nearly half an hour before he was able to retuirn to the
apartment and even then it was only because he had promised to come
into the station and give a statement as early as possible the
following day. Just as he had feared, Scully was sound asleep. She was
sprawled languidly fin the middle of their bed. He stripped off his
clothes and looked at her. The moonlight showed shape and shadows, but
no colors. Looking at her naked body was enough to arouse him, but he
had no interest in making love to her if she was too out of it to enjoy
what they were doing.
 As he watched, she began to whimper and thrash. A nightmare, he
realized. They both had them at times, the result of the dark side of
all they'd been through in the past five years. More than once, he'd
slipped through the connecting door of their motel rooms to comfort her
until she'd fallen back asleep. She'd done the same for him
occasionally, too.
 They hadn't had any in the past month; maybe because what haunted both
their nightmares was losing their partner and they'd been sleeping in
each other's arms.
 Mulder sat down on the bed and touched her face gently. "Scully? Hey,
Scully. It's all right. I'm here."
 "Mulder? You're okay? You're here? It's really you?"
 Scully launched herself into his arms with a force that was born not
only of love but of relief. Winding her arms around his neck, she
kissed him desperately.
 "I love you. I'm sorry I shot you. I'm so glad you're not dead."
 Scully was time travelling, Mulder realized. She did that, sometimes,
in her dreams. Occasionally, it was even back to beyond the time when
they'd first met, but more often it was to an earlier time in their
partnership. Now she was obviously reliving a painful episode when he'd
been drugged and she'd been forced to shoot him and shortly thereafter
believed he had died in a fire.
 "I love you, too. It's okay, I know you had to. Thank you for taking
such good care of me afterwards. I'll always come back to you, Scully."
Mulder didn't even try to convince her that it had been years since
she'd shot him. Better, he thought, to go along for the ride.
 "You do?" her voice held a quiet wonder. "You do love me, too?"
 "Yes, Scully, I love you, too." It was true, he realized. Even then,
he'd loved her. His one thought had been to return to her. He should
have told her then, not waited until three more years had gone by.
 "Make love to me, Mulder. Please! I need you to."
 "Shhh! I will, Scully. Lean back."
 Scully leaned back against the pillows without unwrapping her arms
from his neck, dragging him down on top of her. He propped himself up
with his forearms to keep from pressing too heavily upon her. They
kissed again and again, Scully moving her mouth all over his face and
then returning to his lips.
 "You taste so good," she murmured.
 "You feel so good," he answered, running his hand across her breasts.
 "I like that." They continued to kiss as he explored her body with his
hands. By now, she was delightfully familiar territory to him, but he
realized that in her dreamy, drunken state she thought it was the first
time they were making love. 
 "Mulder, please. I'm ready. I want you to."
 He didn't bother to tease her this time, to insist that she be
explicit in her desire for him. He simply nudged her thighs further
apart and began to enter her very gently, going as slowly as possible.
"Feel good, Scully?"
 "Oh, Mulder, yes! Even better than I imagined it would!"
 "You thought about us a lot like this, huh?"
 "Mmmhmm. You, too?"
 "All the time, Scully. Every night."
 After that, she began to moan and wrapped her legs more tightly around
his hips. Obviously beyond the point of coherent conversation, she ran
her fingernails up and down his back, scratching him gently. He paced
himself to her rhythm, holding back until she was ready, then letting
her climax trigger his own.
 "Don't leave," she murmured as he rolled off her. "Stay with me
tonight. Sleep beside me."
 "I will, Scully. I'm not going anywhere. Not without you. Not ever
again."

 Later, she woke up to his hands running up and down her body, his face
buried in her hair while his tongue traced the outline of her ear.
"Mulder?" she asked sleepily.
 "I need you again, Scully. I'm sorry. I'm trying not to be a pig, but
I have to." In truth, Mulder didn't know what had gotten into him. It
had only been a few hours since the last time they'd made love, but he
was so hard he hurt.
 "Don't apologize, lover. It's okay."
 "You want on top?"
 "No, too sleepy. You go ahead." She wiggled beneath him and opened her
legs wider, running her hands up and down his arms as she did so.
 Mulder slipped a finger into her, trying to make sure she was ready.
He didn't want to hurt her. Convinced she was okay, he entered her and
began moving. Fast and hard.
 Scully moaned. His need must be intense for him to take her this way,
she realized. He wasn't exactly being rough, but he wasn't making the
effort to be as gentle as he usually was. For once in her life, she
realized, she was seeing Fox Mulder totally out of control. For her,
she thought with a small, smug smile. It wouldn't be much fun if he was
always this quick when they made love, but there was a heady feeling of
power in the fact that she, Dana Scully, had just managed to turn an
Oxford graduate whose self-control was legendary into a rutting animal.
  
 "Adventures in Paradise" Part 3
Mulder/Scully married
Disclaimed, summarized, etc. in Part 1

 Mulder climaxed with a speed that was almost unbelievable. He'd never
come that fast, he realized. Not just with his wife, but ever. Even
years ago, in his first sexual relationship, which began when he was
only nineteen, he'd been able to last longer than that. He didn't know
whether to be amazed or terrified.
 "Sweetheart, do you want to come? I didn't mean to hog all the fun. I
can. . ."
 "No, it's okay," she interupted. "I just want you to hold me while we
go back to sleep. Women don't always have an orgasm everytime, you
know. Learned that in medical school."
 "Oh, I don't know about that. Guess I'll just have to make sure I
double your pleasure next time," he growled into her ear.
 
 When Scully woke up again, it was morning and she was alone in their
bed.
 "Mulder. Where are you?"
 "I'm here, sweetheart. How are you feeling?" he asked, sitting down
beside her.
 "Um, okay. A little bit of a headache, but not too bad. Why are you
smiling at me like that?"
 "Why don't you go brush your teeth and get some asprin, then come
back. I'll explain."
 Scully returned a few minutes later and lay back down beside Mulder,
who was now stretched out on the bed with one hand propping up his
head.
 "Okay, Mulder, out with it. I obviously did something last night that
you want to tease me about. What was it?"
 "How much of last night do you remember?"
 "Well, I remember being out at the Laus' house and the drive home.
After that, it's kind of a blur. I know we made love. Twice, I think.
Once was real slow and sensual. The second time, I think you were going
for some sort of speed record."
 "Yeah. I didn't mean to be so quick. I don't know what came over me."
 "It's okay. You needed me. I like it when you need me."
 "So that's all you remember?"
 "I guess. What did I say, Mulder?"
 "Well, you were a mite bit confused as to some aspects of our
relationship."
 "Mulder, if you're going to try to convince me that I thought you were
somebody else, it's not going to work. Even in my fantasies, I've only
been with you since the day we first met."
 "Oh, you had the "who" down pat Scully. Also the "what" and the "why".
It was "where and when" that you were a mixed up about."
 "Where did I think we were?"
 "Home; specifically, my apartment in Alexandria."
 "Okay, so I got drunk and forgot we were in Hawaii. That's mildly
amusing, but I don't think it's all THAT hilarious."
 "Scully, can I ask you a question?"
 "Sure. What?"
 "Remember when you had to shoot me, then you drove me out to New
Mexico and left me with a Navajo healer, then you thought I had died in
that fire?"
 "Of course I remember, Mulder. It was the worst experience of my life.
I thought I'd lost you. Why are we. . ?"
 He gave her a grin that would have put the Cheshire Cat to shame.
"Scully, if you and Skinner hadn't been holding guns on each other
playing cops-and-robbers in my apartment when I got back, exactly how
were you planning on welcoming me home?"
 Scully turned red. Completely. She could feel her face flaming.
 "I thought you had just come back?" she asked.
 "Mmmhmm. Apologized for shooting me at least a dozen times. Between
kisses. Begged me to make love to you. If I'd known that was what you
had in mind, I would have just shot Skinner. We could have made love
over his dead body. I mean, I do remember you were awfully glad to see
me. Kept smiling and touching me. Told me you'd had a very strong
feeling that I was still alive, which I found amazing coming from my
skeptical, scientific partner. But, baby, I had no idea you were THAT
glad to see me!"
 "You came to me," she said softly.
 "I came in you, sweetheart. Twice." 
 "I don't mean last night and I don't mean our bodies. Our souls. When
I thought I'd lost you, you came to me in a dream. Reassured me that
you'd return. If you'd walked in then, without Skinner there, I
wouldn't have bothered to beg. I'd just have attacked you. You would
have had to peel me off your body and used handcuffs or a firehose to
keep me away!"
 "Dana! You never told me any of this before."
 "Well, it sounded so weird. Dream communication is the sort of stuff
you believe in, not me. And then, afterwards, with Melissa dead it
didn't seem right. I desperately wanted to comfort yo over your
father's death and have you comfort me over Melissa's - and we did do
that, to a certain extent - but climbing into bed together when we were
both grieving and our careers were in jeopardy didn't seem right."
 "For a man who is supposedly intelligent and a trained observer, I
sure as hell missed a lot of signals, didn't I?"
 "Well, it took you a while," she admitted with a smile. "But we
eventually got to where we wanted to be."

 The weeks in Hawaii passed with a sort of dreamy contentment for
Scully and Mulder. They were working, of course, but only 40 hours a
week, sometimes even less. It was a marked contrast to the 60-hour
workweeks they'd routinely pulled previously.
 During their off hours, they went to the beach to jog, swim or
windsurf. They also hit various tourist spots. John Lau had become more
than their supervisor, too. He and Marnie were their friends. Because
Scully and Mulder were older and more experienced than the other agents
in the Honolulu Field Office - and because they were only there
temporarily - Lau had relaxed the barrier that normally would have
existed between them.
 Not that it was quite perfect. Dana missed her mother, for one thing.
She had been used to talking to her at least once a week and seeing her
a couple of times a month. The distance wouldn't have been so bad, if
they could have called each other or even written letters, but because
of the secrecy needed to protect the agents that was forbidden. She
could also tell that Mulder was growing restless and bored with routine
surveillance work. Her husband was anxious to get back to the X-Files.
 One day, after a particularly dull assignment, Mulder finally voiced
his dissatisfaction. "Do you think Skinner is ever going to call and
tell us we can come back to Washington? I'm beginning to think this is
a permanent reassignment! Maybe it was just a sneaky way of closing
down the X-Files, something less obvious than  burning down our office.
Send Scully and Mulder to Hawaii and hope they'll be too busy making
love to notice their careers just went up in flames!"
 "Skinner doesn't know we're doing that," Scully pointed out in an
amused voice.
 "I don't think he'd be completely shocked. I still remember the look
on his face when we both reassured him that we had no problem living
together in the same apartment while we were out here."
 "You're not happy here?"
 "Dana, I love being with you. You know that. It's great that we don't
have to hide our relationship from Lau or our neighbors. And I'm glad
we have lots of time to be alone together. Our sex life is fantastic!
I'm certainly not complaining about that aspect of our stay in Hawaii.
It's just that, career-wise, I'm beginning to think we've hit a dead
end. Besides, I know you miss your Mom. It's hard for you, not even
being able to phone her, isn't it?"
 "Yeah," admitted Scully with a sigh. "I miss her. Believe it or not, I
kind of miss the Lone Gunmen and Skinner, too. I love being out here
and I know once we leave I'll really miss Marnie and John and Aaron.
But it's like summer vacation when you're a kid. You can be having a
great time, but sometime around mid-August you start getting eager to
get back to school, to get back to work. It's hitting me, too."
 When they arrived home, Mulder said, "I'm going out for a run. You
want to come?"
 He was just being polite, Dana realized. Usually they jogged together,
but it was obvious tonight that Mulder needed to run hard enough to rid
himself of his frustration. Dana was in top physical shape - she jogged
or swam almost daily - but there was no way she could run fast enough
to keep up with him when he was in this mood.
 "No thanks, lover. I'll just stay here and get supper started."
 Mulder ran along the hard packed sand near the water's edge until he
was near exhaustion, then turned around and slowed to a jog as he
headed home. He felt better now, able to put their situation in
perspective. In a way, he felt like a jerk for even voicing his
complaints to Dana. But sharing his thoughts with her was second nature
by now. For years, the only feelings he'd ever hidden from her had been
his sexual fantasies of the two of them together and now even that
barrier had crumbled.
 Could he adapt to living in Hawaii permanently? Amazingly enough, he
realized he probably could. It was the not knowing that was the
problem. If they were going to be out here for the rest of their lives,
they needed to know. They needed to be able to let their families know
where they were.
 Another thing, he thought as he reverted to an earlier topic that had
flashed through his head, he had had to stop jumping Dana every single
night. He never let up, except for the few days of the month when
nature demanded it. Hell, maybe it wouldn't be so bad if he was
restraining himself only to nights. But there were occasional early
mornings and weekend afternoons, too. It couldn't be good for her. She
was strong, of course, but physically tiny. And it hadn't been that
long since she'd recovered from her fight with cancer. It wasn't like
she ever objected to his advances. On the contrary, she was so eager it
shocked him sometimes. Still. . .
 He had left the beach by this point and was jogging slowly down the
sidewalk that led to their apartment complex when he passed a teen-age
boy selling flowers. It occurred to him that this would be a nice
gesture. He'd never brought her flowers when she was healthy before,
just a couple of times when she was in the hospital. He'd never courted
her at all, really. Just spent years dragging her around the country
investigating aliens and mutants, then demanded that she marry him when
she'd been fool enough to laughingly agree to whatever he wanted one
evening when they were in Las Vegas. It didn't seem to bother her and
she knew that he loved her, but sometimes it bothered him a little bit.
 Arriving home hot, sweaty and clutching a bouquet of flowers, he
opened the door. An aroma of spices and sizzling meat hit him. He had
no idea what she was cooking, but it smelled delicious.
 "Hey, sweetheart. I brought you these," he said, thrusting the flowers
at her.
 "Thank you, Fox. But, uh, it's not my birthday or anything."
 Mulder sat down to remove his shoes and socks while she looked for
something to put the flowers in. Lacking a vase, she stuffed them into
a pitcher they usually used for iced tea.
 Standing up to strip off his T-shirt, Mulder said, as he pulled his
head free, "Didn't we have this conversation a few weeks ago, in regard
to your earrings? I'm your husband. I have the right to buy you
things."
 Scully was smelling the flowers and smiling at him. "I know. Now I
want to say thank you."
 "You just did," he replied, puzzled.
 "Not like I want to." She set the flowers down on the table and
reached for him. Standing with her back to the wall, she hooked her
fingers into the waistband of his shorts and pulled him up against her.
He flattened his palms on either side of her face to keep from crushing
her as she stood on tiptoes to kiss him. Not a chaste little smooch of
gratitude, like he was expecting, but a deep, wet kiss that went on and
on.
 "Dana, I'm all sweaty."
 "I know. I like it."
 "Let me go shower first. Better yet, you come shower with me."
 "It's a tempting offer, but no. Right here, Fox. Right now."
 She pushed his jogging shorts down, snagging his underwear with them.
It was no use him telling her he was interested in what she was
suggesting. It was blatantly obvious that he was.
 "Just like this, sweetheart? Up against the wall?"
 "Just," she paused to kiss him, "like," another kiss, "this."
 Scully guided his hand to her panties beneath the short skirt she was
wearing so he could tug them off. Then she guided him into her. He
lifted her up as he surged into her. It was quick, sweaty and messy,
but they both climaxed soon and virtually simultaneously.
 Afterwards, lying entwined together on the living room rug, both of
them naked now, Mulder asked a question. "Dana, just for future
reference, is it me being all sweaty and half-naked that turns you on,
or is it the flowers or a combination of both?"
 "Ooh, I don't know. I guess you'll just have to find that out by trial
and error. Like, for instance, sometime you'll have to bring me flowers
when you're fully clothed. And sometimes you'll have to come in all
sweaty and start stripping off your clothes when you haven't brought me
flowers. And sometimes. . ."
 "Sweetheart, why do I get the feeling that in each of these
circumstances we're going to end up making love?"
 "Am I becoming that predictable?"
 "Scully, there are many words I'd use to describe you, but predictable
is definitely not one of them!"
 Just then, the phone rang. "Probably John, wanting us to work, or
Marnie, wanting us to come over for dinner," Dana suggested.
 "Or somebody trying to sell us something," Mulder replied, as he
reached for the phone. "Hello?"
 "Agent Mulder?" the voice was Skinner's.
 "Assistant Director Skinner? Isn't it about midnight back where you
are?"
 "Yes, it's quite late here. Why do you sound so out of breath?"
 "Oh, I was out running. Just came in, as a matter of fact."
 "Well, is Agent Scully there?"
 "Uh, yeah, she's right here." He handed the phone to his wife.
 "Yes, sir?"
 "You sound out of breath, too. Were you exercising with Agent Mulder?"
 "Yes, sir," Scully replied, trying to keep a straight face. Or at
least keep the laughter out of her voice.
 "Well, then, let me talk to him again."
 "Yes, sir," Mulder asked, wondering if they were just going to pass
the phone around all evening.
 "I take it you've finished up with whatever Lau originally needed you
out there for?" Skinner asked.
 "Weeks ago. We've just been doing routine surveillance and
investigative work for the Honolulu field office lately." 
 "Well, get your bags packed and get yourselves on the next possible
flight back to Washington. Krycek was convicted this afternoon and
various forces seem convinced that if anything were to happen to you
and Agent Scully, it would cause more problems than the two of you do
poking into things. Besides, you're needed here. We've got a werid case
that no one else wants to touch."
 Mulder had been holding the phone slightly away from his ear so that
Scully, leaning in, could hear also. "We're on our way," the agents
said together.

Author's e-mail address: tapw63@yahoo.com.