TITLE:          CAT FIGHT
AUTHOR:         DONNILEE
E-MAIL:         DONNILEE@SNET.NET
CATEGORY:       MSR/M-POV
RATING:         NC-17
SPOILERS:       Little ones for Duane Barry, Never Again, 
Tithonus, Milagro, Detour, Darkness Falls Leonard Betts, Fire, 
Rain King, Fight the Future.  You might miss them.  They 
certainly won't ruin anything for you.

SUMMARY:        Scully loses her cool and fights for 
Mulder's honor, revealing more than she meant to.  What 
will they do now?

AUTHOR'S NOTE:  This story is just another biscuit.  Its 
an idea that was put forth by RonniePR to have one or 
the other of our dynamic duo actually get into a 
confrontation with a rival.  I decided to give it a shot.  
I need to get to those sequels, but ... I must write while 
the bug is biting, you know?  So, hope you enjoy this 
little smut biscuit.

XXXXXXXXXX

PART 1 (PG-13)
HOOVER BUILDING
FOURTH FLOOR INFIRMARY
3:00 PM

I was in a state of complete and utter shock.  My partner 
was sitting on a table in the infirmary while a nurse 
dabbed antiseptic lotion on a cut above her eyebrow.

She was giving the nurse a hard time spouting her 'I'm a 
doctor' crap and 'I can take care of myself,' crap.

Nurse Ratchett as I call her; a 50ish woman with a face 
that resembled Munch's scream painting, was having none of 
it, and grasping my recalcitrant partner by the chin to 
hold her still like she was a misbehaving child.

Now it was not unusual for my partner to find herself 
banged up or in need of medical attention.  Since teaming 
up with me seven years ago, she had almost surpassed me for 
bodily injury ... almost.

No, that part wasn't unusual.  What was unusual, what had 
induced this state of shock, was the reason for her 
injuries.  

She was not attacked by a psychotic date with a talking 
tattoo.  She was not attacked by a privacy-invading author.  
Nor was abducted by a madman afraid of aliens or a shadow 
government.  Alas, she had not been stranded in the woods, eaten 
by mutant bugs, nor did she fall, or fight for her life against 
a head growing cancer mutant, nor did she get shot by a rookie 
replacement partner.

No, my partner was sporting a cut eyebrow, a split lip and 
bruised ribs because ...

She was in a cat-fight.

That's right, a cat-fight.

Scully, Ms. 'I Am a Medical Doctor,' Dana Scully, was in a 
cat-fight.

Scully, Ms. 'I am a Calm, Cool, Collected Scientist, FBI 
Agent,' Dana Scully, was in a cat-fight.

Scully, Ms. 'I Never Lose my Temper,' Dana Scully, was in a 
good old fashioned, nail-scratching, hair-pulling, kicking 
punching, choking, cat fight.

And the ultimate shocker; she was in a cat fight ... over 
me.  

Me, Spooky Fox Mulder, partner extraordinnaire - NOT!

Me, her pain-in-the-ass partner, who has caused her more 
grief and anguish than any one person should have to endure.

Me, the man she'd stood up for, lied for and saved, but 
never once gave any indication that we were more than 
friends.  I simply couldn't wrap my mind around it.  We 
were just friends, weren't we?

XXXXXXXXXX
HOOVER BUILDING
THIRD FLOOR - 2:30 PM

Maybe we were just friends.  I could have been reading into 
this.  I just couldn't believe it.  I had walked in on the 
tail end of it.  Right there outside Skinner's office, in 
his waiting room, in front of his secretary's desk, she had 
some rookie agent in a wrestler's head lock.  

The woman had to be nearly eight inches taller than Scully, 
hugging 5' 10" and outweighed her by forty pounds.  I knew 
her.  Her name was Brenda Forsithe.  She'd flirted with me, 
asked me out a few times.  Of course, I'd turned her down.  
I'd had no interest in anyone except my partner for a long 
time.

Despite the height and weight difference, my Scully had her 
subdued, hissing through clenched teeth as she yanked on 
her long, brunette hair.

Scully barely had a hair out of place, her make up was 
still perfect.  The trickle of blood on her forehead from a 
well aimed finger nail marred the perfection of her face, 
as well as the split lip from said rookie agent landing a 
lucky bitch slap wearing a gaudy faux marquisette ring.

Her jacket was unbuttoned and one padded shoulder was 
hanging off onto her arm, threatening to tear.  Her blouse 
was loosened from her waist, but all buttons were in place.

She was breathing hard, her eyes icy shards of blue as she 
twisted the poor woman's neck sideways and I heard a 
gruesome crack of vertebrae. 

The woman shrieked and tried to claw Scully's arm away from 
her throat but she was fighting a losing battle.  She 
finally went limp and I heard Scully's voice through the door; 
rough, ragged and totally without mercy.

She nearly spat at the woman.  "You do NOT want to dance 
with me!  I could break your neck like a twig!"

I shouted and banged on the window with the flat of my 
hand.  "Scully, that's enough!  Don't kill her for Christ's 
sake!  She's a rookie!"

She ignored me.

She wrenched her neck again for emphasis and I heard 
another crack.  The woman shrieked again.  Scully spat out, 
"You are SOOO out of your league, you rookie bitch.  I'm warning 
you, the next time you mess with me, you'll be unconscious 
before you hit the floor.  I'm holding back.  I'm giving you one 
chance.  Do NOT mess with me or my partner EVER again!  Do I 
make myself clear?!"

The woman nodded feebly.  She continued.  "Now, I'm going 
to let you go, and you are going to walk away from me and 
not look back!"

The woman nodded feebly again.  After a deep breath she 
shoved the woman away from her roughly, releasing her hold 
on her neck at the same time.  The woman staggered forward, 
coughing and putting a hand to her neck.  She wheezed as 
Scully stood there, arms akimbo, waiting for her to recover 
and walk away.

The woman was either stupid or insane, because she 
straightened, took a deep breath, shrieked in rage and spun 
around, her leg lifting into the air in a round house kick, 
aiming for Scully's solar plexus.  

I rattled the door handle.  "Scully!  Let me in!"

She ignored me.

Scully was ready, ducked backwards, caught her ankle in 
both hands and twisted.  The woman flipped in the air and 
fell like dead weight to the floor with a grunt.  Scully 
jumped back as she leaped to her feet, lunging for her 
again.

Scully ducked into a crouch, caught the woman in the chest 
and knocked the wind out of her with her shoulder.  As she 
clutched her ribs, Scully's elbow came up, crashing into 
the woman's face.  At the same time her knee came up and 
slammed into the woman's stomach.

A dramatic spray of blood from the woman's broken nose 
splattered across her astonished face as her head snapped 
back.  Then she crumpled to the floor unconscious.

"Oops.  Well, she'd been warned," I thought, without humor.

I heard Skinner and a few others snort and realized I'd 
said it out loud.

I watched all this through the small window of the waiting 
room, standing in the hall.  Somehow, one of them had 
locked the door.  Skinner had grabbed the nearest phone and 
told me to get my ass up there pronto.  I'd thought I was 
in trouble but went quickly anyway, preparing to be reamed 
out by the Assistant Director.  Instead I found him the 
hallway, locked out.

He merely pointed to the door and I stepped up to it, 
looking through and watched the action.  What the hell was 
going on? I wondered.

I rattled the door and shouted to Scully several times 
during this scenario but I was ignored.  As the woman lay 
unconscious on the carpet, Scully knelt down and checked 
her pulse.  She stood and looked at the door, seeing me 
through the little window, a look of utter amazement on my 
face.

Now, one of my secrets was that I found it an incredible 
turn on when Scully got aggressive in any way.  Usually it 
was when she was growling at a suspect, or bearing her 
weapon down, crouched in a firing stance.  I'd seen her 
take men twice her size to the ground because they 
underestimated her.

Fortunately, I was facing the door.  Skinner and the small 
crowd that had formed behind me was trying to peer over my 
shoulder.  I blocked their sight line as best I could.  At 
the first growl of Scully's ragged alto, all the blood in 
my head had rushed south to the other head and I was sporting a 
boner like a lead pipe.

Her face crumpled when she saw me through the window and 
she put her hands over her face, taking a deep breath, her 
shoulders shuddering.  

I hollered through the door, "Scully, open up!  Let me in!"

She looked up finally and walked slowly to the door.  I 
could see her slight limp.  She unlocked it and stepped 
back, not saying a word.  She turned her back to me and 
stood in front of Kimberly's desk.  I turned to look at 
Skinner and said, "Give me a minute."

He nodded and said, "Try to calm her down.  She won't 
listen to anyone but you anyway."  He turned to the crowd.  
"O.K., show's over, everybody clear out."

I heard somebody say, "Spooky to the rescue of his 
partner."

Someone else responded, "Isn't it usually the other way 
around?"

Just then two EMTs rounded the corner.  I opened the door 
and let them slide past me.  They quickly lifted the woman 
onto a stretcher and carted her off.  Scully never turned 
around.  I closed the door softly behind me and locked it 
again.

When she heard the snick of the lock, she turned.  She 
asked, "Aren't you going to go and check on her?"

I was puzzled and must have looked that way.  I said, "No, 
I'm checking on you.  She's being taken care of."

She nodded.  Her mouth screwing up as she tried not to cry.  
I didn't know what this was all about at this point, but I 
held my arms out.  She took a tentative step toward me.  
She sobbed once and then fell into my arms.  I glanced up to see 
Darlene peering in the window.  I gave her a dirty look and her 
face disappeared.  I wrapped my arms around her back and pulled 
her up to me, forgetting that I had a hard on.

I remembered with a jolt of realization, when her soft body 
landed against my groin.  I bit down on a moan and pulled 
my hips back, but I was too late.  She'd felt it, and she'd 
heard my muffled moan.

Her head snapped up to meet my eyes.  I shrugged sheepishly 
and swallowed hard.  "Sorry," I croaked.

The corners of her mouth turned up quickly but then 
dissolved into anguish.  But instead of pushing me away 
like I thought she would, she pulled me to her again, and 
let her body fall against my hips.  I gasped but stood very 
still, feeling my heat pulse against her stomach.  
Apparently, she was going to ignore it, so I did too, as 
best I could anyway.

I whispered, "Scully, are you all right?  Do you need to go 
to the hospital?"

She sniffed.  "No, I'm fine."

I snorted.  "You're a long ways from fine, Scully.  You just 
beat the shit out of Agent Forsithe.  What the hell was this all 
about?"

She shook her head like she didn't want to tell me.  
"Scully, you have to tell me.  I can't help you if you 
don't, and Skinner is going to want to know.  Plus, Brenda 
is going to wake up and tell her side.  We have to be 
ready."

"We?" she asked in a puzzled voice.

"Of course," I replied, not really sure why she would 
question me standing up for her.

She pushed away slightly and looked up at me.  "God, I'm 
such an ass," she whispered.

I cupped her shoulders.  "What happened?"

"I got into a fight."

I barked out quick, short burst of laughter and then tamped 
it down.  "Obviously."

She coughed and then wiped the blood from her lip with the 
back of her hand.  I reached over to the desk and yanked a 
few tissues from the box sitting there and handed them to 
her.

She nodded her thanks and dabbed at her lips, wincing as 
she did so.  I pulled my handkerchief out of my back pocket 
and dabbed the blood off her forehead.  "Scully, what was 
this fight about?"

She looked at the floor and her face screwed up again.  
"What is it?" I asked.

"I'm embarrassed, Mulder.  I've never lost control like 
that before."

"I've never seen you like that before."  She stepped away 
from me and I leaned on the desk, crossing my arms over my 
chest.  I pulled my jacket over my crotch in a feeble 
attempt to hide my very ungentlemanly response to her 
little fight.

She smiled ruefully at me.  "Me neither."

"You don't need to be embarrassed.  We all lose it 
sometimes.  She must have provoked you.  Just tell me.  I 
know you don't lose your temper for no good reason.  It 
must have been important for you to actually get into a 
..."

"Cat-fight," she mumbled.

"Cat-fight?" I asked, not sure I was understanding.

"It was a cat fight, Mulder.  The first one I've ever been 
in.  Jesus!  I was just in a cat-fight!"

My heart leaped up into my throat and formed a knot there 
that I could barely speak around.  Cat-fight?  Was she 
implying that this was over a man?  No way.  It couldn't 
be!

"Scully," I croaked.  "You were fighting over a ... man?" I 
knew I sounded choked and incredulous, but I couldn't help 
it.  Who would Scully defend?  Who would she fight over?

She blushed, actually blushed and I felt a wave of hurt.  I 
knew I shouldn't, but I did anyway.  She looked up 
suddenly, heat flushing her face.

"Yes, I was fighting over a man."

I couldn't keep the hurt off my face apparently because she 
quickly said, "No, Mulder!"

"No, what?" I asked suddenly, more harshly than I meant to.

"Don't you want to know who I was fighting over?"

I looked away.  "Not especially," I answered.  I knew I 
sounded sullen and couldn't help it.

I glanced at her and she smiled and winced again as it 
pulled her split lip.  Great, she thought this was funny.  
"I don't find this funny, Scully.  I didn't even know you 
were seeing anyone."

"Hello pot, this is the kettle," she mumbled.

"What?!"

I looked away again and she said, "Mulder, look at me."

I stubbornly looked at the door, seeing that no one was 
there any more.  Skinner must have chased them all away.  
"Mulder, look at me!" she said, more forcefully.

I turned my head slowly and looked at her, biting my lower 
lip, wondering why I was being such a jerk.  She was hurt.  
I should be rushing her down to the infirmary.  This was 
none of my business anyway.

She swallowed and took another deep breath.  "I was 
fighting over you, Mulder."

I actually felt my eyes get as wide as saucers.  I've seen 
and heard a lot of amazing, shocking things, but I don't 
think any of them ever had this affect on me.

I started breathing harshly, my eyes wide in astonishment.  
I felt my flagging erection surge back full force.  My 
heart began knocking against my ribcage.

I gasped and felt light headed.  The room swam and I bent 
over, murmuring, "Christ, I'm going to pass out."

Scully was next to me in an instant and lifted my own hands 
to put them over my nose and mouth.  "Breathe slow, you're 
hyperventilating," she directed.

I did, three or four times and felt the dizziness fade 
away.  When it did, I focused on her again and lowered my 
hands.  She was staring at me, her jaw slack and she licked 
her lips, drawing my eyes to her split lip.  I raised one 
hand and brushed the corner of her mouth.  "You're hurt," I 
said stupidly.

She nodded.  "A little, nothing big."

"Scully?  Why were you fighting over me?"

"We'll talk later, O.K.?"

I nodded.  "You have to go down to the infirmary at least."

"No," she said.  I heard the stubborn note in her voice.  

I put my hands on her shoulders.  "You have to.  You'll 
need to fill out an incident report, since this happened in 
the building.  You don't have a choice."

She breathed in harshly through her nose and nodded.  
"Damn," she uttered under her breath.

I smiled at her, suddenly feeling really goofy.  "You were 
really fighting over me?"  I teased. I couldn't help it.  I 
had to pick on her for this.  I was instantly contrite as I 
saw the hurt flash across her face and her eyes tear up.

Her neck flushed again, but this time it didn't reach her 
face.  She examined the carpet again and then said, "Does 
that freak you out?"

"A little," I admitted.

"I'm sorry.  I don't know what happened, what came over me.  
I just ... couldn't listen to her anymore.  She talked 
about you like you were a piece of meat, a stud for hire."

I laughed again, quick and short.  "Yeah, that's me.  Stud 
for hire."

She chuckled then.  "God, Mulder, I'm mortified.  I know 
you think she likes you, and you must like her, but the 
things she said, they were so insulting.  Made you sound 
like a toy."

"So you were defending my honor?  Didn't want me to be 
exploited as a sex object?" I asked, unable to keep the 
amusement out of my voice.

"Sort of."

"Sort of?"

She swallowed again, looking over my shoulder.  "I don't 
want to talk about this right now."

"If it makes you feel any better, I'm not upset."

She looked at me then.  "You're not?  You're not 
embarrassed that your partner completely lost it and beat 
up your girlfriend?"

"Girlfriend?  What are you talking about?"

She stared at me then and swallowed again.  "She said ... 
she said she was your girlfriend, or that you were dating."

My eyes went wide again and I shook my head.  This was 
starting to make more sense, but not much.  Scully wasn't 
my girlfriend either.  "I barely know her, Scully.  She's 
asked me out a couple of times but I turned her down both 
times."

"You did?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Why?  I wasn't interested in her, obviously."

"But she's your type."

"My type?  And what would that be, Scully?"

"Tall, big boobs, long, brunette hair, brown eyes."

I raised my eyebrows.  "Thought a lot about this, have 
you?"

She shook her head.  "No, I didn't need to be genius, 
Mulder.  Every woman you've ever been involved with was a 
brunette with big boobs and legs up to her neck."

"Oh, really?" I asked with a straight face.

"Diana? Phoebe? Kristin?  Those names ring a bell, Mulder?"

I chuckled then.  "Coincidence, Scully."  This was becoming 
more amusing by the minute, even though I knew it shouldn't 
be.

"Yeah, right Mulder.  Bullshit!"

"It is not!"

"Can you look me in the eye and say she isn't your type?  
That you're not attracted to her?"

I met her gaze.  "Yes."  I sighed.  "Maybe at one time, she 
would have turned my head, but not anymore."

"Not anymore?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"What is this, 'Twenty Questions,' Scully?"

She looked at the floor again, looking hurt.  Damn it.  Why 
couldn't we ever have this kind of conversation without 
injuring one another?  Why did we always have to be so 
cryptic?  The woman in front of me, the woman I've been in 
love with for nearly five years just had a cat fight over 
me with a woman who lied and said she was my girlfriend.  
Obviously, that upset Scully enough to make her beat the 
woman up.  It didn't make sense yet.  I didn't really 
understand it and I figured I didn't have the whole story 
yet.  And I was still holding back and expecting her to 
spill everything.

Why did I always hold back?  Because she expected me too?  
Because she did and I followed her lead?  I was just plain 
scared of losing her all the time.  Maybe this was the sign 
I'd been waiting for.  "I'm sorry, Scully.  I didn't mean 
to get defensive."

"It's O.K.  I'm asking personal questions that are none of 
my business."

"You have every right to ask those questions.  This woman 
obviously lied to you.  I'd be interested in knowing what 
she said."

"Later," she mumbled.

I nodded. "All right.  Look Scully, I ... " I took a deep 
breath, screwing up my courage.  "If it matters to you, 
I've only been interested in one woman for the last five 
years but she's never given me a clue that she ... felt 
what I felt.  So I've never ... pursued it.  And I 
certainly haven't pursued or dated anyone else."

"She said, she implied she'd slept with you."

"What did she say?"  Had Scully misinterpreted her?  Did it 
matter?

"She said, and I quote, 'I've already had him.'"

"She lied Scully."

She looked up at me again, a look of confusion on her face.  
"I didn't know you were interested in someone."

I smiled, realizing she didn't understand what I was 
saying.  Here I had finally gotten the courage to give her 
a hint of what I wanted and she was totally 
misunderstanding me.  "Yeah, and she's not a brunette."

"No?  Blonde then?"

"Blonde?  Where are you getting these ideas, Scully?"

"Marita, Detective White, that air head in Kroner Kansas."

I laughed then, looking at the ceiling.  "I wasn't with any of 
those women, Scully."

"Well, what's left?"

I shook my head in amusement again.  "She's a redhead."

I looked at her to find her eyes locked on my face.  All the air 
suddenly left the room.  "Mulder?" Her voice was a 
whisper.

Just then, three loud bangs landed on the door.  We both 
jumped.  Saved by the bell.  Skinner was scowling through 
the little window.  I jumped up and went to the door, 
unlocking and opening it.  God, I was such a coward.  I 
didn't know if I could look her in the face right now.

Had I really just told her that?  Jesus, I'm an idiot.  
This was not the time nor the place.  Or was it?  She'd 
just fought ... over me.  Over ME!  Christ on a crutch, 
Scully, you're killing me, I thought.  I needed to know the 
details of this story and I needed to know them soon.  This 
could careen out of control in a heart beat.  I didn't want 
to make any assumptions here.

The potential for misunderstanding was huge.  Maybe she had 
just felt that she needed to defend me because the woman 
said something insulting.  Maybe she thought my hard on had 
been for Brenda or simply from the excitement of watching 
the fight in general.  That happened to some guys, the 
adrenaline and all.  It wasn't the case here.  That strain 
on my zipper had been all for her, but she didn't know that 
yet.

Yet?

Was I going to tell her?  I needed to wait and see what 
else she had to say.

XXXXXXXXXX
HOOVER BUILDING
FOURTH FLOOR INFIRMARY
3:00 PM

Skinner was waiting patiently for Scully to be checked out 
but then we were to report immediately to his office.  I 
wasn't looking forward to that.

Finally, Scully slid onto the floor off the table, 
straightened her clothes and buttoned her jacket.  She 
patted her hair and looked at me.

"Ready?" I asked.

"As I'll ever be," she replied. 

I held the door open for her and put my hand on the small 
of her back.  She flinched slightly but didn't pull away.  
I walked her to the elevator and we stepped inside when it 
arrived.  I hit the button for the third floor, and kept my 
hand on her back.  I pressed on her slightly in reassurance 
and she smiled up at me ruefully.  Her look told me she was 
grateful.  She didn't have to say anything.

The doors opened and we stepped off the elevator.  I saw 
the faces peering at us.  A hush descended as we walked the 
length of the hall.  I kept my hand firmly on her back.  
She was ramrod straight and kept her eyes dead forward.  I 
glared at a couple of peepers and they ducked back into 
their cubicles.  We entered Kimberly's office and she waved 
us in.  "He's waiting for you."

XXXXXXXXX
A.D. SKINNER'S OFFICE
THIRD FLOOR
HOOVER BUILDING

"Thanks, Kim," I said.

She said, "Agent Scully?"

Scully stopped and turned to her, almost scowling, 
obviously expecting some nosey question.  Instead we were 
both shocked when she opened her mouth.  "You may get in 
trouble for this, but ... I was cheering for you.  That 
bitch needed to be put in her place."

"Excuse me?" I asked.

Kim scowled.  "She tried to steal my man too."

Scully's mouth dropped open.  "Mulder's not my man."

Kim cut her off.  "He's not?  Well, in any case, I 
applaud you.  She loves to play mind games and she loves to 
steal men from other women.  She gets off on being a home 
wrecker.  She likes to break up any relationship, even ones 
like yours and Agent Mulder's apparently.  If you two aren't 
involved that is.  She's a slut, First Class.  That woman's 
trying 
to sleep her way to the top."

"Uh, thanks, I think," Scully murmured.

Kimberly smiled.  "I hope he's not too tough on you.  I 
already talked to him.  I told him what a bitch she is and 
that she probably provoked you.  Lord knows she's lucky I 
don't carry a gun."

"Later, Kim," I said.

She nodded and I rapped once on Skinner's door.  "Come in," 
he bellowed from the other side of the door.  We entered 
and he waved at the chairs in front of his desk.  We sat.  
I noticed Scully sitting gingerly on the edge.  Her ribs 
weren't broken, but I knew she was bruised badly enough 
that they had insisted on a x-ray.  I didn't know 
how bad, but I'd seen her favoring her right side.

Skinner looked from her, to me, and back to her.  Finally 
he said, "I don't even know what to say first."

Scully said, "I'm sorry sir.  This shouldn't have 
happened."

"Damn right, it shouldn't!"

Scully hung her head.  I hated to see her like that.  
Scully never hung her head.  Now she looked defeated, and 
this was about me.  This time for sure.  I felt the old 
familiar guilty feelings assail me.  Every time Scully was 
in a tight spot it was because of me.

Skinner said, "I don't know what this was all about but I 
expect a report on my desk by next Monday morning."

"Yes, sir," Scully replied, her eyes still on the toes of 
her shoes.

Skinner continued.  "In the meantime, I'm afraid I have to 
suspend you for the rest of the week for 'behavior 
unbecoming an agent.'"

"What?!" I exclaimed.

Scully just said, "I understand."

"I don't understand!" I said.  "Sir, that's entirely over 
the top.  Agent Scully was defending me!  I don't know what 
that woman said, but we both know Agent Scully.  She 
doesn't lose it over nothing.  She's the most professional 
person I know.  We both know that she must have been 
provoked!"

He sighed.  "I know that.  Agent Scully, I'm surprised at 
you.  More than that, I'm disappointed in you. I've always 
admired your professionalism.  I've counted on it.  I don't 
know what could have caused you to get into a fight with 
this woman."

Scully opened her mouth but he cut her off before she could 
speak.

"And I don't care.  Mulder can fight his own battles, the 
personal ones anyway.  And I assume this was personal.  I 
doubt that woman had committed any crime other than being a 
bitch.  There is no excuse for having a barroom brawl in my 
waiting room!"

Scully swallowed.  "I know.  I'm sorry, sir.  It will never 
happen again."

He nodded.  "Please give me your badge and weapon.  They 
will be returned, but for now, you have to leave them 
here."

She stood and removed the clip holster from the back of her 
skirt and laid it on his desk.  She reached into the inside 
pocket of her jacket and dropped her I.D. next to the gun.

"Sir ..." I began.

"Can it, Mulder.  There's nothing to be done.  I have to do 
this, much as it pains me.  Too many people saw this.  I 
can't NOT discipline in this situation.  If it makes you 
feel any better, Agent Forsithe is suspended as well."

"But, sir, can't she just be on desk duty?!" I asked.

He shook his head.  Scully turned to me.  "Forget it, Mulder.  
It's done.  I lost it.  I pay the consequences.  I expected 
this.  I'm surprised it's not worse."

"But ..."

"Forget it, Mulder," she repeated. "Will you take me home?  My 
ribs are killing me.  I need to lie down."

I looked at Skinner and he nodded.  "It's late enough in 
the day.  Take off."  I stood and we walked to the door.  
When we reached it he said, "Agent Scully."

She turned.  "I'm sorry.  You know I didn't want to do 
this."

"I understand," she replied.  

We left and went down to the basement in silence.  She 
gathered up her coat and laptop and I did the same, 
stuffing some things into my briefcase.  I had a feeling I 
might be working from home for the next few days.  I 
certainly wasn't going anywhere without Scully.  I refused 
to go out in the field without her.

We walked to the garage in silence.  I stopped in front of 
our cars.  "You want to leave your car here?"

She shook her head.  "No, I won't want to come get it later."

"If you want, I can drive and leave my car here.  I'll take 
a cab in the morning and come back and get it."

She looked up at me and I was struck by how exhausted and 
tired she was.  She opened her mouth to protest and I said, 
"Scully, you're tired.  You're exhausted, I can see it.  
You shouldn't be driving."

She sighed and said, "All right."

I was surprised at her easy acceptance.  She must have been 
beat.  She unlocked her car and handed me the keys.  I threw our 
stuff in the back seat and slid behind the wheel.  We made the 
drive to Georgetown in silence.

My mind was whirling with all the possibilities and 
implications.  I wasn't going to push, but I was going to 
get the whole story, come hell or high water.



PART 2 (R)
DANA SCULLY'S APARTMENT
5:00 PM

We both got into comfortable clothes at her place.  I 
always left a bag there for emergencies and I sighed when I 
was free of my suit and comfortable in sweatpants and a tee 
shirt.  I made her tea while she changed into a similar 
outfit.  

I almost groaned when she emerged into the living room.  
She wasn't wearing a bra.  Was she trying to kill me?  I 
could see her nipples poking through the cotton and it took 
all my efforts to keep my eyes on her face.  Jesus, Scully, 
I thought, you're going to be the death of me.  I squirmed, 
feeling my groin tingle and I ruthlessly suppressed it.

Look at her face, I thought.  Just look at her face.

She sat down on the opposite end of the couch and we both 
pulled our stocking feet up and reclined against the 
armrests.  I left one foot on the floor.  The other I 
curled up in front of me.  She had both legs bent and in 
front of her like a shield.  She cradled her tea cup 
against her chest.

We sat in silence, barely having said two words since we 
arrived.  Finally, I said, "Do you want to tell me about 
this now, or would you rather get some sleep and tell me 
later?"

The way I asked the question, she knew that I was saying 
she was going to tell me one way or the other.  But I was 
giving her an out, some time to collect herself and gather 
her thoughts.  I wasn't going to push her.

She inhaled deeply and looked at me.  She licked her lips 
again.  Her tongue wouldn't stay away from that cut on her 
lip and it was driving me crazy to see her pink tongue 
darting out to lick it every minute or so.  Finally she 
said, "I might as well tell you now.  It's not going to get 
any easier."

"I know you're hurting Scully.  I'm not going to push 
right now.  I want you to relax and recover from this, but 
I also need to know what this was all about.  You told me that 
not everything is about me.  But it obviously 
involved me this time."

She nodded.  "You deserve to know."

"I don't know about that, but obviously this woman said 
some things and I want to know what they are.  If she's 
spreading rumors about me, I need to deal with that.  I'll 
want to talk to her and shut her up."

"I think I took care of that," she mumbled.

I laughed then and she smiled, not quite able to laugh.  I 
looked at her and said, "It's up to you when you tell me."

"Now," she said.  I waited patiently and sipped my tea 
while she gathered her thoughts.  I could almost see the 
gears turning in her head.

"I ran into her in the hallway outside Skinner's office.  
She didn't see me and I heard her talking to that blonde 
chick in the cubicle across the hall."

"The secretary?"

"Yeah."

"Darlene," I said, without thinking.

She looked at me.  "Know all the secretaries names, do 
you?"  

It was a tease, but I detected a note of sarcasm in her 
voice.  "I have an eidetic memory Scully.  All I have to do 
is hear someone's name once, and I never forget it."

She nodded, looking chagrined.  "Contrary to common belief, 
I haven't fucked the entire secretarial pool," I said, 
hearing my own sarcasm floating up, despite my resolve to 
be cool about this and just let her explain.  Why was I 
defending myself anyway?

She coughed a little and said, "I'm sorry, Mulder.  I don't 
know what's wrong with me."

"It's all right.  I didn't mean to be defensive.  But I'm 
not stupid, Scully. I've heard the rumors.  I've just never 
cared enough to disabuse anybody of their notions.  Hey, 
I'm a guy.  If everyone wants to think I'm Don Juan, let them.  
What do I care?  It doesn't hurt me any."

"Good for the ego, huh?" she said, her voice a tease now.

I chuckled.  "Sometimes.  It's ironic though, isn't it?"

"What is?"

"That I have that reputation when most woman won't come 
near me with a ten foot pole."

She laughed now, a mirthless laugh.  "Mulder, you are such 
an ostrich."

"Ostrich?"

"Yeah, your head is in the sand."

"What do you mean by that?"  Man, was it 'Pick on Mulder 
Day'?

She sighed and looked at me again.  "Mulder, you could have 
any woman you want.  I know for a fact that three quarters 
of that secretarial pool and probably half the single 
female agents would jump at a chance to go out with you."

My jaw dropped open as I started shaking my head in denial.  
"Scully, that's ridiculous!"

She kept talking as if I hadn't said anything.  "You're a 
brilliant, fascinating man, Mulder.  Women are intrigued by 
you.  Then there's the 'Sex Appeal Factor', which obviously 
can't be discounted."  She emphasized that last part!

"What?  Brilliant?  Fascinating?  Intriguing?  Sex appeal 
factor?  Are you delusional?" I asked.

She looked at me calmly.  "You really don't have a clue, do 
you?  That's part of your charm."

"Charm?  What are you talking about, Scully?  You obviously 
have some misconceptions here.  I am the least charming 
person I know.   You must be confusing me with somebody 
else."

She shook her head.  "No, Mulder, I'm not."

In my best deadpan, I requested, "Define the 'Sex Appeal 
Factor,'" I requested.  Vaguely, I realized that the other 
adjectives had barely registered.

She grinned, actually grinned.  "You zeroed in on that one, 
didn't you?" she teased.

I smiled.  "I'm a guy," I repeated, as if that explained 
everything.

She chuckled.  "Yes, you are, Mulder.  You are very much a 
guy.  A guy's guy.  You're brave and talented, fearless and 
arrogant.  But you're a woman's guy too, because you're 
smart and sensitive.  You always notice women.  You do 
little things that make them feel appreciated."

"Like what?"  This could be valuable information, I 
thought.

"You hold doors for them, you smile at them and say thank 
you when they help you with something, guide them through 
doors.  You naturally stick up for the underdog, but you 
let them fight their own battles.  Somehow you manage to be 
a gentleman without being patronizing.  It's a very rare 
quality in a man."

"Gosh, Scully, you're going to make me blush," I said, my 
usual sarcasm coming to the rescue again to hide my 
disbelief and embarrassment.

She smiled.  "That I would like to see, Fox Mulder 
blushing."

"I almost did in Skinner's waiting room."

She looked at me then and her mouth opened.  Her eyes met 
mine and I knew she understood.  She was remembering my 
erection pressed into her belly.  So was I and I felt my 
groin stir again.  I shifted uncomfortably, but it was she 
that blushed.  Her ivory skin couldn't hide anything.

She looked away.  "I was a little distracted at the time," 
she said.

I cleared my throat.  "Sorry, I shouldn't have mentioned 
that."

"Why not?" she asked.  "We are always pretending that 
things like that didn't happen.  Why is that?  We're adults 
for Christ's sake.  It's natural for men to get excited.  
Hell, it's natural for woman to be nurturing and 
protective.  It's going to happen."

"Embarrassment?" I offered.

"You were embarrassed?" she asked.

"Of course I was.  How could I not be?  You're kicking the 
shit out of someone, obviously hurt, both of you, and I get 
a woody over it.  Yeah, that's embarrassing.  I don't even 
want to analyze that one."

"Why is it that men get turned on by seeing woman fight?"

"I was turned on by seeing YOU fight."

Her eyes snapped up to meet mine again.  Her brow furrowed 
in confusion, then she shook her head in disbelief.  Her 
eyes asked for confirmation of what she had just heard.

I responded by nodding my head slowly in the affirmative, 
answering her unspoken question.

Finally she whispered, "Why?"

I cleared my throat again, finding it dry as desert and 
sipped my tea.  She waited but pinned me with her gaze, 
letting me know that she was not going to let this one go.  
I decided to go for broke.  There was no point in lying to 
her.  She always knew when I was fibbing.  If I wanted her 
to be honest with me, then I needed to be honest with her. 

It was never a problem in the past.  Then again, she had 
never asked these kinds of questions.  I really wasn't sure 
how this would go over.  I had to be honest, but maybe I 
could weasel out of this.  "Scully, I don't know what to 
say."

"You don't know why?"

"I know why, but I'm ..."

"What?"

"I'm afraid to tell you."

She looked at me curiously then.  "Why?"

I chuckled.  "Question of the day; why?"  She gave me her 
stern looks, eyebrow raised.

"I'm afraid of saying more than I should.  I'm afraid of 
saying things that will make you uncomfortable around me.  
I'm afraid of saying something that would make you not want 
to work with me anymore."

"I'm your friend, Mulder, give me some credit."

"You don't know what I'm going to say."

"So you are going to say it?"

I sighed again.  Seemed I was doing a lot of sighing and 
throat clearing today.  "I don't know if I can."

"Judging by the fact that this is unnerving you so much, 
it's obviously important.  I know there are subjects that 
we've danced around for years.  I thought I had it under 
control.  Obviously I didn't, or I wouldn't have lost it 
with Brenda Big Boobs."

I laughed at her description.  It was so out of character 
for her to be catty and petty.  But I can't say as it was 
turning me off.  On the contrary, I liked seeing her like 
this, being Dana.  Seeing the woman behind the doctor 
scrubs and the Donna Karen suits of the buttoned down FBI 
agent.  Was she really jealous over me?

"I'll make you a deal.  I'll answer all your questions, 
fully and honestly, but you have to do the same for me.  
And you have to tell me about this fight today, in detail, 
and leave nothing out."

She paled a little, but nodded.  "I guess that's only fair.  
Look, Mulder, we need to get some things out in the open 
and damn the consequences."

"I agree."

"So answer my question."

"What was it again?" I teased.

She smiled an exasperated smile, knowing I was stalling.  
"You said it turned you on to watch women fight; and I 
asked you why."

"No, I said it turned me on to watch YOU fight, and you 
asked me why."

She looked away and I could see the flush in her cheeks.  
She didn't redden, but she was on the verge.  This 
conversation was making her uncomfortable but I could tell 
she had resolved to go through it.  No turning back now.

"O.K., so answer the question," she repeated.

"Whenever you get aggressive, against anyone, for any 
reason, it makes me absolutely wild," I said softly.

She looked at me again, waiting to see if I would say more.  
I could tell my answer wasn't satisfactory.  She wanted 
more.  "Why?" she asked again.

"If you ask that one more time, I might scream."

She smiled.  "Well, might as well scream now and get it out 
of the way."

"Aaaaaahhhhhhhh," I shouted. 

She giggled, then quieted, still waiting.  She said, 
"Define wild."

"It makes my heart race and my mouth go dry.  It makes me 
flush hot and want to grab you and never let go.  In short, 
it makes me ... so aroused I can't think straight.  I don't 
know why.  It always has.  Like I said, I don't really 
want to analyze it.  But if I had to guess, I'd say that 
the fact that you pack all that strength and capability 
into that petite body of yours is one of the things that 
makes you so attractive to me.  When I see you exercise that 
strength, something flares inside me."

"I can't take my eyes off you when you're aggressive.  It 
doesn't matter if you're growling at a suspect, cutting 
some arrogant asshole off at the knees ... including me ... " 
I grinned and looked away. "Or if you're getting ready to 
shoot someone."

"You don't know why aggressive women turn you on?"

"There you go again, applying this to the whole damn world.  
It doesn't happen when anyone else fights, or takes 
control."

She looked at me tentatively.  

"Just you, Scully."  Now it was my turn to look away.

I wasn't looking at her so I didn't see it coming.  She 
blurted out, "You're really attracted to me ... that way?"

I whipped my head around and stared at her for all of two 
seconds and rasped out, "Yes, of course I am.  Who wouldn't 
be?  You're a beautiful woman, Scully."

She flushed again.  "Oh God," she mumbled. 

"Do you know how long I've wanted to say that to you?"  

She shook her head in the negative, still not looking at 
me.

"So many things I've wanted to say to you for so long.  But 
I was, I am terrified of losing you, Scully.  So scared 
that you will take them the wrong way."

"Wrong way?  What?  Think you want me to be more than a 
friend?"

"No.  If you thought that, you'd be right."

She turned to me again now, her eyes riveted on my face.  I 
felt the flush go up my neck but it didn't reach my face.  
"I mean," I said slowly, "that I'm afraid you'll be 
uncomfortable around me.  I'm afraid if I tell you what's 
on the tip of my tongue, you'll run away from me.  At the 
worst, I'm afraid you'll leave me.  At best, I'm afraid 
you'll retreat into your shell and I will have ruined the 
best working relationship and the best friendship I've ever 
had."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm saying, up until now, I didn't think it was worth the 
risk to ... say everything that was on my mind."

"You've lied to me?" she whispered.

"No, I've just NOT told you things.  I've NOT said things.  
If I've lied, it's only been by omission. We are both 
experts at avoiding some subjects.  And this is one of 
them.  We both hold our emotional cards every close to the 
vest."

"Whew, this is getting uncomfortable."

"I told you so," I quipped, trying to lighten the mood.

She chuckled.  "I don't know ... how much I want to know."

I made a sound of recognition.  One that said, 'I know what 
you mean.'

I said, "Why don't we start by you telling me what this 
woman said."

"Then we'll get back to the ... more than friendship 
discussion?" she asked.

"If you still want to at that point."

She nodded. "All right.  She was talking to that secretary 
... Darlene.  I heard her say, 'I'll win, just wait.  God, 
he's a great lay.'  I didn't know who they were talking 
about but I was already disgusted.  You just don't talk 
about people like that, especially not someone you 
supposedly care about."

"She doesn't care about me," I pointed out, glossing over 
my astonishment that anyone would look at me and think I 
would be a great lay.  It was good for my ego, even if it 
was based purely on conjecture.

"I know.  Then she said, 'I just have to figure out how 
that frigid, little Ice Queen figures into his life and 
get rid of her.'"

"Oh God," I groaned.

She nodded.  "That's when I knew she was talking about me.  
But I still wasn't sure if she was referring to ..."

"Me?"

"Yeah.  I shouldn't have done it but I stopped just out of 
sight of where they were and eavesdropped.  I was already 
hot from being called the Ice Queen.  I know that's what 
people call me.  I know I should ignore it, but sometimes 
it hurts."

"Who started that?"

"Jack Willis."

"If he wasn't already dead, I'd kill the bastard."

She looked at me sharply and I shrugged, asking her to let 
it go.  She did, thank god.

"So Darlene asked her, 'have you gone out with him yet?'  
She said, 'Yes, he wants me.  I just have to reel him in, 
give me another couple of weeks and I'll have him in the 
sack again, I guarantee it.  This time I'll get some proof for 
you.'"

"Jesus!" I exclaimed.

"It gets better.  Then Brenda asked Darlene, 'How about 
double or nothing?'"

"This was a bet?"

"It sounded that way to me.  I'm sure it was.  Wait till 
you hear what you're worth."

I choked and she flashed a mirthless smile at me.  "Darlene 
asked, '$500?'"

I coughed, nearly choking again.  "Christ!"

Scully continued.  "That's a lot of money, Mulder.  I 
couldn't believe two people could be so shallow.  That they 
would have sex for the sake of a bet.  What kind of a woman 
would do that?"

I sighed.  "A sick one."

She nodded.  "I was going to walk away and just tell you 
about it later and let you handle it.  But she'd said you'd 
had a date and she said she'd get you into the sack, AGAIN. 
And I was ... surprised that I didn't know about it.  I 
don't know why.  Your personal life is none of my 
business."

"Yes it is," I said.

She let that go too.  "Well, anyway, I decided I'd had 
enough when Darlene said, 'Too rich for my blood, but I'll 
keep my bet at $250.  You'll never get past the Ice 
Queen.'"

"Shit," I muttered.

"So I walked around the corner and stood behind Brenda.  
Darlene could see me but Brenda couldn't.  I saw Darlene 
look panicked, but Brenda didn't catch it.  Brenda said, 'I 
hear she's frigid anyway, so she's not really competition.  
I'll turn him on her and knock her out of the picture in no 
time.'"

"God, Scully.  What made her think ... no one could ever 
turn me against you."

"I have no idea.  I couldn't compete with her, because I 
wasn't in the position that she thought I was anyway.  And 
I don't know why it didn't occur to me that she was lying 
about the ... date."

I tried to think if I'd done anything to lead this woman 
on.  I was sure I hadn't even flirted back at her.  I'd 
rebuffed her from Day One.  That's probably why she wanted 
to snag me.  Some women were like that.  They couldn't 
stand to be rejected.  They only wanted what they couldn't 
have.  Once they got it, the thrill was gone and they moved 
on.  It was a game to them. Phoebe had been like that.  I 
could see why this was a totally foreign idea to Scully 
though.  This type of manipulative thinking just wasn't in 
her make up.  It would never even occur to her to look at 
people as game pieces for her entertainment.

"I was having a couple drinks at the Arlington Tavern one 
night and she came in and sat next to me at the bar.  She 
kept trying to flirt with me but I put her off.  When she 
wouldn't go away, I paid my tab, said good night and went 
back to my apartment."

"Guess she figured that was a date."

"Or that's what she wanted someone to think.  Some women 
just can't stand to be rejected."

"Anyway, Darlene cleared her throat and pointed at me.  
Brenda spun around and saw me.  Instead of being 
embarrassed at being caught like any normal person would be 
she said, 'Oh, speak of the devil.'"

"God, Scully, what did you say?"

"I said, 'I don't appreciate you talking about my partner 
like he's a piece of meat or a trophy.  And I certainly 
don't appreciate some punk rookie calling me names who has 
never even met me."

"What did she say?"

"She said, 'Little Miss La di da.  You don't appreciate it?  
Too bad.'  I said, 'Who the hell do think you are?'"

Scully breathed quickly a couple of times.  I could see the 
anger flowing back into her.

"Stay calm," I said in a soothing voice.  "Just tell me 
what happened."

"She said, ... and I'm not making this up."  She paused.  
"She said, I'm the woman whose going to make you cry 
because I'm going to fuck your partner till he can't see 
straight.  He is a hottie, and he obviously isn't getting 
any from you.  Are you as frigid as they say, or are you a 
lesbian?  You must be because there's no way you could work 
next to him all this time and not have gone after him."

"Shit!  That sounds like something out of a bad movie.  
Insulting to you, certainly, and to lesbians for that matter."

"I know.  I saw red, Mulder.  I don't know what happened.  
I know people like her aren't worth getting angry at and I 
should just pity them, but I snapped.  I grabbed a fist 
full of her hair and dragged the bitch across the hallway 
into Skinner's waiting room.  Kimberly wasn't there.  I 
tossed her into the room and locked the door.  I was only 
able to toss her because I'd caught her by surprise and her 
head hurt from me yanking her hair."

I let out a low whistle, but kept silent.  Scully was 
silent too for a few more moments, then she continued.  I 
pictured it and felt my groin stir.

"She screamed at me, 'Are you fucking crazy?'  And I ... I 
said, 'Yes, I am, you self serving little bitch, I'm crazy 
as a loon.'  She said, 'My God, you're as crazy as he is.'"

"Oh, so I went from being a hottie to being crazy in about 
10 seconds?"

Scully chuckled a little and said, "I guess so, although 
you can be both, you know."

"You think so?" I teased.

I smiled at her, liking that she was able to joke about 
this.  Did Scully think I was hot?  She went on.  "As a 
matter of fact, I said nearly the same thing and asked her, 
'If you think he's crazy, then why do you want to get at 
him?'"

"What was her enlightened response?" I asked sarcastically.

"She said, 'Because he's fucking gorgeous and because I 
have $2,000 riding on it.  I've already had him anyway.  I 
just need to do it again to get my money.'"

I gasped.  "Holy shit!"

"Yeah, I guess Darlene wasn't the only participant in this 
bet."

"Guess not.  Talk about behavior unbecoming an agent."

"I told her to stay the hell away from you.  God, Mulder, I 
don't know what happened.  I mean, I know you don't need me 
to protect you, but Mama Bear came out of her cage!  I was 
so incredulous and so pissed.  I know that you would have 
figured her out eventually.  It's not that I didn't give 
you any credit, but I didn't want you to be used like that, 
I didn't want to have to tell you that you had been used.  
I was operating under the assumption you had dated this 
woman.  I mean, shit, for all I know, maybe you like to be 
used.  Who am I to say?  I just wanted to scare her off.  I 
mean, I was also pissed about the way she casually threw 
insults at me too."

"She's obviously listened to all the rumors about the both 
of us, how crazy I am, your undeserved moniker.  And no, 
Scully, I would never want to be used as a toy ... except by 
you, maybe."

She coughed into her hand and chuckled in response to my 
usual innuendo, taking it in stride.  Did she know how 
serious I was?  Did she have any idea how much my dry jokes 
and innuendo covered up?  I doubted it.

"I should have just told you what I heard and walked away, 
but ..."  Her face screwed up as though she were in 
physical pain.

"Oh my God," I gasped, realization dawning on me.  "You really 
believed her.  You thought you were already too late."

She screwed her eyes shut and I saw a tear fall down her 
face.  She angrily swiped it away.  "I'm such an ass, 
Mulder, I should have known you'd see through someone like 
her, but, but ..."

"But?"

"But I believed her.  I don't know why.  It's been my 
biggest fear and she said ... she said she'd been with you 
already ... and I ... "

"You?" I asked softly.

"I lost it.  I felt sick to my stomach. I started screaming 
at her that she was a liar.  I believed her but I didn't 
want to.  I was screaming my denial at the same time I was 
thinking ... my worst nightmare was coming true."

"You're worst nightmare? Why?"  What was she saying?  Was 
she referring to me dating someone else?

She choked on a bark of laughter.  "Your turn to ask, why? 
now?"

I smiled.  "Tell me later," I said softly. I felt like if I 
interrupted the story, she might stop.

She nodded.  "I fed right into it.  She got the rise out of 
me that she wanted.  God, Mulder, I've never lost it like 
that.  She taunted me, saying she wasn't lying, and I was a 
loser and you were going to be hers and I couldn't compete 
with her and on and on."

"I said we were partners and friends and I didn't need to 
compete with anyone.  That she had the totally wrong 
impression.  And what was her problem anyway.  Just 
because we weren't a couple, didn't mean that I didn't 
respect you and want everyone else to as well, including 
her."

"Scully, you never have to compete with anyone."

She hiccuped.  "I know, but ... yes, I do.  Or I've always 
thought I did, despite what I said to her."

"Scully, no ..."

She waved her hand at me to stop and I did.  "Anyway, I 
tried to salvage my dignity by screaming at her that I was 
going to blow her cover and tell everyone what a lying slut 
she was.  I threatened to go to Section Chief Blevins and 
Kirsch and tell them about her little bets.  That's 
probably what pushed her over the edge.  I turned to go out 
the door before I did something stupid and she jumped me."

"She jumped you?"

"Yes."

"So she started it, the physical part."

"Yes. Well, the fight part, anyway.  I had yanked her by 
the hair, so I guess that technically started it.  But the 
real physical fight, yes, she attacked me after I turned my 
back."

"She grabbed my arm and spun me around, and clocked 
me across the face with an open palm. She was wearing this 
ugly silver ring and it split my lip.  I was surprised but 
still on my feet so I tussled with her trying to subdue 
her.  She was like a crazed animal, screaming that I wasn't 
going to say a word, and on and on.  It quickly got out of 
hand.  She landed a knee in my ribs twice."

"She was just too big for me, Mulder, to merely subdue her.  
She had a longer reach and she was taller and heavier.  I 
realized she was going to kick the shit out of me if I kept 
trying to just subdue her."

"So you started to fight for real."

"Yes, and then I quickly got the upper hand.  My adrenaline was 
pumping.  I didn't even feel my bruised ribs.  She thinks she's 
tough.  She's obviously all full of herself, but she's a rookie.  
I saw her every move before she made it. I knew she'd make a 
mistake.  It wasn't hard to dodge her and get her in a head 
lock, but not before she nearly scratched my eyes out.  She's 
got a wicked set of talons on her."

I whistled again.  "I think you know what happened from 
there.  You saw the end of it, I presume.  I heard you 
rattle the door, but by then I was in such a rage.  You 
know how your adrenaline gets going?"

"Yes," I said quietly.

"Well I was in a red rage.  All I could see was her and her 
disgustingly beautiful face, and I thought, God, I thought 
she'd tricked you and you'd been with her and I was so 
furious at her because I knew she'd hurt you, that she was 
just using you ... and ... I could picture you with her 
because she was your type and ... I was furious with you 
too."

"You were pissed that she had used me and was going to 
use me again.  And you were pissed because you thought I'd 
been too stupid to see it and was thinking with my little 
head instead of the big one."

She nodded.  "Let's face it Mulder, you're not known for 
your stellar intuition when it comes to women.  You've got 
it with everything else, but your choice of women has  sucked."

I chuckled without humor then.  She was right.  My track 
record wasn't the best.  What would she do when she found 
out about my current taste in women ... her?  

She was silent for another moment.  Then she whispered, 
"And I was so ... "

"You were so ... What, Scully?"

I could barely hear her when she breathed out, "I was so 
jealous."

I made a startled sound in the back of my throat.  Even as 
I'd been hoping that was what had happened here, I was 
afraid to let myself really believe it.  She looked up at 
me again, tears swimming in her eyes.  I set my mug on the 
coffee table and opened my arms to her.  "Come here, 
Scully."

She shook her head, 'no'.  

"Scully, yes.  Come here, I need to tell you something."

"Then tell me.  I'm humiliated enough."

"Damn it, Scully, trust me!  Come here!" 

Her face scrunched up like she was going to lose it again 
and I leaned forward and grabbed her hands, tugging gently.  
She let out a strangled sound and came to me, burying her 
face in my chest.  I felt her wince when her ribcage 
touched down on my chest.  But then all I felt was the soft 
pillow of her breasts, pressing into my pecs.  

Her body rested between my legs and I leaned back, letting 
her rest there, her chest on mine.  Her arms went around my 
waist and I rubbed her back, trying to soothe her as she 
cried silently.  This was the most intimate position we'd 
ever been in and my body was reacting immediately.

She rasped out, "I'm so humiliated, Mulder.  I'm so sorry!  
Now I've gone and embarrassed you too.  This is going to be 
the talk of the bull pen for months!  Damn it!  I get so 
tired of being in control all the time, always being the 
voice of reason.  Always doing the right thing.  Sometimes 
I bust loose, you know that."

I immediately thought of what I now referred to as the 
'Philadelphia Experiment.'

"But this was ridiculous!  At work, practically in 
Skinner's office!  How could I be so stupid!?"  

She nearly wailed the last sentence and I squeezed her 
tight and cooed into to her.  "We can't choose where we're 
going to lose it, Scully.  You'd be shocked if you new how 
close, and how many times, I'd almost busted some guy in the 
teeth because he flirted with you.  Shhh, it's all right.  I'm  
not 
mad, and I'm not embarrassed."

"You should be."

"No, I'm surprised.  I'm stunned. But actually, I'm 
incredibly touched that you care enough for me to defend 
me.  Care enough about me getting hurt to fight for me."

"You don't need me to defend you."

"You don't need me to defend you either, but it's never 
stopped me."

I felt her lips smile against my shirt, where her lips were 
pressed to my tee shirt.  "No, it hasn't, has it?"

"Nope.  It has nothing to do with whether the person needs 
to be defended Scully."

"Then what does it have to do with?  Stupid pride?  Idiotic 
insecurities?"

"No, Scully.  It's human nature.  You need to forgive 
yourself for being human.  Actually, I'm glad to find out 
that you are human, capable of losing it like the rest of 
us common folk."

She huffed a breathe out around a snort at that comment.  
She was still hiding her face.  Her body was warm and soft 
and I closed my legs a bit around her hips, trying to bring 
her closer.  I felt myself start to harden and went still 
hoping that it wouldn't get worse.  I felt her go still 
too.  She said, "Human nature, huh?" 

She was obviously trying to break the tension that had 
suddenly filled the air.  I made a rash decision and 
decided that for once, I wasn't going to ignore it.  I 
wasn't going to pretend that this wasn't happening.  I 
thought, 'Let her feel what she does to me.'

"Yeah, human nature, Scully.  I don't protect you because I 
think you can't fight your own battles.  I've seen you kick 
some yahoo serious ass.  It's just human nature.  We always 
want to protect the ones we love."

Her head lurched off my chest and she stared directly into 
my eyes.  "What did you say?" she whispered.

"You heard me," I whispered back.

My eyes dropped to her lips.  They were swollen and red.  
Her split lip was wearing a bit of dried blood.  I risked 
looking back up at her eyes.  God, I wanted to kiss her.  
Would she let me?  But her lip was split.  I didn't want to 
hurt her.

My breathing quickened when I saw her dilated pupils.  I 
felt more blood rush south and I fully hardened against her.  
She gave a little gasp in the back of her throat.  I knew she 
felt it.  I closed my eyes briefly and slowly raised my hands to 
her head, cupping her head, pushing my fingers into her hair.

She was panting gently, her eyes fixed on my face.  I 
blinked again and opened my mouth, breathing warm, moist 
air onto her lips.  It was an invitation.  Would she 
accept?  I whispered as it seemed the thing to keep doing.  
"Do you want what I want, Scully?"

She whimpered a little and the sound made my cock throb in 
response.  I lifted my hips without thinking, responding to 
a primal urge.  She mewled again and I know she felt the 
hard length of me pressing into her stomach.  "What ... 
what do you want?" she asked.

I breathed onto her lips again and felt her shiver.  "I 
want you, Scully."

"Oh God," she nearly whined.

"Do you want me, Scully?"

"Oh God," she said again.  I could see panic rising in her 
face.  

I brushed my lips gently over her cheek and she hummed in 
the back of her throat.  I said, "Don't be scared, Scully."

"What are we doing?"

"I don't know, that's up to you."

"What do you want to do?" she asked. 

"Right this minute or overall?"

She scrunched her brow and then it evened out.  "Right this 
minute."

"Right this minute, I want to kiss you, but you're hurt."

She gasped and her hands wandered up my sides and onto my 
chest.  When her palms dragged over my nipples, they 
stiffened and I felt a tingle rush to my groin. I moaned 
softly.  I couldn't help it.  Her hands went to the back of 
my neck and she asked, "And ... overall?"

I blinked and forced myself to look at her.  Well, she 
hadn't leaped off my body yet.  I was seized with a sudden 
case of the 'I don't give a damns.'  I whispered, "I want 
to make love to you."

She whimpered and her head fell away from my lips, her 
forehead resting on my cheek.  I lifted her face gently to 
look at her again.  I kissed her nose softly.  "You've 
never had to compete, Scully.  Nobody compares to you."

I kissed one eyelid.  "I haven't thought about touching 
another woman for five years."  I kissed the other eyelid.  

"But I've thought about touching you ... a lot."

She blinked slowly and asked her favorite question.  "Why?"

I smiled at her and she smiled in return, but it was a sad 
smile.  "You don't know? Haven't figured that out yet?"

She shook her head.  "Silly woman."

She had a pout on her face in response to that and I almost 
laughed, but I tamped it down and felt a wash of nerves 
flush through me.  To my horror, my hands that were cupping 
her head began to tremble.  I was breathing fast and 
shallow.  I felt dizzy again.  Christ, was I going to 
hyperventilate again?

I clamped my mouth shut and held my breath.  I felt my 
equilibrium return and focused on her face.  It was etched 
with concern.  I must have gone pale.  I couldn't keep 
looking into her eyes at that moment.  It was just too 
intense.  I tipped her head to the side and brought my lips 
to her ear.  I breathed on her ear and she shivered again 
against me.  My hips rolled again instinctively and she 
gasped.  How long was I was going pussyfoot around this.  
I was such a coward.  My hands were still trembling but at 
least I wasn't about to pass out.

I gathered my courage, felt my body go stiff and still.  
She felt it and I could sense her getting tense.  As I 
released my tension, I breathed into her ear.  "Why?  You 
want to know why I want to make love to you?"

She nodded against my cheek.  For the first time, I blurted 
it out.  It was in a ragged whisper, but I got it out, 
"Because I'm in love with you."

She gasped and then immediately moaned into my ear as I 
rolled my hips again.  Damn things just wouldn't stay 
still.  It felt hot inside my sweats and I knew if she 
raised off of me, I would be pitching the tent of the 
century .

Her moan reverberated through my body and one hand dropped 
out of her hair and landed on her lower back, pressing her 
into me.  "God Scully," I croaked.

I felt tears sting my eyes at her silence.  At least she 
hadn't jerked away from me. I could smell her arousal.  I 
knew she was excited.  But did she love me back?  I thought 
she did.  God, I hoped so, but I needed to hear it.  Would 
she say it?  I couldn't make love to her if she didn't.  I 
needed to know she felt the same way.


PART 3 (NC-17)
DANA SCULLY'S APARTMENT
7:00 PM

"Mulder," she murmured my name.

"Let's quit dancing around this or ignoring it, Scully."

"I wasn't ready for this," she said.

"Are we ever?"

"I don't know," she replied, sounding resigned and 
confused.

"You said you'd answer my questions."

"I told you about the fight.  Isn't that enough?"

"I have more questions."

"Go ahead and ask."  Again, she sounded like she just 
wanted to get this over with and maybe she did.

"I need to clarify.  When you thought that I'd been a 
sucker and that I'd slept with Brenda ... you were jealous?"

"Yes," she whispered.  I could barely hear her.  Her nose 
was practically buried in my arm pit.  I hoped my deodorant 
was still working.

"Scully, do you love me?"

I felt her whole body stiffen.  OhGodOhGodOhGod.  Was I 
pushing too fast?  It's been seven years, I thought.  I've 
been in love with her for five.  Even turtles move faster 
than that.

Her lips brushed my neck as she spoke and her voice was 
soft and low, "Yesss."

"Oh, Scully.  Can you say it?"  I held my breath and then 
heard her say it, a slight trembling in her voice, "I ... I 
love you, Mulder."

I tightened my grip on her and she hissed, but this time in 
pain.  Shit!  I'd forgotten about her ribs.

"I'm so sorry, Scully!  God, let me take a look at your 
ribs!"

"No!  They're just bruised."

"I want to see how bad they are."

She shook her head. "Scully, please."

"Are you doing this to change the subject?" she asked.

I pushed my still hard erection into her belly and said, 
"No, I said I wanted you and I meant it.  I think my body 
has made that clear.  But I also know that you're hurt and 
I won't risk hurting you worse.  I need to know how bad 
your ribs are.  I don't know if I could even kiss you 
without causing you pain at this point."

"Doesn't seem fair that we finally got the guts to tell 
each other how we feel and you're still afraid to touch 
me."

She lifted her head and smiled weakly.  "This is too weird, 
hearing you say things like that.  What the hell are we 
doing?"

"I'm turning over a new leaf.  No more hiding how I feel about 
you; not from you anyway."

"So, you really want ... to make love to me?"

"You know I do.  But it doesn't have to be right now."

"This is crazy.  Are we even having this conversation?"

"It might be crazy but it's reality, Scully.  We can deny 
it all we want, but the facts remain.  I'm in love with 
you.  You say that you're in love with me too."

"I am."

"Are we going to ignore that too?  Are we going to pretend 
neither of us said those words?  Are we going back to the 
way things were?  I don't think I can do that, Scully."  I 
paused.  "I don't think I can," I repeated.

She was quiet and then slowly slid out of my lap, pushing 
herself back and upright onto her knees, where she knelt 
between my legs.  I made no attempt to hide my arousal from 
her.  I wasn't going to do this while she was in pain, but 
I wanted her to know how she affected me.  I didn't want 
her to have any doubts.  She raised the hem of her tee 
shirt and my mouth fell open on a gasp.

Livid black, blue and purple bruises covered her right side 
from the bottom of her breast, under which she scrunched 
the tee shirt with white knuckles, all the way to her waist 
line.  I felt my arousal deflate rapidly as I as flooded with 
concern.  

"Jesus, Scully!"

She looked down at herself and shrugged.  "They'll heal.  
They took an x-ray.  Nothing was broken.  They just look 
terrible."

"That's got to be painful, Scully, just to breathe, let 
alone move!"

"Certain positions are better than others," she admitted.  
She made to loosen her grip on the tee shirt and let it 
fall.  I reached out and held the hem up with my fingers, 
letting them brush her skin lightly.  I leaned forward and 
kissed her ribs, feather light, my lips barely touching her 
skin.

She sucked in her breath and held it, but didn't move.  I 
gently let the tee shirt fall and looked up to see ... 
disappointment?!

I smiled.  "You, young lady, are doing as little as humanly 
possible for the next week!"

"Damn it, Mulder!  I can decide what I can handle!  I'm a 
doctor, for God's sake."

"Can you?" I asked calmly.  "Doctor's make the worst 
patients and I'll be honest with you, Scully.  I don't 
think you know your limitations sometimes.  You always 
push too hard."

"Don't baby me, Mulder!  I don't need that from you!  How 
many times do I have to tell you that I can take care of 
myself?"

"And I told you that it has nothing to do with need."

She went still and searched my face.  I tried to let all my 
love and concern show on my face.  Softly, I asked, "Did it 
ever occur to you that maybe I just WANT to take care of 
you?  For no other reason, than because I care about you?  
Because I love you?"

She hung her head slightly.  "I'm sorry, Mulder."

"Don't be sorry.  Just think about it.  I love your 
strengths, Scully, how strong you are.  But I need to know 
you're human too, like me, or I feel 'less than', inadequate 
next to you.  I need to know that you have weaknesses too, that 
maybe, just maybe, you need me a fraction as much as I need 
you."

Her eyes filled with tears, but they didn't fall.  "I DO need 
you, Mulder."  She paused.  "So you want to pamper me?"

"Yes."

"You want to take care of me?"

"Yes."

"All week?"

"Yes."  I smiled at her.

"You sure?"

"Yes."

"Then you need to prove it."  I detected a definite tease 
in her voice now.

"What do I need to do?"

"Take the week off and bring some clothes over here and 
stay here with me."

I grinned, feeling goofy.  "You really want me to stay 
here?"

"Yup.  You may regret it.  I just might run you ragged."

I grinned again.  "I'll look forward to it.

XXXXXXXXXX

Never having played nurse maid, I did have my work cut out 
for me.  But I did my best and I think Scully was 
impressed.  I cooked her breakfast, made sandwiches for 
lunch and cooked dinner every night.

They were simple things like spaghetti and chicken noodle 
soup, but I kept her fed and kept her in tea.  And as the 
week progressed, I could see her becoming more relaxed 
having me there.  It was an odd sort of domesticity that 
sprung up around us, as though we'd been doing this for 
years.  I gave her shoulder and foot massages.

I kissed her face, forehead, neck and shoulders, every chance I 
got, loving that I was allowed to touch her at all.  She 
responded in kind when I did, driving me absolutely insane.  The 
tension was building.  This wasn't going to be enough for very 
long.  We were building toward the crossing of that final line.  
She hadn't retreated from me like I thought she might.  That 
gave me a lot of hope that I might actually be close to making a 
dream come true.  I might actually get to make love to Dana 
Scully.

On Thursday, after three days of almost constant semi-
arousal, it finally happened for the first time.  And it 
was all over except the encore.  No reverse on this 
Mustang.

She was standing in the kitchen making coffee.  I came out 
of the bathroom to find her out of bed and was ready to 
scold her when I walked into the kitchen.

She was standing there in nothing but a tank top and cotton 
panties.  I was so hard, so instantly, it almost made me 
dizzy.  I don't think there was a drop of blood left in my 
head.  Before I could bite down on it, I moaned at the 
sight before me.  

Her tattoo was peaking out from under the ribbed tank.  She 
spun around and I grabbed the door jamb for support.  I 
literally thought my knees were going to give out.  Her 
entire mid-drift was exposed.  Her navel was visible above 
the elastic of her panties.

She smiled and raised an eyebrow. 

"What are you doing out of bed?" I croaked.  Embarrassed at 
the sound of my voice, I cleared my throat.

"Making coffee."

"I see that.  What are you trying to do dressed like that, 
torture me?" I asked.

She smiled, looking amused.  "You'd see more of me if I 
were in a bikini," as if this were a perfectly reasonable 
explanation.

"I've never seen you in a bikini," I replied.  

"You've seen me naked, Mulder."

"I had other things on my mind at the time, like saving 
your life and escaping a horde of lizard like aliens."

She licked her lips.  "Sorry.  I  didn't mean to make you 
uncomfortable.  I'll go get my robe."

She pushed away from the counter and came toward me.  She 
made to walk past me, and I stopped her with a hand on her 
hip.  She turned, facing my side and looked up at me.  "You 
didn't make me uncomfortable, Scully.  Not in a bad way.  
I'm glad you're comfortable enough around me to walk around 
in your underwear.  Makes me feel like we're an old married 
couple.  You just took me off guard."

She smiled at that.  "Is there any such thing as a good way 
to be uncomfortable?" she asked.

"Yes."

She raised her eyebrow again.  "How's that?"

I turned slowly, one hand trailing over her shoulder down 
to her lower back.  She shivered and it made the blood 
pound in my ears.  The other hand dove into her hair and I 
tugged her up against me.  I hadn't caught her looking 
anywhere besides my face, so I don't know if she noticed 
how hard I was.  My jeans might have hidden it some.  But I 
left no doubt when I pressed on her lower back gently, and 
brought her stomach against my groin.

I didn't lose eye contact as I did it.  I saw her eyes 
widen slightly.  Her lips dropped open and I noticed there 
was still a crack in her lip but it was healing nicely. Her 
tongue came out to wet her lips and I was lost.

I made some stupid sound like someone had squeezed my 
Adam's Apple and I dipped my head and pressed my lips to 
hers.  They were warm and soft and damp.  I licked her 
bottom lip gently and she opened her mouth.  As soon as my 
tongue slid inside, she moaned. 

She moaned! Right into my mouth.  I felt warmth flare out 
over my chest and it caused an odd squeezing sensation 
around my heart.  I deepened the kiss slightly, slowly 
teasing her tongue.  I was still conscious of her split 
lip, but now my body was screaming!

I was beginning to throb and then felt an ache wash through 
my groin.  I returned her moan.  We must have stood there 
for five minutes doing nothing but kissing.  Her lips were 
so warm and soft.  I feasted on their plumpness licking 
every millimeter and sucking each one into my mouth then 
returning for her tongue.  I could kiss Scully for hours 
and not bat an eyelash.  It was immediately on my list as 
the number one thing I liked to do.

Her hands moved up and down my sides.  Then she surprised 
me by grabbing my ass and pulling me into her with a sharp 
tug.

I groaned and broke the kiss, pulling air into my lungs.  
I'd forgotten to breathe there for a minute or so.  I 
looked down at her and said, "We have to stop this, Scully.  I'm 
getting to the point where I won't be able to stop."

She backed away slowly but took my hand and tugged.  "Who says I 
want that?" she asked, smiling coyly.  She turned and I followed 
her into the bedroom where she spun around and faced me.  

"Scully, what are you doing?"

"I want to make love to you."

My heart started banging against my rib cage.  I told myself to 
slow down.

"Scully, no.  I'm all right.  You're not ready.  I'm not 
some adolescent school boy that can't control his lust.  I 
just need to back away from it for moment sometimes to get 
it under control."

"I'm ready, Mulder.  I'm past ready.  I've been aroused for 
three days and I'm tired of having you sleep on the couch."

"You're still too ... "

"No, I'm not."

"Scully, I'm still going to want you tomorrow and the next 
day.  When we finally do this thing, I want it to be 
something 
neither of us will ever forget.  I don't want to hurt you.  
I don't want you to have to hold back."

"It will be special, Mulder.  It will be special simply 
because ... it's you."

"Oh Scully, you're killing me here!"

She giggled.  She reached up and cupped the back of my 
neck, standing on tip toes.  She pulled me down and kissed 
me hard.  I could do nothing but go along for the ride.  I 
gasped, "Your lip!"

She mumbled, "It's O.K."  Her tongue plunged into my mouth.  
She pulled away suddenly and said, "I can't wait anymore, 
Mulder.  We'll be careful. I promise, I'll be careful.  But I 
have to have you."

Jesus!  How was I supposed to keep resisting that?  I was 
forgetting why I was resisting in the first place.  Oh yeah, she 
was hurt!  I was losing my resolve fast.  I'd promised myself I 
was going to wait until she was completely healed.  

But how the hell much was I supposed to be able to take?  The 
woman I loved was practically begging me to have sex with her.  
Correction, make love to her.  Could I turn her down?  Could I 
stop this? 

Was I crazy?  I laughed silently to myself.  One more try, 
I must be crazy, but I had to try. "Scully, if I hurt you, 
I'll never forgive myself."

"You won't.  I promise.  How do you feel about being on the 
bottom?"

I nearly choked, but couldn't help the smile that split my 
face in half.  "God, Scully."

She reached out and yanked my tee shirt out of my jeans and 
lifted.  I lifted my arms to assist and leaned down so she 
could reach as she pulled it over my head.  I straightened 
up to find her staring at my chest and licking her lips.

Jesus Christ.  That was arousing.  She stepped into me, 
running her hands from my waist to my armpits, up over my 
shoulders and back down.  She put her lips to my breast 
bone and licked gently as her thumbs tweaked my nipples and 
I moaned.  "Scully, Oohhh, that's good."

She licked one nipple and then the other.  I couldn't stand 
it and pulled her face up to kiss her again.  Her hands 
dropped to my waist and deftly unbuttoned my jeans and 
unzipped them.  The backs of her fingers skimmed over my 
engorged flesh and I jumped, feeling a bolt of electricity 
fly through my groin.

She didn't waist any time, but hooked her fingers into my 
waist band and yanked my jeans, boxers and all down in one 
hard yank.  I didn't have shoes on, but I did have socks 
on.  I lifted one leg and then the other as she pulled my 
jeans off and then lifted so she could remove my socks.  I 
stood naked as the day I was born and watched as she turned 
her eyes up to mine.

Her gaze swept over me from head to toe and then again.  I 
began breathing quickly, feeling my cock harden even 
further and pull up towards my stomach.  "My turn," I 
croaked. 

I stepped into her and gently pulled her tank top over her 
head, conscious as always of her bruised ribs.  They looked 
awful, but better.  The bruises were yellow and green now.  
She looked down, knowing I was staring at them.  "I'm all 
right, Mulder, I swear.  I wish I looked better for you, 
but ... "

I reached out and gently cupped her breasts.  "You look 
absolutely beautiful."

She sucked in her breath and watched my fingers as they 
tweaked her nipples and then pinched them lightly.  She 
moaned low in her throat.  "Mmuullddeerr."

I guided her back onto the bed and she laid back.  "Like 
this first," I whispered.  

She nodded. 

"So beautiful, Scully.  Jesus, you're body is perfect, so 
beautiful."

She smiled, flushing slightly. I ran my hands over her 
legs, up her tummy, staying to the left, avoiding her 
bruised ribs and cupped her breasts again.  I straddled 
her, leaned and kissed her.  She shuddered when I moved to 
her neck and laved the skin below her ear and sucked on her 
pulse.  Her torso arched off the bed and I waited for her 
to wince in pain, but she didn't.  I made my way over her 
collar bone and over the tops of her breasts, darting my 
tongue out to taste her and marveling at the silky feel of 
her skin against my lips.  

I cupped her right breast and took her nipple into my 
mouth.  She moaned and arched again, pressing into me.  I 
pressed her gently into the bed, not wanting her to hurt 
herself.  She settled back and I began to suckle her, 
feeling her hard little nub against my tongue.  

Feeling her areola pucker into tight bumped flesh in my 
mouth was an incredible feeling.  I reached down to scratch 
my fingers lightly through her auburn curls below her 
navel.  Again, she pressed into my hand, so I slid lower, 
swiping a finger between her legs and immediately 
encountering a slick, swollen seam of warm flesh.  

God, she was so wet!  

Scully was wet for me! I felt dizzy and groaned.  She 
touched her finger to my lips and I let go of her nipple.  
She pulled my head up and began to suck on my lower lips, 
laving it with her tongue and I felt my cock throb and 
surge with a fresh round of arousal.  "On your back," she 
whispered.

I eagerly complied, bringing my wet fingers to my mouth and 
tasting her.  Her eyes went wide and then she muttered, 
"Holy shit, Mulder."

She wasted no time straddling me and leaned over to kiss me 
again.  She traveled over my neck and chest, kissing her 
way down.  She scooted back and her hands caressed my hip 
bones and I thought I was going to spontaneously combust.  
She kissed the insides of my thighs, my navel, everywhere 
except where I wanted her to be.

I flexed my hips, no longer able to keep still.  She lifted 
up and swiped her finger over the head of my cock, 
gathering my precum fluid on her finger. My cock twitched 
at her touch and when she raised it to her mouth and sucked 
it off her finger, I thought I was going to come right 
there.  I closed my eyes to block out of the sight of her 
swollen lips surrounding her own finger.  "Scully, please!"

She wrapped her hand around my cock and ran it gently but 
firmly from root to tip, spreading my leaking fluid over 
the head with her thumb.  "So big," she murmured under her 
breath.

I opened my eyes just in time to see her line my shaft up 
with her entrance.  I grasped her hips gently and steadied 
her as she sank slowly onto my hardened member.

"Awwwwwww, Mulder, yeah!" she exclaimed as her eyes rolled 
back in her head.  Her hands came up to balance on my 
shoulders and I glued my eyes to the sight of her continued 
descent.  My shaft slipped inside her slow and steady.

Her tight walls were slick and pulsing around me as I 
pushed them aside with the most rigid hard on I'd ever had and 
slipped inside.  It was the most exquisite feeling I'd ever had.  
I'd forgotten what this felt like.  As good as my imagination 
is, there is no substitute for the real thing.  

The first push into a woman you've never been with was 
unlike any other pleasure in the world.  I shuddered once I 
was embedded to the hilt, pushing against the entrance of 
her womb.  She was so hot and so incredibly snug around me.

We stayed still for long moments, just enjoying the feeling 
of that first penetration.  Good thing, or I probably would 
have embarrassed myself.  She finally relaxed and smiled 
down at me.  "Oh Mulder, I feel so full.  Oh God, it's 
better than I imagined."

"You imagined this?" I asked stupidly.

She grinned.  "Hundreds of times.  You?"

"Thousands, I lost count."  She grinned and raised herself 
carefully.  I steadied her as she began to lift and sink 
back down.  She went slow and it was exquisite torture.  I 
gritted my teeth keeping a tight rein on my lust.  What I 
wanted to do was throw her on her back and pound into her 
until my cock exploded.  But I couldn't.  She had to be in 
control because of her ribs and I knew it.  

This wasn't a bad thing.  I was enjoying every second of 
it, don't get me wrong.  But it was a struggle to keep 
myself under control.  She panted out gently, "You can 
thrust Mulder, it won't hurt.  God, you feel so fucking 
good.  You're so big, so thick.  I feel so full."

Her words were like a knife against the last thread of my 
control.  I gripped her hips more tightly and held her 
above me slightly and began thrusting up into her, careful 
not to impact her too hard, but it was enough to kick my 
impending release from 'getting there', to 'any second 
now.'

I groaned and said, "Oh, I'm not going last much longer, 
Scully."

She pulled one hand from my hip and placed it on her 
breast.  I could take a hint.  I kneaded her flesh, pinched 
her nipple and then rolled it between my thumb and 
forefinger.  She groaned and yelped, "Yeeesss!"

I kept it up and my free hand reached down to swipe at 
her clit as I tried to continue thrusting and playing with 
her breast at the same time. I had the silly thought go 
through my head, 'good thing I can multi-task.'

I felt my balls cringe deliciously as my orgasm coiled in 
my gut.  "Oh Scully, I'm almost there.  Almost there."

She batted my hand away and swiped harder on her clit than I 
would have dared.  I raised my knees slightly and it tilted her 
hips forward.  This must have done the trick, because she 
shrieked and her nails dug into my shoulder.  Her busy hand came 
back to my other shoulder and dug in as well.

Her walls swelled and waved around me.  She threw her head 
back and I watched as her nipples puckered hard and turned 
a dark coral pink.  She groaned, "Awww, Awww, Mulder, so 
good!"  

Then she just wailed a wordless sound of pleasure as her 
tremors shook her body.  

I shouted as I felt my cock harden to consistency of steel 
for a white hot second and I howled as my seed raced out of 
me in hard, spurting jolts.  I thrust harder than I meant 
to and ground into her as I lost control.  Her wails were 
echoing in my ears as I shuddered with aftershocks. 

She groaned loudly and carefully lowered herself onto my 
chest.  My hands went to her ass and cupped her, squeezing 
and pressing her against me.  We both quivered and then 
went still.  We lay that way, silent for several minutes 
until our breathing was back to normal.

She raised her head and looked at me, smiling a lazy, sated 
smile.  I'd never seen anything more beautiful.

"I love you, Scully.  God, that was ... beyond description."

She smiled wider and stretched up to kiss me.  I raised my 
head to make it easier for her but then flopped it back 
down onto the pillow.  My muscles felt like putty.  

She said.  "I love you too."  She paused and then said, 
"God, I needed that!"

I hooted with laughter.  "YOU needed that?!"

"Yes, I did," she confirmed, smiling against my chest.

"Glad I could help," I quipped.

She giggled. 

I rubbed her back and she sighed.  "Tired now."

"Mmm, sleep."

"I should move," she mumbled.

"Stay right where you are."

"We'll be sticky."

"That's what showers are for."

She hummed contentedly and I felt her body melt against 
mine, totally relaxed.  I thought she was asleep but she 
muttered, "Don't worry, Mulder.  I'll NEVER forget this."

I chuckled softly.  "Me neither."

"Help me fill out that report tomorrow?" she asked 
tentatively.

"Sure."

"I want to get it over with."

"I know.  But let's not think about till tomorrow."

"O.K."

"Love you, Scully."

"Love you, Mulder."

"We're going to be all right, aren't we?"

I sighed.  "I think so.  Skinner will know you were 
provoked.  We'll tell him about the bet, that she jumped 
you first and you were only defending yourself until you 
realized she wasn't going to give in.  He'll understand.  
We can leave out the details of what you two screamed at 
each other, couch it in euphemisms like 'totally 
inappropriate insults and comments'."

She chuffed, amused.  "And I'll promise never to do it 
again."

"Yes you will.  No more cat fights, Scully.  Not that you 
aren't extremely good at them, but ..."

"More trouble than they're worth?"

"Yes, that, and I'm not worth fighting over."

"I think you are."  She snuggled in tighter, her head 
tucked under my chin.

"What was that about your worst nightmare, Scully?"  I'd been 
pondering that comment on and off for three days.

She sighed.  "I've been afraid you would find someone and 
fall for them and I'd be pushed out of her personal life.  
No more room for me as a friend or anything else."

"No fear, Scully.  Never happen.  I'd wished I'd known.  I 
could have laid all your fears to rest.  I can't believe 
you didn't already know how crazy I was about you."

"I do now and that makes you even more worth fighting 
over."

"Glad you think so, Scully.  But no more insecurities.  No 
more competing.  This sort of thing ever happens again, you 
just laugh in their faces."

"I will.  You're mine now.  And Mulder?"

"Yeah?"

"Thank you ... for everything."

"You're welcome.  But there's no need to thank me.  I 
enjoyed doing things for you."

"If you ever decide to quit the Bureau, you could have a 
brilliant career in home nursing."

I groaned.  And she giggled again.

"Sleep now."

"O.K."

She drifted off to sleep and I just reveled in the feel of 
her skin under my palms as I rubbed her back.  We were 
definitely going to be O.K., better than O.K.  We were 
going to fabulous together.

THE END.

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