COVERT

By Michelle Tribble and Fiona Bland

Disclaimer: We do not, nore will we ever own Scully, Mulder,
Skinner and any other X-Files' characters. Chris Carter owns them.

Classification: shipper

Spoilers: No Canadian fourth season spoilers...

Rating: R with lots of MSR and UST... anti-shippers beware!!

Summary: An undercover assignment with Mulder and Scully...

Notes: I started this about a year ago with my good friend
Michelle, she wrote the beginning and I sorta took it and finished
it. But I believe that credit should go to both of us, after all I
don't think I would have come up with this if she hadn't suggested
it. If I remember correctly, this started out being an x-file but
later got changed into a shipper piece when we realized that
writing case stories can be boring.

Comments can be sent to Michelle at Starbuck5@aol.com or me at:
fbland@golden.net

*    *    *    *    *

SOUTH SHORE HOTEL
MARQUETTE, MICHIGAN
MAY 30th -- 9 P.M.

Head on her shoulder, Special Agent Dana Scully slept soundly in
the passenger seat of the car. Her partner, Special Agent Fox
Mulder was at the wheel. It was a relatively short drive from the
airport to where they were going, but Scully had passed out as soon
as Mulder had started the car. He glanced over at his sleeping
partner and thought about how she had protested the justifications
for proceeding on this case. She was not looking forward to it, but
it had been a long day and in the familiar surroundings and
circumstances she had been able to fall asleep. How he was jealous
of that talent, he mused. To be able to fall asleep in the snap of
a finger.

Mulder looked at an oncoming road sign. Only nine more miles to
Marquette, Michigan. Once they arrived they would check into their
high-class, flashy hotel which would be the center of the
investigation. This particular investigation would be a first for
Mulder and Scully as partners. It was covert, and they would have
to go undercover.

The case had been assigned to them because couples were going
missing from this resort and then they were found a few hours later
claiming that they had been abducted. The only known link to the
abductions and the missing persons was the fact that where the
resort was located, was right on the shores of Lake Superior, the
deepest and the coldest of The Great Lakes.

The resort was set up for couples who needed to get away from
stress and their families. It is a well known place even at F.B.I.
Headquarters in Washington, D.C. The case was given to Mulder and
Scully due to the growing cases of 'abductions' and also because of
the need to get the agents away from Headquarters as quoted from
powers from above. 

It was late and traffic was sparse. At seeing Scully's peaceful
escapade into R.E.M. Mulder yawned and rubbed his reddening eyes.
Finally he was on the correct street and on his way to the South
Shore Hotel. He looked forward to the ritzy atmosphere, yet at the
same time cringed at the confinement of it. His mind had not yet
focused on the other aspect of this investigation, that he and
Scully would be would be posing as a married couple, and to be
exact, they were on their honeymoon. That was the other reason
Scully was not looking forward to this case, on the other hand,
Mulder thought that this would be interesting. Whatever happened,
it would be very interesting.

This was not a high-profile case, but Assistant Director Skinner
had allowed them some room to investigate and gave them extra help
in this covert operation. Mulder pulled the car through the front
drive of the hotel and as the valet boy came to the driver's side
he tried to wake up Scully.

 "Scully? We're here."  Mulder said as he nudged her arm gently.

Dana Scully took a deep breath as she was shook into awareness. She
blinked her eyes and went to open her car door. Mulder got out of
his side and went around to open the trunk so the bellboy could
take their luggage. They had packed a load of luggage for this
case. They had to fool every one around them of their undercover
nature. Mulder was not wearing his normal suit and tie for work,
but a black tuxedo. Scully also had to look part of a semi-wealthy
pair that was on their honeymoon, and she was wearing a long white
dress, with a little extra makeup. The valet boy drove off in their
navy Crown Victoria, and the bellboy had their luggage on a tall
golden cart.

Mulder approached Scully in his first attempt at playing the role
of her husband and put his arm around her waist, his eyes serious
as they encountered hers. She didn't flinch at his touch, but she
knew Mulder could fell the tense muscles in her back. Then he sent
out a friendly smile and nudged her a bit, she took that as a sign
to relax. Together they walked into the hotel lobby, bellboy in
tow.

Mulder placed a tax-payer's bill in the hand of the bellboy as he
closed the door to their suite. When he turned around he saw Scully
staring at the king-sized bed at the other end of the room. The
suite was well furnished, there was an entire living room set with
a large entertainment center. Plush chairs all around, flower
arrangements on every end table. The bathroom itself a good sized
room, with a double sinks, a shower stall and a jacuzzi. Mulder
tried to ignore the extravagance of the room and he went through
the luggage to find the suitcase that contained their investigation
equipment.

They had register at the South Shore under the aliases of Christoph
and Devon Hale. Christoph was a psychologist and Devon a successful
pediatrician with her own practise in Allentown, Penn.

After unpacking all of the investigation equipment, Mulder and
Scully decided to arrangements to meet with Kathleen Farantino so
they could sign up for relaxation activities. Scully unpacked what
little things she brought with her into the right side of the
dresser. Mulder's things, she put in on left side. By the time
Mulder had set up the equipment, Scully had changed in a light blue
summer dress.

"Mulder, I'm going down to the front desk to get the information
about the relaxation activities. Is there anything I should get
while I'm there?" Scully asked as she grabbed the hotel key from
the bedside table.

"Well... you know we are supposed to act like newlyweds. How's
about ordering something alcoholic and white chocolate covered
sunflower seeds?" Mulder asked as he plugged in the last of the
electrical cords into the wall below the print of two children
chasing butterflies. "Oh yeah, can you see if the shop in the lobby
sells 'Celebrity Skin'? I kind of forgot to pick one up on the way
here."

"You can order the seeds and a bottle grape ginger ale. No alcohol.
We are on duty." Scully said with a smile.

"Ah, come on honey, you're supposed to like what I say. You know,
honour and obey." Mulder said to Scully with his face pouty like a
puppy.

"Mulder, we are NOT married. But... okay, you can have the seeds,
but only the kind that have the shell removed." Scully said as she
went out the door.

"You're no fun!" Mulder said as he threw a pillow from the bed at
Scully. Mulder then changed out of his tuxedo, ordered room service
with grape ginger ale and the seeds. He then grabbed a shower to
wake himself up.

Scully went down to the front desk to make the arrangements, but to
her surprise, Kathleen Farantino, the activities manager was still
working at that late hour. Scully signed up for activities that had
the most women in it. While she signed Mulder up for the ones that
would keep him away from her.

As Scully waiting in the lobby for the elevator to come, another
couple appeared. "So how longs 'ya been hitched?" The woman asked.

"Uh, we just got married this morning." Scully replied as she
walked into the elevator. The steel doors shut as the other two
staggered on.

"Same here." The man said. It was obvious to Scully that they were
both drunk. The man had been leaning upon the wall and then on the
woman.

"Are ya from 'round here?" The women asked with a strong southern
accent. Probably Texan or Georgian, Scully thought.

"Actually, we're from Pennsylvania. Where are two from?" Scully
asked to be polite.

"We's is from Louisiana." The man told Scully. "The name is Junior
Rivera. And this is my little lady, Candi." Junior looked to be in
his mid-thirties and Candi looked to be about the same age as
Scully. His was wearing jeans, a sports jacked and a tee shirt
underneath. Candi had on a long skirt that went to her ankles, a
baggy cream coloured wool sweater and her blonde hair was tied back
loosely in a braid.

"What's your name?" Candi asked.

Scully had to pause. She was so used to answering with either
'Agent Scully' or 'Dana Scully'. "Devon Hale."

"So where's your husband, Devon?" Candi asked.

"He's waiting for me in our room," Scully told them as she looked
up at the elevator number was lit up for their floor.

"It's about time!" Scully muttered under her breath. Ding, ding,
the elevator went and the two steel doors slid open.

As Scully started to walk into the elevator, Mulder opened their
room door and yelled, "Devon! Honey I'm waiting." Mulder was only
had on the towel around his waist.

Candi moved so that she was standing beside Scully and said, "hey
he's hot. Nice catch."

"Candi! Come on, we'se gonna be late!" Junior yelled from inside
the elevator.

"Where are you two going?" Scully asked out of curiosity.

"There's a night cruise leaving in ten minutes. We're supposed to
be going though the Great Lake Triangle. But Junior here, forgot
something in our room." Candi told Scully. "Are ya two interested
in coming?"

Junior disappeared into their suite as Scully turned to Mulder and
rolled her eyes. Mulder knew what her expression meant and blurted
out, "Not tonight. We're going to celebrate. That's if you catch my
drift."

Junior winked at Mulder as he appeared through the doorway and
replied, "go for it man!"

Just then the elevator doors opened again, but this time a bellhop
walked out pushing a silver cart with several glasses, two bottles
of grape ginger ale and a plate of white chocolate coated sunflower
seeds on it.

Candi turned to Junior and gave him a dirty look and then turned to
Scully who had made herself into the doorway of their suite, "Hey
Devon, don't do anything we wouldn't do. No wait I mean, do
everything we would do!!"

Junior and Candi got on the elevator and as the doors closed,
Mulder grabbed Scully and kissed her. Scully kissed him back
because she knew they had to keep up their aliases. Candi clapped.
The waiting bellhop turned three shades of red.

"Uh... uh... Mr. & Mrs. Hale?" The nervous bellhop asked.

Mulder let go of Scully and said to the bellhop, "could you put the
tray over beside the table." He gave him a twenty and said, "She
just can't keep her hands off of me, if you know what I mean."
Mulder gave him a smile. The bellhop smiled back and hung a "don't
disturb" on the outside handle of the suite's door.

After the bellhop had left and Mulder had shut the door, walked
into the bathroom and grabbed one of the black silk robes from
behind the door. "That was fun." And sat down beside Scully on the
giant king sized bed.

"Mulder, you didn't have to embarrass him that much." Scully said
as she ate a handful of white chocolate coated sunflower seeds.

"Oh come on. It's nice to have a little fun once and a while."
Mulder replied as he tried to undo the cap on the bottle of grape
ginger ale. "They sure don't them like they used to."

"Having a little problem, Mulder?" Scully said as she grabbed the
bottom of the bottle.

With Mulder holding onto the top and Scully the bottom, the cap had
to come loose. And it did! The was a pop and Mulder got splashed in
the face with the grape ginger ale. As Mulder's face and upper
chest was soaked, Scully laughed! She had never seen a sight so
funny since the Bureau's Hallowe'en Party when Mulder dressed up as
Scully with a dress and red wig to boot.

"Oh you think that's funny, don't you Scully?" Mulder said as he
covered the top with his thumb and shuck the bottle madly.

"You wouldn't dare... Mulder... no...!" Scully said as she stood
and tried to back away from Mulder.

"OH YES, I would, Scully! Call this payback with interest." Mulder
replied as he uncovered the top of the bottle and sprayed his
partner. "Remember Scully, you forgot to pick up my issue of
'Celebrity Skin' like I asked you to."

Scully was quite soaked when she finally gave in. As was Mulder,
since she had grabbed the other bottle and did the same to him.
"Okay, okay. I'm sorry I forgot your blasted magazine."

"Now was that so hard to say, Scully?" Mulder replied as he dropped
the empty bottle on the floor.

As the two federal agents stood and faced each other thoroughly
soaked with grape ginger ale, the sexual tension rose. Mulder
started to walk toward Scully as she just stood there and looked at
her new dress that was completely ruined. Scully was trying to
wring out the grape ginger ale out of the bottom when Mulder lifted
her chin with his hand. He then kissed lips slowly. Scully gave in
and kissed him back. She reached up on her tippy toes to put her
arms around the back of her partner's neck. Mulder slipped the
straps of Scully's dress off her shoulders and began to kiss each
one softly. Scully's hands slipped from being around his neck to
untieing his silk strap cinched around his waist. Mulder's hands
were running through her damp hair as he kissed her behind her
right ear. Scully pushed the silk robe off of Mulder's shoulders to
only to reveal a pair of dark green boxers. He then bent town,
picked up her and carefully laid her down on the centre of the bed.

"Maybe we shouldn't be doing this..." Scully murmured as she kissed
his bare shoulder.

"Well Scully, you know what I think." Mulder said into her ear as
he nibbled on it.

Just as Mulder worked off the rest of her dress, the phone rang.
"Leave it alone, Scully." Mulder said as he tried to stop her from
answering it.

Scully wiggled out from his grasp and grabbed the receiver, said
into it, "NOT NOW!" and hung up.

Mulder smiled as he began to kiss up her arm like Gomez did to
Morticia in The Addams' Family. In a phony French accent, Mulder
said to her between kisses, "Ah, mon chere, I lovvvve it when you
hang up on people!"

"I just hate being interrupted! Now where were we, Fox?" Scully
said as she rolled Mulder on to his back so she ended up laying on
top of him.

"Right here, Dana. Right where we should be." Mulder said as he
kissed her passionately on the lips.

Just a door slammed and two male voices where heard in the hall.
The two agents jumped and ran toward the door to listen in.
"Scully, go grab the mic. I bet you that I can fit it under the
door." Mulder whispered to her as he put on his robe. Scully passed
him the mic and then grabbed the other silk robe from the behind
the door in the bathroom.

"What's going on?" Scully said as she tried to look out through the
peep hole.

"From what I can tell, the two men out there are securities guards.
I remember seeing one in the lobby when we checked in." Mulder told
her as he tried to reposition the mic.



Mulder hinted to Scully to answer. "Yes?" She said.

"Mrs. Hale? I'm from hotel security. Can we come in and talk to you
and your husband?"

Mulder nodded to Scully. By now he had returned the mic to it's
case and covered the equipment with a sheet. "Just on moment, sir."
Scully said as she madly ran around the suite picking up her dress
and Mulder picking up the empty bottles of grape ginger ale. Scully
then checked her hair in the bathroom mirror. It was still damp.

Mulder unlocked and opened the door. "Sir, is there anything I can
help you with?" He asked with a smile.

"Have you seen," looking on his note pad, "a Mr. and Mrs. Rivera?
They are in the suite beside yours. They were supposed to be on the
cruise tonight but with this thick fog, we hope that they haven't
gotten lost in the woods or... well we don't want to scare anyone."
His name plate on his uniform said his name was Jackson Darnels.

"Oh, if you could please phone the front desk if you happen to see
them return. It will be most helpful. And don't forget about the
various activities that you two have signed up for starting
tomorrow." The plain clothes man told the two agents.

"Yes we remember," Mulder said as he stood to let the two officers
out of the suite. "Well that was interesting." Mulder said as he
walked over the see if the mic had recorded anything.

"I think this whole thing is weird. Oh by the way, while I was
downstairs, I found out from Kathleen Farantino, that this hotel
was booked to the limits when we checked in, but no there are only
a dozen or so couples left. No reason given. This part you will
really like, only only one couple has officially checked out. And
now this." Scully said as she flopped out on the bed.

Mulder turned to Scully and removed the earphones from around his
neck. "Well Scully, I think we have something here. Listen." He
turned up the volume.

*They've seen too much. It's the only answer to the situation. We
had orders to follow...* The first voice said.

*No this had gone to far.*  The other voice said.

*Just dump the bodies with the rest of them where no one can
possibly find them.* The first voice said.

*Hey do you think that they heard anything?* The other voice said.

*We have to know, there can't be any witnesses. That's the rules.*

Mulder shut off the tape. "What did you think of that?"

"I don't know, Mulder. Do you think we should go check out next
door?" Scully asked as she looked at the time on her watch. 11:25
p.m.  she thought.

"Yes, besides since there are only our room and there's on this
floor, nobody will see us. Come on, lets get dressed." Mulder said
as he grabbed jeans and a navy sweater from the dresser drawer.

"Pardon me?" Scully said as she stood up off the bed.

"Don't worry, I'll get dressed in that giant walk in closet. You
can get dressed in here and just knock when your done. Is that okay
with you?" Mulder said as he walked over to the closet and turned
on the light. "Man is this thing big!" He muttered.

When the closet door shut, Scully jumped up and grabbed a pair of
track pants and a sweat shirt and ran into the bathroom to change.
She still didn't trust him that much, he was a man after all.

x    x    x    x
JUNIOR AND CANDI'S ROOM
SUITE 3102, SOUTH SHORE HOTEL
11:30 P.M.

Scully and Mulder found Junior and Candi's room trashed. "Gee
Scully, it looks like this hotel as the same maid service as I do."
Mulder said as he searched through the various piles of clothes and
drawers in the room.

"Hey Mulder, I found them." Scully said from bathroom.

"What do you mean?" Mulder said as he walked towards the bathroom.

Scully was bent over the jacuzzi when Mulder walked in. "I have a
feeling that they haven't been dead very long. I would guess maybe
45 minutes to an hour."

"How did they die?" Mulder said as he tried not to look at the
bodies.

"I can't tell. At first I thought it was electrocution but there is
no water in the tub and the bodies are dry. My guess is that those
two men must have done it, Mulder." Scully said as Mulder helped
her up from the floor.

"Not necessarily, Scully. You said that the time of death was at
least forty-five minutes ago, right? That's can't be right, we only
heard the two men talking fifteen minutes ago. They couldn't have
done it." Mulder told her as they walked out from the bathroom.

"We won't know that until an autopsy is preformed, Mulder. Let's
call from our room." Scully said as she walked towards the door.
After peering outside into the hallway, she motioned for Mulder to
follow her.

They made the necessary calls then realized that they hadn't
discussed the sleeping arrangements.

Though Mulder fully ready to sleep in one of the chairs, Scully
told him that they were grown adults and that they could share the
bed, but only if they agreed to stay on their respective sides.

x    x    x    x
SOUTH SHORE HOTEL
MAY 31st -- 8 P.M.

The activities that Mulder and Scully had originally signed up for
were nothing that the brochure had described them as. Scully's day
started with two hours of hiking, followed by one hour of messages
then a light healthy lunch. After lunch it was horseback riding and
free time, which she spent by the pool catching up on some much
needed quiet time to herself. Mulder's day was nothing like her's.
His consisted of racquet ball, acupuncture, lunch, a ten kilometer
run and lastly, two hours spent in a sauna.

At dinner, Scully and Mulder were assigned to a table with two of
the remaining ten couples. Two more had checked out since that
morning. The two couples seemed to be about the same age as Mulder
and Scully but they were nothing like them at all. The couple to
Scully's right were Brad and Christine Ireland from Grand Rapids,
Michigan. Brad owned a law firm in Grand Rapids and Christine was
a kindergarten teacher at the local elementary school. The other
couple were Rick and Elaine Lea from Manhattan, New York. Rick was
a surgeon and Elaine was a riding instructor.

Their dinner was light, consisting of broiled chicken liver with
rice. With desert there was a choice between homemade peach pie or
a three berry cheese cake. Mulder, with great delight, had three
slices of the peach pie. It was only to make up for what little of
the liver he ate. Scully on the other hand, loved the liver and
only had half of a serving of cheese cake.

As the partners headed up to their room to rest after the long day,
Kathleen Farantino stopped them. "Excuse me, Mr. and Mrs. Hale, can
I speak with you two for a minute?"

Scully turned around to face Kathleen and said, "Yes?"

"Come with me. I think I have information that you two will want to
hear." Kathleen said as she led them down a narrow hallway to her
office. Mulder looked as Scully with a puzzled look on his face.

Kathleen showed them in and shut the door behind them. "You two are
the federal agents that who were sent here to investigate the
missing persons, correct?" Kathleen said as she sat down behind a
large oak desk.

"How did you know it was us and about the case?" Scully asked.

"I was the one who asked the FBI to get involved." Kathleen replied
to Scully.

"Oh." Mulder muttered. "What did you think that we could be of any
help?"

"It's just that with all of the so called 'abductions,' the
reputation of this hotel is decreasing. We are losing more and more
reservations as more of them become public knowledge." Kathleen
said to the agents as she grabbed some paperwork from the left desk
drawer. "These are the names and room numbers of all the people who
are still here who claim to be 'abducted.' And a complete list of
names of persons who were here recently." Kathleen handed the list
to Scully.

Scully paused long enough to notice most of the room numbers had
involved the same hotel room number but on different floors. "Is
this a complete list?"

"As far as I know, yes." Kathleen said as she stood up from behind
her desk. "If you don't mind, I have a lot of work to do."

"Come on Mulder, we've got work to do." Scully said as she made
some mental notes about the list of names.

Mulder stood and walked towards the door, then he stopped.
"Kathleen, I have to ask. What made you so sure that we are the
federal agents assigned to the case?"

Kathleen looked at the two agents and then said, "I don't know.
There were a few clues. When you two first checked in, I kind of
got a hunch about you two. When Agent Scully came down to the main
desk to sign up for activities, most newlyweds that come here don't
sign up for activities until they have been here at least two days.
If you catch me drift. The third clue I got was when I heard one of
the room service personnel make a comment about white chocolate
covered sun flower seeds and grape ginger ale. Again, usually it's
strawberries and whip cream."

"I see." Mulder said with a smile and shut the door behind him as
he left Kathleen's office.

In the darkened hallway, Mulder said to Scully. "Gee Scully, we
have to act a little more normal. If she can figure out that who we
really are, who knows who else knows."

Scully and Mulder started to walk down the hallway heading towards
the elevator when Scully stopped. "Mulder, do you feel like going
to get a cup of coffee?"

"Dana Scully, are you asking me out?" Mulder asked.

Scully smiled. It had been a long day and she wasn't in the mood to
back up to their room just yet. She walked over to the front desk
and asked the night manager for directions to a late coffee shop.
"Let's go Mulder. It's going to be a long night."

"Yes honey." Mulder said as he took Scully's right hand in his as
they walked toward the main entrance.

x    x    x    x
TRIANGLE'S PERK
57 VISCOUNT AVENUE
9:30 P.M.

Scully and Mulder decided to walk to the coffee shop instead of
taking their rented car. There was a warm breeze from coming off
the lake and there was a full moon out that night.

The coffee shop was only a ten minute walk from the hotel. It a
bright neon glow, the title of the shop read, Triangle's Perk. As
Scully and Mulder walked closer to the shop, Mulder noticed that
painted under the neon sign was a message that said, "Home of the
most outrages drinks and people who just can't sleep." And there
was a 'x' made out of masking tape on the bottom part of the door.

"Scully, I think I'm going to like this place." Mulder grinned as
he held the door open for her.

Inside, there were booths that lined two of the walls and a fancy
oak bar along the far wall. The walls had various pictures and
paintings done by local artists. The lighting was very dim and the
front window was lit up by two blue lights.

Mulder motioned for them to grab one of the booths along the west
wall. As they sat down, a waitress walked over and gave them two
menus. Mulder read the list and nearly started to laugh, some of
the coffees were, 'Ninety-nine Percent Proof.' 'Vampire's blood,'
'Abductee's Truth Serum' and 'Little Green Brew.'

Scully also read the list and started to giggle. She had never
heard of these titles and let alone did she even want to know what
was in them. "So Mulder, did you decide what you want?"

"I don't know Scully. I'm can't decide between 'Abductee's truth
serum' and "Vampire's blood.' What are you going to get?" Mulder
asked as he noticed to the pictures of landscape and woods on wall
above them. Mulder figured that they must have been taken around
here. He noticed the one of the pictures was of a cliff with the
words 'weird things happen out here' painted on the rock.

Scully noticed how her partner seemed to be in a deep trance from
starring at the picture and decided to see if he was paying
attention to her. "Mulder, I think I'm going to order Abducted
Sister's Brew. It consists of one teaspoon of coffee, and the rest
alcohol. After that I'm going to find the nearest bar and get
really drunk. Then we're going back to the hotel room to discuss
the sleeping arrangements. What do you think?"

"What... oh yeah. Sounds good. I think I'll have one too." Mulder
mumbled. 

"Mulder." Scully said as she snapped her fingers in front of his
face to break his concentration on the picture.

"What is it Scully?" Mulder said as he turned his attention to
Scully.

"Did you hear anything I just said? Scully said as she folded the
menu and laid it beside the napkin dispenser.

"Yeah, you said something about a drink you wanted." Mulder said as
he tried to lie his way out of the situation. The truth was that he
didn't even know that Scully was talking to him.

"Mulder, what is it with you tonight? You seem to be off on another
planet ever since the meeting in Kathleen's office." Scully said as
she waved for the waitress to come over.

"Have you two figured what you wanted?" The waitress asked.

"Yes I'll have the 'Little Green Brew' and he'll will have the cup
of the 'Ninety-nine Percent Proof.' The stronger the better."
Scully said to the waitress before Mulder could say anything. It
wouldn't have mattered, Mulder was starring at the picture again.
The waitress left to take to orders of the other customers in the
shop.

Scully watched her leave over Mulder's shoulder and then turned her
attention to him, "Mulder, are you going to listen to me for more
then two seconds at all while we're here?"

"Yeah, I'm listening Scully. There's something about this picture.
It must have something about the Great Lakes Triangle. I wonder
where this is." Mulder said as he pointed to the picture.

"It could be anywhere Mulder. The picture may not even had been
taken here." Scully replied to her partner.

"No. I think it was taken here." Mulder replied as he too noticed
that the coffee shop had now filled with people.

"Here you go." The waitress said as she put the green colour coffee
in front of Scully and the black syrup in front of Mulder. "Was
there anything else you wanted?"

"Yes. Could you bring us two slices of cherry pie." Mulder told the
waitress. "Oh yeah, do you know where this picture was taken?"
Mulder asked as he pointed up at the picture.

"Yeah. It was taken about ten years ago just before the South Shore
Hotel went up. That cliff is on the hotel's property, but I don't
think you can see it anymore. Ever since the number abductions has
increased, the hotel as not permitted anyone to step foot on that
part of the property." The waitress told the agents. "I take it
that you two are not from around here?"

"Yes. We're visiting from Pennsylvania." Scully told her.

"Have you heard about what's happening at the South Shore Hotel?"
Mulder asked.

"Yeah, people who stay there end up getting abducted by aliens.
They get probed and have other stuff done to them too." The
waitress said as her brown eyes expressed her feelings about the
topic. "I personally believe that it is not true and that the
government has something to do with it."

"What an interesting theory," Scully said as she tried to hid her
giggling.

Mulder gave her a nudge with his foot. He too wanted to laugh. "Oh,
that's definitely interesting."

"You two sure do ask a lot of questions. Are you staying there? I
heard that they brought in some FBI agents to do some
investigating, but all these 'agents' have done is waste tax-payer
money doing nothing."

"Yes we are and no I didn't know there were FBI people there."
Mulder said with the biggest surprised look on her face. Doing his
best hick voice, added. "Lookie here honey, we're staying at a
better hotel then we thought."

The waitress looked out the front window to notice that the movie
theatre across the street had just gotten out and that the movie
patrons were beginning to file into the shop. She was off again to
fill more orders of coffee.

"There goes the piece and quiet," Scully muttered under her breath
She had wanted to comment on what the waitress had said but she
noticed that Mulder was about to take a sip of his coffee so she
waited.

Mulder sipped to coffee and then said "UGH!!" Looking right at
Scully he asked. "What kind of coffee is this? It tastes like it
has been sitting on a back burner since time began!"

"I knew that it would grab your attention. You may want to drink it
very slowly. I don't know how your body will take all that
caffeine, all at once." Scully said, trying not sound too much like
a doctor or his mother.

"Yes dear." Mulder said with a smile as he waited for the waitress
to return with their slices of pie. After just one sip, he knew
that he wasn't going to get any sleep tonight!  He thought.

"What is your theory on all of this? No, wait before you answer my
question, what do you think is really happening to these people?"
Scully said as she sipped of her half empty mug of green coffee.

"Scully, you know what my theory on all of this is but it's just
that I think we need more information before I even want to pass
any judgment." Mulder said as he rubbed his soar knee. The run had
taken a lot more out of him then he first thought. "I'm going to
get our slices of pie, do you want any more coffee?"

"No, no thank you Mulder. Any more of this stuff, and I won't sleep
for a week." Scully said as her partner stood up. Scully watched he
walk towards the counter, she looked around at the other couples in
the shop and thought, Melissa would have really loved this place
and the coffee!

Mulder soon returned with two slices of pie. He set one down in
front of himself and passed the other to Scully. "The waitress at
the counter said that it's homemade pie. Made from cherries that
were grown locally." Mulder said as he took a bite.

"It kind of makes wonder why a town like this, can make such great
pies but can't control the rumours of supposed alien abductions."
Scully said as she too enjoyed the pie.

"This is the best damn pie I have ever tasted, but don't tell my
mother that. She would have a fit if she heard me say that." Mulder
said as he finished off his slice. Mulder realized that he must
have been hungrier then he thought because he finished off Scully's
slice of pie too.

"Hey Scully, do you feel like going for a swim when we get back to
the hotel? I'm wired and I need to burn off some energy." Mulder
asked.

"Yeah, after all of the food we've eaten today, I don't think I'll
be able to look at food for a while anyways." Scully said as she
stood and reached for Mulder's hand.

"Well Mrs. Mulder... I mean Hale, I would be proud to walk you back
to our hotel... for a swim." Mulder replied as he stood and left a
ten on the table for the waitress.

As Scully walked out of the shop a cool breeze hit her and she
shivered. Mulder noticed this, slipped his jacket off and slipped
it on to Scully's shoulders. "Thank you Fox."

"It's ok, Dana. Let's get going before it gets too dark out here."
Mulder said with a smile as he put his arm around Scully as the
crossed the street.

As the two agents walked back to the hotel, Mulder noticed that
every street light was either broken or was missing the bulb
altogether. Scully realized it too the closer they got to the
hotel. Not only was the street lights out, but so was the power to
the hotel.

As Mulder and Scully walked into the hotel lobby, the night manager
stopped them at the front desk. "Excuse me, Mr. and Mrs. Hale."

Mulder turned to the young man, probably in his mid twenties. He
was obvious nervous about talking to them. "Yes."

"Due to the power outage, the elevators are not working. The back
up generator is on minimum. The stairs are just to the right of the
elevator, if you want to go to your suite. Or you are welcome to
wait in the hotel restaurant."

Scully looked up at Mulder. "Honey, do you want to wait in the
restaurant?"

Mulder looked at Scully with the look on his face that meant that
they were going to be taking stairs up to their suite on the
thirty-first floor. "Are there any flashlights and candles we could
borrow?"

Both the night manager's eyes nearly popped out in shock when
Mulder asked for the flashlights. "Yes sir. Here you go. There is
a box of candles on the table beside the elevator." He said and he
pointed to the box.

"Thank you." Mulder said as he turned to walk toward the box.

x    x    x    x
12:15 A.M.

As Mulder unlocked the door to their suite, Scully asked. "Are you
still up for the swim?"

"I'm up for one if you are?" Mulder said as he walked in as turned
the lights in their room. Scully nodded. Before she thought that
she needed to work off some of the caffeine in her system, but not
now. "If you want to change, I can call downstairs to see if their
are any messages for us?" 

Scully lit on of the candles and went searching in her suitcase for
the other swimsuit she had brought with her. The one she had worn
earlier today was a simple, black one piece. This one was a dark
green, two piece suit that she had bought the last time she went
shopping with Melissa. Scully paused for a second to realize that
she hadn't worn it since she had first tried it on in the store.
Melissa had told her to buy it because she said that it looked good
on her. The sales tags were still on the suit. Scully then walked
into the bathroom. She had not even realized that she had been
crying until she looked into the mirror. She thought, what if
Mulder noticed her crying. What would he think of her? "Who cares"
she muttered to herself as she changed into the suit.

Mulder had noticed that Scully was crying but he decided to leave
her alone. They both had been through so much in the last year and
this was the first vacation either of them had been on since
Scully's return to work. Mulder held the flashlight in one hand and
in the other he dialed seven to get the main desk. When the voice
on the other end said hello, Mulder asked if there were any
messages for them and to his surprise there were none. He even got
the person to double check but there was no messages. Mulder
thanked the person and asked if the pool was till open, even at
that late hour. It was. Mulder returned to receiver to it's hook
and turned to notice that Scully was standing, waiting for him.

"I called down to the main desk, to my surprise there are no
messages for us." Mulder told Scully as he noticed what she was
wearing.

"What about the autopsy reports?" Scully asked she started to walk
towards the phone to check for herself.

"Nothing. I checked twice, I have a feeling that the person at the
front desk thinks I'm a little crazy for getting him to check
twice." Mulder smiled. He had never seen Scully wearing something
like this before and he was beginning to like it. "I'm going to
change if your done. Are there any of those big terra cloth towels
left?" Mulder asked as he grabbed his trunks out of a drawer and
walked into the bathroom.

"Nope, but I can call house keeping to see if we can get some, if
you want?" Scully reached for the phone and pressed nine for
housekeeping. The woman who answered said that she would leave the
towels on one of the chairs beside the pool. Scully thanked the
woman. She then walked out onto the balcony and looked out. The
stars were out and the full moon was reflecting off of the lake.
 she thought.

Mulder walked up behind her and wrapped his arm around her waist
and whispered into her ear. "Are you ready?"

Scully turned to him and nodded. "Let's go."

x    x    x    x
THE POOL AREA

The pool seemed even bigger to Mulder as he and Scully walked
towards it then the day before. It was Olympic sized. The hotel's
logo was designed in tile in the center of the pool. At three of
the four corners, lilies and irises filled large pots. The three
pots had such varieties of colours that there were not two flowers
in two pots that were the exactly the same.

Scully had dove into the pool and had done several laps before
Mulder had even realized it. He soon slipped himself in and decided
to pull a little prank on Scully. As Scully passed him in the pool,
he swam under her and brushed up against her leg to freak her out.

"Hey!" Scully said as she turned to see what could have touched
her. "Mulder?" She called out but she couldn't see him anywhere.
There was no lighting around the pool. The only lighting they had
was from the full moon above them. 
she thought as she continued to search for him.

"Scully, were you looking for me?" Mulder called out to her as he
appeared directly behind her.

"Oh! Mulder you surprised me." Scully said as she tried to hide the
fact that she was blushing.

"You know Scully, I never told you this but I love it when you
blush. It brings out your freckles." Mulder said as he pulled
Scully closer to himself.

At the depth of water where they were, Mulder could simply stand
and touch bottom where Scully would be nearly completely under
water. Scully swung her right arm around Mulder's neck and let the
other one float at her side.

She looked at his trunks to realized that they weren't the same
colour as before. "Mulder, I thought your trunks were black?"

"They were a gag gift from Phoebe. She sent them to me a couple of
years ago for my birthday, because she though they were right for
me. They change colour based upon what I'm swimming in. Chlorine
pool they got light blue, in sea water they change to light green
and in fresh water, they go red." Mulder said as he put his arms
around Scully, to keep her eye to eye with him. The truth was that
he hadn't had a chance to wear them since he was given them.

"Oh I see," Scully said, trying to hide the fact that she hated
Phoebe and the pull she had over him.

"Don't tell me you're jealous, Scully?" Mulder said with a
surprised look on his face.

"I am NOT! It's just that I didn't think a person like Phoebe would
send you something like this for your birthday, that's all." Scully
said as she tried to really hide the fact that she was really
getting sick about talking or hearing about Ms. Green.

"I can see that you are. Admit it Dana, you're jealous. It's
written all over your face." Mulder said with a smile. He loved
teasing her, almost as much as he loved telling Scully about the
new cases and watching her reactions to them.

"Well, Fox there is one thing that I'm willing to admit. That..."
Scully wiggled out from Mulder's grasp and started to swim
backwards towards the shallow end. "your trunks are the kind that
don't leave anything up to the imagination." And with that Scully
stood up in the shallow end to get out of the pool.

"Oh yeah!" Mulder swam over and grabbed Scully's left leg as she
walked passed him on the deck and pulled her back into the pool.

"Hey!" Scully yelled out just before she hit the water. "That's no
fair!" Scully said as she brushed her auburn locks away from her
eyes.

"Who said anything about being fair? I'm just being a man. And I
was doing manly man things." Mulder said as he pulled Scully
closer.

"If you're doing 'manly' things, what I am supposed to do?
'Womanly' things?" Scully said as she looped both arms around his
neck.

"Yes, you are to do what I say and agree with all I say." Mulder
said as he held her even closer.

"Do you mean honour and obey?" Scully asked as she motioned for
them to move closer to the shallow where she could touch bottom.

"You can read my mind." Mulder said as he let her stand on her own.

"We're not married for real, so I don't have to honour and obey."
Scully replied.

Just then all of the pool and deck lights came on. Scully nearly
jumped out of her skin when all of the lights came on. Mulder saw
it happen and he nearly fell over backwards laughing.

"Dana, maybe we go to our suite where there is some more privacy."
Mulder told her. "And besides, we're beginning to turn into a
prunes." Mulder said as he bent down and picked Scully up into his
arms. He was beginning to like Scully's skin against his.

"Mul...oh." Scully said as she looped both arms around his neck.
For some reason, she felt like she was in a romance novel where the
hero picks the beautiful woman (after saving her from danger) and
takes her up to their bedroom for a night full of passion.

Before Scully could realize Mulder had set her down on her feet
again and he wrapped her tenderly in a towel. "Mulder I don't know
if this is...." 

Mulder hushed her by placing his finger on her lips and he led them
back towards the hotel, but towards a different entrance then they
had come out. "Come on, I found this entrance today after my run.
It's an old servants elevator. It goes right up to our floor."
Mulder said as he pushed the button for the elevator.

"Is it safe?" Scully asked as the door opened.

"Yes. Why, don't you trust me?" Mulder said as he led her in. The
door closed that Mulder pressed the button for the thirty first
floor.

To Scully's surprise, the elevator was much faster then she had
first thought. It was even faster then the ones at Headquarters in
Washington. The elevator let out a ding and the door open on their
floor. As they walked off, Scully looped her right arm around
Mulder's waist and he wrapped he left arm around Scully's bare left
shoulder.

Mulder opened the door to their suite. "We're here."

To Scully's great surprise, their room was filled with scented
candles with roses on every table. "Fox, I'm speechless..." Scully
looked around to room. The room smelled of roses and lavender. "I
don't know what to say."

"Then don't." And Mulder started to kiss her bare shoulder
tenderly. "Come with me." Mulder led her into the bathroom where
the jacuzzi was filled to the rim with bubbles. He tenderly picked
her up into his arms and set Scully down into the bubbly tub.

"I don't know if we should be doing this... I mean what will it do
to our working relationship?" Scully shuttered to say. She knew
herself that what ever happened here, right then, would change
their feelings toward each other for as long as they work together.

"At this moment, I couldn't careless about work. All I care about
is how much I love you." Mulder said as he kissed Scully's neck and
then her left ear.

"I... I... I feel the same way. I always have." Scully muttered as
she left the feelings of Mulder race through her body. She had
never felt this way in her life with anyone. No one had ever made
her feel this way.

"I know." Mulder said as he could feel Dana's hands on his back. He
pulled her close still. With the few women, Fox had been with, he
hadn't been this open and relaxed with a woman. Fox then twisted so
that Dana was laying on top of him. He undid her bikini top and
threw the thing out of the tub. It surprisingly landed in the
closer of the two sinks.

Dana knew full well what was happening but how far she was going to
let it go was another story. She had known other agents, many from
her days at the academy, who let their personal feelings for each
other get in the way of their professional lives the end result was
terrible. Sometimes there was a hearing and all of the intimacy of
the relationship was told to a panel of representatives higher up
in the chain of command. The results were either a disgraceful
discharge out of the Bureau or the pair were so separated to the
point that they were forbidden to see each other at all. Other
agents were more lucky and minor charges were brought up against
them and it was all added to their personel file.

Dana swore to herself that she would never let anything like this
happen to her. It was too late. It was. "Fox, no... I don't think
this is right." Dana told him as she pulled away from him.

"You know it's right and I know it's right. So why is it wrong?"
Fox asked.

"It just isn't, okay?" Scully protested and got out of the tub.

"No, Dana, it's not okay." And Mulder reached out for her but she
stepped away.

Scully was changed into a jogging suit and was combing her damp
hair when Mulder walked out of the bathroom. Scully so wanted to be
with Mulder, but her fear of what could happen was what made her so
scared.

"Dana, if I may ask, what is wrong with you?" Mulder asked as he
put his hand on her shoulder.

She pulled away from him. "There's nothing wrong with me." Scully
walked toward the balcony windows and pulled back the curtain so
she could look out. After giving herself a moment to collect her
thoughts, she turned back to Mulder. "It's not that I don't love
you or care for you..." She paused. "It's just that I have seen
first hand what the Bureau does to partners that over step the
boundary between their personal and professional relationships. I
don't want that to happen to us."

Mulder realized how much she was scared and that with all the
recent events, he could not blame her for being scared. He walked
toward Scully and wrapped his arms around her shaking body. "Dana,
I too don't want that to happen to us, but what do we do?" He
whispered in to her left ear.

Scully softly shook her head. For the first time since her
placement as Mulder's partner, did she feel that she had lost the
control in her life. Her 'abduction' could not even touch what she
was feeling inside. She turned to face Mulder and looked into his
brown eyes. The look on the face was encouraging but all Scully
could do was to cry silently.

Mulder brushed away the tears but it was no use. For the second
time in Mulder's life, he could not fix what was wrong. Not since
Samantha's 'abduction' did he feel this helpless and terrified for
what could happen. "Dana, will you look at me?" Mulder said as he
lift her chin. "I understand what you are going through. I too have
seen what the Bureau can do to partners, but I refuse to let them
do it to us. Come on." He led to the bed where he pulled back the
sheets and motioned for her to lay down.

Scully laid down and Mulder sat beside her. "Fox, why are you so
good to me?"

"I don't know. Maybe for the first time, I've found someone in my
life who I can be completely open to and that I know that you won't
judge me harshly." Mulder told her.

Scully sat up and gave him a friendly kiss on the cheek. "I feel
the same way."

x    x    x    x
THE PATIO AREA -- 3:30 A.M.

After Scully had fallen asleep, Mulder changed and went down to the
main desk to get more information on recent 'abduction' cases. When
he spoke with the night manager and was shocked to hear that they
and the Leas were the only ones left.

Mulder went out to the patio and stretched out in one of the pool
chairs. The view from the patio looked out on to Lake Superior.
Though he was always fascinated by the world's mysteries like the
Egyptian pyramids and the tales of the Lock Ness monster, but it
was the Bermuda and Great Lake Triangles that fascinated him the
most. The only real problem he had with these three sites were that
they were out in the middle no where. He got sea sick just looking
at the boat, let alone travel on it toward the sites.

"What a night or should I say morning," Scully smiled as she walked
toward Mulder. 

"I thought you were asleep." Mulder said as he turned his head as
she approached.

"Naw, I couldn't sleep. I am really tired but all that caffeine I
had doesn't help any." Scully said as she sat down on his lap and
wrapped her arms around his neck. "What a view!"

"Yeah, I wish my apartment had this kind of view." Mulder said with
a chuckle.

"If you had this kind of view, I would move in. For the view you
know." Scully said as she hooked her hair behind her ears.

Mulder replied in a pouty voice. "You hurt my feelings."

Scully laughed. "Do you want me to kiss and make up with you."

"Well if you are asking, I guess so."

Scully kissed him with all of the passion she could muster after
such a long day. "Do you feel better?"

"I don't know. Can I get back to you on that? Your phone number is
still 1-900-RED-HOTT, right?"

With that comment Scully tried to stand up to leave but she ended
rocking back on Mulder's lap. "Ouch." Scully let out as her hand
hit something in Mulder's hip pocket. "Mulder, what's in your
pocket?"

"Do you really want to know?" Mulder asked as he smiled.

"I don't mean that. What's this?" Scully moved slightly and tapped
on something hard in his pocket.

"Oh that, it's a deck of cards. I borrowed them from Kathleen to
play some solitaire. That's unless you have a better idea?" Mulder
asked as she stood up.

"How's about poker?" Scully said as she turned to help him up.

"Are you sure? I would hate to see you loose and have to give me
all your money." Mulder said as he worked the deck of cards out of
his pocket.

"What makes you think I would loose?"

x    x    x    x
4:13 A.M.

After playing poker for a half hour, Mulder was out of money.
Scully had beaten him every hand but two. "Mulder, face it you suck
at this game!" Scully said as she counted the stack of money in
front of her.

"Do you take plastic?" Mulder asked as he showed her his numerous
credit cards.

"Sorry, I only take the real thing." Scully said with a devilish
smile. "Plastic just isn't the same."

"Oh real." Mulder said with a innocent look on his face. "You sound
like you have some experience at it."

Scully blushed. "I do not."

Mulder loved to egg her on. "Just deal."

Scully shuffled the cards and as she dealt them, she looked at
Mulder with an expression on her face that only meant that he was
in deep trouble. "Instead of using money, how's about you strip one
piece of clothing off for every game you loose. But the catch is
that I get to pick what you strip?"

"You drive a hard bargain but I can agree with that." Mulder said
as he noticed that he had more clothing on then Scully. 

x    x    x    x
6:13 A.M.

Two hours later, Scully had made him take off his sweater and
shirt. He still had everything below his hips.

"Mulder face it you suck!" Scully said as she laid down the winning
hand down again.

"So great poker master, what do I have to strip for you now?"
Mulder said as he crouched down in front of her feet.

"Your pants."

"My pants. Okay." Mulder sat down on the bed and started to untie
his boots.

"Wait. You have to take your pants off without taking your boots
off." Scully said as her devilish side began to appear.

"You are pure evil!" Mulder said as he unzipped his pants. "How am
I going to get the pants over my boots?"

"With these?" Scully handed him a pair of scissors.

"This will be interesting." Mulder said as he started to cut the
hemming around the cuff of his pants and then up the seam of his
pants.

"So strip!" Scully grabbed the scissors and made a small cut in his
jeans. She laid the scissors down, grabbed his pant leg and ripped
the pants apart with all her might.

"I guess you can't wait until I'm naked, eh Scully?"

"No, I... you were too slow. That's all." Scully sat back down on
the floor where she was sitting and collected up the cards.

Mulder worked off the rest of the jeans. "You know Scully. These
were my favourite pair and now you've ruined them."

"Too bad. You knew the rules." Scully said as she shuffled the
cards. "Face it Mulder, strip poker is something that I am better
at then you are!"

"Now hold on a minute right there. Before we go any further, I
think we should change the rules again. This time if I win..."

Scully interupted him. "That's a big IF."

"Okay, okay. If I win you have I get to strip down to your undies."
Mulder said with a smile.

"I guess I can agree with that. But what if I win... again?" Scully
asked.

"If you win, I guess I can take off something. My boots maybe."
Mulder replied trying to keep the fact that he knew that she would
make him strip off his boxers.

"No way! If I win, you HAVE to loose your boxers!" Scully said as
she pointed to them. "Deal?"

"Sure." Mulder said as he shuck her hand. "I've just made a deal
with the devil!"

Scully dealt out the cards. Yet again, she won. Mulder stood up in
disgust. "I can't believe it. These cards must be stacked. How else
would you win and I loose every hand.." He paused a minute to look
at the cards. "Wait a minute, you stacked the deck. You have dealt
every hand. Why you little...."

"Scully cut him off. "Strip!"

Mulder stared at her for a minute before getting up off the floor
where he was stretched out on. He turned his back to her and then
started humming the melody to 'stripper' theme. He slowly turned
around to Scully, how was completely blushing. He walked over to
where Scully was sitting one plush chairs and sat down on her lap.
"Aren't you going to put some tens in my boxers?"

"Mulder, you aren't worth tens. Maybe fives." Scully said as she
beat Mulder to grabbing her money.

"Oh, I'm hurt. You got me right be between the..." He started to
act like he was dying.

"Eyes?" Scully asked.

"Actually I was thinking of something a little lower." Mulder said
as he fell down on the bed acting like he had just been shot. He
raised his head. "I just like to say on thing before I go any
further... you are PURE evil Dana Katherine Scully when you win
like this."

"Mulder shut up and get on with it." Scully said as she became more
sick of Mulder's joking around.

"Well meow!" Mulder said as he tried to do an impression of a cat
"If I must, I must." Mulder stood and started to pull down on side
of his boxers below his hips when Scully's celleluar phone rang.

Scully jumped and grabbed it. "Scully." She said into it.

"Agent Scully this is A.D. Skinner. You and Agent Mulder are to
return back to Washington."

Mulder stood in front of Scully and started to act like
construction workers by positioning his boxers low enough so that
when he bent over, Scully had a view of his back side.

"Yes. I understand, sir." Scully said as she tried to keep her
voice calm and collected, but Mulder increased his anticks the
longer Scully was on the phone.

"We'll take the first flight back." Scully said as she did her best
not to laugh. She tried to turn away from Mulder, but he kept up
with her movements. Scully gave him an evil look as he pulled his
boxers down even more below his hips. Scully made a quick retreat
into the bathroom.

After Scully had shut the door, Mulder went back to clean up the
cards. It was then that he noticed that Scully had cheated and that
he had actually won. Which meant Scully had to strip not him!

As Scully walked out of the bathroom, Mulder stood waiting. "Mulder
why aren't you naked?" She asked.

"Easy, I checked the cards. You cheated! I won that hand and I get
to strip you down to the point that you have just as much as I do!"
Mulder said with a sparkle in his eyes.

"Damn you caught me. I guess you're right." Scully whispered as she
returned her cell phone back to her coat pocket.

"Pardon me." Mulder said as he bent his ears forward so he could
mock not hearing her. "Please repeat what you just said. My hearing
isn't what it used to be."

"I said that you..." She stopped. "You were right."

"Damn where's a witness when you need one. You Dana Scully finally
admitted that I was right and your scientific theories can't back
you out of this one." Mulder was just beaming. He loved it when he
was right and Scully's wasn't. "What time is it and do you have a
pen?"

"It's about 6:45 a.m. There's a pen over on the dresser. Why may I
asked do you need a pen?" Scully asked as she pointed to the
dresser.

"To mark down what time it was when I was right, and you admitted
you were wrong. Oh yeah, and the fact that you admitted to
cheating. This is history in the making and I wanted to write it
all down before I forgot."

"What ever." Scully shrugged it off.

"Scully?" Mulder asked.

"Yes."

"Strip!"

Scully walked of over to where Mulder was standing and wrapped her
arms around him. "I was kind of hoping that I could change your
mind." Scully started to kiss his bare shoulder and worked her way
up to his neck then his lips.

Mulder stood there for a second until he realized what what his
partner was up to. He pulled Scully's tee-shirt free from
underneath her sweat shirt. He started to say something but Scully
pressed her left index finger against his lips to stop him. He
slipped her sweat shirt off and started pull off her tee-shirt when
the phone rang.

"Agent Mulder?" Kathleen asked.

"Uh yeah?" Mulder replied.

"I just wanted to thank you. I don't know what you or your partner
did, but there hasn't been any more 'abductions' for nearly
twenty-four hours." Kathleen tried to stay calm. "Plus our phones
are ringing off the hook with people wanting to make reservations."

"Oh, well I'm happy we could help." Mulder jerked suddenly as he
felt Scully's hands exploring the fabric of his boxers.

"If there is anything we can do, please don't hesitate to ask."
Kathleen said.

"There is one thing, could you please book us on a late flight back
to DC? It would be most helpful." Mulder grinned.

"Sure no problem, we'll have the ticket information ready for when
you check out." Kathleen nodded.

"Bye." Mulder barely got it out as Scully's left hand slipped
between his boxers and him.

Scully stepped back as he hung up the phone. "You sure are a frisky
one tonight."

"Not frisky... curious."

"Curiousity is what killed the cat."

Scully stepped closer. "Let's just explore that theory, shall we?"

"Lead on, we've got all the time in the world."

==============
THE END
==============
Finished: 5/19/97
==============

    Source: geocities.com/televisioncity/7099/fics

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