Let's Face the Music and Dance-Part 4/7
Summary and disclaimers in Part 1

*****

It was close to midnight when Mulder finally made it home.
He was tired, frustrated and stressed, especially since his
last conversation with Scully just before he left Oregon.
She had told him she had some new information about the case
he was working on and she wanted him back home. Since he and
his companions were having no luck finding Susan Miles,
Mulder agreed, leaving Doggett and Reyes in Portland to
continue their search. 

He was anxious to get back, not because of the information
Scully said she had, but because he had never been away from
her and their son this long before and he was finding it a
lot more difficult than he could ever have imagined. The cab
that took him from the airport to his home couldn't move
fast enough for him.

Finally, he was there. He paid off the cabby, then turned
and headed for the front doors of the apartment complex,
suitcases in hand. A woman he had never seen before was also
heading up the walk. She looked at him, and her eyes
narrowed in recognition. "Mr. Mulder?"

Mulder stopped in front of the door, using the bright
security light to help him see the woman better. She was
tall, with dark brown, almost black, hair. Not
model-beautiful, but a girl-next-door type of woman. Her
eyes were expressive, but he couldn't really judge their
color in the unnatural light they stood in. "Do I know you?"

"No, but I know you."

Damn, he hated that response. "Yeah, well, so does the
President, but I'm sure he wishes he didn't." Though the
current Chief of State had never contacted him directly, his
past exploits had attracted the man's attention, as well as
the attention of his predecessor. It wasn't a good thing, in
Mulder's mind.

The woman smiled at his response, and he began to amend the
girl-next-door thought; as friendly as she looked, this
woman could be dangerous. "My name is Susan Donahue." She
glanced at the apartment. "Agent Scully called me after you
called her at the airport. She wanted us to talk."

Mulder felt his brow furrow. "You have information?"

"A great deal of it," she said, her smile not as bright as
before. "In fact, you've been looking for me, knowing I can
give you answers, though I bet I have more than you ever
suspected."

Mulder's brain finished the connection. "You're Susan
Miles."

She nodded, her smile gone. "I was married to Bill, yes. I
changed back to my maiden name after the divorce." Again,
she looked toward the apartment. "Should we go inside? I'm
sure you're anxious to see your family."

He felt a shiver run up his spine...but it wasn't a shiver
of dread. It was one of pure pleasure. Family. His family.
He nodded to Donahue and headed into the building, allowing
her to open doors for him as he was still carrying his
luggage.

Scully stood in the open door of their apartment when they
reached it. Her face conveyed her mixed emotions. Happiness
at his return. Nervousness about his reaction to Donahue.
Fear. About what, he wasn't too sure. As usual, she had
closed herself off to him, and he wasn't about to push,
mentally or verbally. He would know why she was afraid soon
enough.

He knew Will was sleeping before he even entered the
apartment, so he kept his footsteps light as he carried his
bags into the bedroom, setting them down carefully in front
of the closet. He would worry about unpacking later. Before
returning to the living room where he had left Scully and
Donahue, he walked over to the crib and looked down at his
son. The little boy was sleeping soundly, his dreams a blur
of light and color, as they always were. Only tonight, a
darkness swelled around the outer edges of the baby's
consciousness. It disturbed Mulder. With a heavy sigh, he
turned and left the room.

Donahue was sitting stiffly on the couch when he entered the
living room, and Scully was just returning from the kitchen
with two cups of fresh coffee. She handed one to Mulder, the
other one to Donahue, then sat empty handed in the recliner.
His chair. The only addition they had made to Scully's
already established furniture arrangement after he moved in.
He moved to sit on the other end of the sofa, trying to
catch Scully's eye. Trying to decipher her emotions. He
could do neither.

"So," he said instead, turning his body to face Donahue as
he sat. "We've established that you used to be married to
Billy Miles," he told her. "And, if what we discovered in
Bellefleur is true, you are the mother of his child, as
well. Is this true?"

Donahue nodded. "I have a son, Wesley. I legally changed his
name to Donahue after Billy was abducted last year. I didn't
feel he needed the attention that his father brought."

"How old is he?" Scully asked. Mulder glanced at her,
relieved to see that she had relaxed. Apparently, it wasn't
Donahue herself that Scully was afraid of. 

"He's almost two," Donahue responded. "He's the oldest."

Mulder, who had turned to face the brunette again, cocked
his head. "The oldest? You have other children?"

Donahue shook her head. "No. They're not mine. I only care
for them."

"How many are in your care?" Scully asked. Mulder again
looked at her. She had to have seen the question in his
eyes, but she ignored it.

"Four of them. Either abandoned by their parents or..."

Mulder's mind swirled. "Is Ray Hoese Jr. one of them?" His
voice was dark. This woman did indeed know more than was
expected.

Donahue paused, glancing down at the cup in her hands. She
had yet to take a drink from it. She licked her lips
nervously, then looked at him again. "Not yet. But he will
be before the week is out."

Mulder felt his whole body turn cold. "Then you must know
that your ex-husband is the prime suspect in Theresa Hoese's
death."

"My ex-husband is dead, Mr. Mulder." Her voice had
strengthened. "He died, just as you did, almost a year ago.
Only *he* didn't come back." She stood suddenly, setting the
cup down on the coffee table in front of her. "Mr. Mulder, I
am here only because Dana asked me to come. It's not
dangerous for me to tell you or her these things, but it's
not something I'm supposed to do, either. Spender doesn't
mind if you know what's going on, but he doesn't want your
FBI friends involved, so--"

"Spender?!" Mulder also set his cup down and stood. "Cancer
Man?!" He swung around to look at Scully, who had gone pale,
but hadn't moved. Now he knew what she was afraid of. And
now he recognized the darkness that surrounded his son's
dreams. He faced Donahue again, anger and hatred filling him
to the core. "You work for him, don't you?" he growled.
"You..."

"Mulder!" Scully, recognizing the danger in Mulder's
behavior, stood and grasped his arm lightly. "Please,
Mulder! Listen to what she has to say."

Without taking his eyes off Donahue, he sat back down onto
the couch. Scully, in order to keep contact with him, sat
down on the arm, her hand firm on his shoulder. 

The younger woman didn't sit. Nervously, she began to pace.
"I knew I shouldn't have come here. He knew we would be able
to reason with Dana, but not you. He said he would have to
talk to you alone." She stopped and turned to face them. "He
needs your help, Mr. Mulder."

Mulder snorted. "Yeah, right." He felt Scully's hand squeeze
his shoulder. She opened to him a bit, and while her fear
was powerful, her trust in this woman was also strong. Not
absolute. But strong.

"Susan," she said softly. "Why don't you tell Mulder what
you told me this morning? Then, we'll go from there."

*****

Scully sighed and turned over in bed...again. It was
probably the tenth time she had done so since she had
climbed into it shortly after Susan left. Mulder still
hadn't joined her. Lifting her head slightly, she took note
of the time glaring out at her in bright red numerals from
the alarm clock. 3:43. Her eyes darted to the bedroom door,
which stood open. The hallway beyond was dark, and she knew
the living room would be as well. But, Mulder wasn't
sleeping. She had felt the subtle probe of his mind more
than once since she had gone to bed. He was waiting for her
to sleep; she was easier to 'read' then.

With another heavy sigh, she threw off the blankets and slid
out of the bed. Not bothering with a robe or slippers, she
padded out of the room and down the hall. The city lights
shone through the far window, allowing her to see him
clearly. He was stretched out on the couch, his arms folded
behind his head. She could see the whites of his eyes as he
glanced her way, then he continued his contemplation of the
ceiling above him.

She stood silent for a while, then she moved to the end of
the couch by his head and looked down at him. "Are you
coming to bed?" she whispered. "Or are you reverting to your
old ways?"

"If that was the case, the TV would be on," he replied
softly.

"Good point." She leaned over him, catching his eye. "So?"

"I'm not really sleepy," he said, closing his eyes in order
to avoid making contact with hers.

"Mulder." Her voice was stern. The voice of FBI Agent Scully
when she was ticked off with her partner.

He didn't open his eyes, but the corners of his mouth turned
upward. "Yes, Scully?"

"Come to bed," she said, softening her voice in response to
the softening of his expression. "I promise you won't regret
it."

Warily, he opened his eyes. "I thought you were mad at me."

Scully stood straight, forcing Mulder to tilt his head up to
keep looking at her. The angle was obviously uncomfortable
for him, so he sat up and turned to face her instead. "Mad
at you?" Scully said, confusion evident in her voice. "Why
would I be mad at you?"

"Because of what I'm doing tomorrow," Mulder said without
hesitation. He had agreed to accompany Susan to meet with
the Smoking Man tomorrow afternoon. 

Scully had been none too thrilled with the idea of the
meeting, but she also knew it was necessary. "What else can
you do, Mulder?" she asked him. "Our son's future lies in
the hands of one man. You need to find out how you -- how
*we* -- can change that."

"We could always run," Mulder told her, his voice unsteady.

"To where?" Scully responded, her throat tightening. "Some
place *they* can't find us?" She closed her eyes and
laughed, but there was no humor in it. "Please, tell me
where that might be."

She opened her eyes to see Mulder staring at the floor. "So,
you're not mad at me?"

Scully laughed again, only this time there was more
amusement in it. "Oh, Mulder. How long have you known me?
You, of all people, should be able to tell the difference
between when I'm mad at you and when I'm scared for you."

Mulder stood suddenly. "But that's just it, Scully. You
close yourself off so tight to me sometimes, that I can't
tell the difference." He walked up to her and cradled her
face in his hands. "After all this time together, why can't
you let me in?"

Scully felt tears gather, but she ignored them. She bit her
lower lip, then met his eyes with her own. "Maybe because
I'm afraid that if I do, and something happens to either one
of us, the other won't be able to go on. I don't want that
to happen, Mulder. It scares me." She pulled away from him.
"I remember how I was when I thought you were dead. How dead
I was." She looked at him again. "Only the baby kept me
going."

"Do you believe in God, Scully?"

The question startled her. She frowned. "You know I do."

"Then you believe in Heaven, right? An afterlife of some
sort?"

She nodded. 

Mulder grinned and stepped close to her once more. "Then you
have nothing to worry about. We'll always be together." His
eyebrows rose in question. "Unless you're convinced that
*I'm* not going to Heaven."

Scully sighed and began to smile through her tears. "Mulder
--"

He wrapped his arms around her, interrupting her. "I know,
Scully. I know." She buried her face in his chest and felt
it expand as he breathed in deep. "When you were sick with
cancer, the idea of losing you, of being alone, was the
worst torture I could ever have imagined. So I understand
what you're afraid of." He leaned back and looked down at
her. "But we're alive now, Scully. Why not live? Really
live?"

"Live like there's no tomorrow?" she asked wryly.

"No," he responded. "Live like tonight is the beginning of
forever."

She gave him a sad smile, then brought her arms up to wrap
them around his neck. "Well, if that's the case...come to
bed, Mulder. Teach me how to live."

"First you've got to let me in."

A tingle of fear swept through her. As well as a shiver of
sweet anticipation. "Okay."

*****

Mulder heard Scully's whispered 'okay', but he didn't really
believe it. He knew how hard it was for her to let go of her
emotions, much less her mind. He smiled anyway and began
backing toward the bedroom; he'd take what he could get. 

But Scully stopped him before he got too far. "Let's stay
out here," she whispered. "I don't want to have to worry
about waking Will."

Mulder frowned. "We never wake Will." Not only did the baby
sleep very soundly, but Scully was always so quiet when they
made love. There had been exceptions, of course, but those
times had been either before the baby was born or when the
baby was spending the night with his grandmother. 

"You want me to open up to you, don't you?" Her voice was
sweet and sultry, and Mulder felt a shiver run up his spine.

"Yes," he said carefully.

"Then we better be prepared for the consequences."

Either she was teasing him, or she meant what she said; she
was really going to let him in. He felt his whole being
vibrate in anticipation, and the blood in his veins surged
to gather in his loins. Slowly, he followed her as she lead
him to the fireplace. 

She let go of his hand and turned toward the hearth. "It's
chilly out. We could use a fire."

Mulder was about to make a quip about how the fire in his
body should be more than enough to keep them warm, but the
idea of making love to this woman with her body glowing in
firelight kept him quiet. He moved forward and helped her
set the kindling and light the blaze. 

Once they were assured it would burn steadily, Scully sank
to her knees on the soft rug that sat before the hearth.
They had talked about making love here before, but had never
managed to try it. Will, Scully's job, and the day to day
trials that made up their life always left them too tired to
expand their locations; their bed had always been good
enough. But not tonight. 

Tonight, Scully's deft fingers made quick work of undoing
his jeans, pulling the top button free and sliding the
zipper down over the quickly growing bulge underneath. She
pulled the denim down his long legs and he obligingly
stepped out of them, letting her catch his socks and pull
them off when he lifted his feet off the floor. She grasped
the waistband of his boxers and slowly pulled them down as
well, carefully avoiding the sensitive flesh she exposed. 

"Take off your shirt," she said softly without looking up
from her 'work'. Mulder, who was pretty sure he knew what
she was planning to do, did as she asked. But, it wasn't
easy because his fingers were trembling. What was about to
happen was a fantasy come to life. Not that Scully hadn't
touched him many times in the past, but she had only used
her mouth on him once: one very memorable night in Los
Angeles when they had returned to their hotel after nearly
maxing out the Bureau credit card given to them by Skinner.
She had been more than a little tipsy at the time and had
told him how all her previous boyfriends had made her
perform the act, even though she hated it, and how, since
Mulder had never asked it of her, she would reward him by
going down on him of her own free will. Later, when Mulder
had been trying desperately to get his breathing back to
normal, he had heard her whisper that she had enjoyed it,
too. 

But Scully wasn't drunk tonight. As he let his shirt fall to
the floor behind him, Mulder looked down at the woman who
kneeled in front of him, apparently admiring his attributes
with a small smile on her face. "Uh, Scully?"

"Yes, Mulder?"

'You... ah... don't have to do this." 

She looked up at him, her smile widening. "Don't you want
it, Mulder?"

"Uh..."

"Tell the truth."

Truth. Right. "Yeah, of course, but not if you aren't
enjoying it, too."

She looked back down at his erection, which was now fully
engorged and waiting. "I think I might enjoy it. As I
recall, the last time I did this to you, I liked it."

"Scully--"

"Mulder, you wanted me to open up to you. I am."

"Scully, doing this for me is *not* what I meant by opening
up to me!"

"Mulder." Scully sounded as if she was getting a bit
exasperated. "If you would concentrate long enough to
realize I'm trying to let you in, you might understand how
much I want to do this."

He had been concentrating so hard on her physically, that he
hadn't even thought to open his mind to her. Taking a deep
breath, he closed his eyes and 'touched' her. For a second,
he ran into the familiar barriers. But, suddenly, the door
opened, and he was there. With her. In her. In a way he had
never been before. Moments later, her mouth surrounded him
and her tongue began to swirl along his length. He groaned
and sank into the feeling, not just of her actions, but the
feelings of pleasure, excitement, and contentment that
emanated from her.  

With his hands resting on her head, Mulder felt the wonder
of knowing that she was as turned on by this activity as he
was. That she was thoroughly enjoying, not just the taste
and texture of him, but the thought of driving him mad with
passion. And she was. With the combination of his excitement
and hers, he felt as if he was losing his mind. And it felt
wonderful.

She was sucking on him now. Hard. He heard a repetitive,
almost plaintive groan, and knew it had to be emanating from
him. He wanted to be embarrassed, but the knowledge that the
sounds he was making only made Scully even more aroused kept
him from letting shame take over. "Sc--Scullee?"

"Hmmm...?" she managed to answer, without taking her mouth
from him.

"I-- I can-- feel you..." Her hands tightened on his hips as
they began to jerk erratically. His fingers tightened around
her hair, and he felt pain. Her pain. With a huge effort, he
managed to loosen his grip. "You--you're coming!" 'You'?
Didn't he mean 'I'?

With a shout, he came. 

And so did she.

Mulder stumbled back away from her. He felt the couch
against the back of his legs, but instead of sitting down on
it, he slid to the floor. With wide eyes, he stared at his
lover.

She also was gasping for air. She had fallen forward on her
hands, and her expression as she looked at him was as
astonished as he felt. "What the hell was that?" she
demanded.

Weakly, he shrugged. "I guess you do like it."

*****

Scully sat back on her heels, giving Mulder a teasing glare.
"Obviously," she whispered, her voice raspy sounding. "But,
I..." She stopped, feeling heat spread across her face. 

Mulder nodded, a mock serious expression on his face. "I
know," he said gruffly. "You did."

Scully looked down at the floor for a moment, then glanced
back up at Mulder. "I've never done that before," she told
him. "I mean," she quickly amended. "Not without a little
more..."

"Physical stimulation?" Mulder said when she didn't finish.

"Yeah." She took a deep breath, relieved to discover her
heartbeat was starting to slow. "Mulder, it was like I
could...I don't know...'feel' you." She tapped her head. "In
here."

"Like you were reading *my* mind." It wasn't a question.
Mulder had obviously been thinking the same thing. 

"How?"

Mulder shrugged. "Try it now."

Scully closed her eyes and tried to concentrate on the man
in front of her. She tried to imagine him sitting there,
naked, back against the couch, bare legs sprawled in front
of him. She felt his mind touch hers, and instinctively
wanted to pull back. Instead, she forced herself to relax,
and let him in. But she still couldn't sense his thoughts. 

Finally, she opened her eyes, frustration filling her. "I
know it was your thoughts I felt, Mulder. Women don't think
like that during sex. And besides, it was..."

Mulder, who had also closed his eyes, opened them. A silly
grin sat on his face. "It was what?" he whispered.

"It was...powerful. Too powerful to be just my feelings
alone." She narrowed her eyes at him. "What are you smiling
about?"

His smile grew. "You. What I feel from you. What I see in
your mind."

"Mulder!"

"Don't, Scully! It's wonderful. Beautiful. Don't shut me
out again!"

Her face red again, Scully looked away from him. But, she
didn't attempt to stop him from reading her. *It's not
fair,* she thought.

"I know," Mulder answered. "But, maybe it was our...intense
activity...that allowed you to read me." He scooted forward
so that she sat, still on her knees, between his long legs.
She looked up at him. He was still smiling, but it was a
wicked smile now. "Maybe we should try it again, huh?"

She held back a smile of her own. "You sure you're up for
it?"

Mulder looked downward, then back up at her. "Well, not at
the moment, but I'm sure I will be with a
little...encouragement." 

Scully smiled, then rose up on her knees in front of him,
pulling off her panties. Shifting slightly, she straddled
him, carefully seating herself on his extended thighs. He
smiled in return and brought his hands up under her sleep
shirt to cup her breasts. His thumbs came up and teased her
nipples, rubbing them gently at first, then harder. She
moaned and leaned into him, bringing her mouth to his. He
responded with a passionate kiss, his fingers never slowing
their sensuous torture. She felt her hips begin to
instinctively rock against him, and was pleased to find that
he was already hardening once more. Mulder sometimes claimed
he was getting old, but his body sure had a hard time
proving this fact to Scully.

With a gasp, she pulled away from his mouth and pulled her
shirt up and off, throwing it  towards the couch behind
Mulder. Lowering her head, she started raining gentle
butterfly kisses down his throat and along his sternum. She
detoured from her path over to his left nipple, and smiled
just before she let her tongue tease it. He moaned her name.
Never had she known a man could have such sensitive nipples;
she loved it. She moved over to the other one, her hips
still rocking against him. 

Scully felt his hands slide down her belly and tangle with
the curls at the juncture of her legs. She jerked back away
from him when he slid a finger into her wet depths.
"Mulder!"

"Are you ready, Scully?" he asked, his voice tense. "Because
I sure the hell am."

Lifting her head to look at him, she nodded. She felt him
part her folds, and then he was there, sliding into her.
Every solid inch of  him. She closed her eyes and wrapped
her arms around his neck, bringing her tingling breasts
flush against his chest. She could feel him. Wonderful. And
she could feel... "Mulder?"

"I know," he said, a smile in his voice. She opened her eyes
to look at him in astonishment. "You can feel what I'm
feeling," he continued. "You can read my mind, too."

And she could. His desire. His love. His soft surprise at
their union, as if he was amazed it was actually happening.
"Do you always feel this way?" she asked. 

He looked at her, his brow furrowed. *What do you mean?*

She smiled. *Like you can't believe it's actually
happening.*

He looked abashed for a moment. *Can you blame me? After
more than seven years of dreaming about it, it's gonna take
a while before it hits me that all this is real*

Scully shifted and straightened out her legs so they
stretched out behind Mulder. The change in position pushed
him in even deeper. They paused for a moment to catch their
breath, then Mulder began to gently rock his hips. His
movements only allowed a small amount of penetration and
withdrawal, but it felt wonderful. And she knew he was
enjoying it, too. She started a counter-rhythm with her own
hips, then leaned in to kiss him, whispering, "Believe."

"Oh, God!" Mulder gasped. "I do!" 

Scully felt the orgasm growing inside her. Slowly. Oh-so
wonderfully slow. Building. In her and in him. Their rocking
became more frantic. Mulder leaned back suddenly, bracing
himself on his elbows. This not only changed his angle of
penetration, but allowed him to thrust up into her with more
force. The feelings, both his and hers, began to intermingle
in her head until she could no longer distinguish between
them. "Mulder!" she called.

His only response was to thrust even harder. 

It hit her with an incredible force. It stretched through
her body, causing the tips of her fingers and toes to go
numb, and her whole body to shiver uncontrollably. Bright
lights flashed behind her eyes, and the only sound she could
hear was that of a heartbeat. She was flying on a wave of
pleasure so powerful it was frightening.

And then her own orgasm hit, and she rode another wave, just
as powerful but different than the first.

When she finally came to her senses, she found herself
sprawled on Mulder's chest, unsure how she had gotten there
seeing as her legs had been facing the other way before. She
moved her head, finding a more comfortable spot to lay it
just above his heart.

*Scully?*

She smiled. *Yeah?*

*Just checking.*

*****

End 4/7

    Source: geocities.com/virtuesandvices