Eyes In the Night - Part 6/6 Summary and disclaimers in Part 1 ***** Scully's House 11:19 P.M. Scully was reclining on her sofa, back against the armrest and bare feet on the cushions, trying hard to quiet her mind. Soft music played from the stereo and a fire burned in the fireplace. It was nothing like the fire at the cabin. 'God,' she thought to herself, 'was that only last night?' The past couple of days had seemed to take forever. Yet, they had been far too short as well; Mulder was leaving tomorrow. With the lights dimmed, she easily saw the headlights of a car reflecting on the far wall, telling her someone had pulled into her driveway. She quickly got up and walked into the foyer, peeking through the window in the front door. She wasn't surprised to see Mulder step out of the car and walk carefully up her recently shoveled driveway. He had his hands buried in his coat pockets and his head down. He looked like a man on a mission. Scully thought she knew what it was. Mulder looked up as Scully opened the door, and a soft smile teased his lips. Scully stepped aside and he walked in. He shed his coat, and she noted that he had changed into jeans and a sweatshirt since she had last seen him. Together, they walked into the living room. Mulder's smile widened when he saw the fire, then he turned to face her and his smile disappeared. Scully felt unnerved by the look in his eye. "Scully, I..." he stopped. Then he turned to look at the pictures on the mantle again. Whatever it was he was trying to tell her was obviously making him nervous as well. "I've been trying to think of a way to ask you this all the way over here, and I think that the best thing to do is just ask." He spun around to look at her. "Come back to the X Files with me." His words came out in a rush. Scully felt tears form in her eyes. She had suspected that was what he had come here to do, ask her to return. She had been thinking about her answer all evening. "Mulder..." Before Scully could continue, Mulder interrupted. "I know the pay sucks compared to this job, and I know it's not as highly respected as an ASAC position. I also know it's dangerous, and the last thing I want to do is see your life threatened again. But, I need you. The X Files need you." Scully stayed silent for a while, looking at the floor, tears blurring her vision. Slowly, she shook her head. "I can't." She looked up at Mulder. "I have a responsibility here. I can't just ask for a transfer, even if I was sure they'd allow it." Mulder opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off. "And don't you dare think of leaving the X Files to come out here!" Mulder sighed and gave her a laugh that sounded unbearably sad. "I knew you were gonna say that." "You and Cat are great together," Scully continued. "And you know very well that I'll always be here for you if you need me. Just because we live 3,000 miles apart doesn't mean we can't be together." His glance in her direction was full of disbelief. "Well, we'll just have to start using those frequent flier miles we've collected over the years. And you'll have to start taking voluntary vacations!" That got a real laugh out of him. Mulder nodded, then walked over to the stereo. "Okay. We'll make it work. But don't come to the airport to see me off tomorrow; I don't want to embarrass myself in front of Cat." Scully laughed softly. "And do me one favor before I say 'goodnight'." Scully didn't want him to say goodnight just yet, but she nodded her head anyway. "Okay." "Dance with me?" It was the last thing she expected him to ask. She nodded silently, hoping her expression didn't look too stunned. As he turned up the volume on the stereo, she walked toward him. Faith Hill was singing 'Breathe'. Scully's heart quickened before she even stepped into his arms. *I can feel the magic floating in the air. Being with you gets me that way.* Slowly, Mulder and Scully swayed to the music. They had only danced together once before, but it hadn't been anything like this. *I watch the sunlight dance across your face. And I've never been this swept away.* Scully brought her arms up around his neck, feeling Mulder pull her closer against him. She buried her face against his sweatshirt. *All my thoughts just seem to settle on the breeze. When I'm lying wrapped up in your arms.* Mulder's arms began to move slowly, seductively up and down her back. *The whole world just fades away. The only thing I hear is the beating of your heart.* Scully brought her lips to his throat and kissed him. *'Cause I can feel you breathe, it's washing over me, and suddenly I'm melting into you. There's nothing left to prove, Baby, all we need is just to be.* His pulse jumped. She touched him again in the same spot, this time with her tongue. He groaned. *Caught up in the touch, slow and steady rush. Baby, isn't that the way love's supposed to be?* *I can feel you breath. Just breathe.* Mulder backed away from her, his eyes that incredible green. *In a way I know my heart is waking up, as all the walls come tumbling down.* Slowly, without taking his intense gaze off hers, he began to unbutton her blouse. *Closer that I've ever felt before, and I know, and you know, there's no need for words right now.* Scully stood unmoving, letting him slide her shirt from her shoulders. Her heart was beating so hard, she was sure he could hear it, as just as slowly, he removed her bra. Her breathing had quickened, just as his had. *And I can feel you breathe, it's washing over me, and suddenly I'm melting into you. There's nothing left to prove, Baby, all we need is just to be.* Slowly, almost reverently, he cupped her breasts. He lowered his head, but did nothing more than breathe softly on them, making her nipples peak and producing a low sound from her throat. *Caught up in the touch, slow and steady rush. Baby, isn't that the way love's supposed to be?* *I can feel you breathe.* Mulder stepped back and just looked at her. She wanted to move, to cover herself, but his eyes held her captive. *Just breathe.* *I can feel the magic floating in the air. Being with you gets me that way.* As the music ending, Mulder dropped to his knees and proceeded to remove the rest of her clothing. With hardly any help from her, he managed to completely divest her of all of it. She found herself standing naked, in the firelight, with a fully clothed, yet highly aroused, Mulder staring at her. She felt embarrassed. She felt like a wanton. She felt free. With a small smile, she moved over to the sofa and pulled off an afghan her mother had made years ago. Then she deliberately spread it out on the floor in front of the fireplace. She looked at him expectantly. With much less finesse and much more speed than he had used to remove her clothing, Mulder quickly undressed. Then he was next to her, touching her once again. It was as if they had been lovers for years. Mulder seemed to know all the places to touch her to get her to gasp or moan, and she was equally adept at finding the places that made him shudder. Slowly, with no rush and no words, they loved each other. No thought of tomorrow. No worries about the future. Just each other and the night. ************************************************************ Sometime during the night, Mulder carried Scully to her bed. He planned on going back to the motel, but Scully's sleepy voice stopped him. "Don't you dare leave until you absolutely have to!" With no more encouragement needed, Mulder slid under the covers. She quickly wrapped herself around him and fell asleep. He lay there for a long time, just listening to her breathe. He admitted to himself that he hadn't tried very hard to talk Scully into coming 'home' with him; but she had obviously been thinking long and hard about the question herself, and had known her what her answer would be. Mulder had known, too, but Cat's pep talk had given him hope. He couldn't blame Scully for not wanting to go back. She had worked hard here in Spokane. Her years with the X Files had given her a reputation; She had long been saddled with the nickname 'Mrs. Spooky'. But the agents and local law here had learned to like her, trust her. Respect her. He had sworn he had felt his heart break when she had said 'no', but he would survive. She loved him. She wanted him. It still amazed him that this was so. That was all that really mattered. The future always held hope. Someday, she would be willing to come back with him. Someday, he would finish his work and be ready to move on with his life. Someday. What a hopeful word. Mulder felt her breathing change; she was waking up. He felt her hand slide down his body. As it reached for him, his body quickly reacted. "Good, God, woman," he joked. "Don't you ever stop?" Scully lifted her head to look at Mulder, giving him a wicked smile. "I'm sorry! I didn't think you'd mind." She began to move her hand away, but Mulder grabbed her wrist and pulled it back down onto his shaft. "Stop now, and I'll never dance with you again!" Scully continued her 'torture' and he couldn't stop a groan from escaping. She laughed, an incredibly erotic sound combined with what she was doing to him. He closed his eyes and enjoyed the feel of her small hand caressing him, her thumb gently rubbing over the tip of his erection, then sweeping down its length to toy with an even more sensitive part of his anatomy. Much later, as they lay spooned together, Mulder asked Scully a question. "Do you remember that rock I told you about?" She was quiet for a moment. "The one in the Black Hills?" "Yeah. Do you think you could find it if you needed to?" "It's near Custer, didn't you say?" Mulder nodded, though he knew she couldn't see him. "You take highway 16 north from Custer about 4 or 5 miles. You look for a sign for the Outlaw Ranch. The turn off is on the left. It's a gravel road and you follow it past all the houses and the turn-off for the Outlaw Ranch itself, until you come to an old logging trail that crosses the road. That's the trail. You want the right handed one, the one that starts on the east side of the road. The rock is just a couple hundred yards up the trail." Scully asked Mulder softly, "Why is it so important for me to know where that rock is?" "I just need to know you can find it," Mulder said. "Just in case..." "In case what?" She turned in his arms to look at him. "In case we need to meet someplace no one else knows about." "Okay." Scully watched him for a while. "Insurance?" "Exactly." There were still people out there that would like nothing better than to see Mulder lose everything. He needed to know that the one person he had left could find him if he had to run. His paranoia still ran deep. "You know, all this chasing around serial killers and bank robbers and other earthly criminals has made me forget what it's like back there," Scully said softly. Her eyes looked at him with concern. "You promise me that you'll be careful, whatever it is you're planning." How did she know he was planning something? "I promise." He had way too much to live for now to be taking too many chances with his life. But it if he didn't take some, he would never have a life. He felt her shiver, and knew it was neither the cold or him that caused it. "Oh, come on, Darlin'. You're not gonna let a bunch of alien-loving conspiracy freaks worry you, are you?" "No, DEAR, I'm not." He had know the 'darlin' would get a rise out of her. "I just don't like the idea of you going after people like that by yourself." Her lips thinned. "Okay, I'm a little worried." "Well stop." He kissed her forehead. "The night's not long enough for two exhausting pursuits, and I'm not through with this one, yet." He slid down in the bed and began to make love to her neck, slowly working his way down her body. "Good, God, man," Scully quipped. "Don't you ever stop?" He felt her shiver when he laughed. Then, reaching his destination, he took her right nipple into his mouth, rolling it around his with his tongue. She arched her back, then gave a soft squeal when he let his hand drift down to cup her mound. He smiled as he moved to the other breast; It never ceased to amaze him how responsive she was. As he made love to her left breast this time, he let his index finger delve into her moist opening, causing her to wriggle her hips. She was letting out soft, panting breaths now. Another surprise, he thought; She was very vocal during sex. He loved it. He loved her. He wanted to make sure she knew she was his. Forever. ************************************************************ When Scully woke up, she didn't even need to open her eyes to know he was gone. A lump formed in her throat, but she quickly swallowed it. Stiffly, she got out of the bed, trying not to look at the mussed covers or to see herself, equally mussed, in the mirror. She grabbed a robe and pulled it on, then walked into the kitchen. Coffee. That's what she needed. She stopped sharply at the coffee pot. A folded piece of paper sat propped against it. With trembling fingers, she picked it up and opened it, for some reason terrified by what it might say. She looked down and read the one word printed there: Someday Scully let the tears fall, all the tension draining out of her body. Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, she saw movement. She turned her head to look outside the sliding glass doors facing the backyard. A Mule deer stood in the yard, standing up to her knees in snow. She was watching the house. Scully thought of Moira, and quickly walked to the door, opening it to the frosty morning air. Moira. If it hadn't been for her, Mulder would have never had reason to come to Spokane. If it hadn't been for her, Ross would still be killing. She had a lot to thank the young woman for. "Thank you," she said aloud to the doe, feeling slightly foolish as she did so. Mulder's open-mindedness had allowed her to believe in the magical woman, earning herself a friend, but Scully had no way of knowing if that friend was watching her through the eyes of this deer. Suddenly, the doe twitched her tail, then turned and ran for the forest, jumping effortlessly over the fence bordering Scully's yard. She knew then that it had to have been Moira. A shiver ran through her. Who would have thought that she would not only believe in 'magic', but to have a friend who was 'magic'? Mulder must be proud. Scully closed the door and quickly moved into the living room to her computer. She had to leave a message for Mulder now so it would be there waiting when he got home tonight. 'Someday' THE END How DO you define normal?