Title: Sand Castles
Author: mercury
Category: MSR
Distribution: just lemme know first...
Disclaimer: I don't own them...
Summary: Mulder and Scully have some fun when they go
undercover as a married couple.
Author's Notes: Ok, where do I begin?  I want to thank Frohike for
editing this, and Kris for her Pictionary and inspiration in the wee
hours of the morning, not to mention the yoyos! Sarah for the
lessons of poker *vbg*, Mulderitzmi for the title, which I love!
Feedback: mercury_999@hotmail.com
XxXxX
Dana Scully apartment
June 27, 1999
I woke up to banging on my door.  I glanced at my night stand
clock, it was almost three a.m.  A new record for Mulder.  He was
being so loud out there, that he must have woken up the entire
building.  He must be drunk, I concluded.  There is no possible
way he would do this when he was sober, was there?  Then there
was silence.  I pulled the blankets back around my head.
Within a few minutes, I was blinded by a light and the sheets were
torn off my bed.  I squinted and gasped at Mulder.
"What the Hell are you doing here, at 3 a.m. tearing up my
apartment?"  I demanded.
He answered me by going to my closet and grabbing my suitcase. 
I jumped up and blocked his way back to my dresser.
"Mulder what the hell are you doing?"  I demanded again.  This
time he grabbed my wrist.  He didn't hurt me; I think it was a
measure to show me how serious he was.
"If we're not out of here in the next two hours, then
we're dead," he said.
"WHAT?"  Of all things he's told me at this hour, this was the
strangest.
He pushed past me and started dumping the contents of my drawer
into the suitcase.  I sighed.
"I'll tell you in the car," he begged.
I just stared at him.  I was expecting something a little more
creative.
"Scully, this is matter of life and death, get dressed," Mulder
begged.
"Where are we going? "   I asked, as I grabbed some clothes out of
the drawer that Mulder had opened.
"I'm not sure yet," Mulder replied.  Oh that answer made me feel
really confident.  I hurried into the bathroom and changed my
clothes.  I emerged with my make up bag and tossed it into the full
suitcase.
"Are you ready?"  Mulder asked nervously.
"As ready as I'll ever be," I said dryly.  He picked up my suitcase,
grabbed my hand and pulled me out of my apartment.
Mulder was in a panic, I don't think I've ever seen him so upset. 
Why was he so upset?  Where were we going?  Who are we fleeing
from?  The questions whirled around in my head.  I reached across
the seat and touched Mulder's arms softly.  He looked at me.
I gave him a half smile.  "Where are we going?"  I said simply.
"We're on our way to the Lone Gunmen's.  They're expecting us;
well actually they called me in the first place.  They said they'd
generate the fake Ids and passports, basically everything we
need.  They made the plane reservations, so basically I have no
idea where we are being sent to," he said.
"Mulder, what did they say when they called you?"  I asked.  This
was just a little bit weird.  Sure Mulder had come to my place
several times early in the morning.  None of them even compared
to the way he was right now.
"They said that they had been trying out some new wire taping
thing, and they accidentally picked up something.  It was two
unidentified men, confirming that they were going to lure us
together using voice simulators.  Eventually we'd meet sometime 
this morning, somewhere, and KA-POW!"
Okay Mulder, maybe you have been drinking, I thought.  Now I
understand the urgency of the situation, but sound effects?
Mulder swerved into the parking space next to the LGM HQ.  We
rushed out and pounded on the door, much like he had done to my
apartment.
After a few seconds, Frohike opened the door.  "Come on in."
"Here are your new IDs, passports, credit cards and basically 
everything you will need for as long as you have to be hidden-"
Byers said, handing everything to us.
"How long will that be?"  I asked.
"We don't know, we'll call you when it's safe to come back.  In the
meantime, we'll notify Skinner-" Langly said.
"And my mother, please," I interrupted.
"And your mother, to notify them of your absence.  You are to
contact no one," Langly continued.
"Where are we going?"  Mulder asked.
"A small town near Hamilton, Ontario.  It is right on the water,
we've rented a cottage for you guys.  The town itself isn't very big,
but a lot of people stay near the lake, where you will be," Byers
said, handing us the plane tickets.
"Everything you need to know about the town and where you will
be staying is here, " Langly handed me a folder.
"We've kept them long enough, the flight number is 269, to
Hamilton; it leaves in 54 minutes.  Be careful," Byers said.
"We will," Mulder said.  We headed for the door.
"See you soon, hopefully," I called.
"Agent, aren't you forgetting something?"  Frohike asked.
I looked around, then I looked at my hands.  I had everything they
had given me, I didn't think I was forgetting anything.
"A kiss for good luck?"  Frohike asked.  I blushed.  He wanted a
kiss, well I suppose it would be okay, but Mulder would never let
me live it down...
I leaned over and gave him a quick peck on the cheek.  He beamed
at me.  "Good night, Scully!"
We left quickly, and Mulder sped to the airport.  We barely had
time to throw our bags at the front desk, then run to the gate.  We
must have made it by two minutes.
The plane took off, and Mulder turned on the overhead light.  I dug
out the folders and Mulder got out our IDs.  I looked at mine for
the first time.
"Who came up with these?"  I wondered aloud.
"I think the Gunmen did, why?"  Mulder asked, as he opened his. 
There wasn't a reason, really.  I just remembered that I had wanted
to pick the names the next time we went undercover.  We weren't
really going undercover, we were fleeing from some unknown
assailant.
"They made me 25.  I'm Dana White," I said.  I wonder which one
of them decided my name.
"Really?  I'm Fox White, and I'm ooooh 28," Mulder said.  We're
young, and married again?
I reached into my envelope and pulled out some rings.  "They must
have had a field day making these up.  So,  it says we're from
Seattle?"  I asked.
"Yes, *honey*," Mulder said with a smile.  He put his hand around 
my shoulders.  I would have done something to him, if it had not
been on an airplane where there were people around us.  Instead I
gave him a smile.
"So... a kiss for good luck?"  Mulder was staring ahead; he 
had a smile on his face.  I knew he was teasing me about my
actions at the Gunmen HQ, but now it was my turn.
I leaned over and went to lightly kiss his cheek, mimicking the
action I did earlier today.  Just as I was about to kiss him, he
turned toward me.  Instead of kissing his cheek my lips lingered on
his.  It was a quick kiss, and it took both of us completely by
surprise.
I sat back; of course I hadn't meant to do that!  Now Mulder 
was going to have something else to tease me about, but its not
like I minded  his teasing.  I waited for some remark from him.
Instead he stared at me for a moment, and was speechless.  What
am I saying?  Mulder?  Speechless?  But there he was, staring at 
me, not saying anything.  It wasn't uncomfortable silence for me,
so I smiled at him.
"I'm going to go to sleep, wake me when we get there," I said. 
Then I decided to strike again, and I buried my head in his chest.
"Wh- Scu-Da-," he started.  He was confused, I could tell.  
This was so unlike me, but for once I was enjoying being in
control of our situation.  I called the shots; after all, we were
married now.  I stifled a giggle against him.  He did smell good;
maybe this was going to be an okay adventure anyway.
This adventure, seemed to be missing something.  As far as I could
tell, we were being sent away, into another country during the
summer.  We were supposed to act like tourists, rent a cottage for
as long as it takes for them to call us.  This could be fun; at least
Mulder was with me.  I drifted to sleep.
XxXxX
"Honey?"  Mulder whispered in my ear as he rubbed my back.
I woke up slowly, not knowing where I was.  Mulder had been my
pillow for the past few hours, such a nice sleep, I admitted. 
Honey??  Then I remembered the events of the early morning.  I
rolled off him.
"We're about to land," Mulder said.  The lights of the city were in
view, as the plane slopped toward the airport.
"All passengers should have their safety belts bucked, and their
trays folded up.  We will be landing shortly," the stewardess said
over the PA system.
As soon as we got off the plane, it would seem like we're starting a
new life.  A married one, we'd done it before, and it had been
interesting.  Mulder had been purposely trying to break as many
rules as he could from The Falls CC&R's.  I laughed.
"What's so funny?"  Mulder asked.
"I was just remembering The Falls," I said.
Mulder got a look on his face.  "Don't even think about it," I said.
"What am I thinking?"  Mulder asked.
"You're thinking about breaking the rules and being strange in 
this new town.  And don't you dare talk about me when we get
there!"  I remembered the dinner conversation when we had been
invited to the Shrouders residence for supper.  "Act normal,
Mulder.  I want to have a crack at this married li-" I broke off
giggling.
"I'm sure once we get settled in, you'll be in the same mood.  What
are you on, Scully?  Why are you so happy?"  Mulder was
confused.
"I'm not *on* anything.  Our second marriage in less than a year," 
I was gone again.  We had landed and people were beginning to
get off. Mulder stood up and offered me his hand.  I took it.
"So we're a married couple, on vacation, starting now?"  Mulder
asked hopefully.  I rolled my eyes.  Why was he so excited?
"Yes," I said.  Mulder pulled his briefcase down from the 
overhead compartment.  Then he took my hand and led me out of
the plane.  I should have known that he'd be putting moves on me,
even though I knew he was teasing, and enjoying his new married
life to the fullest, I was almost enjoying it as well.
We had a long wait through customs.  I had to admire the Gunmen
for all the work they put into our new IDs; as far as security was
concerned, we were Dana and Fox White, US citizens.
"So honey, where are we going?"  I asked.  It was funny, when we 
were at The Falls, everything had been stiff acting, from me 
anyway, this time I was relaxed.  Maybe I was just considering it
like a vacation, only I was with Mulder, and we were married.
"I think we should drop our stuff at the cottage, then start our
vacation-" Mulder started.
"With going to the grocery store!"  I exclaimed.  I really wasn't
excited about doing that, but we needed food.  If he gave me
another 'get in here and make me a sandwich' bit...
"I suppose we need to eat," Mulder agreed.  I was shocked that he
agreed so easily.  He never gave in so easily, what was he
planning?
So we rented a car.  Mulder was going for the traditional navy
Taurus, but I convinced him to get a red Cougar.  Hell you only
live once; this would be the best vacation ever. 
When we arrived at the cottage, it was more like a small house.  It
had two floors; the first contained a living room, kitchen and 
dining room, so I knew the bedrooms must be on the second floor,
as well as the bathroom.  We set our suitcases in the living room
and returned to our car.
We had to go all the way back to Hamilton to get to the food.  I
didn't mind; Mulder seemed to be enjoying himself.  Presently he
had one arm around my shoulders; I seemed to have lost control of 
our situation.  I was actually thinking of putting my hand on his
leg, but I decided that I didn't want to get run off the road, and I
didn't have a good enough excuse.  Damn I was starting to think
like Mulder!
I pulled out a cart, and turned around.  Mulder had already
disappeared into the store.  It was quite large, so I started going
down aisles, putting nutritious food into the cart.
"Dana dear," Mulder said, as he came up behind me.  I turned
around.
His arms were full of snacks, chocolate, popcorn, chips, practically 
everything I could imagine.  I rolled my eyes at him.  "Would you
like to pay for all that junk?"
"Sure, our money is worth a fortune here.  I was thinking, 
*honey*, that we should move up here," Mulder said, dumping
everything into the cart.  There he goes with the honey thing; of
course he says it loud enough for the whole store to hear.
"Mmmm, whatever Mulder."  I say, as I try to resume shopping. 
Mulder insisted in pushing the cart, and I thought that way I could
keep an eye on him.  Mulder casually slipped his arm around me,
as I walked down an aisle. I went to put some pre-made salad into
the cart.
"You're not buying that are you?"  Mulder whined.  I was starting
to be sorry he had come with me.
"Hmm, why don't you go find something for supper tonight, and if  
you're good I'll even let you make it," I said, trying to sound as 
excited as I could.
"Oooh!!  Fun, fun.  I just love cooking," he said.  
I noticed how fast he deserted the cart.
I finished shopping and had just paid for everything, when Mulder 
brought the car to the entrance of the store.
"What did you get for supper?"  I asked, with a concerned tone.
"Um, it's a surprise," Mulder said.  Okay, at least he had gotten
*something*.
XxXxX
It turned out to be quite a hot day.  As soon as we arrived to our
cottage, after getting lost twice, I put on my bathing suit and went
outside to enjoy the 100' afternoon.  The water was about 15' away
from our front door, and when I went outside carrying sunscreen
and a towel, Mulder was already sitting in a chair in the water. 
He saw me and I swear, his eyes almost popped out of his head.  
Okay Dana, maybe you went a little all out with the bathing suit... I
was about to call out to him, ask him why he put his chair in such
an odd place, when I realized he was talking to someone.  Instead,
I set my stuff down on the sand and spread my towel.
"Honey, this is Chris Morgan.  He is staying three doors up.  Chris,
my wife Dana." 
"Hi," I said walking up and shaking his hand.
"Wow, where'd you meet a woman so lovely?"  Chris asked
Mulder.  He opened his mouth, and I shot him *the look*.  If he
had said something about me being a New Ager  again...
"I get around," Mulder replied.  I smiled.
"So how long are you guys going to be here?"  Chris asked me.
"We're not sure, it was a spur of the moment idea for a vacation," I
replied.  This man reminded me a lot of Big Mike, the vet from
The Falls. 
"Where are you from?  I don't mean to be nosy or anything, we're
all like one big happy family here.  I come every summer, as well
as many other people."  Chris said.
"We're from Seattle," Mulder said.  I sat down on my towel.
"Never been there, I'm from Detroit.  Well folks I've got 
to go, I'll probably see you around, or at the big barbecue 
Friday night.  If you need anything, just come on over.  It was nice
meeting you, Fox and Dana."  Chris said, as he left.
Fox?  Mulder had introduced himself as Fox?  What a surprise.  I
was about to open my mouth, to tease Mulder about it, when he
beat me.
"I know what you're thinking," he taunted.  Suddenly, the chair 
tipped and he landed with a splash in the lake.
"How could you have possibly known that I thought you'd hit the
water before me?"  I giggled.
He emerged with the chair.  "I don't know, Dana," he said, 
picking me up and carrying me into the water.  After he was about
up to his waist, he dumped me in, then headed back to the shore.
I laughed and followed him.  I had to admit that I was 
having a good time, so far.  The intense heat of the sun was 
already drying the little beads of water from my skin.  We went
back to our towels and I sat down again.
Mulder played with the sunscreen bottle, while I laid on my 
stomach.
"You know Dana, that bikini your wearing is quite sexy.  Are you
trying to attract other men?"  Mulder asked with a smile.  I knew
where he was going with this.  But again, before I could come
back with a reply, he interrupted my thoughts.
"Couple coming near," he warned, as he opened the sunscreen
and started spreading it on my back.  "The sunburn you're 
going to get will also be quite sexy."  I would have hit him with
something, but the couple was, apparently, coming over to us. 
Plus, I did like Mulder rubbing the sunscreen all over 
my back.
"Hi!  I'm Trish Hunt and this is my husband Marty," the woman
said.  "We live next door during the summer."
"Hi, I'm Fox White, and this is my wife Dana," Mulder said.  I
smiled, Mulder's hands wouldn't let me get up, not that I wanted to 
anyway.
"So how long have you been here?"  Marty asked.
"We just got here actually," I replied.  "We came straight out here
to enjoy the water."  Mulder stopped putting sunscreen on my
back, because there wasn't a place without it, some places even
had too much.  Then, he began to massage my back.
"It's a lovely place, Marty and I have been renting here for five
years now," Trish said.  "Have you heard about the barbecue?"
"Chris Morgan mentioned it, right before he left," Mulder said.
"Oh, you've met Chris?  Wonderful guy, he's in charge of it.  It's 
an annual thing here.  The party is over by that dock," she pointed
to an old wooden dock.  "Everyone goes to it."  Trish added.
"I suppose we'll be there," I said.
"I have an idea!"  Trish exclaimed.  "Why don't you and Fox join
us for a picnic at Navy Island tomorrow?"
"That's really kind of you," I said.  "It would be great."
"You and I can prepare the food, while Fox and Marty get the boat
ready."
"I must admit, I'm not much of a packer, Dana usually does all that
stuff," Mulder said.  Hmm, come to think of it, who was the one
who pulled me out of bed and started stuffing things in my
suitcase.  I giggled.
"I pack, except for this trip," I admitted.  "It was a surprise 
for me."
"That's wonderful," Trish said.  "This is a lovely area, I'm sure
you'll like the time you spend here."
It was a lovely place, the water was a crystal blue, and there wasn't
a cloud in the sky.  The sand was a pale yellow, and it
bordered the whole lake.  The lake itself was quite large;
you could barely make out the other side.  The cottage was small
and cozy, with a small deck and some patio furniture on it. In the
yard, flowers were planted all over the place.
"It's beautiful," I said. 
"So what do you do?"  Trish asked.
I tried to remember what my fake profile of me had said.  "I don't
work," I said.  Mulder caressed my back, and I had to bite my
tongue.
"Oh, do you have any kids?"  She asked.
"No kids," I admitted.
"How about you?"  I asked, trying to build the conversation.
"I have two kids, but they would rather stay with their aunt and
uncle instead of coming here with us every year.  I am in
environmental technology," Trish said.
"That sounds interesting," I said.  Well not as interesting as being
an FBI agent who goes about searching for UFOs and aliens...
"It's not really," she laughed.  "A lot of paper work.  We should be
going, we need to run into Hamilton and get some
groceries.  Marty?"  He stood up and shook Mulder's hand.
"Nice meeting you," Marty said.
"You too, Dana.  See you tomorrow around 11?"  she asked.
"That would be fine," I said.  They retreated to their cottage, and I
pulled out of Mulder's embrace.
"They seem pretty nice," Mulder commented.
"Yea," I said, as I lay on my stomach and grabbed my book.  The
sun's rays warmed our bodies, and everything around us.  I began
to get engrossed in my book, I didn't realize that Mulder had began
to make little sand castles all over the place.
I fell asleep in the hot sun, and I woke up as Mulder was rolling
me over.  Considerate of Mulder, he didn't want me to get a
sunburn,  despite of his earlier jokes.
"Someone's been busy," I smiled as I commented on the dozens of
miniature castles.
"I entertain myself," Mulder grinned.
"I'm going in to cool off," I said, as I stood up.
"You want me to carry you again?"  Mulder smiled.  I threw my
book at him and headed for the water.  Mulder was right behind
me.
The water was warm, yet refreshing.  I waded into it until I was
about waist deep, then dove under and surfaced a few feet in front
of Mulder.   Together we swam further out, into the deep water of
the lake.
I was getting tired, but Mulder was still going.  It seemed that we
were almost halfway to Navy Island.
"Scully, do you want to take a little break?"  Mulder asked.
"How can we take a break?  We're in the middle of a lake," I
asked.
"On a sand bar," Mulder said, holding his arms up.
"Oh," I couldn't touch the sand, so I swam closer to Mulder.  I
stretched my body and tried to touch the ground.  I couldn't.
"I can't touch," I said.  The water was just below Mulder's 
shoulders, of course I wouldn't be able to touch.
"Well, then come here," Mulder said.  I looked at him uneasily,
this wasn't what I wanted to do, I knew it was just Mulder-
"Scully you're tired, just come here," he repeated.  I closed the
distance between us.
"Just hold yourself up, I won't touch you," Mulder said.  "Just
relax."  I slowly put my arms around his neck lightly, just enough
to hold myself up.  He seemed grateful that I would accept such a
gesture from him.
I slowly relaxed against him as much as I could.  I wasn't trying to
press my body against his, but it was hard not to, since I was
holding his neck.
We must have stayed like this for ten minutes, before I finally
forced myself to push away from him.  I gave him a quick smile
and we headed back to the shore, splashing at each other.  I was
getting bored with swimming, so when I was finally shoulder deep
I was quite glad.
"Scully, I can hold my breath longer then you can," Mulder taunted
like a child.  I gave him a smug look.
"I'm not so sure about that," I said.  I knew where he was going
with this, I'd had many competitions like this with my brothers and
sisters while growing up.
"On three," Mulder said, grinning.  "One...Two...Three."  We both
went under the water, and I saw him gazing at me.  I had always
been good at this game, when I was younger.  After about 30
seconds I had to come up for air.
I waited at the surface for Mulder, to hear 'I told you so'.  After
another 15 seconds I peered into the water at him.  He was slowly
rising to the top and his eyes were closed; there were no signs of
life from him.
I pulled him up to the surface and turned him onto his back.  He
was unconscious.  I dragged him to the shore quickly, then sat
down beside him.  I started mouth-to-mouth resuscitation, and I
felt Mulder's lips press against mine at the touch.  His tongue
slipped into my open mouth and I pulled away from him sharply.
"That was not funny," I said, then I turned away from him and
grabbed my towel.  I headed for our cottage.  The nerve of him! 
Mulder stepped in front of me.
I tried to go around him; I didn't even want to look at him
right then.  What would have happened if he had been really
unconscious? 
Mulder touched my shoulder.  "I'm sorry Scully.  It was only a
joke, I didn't mean to get you upset."  Mulder begged.  "I don't
want you to be mad at me for something stupid, if you're going to
be mad at me it should be for-" I cut him off, I didn't want him to
go into one of his 'its all my fault' speeches.
"I'm not mad at you," I admitted.  "I just thought that you really
were drowning, and then you weren't, and it just shocked me."
He guided me back to the sand with his arm around my shoulders. 
"And I wouldn't want my wife to get pissed at me on our night day
together," Mulder added as we sat down.
"Yes *Fox* we can work everything out," I winked at him.  He
cringed at the mention of his name.  We sat down on my towel,
and I leaned against Mulder, "Oh come on, you're not going to let
your wife call you by your first name?"  I laughed.  "Or should I
call you 'White'."  I was really enjoying this.
"Okay, okay.  I suppose that Fox would be better than White.  I can
imagine it now, we're at the party on Friday and you call me White
and I ignore you..." Mulder wrapped his arms around my waist, as
Marty came out of their cottage and started their grill.
"Mmm, Fox?"  I turned my head so I was facing him and batted my
eyelashes.
"Yes dear?"  He replied.
"I'm hungry, are you planning to cook me supper any time soon?" 
I asked.  Silence.  Before I could open my mouth again, Mulder
began kissing my neck.
I jumped at his touch, as he continued down to my shoulder.  In a
shaky voice I said, "If you're trying to get out of making supper..."
"Not at all," Mulder pulled away.  "You think *I'd* do that?"
I looked at him.  Of course I thought he'd do that.  Mulder stood up
and I went to follow him.
"Where do you think you're going?" he asked.
"Inside, so you don't explode anything in the kitchen, or burn the
house down," I admitted.
Mulder grinned.  "You think *I'd* do that?"  he repeated.
"I wouldn't put it past you," I smiled.
"Anyway, you're  not allowed in.  I'll bring it out and we can eat on
the patio," Mulder said.
"Okay," I nodded.  I was wondering what the meal would actually
be, hot dogs, or Kraft Dinner?  I picked up my book and began to
read.
XxXxX
"Ohhhhh Dana," Mulder called from the patio.  I looked up and
saw Mulder standing by the small table and chairs.
"Are you done already?"  I asked in disbelief.  Mulder nodded
eagerly.  It had only been ten minutes, tops.  What could he have
possibly made?  There were two bottles of beer on the table, how
appropriate.
I made it to the table and gave Mulder 'the look'.  He pulled my
chair out for me.
"What did you make?"  I asked, as I sat down.
"Chinese," Mulder replied.  I could barely hide my amusement. 
He handed me a carton, of course Mulder wouldn't have cooked,
and ten minutes didn't give him enough time to destroy the
kitchen.  The only bad part about this was that I wouldn't be able to
force him to do the dishes.
"Ooh a real chef," I commented.  Mulder sat across from me, and
behind him I could see a family getting out of a car.  This was a
pretty popular place, I figured out.  All the houses around us
are were full;I wondered how the Gunmen got us a place on such
short notice.
The new arrivals consisted of parents and three children.  It was
the first time that I had seen children here, and we'd been here all
day.  Sure many people had passed by and waved, with a casual
hello, but they had all been adults.  The amount of friendliness
from these people reminded me of The Falls.
Mulder noticed my fixation behind him and turned.  The mother
was trying to get all the children into the house.  They looked to be
from 6 to 13 years old.  The father looked toward us, and Mulder
waved.  The man waved back, then followed his wife into the
house.
"Lots of people around here," Mulder noticed.  I nodded in
agreement.
"First time I've seen kids though," I said.
"Maybe they aren't allowed and those people snuck them in, that
would explain the quickness of getting them into the house,"
Mulder joked.
"If that was the truth, why are you allowed here?"  I giggled.
"Ohhh Scully, that hurt.  I get a 'free hit'," Mulder said.
"A free hit?  What the Hell is that?"  I demanded.
"For me to know and you to find out," Mulder taunted.  Okay, if he
wanted to play like that, I'd let him.  I bit back another comment
about being a kid and sat back in my chair.  What could he
possibly do?
"Okay," I said, as I continued eating.
"So what do you think of that barbecue tomorrow night?"
Mulder asked.
"I'm not sure, it sounds like a big event here.  Let's ask Trish and
Marty tomorrow," I said.
"Speak of the devil," Mulder murmured, looking over my
shoulder.  Trish and Marty were coming out of their cottage.
"What?"  I asked.
"They just came out of their place," Mulder said.  "They're
checking the barbecue."
"Mulder, don't stare," I interrupted.
"Then where do you want me to look?"  He taunted, looking me
over.  I could feel a blush beginning to creep into my cheeks.  I
swallowed and gave him a sexy smile.
"Wherever you want to," I whispered.
He looked away from me for a second.  The sky was beginning to
get darker as the sun began to set.  Mulder got up and switched on
a light that made little lights all around the deck light up.
I was beginning to feel goose bumps on my skin.  The sun was
setting quickly.   We finished the meal with small talk, then I stood
up.
"Why don't we go for a walk?"  I asked.
"Sure," Mulder said, gathering up the cartons.
I went inside and opened my suitcase, which was on the couch.  I
grabbed a T-shirt and a pair of shorts and put them on over my
bikini.  I put on my sandals as Mulder came in.  He grabbed the
T-shirt he had been wearing today and put on his sandals.
I went outside and Mulder joined me.  After locking the door we
walked to the road that all the cottages were on.  Mulder took my
hand as we started walking down the road. 
To our right was the lake.  On the left there was a bonfire lit at a
little park.  There were a handful of people milling about.
"How far are we planning on walking?"  Mulder asked.
"I'm not sure," I replied.  It sure was beautiful here, I noted. 
Another couple was approaching us, and I leaned against Mulder. 
The road was lined with small lights and there was a warm breeze
in the air.  There was a volleyball net, and some basketball hoops. 
A mini golf course and a swing set near the park.
We came to a trail in the woods on the right hand side.  I knew it
couldn't go very far, since that was the same side as the water.
"Let's go down here," I said.  So we headed down the trail.  It was
awfully dark under these trees; we were completely shaded from
the streetlights and the moon.
It was a nicely groomed trail, wide enough for both of us to walk
on together.  I only managed to trip over a raised root once, and
Mulder caught me.  We emerged from the darkness onto the sandy
beach.
The sand was still warm, so we stopped to remove our sandals.
We walked side-by-side down in the wet sand, while small waves
crashed onto.  Our cottage was visible by the tiny lights all around
the deck, so we headed toward it. 
Suddenly Mulder lifted me up and carried me out deeper into the
water.
"Mu-Fox!"  I cried out, wrapping my arms around his neck as the
water plashed against his knees.  "What are you doing?"
"I just thought we could use a nice romantic moonlight swim,"
Mulder said in a sexy voice.
"If you think its just me going in, you've got something coming to
you," I told him.  He gave me a look of mock surprise.  "If you
dump me in, I'm taking you with me!"  I threatened.
Mulder had been carrying me, and suddenly he let go.  I was still
holding around his neck, but I was quick enough to wrap my legs
around my waist to prevent total wetness.
"You're quick," Mulder murmured in my ear.  He continued
walking deeper into the lake.  Then, without warning, he went
under, taking me with him.  I gasped in surprise and got a
mouthful of water.  We stayed under only a few seconds, long
enough to soak both of us, then he came back up grinning.
"You look pretty sexy in a wet T-shirt Scully," Mulder said.  I
spit the water at Mulder's face, then I pushed away from him and
swam to the shore.  Mulder was right behind me, and he tackled
me in the water.
We splashed each other for at least ten minutes.  It reminded me of
when I was a kid at the beach.  Finally Mulder got up from where
we were sitting and held his hand out for me.  I thought our water
fight was all finished, and took his hand.
He swung me around and into the water.  I jumped up and tackled
him, this time I sat on his stomach.
"I'll only get off you if you're good," I taunted.
"Scully its been a while since there was a woman in your position,
taunting me like that!"  Mulder replied smiling.
"Oh Mulder, that's very bad!"  I said.  His hands went to my waist
and he began to tickle me.  I squirmed, and rolled off him.  Mulder
got out of the water and picked up both of our sandals.  I got up
and walked beside him back to our cottage.
As we approached we noticed that the Hunts were on their patio.  I
took Mulder's hand until we reached the spot where I had been
laying all day.  I picked up my towel and my book.  Mulder
grabbed the lawn chair and the sunscreen.
"Fox, wipe off your feet or else you'll track sand through the
house," I scolded, after we had entered.
"Yes dear," Mulder said, catching the towel I tossed at him.  I put
my book on the table.
"I'm going to get changed," I announced, taking my suitcase
upstairs.
At the top of the stairs there were two doors.  They were both
open, but I went directly into the bathroom.
I looked at my watch and realized it was almost ten o'clock.  Time
really does fly when you're having fun, I mused.  I pulled out some
clothes, and stepped into the shower to wash the sand out of my
hair.
I was just about to turn the water off.  "Scully are you decent?" 
Mulder yelled as he burst into the bathroom.
I stuck my head out from behind the curtain.  "Mulder what the
Hell are you doing in here?"  I demanded.
"We're married... and besides I have to piss like a Chinese race
horse," Mulder said.  I rolled my eyes and ducked back under the
steady stream of water.  After a few moments I heard the toilet
flush and scalding water came out of the shower head.
I cried out in surprise and jumped backwards out of the spray.
"Oh my God, I'm sorry Scully!"  Mulder exclaimed.  "I didn't mean
to do that, I swear."  He pulled open the shower curtain and he
held a spread out towel for me.  He had his head turned away from
me.  I stepped into the towel and leaned down to turn off the
water.
"I'm sorry, I forgot all about the water thing," Mulder begged.
"It's okay, it wasn't that hot, it just surprised me," I lied.  It 
really had been hot, but he already felt so bad, I didn't want to
make him feel worse.  "How about you go find something for 
us to do?"
Mulder nodded and left.  I quickly dried off and got dressed, then
joined him in the living room.
XxXxX
 end of part 1/2
XxXxX
"I found some board games," Mulder announced, as I came down the
stairs.
"Which ones?"  I asked.
"Well there's Pictionary and Monopoly," Mulder said.  "There's also
a deck of cards."
"Let's play Pictionary, but how will it work?"  I asked.  Someone
always had to draw while another guessed, two people wasn't enough
to play this game, and I *hated* Monopoly.
"Well I could be on your team and you could be on my team,"
Mulder said.  How did that work?  Ahh we'll figure it out.
"Whatever works," I sat down on the couch beside him.  Mulder set
up the game on the coffee table.
"You can go first," Mulder told me.  I rolled the dice, then moved to
the square that said Action.  I picked a card, the word was 'think'.
  I got a piece of paper and a pencil and began to draw.
"Tepee?"  Mulder asked, after I had drawn the legs of the stick man. 
I drew a head.  "Man with big head?  Large ego?"  Mulder asked.  I
drew a cloud coming from his head.  "Wonder?  Dream?  Think?"
"Yes!"  I said.
"Your person has no arms," Mulder pointed out.
"Deal with it," I said.
"My turn to draw," Mulder replied.  He rolled the dice and landed on
Person/Place/Thing.  He picked a card.
Mulder drew a baseball.  "Baseball?"  I asked.  He drew a 
basketball. "Basketball?"  He circled them.  "Balls?  Ball?"  He
nodded, then he drew some more.  "Chair?  Sofa?  Bench?"  I
guessed.  He drew a tree and a slide. "Park?  Ball Park?"
"Yes!"  Mulder exclaimed.
"Mulder your drawing is even worse then mine."  I noticed.
"Hey Scully.  Do you remember that night when we played
baseball?"  Mulder asked casually.  Did I ever!  I hadn't been so
carefree or happy in a long time.
"Yeah, that was nice, I liked it," I said.
"Well it's my turn," I said, breaking the silence that had settled
between us.  I drew a card, oh dear, Hot Blonde Guy.  I drew another
stick man, this time I was careful and drew arms on him.
"A person?"  Mulder asked.  I drew the sun behind him, and little
drops of sweat coming from his head.  "Hot?"  I added some wavy
hair, imitating Elvis.
"Elvis?"  Mulder grinned.  "Sun?  Sweat?  Hot?"  The timer finally
ran out with pathetic guesses.
"Come on Mulder, can't you see the 'hot blonde guy' in there?"  I
chuckled.
"The day that's a 'hot blonde guy', is the day you're a brunette,"
Mulder said.  Okay, I had to admit that my drawing wasn't very
good.  We played the game longer, unfortunately me being on
Mulder's team, and him being on my team didn't really work.
I stood up in frustration.  Mulder had just landed on his third 'All
Play' in the row.  We had decided to skip the All Play squares,
considering there was just one person guessing.
"Let's play cards," Mulder said.
"Okay," I agreed.  "What game do you want to play?"
Mulder seemed to be deep in thought, as he got out the deck of cards
and set them on the coffee table.  I moved so I was sitting on the
floor across from Mulder.  "Poker?"
I hadn't played poker in ages, I wondered if I still knew how 
to play.  "Okay, what will we play for?  I don't have any spare
change," I added.
Mulder grinned at me.  "How about strip poker?" he inquired.  Strip
poker?  Asking to play strip poker was basically asking me to strip
for him.  I gave him a sexy smile.
"Okay Mulder, but you'll have to go easy on me  cause I barely
know how to play," I said.  His jaw dropped, I suppose he didn't
actually think I'd agree!  He swallowed and dealt out five cards.  I
looked at mine, wondering what I was getting myself into.  The FBI
didn't like agents of the opposite sex consorting in the same hotel
room on assignment, let alone play strip poker!
I had nothing, zip, nada.  Actually I had a two, a five, a queen, a
seven, and an ace.  This was going to be a short game.  I tossed
everything except the two and five into the pile and drew three more
cards.  Still nothing good, although I had two fives now.
"What do you have?"  Mulder asked.
"A pair of fives," I said.
"I have a pair of tens," Mulder grinned.  I bit my lip and removed my
shorts, it wasn't a really big deal.
I dealt the cards and had a surprisingly good hand.  Mulder removed
his shirt.  We played again and Mulder was down to his boxers.  It
must have been luck, because I was just throwing cards.  I dealt
again and I had a horrible hand.  I slowly pulled off my T-shirt, as
Mulder watched.  Of course it was practically the same as I had been
all afternoon with my bikini, but with lingerie it was a lot more
intimate.
Mulder was eyeing me with a huge smile on his face.  I tried to
ignore him.
"It's your turn to deal," I said.  He dealt the cards.  I lost again,
 my luck had ended.  I moved my hands around my back to unfasten
my bra, it was only fair.
I unfastened it just as someone knocked on the door.  Talk about
saved by the bell.  I glanced out the window and saw Trish standing
on the doorstep.  "Mulder, get upstairs," I hissed, as I grabbed the
closest article of clothing to me, Mulder's shirt.  Mulder went
upstairs and I pulled it over my head and went to the door.
"Hi Trish," I said, as I pulled the door open.
She looked me over and grinned.  "I hope I'm not interrupting
anything," she said.  She must have noticed that Mulder had been
wearing this shirt today.   I looked at myself, okay what did it look
like I had been doing more, playing strip poker with my partner or
having sex with my husband?  I blushed.
"Anyway I was just coming over to ask if you had any hot dog buns
for tomorrow," Trish said.
"Yes we did pick some up this afternoon," I told her.  "Should I 
bring them tomorrow?"
"That would be great.  I gotta go, see you tomorrow Dana," Trish
said as she walked back to her place.
"Bye," I called as she left.  I closed the door and leaned against
 it.
"Ohhh hooooonney," Mulder called.  I turned off the lights and went
upstairs.   Mulder was lying in the blankets of the queen-sized bed
on his stomach, patting the spot next to him with his
hand.  He was repeating his actions at The Falls.
"Mulder-"  The upstairs light turned on at the Hunt residence.
  I went to close the curtains.  "Why aren't there any curtains 
here?"
He shook his head.  "Not a clue," he  replied.  I went into the
bathroom and emerged wearing my pajamas.  There was a silence
between us, and I crossed the room and sat on the bed.
"Do you want to sleep here?"  Mulder asked, sitting up.  Marty
waved to us, so Mulder put an arm around my shoulders.
"Don't be ridiculous Mulder," I replied.  "We're both adults, we can
sleep in the same bed."
I pulled the covers over me, and flipped off the bedside lamp. 
Mulder flopped back onto his side of the bed.
"Good night, Mulder," I said, my back was toward him.
"G'night Scully," he replied.  My head rested on the pillow, as I
heard his breathing relax.  Just as I was falling asleep, Mulder
murmured something.  I turned my head to face him, but he was
asleep.  A few seconds later,  Mulder's arm was draped around me.
XxXxX
Cottage
June 28, 1999
7:13 a.m.
. . . I leaned against the kisses that my lover was teasing my neck
with, wanting more, needing more.  I turned toward him, arching my
back and stretching out as far as I could.  Then I realized
something-there really *was* someone kissing my neck.  It was soft
and gentle, but definitely there.  I opened my eyes, and saw dark
brown hair at my neck.  Mulder.  Was he awake?  I moved so that I
was out from underneath him and he lifted his head up,
grinning.
"Good morning Scully.  Did you sleep well?"  Mulder teased.  I shot
him 'the look'.
"Mulder what were you just doing?"  I snapped.
"Uh, I was taking my 'free hit' Scully.  You know the rules for 'free
hits' don't you?"  Mulder shrunk back.  Now I felt dumb, I suppose a
little kiss on the neck never hurt anything.  I pulled back the 
covers, might as well get up, I'm not going to fall back asleep 
again!
"Sorry Mulder.  I didn't realize you were going to, uh, go to such
liberty with that," I apologized.  "I'm going to take a shower."
Mulder was grinning at me.  "Want company?"  He leered.  I threw
my pillow at him, then waltzed into the bathroom and shut the door.
I turned on the water and glanced at the mirror as I unbuttoned my
pajamas.  There was a hickey on the side of my neck.  I could kill
him!
I hastily rebuttoned the top buttons and went back into the bedroom. 
The bed was empty.  I charged downstairs.
"Mulder where are you?"  I demanded.  The cottage was small, since
he wasn't upstairs, or in the living room or kitchen, I determined 
that he must be outside.  I looked out the window, and sure enough,
he was sitting in the sand, looking out at the water.
I crept up behind him, careful not to make a sound.  He had his legs
under him, and the water came inches from touching his knees.  I
pushed his back, hard enough for him to fall into the shallow water
face first with a small splash.  As soon as he turned around to face
me, I pinned him down.
Out of the corner of my eye I saw Marty and Trish come outside,
heading for the boat.  The duo stopped and stared at us.
"What is this?"  I hissed, leaning down on him so my hickey was eye
level to him.  He kissed the only skin his mouth could reach, just
below the base of my neck.
"Property of me," Mulder said.  There was nothing I could do, except
simple revenge.  I moved so my mouth was over his and gave him a
wet, sloppy kiss.  I jammed my tongue into his mouth, and his eyes
popped open.  I could see Marty and Trish stop in their tracks, they
had been approaching us.  Mulder took his turn, and wrapped his
arms around me, pulling me completely on top and against him. 
Then he moved his hands over my back, then my bottom.  It was 
my turn for my eyes to go wide.
Finally, when I felt like I was going to pass out from lack of 
oxygen, I pulled away.  Now I was completely soaked for the second
time in less than 12 hours.
"I've said it before Dana, and I'll say it again," he looked me up
 and down.  "The wet T-shirt look, does look very sexy on you."  I
looked down, I had only bothered to rebutton the top two buttons.
  I blushed, and stood up.
"I'm going back inside, Fox," I taunted, with a finger on his lips. 
With that, I stood up and walked back inside the house.  I didn't
bother to dry off, and I walked right upstairs and into the bathroom.
I took a quick shower, because we should be at the Hunt's around
10 to leave at 11.  Plus Mulder still needed to take a shower as 
well.  I put on the same bikini as yesterday, just to keep Mulder's
attention.  I had to admit I liked the way he put the sunscreen on me
yesterday....
I opened the door of the bathroom, and Mulder was right there.  I
jumped back in surprise.
"Mulder I'm not even going to ask what you are doing standing there,
I'm going to pack some things for this afternoon," I said, as I 
ducked under the arm he had across the doorway.
"Spoil sport," Mulder said, as he went into the bathroom.  I picked
up my carryall bag and put two towels in it, then I added sunscreen
and a hat.  I went downstairs and put both the hot dog buns in the
bag and walked over to Trish and Marty's.  Marty was outside,
near the boat.  It wasn't a very big boat, but with its bench 
seats it could comfortably seat four people.  The boat was painted
green with 'The Tripper' written on the front of it.  Marty looked up
as I approached.
"Hi neighbor," he said.
"Hi.  I have hot dog buns where should I put them?"  I asked.
"Trish is in the kitchen, just go in," he replied, revving the 
engine.  I went toward the cottage, and let myself inside.
"Trish?"  I called.  The cottage was almost mirror image of ours.
   It was decorated a bit more, and it felt more like a home then 
ours did.  I suppose that was because they rented the same house,
every summer.
"Hi Dana," she emerged from the kitchen with a bag.   "Are you guys
ready?"
"I have hot dog buns," I said.  "Umm, I'll have to go get Mu- my
husband.  I'll be right back."
"Okay, there is no rush," Trish said.  I left their cottage and 
headed back to ours.  What was taking Mulder so long?  It 
must have been ten minutes by now.  I opened the door, just as he
opened the door.
"Whoa!"  He said.  "Hi Dana."
"Hi Fox, come on we're delaying them," I said, grabbing his hand
and pulling him out of the doorway.  Trish was coming from a small
shed on the corner of their property with several life jackets in her
hands, while Marty was packing a cooler under one of the bench
seats.
"Here we are," I announced.
"May I take your bag?"  Marty asked.
"Of course," I said, handing it to him.
"Here you go," Trish said, passing out life jackets to all of us.  
I put my bright orange flotation device on.  Mulder did the same.
Once everyone had the jackets on, Marty said, "Ladies first." 
Gesturing toward the boat.  Trish and I got in and sat on the 
separate benches.  "Okay Fox, could you give me a hand at 
pushing this out?"
"Sure," Mulder said.  The men slowly pushed us into the water, then
jumped on.  Mulder immediately settled down beside me, and put
his arm around my waist, so his hand was resting on my hip. "So
how long have you two been married?"  Trish asked us.  Oh no.  I
waited for Mulder to reply... silence; he must have been waiting for
me to.  I opened my mouth, and Mulder said, "6-"
"Months," I finished.  Six was the amount of years that we had been
partners, that is presumably where he got his six from.  Still
the thought of us being married since the day we met was kind of
odd. 
"You guys are newlyweds?  Congratulations," Marty said,
steering the boat and picking up speed.
"Thanks," I said.  "So Marty, I know that Trish is in Environmental
Technology, what do you do?"
"I work with computers," he said.  "Basically I get to play around
with them all day."
"I'm not much of a computer person, the way technology is moving
these days, it's hard to keep track of everything!"  I said.  Mulder
was being surprisingly quiet.  I turned to him.  "Fox?"
He looked at me, he did look a little uncomfortable and I realized
with a jolt that it was because we were here, on a boat.  "Yes?"  He
sputtered.
"Are you feeling okay?"  I asked with noticeable concern.  I touched
his forehead with my hand, of course that was no way to cure
seasickness.
"Don't worry folks, Navy Island is just a head now," Marty said,
from the wheel.  I turned forward, he was right; the island was
really close.
"I'm fine," Mulder said, and he pulled me closer to him.  I wondered
if he really was *fine* or just my version of fine.  I rested my head
against his shoulder, oh Mulder.  Marty was steering us to the beach
of the island.  As we approached, he cut the engine and let the waves
push us to the shore.  Mulder and Marty hopped into the water.  It
was a little before they should
have; Mulder gave a surprised yelp as it was up to his waist.
"Oops, sorry about that.  I thought it was more shallow," Marty
apologized.
"No problem, we're at a beach to get wet, isn't that right Dana?" 
Mulder was behind me.
As soon as I nodded, Mulder lifted me over the edge of the boat. 
"Hey!"  I called out laughing.   Then he deposited me in the water
with him and Marty.  It was a lot warmer then I expected it to be,
and I found myself wishing I could stay in it for a long time.
"I think I spoke too soon," I said, splashing water against 
his chest, then swimming for the beach.
"Don't forget about me!"  Trish said, as she jumped out of the boat.
"I would never," Marty said, as he gave Trish a quick kiss.  Mulder
and Marty pushed the boat onto the beach, and we all went up onto
the sand, to take off our soaking wet life jackets.  I hung mine 
on the branches of a tree near the edge of the sand, and everyone
else followed.
"So what are we going to do?"  Mulder asked.
I don't know about you but I want to go have some water fun... I
thought.  I looked expectantly at Trish and Marty.
"Well we could hike the short trail around the island... its not very
interesting though," Marty said. 
"Sounds like fun... I like hiking," Mulder replied.  So we went on
this trail... it was a path really.  The ground was mostly flat, and
 we walked in and out of the shrubbery, onto the beach, and back
into the woods.
"Ooh Fox..... berries," I said.
"Dana remember the last time you found berries?"  He grabbed my
hand and pulled me away from them, while Trish and Marty
exchanged a look.  Yes the berries I had found while I had left
Mulder sleeping by the fallen log.  Mothmen... of all things.
"I fell into a hole," I quipped, grinning at Mulder.  We'd leave 
it at that.
They exchanged another look, this time a bit more discreet, and we
headed on the path again.  It was short, we were around the island in
a half an hour.  We arrived at the same spot where we were docked.
I sat down in the sand, and Mulder took a seat behind me.  Trish
started unpacking the cooler and our bags from the boat.
"You know..."  Mulder said.  "We could have an awesome game of
chicken."  I turned around and shot him a warning look.  Okay, it
wasn't like I didn't want to play chicken and get to sit on his
shoulders... it was the question of how close we would come to
crossing the lines of our partnership.
"Chicken?  I vaguely remember playing that in high school," Trish
said with a grin.  "Marty have you ever played chicken?"  Oh great,
now they were all talking about it.
"Yes dear, I have," Marty said.  "Want to have a fight?  It's been a
while." Marty suggested.
"That would be fun," I managed to choke out.  I slip out of Mulder's
grasp and pull off my T-shirt.  The rest of the group followed my
lead, and the next thing we know we're all in our bathing suits.  We
waded into the warm water for the second time in half an hour.
"Now, how does this work?"  I asked Mulder, he was, in fact,
towering over me.  I was in the water about waist deep.
"Hold on Dana, I think you're too anxious to play this game,"
Mulder chuckled. Then he went under water, and came up right
beneath me so I was sitting on his shoulders.  It was a little 
awkward at first; I was perched behind his head.  I let my hands 
hold on to his head, covering up his eyes on purpose.  Mulder 
grasp my legs and tried to walk toward the other couple, when 
we both tumbled into the water.
"Dana you're not supposed to cover up my eyes," Mulder said, as we
surfaced.
"Sorry honey," I giggled.  He put me back on his shoulders, and I
realized just what position I was in.  Oh God...
We made it to Trish and Marty, who obviously must play this game
more than they let on, because they were just standing in the
water, watching us and laughing.  I had played this game many times
before now.  Trish and Marty defeated us easily the first time, as
Mulder and I resurfaced, I gave him a look.
"What?"  he  asked.  Then I smiled; this actually was kind of fun.
"Nothing, I just expected that you'd be better at this game," I told
him.  Mulder lifted me onto his shoulders again and we approached
Trish and Marty for yet another battle.  I don't know how we won
this time.  Somehow Trish fell just as I was falling over Mulder's
head, but he managed to hold on to me, and we repositioned
ourselves.  Trish and Marty prepared for another fight.
"Fox how much have you played this game?"  I asked, sliding my
fingers through his hair.
"A few times in high school, some times in college," Mulder said.  I
had never imagined him being the social kind of guy, I was cooped
up in the office for about 15 hours a day, my social life was
forgotten long ago.  This escapade that we were on was beginning to
be fun.  We fought again, it lasted several minutes, then Mulder and
I fell into the water for the final time.
"Is anyone getting hungry?"  Trish asked as we came up.
"Food sounds good right about now," I said, as I waded out of the
water.  Mulder nodded in agreement.  I spread our towels out on the
ground, it was another hot day and the sun was drying the beads of
water from us already.  I sat on my towel, and Mulder moved behind
me.  I leaned back, so I was in his arms, and let myself admit how
nice this was.  Marty disappeared into the
woods to get some firewood, while Trish got the hot dogs ready, and
opened the cooler.
I rested my head against Mulder's chest and closed my eyes.
The sun was radiant, and I was almost completely dry, except on my
bathing suit.  Mulder brushed my hair from my face, and murmured,
"You know Dana, you're going to get a sunburn if you don't put on
some lotion."
"Mmm," I mumbled.  I didn't want to get up, and I had been secretly
hoping that he would suggest that.  He fished the bottle out of our
bag, and applied the lotion leisurely to my shoulders.  Then he went
on, continuing down my arms, and then he put some dabs on my
face.  With a moments hesitation he continued down my chest.  I
was almost holding my breath at his touch.  Mulder rubbed my
stomach and down my legs as I lay against him.  This really was the
life.
"Time to roll over," he murmured softly in my ear.  I really didn't
want to, but I obeyed him, flipping lazily onto my stomach.  He
grinned and rubbed the white goo onto my back, then down the back
of my legs, while I memorized the feeling of his hands on my body. 
When he was finally finished, I sat up and took the bottle from him. 
"My turn," I smiled at him.  Marty had succeeded in building the
fire, and Trish came over to us.
"Would you like anything to drink?  We have some soda and some
beer," she asked.
"Soda please," I said.  "Honey what do you want?"
"I'll take a beer, but I can get them," Mulder said, and headed
 toward the cooler.  He better not be trying to avoid getting
lotioned... I thought with a grin.
When Mulder returned, I laid him on his back and covered every
inch of his visible body with sunscreen.  Just as I was finishing,
Marty announced that hot dogs were ready.  I had been too focused
on Mulder to know he was even cooking them yet!
We went over to the fire and helped ourselves to hot dogs and chips,
then we all returned to our towels which were spread out almost in a
line.
"So how did you guys meet?"  I asked casually.
"Well, I was on a vacation-" Trish started.
"In Atlanta, where I lived at the time," Marty interrupted.
"Yes, and we met at a club one night, and let's just say we were
inseparable ..."  Trish finished.
"What about you guys?"  Marty asked, with augmenting curiosity.
I had a sharp intake of breath as Mulder adjusted my bikini strap. 
What were we going to tell them?  Luckily Mulder came up with a
story before I could wonder any further.
"We met in the town of Oceanville, Washington, quite soon after I
moved there, for business reasons.  I met Dana in the sort of way
that you wonder the next day if it was a dream or not.  It was night
time on my first day there, and I decided to take a walk on the 
lovely coast.  The sun was setting; it was beautiful, much like the
surroundings here actually.  Then I saw her walking in the small
waves-" Mulder told us, like he was in a dream land.  His face
actually looked like he was remembering something, or picturing
something. 
"And I saw Fox watching me.  It was a small town, the kind of place
where everyone knows everyone else.  I could tell he wasn't from
here."  I turned to look straight at him, as I continued to tell the
story.  "You know how you can see someone from a first glance and
know they are the... one in five billion for you.  So I approached
him-" Mulder interrupted me.  God, did I really say all that aloud? 
Mulder must have got that, but I found myself
blinking back tears.  The other couple was mesmerized by our
story.
"So I walked toward her, trying to start a conversation, and the 
first thing that popped out of my mouth was 'God, you're 
beautiful'-"  Mulder said.
"And I don't think we need to go into detail, Fox," I felt my face
starting to flush.  What was wrong with me, this wasn't even 
real.  Of course I would have liked it to be real.  Very much.  
I could live in a dream world with Mulder.
I turned back to the other couple.  Mulder leaned down and dropped
a kiss on my shoulder.  I had grown used to having Mulder touch
me, well if being used meant not jumping, that is.
For the rest of the afternoon we sat on the beach and talked, or else
we went into the water and swam around.  Then we all got into the
boat and went back to the cottages.
"So you are coming to the barbecue tonight?"  Trish asked.
I nodded.  "We'll be there," Mulder said.  "Where is it?"
"Over on that dock," Marty pointed to a dock.  "Just follow the
noise..." 
"Will do," I said.  Mulder was holding the bag that I had packed, and
Trish and Marty had refused our offer to help them unpack the boat. 
So I took Mulder's hand, and we walked back to our cottage.
Mulder opened the door, and we walked in.  I let go of Mulder's
hand, and he dropped the bag on the floor.  Then he walked the short
distance to the couch and collapsed onto it.  He spread out, 
taking up the whole space.  Beside him there were cards on the
coffee table, memories from last nights game.  I saw the clothing we
had discharged last night, and picked up my T-shirt, both of our
shorts.
"Scully?"  Mulder asked.  I turned to look at him.  He patted the 
tiny spot next to him, and winked at me.  "Come on... you know you
want to..." 
I tossed our clothing at him, and began picking up the cards.  He sat
up and gasped, "What are you doing?  Aren't we going to... continue
that game?"  Why was he doing this?  Acting too damn sexy to
refuse, and what would happen if I didn't refuse him?  Sure he was
playing along, expecting maybe even hoping me to play along with
him, but what would happen if we went too far?  The
simple answer was no, but the way he was looking at me...
"In your dreams, Mulder," I managed.  He grinned.
"Okay then."
I stared at him, while he calmly gathered up the rest of the cards. 
Then I sat down on the couch beside him.
"I'm not even going to *ask* you what we should do," I told him.
"Now you're just out to hurt my feelings, Scully."  He handed me
the cards and gave me the 'puppy dog look'.
"Fine.  What do you want to do?"  I asked, rolling my eyes.
"I can think of many things that I want to do..."  Mulder leered.
"Yeah, while you ponder over that... I'm going to go get changed,"  I
said, standing up.
"Want some help?"  Mulder grinned.  I tossed the cards at him, then
went up the stairs.  Before I could close the door, I heard him yell,
"You didn't answer me!!"
I slipped out of my bathing suit and put on a light green tank top 
and some white shorts.  I opened the door, and stepped out into the
small hallway on the second floor.
Mulder was standing right there.  I jumped a mile.
"Good God, Mulder!  What the Hell are you doing?"  I
demanded.
"Umm, nothing," he said innocently, slipping into the bedroom and
shutting
the door.  I stood there staring after him.  Let Mulder be Mulder, I
finally decided.  Then I went back downstairs.  He joined me a few
minutes later, wearing a white t-shirt and a pair of shorts.
"When does this barbecue thing start?"  I asked.
Mulder shrugged.  "Don't know.  Umm, let's go ask Trish and
Marty."  So we went over to their place.  They were leaving their
cottage just as we walked up.  "Oh hi!"  Trish exclaimed.
"Hi," we replied.  "We were just wondering when this barbecue
was going to start."
"Actually, people start coming around 4, since its already 5 we're
just on time.  It continues for most of the night, people just leave
when they want to," Marty said.
"Oh okay then.  Thanks," Mulder said.  Together we all walked to
the barbecue.  It was a much shorter walk than I expected and we
were there after about 5 minutes.
"Wow, did Chris organize all this?"  I asked in disbelief.  There was
a huge grill with people working there, and a buffet style drink
and dessert table.  There was a band playing on the grass, and in the
sand there was a volleyball game going on.  The water held the
attention of several swimmers and many people lounged on the
grass, the dock, or were dancing.
"Yes, he is quite the man.  He does all this every year."  Trish 
said.
Just then Chris Morgan approached us.
"Glad to see you made it!"  He exclaimed.
"This is certainly wonderful," I told him, looking around.  The sun
was still high in the sky as even more people arrived.
"Thanks," he said.
"Hey Chris!"  One of the grill guys called.
"Excuse me, do have a wonderful time tonight," Chris said, then he
went over to the barbecue.
"Well we're just going to wander around here," I told Trish and
Marty.  "We'll probably see each other again tonight."
We wandered off into the crowd.  "Fox?"  I asked.
"Yes sweetheart?"  He grinned.
"I'm letting you know now that I have absolutely no intentions of
going into the water tonight," I gestured toward the shimmering
lake.  "And if something happens where you are involved,
you'll be sorry."
"Ooooh, sorry?  What are you going to do to me?"  He grinned
wickedly at me.
I pulled his shoulder down so I could whisper in his ear.  "Let's 
just say the handcuffs might come out."  I felt his sharp intake 
of breath.
But Mulder never missed a beat.  "Is that a good thing?  Or a bad
thing?"
"Don't get any ideas..."  I murmured.
"Fine... come dance with me Scully," he pulled me over to where the
rest of the couples danced.  I noticed that this was the first time 
we were in a public place that he had called me 'Scully.'
The music changed as soon as we stepped onto the floor.  Mulder
pulled me closer to his body as the slow melody dripped out of the
speakers.  I moved my arms around his neck and laid my head
against his chest.  I felt his arms tighten around my waist, as he
pulled me impossibly closer to him.
I closed my eyes and let myself move to the beat of the music.  
I felt Mulder moving along with me.  I drowned out the rest of the
world.
I opened my eyes a few minutes later and noticed that the band was
already into a new song, well into it.  I pulled away from Mulder. 
He broke out of his trance like state and twirled me around.
"You're not much of a dancer, Dana," Mulder said.  "You need to
let loose more."
"You're one to talk," I said dryly.  But we continued dancing.
Many fast songs, but there were a good handful of slow songs
that we enjoyed together.  "Mulder let's sit out some of these," I
suggested.  In all truth my legs felt like they were about to 
fall off.
"Okay, you want something to drink?"  he asked.
"Sure," I said, taking his arm.  He led us through the crowd to the
table with the drinks on it.
"What do you want?  Ooh, can I get you drunk tonight Dana?"  He
smiled.
"How about you get drunk, Honey.  I just want water," I said.
He poured me a cup of water and grabbed a can of beer.  "Works for
me," I rolled my eyes.
We walked toward the old dock.  It was one of the raised kind, and it
was almost abandoned now.  They sky was just beginning to darken. 
Mulder sat down on the dock and hung his legs over the edge.  I sat
down beside him so that I was parallel  to the dock, and rested my
head against his shoulder.  He brushed hair from my face as I stared
across the landscape.  After about half an hour of sitting and doing
nothing I sat up.
"Mulder lets go back to the cottage.  I'm exhausted from everything
thing we've been doing lately, plus we don't really fit in here."  I
pointed out.
"I am so glad you suggested that Scully.  I'm bored..."  He grinned.
  I gave him a playful shove and he toppled forward into the water,
taking me with him.
The water was still warm from the day's sunlight, and Mulder stood
and wrapped his arms around me.  "Do I get to play with the
handcuffs?  After all, you pushed me in," Mulder asked.
I laughed.  We waded out of the water, and Mulder held my hand. 
We walked down the beach to our cottage; no one even seemed to
notice we were missing from the crowd.  Mulder went upstairs to get
changed and I stood in the doorway.  This life just seemed so right,
my mind whirled.  Being married to Mulder, getting to see him all
the time.  Just talking, or sitting together was enough to satisfy me
for a while, Hell it already had.  Mulder emerged from the bedroom
and I hurried into it and closed the door.  Mulder gave me a strange
look as I passed him.  
I put on a pair of silk pajamas and combed my hair.  The humid air
had already began to dry most of it.  Then I opened the sliding door
to the balcony and stepped out on it.
The sun was setting now, the sky splashed brilliantly from
the golden ball of fire, orange, then pink fading to a light blue. 
Diamonds glistened in the sky above my, and a damp breeze rustled
the leaves on the trees.  I leaned against the balcony with my head
bowed and began to think, for the first time, consider everything, 
not just what I wanted to believe.
Mulder.  He was just downstairs; he had become my life.
Working with him everyday had brought us to a certain place where
it was impossible to turn back.  I remembered those first days when
he had resented having a partner.  Always questioning my theories or
just plain disagreeing with me.  Over the years we devoted our lives
to each other, overcoming fate time after time again just to have to
repeat the process on our next case.  We became closer and closer
and I closed my eyes to hold back the tears.  It was like suddenly my
best friend meant more to me then anything else in the world.
"Scully?"  Mulder asked uncertainly, from the doorway.  I slowly
lifted my head, but didn't turn to face him yet.  I couldn't trust 
myself with what I would say or do.
He approached me, gently wrapping his arms around my waist. 
"What's wrong?"  Concern filled his voice, and I hiccuped as a tear
fell down my cheek.  He spun me in his arms so I was facing him,
then he lifted my chin so I stared into his eyes.
I bit my lower lip as it began to tremble.  I couldn't hold back any
more.  My breath was coming out in abrupt gasps.  I bowed my head
as the tears began to fall down my cheeks.  The sun disappeared over
the horizon with one final splash of color, then left us in darkness
except for the light of the bonfire down the beach, at the barbecue.
"Mulder-" I started.  He looked expectantly at me, but waited for me
to continue.  "I-I finally real-realized over these past few 
days..."  My voice dropped as I closed my eyes, hoping that the
words would come.  "How much I-I'm attracted to um, you," I
whispered.  He remained silent.  I took a deep breath and returned
my gaze to his eyes.  "You know the way that you're with someone
and you fall in love with them without even realizing it.  Love is
blind Mulder, and this experience showed me the real light.  I love
you so much," I whimpered.  I waited his response, I just confessed
the thoughts and emotions I hadn't even let myself be aware of, what
if he didn't feel the same way?  I go to the extreme point of
vulnerability-
He interrupted my thoughts as he pulled me into an embrace and
kissed the top of my head.  "Scully I have been waiting years for you
to say those words, or something like them.  I didn't want to ruin 
our friendship Scully, cause losing you would be the worst thing that
could ever happen to me.  I love you, Dana.  Nothing and no one will
ever be able to come between us."  He murmured before he gently
kissed me.  Our lips were closed, it was the ideal first kiss.  
After a few seconds he pulled apart and I opened my eyes. Then 
I brought my hands up to his face and pulled him down to meet 
my lips.
This kiss was much more passionate then our first.  His tongue
explored my mouth as I ran my hands through his hair.  My tongue
found its way inside his mouth as the kiss deepened.  Finally we
pulled away, out of breath and I gazed at him.
I cocked my head slightly toward the bedroom, and without words
he picked me up and carried me into the room.  He laid me down on
the bed and moved up beside me.  I sat up and pulled his T-shirt over
his head.  He kissed me again, as I ran my hands down his chest.  He
unbuttoned my shirt quickly and slid it over my shoulders. 
I shrugged it off and my hands continued their trek down Mulder's
body.  His head dipped from my head as he kissed down my neck,
over my shoulder, then down my chest.  He settled with my breasts,
caressing, touching, fondling me.   My breath quickened and I ran
my hands through his hair as he took one of them into his mouth and
began to suck slowly.  I surprised him and myself with the growl
from my throat.  It only made him suck harder.  I moaned out my
pleasure to him, as he began to suck my other nipple.  His hands slid
down my back and lifted my hips so I was on his lap.  He slipped his
hands inside my pajama pants and panties at once, cupping my
bottom with his hands.  Oh God how I loved him touching me.  He
pulled away and continued kissing down my stomach, as my hands
fell to his lap.  I eagerly slipped my hands inside his boxers and
grasped his cock.  I stroked him up and down, while he gripped my
ass harder.  Finally he laid me down and slowly slid my pants and
panties all the way off me.  He kissed me again, while I got rid 
of the only article of clothing between the two of us.
"You really are the most beautiful woman in the world," he
murmured.  "I keep feeling like I am in a dream."  His hand slid
down from my face, between my breasts and finally to my crotch
where he cupped me and slowly began to tease me with his fingers.
"Oh God," I groaned.  "Mulder... please..."  He went to move down
from my face.  "Play later," I managed to say.  "I want you... inside
me... right now..."  I gasped.
"Of course Scully," he whispered, bringing his hand back up and
positioninghimself over me.  I guided him inside me.  My 
intentions of our first time was to take everything slow and 
make it last as long as possible, but obviously that wasn't going 
to happen.  My little dreams of this had left out one thing, how much
this man arouses me.  He thrust deep into me, then pulled almost out
and slammed into me again.  I pushed against him when he entered
me, and squeezed my muscles around him.  I wrapped my legs
around his waist as an attempt to slow things down before I lost it. 
Losing it in this case was good, especially losing myself with
Mulder.  We thrust against each other;  then suddenly my climax
took over.  I gripped Mulder tightly, as I arched my back, squeezed
my eyes shut and moaned out Mulder's name over and over again,
while the waves crashed through my body.  Mulder came inside me. 
He cried out my name, as he released into me.  Then he pulled out
and wrapped his arms around me, drawing me close to him. 
"I love you, Mulder," I told him, with a smile.
"I love you too, Scully," he said, kissing my forehead.  He cuddled
against me, and I rested my head under his chin.  I lay awake for a
long time, listening to the even breath of the man I love.
XxXxX
Cottage
August 13, 1999
8:21 a.m.
I woke up much like I have for the last six weeks, Mulder draped
over me, or me draped over him.  This morning, Mulder was on top
of me, and there was a phone ringing.  "What the?"  I wondered
aloud.  It must have been the first phone call we'd received since we
got here.  Mulder  dug around in the suitcase on the floor and pulled
out a cell phone.
"Mulder," he said with a yawn.
"Guess who?"  A voice said.
"Langly?"  Mulder said, rolling off of me.  I turned toward Mulder,
we had both forgotten the reasons that we were here in the first
place.
"Yeah, sorry we forgot about you for a while," Mulder turned the
phone toward me and I heard the conversation.
"That's okay, we've been enjoying ourselves up here," he grinned at
me.  We had become even more adapt to our roles of husband and
wife since that barbecue.  "So is it safe to come back?  Or should we
spend the winter here as well?"  Mulder asked.
"All I'm saying is that you can come home now.  Skinner had quite
the fit when he learned you two escaped up to Canada secretively..." 
Langly said.
"And exactly what are you implying?  That we have a lot of
explaining to do?"  Mulder demanded, rolling his eyes.
"Actually we told Skinner that you were on a honeymoon..."
"What?"  I sputtered.
"Whoa!  Agent Scully you're there too?"  Langly asked.
"Of course I'm here, now tell me where you expected me to be," I
said.
"Definitely not on the phone," Langly replied.  "Are you coming
home or not?"
We were silent.  Would going back to DC be the end of our
relationship, or would we be able to be involved and still work
together... then I remembered what Mulder had told me about
nothing and no one can stand in the way of our love.
"Mmm, yeah I think we'll come back," I drawled.
"We got to go," Mulder said, and hung up before Langly could say
anything more.  He tossed the phone into the suitcase and began to
kiss me.
XxXxX
FINIS
mercury_999@hotmail.com