Title All things considered Author Jennifer Edie E-Mail address jedie@hotmail.co.uk Rating PG Category S/R Spoilers All things Keywords Post-episode. So how did it happen???!! All things considered. Scully woke up slowly, her eyes, still sleepy, opening gently. As her lashes lifted, a picture before her emerged, opening like the curtains in an old movie theatre. She wrinkled her brow in confusion, for she saw herself, her naked self as a vision above her. And Mulder was in that vision to her right, his body lightly wrapped up in his cotton sheets, his side secretly revealing that he was naked too. Like two angels on the ceiling of the Sistine chapel, their bodies lay close, forming a symmetrical heart. And then she realised, she was in Mulder's bed, naked, with Mulder, naked. Her memory came into head suddenly, like a pop of a balloon. She surprised herself that she did not panic and remained next to Mulder still, their feet gently touching. The rain lashed on the window outside, a branch slowly beating a baby-like rhythm on the window pane. I've slept with Mulder, she thought. I came to Mulder's bed and he made love to me, she mused. She bit her lip. Oh my God it happened. Mulder stirred next to her, licking his lips in his sleep. Like the trained investigator she was, her head began to piece the night before together. She remembered waking up in Mulder's living room, covered in his Indian blanket. The room was dark, but a streak of pale light came from Mulder's bedroom. Although she should have gone home, something compelled her to the light. The door was slightly ajar and Scully entered without knocking. She found Mulder asleep on his bed in the lamp light, covered in the papers that he was reading. She smiled to herself as she looked at him. His glasses had fallen off his nose and his shoes were still on. Scully went to him and smiled again. How could I ever give this up for Daniel, she mused. Yes, she was a different person now, she was an equal. In every relationship she had had with men, she was always the submissive; her teacher, her boss. With Mulder she was on equal grounds. She'd never give it up. She'd never give up on him. She gathered the papers together; it was the crop circle information that she had given him earlier. She placed the papers on the sideboard and removed his glasses. She couldn't resist stroking his hair affectionately. I could never give you up Mulder, she thought. She looked down his body and to his shoes. Gently, in order not to disturb him, she untied his laces and removed his shoes. She sighed and turned the lamp off and they were both bathed in moonlight. She turned to walk away when a hand grabbed her wrist. "You tuck me in Scully and I don't get a goodnight kiss," he said groggily. He expected a classic Scully come back and she nearly did, but something made him call his bluff. Something inside her had been re-ignited. Her meeting with Daniel had not only changed her relationship with him, but somehow it affected her relationship with Mulder. She realised that with Mulder, there's no way out anymore, that nothing else would do, that she could no-longer settle for anything less than Mulder. And she also realised that she loved him. Of course, she knew that she loved him as a friend and as a partner. But now she realised that wasn't enough. She loved him more, she wanted more. And so she kissed him. It was a gentle first, due to Mulder's shock, and then Mulder deepened it pulling her head closely to him. They broke away, looking deeply into each other's eyes. "I want more Mulder." She said. He moved closer to kiss her again. She pulled away a little. "No Mulder, you don't understand?" He pulled her closer to him. "Yes I do Scully. I love you too." Their kiss was more passionate this time and Mulder pulled her onto the bed. He began to kiss her neck. "Mulder?" she whispered. "What Scully, I'm busy." He undid the zipper on her skirt and Scully loosened the belt on his jeans. "You know we can't go back. This will change everything." She pulled down his trousers and removed his socks. He lifted her green jumper over her head and threw it to the floor. "Scully, things changed a long time ago. We're just catching up on the inevitable." He removed her skirt and stockings. They were sat up facing each other now, panting. "We're just catching up on moments that we should've finished; the hallway when you got bitten, when you survived your cancer, when I found you in Antarctica. This was going to happen Scully, simply because it had to, because it was meant to." And then we made loved, Scully mused. She looked at him, covered in the receding shadows of the morning. He must have sensed her, as he opened his eyes. "Morning Scully." He said gently. "Morning Mulder." She said flatly. He thinks I might regret things, she smiled. "Are we alright, Scully?" He said softly. She kissed him. "We've never been better Mulder." She got out of bed naked, unashamed and wholly unabashed at her body in front of Mulder. She picked up her clothes. "You leaving me Scully? You sleep with me and leave me Scully. I feel used." He said this lips puckering like a child. She threw his pants at his head. "I'm going home Mulder to change for work. I'll see you in the office later. Go back to sleep. It's only five." He pulled his pants off his head and discarded them to the floor. He grinned sleepily and yawned flopping his head down on the pillow. As his eyes closed he following a naked Scully heading towards the bathroom.