From: macspooky@erols.com -------- The X-Files and all it's characters belong to Chris Carter, Fox, Ten Thirteen etc. I am only playing with them and anything that I write earns me no money. It's strictly fun. I hope they don't mind much. This is just a small scene set after "One Breath" which is one of my absolute favorite episodes and in my opinion a beautiful love story. I know it's kind of been done to death in fanfic, but it's three weeks until the new season opens and we are all getting desperate here I'm sure. This is rated PG13. It has a touch of romance....no...let's make that love...and a wee bit of the paranormal. I finished it on September 11, 1996. "After One Breath" by Macspooky Fox Mulder paced his his apartment nervously. He was really upset with himself. There had been so much he had wanted to say to Dana, to his partner when he had gone to visit her. Instead, he had walked into her hospital room, seen her mother and sister standing there and acted like an absolute idiot. He had been more awkward than on his first date.....no....it had been worse than that. He had been clumsier than the first time he had made love to a woman.....handing Dana that stupid football video and suddenly wanting to be any place but where he was, rushing through his greeting, while at the same time being desperate for her company. And what a stupid present.....a football video....jeez....what the hell kind of a guy brought a woman a football video when she just awakened from a coma? Dana liked sports...but still.... Oh, Scully had been gracious about it....had quipped good humoredly that she knew there was a reason to live, but still, women didn't like football videos. Mulder was totally disatisfied with himself and his performance. Yeah....it had been worse than the first time he had made love to a woman which had taken what....all of about 60 seconds....to do what he needed to do before fleeing in embarressment. He glanced at his watch. Perhaps there was still time to see her that night....perhaps this time her mother and sister wouldn't be sitting there making him feel like a teenager and he could make amends. On a whim he stopped in the florist's shop and bought her a dozen roses in a lovely glass vase. The cost didnOt matter. He wasn't a poor man, but even if he had been, he thought, he would have spent the money anyway. The roses were a beautiful peach color and somehow he thought they suited her. He stood for a brief moment outside her room. Room 220B. No longer intensive care...thank God, but a real room. Finally he inhaled deeply and stepped in. Her eyes were closed and he stood looking down at her for a long moment. She had changed out of her hospital gown and into a pale yellow cotton affair that set off her auburn hair which cascaded in waves down her shoulders. In three months her hair had grown again almost to the length it had been when he had first met her. She looked peaceful. She stirred and opened her eyes, and when she saw him her lips turned up in a slight smile. "Hi, pretty girl," he said gently. "Hi, Mulder. I'm glad to see you." Her gaze met his. "Are those for me?" "Now who else would I bring peach colored roses to?" He set them down where she could see them. "They are beautiful, Mulder.....of course, I'll always be partial to SuperStars of the Super Bowl, but peach roses are a nice second." She felt tired and depressed, but her partner's presence lightened her mood. During those hours that she had not seen him, she had missed him so much that it had hurt. He threw back his head and laughed and as he sat in the chair next to her bed, he reached out to take her hand. She gave it to him without question. "I missed you, Scully." "If I could remember where I'd been, I'd have missed you too...." She looked away for a moment and gazed toward the far wall. "I can't remember. I laid here before and I tried. I thought maybe if I could remember we would have some clues about Sam...." "Hey....it's okay. Maybe in time.....but if you can't that's okay too...." He had been disappointed before when she had told him she didn't remember anything, but he had told her that it was alright and he had meant it. All that mattered was that she was back and that she was going to be okay. Suddenly that had been more important than anything, even his sister. In that moment, he realized that something had changed inside of him. The equation of his life was different now. He truly was no longer alone, and the sole purpose of his life was no longer just finding Samantha. That would always remain a large part of it, of course, but now there was another factor, a small redheaded woman. "I know it's not, Mulder, but I love you for saying it....." She looked at him again beautiful blue eyes gazing up at him. Her lids started to droop. She felt so very weak. She struggled to keep them open not wanting him to leave. "They reopened the X-Files," he said awkwardly. She managed a small smile. "That makes me happy. I wish I could say I'd see you in the morning. Maybe next week......." Her eyelids started to droop once again, but she felt a little better knowing her partner had his beloved X-Files back. "Oh, Dana...." Suddenly he could control himself no longer. He reached over and wrapping his arms around her small frame, pulled her from the bed into his lap and held her close. It had been so long since he had cared for anyone, anyone other than a missing sister, anyone who he could touch and hold. For years he had loved only a memory. For just an instant she stiffened and then relaxed into his embrace one arm going over his shoulder, her head burrowing into his chest. He needed to hold her. She needed to be held. Without him, her new life, she knew would not be worth living. "I missed you. I missed you so much," he whispered rocking her gently and and stroking her head. "You're my partner but you've become so much more. Dana...." He realized that she had fallen asleep. That was a good thing. It was what she needed to recover. He sat holding her and briefly let his lips touch the top of her head inhaling the scent of her freshly washed hair. He looked up and realized there was a nurse standing over him. She was a heavy set woman with short brown hair cut in a plain style with bangs....not an attractive style, and yet there was something beautiful about her face.....it had a kind of radiance. He had seen her once before. Her badge said her name was Nurse Owens, and she had been bending over Dana when she had been in her coma encouraging her to come back and promising to look after her. Then she had been gone almost as though she were some sort of a spirit that could waft in and out of the room. "Visiting hours are over, Mr. Mulder," she said softly. "You'll have to go." "She's asleep," he replied quietly. "Just a few more minutes.....please....." "It's not your time yet, Fox." The woman looked at him with compassion. "Not yet. It will come, but it is too soon." "I need to take care of her." "Don't worry. I'll look after her." "I....I love her...." It sounded so stupid. Why was he telling this stranger his deepest feelings? The woman merely smiled at him enigmatically. "Your time will come," was her sole reply. He nodded somehow trusting that the woman was right and gently placed Dana back in bed. He pulled her nightdress down to cover her slender legs and tucked the blanket up around her. "Night, pretty girl," he said softly giving her head a final stroke. Reluctantly he turned and left the room. Nurse Owens smiled at him once again as he did so and he felt somehow reassured. Dana awoke in the middle of the night. She had to use the bathroom. She had had the strangest dream. She had dreamt that Fox had come to her room and had pulled her into his arms. They had loved each other so much at the moment. She shivered. She was sorry it had only been a dream. Then she saw the peach colored roses on the stand near her bed. How odd! In the dream, Mulder had brought her those flowers. Well...she was still under mild sedation. Perhaps he had stopped by. Mulder fell asleep on the couch and woke with a start in the middle of the night. He had had a strange dream. He dreamt that when he had brought Dana the flowers he had lifted her from her bed and held her in his arms. It had felt so good, so right, but then someone had told him it wasn't time. It didn't make any sense. He wouldn't have done that. Dana was his partner . They had never had that sort of relationship. Still, it had seemed so real in the dream and he had been so reluctant to let it go. He sighed. He had no time for a relationship with a woman. He knew that. There was his sister to find and truths to seek. Now that Scully was back, he could get on with his goals in life. He could concentrate once again on what he needed to do. Still, it had been a wonderful dream. He wished that it had been real. As he dozed off again, he could almost smell the fresh scent of Dana's hair as he held her in his arms, could almost feel her slender body pressed up against his, his hands feeling her ribs through the thin cotton of her nightgown. Deep restful sleep finally overcame him. Scully was back. He was content. The End