Title: A Celebrated Beginning Author: Caroline McKenna Spoilers: Fight the Future Teaser: What really happened after Mulder and Scully returned from Antarctica? Category: MSR, slight angst Email: JC_SizzlinSpike827@yahoo.com Feedback: YES! Please! If ya liked it, if ya hated it, whatever! I love feedback, both good and bad. But please be kind! This is my first real attempt at fanfic. Disclaimer: I don't own them, I never will. They belong to Chris Carter, FOX, 1013 Productions, and I like to think they belong to GA and DD. They're not mine. Don't rub it in. Archiving: Yes, just tell me where you're taking it, and include my name and email Authors Note: Takes place after Fight the Future. The night after they return to DC. Also, in FTF after Mulder gives Scully CPR, she whispers to him "I got ya big time." I thought about it and made a connection to where she didn't actually need CPR, only that she wanted him to kiss her before they died. Warning: Pure MUSH! No plot whatsoever, mush all the way. She wanted to call him. The pressing urgency to pick up her cell phone and dial Mulder's familiar number grew as the minutes passed. Yet Dana Scully resisted the temptation as she lay silently on her queen sized bed, listening to the rain beat down softly on her window. As tired as she was though, Scully knew she wouldn't be able to sleep until she heard his voice. There was something about it that comforted her. And, right now, she could use comforting, after the events of the past several days. She shuddered to think of what would have happened, had Mulder arrived in Antarctica mere hours later. Dana Scully would be dead and an alien would have birthed itself from inside her stomach. Just thinking about it was devastating, not to mention slightly disgusting. Laying there, staring blankly at the white ceiling, Scully tried to remember if she had thanked Mulder for saving her life. Reaching for her phone which was on her nightstand, she decided she hadn't, and took it upon herself to do so. It rang. Once. Twice. "Mulder." She heard the well-known voice, sounding groggier than usual. "Mulder, it's me." She sat up in bed, leaning against the headboard. "Scully, are you okay?" He still held traces of fatigue in his voice, but it was overtaken by concern. "Yeah, I'm fine." She felt awful, but he didn't need to know that. "Did I wake you?" "No, I was awake." "This late?" Scully glanced at her bedside clock. 4:02. "Yeah. Are you sure you're okay, Scully?" "Mulder, I'm fine," she assured him. "Then why are you calling me at four o'clock in the morning?" Scully switched the phone from her right ear to her left. "To thank you," she replied, "for saving my life. Thank you, Mulder." She could almost hear him smiling across town. "No problem, Agent Scully. All in the job description. I'm just glad you're okay. You are okay, aren't you, Scully?" "For the third time, I'm fine. I'm not some little girly-girl who can't take care of herself." "Scully, I'm worried about you. I'm coming over." "Mulder..." she began, but the phone went dead. He had hung up. When Fox Mulder had made up his mind, there was no changing it. Scully knew he would be there in a matter of minutes, probably breaking all the speed laws in Washington DC on the way. She got out of bed, going to her closet to find some actual clothing. She couldn't allow Mulder to see her in the silky pajamas she was wearing. Now that would be mortifying. She discarded her blue satin pajamas, exchanging them for a pair of black slacks and a crisp white blouse. She was examining herself in the mirror when there was a soft knock on her apartment door. Scully walked quickly out of the bedroom to answer it. She turned the gold knob and opened the door, revealing a tall man with chestnut brown hair and penetrating hazel eyes. "Hey, Scully." He walked in the open door, handing the bottle of wine that he was carrying to her. "Mulder." She looked at the label on the wine. 1964 burgundy. Definitely expensive. "Thank you." She walked into the kitchen and took out two crystal wine glasses from the kitchen cabinet and when she entered the living room, he was seated snugly on her couch. "Come, sit, Scully. Then we'll celebrate." He patted the seat next to him in a gesture for her to be seated. "Celebrate what?" Scully poured the wine and handed him a glass, settling herself beside him on the sofa. "Being alive." He turned to her, smiling. "Was I really that sick?" "No, no, Scully. I didn't mean that." He sighed. "Listen to the rain." They paused for a moment, listening to the rain's pitter patter sound. "We're celebrating the rain. We're celebrating the sun, and the starts, and the mountains, and chickens, and everything else we can think of. We're celebrating this, sitting together, talking about what we're celebrating." He smiled tenderly, taking a sip of his wine. "I guess so. There's a lot to be happy about. Sometimes." Again thoughts of her near death experience plagued her mind. He saw the anguish hidden beneath her beautifully woven mask. "Scully," he asked once more, "are you okay? Really and truly?" She could hide it no longer. A single tear crept down her cheek as she shook her head, answering his question. "Scully," he whispered, like her name was so sacred that he dare not speak it aloud. She numbly felt him embrace her, holding her close. Taking consolation in his arms, Scully continued her silent weeping. A tear was brushed from her cheek and she looked up at Mulder. "Thank you, Mulder," she said softly. "For what?" "For being there for me. You're the first person to have stuck by me. They all left me. My father, my brother, Jack, Melissa. You were always there. When I was released from the hospital, after beating my cancer, the nurse said that while everyone else had given up on me, you never strayed far from my bedside. That means a lot to me, Mulder, it really does." She sniffed, choking back another sob. He pulled her tighter, running his hand gently through her auburn hair, the caressing her cheek. "You showed me respect." He began, launching into his own speech. "You, Scully, didn't write me off as some alien obsessed crackpot like so many have done. Like so many still do. Through everything, you believed in me, listened to my theories, no matter how far out they may seem. My quest to find Samantha became ours. I can't describe how important that is, to have someone believe in me enough to give me half a chance." He grinned, stroking her hair, and after a moment of comfortable silence, spoke again. "I'm glad to see you tonight, Scully." She sighed, rolling her eyes and wiping at the tears still coursing down her cheek. He put a hand to her chin, turning her to face him "I'm serious. I was so relieved when you called because, first of all, you assured me that you were okay even if I didn't believe you, and secondly, I felt less silly about wanting to call you. If I had called you, I feared that you would think I was being daft for wanting to see you. I nearly lost you, Scully. What would I have done without you? I don't even wan to think about it. My point is, Scully, that I can't live without you and you need to know that." She smiled, no longer crying but snuggling closer anyway. "Oh Mulder" The sadness she had previously felt melted away into a haunting elation. "I understand, Mulder. I feel the exact same way. You know, it's kind of funny." "What is?" "Right before I passed out in the ambulance, I thought of you." "Did you?" A grin tugged at the corners of his serious mouth. "Yeah, I thought about how that bee had the worst timing imaginable." "I agree, but please go on." "Well, this may be the wine talking, but if that bee had waited just a few minutes or whatever, things might have worked out different, you know?" "I do." He nodded, looking into her delicate blue eyes. "If I had lost you just then... It scares me to death, Scully, thinking that one of these times one or both of us might not make it out alive. One of these times, you might get fed up and leave the X-Files, leave me. It all terrifies me." "Sshh. It's okay. I can't promise that we won't die, but I can tell you that I'm not going any where voluntarily. I promise. You mean too much to me for that to be the case." Then, as if comprehending how her words might have been interpreted, Scully attempted to reconcile her professionalism. "I mean, you're too valuable an agent for the FBI to lose. They wouldn't let you die. After all, you have the highest solve rate in the whole Bureau." "We do, Scully." "Right. This whole thing is still so stressful that I don't have a full grasp of my pronouns. It's like some warped version of Snow White." "Yeah, it is, isn't it? We got the poison, sort of, the glass coffin, and the handsome prince waking the beautiful maiden from her death with a kiss. Or CPR. Close enough. I'm still waiting for happily ever after, though." He sighed, gazing into her eyes. Her heart skipped a beat. He had called her beautiful. "Well, this beautiful maiden owns a licensed fire arm." "I know," he replied jauntily. "And Mulder, I didn't need CPR." She flashed him a rare Scully-grin. "Oh really, Miss Scully? Was I deceived?" "Yes, Mr. Mulder, you were." "Why did you feel the need to do such a thing?" he asked, feigning innocence. Scully struggled with that. How could she explain her reasoning for faking the need for CPR without being mortified? After all, the truth was simple, and she was sure he knew anyway. With some difficulty, she managed to murmur an "I dunno" and wiggle out of his arms. She looked down at the floor, using every avoidance technique in the book to keep their eyes apart. "I know. It's okay Scully. Apart from being freezing and the heart-wrenching fear for your life, I enjoyed the CPR that you didn't need." Scully could feel his eyes trying to catch hers. Finally she relented, every emotion shining through her brilliant blue eyes, "Next time you don't need CPR, just call me. I'd be more than happy to assist you." He waggled his eyebrows seductively at her. She managed a small smile, still slightly embarrassed. "Right back at you, Spooky," said Scully, using his old derogatory nickname from the FBI academy at Quantico. "Hey Scully?" "Yeah, Mulder?" "I'm having a hard time breathing." "That's funny, Mulder, so am I." She smiled fully, taking comfort in the relief she found in his hazel eyes. "Can I kiss you now, Scully, bees aside?" "I'd be crushed if you didn't" Cupping her face in his hands, he slowly but deliberately leaned toward her. She hesitated, watching his with wide eyes. But she didn't pull away. As he bent his head to hers, her mouth opened slightly; in acceptance, in denial, he couldn't tell. But still she offered no resistance. Her gaze remained locked with his as their lips neared, as if to close her eyes was to deny everything. Deny the moments' reality. He touched his lips to her tenderly, and only then did she allow her eyes to slide closed. Only then did she allow her self to move closed, her arms coming up to embrace him, hesitating, and then moving again, as if overwhelmed by the sensation of their kiss. Gradually the kiss deepened, gradually her arms tightened around him. Gradually his hands drifted to her auburn hair, her back, and when she moved her head, gasping for breath, his own slid easily down her throat, kissing her there. He raised his head again, kissing her temple and then the embrace eased, not far, just enough to be able to look at her again. Her eyes still glittered with the remnants of tears, and he leaned in, pressing feather kisses to her eyelids, her forehead and her mouth. "This doesn't solve anything," she whispered. "No, it doesn't, Scully." "We've crossed a line, Mulder, and I guess we have to deal with it." She sighed deeply, leaning against his chest, feeling his arms draped around her, holding her close. "Yeah, but it was fun, wasn't it?" He had a way of making her smile that thoroughly puzzled Dana Scully. "It was, but what'll Skinner think? Work will be a living hell if this ends." "Then let's not let it end." His solution was so simple, so logical, that Scully was somewhat surprised that Mulder had come up with it." "And Skinner?" "Well, we tell him, I guess." "Tell him what exactly?" Her automatic defense, sarcasm, had kicked in. "The truth. We tell him what happened." "And what is that, Mulder? What happened here? Yes, we kissed, and it was amazing, but what does that mean? If it even means anything! I don't know anymore, Mulder, what the hell is going on!?" He was at a loss for words. Her tirade made him think. What was this? What was she to him? After several moments of careful consideration, he had managed to put together a feasible answer. "Scully, I'm still processing what happened between us. All I can think about right now is that you kissed me back. When I kissed you, you kissed me back. It's almost unfathomable. As for what it means, I'm no sure of that either, but I might have an idea. This may be the next step, a new beginning. We've been partners and best friends for years now, and maybe time is finally catching up with us. All I can be sure of is that you mean the world to me, Scully. You always will." The tears began to well up in her eyes once more. "Mulder..." "No, Scully let me get this out. What I'm trying to say is that..." He paused for a minute, collecting what courage he could. She turned to face him, anticipating what she knew was coming. "I love you, Dana." Her first name. He had used her first name, and Scully couldn't have been more delighted. Although their last name basis had grown personal, and almost intimate, she always knew he meant what he said when he called her Dana. She was unaware of the joyful tears streaming down her smooth skin until he reached up, brushing them away. "I love you too, Mulder." Their embrace tightened, Scully clinging to him, as though afraid he would leave now that their feeling for one another were out in the open. Those feelings that had been buried so deep in her heart were finally free.