From: Melissa Anderson Date: Tue, 22 Sep 1998 19:35:42 -0700 Subject: Fanfic story TITLE - Survive (1/1) AUTHOR - Melissa Anderson E-MAIL ADDRESS - missya@jps.net RATING - NC-17 CATEGORY - SR SPOILERS - X-Files Fight The Future (movie) KEYWORDS - M/S Romance SUMMARY - These events take place during the movie 'Fight The Future', it begins just after the spaceship takes off. Mulder and Scully are stranded in the Antarctic. What happened next? How did they get out of there and back to civilization? For answers to these and other questions, read on... DISCLAIMER - All praise and much adulation to Chris Carter and 1013 Productions & David Duchovney and Gillian Anderson for inspiring so many of us to flex our creative muscles. These characters belong to Fox, 1013, Chris, but definately not me. This is just for fun, no money is being made and no infringenment is intended. SURVIVE by Melissa Anderson 'I am alive. He is alive. I am alive.' She repeated these words over and over to herself like a mantra. It was all her abused mind could handle at the moment. 'We are alive. We are alive.' She didn't know how long she held him, limp in her arms, rocking back and forth in the snow. It seemed like a very long time. She was having trouble forming any rational thoughts, except... 'We are going to freeze. We are going to freeze.' The words were repeated again and again in her head before she actually grasped their importance. It was as if her brain was thawing while the rest of her was freezing. Her body was wet, inside her clothes. She looked down at Mulder cradled in her arms. His hair was wet, plastered against his unconscious face. She smoothed it back with a pale icy hand. She saw that he was hurt. He had a laceration on his left temple. It wasn't a fresh wound, it appeared to already be healing. She did not know what had happened to him, or when it happened. She had no idea why they were both wet or where they were, but she knew if she didn't get them to somewhere warm and dry soon this was going to be the end of them. Mulder's expression was so smooth and peaceful. Not a trace of care or worry lined his familiar face. He reminded her of a child who had fallen asleep amongst his Christmas booty. Scully knew she wasn't going anywhere without his help. She didn't remember much of what had just happened to them, but she did remember Mulder saving her. He had been dragging her through something dark, something horrible. Her knight in shining armor. Now that they were relatively safe he had collapsed and it was up to her to rescue him. She would do her best. She would do anything for Mulder, but she needed him awake in order to save them both. "Mulder, Mulder," she said, trying to rouse him. She was surprised by the soft hoarse rasp of her voice and the burning pain in her throat. She concentrated on speaking louder and more clearly. "Mulder!" She shook him by his shoulders. His eyelids fluttered, a guttural groan escaped him. "Come on Mulder. Wake up. I need you." Mulder turned his face towards her and without opening his eyes said, "Not now Scully. I'm saving myself for marriage." He smiled weakly in her direction. "Open your eyes Mulder." She commanded sternly. "We need to find some shelter." She looked around again at the vast whiteness that stretched on forever on all sides of them. "We'll probably have to build a snow cave." "Cave?" Mulder questioned, his eyes still closed, a puzzled furrow lined his brow. "No cave. Cat." "Mulder, get up. You're babbling." Scully pushed him away from her. Fighting her complete exhaustion and the thick snow drift, she pulled herself to her feet. Every cell in her body ached. Her muscles cried out in protest at being used. It was the strangest sensation. Her connective tissue felt stiff, incompliant, almost atrophied. Like she'd been very ill or immobile for an extremely long time. She stretched like a cat as she stood. The view was no better from this vantage point. They were very near a cliff edge. It was a dangerous drop off. 'A long way down,' she thought. How in the hell did they end up here? It was all a blur. Off in the other direction there were some rocky hills, maybe they would find some kind of shelter there. She reached back down to Mulder, grabbing his arm, she tried to pull him up out of the snow. "Come on Sleeping Beauty. I'm not carrying your butt through this snow. Get up Mulder!" She pulled on him until Mulder was sitting up. He still had not opened his eyes, but he did appear to be coming around. "I'm not building any damn snow cave. We can get in the Cat." "You're not making any sense Mulder. I think you've sustained some kind of head wound. Are you all right?" He finally opened his eyes. Their familiar hazel coolness was clouded at first, they cleared slightly as he went on, "There's a Caterpillar snow tractor just over the hills over there." He motioned to the snowy hills behind him. "You know, a really big snowmobile?" "Okay Mulder, I know what it is." Scully said, a bit exasperated. She gave him her hand and helped him to his feet. "It's not going anywhere, it's out of gas, but it should be pretty good shelter and easily spotted, if anyone comes looking for us." "Does it have a CB or a cell phone?" Scully looked off towards the hills, shading her eyes with her hand. "Yeah, it does have a radio." "Well, you may have just saved our asses Mulder." She said as she started off, trudging through the snow towards the hills and the Cat. Mulder smiled. "And such a lovely ass it is." He said softly as he followed her. If she heard him she gave him no indication. There was no sound but the crunch of his boots and her stocking feet echoing across the deserted landscape. ************************************* They were two lonely black dots moving slowly against the vast whiteness of the endless blanket of snow. Side by side they drug their way through the heavy drifts. They hadn't gotten very far on their trek to shelter when suddenly Mulder stopped. Scully heard it too. Jet engines. The agents looked up into the sky, shielding their eyes from the blinding brightness of the sun. They were coming from behind, two of them. They flew in close formation, quite low to the ground. The jets had no markings whatsoever. They looked like military planes, except they were solid black in color. They flew over the giant chasm that Mulder and Scully had been perched near and in an instant were gone towards the opposite horizon. On the ground the tiny dots waved and shouted, trying to be seen. ************************************* "Give me a boost up into this thing." Scully said to Mulder as she tried to pull herself up into the giant orange-yellow snowmobile. He obliged. Grabbing her around the waist from behind he pushed her up into the machine and then tried to pull himself in after her. It was quite an effort. As Scully scooted across the seat she picked up a piece of paper and an electronic gadget that had been lying there. She leaned back across the seat and reached out to Mulder, trying to help him climb in. The two of them were so weak, so physically drained. With a slam of the door they collapsed onto the vehicle's seat panting for air. Mulder sank into the seat, his head lolled back and his eyes went shut. Scully's attention was torn between her partner and the CB radio in the dash. "Mulder, you are really not helping here at all." She tried to sound pissed off at him, but the fear was there in her voice. He couldn't pass out on her again. They needed to keep each other warm and awake. They also needed to get the hell out of here. She looked down at the things she had found on the seat. Finally some good news. It was a global positioning device and longitude and latitude coordinates. 80 degrees south latitude, 63 degrees east longitude. Scully grabbed the radio's mike and started calling out may-days. She wasn't able to actually raise anyone, but she did get static so the batteries must still be working. She gave out what she hoped was their location, based on the coordinates she had found. She described the Cat and the terrain as best as she could. She stated they were FBI and requested the agency be contacted. She tried every distress call she could think of and prayed someone would respond. After a while she put the mike down with a heavy sigh. No one had replied, but maybe someone had heard her. She might try again later. She remembered Mulder saying there was no gas, but she took a chance and tried to crank the tractor to life. No luck. "Damn!" she said pounding the dash with her fist. Her attention was drawn back to Mulder. He was unconscious and turning very pale. She touched his face. He was so cold, but she was even colder, her fingers were like icicles. She noticed they were actually whiter than his face, almost blue. The icy conditions combined with her wet clothing set her teeth chattering. She was so cold she ached everywhere. It was physically painful. They had to find some way to warm up and she had to get Mulder awake. Looking around the cab she found a first aid kit and a heavy wool blanket behind the seat. Another lucky break. She started peeling off the wet clothes she was wearing. Why wasn't she wearing any shoes? She still could not remember what had happened to them. Mulder had a lot of questions to answer. "Time to wake up Mulder. What on earth are we doing in the middle of frozen nowhere and how come you got the shoes?" She was trying to get him to rouse as she was undressing. "Mulder. Wake up. You're missing your chance. I'm naked." She wasn't for long. It was too cold. She tossed aside the black ski pants, the last piece of clothing she had been wearing and immediately wrapped the itchy wool blanket around her. "And by the way, where is my underwear?" She pulled her legs up under her as she huddled beneath the blanket trying to get warm. "Mulder." He wasn't responding. "Hey, wake up." She shook his shoulder. "Come on this is how people die in the cold. You have to stay awake." Nothing. "Mulder!" she shouted. Now he was scaring her. She slapped his face hard as she shouted his name again. "Come on Scully enough with the rough stuff." Mulder croaked raising a hand in defense. "I wanna be the S, you can be the M." He smiled at her and finally opened his eyes again. "Where the hell are we Mulder?" "Antarctica." Mulder looked down at the pile of Scully's clothes on the floor of the cab and then back up at her and the blanket. "I thought I dreamed the naked thing." "Those clothes were soaking wet. Are your clothes dry?" "They're not too bad." He studied her face. "Are you okay Scully?" "I think I'm freezing Mulder. I'm worried about hypothermia. My body temperature feels really low." She tried to sound detached, very Dr. Scully, but she was on the verge of tears. Mulder could hear the anxiety in her voice. "You're lips are blue." He said matter of factly as he started to take off his down vest. "You got room for one more under that blanket?" "What are you doing Mulder?" Scully asked, eyebrows raised. "I told you once before about the best way to keep up body temperature. Remember?" he answered. He had pulled his gray sweatshirt off over his head and was working on removing his shoes and pants. He was seriously worried about her physical condition. She looked terrible. She had been to hell and back and somehow was still alive. He was going to do everything in his power to see that she stayed that way. "I'm the only source of heat around. It's not much considering, but it's all you got." The look he gave her as he finished his statement silenced any argument Scully might have had. She sat quietly for a moment watching him undress. His drying hair fell into his eyes as he leaned forward and wriggled out of his pants. Again she felt like crying. It must be the trauma they had gone through, and were going through, that was causing her to feel so emotionally raw. A flood of affection for her partner suddenly washed over her. She quickly wiped away the tears that welled in her eyes. Mulder looked up at her, naked now except for boxers and thick wool socks. "You don't mind if I keep the socks do you?" "No." Scully still held the blanket tightly wrapped around her. He was looking at her expectantly. She sighed and said softly, "Mulder, I'm naked." He smiled at her, but it wasn't his normal playful leer, this smile was sweet, reassuring. "I won't look." He opened his arms. "Come over here and wrap around me. Hurry up now, I'm freezing." He closed his eyes and waited as she moved across the seat and next to him. He pulled her close, until she was sitting in his lap, and helped her wrap the blanket around the both of them like a tight little papoose. They pulled Mulder's jacket and other dry clothes around them for added warmth. Their legs were up under them, Mulder sitting cross legged and Scully wrapped in his legs as well as his arms. She tried not to think about her bare backside in Mulder's lap with only the thin material of his boxers between them. She sat a little sideways trying to keep her breasts from coming into contact with his bare chest. In spite of her apprehension of being in this situation and her modesty, she felt warmer already. Under the blanket Mulder had her ice cube hands in his own and he was rubbing them furiously. "Thank you." She said looking up into his eyes. They smiled silently back at her. "What happened?" She asked hesitantly. "What do you remember?" She closed her eyes and breathed a deep sigh. "Not much. Darkness. Noise. Let's see, the last thing I remember clearly..." She was struggling to remember anything before coming to in the snow outside. "Do you remember coming to my apartment?" Mulder asked cautiously. He didn't want to push her. He wanted her to remember on her own. Scully was shaking her head slowly, she was getting ready to answer 'no'. She stopped as the memory came dimly back. "Yes, to tell you I was quitting." "Yes." Mulder nodded. "I remember that. We were arguing...out in the hall." She was searching for the scene, it was there just out of reach. Suddenly she remembered... She remembered the things Mulder had said to her. The respect and devotion he had professed to her. And she remembered the desire she had felt for him. Then she remembered... "The bee sting!" He nodded in agreement and wrapping his arms back around her chilly shoulders pulled her close to him. Her breasts pressed against his chest as he held her tightly. Mulder inhaled sharply at the touch. The reaction was mainly the shock of her skin being so cold, but beneath that was the realization that Scully's bare breasts were against his chest. Icy naked breasts with hard little nipples. Mulder took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He had to maintain his nonchalant exterior. Which was difficult considering the most important person in his life was sitting naked in his lap. He didn't want Scully to feel anything but safe right now. Scully rested her face against his chest, he was warming her back to life. Her eyebrows knit together in an troubled expression. She wasn't sure she wanted to continue on with this line of conversation, remembering what had happened to her. There was something terrible just ahead, she could sense it. "What was it?" she asked softly. "I'm not exactly sure." She could tell he was lying. "Mulder?" "Don't push it Scully. It'll come back to you." He rested his cheek against the top of her head. "I need to know what happened. Please tell me." Mulder was silent for a moment. He was debating whether to go on or refuse to tell her. She was weakened by her ordeal, but she was still stronger than most people he knew, including himself. The truth would not push Scully over the edge. The fear and anxiety of the unknown would be worse. "Do you remember the investigation? The dead firemen? The bones?" He asked slowly. She concentrated on his question. "The virus. The bee sting infected me with the virus?" "I called for an ambulance when you collapsed in the hall. 'They' came and took you away. That's when I got the..." He motioned towards the injury to his temple. He gave her a long comforting squeeze. "I tracked you down to a secret operation base here in Antarctica." Mulder paused. Yes, Scully did deserve to know the entire truth, but he saw no reason to overload her with everything right now. He chose his words carefully. "I was able to get my hands on an antidote to the virus. I injected you with it and thankfully it worked." "You're leaving some awful big holes in that story Mulder." She said without looking up at him. "What do you mean?" He asked innocently, his lips against her hairline. "How did you track me to Antarctica? And where did you get an antidote?" Mulder sighed. Here come the hard questions. The questions with the ugly answers. "Sometimes you have to do a deal with the devil." "Cancerman?" She pulled away from his chest, looking up into his face for the answer. Mulder did not meet her eyes. "No. An associate of his." He said to the frost on the window. "Why would they help you save me? And where is the secret operation base? I didn't see anything but snow out there." "You'd never believe me in a million years." Mulder said under his breath. "What?" "It was under ground." Time to try and change the subject. He looked back to her upturned face. "How are you feeling Scully?" "Frustrated. I want to know what happened...all of it." She replied. She looked frustrated, but she also looked a little less like death. Her lips were losing that terrible blue tinge. Mulder smiled and pulled her back against his chest. He tightened his arms and the blanket around them. "You will." He said once again into her hair as he tucked her head under his chin. "You look better." "I do feel better." She answered. They were quiet for a while. "What are we going to do Mulder? I sent out some distress calls on the radio, but I have no idea if anyone heard them. Is there anything anywhere near here?" "We're in the middle of nowhere Scully." "What about getting back to where I was being held? Maybe we could contact some help..." "That is not an option." Mulder replied matter of factly. "We'll be all right Scully. Someone will come for us. I'm sure someone either heard you on the radio, or those jet pilots will send help." "Who are you trying to convince me or yourself?" Scully asked with a sarcastic little laugh. "Those jets didn't look like the good guys." Mulder didn't respond. He knew she was right. The pair fell silent again. For a while they just sat peacefully together, Mulder stared out the frost and fog covered window of the snowmobile while Scully nuzzled her face in-between his chest and the blanket warming herself with his body and her own breath. The sensation of Scully's breath on his skin felt delicious. Mulder closed his eyes and concentrated on not feeling aroused by it, by her closeness and the touch of her. Images appeared before his closed eyes. Images that were not really helping in dousing the threatening passion. He had cheated when Scully had climbed into his lap. He had peeked. It wasn't like he had never seen her naked before and he wasn't peeking for a cheap thrill. He wanted to make sure she was okay. He had not had any time on the ship to examine her after he found her, he had quickly dressed her in pieces of his own clothing and got them the hell out of there. Suddenly the picture of her bare breasts, round and firm and as white as the snow outside entered his mind. The quick glimpse he had gotten of her showed no apparent injuries, just the milky paleness of her curvy hips and thighs and... He opened his eyes. 'Must stop this', he thought to himself. If he didn't something very embarrassing was going to 'pop up'. He started to think about the ship instead. The immenseness of it. The horror of the hundreds of pods incubating those creatures inside humans. How was he going to explain all of that to her. How could she believe or understand it? He had been witness to it and he could hardly believe it himself. Once again he had come within a hair's breadth of losing her. How could two people be so cursed and blessed at the same time? What was he thinking? He still might lose her. What if no one came to rescue them? There was no way they could hike for it. A morbid thought entered his mind. It would be all right because at least he would die too. Mulder kissed the top of her head as he listened to her rhythmic breathing. She had fallen asleep. He was sure she needed the rest, she had been through so much. He would give her a few moments. ************************************* "Scully, Scully..." She realized she had dozed off, Mulder was calling her name. "Yes." She answered inside the blanket. Mulder was shifting in the seat beneath her. "I'd like to let you rest, but you're the one who said we need to stay awake. Are you okay?" "I'm fine Mulder." She made no movement to come out of her warm shelter. "I think I need some help staying awake myself." "Okay, good." She sat back and looked up at him. Her eyes were only half open. "I'm awake." "You don't much look it." Mulder teased. "Give me a minute. Thanks for the rest and the warmth. Are your legs getting tired?" She asked as he tried to move one of his legs out from under her backside. "Yes! Can we please change positions?" Mulder's legs were growing stiff from being crossed the same way for so long. "Sure, but I'm not coming out from under this blanket." Scully loosened her grip on the fabric and tried to lift her butt up so he could change positions under her. "Here, let me." Under the blanket Mulder grabbed her bare waist and easily lifted her up off his lap, rearranged his legs and then sat her back down, this time on the seat next to him. "There. Comfy?" "Yes, well," Scully began a little flustered at being handled. "I'm fine. How about you?" "My legs feel better, but truthfully Scully I kinda liked having you on my lap." He wrapped his right arm around her shoulder and they tightened the blanket and the clothes back into place. "Scully?" "Yes." "You said before that you remembered coming to my apartment." She paused before she answered, there was something in his voice. "Yes Mulder." "Do you remember what we were talking about. Other than your quitting I mean." He waited for a reply from Scully, she was silent. "Do you remember what I told you. About me and you?" "Yes." She looked up at him, his eyes held hers, he looked very serious. "I meant everything I said, it wasn't just words. I wasn't just trying to get you to stay." Mulder hesitated. "I just want to make sure you know." "I know Mulder." Scully looked away. She felt a sudden profound sadness envelope her. She knew she should be elated. The things Mulder had said to her, about her importance to him and his need for her and his inability to carry on without her, were the kinds of things she had secretly hoped he felt. He had become so important to her, not only professionally but personally. It was nice to know that he felt the same. She meant it when she said she had debated telling him she was quitting in person. She wasn't sure she could face him. Disappoint him. The decision had been an agonizing one. Not just because it involved giving up the FBI, but because it involved giving up the working relationship with Mulder. Not being able to see him everyday, even on days when he ditched her or when the mere sight of him made her want to slap him. Never again to debate with his intelligent mind over the finer points of a case. The prospect depressed her so totally, but what options did she have? Being shuttled off to some field office? Salt Lake City? Doing time in exile while hoping the X-Files would eventually reopen? She could not see herself at the FBI if she were not working with Mulder. What was left for them if they no longer worked together? Sure they could try to remain friends, socialize, but their hearts were their work. That's just the way they were wired. She would get involved with her new job and he would float through the Bureau doing his best on assignments that his heart was not in. Their lives would take two paths that moved farther and farther apart. She had feared disappointing him, but what she saw in his eyes when she told him her plan was beyond disappointment. She hurt him. It was then that she realized he had grown as dependent on her as she was on him. He told her that he needed her to keep him going and she knew he was telling the truth. She also knew that she and Mulder loved each other. Beyond the obvious, loving him like her partner, a brother or father. It was all those and more. Their embrace in the hallway was between a man and a woman with passion for one another. Damn bee! Gazing out the window she smiled sadly to herself. It was clear why Mulder was bringing this all up now. He was afraid they were going to die and he wanted to make sure she knew he loved her. "Penny for your thoughts." Mulder said breaking the stillness. He had been watching the sadness settle over Scully. He worried that she was going to tell him she did not return his feelings. That she did not love him. "I wonder if I could ask you for something Mulder?" Scully's gaze came to rest once again on Mulder's face. The sadness was still there in her eyes, but it was combined with a sweet slight Mona Lisa smile. Mulder was a little afraid of what this request of hers might be. Still he answered with no hesitation. "Anything." Her eyes traveled over his face, searching for the answer to her question while trying to get up the courage to ask it. "Mulder, would you kiss me?" He paused a moment, stunned. Had he heard her correctly? "Scully, there is absolutely nothing I'd rather do at this moment." He answered in all seriousness. They smiled at each other shyly. Mulder reached out from under the blanket and touched her cheek with one hand while the other tucked her hair behind her ear. He scanned her face, enjoying the way her clear blue eyes darted from his eyes to his mouth. "There is just one thing that I want to say first." Mulder said clearing his throat. "I was afraid to tell you back at my place. I don't know why. I guess I'm braver today. I love you Scully." "I love you too Mulder." Scully answered softly. There was nothing left to be said. She turned her body slightly towards him, tilting her head up and letting her eyes fall slowly closed. They moved together and kissed one another, tentatively at first. Scully reached for his strong arms. Beneath the blanket she ran her hands up his arms to his shoulders. She captured Mulder's full lower lip between hers. Their mouths opened, tongues finding each other as the kiss intensified. Scully's fingers threaded through Mulder's hair, she wrapped her arms around his neck. The wool blanket slipped off her shoulders and puddled around her waist. Unable to get enough of her, Mulder's hands moved from the sides of her face into her hair and down her neck and back. He wanted to touch all of her, he hugged her tightly against his chest. Trying to meld the two bodies into one. Their kiss was powerful, passionate. They kissed for everything they had been through together. All the wonder and all the horror. With gasps for air the kiss was broken. Neither of them spoke or moved to separate. Pale crystal blue eyes stared into fiery hazel eyes. The air chilled their skin. Mulder grabbed the blanket behind Scully and pulling it up wrapped it back around her, never letting her separate from his chest for an instant. As soon as she was bundled up Mulder moved towards her face again. Without hesitation Scully's mouth met his in a second fervent kiss. Her arms moved from his hair and neck down his back. She scratched him lightly with her nails. Suddenly, their lips still locked together, Mulder lifted her off the seat beside him and pulled her back up onto his lap. She threw her arms once again around his shoulders as they necked like a couple of teenagers. When this second kiss was broken there was no pausing, no gazing into each others eyes. Mulder's mouth moved from her lips to the line of her jaw and back to her tender earlobe. Scully kissed and nibbled on his shoulder and neck. If she had stopped to contemplate what she was doing, she would have been shocked. Her mouth and hands caressed his flesh wantonly. She made no attempt to stop herself. She reveled in the carefree exploration of her lust for her partner. Like an explorer she mapped Mulder's upper body with her hands. The firmness of his shoulders, the sharp protrusion of his shoulder blades and collarbone, the soft covering of hair on his arms and chest, the erect bud of his nipples. Mulder groaned softly against her ear when Scully's fingers found his nipples. Her tongue was licking the skin at the base of his neck. At the sound of his throaty response she began trailing delicate kisses down his chest. Heated lips encircled his right nipple, followed by tongue and teeth. "Scully." Mulder's voice was thick with desire. She ignored him. As her mouth tortured his chest, her hands moved down his sides coming to rest on the waistband of his boxers. "Scully." He cried. Taking her face in his hands he tilted it up to him. "I think we should come up for air." She smiled wickedly, his face was flushed. "Well, that's one way to warm you up." "And I appreciate it, I really do." He watched her eyes dance around his face. She had dark gray circles under those azure eyes, her skin was deathly pale, except for the bright red that colored her cheeks. Was it passion or frostbite? None of it mattered, to him she was and would always be the most beautiful woman in the world. Her brows furrowed and she exhaled loudly. Pushing the passion out with her breath. "Okay, I'll calm down." She nestled into his arms, resting her head against his chest once again. "What can I say. One kiss from you G-man and I'm driven wild." Scully taunted him. She wondered why he had stopped her. Chivalry? Probably. Maybe he didn't want them to do something they'd regret in the morning. Someone had once said the dead don't regret what they've done, but what they didn't do. Would she regret letting him stop her? Mulder felt the curve of her cheek against his chest and knew she was smiling. He once again pulled the forgotten blanket back up around them. They were quiet. Mulder was organizing his thoughts, he had important things to say to her. She beat him to it. "Mulder?" "Yes." "If this is it. It's okay." Scully stammered, the words she wanted were not there. How to convey the deepness of the emotions she was feeling? How to tell him that now that she knew the truth, that he loved her and she loved him, she didn't need anything more than to be held forever in his arms. "What I mean to say is, if we don't make it out of here, and this is the last..." "I think I know what you mean Scully." "At least I finally know that it's all right, the way I feel about you. The way I've felt about you for so long now I can't remember my life without you. It's all right to love you." Mulder wanted to say something comforting in reply, but a knot filled his throat and tears welled in his eyes. 'All right to love me?' He thought to himself. 'I'll be the death of you yet Dana Scully.' How many times had she been put in peril because of him? Because of his quest? But at the same time he was berating himself for leading her into danger he knew that it was her quest too now. She was plunging headlong into the fray, she wasn't being led or pushed. It was unfair of him to think of her as something fragile that he had to shelter. Still that was how he often thought about her, especially since the cancer. In quiet moments after they had narrowly escaped another of their worlds countless terrors he would worry over her safety. The reason for his solicitude was so simple, but the realization of the truth had only come to him when threatened with her leaving him alone. He loved her and he did not want to live without her. He breathed deeply, reigning in his breaking heart. How cruel life was, to unveil this bliss and threaten to end it all so swiftly. He cleared his throat. "We're not going to die Scully. We can't. Not now." "Okay, we're not going to die Mulder." Why didn't the words comfort him? If only he could believe them. Freezing to death is painless, that's what they say, you just go to sleep, but who really knows? Those who've been through it certainly aren't talking. At least he finally knew the truth. He had seen it with his own eyes and this time there was no denying it. Proof of alien life. There was no way what he had seen could have been a manufactured hoax. He also knew the truth about the human involvement in alien colonization and repopulation. Men who were prepared to sell out the planet to further their own agendas. But most important right now to his mind and his heart, he knew the truth that Scully loved him too. The pleasure of kissing her, holding her like this was only outdone by the attention she had lavished on him with her mouth and those icy little fingers. She had been leading him quickly to the point of no return. His control over his body was weakening. He had to put on the breaks. Why was it so important to him to keep control? It certainly appeared that Scully was prepared to cast all the barriers aside and give in to raw passion. If only he had not stopped them. They might be having sex right now. His mind wandered. Mulder certainly had no aversion to sex with Scully. In fact this snowy encounter added a wonderful new scenario to his 'sex with Scully' fantasy repertoire. Dreaming, day and night, was all the closer he ever thought he'd get. So why had he stopped them? It was simple. They were not going to die. If they were not going to die then this desperate grasp for life and love was unnecessary. There would be time for all of this later. When they were safe and when Scully was physically recovered from her ordeal. To give into the desires was to admit that this was it. They were dying. This was the last chance. He couldn't do that. Mulder's eyes were growing heavy. He looked down at Scully. She was asleep in his arms. 'She shouldn't be asleep' he thought to himself, but he was too tired to do anything about it. His last coherent thoughts were, 'What if this is it? What if we are dying? This was the last chance.' He fell asleep, tears dampening his cheeks. ************************************* A blast of cold air hit him as Mulder came to. Scully and the blanket were being pulled away from him. He was sitting alone now in his boxers and socks, exposed and vulnerable. What was going on? Where was Scully? Who was taking her? He grabbed out for her blindly, but was pushed back into the seat. His eyes opened and his vision began to clear. A vaguely familiar bear of a man was saying something to him that he could not understand. The man wore a dark parka, the hood of which was up, covering his head. The hood was trimmed with fur and most of the man's face was covered with a wild brown beard. He looked more like an animal than a man. A blanket was thrown over Mulder from the opposite direction. He turned and saw another man reaching across the seat from the open passenger side door. The man was speaking to him slowly, trying to make Mulder understand him, but his head was in a fog. "Scully." Mulder said hoarsely. He could force no other words out of his throat. The first man he had seen, the big man with the unkempt beard, pushed Mulder over in the seat like a rag doll and climbed into the Cat. He shouted something to the other man who then shut the passenger door. Mulder heard the low rumble and felt the machine lurch to life. Mulder was becoming cognizant enough for panic to start to set in. He wasn't going anywhere with this man, not without knowing what was happening with Scully. He lunged for the passenger door. In his weakened condition it was less a lunge and more like he fell over in the direction of the door. The driver grabbed for him and spoke again. This time the words and their meaning penetrated the fog in Mulder's brain and he heard... "...Mac sit still. We're getting you guys out of here." His tone sounded helpful, not menacing and also very familiar. Mulder paused in his futile escape attempt and sitting back up he looked over at the driver. "Buck and I thought you were dead when we first saw you two." He had a southern accent, probably Georgia. Mulder thought to himself, 'You're a long way from home.' He had thought that before about this man. Deja vu. Mulder stared at the imposing figure, his brain churning. Finally, like hitting the last number in a combination lock it all clicked into place and he realized where he knew this man from. This was one of the guys he had gotten the Caterpillar from. "We heard about some weird shit going down out here." The driver looked sideways at Mulder. "What the hell happened? And where did that little redhead come from?" "Scully." Mulders voice was ragged. "That her name? Okay Mac, don't try to talk. You just sit back and rest now. She's up ahead with Buck. It's warm in there and he's got her all wrapped up snug as a bug in a rug. We'll get you back to civilization. Ya'll both be fine. I'm Lou by the way. I don't know if you remember me Mr. Mulder." Mulder could see the other snowmobile trekking through the drifts in front of them. He knew he was in no condition to argue or fight with his rescuer. He reached for his clothes on the floor and seat around him and began to get dressed. ************************************* Mulder could not shake a feeling of trepidation. An uneasiness had settled over him during the long ride back to what Lou called 'civilization'. It was actually a small village populated mainly with scientists. There was a weather research center here and some group studying environmental changes. This was were he had originally rented the snowmobile and set out to find Scully a lifetime ago. At the moment Mulder was lying on the bed of his room. It was a sort of motel. The building was actually an old abandoned military office that had been converted into eight rooms. About the only patrons the place ever saw were the occasional hunters and fishermen. The rooms were small and spartan. Just a bed, small dresser, lamp and heater. Mulder and Scully were the only residents. Scully was asleep in the next room. He was glad, she had looked so frail after they got her all tucked into her tiny little room. It was a look he had seen far too often on her and one he hated. Mulder sat with her until she was fast asleep and then had come back to his own room to rest. His long figure was stretched out on the bed, his hands tucked behind his head on the pillow. He was wearing a white t-shirt and gray long johns. After thinking it impossible, he was finally warming up. Enough anyway to take off a layer or two of the dry clothes Lou had found for him. It had been a couple hours now since Mulder had laid down, trying to get some rest. It was no use. His mind was racing. He recalled his conversation with Lou on the trip back. "What made you come looking for me?" He had asked. "Well tell you the truth we were worried about the Cat. That's a very valuable piece of equipment." Lou began with a grin. "Of course we're glad ya'll okay." "That's mighty generous of you." Mulder replied jovially. That's right we're just two good old boys shooting the breeze. "You said you heard about strange things happening out here. What did you mean?" Lou didn't answer right away. When he did he seemed at first to trip over his words. "Well, you see he said...that is to say the scientists... one of the fellas said they picked up an unusual reading. Like an earthquake or something. We knew where you were on account of we had gone over the location you were headed for. Remember? And one of the docs said the disturbance was right at that same location, so, Buck and I, we thought we'd check it out. Lucky for you I guess. Another hour or two and I think you and that sweetie would have been done for. I've seen some interesting fellas come up here and go out looking for all kinds of things. Hunters looking for seals, scientists looking for a special rock or some microbe, but I never have seen a fella go out into the ice and bring back a cute little redhead gal. No I certainly have not. Imagine that." Lou ceased his rambling with a sigh. Mulder tried to read the big southerner, was he for real or was he hiding something? He could very well have been sent by the same men who sent out the unmarked jets. The same men who had overseen the operations on that ship. Were his orders to save or to kill them? Mulder had been able to keep the other snow tractor in his sights, but how did he even know Scully was actually on board? She could have been wisked off in another vehicle, or even left behind in the snow. Luckily Scully had been safe aboard the other Cat. During the trip Buck radioed Lou and Mulder had been able to speak to her over the CB. She was alive, alive and awake and talking to him. Mulder was relieved. She sounded tired, but otherwise fine. When they arrived at the village Lou helped Mulder contact the Bureau and arrange passage back home, while Buck got Scully settled in her room. She had gotten a hot bath and they even got some soup into her before she fell into a much needed sleep. They were like cats, Mulder thought to himself. He and Scully had at least nine lives. However, at this rate nine, although a generous number, was not going to be enough. Eventually their luck was going to run out. This was how it had been for the last two hours. His thoughts jumping back and forth from the thrill of Scully's return to him, to the anxiety this place and these people caused him, to the astonishment he felt over seeing that ship come up out of the ice and take off. Then of course there was what had passed between himself and his lovely partner in the snowmobile under that wonderful blanket. There was no switching off the old gray matter. No way he was getting any sleep. His eyes drifted shut as he relived her frozen little fingers sliding down the tender skin of his body, followed by her mouth. He was summoned back to reality by a gentle rapping on his door. "Mulder?" Scully asked softly. Mulder lept off the bed and crossing the small room in two strides opened the door. "Hey Scully." He said, happy to see her. "Mulder. I wasn't sure which room was yours. I didn't want to disturb anyone." "We've got this whole place to ourselves. Come in." He said holding open the door and stepping back. Scully gave him the once over. Her eyes moved from his face down his rumpled t-shirt and baggy drawers to his big bare feet, then back. "That's a good look for you. Not just anyone would be able to pull off such a daring fashion statement, but on you Mulder, it works." Mulder hitched up the long johns, but it didn't help. The back end still sagged while the cuffs climbed up his calves like he was headed for high water. "You must drive all the girls crazy." She teased. "Just one I hope." Mulder whispered as she passed him. He looked at Scully bundled up in the off-white down quilt that had been covering her bed. She looked like an angel in a cloud. He could not bring himself to say such a sappy thing out loud, 'just one I hope' had been saccharine enough. His comment had not gone unheard. Scully was watching him watching her as she sat on the edge of his bed. She was trying to read him. What was the next move? Play along like always? Brush off the innuendoes and pretend nothing had happened between them? She could do that. She certainly had enough practice at it. But she didn't have the energy to think of a snappy come back. Or any reply for that matter. Even though she had started out with a taunt about his appearance, she hadn't come to Mulder's room to play the game. Mulder broke the silence. "Sleep good?" "Yes, like a log. How long did I sleep?" "Almost four hours." Scully looked around the room. It was just like her own. Small and bare. If she had to spend much time in this place it would drive her crazy. She figured the same would be true of Mulder, especially since there was no TV. "When do we get out of here?" She asked, looking down at the worn brown carpeting. "Our ride should be here in about eight hours." Mulder was studying her face, which was all he could see of her poking out of the quilt. Her face and her tiny feet wrapped in a pair of Buck's big white socks. She wasn't looking at him. She looked much better, more like herself. Healthier. Still, she wouldn't meet his eyes. Mulder crouched down in front of her and put his hands on the bed at her sides. Finally she looked into his eyes. "Are you okay Scully?" "Yes. I just...when I woke up. I just didn't want to be alone." She answered in all honesty. Waking up alone in that strange room she felt more afraid than when she had been half frozen in the snowmobile. A terror settled over her so quickly that she shot straight up in bed. Where was Mulder? Was he all right? She remembered him being here. He had seen to it that she ate some soup and he sat with her until she could no longer keep her eyes open. He was probably resting right now in his own room. She tried to reassure herself that at last they were safe. They had made it through hell and were going to be just fine. Her reassurances did nothing to relieve her uneasiness. She had to find him. To see his face. Hear his voice. She knew it was irrational, but she had to be with him. She had wrapped her comforter around herself and gone out looking for her partner. Mulder smiled at her with warm green-gold eyes. "I understand." "How's your head Mulder?" Scully asked looking up at the wound on his temple. He touched it absently. "Fine. How are you feeling Scully?" "Fine." They both answered in unison. Tense laughter spilled from them and once again they fell silent. Mulder stood back up and sat down at the head of the bed, leaning against the headboard. He patted the bed beside him and Scully scooted up until she was seated next to him. "You look like a marshmallow." He had finally found an analogy that wasn't too sweet, so to speak. "Hey, I'm finally thawed out. I don't think I'm ever coming out from under this quilt." Scully chuckled. She turned her face and looked up at Mulder. "Did I wake you?" Mulder was overjoyed at the sound of laughter in Scully's voice. He smiled reassuringly down at her and wrapped his left arm around her. "No. I couldn't sleep." "No TV, huh?" Scully said nodding. She knew television was something Mulder usually used to lull himself to sleep. It helped to distract his brain. Kept the demons at bay. Sometimes. Mulder shook his head, that wasn't why he couldn't sleep today. "No Scully." It took a beat before she understood what he meant. Here we go, she thought. We are going to have to tackle what happened eventually. Now was probably as good a time as any. She didn't know exactly what she was going to say. Should she apologize for being so forward with him when they were stranded? She searched his eyes for a sign of what he was thinking. Where Mulder was going to go with this. She couldn't read him. His eyes darted from her eyes to her mouth. She followed him. She looked at Mulder's full, beautiful mouth. His tongue flicked out and wet his lower lip. The one last responsible, FBI Special Agent thought that tried to form itself in her mind was wisked away by that tongue. Mulder's head leaned down as Scully's reached up, their mouths coming together in a kiss. It was a soft, loving kiss. Slow. Complete. It was the kiss that was begun in his hallway days ago finally coming to life. Scully's hands were still wrapped inside her quilt. Mulder's hands cupped either side of her face. As the kiss ended he held her and gazed down at her. His right thumb traced a circle gently on her cheek which was still rosy from frostbite. "Scully. I..." He began, but she silenced him. "Shh, Mulder." She was shaking her head. Her right hand came out from under her cocoon and she placed two fingers against his full lips, still moist from their kiss. "There is nothing to say that can't wait. There is no outside world. Reality will keep." Her left hand also emerged. She settled her palm flat against Mulder's chest, over his heart. "All I want right now is this. And it never has to leave this room." Mulder's eyes narrowed, searching hers. For a moment he thought he should be angered by what she had said. What exactly did she think was going to happen here? Was this supposed to be nothing more than a one night stand? A quick roll in the hay? A tension breaker? And then what? But that was exactly her point. He realized neither of them knew what would happen next, where they were going or where they would end up. Yet at the same time they had professed their love for one another and cheated death once again. A celebration was definitely in order. "Skinner already has my resignation. We are no longer partners. And I love you. That's all that needs to be said." Scully spoke the words softly, but clearly. Their eyes were locked together. "I'm not going to think about tomorrow and neither are you." "No." Mulder agreed, smiling down at her determined expression. Her eyes were afire, clear and brilliant. "God you're gorgeous." He said as he stared at her. "I look like hell and you know it." Scully replied. "Never." His lip curled into a faint smile. "Kiss me." She whispered. Without another word Mulder wrapped his arms around her and pulling her close began covering her face with kisses. He pressed his lips to her forehead first, then each tender eyelid, her cheeks, her ears, the tip of her nose. Scully was smiling, eyes shut as he kissed along her jaw line. When he reached her chin instead of a kiss his tongue licked a path from just under her chin up to her parted lips, finally covering her mouth with his own. Mulder muffled the chortle in Scully's throat with a devouring kiss. Her happiness drove on his desire. His lips drew her in greedily, like a starving man attacking a juicy peach. Tongues sought out and found each other. Scully's hands were pressed against his chest between their bodies. She pushed at him slightly and Mulder loosened his grip on her and allowed space between them. Just enough for her to slip the quilt she had been bundled up in off of her shoulders. As their mouths separated Mulder looked down at her. She was wearing a t-shirt that was way to big for her. Another loaner from either Buck or Lou. Mulder looked dejected. "I was hoping you were naked under that blanket too, Scully. You're wearing a t-shirt." She frowned at his playful misery. "So are you." She cocked an eyebrow at him in reply. That did it. She saw the evil little gleam come into his eyes and the corners of his mouth turn up. Mulder could have the most devilish little grin when his mind was up to no good. It sent an anticipatory tingle through her body. "Race ya." He said grasping the hem of his t-shirt. "Okay, on three. One. Two. Three." Scully had her shirt off before she finished counting. She had cheated and started pulling the cotton over her head after two. She tossed the shirt down on the bed with a laugh. Mulder pulled off his shirt and tossed it aside as well. The sound of her girlish laughter delighted him once again. He tried very hard to look and sound serious, he failed miserably. "This is very unprofessional behavior for a former federal agent. Now, you must be punished." Scully's eyebrows jumped at his comment. Suddenly he grabbed her in his arms and pulled her across his lap. She looked up at him as he cradled her in his arms. The expression on his face nearly took her breath away. She was being bathed in pure adoration. She reached for his face and once again they were joined mouth to mouth in a passionate kiss. Her right hand snaked around to the nape of his neck and combed through his hair, her nails gently scraping his scalp. Her left hand moved up his right arm from where he encircled her waist to his shoulder and back down across his firm chest. Their mouths separated. Mulder's lips blazed a trail down her neck to the tender dip at the base of her throat. He could feel her heartbeat through her skin. Warm and strong. From there his tongue moved on, licking down her chest along her breast bone. He purposely moved in-between her breasts, he didn't want to stop there just yet. Scully arched and moaned beneath him. No, he was going to make her wait. His journey ended with a kiss on her navel. Scully caught the back of his head in her left hand and tried to guide him back up to her breast. She wanted that delicious mouth on her. Mulder was not being led. He sat back up and smiled down at her. His eyes traveled over her bare flesh. He lingered at her full breasts. Her nipples were already hard. As he stared at them they strained, growing even firmer, her aureoles puckered. Her hand ran down his arm to his hand around her waist. "Touch me." She pleaded breathlessly. Mulder lowered her back onto the bed. He leaned over her, not touching her just yet. His face moved down close to her body. "Where?" He asked calmly. "Here?" He exhaled warm breath over her right nipple. Scully groaned. Her fingers moved up his arms. Mulder clasped her wrists in his hands and pinned them back down to the bed at her sides. His face came down close again this time to her left breast. "Here?" He watched her watch him. He blew a cool current of air across her left nipple and her eyes snapped shut. A deep sound of pleasure escaped from her throat along with one strangled word, "Yes." Obliging, Mulder released her wrist and dragged his fingers lightly up her side and across her ribs. He cupped her breast in the palm of his hand. His thumb delicately grazed her nipple, at first almost imperceptibly. Scully made those sexy, hungry sounds in the back of her throat. His touch grew in intensity until he was rolling and pinching her delicate bud between his thumb and forefinger. His head lowered and he showered her other breast with kisses. His mouth found her rosy nipple and he licked and nipped at it with his tongue and teeth. With her free hand Scully grasped for him. She had to touch his flesh, feel it's heat in her hand. She slid her palm up his chest and down his back, her nails lightly raking his skin. She paused momentarily at the waistband of his thermals. In or out? In. Her fingers slipped inside the material and she cupped as much of his warm, round ass as she could reach. She gave the flesh a squeeze and now it was Mulder's turn to groan deep in his chest. His murmur was stifled by Scully's right breast. Mulder scooted down the length of Scully's body slightly, just enough so she could no longer reach inside his long johns. She gave a disappointed sigh. His mouth had moved from her breast to her flat stomach and his hands now rested on the down comforter that was still wrapped around her lower half. He sat back and looked into her eyes, darkened with desire. "What do we have here? A present for me? Can I open it?" Mulder asked playfully. "Mmm hmm." Scully murmured in reply. He peeled back the quilt exposing her bare milky white skin. The curve of her hips, the taper of her strong legs. He paused for a moment and sat there just looking at her body naked before him. She was so much thinner now, since she had been sick. It made him a little sad, but she was still strong. Scully was granite. She was his rock. Scully lay still, she let Mulder file away this moment, her naked body, in that computer of a brain of his. She was enjoying seeing the effect she was having on him. At the same time she wanted his hands-on attention to resume as soon as possible. When his eyes came back up to hers she gave him a 'let's get on with this' look. He picked right up on that. He was quite the detective. Mulder moved over her and they kissed. His lanky body was stretched out, laying over hers. His chest touching her breasts, one leg thrown across her thighs, his groin pressed to her hip. She savored the heat of his chest and his hand massaging her breast, the scratch of the fabric of his pants on her bare legs and there was something else. She could feel the hard length of his erection against her hip. Just as she was beginning to relish the heat of him on top of her, Mulder pulled from her mouth and shifted back off her body once again. He kissed her chest, her stomach, her hip, his lips finally coming to rest on the soft patch of hair between her thighs. He heard Scully exhale a pleased sigh. One hand rested on her stomach as his mouth moved down the top of her thigh. His hand slipped down, between her legs. He gently pushed them apart and his mouth kissed it's way back up the inside of her thigh. Scully's breath came heavier as first Mulder's hand and then his mouth stroked the delicate flesh of her sex. With fingers and tongue he discovered what she liked and what she really liked. He was reading her reactions. Her breathing. The way she arched her body. Her moans. The fistfuls of blanket she grasped. The fistfuls of his hair. Her indistinct utterances. He could make out 'Yes', 'God' and 'Please', the rest was indecipherable. Mulder knew he was bringing her quickly to the edge. He wanted to watch her tumble over. He looked up into her face as his fingers worked the insistent circular pattern that seemed to cause her to thrash about the most. "Come on Scully. Let go." He urged her in a thick throaty voice. She needed no further encouragement. Her body convulsed as she felt the flood of orgasm overtake her. It's electric current raced through her forcing out anything left in her other than the total experience of this all encompassing pleasure. She grabbed her breasts and crushed them under her hands. A low cry escaped her. Gradually her senses returned. The bucking of her hips slowed to an echo of their former fury and she lay panting for air. "You liked that huh?" Mulder smiled down at her. He was propped up on one elbow while his other hand traced delicate circles around her belly button. "Oh yeah. That, Mulder, was amazing." She smiled up at him through the too quickly fading orgasmic haze. She released her breasts and streched her arms out at her sides. A deep sigh of contentment slowly escaped her. She was purring. Mulder loved the sound and the twinkle in her eye. "Now it's my turn." She began, a new energy in her voice. She propped herself up on her elbows and looked down at his waist. "Let's get you out of those drawers." Her eyes came back up to his and in one quick motion she sat up, pushed him over onto his back and straddled his waist. She enjoyed a shiver of excitement at having Mulder at her mercy. She could feel him relax underneath her, letting her run the show. Scully held his arms pinned to his sides, in the same manner as he had done to her earlier. She leaned down as if to kiss him. Mulder reached his face up towards her, but she held back, only briefly brushing his lips with her own. She did the same down the length of his chest. Her lips and hot breath barely grazed his skin and the soft hair covering his chest. His nipples. Leaning foreword she dragged her breasts down the length of his body as she scooted off his hips until she was straddling his thighs. His chest wasn't the only thing being rubbed by her movements. Mulder let out a guttural groan as her thighs and belly ground against his penis. He looked up at her through heavy lidded eyes. She was sitting nude on his legs. Her straight shoulders and perfect breasts. The cut of her waist and the spread of her legs as she straddled him. The fiery hair and cool eyes and that alabaster skin. He wasn't much of an art buff, but he thought she looked like someone a great master should have painted. Except of course for the wicked sex kitten look on her face. You didn't see that look on Botticelli's Venus. Scully looked down at the front of Mulder's long johns and grinned. "What do we have here? A present for me?" She slipped her fingers inside the waistband and worked the fabric down his hips. He tried to help her by lifting his butt off the bed. She had to climb off of his legs momentarily while she removed his pants. As soon as they were gone she climbed right back on him. Slowly, agonizingly slowly, Scully brushed the backs of her fingers up the inside of Mulder's bare thighs. He wanted to watch her, naked, loving his body, but when her hands finally reached the tops of his legs, one hand cupping his balls and the other firmly surrounding his erection, his eyes rolled shut and his head tipped back on the blankets. At first she caressed him with her hands. Starting gently, slowly. Wonderful strokes that made his toes curl. Her movements sped up gradually. He felt hot wet kisses on his belly, his thighs. Now it was Mulder's turn to groan. Maundering sounds emitted low from his chest as she lavished her attention on him. When her lips and tongue covered his penis his eyes flew open and he tried to sit up. He saw her leaning over him, her face obscured by her hair. His brain and mouth finally worked as one and he said hoarsely, "You, uhh, should stop that." It was all he could get out at the moment. Scully sat up, her mouth disconnected from him she looked into his smoky gray-green eyes. "Don't like it?" She teased. A short laugh rumbled up out of the depths of Mulder. He fell back onto the bed. 'Don't like it?' he thought to himself. He doubted if anyone or anything had ever made him feel this wonderful before. A little voice in his brain (it was his brain right?) told him this was just the beginning. "It's Heaven, but I do have my limits." He replied. "It's up to you." She knew exactly what he meant. Perhaps another day she would carry this scenario through to it's ultimate end, but today she wanted Mulder inside of her. Scully leaned over him on her hands and knees. Her face hovered just above his. "Okay, you're the boss." She whispered. "Bull-shit." Mulder answered, emphasizing each word. "That's right," Scully dipped down to kiss his mouth deeply, but quickly. "Talk dirty to me." She said, straightening back up. She held his eyes locked to hers as she guided his erection into her. Slowly she lowered onto him and paused enjoying his heat and his size filling her. Her spine straightened and her head tilted back. Mulder watched her through passion fogged eyes. 'Beautiful' was the first word that popped into his head followed immediately by 'mine'. Her hands were resting on her legs. He reached down and took each hand into his own, palm to palm, fingers entwined. Scully looked down at him and smiled. She began to move. She moved over him languidly at first, establishing a rhythm. As the pace increased, as their thrustings sped up driving faster together, they released each others hands. Scully's palms flattened against Mulder's chest, anchoring herself. While his hands caressed her breasts, his fingers stroking and squeezing her nipples. They were united in a fierce rhythm. Their bodies joined in this primal dance. Pounding against and into one another at a fever pitch. Mulder's hands moved from her breasts to her waist, her hips, pulling and pushing her against him. Scully leaned foreword, her face pressed into the curve of his neck and shoulder, only to suddenly rear back again stretching her body up away from his. "Ohh...Ohh...God!" Scully moaned. She was right there. Staring over the edge into the abyss of ecstasy. Only a moment more. She was falling. Mulder saw it again, her release. The exquisite contractions of her face and body as she surrendered to another orgasm. Her eyes went shut and her mouth opened. She cried out. It was an almost animal sound from deep inside. Louder than before, but then again this time her mouth was closer to his ear. She buried her face in his chest at the base of his throat. He felt it too. Her muscles tightening, squeezing him in spasms. It was Scully's combined reaction to her own orgasm that pushed him to his. His hips drove hard up into her with his final thrusts as the entire universe exploded. Mulder's body shuddered as years of desire, rage, passion, love all directed to the woman collapsing against his chest, finally found liberation. Fueled by his overwhelming need for her, the fire rushed through him. He stifled the savage cry that welled up in him by biting the soft flesh of Scully's shoulder. His body still moved on instinct beneath her, his last fading thrusts mimicking the fury of just moments ago. Finally they were still. Gasping for air. Swimming in the satisfaction of their carnal appetites. Scully shifted, she was going to move off of him. Without speaking Mulder made a sound in the back of his throat. She wasn't going anywhere. He pulled at the blankets covering the bed and without separating them from one another he pulled the blankets over them trapping the lovers and their heat. ************************************* A short time later Mulder woke up. He had been having a fabulous dream about ice cream. He laughed to himself. Scully, who was no longer on top of him, but draped across his left side, tilted her face up from his chest to look at him. "What's so funny?" "I want some ice cream." Ice cream? Scully shook her head. Now, a cup of hot chocolate, that sounded good to her. "You're in Antarctica Mulder." "Exactly. I guess there should be some around here somewhere." "They should have gallons of it stuck in every snowbank." "Ahh no. That would be Heaven, Scully, not Antarctica." Scully snuggled against his chest, kissing him lightly. "I think it's the same thing." Mulder held her tight and smiled against the top of her head. "Oh, hey, I have something for you." He said excitedly. "Well, you certainly do recover quickly." Mulder shot her a leer as he slipped from her embrace and out of the bed. He found the black ski pants that he, and Scully, had worn during their ordeal out on the ice. He unzipped one of the pockets and fished out its contents. Now intrigued, Scully sat up on the bed, wrapping the blanket around her for warmth. "What is it?" She asked. "Let me back in and I'll show you." Mulder hustled his naked body back to the bed and the warmth of the blankets and Scully. She opened the covers and welcomed him inside. "Okay, what have you got there?" "This." Mulder held up his hand and let the tiny gold cross dangle from it's chain in his fingers. Scully's hand immediately went to her throat when she saw what he held out to her. Tears welled in her eyes. She batted them back. "Would you...please." She said turning her back towards him and pulling her hair away from her neck. She reached for the cross, making sure it was real, as soon as it touched her skin. Mulder fastened it around her neck and she turned back to him. "That's better." He said smiling at her. They propped themselves up on the pillows and returned to the warm embrace. The ice cream would have to wait. Neither of them was willing to leave this room, this bed or each other until they had to. "Mulder?" Scully asked, her face resting against his chest. "Yeah." He kissed her forehead. "What are we gonna do?" Her question was almost too faint to be heard. "When we get home?" "Yeah." "I don't know. No outside world remember?" Mulder paused and thought about what might wait for them back in D.C. "For the next few hours anyway nothing exists outside this room, Scully. No lives, no careers, no responsibility to save the world from a shadow government intent on the spontaneous repopulation of the earth by an ancient alien race through transgenic crops, bees and pollen genetically altered to transport the infecting virus." Scully looked up at Mulder as he completed his rant. She flashed him a crooked smile. Same old Mulder. No matter what they had been through, the terrible as well as the sublime, Mulder never changed. "Okay, Mulder." She said as if to a small child. Mulder pulled her back against his chest. He felt safe in her embrace. "The only thing we do have to do Scully, we've already done. To survive." THE END XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX