Title: Silent Night
Author: Amatia (violinst@pitnet.net)
Disclaimer: Characters belong to 1013. This is non-profit.
Archiving: Gossamer. Anywhere else email first, please.
Category: MSR (I have succumbed...), A
Rating: PG-13
Spoilers: "Terms of Endearment" and "Kill Switch"
Feedback: Read, worshiped, and replied to at violinst@pitnet.net

Note: Here is my Christmas X-Files Fic. I have succumbed to the
Christmas-MSR haze. And I'm mad that I taped over "Dreamland I" with
"Terms
of Endearment" by accident. Esp. since I thought "TOE" was a very sick
way
to keep us in suspense about Mulder and Scully's relationship. So, I am
rewriting that epi. There's no ghosts in this. Haha, demented Chris
Carter.


        "Silent Night"
        by Amatia


         The door was locked.

        Dana Scully rattled the door with all her might, but all it did was
rattle. "Damnit!" she swore, kicking the door.

        "Problems, Scully?" Mulder asked dryly from behind her.

        "You know, Mulder, one of these days I'm going to shoot you just
because you annoy me," Scully replied with a frustrated chuckle. "I can
just shoot off the lock, anyway."

        "Let's have a look around first, okay?"

        Scully sighed, and took her hand off the Sig. "If we're here more
than forty-five minues, I am going to shoot you," she said warningly,
shaking a finger at him.

        "If I'm correct," he replied with a smirk, "you don't have any car
keys. So technically, you can't leave. I don't know of any locksmiths
who are open on Christmas Eve."

        She gave him a dagger look, ignoring the statement. "Let's get this
over with," she muttered, pushing past him.

        The majority of the rooms were locked, the rest covered in cobwebs,
and there were white sheets on the furniture. The floor creaked as they
walked, but the creaking was normal for such an old house. Scully folded
her arms across her chest and looked at Mulder. "See, Mulder, once again
you got sucked in by a ghost story."

        "But the three double murders, Scully! What about those?"

        "People who were obviously so disturbed, and in such disturbed
relationships, that they hallucinated the ghosts, and one of them shot
the other, and then shot themselves."

        "You should have been the psychologist," Mulder said.

        The clock downstairs struck eleven-thirty. "Did you notice that the
clock is keeping perfect time?" Mulder asked.

        "I'm sure someone winds it at Christmas to further the story,"
Scully replied.

        Mulder harumphed. "I should have gotten you a Spock doll for
Christmas, Scully."

        "You got me a present?" she asked as they went back to the entrance.

        He pulled out his gun, and blew out the lock a neatly as possible.
"Yes. But don't ask what it is, because I won't tell you."

        She gave him an inquisitive look, then asked softly, "Mulder, why
aren't you spending the holiday with your mother?"

        He pulled open the door, and went down the front steps, silent.
After a moment, he turned to her. Scully still stood in the doorway.
"She asked me not to come," he said, so quietly she almost couldn't hear him.
"She said that since I had refused her religion, I should let her spend
Hanukah in peace."

        She came down the steps to stand next to him. "What a horrible
thing to tell your son," she murmured to herself, laying a hand on
Mulder's arm. "Mulder, why don't you come celebrate at my place tonight? You can
help me finish wrapping presents, we can eat the Christmas cookies my
mom brought over."

        "It's almost midnight, Scully," he protested.

        Scully's eyes held his for a long moment. "I wouldn't ask if I
didn't want you to come. Now, can I have my car keys?"

        Grinning, he pulled her keys from his pocket. "How'd you know?"

        "I knew," she replied, returning his smile. "Meet you at my place."

        "I'll follow you there."

        They went to their respective cars, Scully squeezing in amidst her
piles of Christmas presents. The drive to her apartment building was
short, and they were soon carrying bags of unwrapped presents into the
apartment. "Do you know how to wrap presents, Mulder?" Scully asked as she hung up
her suit jacket.

        "Not really," he replied, tossing his leather jacket over a chair,
and following her into the kitchen. "I don't buy many presents."

        She pointed to a chair, and he sat down. "I hate to psychoanalyze
you, Mulder, but you're radiating lonliness," she said as she flipped on
the coffeemaker. He felt her hand on his shoulder. "Is it more than just
your mother?"

        He surprised them both by taking the hand she'd laid on his
shoulder in his and drawing it across his chest. "Yeah," he whispered,
his voice thick with emotion. "It's not just Mom rejecting my company. It's
everything that's happened in the last year. I'm alienating myself from
everyone, even you."

        Scully set her chin on his shoulder, hugging him slightly. He
continued. "Since that AI case with Esther Nairn, I've just felt empty.
I rejected you when you tried to comfort me, I thought that you couldn't
understand what happened to me when I was strapped in the machine. But
now I realize that no one could have understood but you. You're all I have,
Scully."

        She remembered his words in the hallway before that bee had stung
her. 'You make me a whole person,' he'd said. And his profession of
love in that hospital room after they'd found him floating next to his ruined
boat. "What are you feeling right now, Mulder?"

        "Complete," he whispered, just before he buried his face in her
hair. Scully closed her eyes, strugling to control the waves of emotion
that were flooding over her. It seemed like time stood still as they
embraced. Then Mulder raised his head. "Scully," he whispered, running
his hand gently through her hair.

        She met his eyes. "Yes?"

        "Merry Christmas," he murmured, and brushed his lips gently across
hers.

        "Merry Christmas," she whispered back, and returned the soft kiss.
He let go of her arm, and she squeezed his shoulder before pouring
coffee and setting the plate of cookies on the table.

        "Can we take this in the living room?" Mulder asked. At her
questioning look, he blushed a little. "I want you close to me. Is...is
that too much to ask right now?"

        Scully shook her head wordlessly, not trusting her voice. She
picked up the cookies, and Mulder picked up their coffee. They went
silently into the living room, set down their burdens, then looked at
each other. Scully knew she would have to make the first move, so she sat
down, and looked up at Mulder. "Please come hold me."

        He was next to her before she could blink, his arm encircling her
waist as he settled her against him. He handed her her coffee, leaving
his on the table. "Thank you," he whispered in her ear. "For everything."

        "I wouldn't do it for anyone else but you," she replied softly.
"And I knew, Mulder, that you wanted me a long time ago. But nothing
could entice you to say it. Then when I turned in my letter of resignation,
you broke. And then you went to the ends of the earth to find me. So I knew
I had to stay, not only because of them, but for us. I knew I would feel
empty without you."

        His hand found her free one, and their fingers twined around each
other. "I tried so hard not to tell you. And then when I told you I
loved you, you rolled your eyes at me."

        "I thought you were delirious," she protested weakly.

        She felt his chest quiver with suppressed laugher. "You're a
medical doctor, you know when someone is delirious, Scully."

        "I had to cover up the fact that you flustered me," she replied. "I
didn't know how to respond to that. I...I didn't feel like that was the
right time to tell you I loved you, too."

        "You certainly hid it well," Mulder said, squeezing her hand. "And
what about now? Does now feel right to you?"

        Scully reached over and set her coffee down, then carefully turned
over so that she was laying semi-on top of his body, her legs between
his. "I love you, Fox Mulder," she whispered, watching as his pupils dilated
and contracted as she said the words. "I belong to you."

        If she had been planning on saying anything else, it got lost as
Mulder pulled her incredibly close and captured her mouth in a crushing
kiss. Scully tangled her fingers in his hair as his mouth made love to
hers. Finally, she pulled back, her breathing heavy. Mulder's chest
heaved in a similar response.

        Scully leaned forward and touched the tip of her tongue to his full
lower lip. "I've always wanted to do that," she explained in response to
his expression.

        Mulder chuckled, and adjusted his arms around her so that he wasn't
crushing her. "It's way past midnight," he whispered. "Want to get some
sleep?"

        "I wouldn't mind staying right here," she murmured, "but I suppose
it's not very comfortable for you. We...we could sleep in my bedroom."

        "Only if you want to," he replied. "I can sleep on the couch, too."

        "No. I want you to hold me."

        Mulder picked her up, and carried her into the bedroom. He set her
down next to the bed, she began to remove her clothes. He watched as she
changed into a pair of lavender pajamas. She raised an eyebrow at him
when she was finished, and he grinned.

        "You can't sleep in those jeans," she said, smiling. "I won't allow
it."

        He wriggled out of the jeans, much to her amusement, and tossed
them in the corner with his shoes. "Your feet better not be cold," he
said, chuckling.

        Scully pulled back the comforter, and sat down on the edge of the
bed. He did the same. They looked at each other for a long moment, then
both slid under the covers. Mulder's hands found her body, and pulled
her into the circle of his arms. She sighed and settled against him.
"Night."

       "Sleep well, Scully."

       Silence and calm ruled the remainder of the night.

                           ***