TITLE: Genesis VII: Resurrection
AUTHOR: Radclyffe 
EMAIL ADDRESS: rdclyfhall@hotmail.com 
ARCHIVE: anywhere 
RATING: NC-17; This story depicts graphic sexual encounters between 
same-sex consenting adults. 
CATEGORY: Romance 
SPOILERS: Through Fight the Future
KEYWORDS: Scully/Other(female); Scully/Slash 
SUMMARY: Scully must make a choice -- Mulder and the FBI -- or Marsh.

DISCLAIMERS:The characters of Scully, Mulder, Skinner and others/events 
introduced on the X-Files are the sole property of Chris Carter etc, and 
are used here without permission for entertainment, not for profit. Song 
lyrics by Anne Murray.

Thanks as always to my editor extraordinaire -- Athos. And to Lee, whose 
love guides my hand, and lights my way -- Could I have this dance?

Comments welcome.

*********

Day One

She knew she had done it before -- countless times -- but it had never 
been like this.  She was fully clothed and might as well have been 
naked. She felt Marsh against every centimeter of her body, tight and 
hot. Exquisite. Her nipples were painfully erect, the thin cotton of her 
black silk tee shirt offering little barrier to the piercing sensations 
produced by Marsh's linen shirt brushing against her chest. It felt like 
the wet rough surface of Marsh's tongue licking the tip of each one. Her 
breasts seemed to swell in anticipation of Marsh's long sensitive 
fingers caressing them. She inhaled unevenly as Marsh fitted one lean 
thigh a little tighter between her legs. *Oh godd* The seam of her black 
jeans rippled dangerously over the ridge of her clitoris, telegraphing 
shock waves that made her stomach tighten. Unbidden, her pelvis arched 
forward, seeking the elusive contact as Marsh moved insistently against 
her. Her thighs tightened around Marsh's leg as the teasing pressure 
drew a flood of warmth from her. *Underwear - I should have worn 
underwear. Oh fuck -- this is bad* Her head was pounding. She rested her 
cheek against Marsh's shoulder. *She smells so good*

"I love you," Marsh whispered in her ear.

She felt Marsh tremble almost imperceptibly in the circle of her arms. 
*Oh lord, I love you too*  She groaned faintly, licked the side of 
Marsh's neck. Salty, soft, sweeter than anything she had ever known. She 
bite lightly, tugging at the skin. Marsh gasped. The hand on her back 
slid lower, to the junction of her spine and buttocks. Massaging firmly 
in tantalizing circles. Her hips followed suit, slowly rotating on 
Marsh's leg. She tried not to whimper. 

"Behave," Marsh rasped.

"You never said it would be like this," she accused weakly, struggling 
for her voice.

Marsh's body shook with silent laughter.

The reverberations seemed to center directly in her clitoris. In fact, 
every nerve in her body seemed attached to it. This was making it too 
hard to breathe, too hard to move on trembling legs, too hard to 
remember there were others nearby.

With the last ounce of her control she moved away a fraction of an inch. 
The loss of contact felt like dying. "We have to go," she gasped.

Marsh leaned back, not loosening her hold on her lover. She looked at 
the beautiful face, the sharp angles and sculpted planes muted by 
desire. Those clear, piercing blue eyes were hooded with need. Even in 
the dim light she could see the pupils flicker and dance with arousal. 
She was the most alluring woman Marsh had ever known.

"I thought you wanted me to take you dancing?" Marsh teased. 

Scully placed both hands flat against her lover's chest and pushed away 
another inch. "_This_ is not dancing! This is torture. Take me home."

Marsh laughed out loud, caught her hand, and led her through the crowd 
of women lost in the music, and each other. As soon as they slid into 
the car, she leaned over to Dana, kissing her thoroughly until she had 
her gasping.

"You are the sexiest woman I've ever seen," Marsh murmured, moving her 
lips over the edge of jaw, the ridge of cheekbone, the delicate eyelids. 
She tugged the teeshirt from Scully's jeans, laid the flat of her hand 
against her lover's abdomen. The muscles tensed beneath her fingers. She 
stroked around the dip of navel up to the undersurface of Dana's 
breasts, using her nails lightly to elicit little flickers of 
involuntary response. Dana moaned and pulled at Marsh's lips with her 
teeth, alternately licking and sucking her.

"You're making me crazy," Scully warned breathlessly, her mind hazy with 
a multitude of sensations. She grabbed Mash's hand, drew it higher to 
rest on her breast. "God I need you to touch me."

"Mmm--" Marsh murmured, finding a nipple, twisting repeatedly until 
Dana's hips jerked with each pinch. She lowered her head, caught the 
opposite one between her lips, sucking it in, teeshirt and all. Dana 
clutched Marsh's head, pressing Marsh's face hard to her breast.

"Marsh--" Scully whispered urgently, no longer able to form coherent 
sentences. Her mind was suffused with heat and color, swirling with 
pulsating urgency. 

Marsh heard her distantly, her own desire thundering in her ears. She 
was precariously straddling the stick shift, one leg over Dana's. She 
had lost all awareness of anything except the woman in her arms. She 
groaned, reached for the zipper on Scully's jeans, her lips still trying 
to devour Dana's breast through the encumbrance of clothing. 

Scully lifted her hips, pushing her jeans down -- desperate to help her. 
*Oh god -- touchme hurryhurry -- touch me -* 

Marsh's fingers dipped down, parting the moist hair, sliding between the 
slick swollen lips, entering her effortlessly, fully, in one familiar 
movement. "Oh yess-" Marsh moaned.

Scully jerked back against the seat, her head slamming against the head 
rest. "Ohyeah--ohyeah, fuckmeMarsh--" She grabbed Marsh's forearm, 
pressing it harder between her legs. "Comeonbaby --- do it, do it now--"

Marsh was lost in Dana's passion, trying hard to time her thrusts with 
the wild bucking of her lover's hips. Every stroke wrenched a groan from 
her lips. "Oh you are so hot -- so good, oh godI loveyou-" She closed 
her eyes, pressed her forehead to Dana's shoulder -- half on top of her 
-- pumping into her as Dana rode her hand. 

Scully buried her fingers in Marsh's hair, clutching her like a lifeline 
to sanity. Her body was no longer her own, relentlessly seeking that 
ultimate explosion, and her mind seemed to be following into the abyss. 
Dimly she heard herself crying out, erratically, wildly, and she knew 
she was about to come. A squadron of police could have pounded on the 
windows of the car and she couldn't have stopped. She pushed down on 
Marsh's incredibly gifted fingers and let the storm take her.

Marsh felt the first contractions as Dana emitted a strangled shout. She 
pushed higher, curling her fingers slightly, and stroked the distended 
clit with her thumb, milking out every last tremulous spasm. She didn't 
stop even when Dana collapsed back into the seat.

At last Scully grasped Mash's wrist weakly. "Please stop," she gasped, 
her eyes still closed. "You're going to kill me."

Slowly Marsh eased her long length back into the driver's seat, reaching 
for Scully's hand with a sigh. "Well, the dancing went well."

Scully turned sluggishly in the seat to face her lover, thinking that 
she really should close her jeans. The effort seemed beyond her. "Yes, I 
thought so." She stroked Marsh's cheek tenderly. "Maybe next time, I 
should lead."

Marsh gazed at her, one dark eyebrow raising suggestively. "I don't 
think so. We wouldn't even make it to the car."

Scully smiled. "Then we'd better make love _before_ we go dancing."

*****

Scully watched her lover undress. She never got tired of seeing her form 
slowly revealed, transforming the imperturbable surgeon into the warm, 
vulnerable woman who held her close each night as they slept. Marsh 
caught her staring and smiled.

"I'm getting spoiled having you here every night," Marsh remarked, 
sliding naked into bed. She reached for Dana, gathering her into her 
arms.

"Mmm--" Scully murmured, threading an arm around Marsh's waist. "Now 
it's _your_ schedule that keeps us apart."

Marsh kissed the top of the golden-highlighted red head. These last few 
weeks had been so peaceful. She wondered how long it could last. "When 
do you think Skinner's going to decide on some permanent place for you?"

Scully sighed. "I don't know. I don't mind filling in at Quantico with 
the forensic work, or the teaching. I don't even mind being called for 
the occasional field assignment when Skinner needs us. It's just hard 
being a floater like this."

"How's Mulder taking it?"

Scully snorted. "About the way you would expect. He can't work for 
anyone, and he won't work _with_ anyone except me. He goes through the 
motions, but it's just a matter of time before Skinner loses patience 
with him. At least for now we're still being assigned cases together -- 
even if they are routine investigations."

"That's something, I guess," Marsh said, knowing it wasn't enough.

"I think he's secretly trying to piece the files back together -- from 
notes and information he had personally recorded. It's his life. He 
can't give it up." She sighed again. *And it's been my life too -- my 
whole life, really -- before you* 

Marsh pushed herself up on the pillows, settling Scully's head against 
her shoulder. "How about you? Do you miss working the x-files?"

Scully was quiet a long moment. "I never thought I'd say this, but, yeah 
-- I do. I felt like the work I was doing was important. Oh -- not all 
of it -- the crank UFO sightings and blood sucking mutants --" She 
laughed faintly at the memory of some of their more bizarre cases. "But 
we were on the track of something -- whether it was of this world or not 
didn't really matter. It was a threat, and now, suddenly, we're expected 
to forget it. It's hard."

Marsh could hear the discontent and frustration in Dana's voice. She 
wasn't going to tell her how much better she felt with the x-files 
closed. At least now she didn't feel like Dana was in danger every time 
she left for work. There were plenty of positions in the bureau for a 
woman like Dana that didn't involve conspiracies and kidnapping and 
ungodly experimentations. In her opinion Dana had more than paid her 
dues. But it wasn't her opinion that mattered. It was how Dana felt, and 
Marsh knew she was unhappy.

"I'm sorry. Maybe you both just need a little time to adjust."

Scully nodded, unconvinced. She wasn't sure she _or_ Mulder would ever 
be satisfied with routine cases again. She sighed, and held Marsh 
tighter. The only good thing to come of the dissolution of the x-files 
was that with her more available, Marsh seemed calmer and less stressed. 
The nightmares seemed to be abating, too. That alone was almost worth 
the boredom bordering on emptiness she was experiencing in her 
professional life.

"Well one thing I'm having no trouble adjusting to is having more time 
with you," Scully murmured, rolling over onto her lover. She fit her leg 
between Marsh's and lowered herself onto Marsh's body. 

Marsh raised her head to meet Dana's lips as she reached one arm out to 
turn off the light. Her lover's kiss promised it would be a short night.

*****

"The phone is ringing," Scully mumbled, pressing against Marsh, who lay 
with her front to Scully's back.

"Mmmph," Marsh acknowledged, casting a bleary glance toward the bedside 
clock. Two-thirty am. She woke fully as the ringing sounded again. "It's 
yours." It had been weeks since Dana had gotten one of these middle of 
the night summons. Marsh had forgotten how much she disliked having Dana 
dragged from her arms. Not that it didn't happen because of her own 
work, but at least she was only going across town. And no one was likely 
to shoot at her.

Scully fumbled on the nightstand for her cellphone. "Scully," she 
announced in a perfectly alert tone.

Marsh felt the woman next to her tense, and she knew their peaceful 
night was over. She tried not to be disappointed.

"Yes, sir. I'll be right there," Scully said as she swung her legs out 
from under the covers. She tossed the phone toward her clothes piled on 
a nearby chair and started toward the bathroom. "I have to go to 
Dallas."

Marsh sat up, switching on the light. "Now?"

"Yes," Scully called, turning on the shower.

Marsh padded in after her. "What's up?"

Scully looked at her, aware of the anxiety in her lover's voice. Marsh 
tried to hide her concern, but Dana sensed it. *Fuck. I hate to do this 
to her* She pushed the shower door open. "There's been a bomb threat 
called in to the Federal Building in Dallas. Skinner wants me and Mulder 
to join the search team."

Marsh stared at her, her stomach knotting. "Oh."

There wasn't time for anything else. Ten minutes later, Scully was on 
her way to the airport, and Marsh was lying awake in bed, alone.

**********

Day 2

Fifteen hours later
In the air over Georgia

"This is Dana Scully. Is Dr. Black in?" Scully scrunched down in the 
seat of the bureau plane, trying to eke out a private moment. This was 
the first opportunity she had found to call Marsh after the whole damn 
building nearly blew up in her face in Dallas. With Mulder in it. As it 
was, the SAC had been killed. They were all still reeling from that. 
*God I hope they weren't televising all of this* She could only imagine 
what Marsh would have thought if she had seen the bomb level nearly one 
square city block.

"No, I'm sorry. She's in surgery. May I take a message?"

*Yes, you may take a message! Tell her that her lover called and that 
I'm fine!* Scully took a deep breath. "Just tell her Dana called. 
Thanks."

Mulder opened an eye and peered at her. "D'you get her?"

"No," Scully snapped.

"Whoa. Sorry."

Scully sighed. "No, _I'm_ sorry. I just know she's worrying."

Mulder turned his head to look at her more fully. "She still having 
trouble with the flashbacks, and the nightmares?"

Scully's initial reaction was to deny it. She hated to reveal Marsh's 
private struggles, but Mulder knew already. "They're much better the 
last few weeks."

He heard the hesitation in her voice. "Since our office burned and we've 
been side-lined." It wasn't a question.

"Yeah," she admitted. "It seems like we've been catching some rough 
assignments lately. It's hard on her."

Mulder chose his words carefully. Scully rarely talked about her 
relationship with Marshall Black. "Scully -- all our assignments are 
potentially dangerous ones -- we're field agents."

"What are you saying, Mulder?" Scully asked. *As if you didn't already 
know this, Dana*

"As long as you work cases, there's some potential for danger. Marsh has 
to accept that."

*What if she can't? What if her fear that I'll get killed, like Karen, 
is what's tearing her apart?* Scully pushed her seat back and closed her 
eyes. "She just needs a little time."

Mulder watched her in silence, never having known her to lie to herself 
before.

*****

It was nearly midnight when Marsh let herself into her apartment. She'd 
been on trauma back-up and that had turned into a full night of surgery. 
She should have been tired, but she was too anxious to see Dana to think 
about sleep. She sighed out loud when she saw the familiar trenchcoat 
and briefcase on the table just inside the door. Dana was here. Safe.

She climbed to the loft and undressed quietly in the dark, sliding under 
the sheets and fitting herself against the smooth back outlined in 
moonlight. She slipped her hand around her lover's waist, clasping the 
soft swell of breast as she pressed her lips to Dana's shoulder.

"I love you," she whispered after a moment.

Scully reached up to cover Marsh's hand with her own, needing the 
pressure of Marsh's fingers against her body. "I love you, too."

"Are you all right?" Another kiss, softly, against the base of her neck.

Scully brought those exquisitely trained fingers to her nipple, gasping 
faintly as Marsh squeezed. "Yes." Darius Michaud's face flashed through 
her mind. The deadly calm in his eyes as they left him there -- with the 
bomb. What it must have felt like alone in that room.

"I heard what happened," Marsh said softly, edging one thigh between 
Dana's legs, bringing her weight a little more firmly against Scully's 
back. She tried to shield her now as if another explosion were imminent. 
*I was so goddamned scared*

"I'm all right," Scully repeated, remembering the horrific noise and the 
shock waves and the shower of breaking glass and debris. She arched her 
hips back against Marsh's narrow pelvis, spreading her legs so that 
Marsh's skin touched the dampness high between her thighs. She gasped 
faintly as the under surface of her clitoris pressed into Marsh.

Marsh groaned as the wet heat spread on her leg. She moved her lips down 
to the point of Dana's shoulderblade, running her tongue along the sharp 
edge. Her free hand dropped to the base of Dana's spine, massaging the 
muscles coiled tightly there. Dana's hips began to rock under her. "I'm 
sorry," she whispered. *I'm so fucking glad it wasn't you. Or Mulder*

Scully concentrated on the tingling ache starting deep in her belly. "I 
know." She braced her hands on the bed and pushed up onto her knees, 
forcing Marsh to rise up behind her. "Put your hand in me." She forgot 
the fear.

Marsh's clit spasmed at the words. "Oh fuck," she moaned. She looked 
down over the long expanse of Scully's back, at the rounded prominence 
of her ass, and the tight line of her thighs. She wanted her right then, 
hard. She wanted to plunge into her, and claim her, and keep her there, 
always. Part of _her_, far from harm, safe. Her head pounded with the 
urge to protect her, fill her, own her. She ran her left hand over the 
strong firm buttocks, squeezing each one, working them in small circles. 
With the other she stroked the smooth skin on the inside of Dana's 
thighs until Dana's hips surged back against her.

"Marsh," Scully urged, rotating her pelvis unconsciously, opening her 
legs wider. "Don't torture me," she pleaded. The pain receded in the 
rush of arousal.

Marsh rested the tip of her thumb against the tight muscle between 
Dana's buttocks, running the fingertips of her other hand over the moist 
soft delicate folds of skin below. She fondled the slick swollen 
tissues, spreading them, lightly caressing the firm bulge of Dana's 
clitoris, nestled in the thick wet sheath. She tugged on the cum soaked 
lips, rolling them between her fingers, pressing them together, 
massaging the surrounding muscles -- softening them to receive her.

"Ahh -- god!" Scully cried, tilting her hips higher, trying to urge 
Marsh into her. "now -- please --"

Taking a deep breath, trying to control her surging desire, Marsh 
entered her in both places simultaneously. *Oh jesus -- so tight, so 
warm* She began a slow steady rhythm, pulling her fingers almost all the 
way out, then moving deeply inside once more. 

"Oh yeah --" Scully panted, feeling the pressure coalesce in the nerve 
endings around her clitoris. She closed her eyes tightly, her forehead 
resting on the mattress, her hips thrusting up to meet Marsh's downward 
strokes. "fuckmefuckmefuckme" she chanted almost silently.

Marsh steadied herself by leaning against the back of Dana's legs, her 
arms trembling with the effort to be careful -- she didn't want to hurt 
her, but God, she wanted her. "I love you," she gasped, beginning to 
rock her pelvis against the back of her own arms. The friction caused 
her clitoris to swell further, and she began to lose her rhythm. "Oh 
Dana--" she murmured, "you make me so crazy."

Scully only groaned in response, aware only of the spiraling tension 
building inside. "Harder--" she cried. "I'm -- almost -- oh -- there--"

Marsh caught her lip between her teeth, holding onto her orgasm by sheer 
will power. "I'm gonna -- come -- with -- you --" she managed. Her arms 
were a blur of motion.

"Noww -- do it -- nooww --" Scully moaned, pumping hard on Marsh's 
hands, contracting on the long fingers inside her. Her head snapped up 
as the first spasms rolled through her. "ohh godd"

Marsh lurched forward, her hips moving erratically. "I'm --coming--"

For a timeless moment, their bodies joined, their senses fused, and 
their minds knew only each other. When at last their orgasms subsided, 
leaving a momentary peace, they collapsed still entwined, and slept.

*****

"Professional review?" Marsh asked incredulously. "But why?"

Scully shrugged, straightening her skirt, checking her make-up one last 
time. Her eyes were hard chips of flint. "There doesn't have to be a 
why. Simply an order. They asked for Mulder and I to be there this 
morning."

Marsh pulled on her grey flannel trousers, tucked in the silk shirt, 
stepped into her loafers. She clipped the beeper to her belt.

Scully smiled fondly, her face softening for a brief instant. "That's 
mine, darling."

Marsh stared at her uncomprehendingly for a moment, then pulled off the 
pager as if it were on fire. "You should stick this up someone's ass," 
she grumbled. "How can they possibly be calling you up over this? Didn't 
you and Mulder find the goddamned bomb?" 

"Mulder actually found it. Sheer luck. And we were in the wrong 
building."

"Which probably saved dozens of lives," Marsh commented sourly while 
rummaging on the nightstand for her own beeper.

Scully took a deep breath. "I have a bad feeling about this, Marsh."

Marsh stopped what she was doing and gave her lover her full attention. 
"What do you mean?"

"Mulder and I have been skating on the edge of disaster for years. With 
the x-files gone, and now this, they may push to reassign us."

Marsh sat on the bed. She regarded the composed, regal-appearing woman 
across the room from her intently. "And?"

"They could send me anywhere."

Marsh didn't hesitate. "I'll go anywhere you go."

Scully walked to her, smiling softly. "Darling mine -- you are Chief of 
Trauma at Memorial, or have you forgotten that?" She ran a hand through 
Marsh's thick hair, already unruly despite Marsh's careful attempts to 
tame the persistent waves with the dryer. "You can't just leave."

Marsh leaned forward, resting her face gently against Dana's belly, her 
arms lightly encircling her waist. She sighed, thinking she never felt 
better than when she was close to her. "I can find another job. I need 
to be with you."

Scully pressed a little closer, her hand stroking the back of Marsh's 
neck. *I can find another job, too*


**********

Day 4

Forty-eight hours later, after a near disastrous unauthorized autopsy 
and a delightful romp through the Texas countryside with Mulder, Scully 
walked down the hall toward AD Skinner. He looked impatient. She didn't 
blame him -- she was twenty minutes late. She had on the same clothes 
she'd been wearing for two days now. She was tired, sore and frustrated. 
Whatever they had found out there in Texas, it was not going to help her 
with the review hearing. The second in as many days. She needed tangible 
evidence to support the strange findings from her cursory examination of 
the corpse sequestered at Bethesda Naval Hospital. The body of a fireman 
supposedly killed in the bomb blast in Texas -- a body that showed signs 
of overwhelming infection, but certainly not of an explosion. She needed 
more than the few fossilized bone fragments she had been able to salvage 
in Dallas that suggested viral infestation. It wasn't enough, but it was 
all she had.

"I'm sorry I'm late, sir," she offered as she approached.

Skinner nodded curtly and pushed open the door for her.

Thirty minutes later she walked briskly back down the hall, her face 
composed, but her eyes strangely empty.

*****

"Are you sure?" Marsh said quietly. They were seated side by side on the 
sofa in her office.

"Yes."

Marsh moved closer, reaching for Dana's hand. Dana looked drawn and 
tired. She'd been gone for almost two days, and looked like she hadn't 
slept in three. It was hardly the best time for life-altering decisions. 
"I meant it when I said I'd move."

Scully sighed, and leaned her head against Marsh's shoulder. "I believe 
you, and I appreciate it. More than you know. But there is no way that I 
am going to Salt Lake City, even if I would let you quit your job. 
There's nothing for me there -- and maybe there never has been 
_anywhere_ in the bureau. Maybe I've been deluding myself all these 
years that the work I've been doing could have any significance."

Marsh stroked her lover's cheek. "Dana -- you have probably impacted 
countless lives, in ways you'll never fully know, through the work 
you've been doing. I don't want to see you give up on it unless you're 
absolutely sure."

Scully knew how hard it was for Marsh when her bureau work put her in 
danger, and she appreciated Marsh encouraging her to stay. But she 
wasn't about to let Marsh sacrifice her own career to follow Scully to 
some dead end post that _she_ didn't even want. She pressed closer to 
her lover's lean form. "You know, I really missed you the last few 
days."

Marsjh kissed the soft hair at Dana's temple. "Mmm -- me too. Whenever 
you leave one of those cryptic _I'm going out of town with Mulder_ 
messages, I've learned not to expect you home right away." She kissed 
the corner of Scully's mouth. *And every time you go I worry until you 
return*

Scully turned her head, catching Marsh's lower lip between her teeth. 
She bite it gently, then pulled it into her mouth, sucking the sensitive 
inner surface. Marsh groaned and slid her hand inside Scully's jacket, 
moving up to cup the undersurface of her breast. Her thumb rode over the 
prominence of nipple under the sheer blouse and bra.

Scully drew away with a groan, her breasts already full with 
anticipation. A familiar heaviness suffused her belly and thighs. 
"Sweetheart -- I want you to make love to me -- immediately, right here, 
on this couch -- on the floor -- I don't care where."

Marsh grinned that rakish grin and lowered her head to nudge open Dana's 
jacket with her nose. Her goal was to capture a hard nipple in her 
teeth. 

Scully tangled her hand in Marsh's hair, pulling her face away. "But I 
can't let you. I need to talk to Mulder before he hears about this from 
someone else. I need a looooong shower, and then I need you to come home 
and do things to me with your wonderful hands and your incredible mouth 
all night long."

"I'm off at six," Marsh said hoarsely, her hand still stroking Dana's  
breast. "Will you be ready for me by then?" 

Scully leaned close to kiss her, her fingers slipping between Marsh's 
legs, pressing into the damp fabric at her crotch. She massaged the hard 
ridge of Marsh's clitoris, smiling against Marsh's lips as she felt her 
tremble. "I'm ready for you now,darling," she whispered. 

"Oh fuck, Dana," Marsh gasped. "Don't do that now."

Scully smiled, pulling at the engorged shaft through the loose material. 
She forgot about her urgency to see Mulder as the thrill she always felt 
when making love to Marsh coursed through her. In her mind, she saw what 
her fingers fondled -- the swollen bright red tissues, the clear sheen 
of  slick sweet cum, the pulsations visible in the sensitive tip. 
Knowing what she was doing to her lover excited her as much, maybe even 
more, than being touched herself. She felt powerful -- godlike. "You 
want me to stop?" she teased lightly, working the prominent thickened 
base in circles between her fingers.

Marsh tried to focus on Scully's face, but her vision was hazy, her 
breath coming in erratic gasps. "Do you  -- want -- to make me come?" 
she murmured brokenly. Her inner thigh muscles began to spasm violently, 
and she involuntarily pressed her hips up into Scully's hand.

Scully's blood surged. She increased the pressure of her strokes. "Am 
I?" The cotton beneath her fingers was soaked.

"Oh yeah -- " Marsh grunted, her eyes closing. She pushed back against 
the upholstery, bracing herself for the contractions she knew were 
coming.

"Look at me," Scully whispered. "I want to watch you come."

"Hard," Marsh gasped, her lids flickering open.

"Do it any way," Scully ordered gently. Her breath catching in her 
throat, she watched Marsh's eyes darken from grey to almost black. The 
fine muscles along Marsh's jaw bunched and tightened. Marsh's entire 
body lifted a fraction off the couch as Scully brought her closer to the 
edge. "Oh god, you're so beautiful." 

"Going -- to -- come," Marsh whimpered. Her face dissolved into waves of 
pleasure bordering on pain as her orgasm began.

Scully stopped breathing. It was a sight she would never tire of, more 
moving than anything she had ever experienced. She watched her love and 
passion flow through the woman she adored, a gift she meant to give but 
received instead, each time Marsh came for her. Her chest tightened and 
her eyes filled with tears. "I love you," she cried softly. "Oh god, I 
love you."

Marsh collapsed back into the cushions, twitching slightly under 
Scully's hands. "Fuck," she gasped weakly. "I'm hopeless. You touch me 
and I lose it."

Scully laughed, forgetting for a moment bombs, and viruses, and 
cornfields -- and bees.  She loved, and was loved, and the world made 
perfect sense. "Oh my darling -- you are so easy!"

Marsh tried to look offended but all she coud manage was another grin. 
"Yeah, so? You complaining?"

Scully kissed her once more. "Oh no. Not at all," she whispered, her 
lips lingering on Marsh's. Her pulse quickened. "Not at all."

Marsh reached for her, but Scully pulled back reluctantly. "Later, my 
love. I _have_ to talk to Mulder."

Marsh relented graciously. "I know. Go. I'll see you at home soon."

Scully left reluctantly, knowing she was about to do the hardest thing 
she had ever done. They had finally won, whoever _they_ really were. 
Maybe_they_ were nothing more than the combined forces of evil, dividing 
them at last, wearing down their resistance. Or maybe just hers. Mulder 
would never give in, but she had. She couldn't ask Marsh to follow her 
from one hell hole assignment to another, and she couldn't go without 
her. Wouldn't want to go without her. There was no choice in the end.

*****

God, she hated to hurt him. 

Mulder stared at her. "You can't quit, Scully."

She closed her eyes, knowing the words by heart. Seeing the torment in 
his face was only making it worse. He would never understand. That she 
was tired, that she wanted a normal life, that she was finally being 
selfish -- in the way that _he_ had been selfish all these years. She 
was choosing what _she _ needed, and not what someone else needed her to 
do, or to be. She was no longer Dana Scully the dutiful daughter, the 
dedicated doctor, the determined federal agent, the dependable partner. 
She was Dana Scully, the woman, and she chose happiness, and love, and 
the only person who had ever given her both. 

"I have. I did. It's done."

He shook his head, stunned. There had to be a way to get through to her. 
God damn it! He needed her. Anger warred with caution. She couldn't 
leave him now! They were close -- so close! They were finally about to 
get the answers he had been seeking his entire life, and he needed her 
now more than ever. She kept him steady, she kept him on track -- 
Christ, she kept him sane! 

"Scully--" he pleaded, the panic rising. *Don't do this to me -- please, 
not now--*

Determinedly she persisted, trying to make him see reason. She had been 
assigned as a deterrent in the first place; her skepticism held him 
back; they were splitting them up anyway. His anguish flooded his dark 
eyes, overflowing into the expressive planes of his face. Her heart 
ached, but she held fast. *Let me go, Mulder. I need for you to let me 
go*

She steeled herself to his pain. "I'm contacting the state medical board 
tomorrow so I can practice again --"   She had more to lose than she was 
wiling to risk. This time there was more than herself to consider. *I 
have a lover now, Mulder. I have a chance for a _life_. I _have_ to 
choose*

He placed his hands lightly on her shoulders, wanting to keep her from 
slipping away, wanting the strength of his passion, his conviction, to 
infuse her. He wanted her to _see_.

"I don't want to do this without you. I don't know if I _can_. And if I 
quit now, they win..."

*Oh, Mulder -- my sweet dreamer -- don't you see they've already won?* 
She leaned forward, wanting so much to comfort him. If it hadn't been 
for Marsh, she might have given in one more time, followed him on his 
quest one more time, but not now. Not this time. She stood on tiptoe and 
pressed her lips to his forehead. *I am so, so sorry*

He felt her leaving him -- he felt her goodbye. It was as horrible as 
watching Samantha float beyond his grasp, helplessly reaching for her as 
she faded from sight. He pulled her closer, his fear overriding 
conscious thought. He stared into her eyes, willing her to stay. His 
heart pounding, he lowered his head.

Scully was awash with his anguish. She stood motionless in the face of 
it. Suddenly she was aware of his movement. *Mulder?* His lips brushed 
hers and she jumped. *Oh God, Mulder -- no!* She started to step back, 
then slapped at the back of her neck. "Ouch!"

"What is it?" Mulder asked urgently. *Jesus Christ, what was I 
thinking?*

Scully fought for air. "...something stung .. me." Her legs were rapidly 
growing numb. *This can't be. Oh God -- I can't breathe --" She stared 
at Mulder, then at the bee lying crushed in her hand. "Pain -- in my 
chest --" She began to fall. She was losing consciousness. *Oh god -- 
Marsh! Someone call Marsh --*

She could see his face, peering down at her. Frantic, panicked. She 
sensed movement, heard voices dimly, as if underwater. She was 
breathing, but she couldn't feel her chest move. Oh god -- what was 
happening. Neurotoxin of some kind -- motor paralysis, but selective. 
Autonomic system still functioning. What the hell was it? The bee sting? 
The virus?? 

Her eyes flickered in a limited arc. This isn't the hospital -- plane. 
Men in tactical gear. Not again. Oh god -- please not again.

Oh Marsh -- I am so sorry! Do you know how much I love you? Will you 
remember?

********** 

Evening 
Day Five

As quickly as possible Mulder hurried through the halls away from the 
Intensive Care Unit. The exit sign pointed left and he breathed a sigh 
of relief. Almost there. An arm snaked out and dragged him into a small 
alcove by a deserted nurses station. Strong hands pinned his back to the 
counter. For an instant he thought he was looking in a mirror. Wild 
smoky eyes, ringed with dark circles, burned in the pale stone-like 
features. He sensed the taut nerves about to snap.

"Let me go, Marsh," he said urgently, but he made no move to take her 
hands away. He sensed her anguish, knew her fear.

"What happened, Mulder?" she rasped, shaking him frantically. "Where the 
hell is she!" 

"I don't know."

Her eyes rolled for a second and he thought she was going to collapse. A 
terrible moan started somewhere deep in her chest, an animal sound, a 
howl of vast emptiness. The hands on his arms clenched, twisting 
painfully in the fabric of Byer's shirt. He thought he could see her 
body begin to crumble, breaking apart like a jigsaw puzzle stood on end.

"I'll find her!" he vowed, his voice certain, strong. "I'll bring her 
back, Marsh, I promise."

She stumbled on the edge of darkness, barely able to hear his voice. She 
couldn't stand the pain, so much worse than before, so deep inside her, 
ripping at the fabric of her sanity. She had to let go -- of her 
feelings, of her mind -- she had to go far away from the memory of 
Dana's touch, her smell, her voice in the night -- She began to drift -- 
her thoughts receded into nothingness. Peace was so close --

Mulder watched her giving up -- sliding into catatonia. "Dana loves you, 
Marsh. Dana needs you, Marsh." He grabbed her face hard, felt her 
flinch. Good, she was still with him. "Dana needs you to be here when 
she gets back. Marsh -- Marsh!"

She shivered, shook her head. Her eyes began to focus. They were pools 
of endless pain. "Find her, Mulder. Please."

He nodded. She dropped her hands, and in the next instant, he was gone.

*****

Day Six

They stared at one another silently for hours. He got up and paced. He 
wished she would say something -- curse at him, at the faceless men and 
nameless enemies, at the fates -- someone, anything. He drank coffee; 
she shook her head _no_. He picked at a cardboard replica of a ham 
sandwich from the vending machine; she waved a second one away. He 
snatched up the phone at the first hint of a ring; her body coiled and 
tensed each time. Each time he replaced it gently, his eyes apologizing, 
hers grew dimmer. 

Twenty-two hours. Nothing. 

How could that be? How could the greatest investigative operation in the 
world, with contacts in every country on every continent, not be able to 
find one man and one woman? 

His starched white shirt wilted, grew circles of sweat under the arms. 
Her body slowly turned to stone as the hope bled from her like a mortal 
wound.

He searched desperately for some words, a phrase, to keep her alive. The 
platitudes died on his lips. It was so much worse than before, this 
disintegration. At least then he had not had to bear witness in helpless 
impotence.

The phone rang. She didn't even look up.

He listened, then covered the receiver and spoke. "We've located Mulder. 
He's in Antarctica."

Marsh stirred, met his flat hard gaze with feverish eyes. "We'll need 
thermal resuscitation units -- two of them. Portable immersion tanks. 
Full emergency operating facilities on the transport--"

Skinner interrupted her, holding out the phone. "Tell them yourself                                                
-- then let's go get them."

***** 

Day Eight

She was on fire. Her face, her hands, her skin -- raw burning flames 
licked at them. She moaned, tried to draw away. Something cool, soft, 
soothing, tempered the inferno. A quiet murmuring and a gentle touch 
calmed her. She sighed and slept again.

Special Agent Dana Scully opened her eyes slowly, giving herself time to 
adjust to the dim room light that seemed so bright after hours of 
unconsciousness. She tried to surreptitiously survey her surroundings. 
Hospital bed, hospital smells -- no restraints. That much was good. An 
IV -- not so good. Were they drugging her? No -- thoughts too clear. She 
flexed each hand, tensed each leg -- motor function intact. Another 
plus. 

She closed her eyes -- trying to reconstruct the events leading up to 
this strange awakening. Images floated in her mind's eye like fragments 
of a long ago dream. Floating and falling and climbing. An endless 
stretch of blinding whiteness -- a shadow coursing overhead.  Mulder 
beside her, telling her to look --_look_.  She was so very cold -- so 
very tired. She couldn't look anymore. So tired -- Another face -- 
bending over her, holding her, calling her name -- a face she knew. 
Fierce and strong. Beautiful in its terrible anger -- calling her back, 
again and again-- like the first time. Out of the chaos -- into the 
light.

Scully opened her eyes, knowing where she was, knowing who was there. 
"Marsh?"

"Here, love," Marsh answered, sitting forward in the chair next to the 
bed. She took the small pale hand, brought it to her lips. "I'm right 
here."

Scully smiled, wincing slightly as the movement stretched the 
frostbitten skin on her cheek. "Haven't we done this scene before?"

"Mmm -- only this time I get to take you home with me." Marsh edged 
nearer the bed. "Soon."

Scully surveyed her lover anxiously. She was drawn and thin. "When's the 
last time you ate? Or slept?"

"I'm fine," Marsh said firmly. *Now that you're better*

"This won't happen again, Marsh, I promise." Scully squeezed Marsh's 
fingers to emphasize her words. *I'll never do this to you again*

Marsh shook her head. "We don't have to talk about this now."

"I mean it. I'm done. That's what I was trying to tell Mulder -- oh god! 
Mulder! is he--"

"He's fine," Marsh assured her quickly. "In fact he was released 
yesterday."

Scully relaxed visibly. "Thank god -- How did you find me?"

Marsh laughed faintly. "If I can't find you, I just need to follow 
Mulder."

"I'm sorry--" Scully began.

"You're not going to let this go, are you?" Marsh sighed. "Even with the 
fastest supersonic transport known to our great military, it's still a 
long way to the South Pole. Skinner and I had a long time to talk."

Scully waited.

"He told me everything he knew, and some he was guessing at. About you, 
and Mulder, and the X-files. About Samantha, and a strange group of 
shadow men whose power appears to extend everywhere. And some things 
about events that have no earthly explanation." 

"Now you know why I want to leave. It's not fair to you," Scully 
whispered. "And I love you so much."

Marsh leaned forward, and kissed her tenderly, with barely restrained 
passion. " I love _you_, Dana. And that's why I want you to stay."

An eyebrow arched. A good sign. "Come again?"

"You're in this, Dana. Wherever it goes. However deep it penetrates. And 
you're safer working to uncover it, expose them, stop them -- than you 
would be if you walked away. Because I don't think they'd _let_ you walk 
away."

"It won't be easy -- " Scully warned. *And I can't watch it tear you 
apart*

"I know that. But I'd rather deal with the enemy we know -- and --" she 
smiled grimly. "I trust you with Mulder."

Scully's mind flickered to the strange moment in the hallway outside 
Mulder's apartment. The fleeting touch of his lips to hers. She felt his 
need, and his love. She felt their connection, deeper than shared 
experiences or ideals. She had no need to think of what might have been, 
in another lifetime. She looked at the woman she loved with all her 
being. "You _can_ trust me with him," she said quietly.

"I'll be fine," Marsh said quietly, drawing Dana's fingers to her lips 
once again. She kissed each finger tip, brushing her lips gently over 
the still healing areas of frostbite. "I know you're not Karen. And I 
know you won't leave me."

"Oh god, no. Never."

*****

Day Eleven

Marsh sat at the bar in the nearly deserted room, nursing a scotch and 
waiting for her lover. It was early by lesbian nightlife standards, only 
eight pm, but it had been a long day for Dana. She had another session 
with the Office of Professional Review that afternoon. And then Marsh 
knew she was meeting Mulder. To tell him she was staying. To tell him 
she was going to fight. To tell him she wanted to beat whatever forces 
were engineering the virus that had infected her. 

Marsh sighed and sipped the rough-edged liquid fire. She was resigned to 
it. Loving Dana meant accepting her past, and her future, and the dark 
forces that shadowed her. Ultimately she trusted to Dana's skill and 
determination, and to Mulder's presence by her side. Loving Dana meant 
accepting him, too. 

She signaled for a refill and listened to the old love song someone had 
played on the jukebox.

_I'll always remember that magic moment 
When I held you close to me 
Cause when we move together I know forever 
You're all I'll ever need 

Could I have this dance for the rest of my life 
Would you be my partner every night?
When we're together it feels so right 
Could I have this dance for the rest of my life?_

Marsh turned slowly on the seat and glanced across the room to the 
jukebox. A stunning redhead leaned against it, her arms crossed, one hip 
tilted seductively, a soft smile lifting the corners of her full red 
lips. When Marsh's gaze met hers, she lifted an elegantly arched eyebrow 
in silent question.

In response Marsh eased off the seat and began to cross the small dance 
floor. Scully moved too, her blue eyes fixed on Marsh's. When they met 
in the middle, Scully raised her arms and wrapped them around her taller 
lover's neck, pressing her face into the soft warmth below Marsh's jaw. 
She breathed in her scent, opened her mouth to her skin.

Marsh slid her hands down Dana's sides to her hips, and then around to 
the dip just above her buttocks. She pulled her close, fitting the 
angles and planes of her frame to Dana's curves. She closed her eyes and 
rested her cheek against the silken hair. 

When they moved to the music, two bodies -- two hearts --in perfect 
harmony, it was impossible to tell who led.

End Genesis VII