Part 3 of 3

"Your place, I guess. It's bigger and tends to have a
better-stocked refrigerator. I could keep my place,
too; we could swing by there a couple of times a week
to feed the fish and check the mail or whatever. In a
way, it almost makes sense for us to have two
different places. We can go hang out at my place when
we're trying to contact somebody or waiting for one of those weirdos we're always running into to contact us. Then we can go home to your place when we're read
to," he paused and smiled suggestively, "sleep."

"So you're comfortable with just not mentioning it?"

"Is that what you want to do? So we can continue being partners?"

"I'm not suggesting we lie," she said slowly. "I mean
if Skinner happens to ask us, directly, if we managed
to find time to get married out here -  between
investigating the kidnapping and your hospital stay -
then I think we should tell him the truth."

"But if he doesn't ask?"

"Don't ask, don't tell seems like a pretty good policy in that case," she replied.

"You're sure you can put up with me 24 hours a day?"
he asked.

"Mulder, you've been with me 24 hours a day for the
past couple of years anyway. It's just that now I'll
actually have the real you in bed with me, instead of
a phantom of my imagination."

"You know, somebody is going to figure it out
eventually. I've already got a rep for not letting
another young, single male agent within 20 feet of
you. My possessiveness is only going to get worse now
that we're married."

"We'll deal with that when the time comes. By the way, just in case you're wondering, we are not going to be locking the door and fooling around in the office!"

"Not even once?"

"No, Mulder. I'm serious, too. We can't. . .compromise ourselves that way. When we're at home, even when we're on the road, sure. But not at F.B.I.
headquarters!"

"Okay, Scully, okay!"

"There's one more thing."

"What?"

"We're going to have to tell my Mom. She doesn't live
all that far away and it won't take her long to figure out that you're living at my place. If she thinks we're just. . .shacked up, she'll feel bad, like she failed somehow in raising me."

"How's she going to feel about us being married?"

"Terrific! She's almost as crazy about you as I am."

"I guess I should tell my mother, too. Maybe we'll go
up there one weekend, break the news gently."

"How is she going to feel about it?"

"Relieved, I think. She's been the only family I've
had for a while. She and I aren't really close, not
like you and your Mom, but I think it will ease her
mind to know I've got someone else. And she likes you. But it does occur to me that our mothers aren't the only ones we're going to have to let in on the
secret."

"Who else?"

"The Lone Gunmen."

"Why?"

"Because Frohike will take one look at us and KNOW
that we've crossed the line and gotten physical. And I don't think you realize how protective the guys are of you. All three of them. If they think I'm just, er, taking advantage of you, they'll be like to lynch me.

Scully laughed. "Poor Frohike."

"I'll give him my video colleciton. He'll survive."

"Fox?"

"Mmmm?"

"Would you object to another ceremony when we got back home? A religious one, with my mother there? It. . .it would mean a lot to me."

"No, Dana, I wouldn't mind that. And, if we ever do
have kids, I don't mind the idea of them being raised
Catholic. But I'm not sure that I would ever. . . "

"That's okay. Why don't you rest for a while? I've got to work up some sort of report for Skinner.  I'll wake you when it's our turn to use the Jacuzzi."

A couple of hours later, they programmed the number
they'd been given by the desk into the keypad by the
Jacuzzi door and entered the area. The air was warm
and steamy, the hot tub just large enough for the two
of them to fit into comfortably. Shedding their
clothes, they slid into the bubbly water.

"Aaaaaaah! This feels good," Mulder said, leaning back and closing his eyes. "Not as good as other things I've experienced in the past few days, though!"

"Anything you want to experience again?" Dana asked
scooting onto his lap and leaning back to look at him.

"Mmmhmm. But you have to take the lead. Remember,
you've got special doctor-to-doctor orders to be
gentle with me."

"Oh, I will be," she murmured, twisting around on his
lap so she was straddling him and looking into his
eyes. She began running her hands up and down his
shoulders and upper arms, eventually bending her head
to nip and kiss him there. "Have I ever told you how
much you arm muscles turn me on?"

"No, I believe you've forgotten to mention it. Since
when?"
 
Since the first time I saw you in that sweathshirt
with the arms ripped out that you always wear when you run."

"Which would have been when, exactly?"

"Our first case. The one out in Oregon with all those
kids being killed in the woods. You stopped by my
motel room to ask if I wanted to go for a run with you and I knew I was in big trouble."

"I thought you knew you were in big trouble when they
first assigned you to work with me."

"Well, a different kind of trouble. When we were in
the office and on the plane together, I thought the
only trouble I was going to face was dealing with a
looney, alien-obsessed fellow agent. Once I saw you in that shirt, I knew I was going to have to deal with being sexually attracted to my partner."
 
"You did a damned good job of hiding it for nearly six years!"

"You eventually figured it out," she murmured, bending her mouth down for a quick kiss. "But just in case you're having any doubts, I'll spend the next six years reminding you."

"Only the next six?"

"Okay, the next sixteen."

"How about the next sixty?"

"Even better."

Dana bent down to kiss him again, longer and deeper
this time. When they came up for air, he bent his
mouth to her breasts and she scooted closer to his
arousal. As his tongue continued to tease first one
breast, then the other, and as his hands moved to cup
her bottom, she lifted herself up to connect with him.

Things went slowly, each tiny caress and whispered
endearment bringing them closer to the edge, until
they finally tumbled over.
 
Later, back in their room, she snuggled up to him.
"It's barely sunset. I don't know why I'm so sleepy."

"I do," he said, grinning down at her.

"Mmmmmm. I love sleeping next to you."

"I love you, period."

"Ready to go home tomorrow?"

"Yeah, we'd better. One more day alone in a hotel room with you and I am not going to be obeying doctor's orders to limit myself to once a day."

"I'm glad we got married, Fox."

"So am I, Dana," he said, kissing her lightly on the
lips, "so am I."