After the Future 1- part 2 (R)

"Mom! Mom are you here?" Scully let them into the house with her own key, and headed for the kitchen.

In a minute Mulder followed her, "Scully, there’s a note." He handed it to her.

"Mulder?" She didn’t like the look in his eyes. When he didn’t answer she took the note he held out to her.

"Dana, I tried to reach you but couldn’t. I’ve gone to check on Charlie and his family, to make sure he and Mary and the kids are okay. I got a telegram that Tara is dead. Matthew is with his other grandparents and Bill is out on maneuvers. They’re trying to locate him. I’ll be okay Dana, I have your blood. Since you’re with Fox I know I don’t have to worry about you – he’ll never let anything happen to you. We’ll see each other soon, Dana. I love you. Mom"

"Mulder." He took her arm, seating her at the table. "Tara?"

"I know." He visualized the young woman he’d only met once. He’d spent almost no time with her; he’d been helping Scully with Emily. She’d been so hugely pregnant, and of course Bill hadn’t wanted him anywhere near his wife.

She leaned against him, overwhelmed by the last couple of days.

"We need to get away from here. Let’s take some things and go up to Quonochontaug. We can still be in touch with the guys, do research, but be away from the panic."

She nodded. He was a little surprised that she agreed so readily. It just showed how frightened she was. "Your mother won’t be coming back here. Charlie won’t let her. We should take some supplies from here."

She nodded again. "Scully, are you going to be okay?"

"I’m glad you’re here."

"No place else I want to be Scully."

He let her sit there while he gathered supplies from the pantry and medicine cabinet. At the last minute he also grabbed a photo album he’d seen Scully look through several times and added it to the pile. He loaded everything in the trunk; also taking the 5-gallon can of gas he found in the garage. She was still sitting at the table.

He knelt before her. "Can you leave now?"

She came very close to smiling. "I am okay Mulder. Just thinking."

"Okay, let’s head to your apartment and get your things." He took her arm and led her from the house, locking it up behind him.

Once again he scoured the kitchen for supplies while she packed her things.

"Mulder, I don’t know what to take!"

"Heavy duty stuff Scully. No suits and panty hose. Now the garter belt. . . " She threw her hairbrush at him which he caught with ease, grinning. She turned back to her room and he followed. "Kidding aside, jeans, t-shirts, sweatshirts. We’re going into a survival situation. Consumer goods are going to be scarce for awhile."

She nodded and added several things to her suitcase, then headed into the bathroom. When she emerged she looked at him helplessly. "Mulder, now I don’t know where to stop."

"Yeah. Start with the essentials and work our way up the list I guess. What we have room for."

She finally stopped, "We’ve still got to get your stuff. Let’s head over there."

"No Scully. Take what you need. I don’t have that much."

"Come on, time’s racing." She picked up her suitcase. He found he was more reluctant to leave the apartment than she was. He didn’t live here, only spent a few nights, so few he could count them on one hand, but it was a home to him. Would he be back? At least she’d be with him.

He picked up the box and followed her out.

His apartment did take a lot less time. "Can you survive without any of your suits, Mulder?"

"Hey, I’m not that bad."

"Well, we’re not getting much in the way of food here, so there’s room. Are you emotionally attached to this orange?" She pointed to the back of the drawer in his refrigerator.

"If I say yes, will you pack it?"

"Dream on G-man." She shut the refrigerator. "Anything else?"

He thought for a second, then headed for his desk and pulled out his own photo album. "Let’s go." She seemed as reluctant to leave his place as he had hers. But they finally finished loading the car.

"Do you want me to drive?"

"No Scully. You’ve only been there once. I’m probably going to have to take a lot of detours. Get some rest."

"You’re as tired as I am."

"But I don’t sleep. Come on."

Using back roads and neighborhoods he was able to get out of town with a minimum of backtracking. Most people fleeing the city had taken the main roads. She seemed to relax once the city was behind them, and did eventually drop off to sleep.

She was much more tired than she let on he realized, and a lot of it had to be emotional. Guilt crept up on him. He was taking her away from everything she knew and loved, while he was taking all of that with him. Hardly fair, but when had their partnership ever been fair to her?

He could feel the fatigue creep up on him as he neared the cabin. He wouldn’t be safe driving soon, but they were close. He breathed a sense of relief when he spotted the turn off. He pulled up to the cabin, it was dark but everything looked okay.

"Scully? Scully, we’re here." He touched her cheek.

"What? Mulder? Oh Mulder, how long have I slept?" She looked into his exhausted face. "You should have woken me."

"You looked too peaceful. Let’s get unpacked."

"I can do this. You go lay down."

"No, it’ll be faster if we do it together." He found the fuse box and got the power on, then helped her carry supplies into the kitchen and her suitcase into the bedroom. She followed with his.

"Mulder, lie down before you fall down. Now."

"You take the bed."

"No. I’ve had some sleep, I’ll straighten up in the kitchen."

He nodded, too tired to make an issue of it. She explored the kitchen, putting away some items, rearranging others. She removed the sheets from the furniture and looked with distaste at the sofa. Was she tired enough to sleep on that? She tiptoed into the bedroom. His jeans and t-shirt were on the floor. It looked like he had just fallen onto the bed. She realized that that bed wasn’t even made, just a comforter over the mattress.

She glanced back at the sofa. No contest. She stripped down to panties and bra, then slipped his discarded t-shirt over that and crawled into the bed beside him, pulling the comforter over both of them. He didn’t wake, but pulled her into his arms, tucking her up against him.

Well, she didn’t seem to be disturbing him at least. She relaxed into the comfort and safety of his arms and drifted back to sleep.

He woke disoriented, not sure where he was or why. His first realization was that the warm bundle next to him was Scully. This brought the inevitable physical response. Not again, she wasn’t stupid. He moved slightly away from her and she followed him in her sleep, maintaining contact. Not fair, she was too, hell too Scully for this.

She stretched, sliding down his body and even though his mind screamed to get out of the bed, his body refused to comply, savoring this contact.

"Um, Mulder?"

"Yeah. Time to wake up." His voice was steadier than he had thought it would be. How the hell was he going to be able to live up here alone with her for possibly the rest of their lives? He was pretty sure he couldn’t fit on that little bed in the loft anymore. Now that she was awake she did move away from him and he forced himself not to pull her back. God, he was pathetic.

"Mulder, we need to talk."

Shit, she was going to blame him for this. She didn’t know how his body reacted to hers on a continuous basis. He couldn’t help it. Yes, at his age he should have more control, but this was Scully damnit! He took a deep breath and interrupted her.

"Scully, I can’t help how I react to being with you. Especially sharing a bed like this. But you know me, surely after all of this time you know I’d never force you to do anything you didn’t want. You do trust me that much, don’t you?"

The look on her face. She couldn’t look more blank if he’d started speaking Martian to her. He would never. . . she did know him that well, didn’t she?

She rose from the bed and turned away. What had he done? He scrambled after her and caught her arm, then realizing how that might look released her and raised his hands into the air.

"Scully, please. . ."

She turned, hearing the fear in his voice. "I don’t know what to say."

"Scully, I would never hurt you. You don’t have to be afraid of me. I’m sorry, I – "

"Afraid of you? No Mulder, I would never. . . I didn’t realize. . . I was going to tell you that you should go back and get Diana. I know you once – "

"Diana who?" Now she did look strangely at him.

"Diana Fowley. I know you two had a relationship and if you. . . "

"Diana Fowley?" He knew he sounded stupid, but what could she be talking about? "That was over years ago. I haven’t spoken ten words to her since she took over our job. Why would I want her up here?"

"Mulder, it’s okay. A man like you needs a woman and. . . " This was far more embarrassing than she had anticipated.

"I don’t want another woman here, not Diana, not anyone. I don’t know how I’ll handle being around you and not. . . but I’ll manage. Diana? God how could you even think that?"

"But you’ve never wanted me, I just thought. . . "

"Never wanted you! Great holy . . . is that what you think?"

"Well yes. I mean, you kid around but . . . "

He sank down on the bed, not sure whether to laugh or cry. "You think I don’t want you."

"Well yes. I mean six years, Mulder. What am I supposed to think?"

"That I’m the fool everyone at the Bureau thinks I am. If I’ve been able to keep my feelings for you secret for six years. . . God Scully! You really don’t know how I feel about you?"

She looked like a doe caught in the headlights. She didn’t know. She honestly had no idea. But now she knew and she hadn’t run from the room, hadn’t demanded he return her to DC. Her look of incredulity was passing and she was looking. . . happy? No, he was clearly delusional.

"You want me. Not Diana?"

"Where in hell did you get the idea that I was interested in Diana?"

"Well, the guys." His eyes narrowed, "And Gibson, and I saw you holding hands."

"I never held hands with her. What did you see?"

"You were at the hospital where Gibson was being held. You were holding hands." She sank onto the bed beside him, not quite close enough to rub shoulders.

He looked away, "I don’t remember. Scully we may have touched hands, but not. . . " He gave an unamused chuckle. "You didn’t know I wanted to be with you. You never knew how many nights I drove over to your apartment to tell you. But I never had the guts to come to your door. I was always afraid your neighbors would tell you that you were being stalked. I felt like some kind of bastardized Charlie Brown, in love with his little red-headed girl." They were both silent, absorbing this.

"That’s my t-shirt, isn’t it?"

"Oh," she blushed, "You were asleep. I didn’t think you’d mind."

"Scully, I don’t own any clothes you can’t get into any time you want."

She was staring at him. Her lips moved but no sound emerged. As he watched, her face brightened and that expression was unmistakable. Joy. She was happy!

"You want me." Now he was speechless. "I’ve slept in your arms the last two nights. You could have. . . "

"I thought I was the only. . . " His voice trailed off.

"We both truly need help you know."

"You’ve always brushed off my comments."

"I never dreamed you were serious. Okay, I dreamed it, but I never let myself believe." She hesitated, looking deeply into his eyes, then moved down toward his lips. He realized he was actually afraid of this, of her. Then she was kissing him. Scully was kissing him!

His hands were on her, caressing her through the thin material of his t-shirt. "No." He set her aside.

"What?"

"You deserve better than this. After six years, we deserve better than this."

"Mulder, it’s okay."

"No. This is too special." Now she was lying on the bed and he was leaning over her. "Will you marry me?" The words came out in a rush, but before she could respond he continued. "I figure my odds have improved, being one of the last men on earth."

She made a sound, a laugh? A sob? He wasn’t sure.

"Of course I’ll marry you."

"Of course? You said of course?" She was that sure? No way.

"If it matters, my answer would have been the same last week."

"It wasn’t." He countered.

"You never asked me before."

"Yes, I did. You were in New England, on vacation."

"You weren’t serious then."

"I was serious, just too scared to let you know."

"Nothing scares you."

"Nothing but you."