Please Archive "Sightseeing" by Gemma Kingsley Any and all feedback always welcome at gkingsley@hotmail.com Disclaimer: Okay, so they don't belong to me. Duh! Mulder, Scully and the X-Files belong to CC the surfer babe, 1013 and Fox. Obviously I didn't ask for permission to use these characters because they would have said no, but I promise I won't hurt them and I'll give them back when I've finished. Rating: PG-15 Spoilers: References to The Pilot, Tooms, Colony/End Game, Paper Hearts, Memento Mori But pre-Tempus Fugit and anything after that Classification: S, R (MSR), A Summary: When Mulder and Scully agree to a separation in return for her cancer being cured, they find that absence really does make the heart grow fonder. "Sightseeing" Part 1 (by Gemma Kingsley - gkingsley@hotmail.com) Royal North Shore Hospital Sydney, Australia Scully's Office Friday, January 19th 5:15 p.m. Scully looked at the clock again for the sixth time in as many minutes. 'Maybe it's broken' she thought, and seriously contemplated having someone from maintenance come to look at it. But a glance at her watch confirmed that the clock was telling the right time. Unless of course someone was organising a fantastic time conspiracy. 'God, Mulder would have loved that one' she thought humorously, and then sighed in frustration as she realised that she was thinking about Mulder yet again. They'd been apart for, what, three weeks, and Scully was already missing him unbearably. She put down the papers she'd been trying to convince herself she was working on, and deliberately stared at the clock trying to encourage it to move faster. After thirty seconds of this she groaned out loud in frustration and got to her feet. She was bored and she needed something to do with her hands. 'Hmmm' said a naughty little voice in her head. 'I can think of something involving my hands and Mulder that could be very enjoyable for all concerned.' Scully almost blushed at her own thoughts, and then sighed in resignation as she acknowledged to herself that she really did want to be touching Mulder in that way. But she pushed the thought aside. 'Even if he was here instead of thousands of miles away, the chances of us doing that would be exactly zero.' Scully had resigned herself a long time ago to the fact that her partner obviously didn't share the more-than-friendly feelings she had for him. After being partners for four years, she prided herself on being able to read his feelings with only a glance into those deep hazel eyes of his. 'Those gorgeous, inviting, soulful eyes' Scully's mind added. And despite his occasional suggestive comments, she'd never seen any real sign that he was interested in being anything more than partners and friends. It was as frustrating as hell to work with him day after day, always having to be careful not to reveal to him how she felt. But right now, Scully would have been quite happy to go through that, to have Mulder with her under practically any circumstances. Plain and simple, she missed him. As she gathered her things to leave, abandoning any pretense of working, Scully wondered again just what the Consortium hoped to achieve, other than destroying her peace of mind, through this enforced separation. The offer of a deal had come at the last minute, with Scully weak and dying from her cancer in the hospital and Mulder practically tearing his hair out as he harassed doctor after doctor in an unavailing attempt to prolong her life. Both had believed the end was near when Cancerman had contacted Mulder. Scully had urged him not to go, fearing it was a trap and that the Consortium planned to put an end to the threat caused by the X-Files by bringing about both of their deaths. But he had placed her life above his, as always, and both had been astounded at the ease with which Cancerman had suddenly been persuaded to deal. In return for the curing of Scully's cancer and of the other side effects of her abduction, the two agents had to agree to a year's separation. They'd thought that they'd got off ridiculously easily. Mulder had been ready to give up the X-Files, to resign from the FBI, anything to ensure Scully's safety, and all Cancerman wanted was for them to spend a year apart. 'How hard could it be', he'd thought to himself. He'd spent years alone before they met without her by his side. He could do it again. Of course if he was being completely honest with himself, he had to admit that before Scully walked into his life, with her no-nonsense attitude and her refusal to accept any of his shit, he'd been surviving rather than living. Mulder knew damned well that his life had been empty before Scully strode into it, turning his world upside down, challenging him, caring for him and leaving him desperately in love with her. She might not know it, and there was no way he was going to tell her, but she held his heart in her two hands. Still, he had managed, and he'd do it again. 'It's not like I need to have her with me to go on living' he'd thought to himself. Unfortunately, what he was discovering now was that this was exactly what he did need. But Scully, of course, knew none of this, and was instead struggling to fill her time without thinking of Mulder. She hadn't even been intending to join the FBI when she'd started Med. School and she hadn't found it boring then, had she? Okay, so she hadn't had much of a life, but she'd always found the work stimulating. So now, when she'd been temporarily assigned to a research unit in Australia, of all places, why was she bored out of her mind? The other doctors and research assistants were friendly, the weather was great, but Scully was desperately unhappy nonetheless. Finding her car in the hospital carpark without any difficulties, Scully drove back to the townhouse she'd been allocated in Wahroonga, one of the leafy suburbs of Sydney's North Shore. It was a lovely neighbourhood, and Scully might have appreciated it if the circumstances had been different. The sun shone warmly on flower-laden gardens and recently mown lawns, and the happy noises of children playing echoed through the streets, but Scully wasn't paying attention to her surroundings. Instead, she was engaged in counting how long it had been since she'd heard from Mulder, and when she could reasonably call him again without appearing as if she was clinging, or giving him any idea that the facade of contentment was exactly that - a facade - and not a very good one at that. She knew that if Mulder had been here, he would have known that something was wrong as soon as he looked at her, but that was beside the point because if Mulder was with her, then the problem wouldn't have existed in the first place. Scully's apartment 6:00 p.m. Scully let herself into the townhouse and dropped her bag and folders on the counter. At first she failed to see the blinking red light on her answering machine, but as soon as it caught her gaze, she hurried towards it. 'Please let this be Mulder' she thought. *Beep* "Dr. Scully, um, this is Dr. Greene. I, um, just wanted to tell you, that is, to let you know that I found those, er, those reports that you wanted...." Scully scowled. Normally she would have listened to his message with some amusement. Brian Greene was a rather accident-prone junior research assistant and he reminded Scully of Pendrell. But right now, she was impatient to see if Mulder had called and so she fast forwarded through Brian's monologue about how she could download the figures she wanted from the hospital database from home if she wanted. And Scully was doomed to disappointment with the second message also: "Dana, honey, it's your mother. Just wanted to get you up to date on what's happening over here. Bill Junior rang last night. He was just saying that....." Scully felt rather guilty as she tuned out from the rest of her mother's commentary, but she really wasn't in the mood for it. Wandering into the kitchen, Scully started opening cupboards in an attempt to find something appetising for dinner. She really didn't feel like making the effort of cooking, so eventually she just grabbed some leftover Chinese takeout and bunged it in the microwave for a couple of minutes. 'Voila, Dinner a la Mulder.' she thought to herself, then groaned as she realised she was doing it again. 'How the Hell can every thought automatically lead to Mulder?' she wondered, but gave up trying to rationalise it as she put the food and a glass of wine on a tray and took them into her bedroom so she could change. Once she had stripped off her suit and was relaxing in a t-shirt and sweats, she plugged in her laptop in preparation for downloading the figures Dr. Greene had been talking about. Taking the time while it was booting up to start on her dinner, when she glanced back at the computer, Scully was surprised to see the email icon blinking steadily at her. She tried to control the rising tide of excitement building within her, so that the disappointment would not be too great if the message wasn't what she was hoping for, but was overjoyed to find that it was indeed from Mulder. To: dscully@rns.com.au From: fmulder@fbi.gov S, How R U? Made medical history yet with some unbelievable breakthrough? Nothing new here. I saw the guys yesterday. Frohike says he's thinking about emigrating to Australia. Don't worry, I talked him out of it. So what are you doing tonight? I thought maybe we could chat online if you're not busy. The guys set up a secure channel, 100 % bug free. I'm sending the connection details in an attached file. I'll be on at about 6:30 p.m. your time if you're interested, M. Scully glanced quickly at the clock. 6:15, which gave her only a few minutes to figure out how to get the connection set up. She could feel her pulse beating rapidly in anticipation, and had to make a conscious effort to be calm and read the instructions carefully. Ten minutes later, she thought she had it all set up. Opening her irc program, Scully logged onto the server which Mulder had indicated and joined channel #DanaMulder. Mulder wasn't there yet, but Scully wasn't worried because it was still a couple of minutes until the time he'd arranged to meet. She contemplated the name of the channel and wondered if Mulder had realised how that sounded. Scully had fantasized many times about what it would be like being married to Mulder, fantasies which mainly centred around anticipating the honeymoon and wondering if she'd be able to walk for a week afterwards. Colour suffused her face as she thought back over some of her wilder fantasies and dreams about him, and for once she was actually glad that he wasn't with her, for she was sure he'd be able to tell in an instant exactly what she was thinking about. But Scully didn't have long to dwell on this train of thought because glancing back at her computer, she noticed that Mulder had just logged on. Putting her dinner aside, Scully made herself comfortable and focused her attention on the computer. Mulder> Scully, you there? Dana> Hey Mulder! Mulder> What R U doing? Dana> Duh, talking to you. Mulder> Had a good day? Dana> Boring, as usual. Lots of paperwork. U? Mulder> Not so good. Dana> Want to talk about it? Mulder> U sure? Dana> Of course, you know you can always share anything with me. Mulder> Anything?! ;) Dana> Don't try and change the subject. ** Mulder sighs in resignation Mulder> I'm profiling another serial killer. I've got the M.O. But this guy's good. Really good. Dana> If anyone can catch him you can. Mulder> Thanks for the support. Dana> Always. Mulder> I wish you were here. Scully's heart skipped a beat when she read that, but she forced herself to be calm. 'He probably just means that he could use my help with work' she thought, and decided to test out this theory. Dana> You could use my help, huh? Mulder> With everything.. 'Now what the heck is that cryptic statement supposed to mean?' Scully thought, but didn't have time to ponder on it because Mulder was demanding her attention once again. Mulder> Dana? Dana> Hmmmm Mulder> What are you wearing? Dana> What is this Mulder, cybersex? Mulder> Maybe... Dana> You're kidding, right? Mulder> Yeah, whatever. 'Damn', Scully thought, disappointed. Maybe she should have encouraged him. Definitely something to think about for another time. Mulder> Scully, U still there? Dana> Yeah, still here. For another 11 months. Mulder> I'll be counting the days 'Now that was a definite come-on,', Scully thought. Too bad he was only flirting with her, and didn't really mean it. But Scully was prepared to give as good as she got. Dana> Me too. I can't wait to come home to you. 'There,' she thought, 'Now let's see what he makes of that. Mulder> I miss you a lot, Scully, and it's only been three weeks. I don't know if I can make it for another 11 months. Dana> I feel the same way. I didn't think it would be this hard. Mulder> Going cold turkey brings on major withdrawal symptoms. Dana> Withdrawal symptoms? Mulder> You know, Scully, like with drugs. Dana> I know what they are, Mulder. I'm a doctor, remember. I just don't see how this applies to the case in hand. Mulder> You sound like you're trying to shoot down another one of my spooky theories... Dana> And you're trying to change the subject again. ** Mulder hangs his head in shame ** Dana takes his chin in her hand and forces him to look at her Dana> Mulder? Mulder> Dana, I have to tell you something. I'm not sure how you're going to take it, but I can't put it off any longer. 'Oh God,' Scully thought, worst case scenarios racing through her head. 'He doesn't want to talk to me anymore. He's got a girlfriend. He's getting married.' She forced herself to take a deep breath and focus on the computer screen. Dana> Like I said, Mulder, you can tell me anything. **> *Mulder* is now known as *Fox* Dana> Mulder, what's going on? You're scaring me. Fox> Dana, do you remember the time in the car, on the stakeout for Eugene Tooms? 'Was he kidding?' she thought. Of course she remembered. As if she hadn't heard him utter that phrase again countless times in her dreams. Not to mention how many times she'd berated herself for choosing root beer instead of iced tea. 'But why was he bringing that up again now?' she wondered. Dana> Of course, Mulder Fox> Call me Fox Dana> Are you sure? Fox> I've never been more sure about anything in my life. Dana> Mulder, what's going on? Fox> Fox. Call me Fox Dana> Ok, *Fox*, what's going on? Fox> Can I interest you in some iced tea? Dana> Are you saying what I think you're saying? Scully waited breathlessly to see what his reply would be. Was it really possible that she'd been wrong all along and that he did share her feelings. She stared hard at the blinking cursor, waiting to see what Mulder's, or rather, Fox's next move would be, and was horrified when the screen suddenly went blank and the light overhead flashed off. Scully's head snapped up in panic. 'No, please not now' she thought, 'Surely a declaration of love that I've spent four long years praying for couldn't just have been interrupted by something as mundane as a power cut.' But that was exactly what had happened. Scully just sat on her bed, stunned, and didn't move until she heard a rapid knocking at the door. She got up to answer it, still feeling rather dazed. The building superintendent stood there, and Scully forced herself to pay attention to what he was saying, "..yeah, and so I seem to have accidentally disconnected the electricity. But it should be back on any minute, so there's nothing to worry about." As if on cue, the lights blinked back on, and the superintendent nodded encouragingly. "Hope you weren't too inconvenienced, Ms Scully." Scully shook her head and smiled politely, but this took a huge effort on her part since in her head she was contemplating the best way of strangling the foolish man. Having finally refused his offers to check that all her electrical appliances were still functioning properly, Scully rushed back into the bedroom and logged back online. 'Maybe Mulder will still be there' she hoped, but when she joined #DanaMulder again she discovered that he wasn't. Scully closed her irc program despondently and was about to shut down her laptop, when she realised that she could email him. From: dscully@rns.com.au To: fmulder@fbi.gov Fox, Sorry 'bout that. Some fool superintendent cut the power supply to the building and the battery on my laptop was dead. What were you about to tell me? It sounded important. Talk to you later, Dana. Scully debated to herself about whether or not she should sign it 'love Dana', but decided that addressing it to 'Fox' and hinting heavily about something he had to tell her should make what she was trying to say clear enough. She didn't have long to wait for a reply, so Mulder was obviously still online. Scully clicked excitedly on the message, but her face fell as she read it. Obviously Mulder had decided this was not the time to change their relationship after all. From: fmulder@fbi.gov To: dscully@rns.com.au Scully, No problem. I have to go to work now anyway. I'm glad everything's going well for you. Catch you later. Mulder. 'Damn' she thought as she shut down her computer. But as she thought back over their online chat, she realised that she wasn't really that disappointed. So maybe they didn't actually get around to saying the words, but the 'call me Fox' and the offer of 'iced tea' were pretty self-explanatory. It didn't matter that he'd chickened out in the end, because she know had a pretty good idea that despite her beliefs to the contrary, Mulder did cherish more than friendly feelings towards her. 'Okay, well he put himself on the line this time, so I guess it's my turn now', Scully thought to herself. Now all she had to figure out was how. End of Part 1 So, tell me, do you want to read the rest? If no-one's reading it, then I won't bother, but if you do like it, please let me know at gkingsley@hotmail.com If you don't like it, then you can tell me that too. I'm pretty tough - I can take it. ;) "Sightseeing" Part 2 by Gemma Kingsley (gkingsley@hotmail.com) Scully's Apartment Monday February 19th 2:10 a.m. (Australia) "So there he is, trying to appear dignified and experienced because the project supervisor is visiting, and he goes round a corner too fast, slips in a puddle of water, slides halfway down the hall and falls on his ass in a heap." As Scully finished relating yet another of Dr. Brian Greene's misadventures she was rewarded by hearing a peal of laughter from Mulder through her telephone. "Sounds like another young lab assistant we know." Mulder said, when he had recovered his breath. "Yeah, he does remind me of Pendrell." "Oooh, should I be jealous?" Mulder asked. "Huh?" "Well, I'm figuring if he's like Pendrell in everything else, then they probably also share an undying devotion to Dana Katherine Scully. So should I be worried? Is he your type?" he asked. "My *type*?" Scully replied, very interested in the direction this conversation was suddenly taking. "Yeah, Scully, you know. The kind of guys you're interested in. Surely it hasn't been that long since you've been on a date." he teased. "Very funny, Mulder. But I don't really think I have a *type*." she told him. "Sure you do, Scully. Everyone does. But you're avoiding the question. Are you interested in this Brian character." "Don't be silly, Mulder. Apart from the fact that he's got to be about 5 or 6 years younger than me, he's completely accident- prone. You should see him. It's like his arms and legs are too long for the rest of him, and he's not quite sure what to do with them. He inspires me with amusement rather than anything else, actually." There was silence on the other end of the line after this pronouncement. Scully could hear Mulder's quiet breathing, but the silence was in no way oppressive. She missed the silent communication which they could do with only their eyes, but was discovering that they were almost as adept at transmitting their thoughts through the tone of voice they used, or even with the way they breathed. But Scully decided she was going to break this silence. Mulder had already had his go at teasing her, and Scully was prepared to take her turn now. "So, Mulder, you didn't tell me what *your* type was." "Since I can't even remember the last time I went on a date, I think the question is kind of obsolete." he replied. "Well, how about the girls in those movies that aren't yours? I guess you could say they would be your type, huh?" Scully suggested. Mulder almost choked on his iced tea. He glanced over at the table where the boxes for several of the said movies rested. "Maybe", he replied, "but all of them are pretty different. I can't really see anything they have in common." Meanwhile, a voice in his head was screaming 'Liar, liar.' It would be perfectly obvious to anyone who took even a cursory glance at Mulder's video collection that his taste rested in petite, fair-skinned redheads, but this knowledge was certainly not something Mulder was about to share with Scully, who, completely coincidentally of course, happened to be one herself. He decided that this might be a good time to change the subject. "So, Scully, are you doing anything for your birthday?" 'Okay' thought Scully, 'that's definitely the cue to put my plan into action.' Ever since Mulder had almost declared his love for her the month before, Scully had been trying to figure out how to develop their relationship further along those lines. They weren't partners at the moment, so they didn't have to worry about the complication of working together. This had definitely led to them spending more time talking to each other, really talking. Of course they both missed being partners on the X-Files, but really they hadn't ended up too badly. Mulder had been sent back to the VCS of course, but much to his relief he hadn't been assigned a permanent partner. He was encouraged to work on cases which other agents were having difficulties with, and so far he'd found that the agents he'd ended up working with had been surprisingly accommodating. Scully had also started to enjoy her new work. Medical research didn't present the challenge she had faced working for the FBI, but she found it interesting to be actually putting her medical training into regular use, something she'd never really had the chance to do since she'd gone straight from Med. School to Quantico. So both of them were relatively happy in a professional sense, and it was just their personal lives that needed work. Well, Scully thought she had the solution to that, and was just a little nervous about how Mulder would take her suggestion as she answered his question. "Actually, Mulder, I thought we could do something together, if you're not busy." "You know I'd love to, Dana, but *together*? Have you forgotten the slight problem of there being thousands of miles between us, and the fact that we've been forbidden to see each other until a year is up?" "Sounds like a fairytale, huh? We're the star-crossed lovers..." Mulder interrupted her, "..and Skinner's the fairy godmother." "Oooh, Mulder, I just pictured that. Very scary thought." "So, anyway, tell me about this idea of yours. I assume you do have an idea." "Of course. Just humour me, and don't say anything until I've finished, 'kay." "My lips are sealed." was Mulder's only response. "Okay, well I got this idea from a book I read once. Just humour me here. What happens, is that there are these two lov-, um, friends, who are separated. I forget why, now, but that's not important anyway. So because they can't see each other, they go on virtual dat-, er, outings. They just imagine that they're together and then they tell each other about it later. Only I thought we could do it over the phone." "That's a cool idea. What book did you say you read this in?" "Oh, I can't remember the title." Scully replied, crossing her fingers. The truth was that she could remember the title very well. A nurse from the hospital had recommended it to her one morning, and Scully had caught sight of it in a bookshop window while she was on her lunchbreak, and had bought it on impulse. She had been slightly embarrassed to find later that it contained rather explicit love scenes between the two lead characters after they were reunited. She'd immediately seen the parallels between the characters in the book and Mulder and herself, and had liked the idea of virtual dates very much indeed, but she didn't want him reading the love scenes and getting too many ideas too early on. Scully was startled out of her reminiscing as she heard Mulder's voice in her ear again. "Never mind, maybe I'll get the guys to look for it." Mulder told her. 'Damn' thought Scully, 'now what am I going to do?', but didn't have long to worry about it because Mulder was speaking again. "I agree to the idea in principle, but I suggest a little addition." "Sure, what do you have in mind?" Scully asked. "Since it's your birthday, and I'd be taking you out if you were here, I get to organise it this time." "Fair enough," Scully agreed, "so what are your conditions?" She could almost hear Mulder's mind ticking over as he thought about it. "Okay. Friday 23rd. Your place. 7:00 p.m. Dress formal." "That's it?" Scully inquired. "I'll take care of the rest." Mulder told her. "If you say so," she replied, but sounded a little uncertain, not knowing what she'd gotten herself into. Mulder picked up on the uncertain tone, and hastened to reassure her. "You trust me, Dana, don't you?" He was relieved to hear her answer, "Of course, Mulder. You know I do." "Good. Then let me take care of this." Scully acquiesced, and then unsuccessfully to stifle a yawn. "I'm not keeping you up, am I, Scully?" Mulder asked. "No, no, that's alright, Mulder." But his suspicions had been excited now, "Scully, exactly what time is it there?" She did her best to avoid the question, but was finally forced to answer. "Um, about 2:30, I think." "TWO THIRTY IN THE MORNING?!?" Mulder yelled. "Aaaah, Mulder, I think you just burst my eardrums." "Sorry, two thirty in the morning? Why the heck didn't you tell me it was so late. I thought you said it was 10:30 when we started talking." "It was 10:30 when you called, but that was almost four hours ago." "Oh, God, Scully. I'm sorry. I completely lost track of time. You're going to be dead on your feet in the morning." "Doesn't matter, Mulder. It was worth it." They could both sense each other's smiles. "Well, I'll let you go now. I don't want to be the cause of you overlooking some modern medical miracle because you were too tired to concentrate." "Sure, Mulder. Goodnight." "Yeah, 'night Scully." 'I love you', they both thought as they hung up their phones, but neither was quite ready to say it out loud yet. End Part 2. If you're still reading then please drop me a line at gkingsley@hotmail.com I'm begging you here! "Sightseeing" Part 3 by Gemma Kingsley (gkingsley@hotmail.com) For Disclaimer etc. see Part 1 Scully's apartment February 23rd 6:40 p.m. In the subsequent telephone conversations which had occurred between the two before Scully's birthday, Mulder had not mentioned the subject of their virtual date again. But Scully knew from experience that just because he didn't talk about something didn't mean he'd forgotten about it. A pleasurable state of excitement had been building inside her all day at the thought of what Mulder was planning for tonight, to the point that she had lost all ability to concentrate on her work and had left early. Arriving home, she had been confronted with a small package on her doorstep, wrapped in brown paper. Her investigator mode had kicked in immediately, for she still hadn't been away from the Consortium and their threats long enough for the ingrained paranoia and caution to have worn off. But the package had seemed innocuous enough at first glance. The stamps were American, but there was no return address. Dropping her coat and bag on the couch and seating herself, Scully had contemplated the package in her hands. It was rectangular-shaped, and not very big, but other than this, there was no clue as to its contents. Abandoning her scrutiny of the outside, Scully had ripped off the paper, and a book had fallen into her lap. Turning it over, the book had proclaimed itself to be "Still Waters". This book which related the separation and reunion of two lovers, Emma and Benjamin, was where Scully had first come across the idea of virtual dates, although theirs' had been by letter since the novel was set in the eighteenth century. Scully had realised that Mulder must have found the book somehow, and this guess was confirmed when she had opened the front cover and seen his inscription: Dear Dana (or should I say Emma), Interesting reading habits you've developed recently. Dare I ask if all Australian books are this entertaining? Well, I guess now I know what to give you for your next birthday, Love Fox (or rather, Benjamin, I hope) Scully had blushed profusely at his suggestiveness, all the more so when she flipped through the book and discovered that he had underlined all the love scenes with red ink. So now, as Scully stood in her bedroom, getting ready for her *date* with Mulder, she thought back to the book again, and an intense feeling of warmth suffused her body as she allowed herself to imagine herself and Mulder playing the parts of Emma and Benjamin. She looked in the mirror, but instead of seeing Dana Katherine Scully MD, friend of Fox Mulder, the FBI Agent, she was seeing Dana, the runaway heiress, lover of Fox, the dashing young highwayman. She could almost see one of the scenes from the novel playing out in front of her. <"But Fox, I don't understand," she cried, "If you really loved me then you'd run away with me. Leave this felonious career and take me far away from here, where no-one can ever find us. Please, I love you so desperately and I couldn't bear it if we were to be separated again."> <"Dana, you have to accept that it's not that simple. If it was up to me, don't you think I'd take you away from here in an instant and spend the rest of my life making mad, passionate love to you. But you know I can't. I swore on my father's grave to avenge his death, and I cannot leave until his murderer lies dead."> 'Hmmm,' Scully thought to herself, 'there are even more parallels between this story and Mulder and myself than I first realised.' <"Dana, you must never doubt that I love you. You mean more to me than anything, and I long for the day when we can be together without interruptions, but you have to understand the position I'm in."> Scully's fantasy was interrupted by an insistent knocking at her front door. 'Here we go' she thought, as she crossed to answer it. Two men in tuxedos stood there. "Ms. Dana Scully?" one of them asked. "Yes, that's me." she replied, then stood aside to let them in. "May we present you with Mr. Mulder's compliments." he continued, as they wheeled silver dishes and tableware through her door. Scully stood and watched in amazement as they rapidly set her table with china, silverware, candles and crystal glasses and placed the silver dishes which obviously contained her dinner within easy reach. One of them left then and Scully wondered briefly what else Mulder was up to. She had her answer soon enough when the waiter returned with a huge arrangement of deep red roses which he placed on the table. Meanwhile, the other waiter had taken the opportunity to withdraw from her apartment too, and he soon returned with an equally gorgeous display of beautiful white roses. Scully looked on in bemusement as the two waiters continued to enter and leave her apartment until all the empty surfaces in her were covered with roses of every imaginable size and colour. The two waiters then bowed and left as silently as they had arrived. Scully stood in the middle of her apartment, surrounded by a sea of roses, just staring. As if on cue, the phone rang. Scully answered it with, "Mulder, you're crazy," and was rewarded with a soft chuckle. "You like?" he asked. "I like." she replied, fervently, "But how....?" "Magic," he told her, "and I don't want to hear some scientific explanation about how you don't believe in magic." Scully laughed softly, "This kind of magic, I believe in," she replied. "So are we going to eat, or what?" he asked. "You bet. So you have the same set up at your apartment?" "Well, I'm having gourmet breakfast instead of dinner, but other than that, it's exactly like if we were eating together, except for the small matter of there being a couple of continents and oceans between us." Scully put her phone on its speaker, and if she closed her eyes she could almost imagine that they were having dinner together. They were both a little nervous because this was the closest they'd ever been to a real date, but they found that conversation flowed easily nevertheless, and by the time they'd finished their meal, they'd fallen back into the relaxed camaraderie that usually marked their relationship. Scully leaned back in her chair and closed her eyes. She couldn't remember the last time she'd felt this content. She was so comfortable that she almost missed hearing Mulder say something to her. "What was that, Mulder?" "I said dance with me, Dana." "Mulder, virtual dinner is one thing, but you really need to be in the same country to dance." "Humour me, Dana. Close your eyes and just imagine that I'm there with you." She stood up and did as she'd been instructed. Scully heard the opening strains of a song she identified as Sade's 'No Ordinary Love' floating out from somewhere, Mulder's CD player she deduced. Closing her eyes, she let the soft strains of the music envelop her and imagined that she was resting in Mulder's strong embrace. She felt his arms encircle her, and brought her own hands up to place them around him. The muscles in his back twitched as she ran her hands up and down, and she could feel the heat of his skin on hers, even through the barrier of his shirt. He pulled her nearer to him in reaction as though he sought to bring them so closely together that it was impossible to tell where one ended and the other began. Scully could feel a tingling in her blood from all the places where Mulder's body met hers, and she squirmed against him, wanting more of the delicious friction that occurred with the joining of their frames. His warm breath caressed her neck, and he felt her shiver in response to his touch. She pressed her head against his chest to hear his steady heartbeat, which, in her professional medical opinion, was beating rather more quickly than was usual. She chuckled into his chest at this thought and Mulder regarded her questioningly. "I can feel your heart beating." she told him softly. "And this amuses you?" Mulder inquired, and she could sense the smile that went with his words. Scully looked up to meet his gaze and saw his eyes darken with desire. He was letting her see what she did to him, and was watching closely to see what her reaction would be. Scully didn't even dare breathe for fear that she would break the moment, and instead reached up and entwined her arms tightly around his neck, pulling his face down to meet hers. She raised her body as far as she could to meet him, but her eyes shot open instinctively as she felt herself stumble. She looked around her apartment, disoriented for a moment, and then felt an almost physical ache of disappointment as she remembered that she wasn't held tightly in Mulder's arms, but was actually alone in her apartment, thousands of miles from his side. She wrapped her own arms tightly around her stomach, in an attempt to comfort herself and to dispel the assortment of emotions tumbling headlong through her mind, but was brought out of her meditative state by Mulder's anxious voice on the telephone. "Scully, SCULLY, answer me dammit!" he yelled. "Mulder, I'm here. It's alright." she replied resignedly. "You scared me for a minute there, Dana." he told her, and she could hear him breathing heavily, but wasn't sure if that was a side effect of fear or arousal. Probably both, she thought. "Yeah, well, I think I scared myself too." "Because what you imagined was better or worse than you thought it would be?" he asked her. "Because what I imagined was so good that when I came back to reality it was highly disappointing." she answered honestly. "I feel exactly the same way," he told her quietly, "and we just have to keep remembering that in ten or so months, it will be reality." After this exchange, an unspoken agreement to keep the rest of the evening more lighthearted seemed to have come into effect. Mulder chatted about yet another alleged alien abduction case which had been brought to his attention and deliberately presented it in a ridiculous light, partly because it was so far-fetched that even he had trouble justifying it, and partly because he deeply missed Scully's scepticism and the way their arguments complemented each other. Although he might complain that she wasn't open enough to weird experiences and the paranormal, he knew in his heart that he wouldn't have it any other way. For the rest of the night, it was almost like any other conversation they'd had over the years, in the small hours of the night, both in their own apartments and unable to sleep, whether it was because of nightmares, or simply because their latest case was so intriguing that the intellectual stimulation chased any thought of relaxation from their minds. But when they finally hung up the phone, thoughts of Mulder's latest case and Scully's work at the research centre were not occupying their minds. Mulder's imaginary experience had been equally as intense as Scully's and as they parted, Scully to go to bed and Mulder to head into work for the afternoon, they both found that there minds were too busy generating further scenes and encounters for either sleep or work to be possible. End Part 3. Write to me! Please! Gemma at gkingsley@hotmail.com Next part coming soon. "Sightseeing" Part 4 by Gemma Kingsley (gkingsley@hotmail.com) For Disclaimer etc. see Part 1 * Lots of angst in this part Friday June 15th As the months passed by, and they did pass, however slowly it might have seemed to Mulder and Scully, their desire to be together, to hear each other's voices, to communicate in whatever way was at hand only grew stronger. They'd gone on more 'virtual dates' and it had gotten to the stage where no more than two or three days would ever go by without some form of contact between them. It was for this reason that Scully became worried when she hadn't heard from Mulder in over a week and a half. At first she had thought that he must have gone on a case to somewhere isolated where he would have had difficulty in contacting her, but as the days tripped by with no answers to the messages left on his answering machine or the multiple emails which she had sent him, Scully had begun to grow very worried indeed. Her colleagues had noticed her distraction and preoccupation at work and one of the doctors had gone so far as to offer to prescribe a sedative to help her sleep, something which Scully had brushed off abruptly. If she had needed sedatives then she would have prescribed them for herself. No, what Scully needed was a good dose of Mulder. It had got to the extent that if she hadn't received any contact by the end of the weekend, Scully was preparing to call Skinner and find out where Mulder had been sent, and if necessary to go there and bring him back herself, Cancerman be damned. But this did not turn out to be necessary. When Scully arrived home on Friday evening, she found a single envelope in her mailbox. A fearful chill of premonition went through her. 'OhgodMulder'sdeadHe'sdeadandInevertoldhimthatIlovehim' she thought, pain, guilt and grief tumbling over each other in a desperate blend. But a single realisation managed to get through all the emotions running through her heart, and Scully realised that her address on the envelope was written in Mulder's distinctive hand. She sat down hard on the pavement. She felt as drained as though she had just run a marathon, and for a moment she thought she might burst into tears just sitting there on the ground, surrounded by pieces of paper she had dropped with the shock of finding the letter. But since there were already two children across the road staring at her and next-door's gardener was giving her a peculiar look, Scully decided that she'd better move this scene indoors. Standing up, she quickly gathered up her things, making sure she still had the letter grasped tightly in her hand. Dropping everything on the floor of her apartment, not caring where they fell, Scully planted herself on the couch and regarded the letter as though it were a snake that might choose any moment to bite her. Why she was so apprehensive about opening it, she couldn't have explained. Scully certainly wouldn't describe herself as a generally superstitious person, but over the years, particularly as an FBI Agent, she had learned that there were times when you simply had to trust your instinct, whether or not there was a scientific explanation for it. This then, was one of those times. Bracing herself, she slit open the envelope and pulled out a couple of sheets, densely covered with Mulder's signature scrawl. It began abruptly, but then that was always Mulder's style, Scully thought: As she finished reading his letter, Scully became aware of her surroundings once again and unashamedly let her tears continue to fall. She could sense the depths of Mulder's pain throughout his letter even though he tried to conceal how much Samantha's death was affecting him by recourse to irony and humour. She thought about how unfair it was that the man she loved above all else seemed fated to suffer so much more than his fair share of pain, and wished more than anything that she could be with him now, when he needed her more than ever. Well, she might not be able to be with him physically or to comfort him in that way like she wanted to, but she could certainly give Mulder the same gift he had given her when he bared his heart and soul. Scully got up quickly and searched for pen and paper, wanting to compose her reply and have the spiritual proxy of her words bring him the comfort and love that she couldn't yet give him in person. End Part 4. Okay, this is the first time I've tried writing angst, so please tell me what you thought. If you thought it was overdone, unrealistic or whatever, please feel free to tell me why in a reasonable way. Of course if you did like it, I'll be absolutely thrilled. Whichever way, please tell me, 'kay. There's nothing more exciting than responses in my mail box! Thanks for reading. "Sightseeing" Part 5 by Gemma Kingsley (gkingsley@hotmail.com) For Disclaimer etc. see Part 1 Friday June 15th Scully's Apartment Sydney, Australia Scully sat down at the table, and taking several deep breaths to compose herself, began her letter to Mulder. End Part 5. Okay, that's it for the angst. So how did I do? One more part to go and some major romance and suggestiveness coming up! "Sightseeing" Part 6 by Gemma Kingsley 31st December Scully's Apartment Scully looked out the window as she pulled on her shoes. It was still pouring with rain and she was thankful that the hospital's New Year's Party was indoors. Too bad for all those people who'd planned harbour cruises or outdoor celebrations. She glanced back at the mirror, looking at her appearance critically. Effectively coming into a whole new life in Australia, she'd taken the chance to discard the Ice Queen reputation which had followed her since Quantico. Thus the silk dress she wore now was more revealing than something she might have worn to a similar event at the Bureau. Not that she wanted to attract the attention of any of the Australian males, far from it since she'd bought the dress with Mulder in mind, but it certainly was nice once in a while to know that she was appreciated not only for her intellect and medical skills, but that men found her attractive for herself. And the staff and patients at the hospital had made it very clear that Scully would be missed. There'd been a celebratory lunch the week before Christmas to commemorate the advances they'd made in the past year, and particularly Scully's contribution. Her official role had been concluded then, but the terms of the separation dictated that she wasn't allowed to return to Washington until the year was actually over. Thus she'd spent Christmas in Australia, ostensibly by herself, but actually spending a couple of hours on the phone talking to her mother and brothers, and the rest of the time talking to Mulder. They'd even talked about Samantha, a subject which hadn't previously been mentioned outside the impassioned letters they'd written to each other. It seemed to Scully that Mulder had really come to terms with Samantha's death, and although she would always have a place in her brother's heart, Mulder was ready to move on and to allow something other than the search for his sister to be the driving force in his life. Scully only hoped that this new life would include her. True, they'd said that they loved each other, even admitted that they were in love, but this had only been in letters, and they'd never spoken about it in any of their numerous phone conversations. They'd had several virtual dates every months, had chatted online regularly, and called each other with an amazing frequency, but the love they had admitted to was a topic that was always avoided. But apart from that, they'd talked about almost everything over the past year. They both felt that being separated this way had somehow been a catalyst to the development of their non-professional relationship. Because they didn't work together anymore, their relationship was conducted in downtime and necessarily advanced along different lines. But Scully still wasn't sure where she stood. Where they stood. And she was a little concerned because Mulder had seemed unusually distant in the last week. He'd sounded normal on Christmas Day, but when she spoke to him again two days later he had been a nervous and almost agitated. Scully was sure that he'd been hiding something from her and she wasn't sure if she wanted to know what that something was. And when she'd told him that the earliest flight she could get back was on the 3rd of January, he hadn't sounded at all disappointed about the prolonging of their separation, and neither had he offered to pick her up at the airport, even when she'd made a point of mentioning the flight number and time. She thought they'd managed to get through everything. Separation, the closing of the X-Files, Samantha's death, but to Scully it seemed now as though Fate might be throwing another obstacle in her path. It sounded very much as though Mulder was regretting the deepening of their relationship and the intimacy that had developed between them over the course of the year, and was making a very speedy attempt at backing down. Scully wasn't sure if she could bear to find out that their relationship hadn't survived the separation, after she'd spent most of the year waiting for the moment when they would be reunited. But she pushed the thoughts out of her mind as she glanced at the clock and saw that it was time to leave. She was determined not to think about Mulder tonight. She was going to have fun and enjoy herself, and when she went back to the US, if Mulder wasn't interested in pursuing their relationship, she'd simply don her Ice Queen image again, ignore the pounding in her heart and the little voice that said she couldn't possible live without Mulder, and get on with her life. Scully grabbed her keys, bag and cel phone, and was just about to leave when the phone rang. She contemplated letting the machine get it, but decided she'd better answer because if someone was ringing her on New Year's Eve then it must be important. "Hello?" "Dana?" asked the disembodied voice. "Mulder? Is that you?" Scully asked him, her heart pounding because the fact that he had called her 'Dana' not 'Scully' had not escaped her notice. "Yeah, are you alright? You sound kind of out of breath." "Um, yeah. I was just on my way out the door." she replied. "Oh right. The hospital's New Year's Bash." "Uh huh." she affirmed, and was met with silence on the other end of the phone. "Look, Mulder, did you want something in particular because I'm going to be late if I don't leave now?" "Umm, yeah, actually," he told her, "I thought that since you're going to be back soon, we could have a last date. If you know what I mean." Scully's heart sank as she heard him say 'last'. She figured that was a pretty good sign that he wasn't interested in being involved with her that way once they were back in the same country. But she couldn't understand why he was prolonging the agony like this. "Mulder, I don't know if that's such a good idea." she replied. "Aww, come on Scully. Please." She just knew that if he was there he'd be making the cute, vulnerable face that practically always made her give in to him no matter how silly whatever he was suggesting was. She sighed, then acquiesced. "Alright, Mulder. What did you have in mind?" "Great!" he said enthusiastically. "Okay, this is how it works. You know where Palm Beach is right." Scully murmured her assent. "Okay, well you have to go up onto the sand dunes at exactly 11:55 tonight." Scully interrupted him, "Mulder you have got to be kidding. It's pouring with rain, and I'm not going to be dressed for climbing sand dunes." "Really? What *are* you wearing?" he asked. Scully ignored him. "Seriously, Mulder. I am not going climbing sand dunes in the middle of the night." "Please, Scully. For me. It's really important and I promise you won't regret it." His pleading tone was pulling on her heartstrings and against her better judgement, Scully finally acceded. "Alright, alright. Just stop whining." "I was not whining." he told her indignantly. "Fine. Look, I really have to go now." Scully insisted. "Okay, just make sure you're there at 11:55 and don't forget to bring your cel phone. Bye Dana." he said, and hung up. Scully looked at the phone in her hand, frowning. What the heck was he up to now. But she didn't have time to worry about that now. If she didn't get moving right this minute then she was going to be late, and that was not how she wanted to start the evening. Royal North Shore Hospital 10:30 p.m. Scully looked at the clock again. Only five minutes had passed since the last time she had glanced at it, but she couldn't leave yet. It would only take about forty minutes to drive to Palm Beach and she didn't want to be sitting around in the car waiting for Mulder to call. She'd been determined to get him out of her mind, to enjoy the party and have a good time, but as usual he had managed to mess with her peace of mind. Several good looking men had asked her to dance, but she had turned them all down, not being able to think about anything but Mulder. 'And why the Hell am I thinking about him anyway', she wondered. 'He's more than likely to tell me this is it after tonight, so I'm going to have to try and get over him sooner or later.' But she had already resigned herself to the fact that her getting over Mulder was about as likely as the revelation that Skinner was actually an alien. 'Although,' she mused, 'I've always thought that bald head did look a little fake.' Pushing such ridiculous thoughts from her mind, Scully forced herself to go and get a glass of punch and to go and talk to a couple of her soon-to-be ex-colleagues who she spied in one corner. She managed to make polite small talk for about half an hour, glancing at the clock every few minutes until it finally showed 11:00, a reasonable time to leave. Excusing herself graciously, Scully found her coat and practically raced to her car, ready to begin the drive and whatever else Mulder had up his sleeves. Palm Beach 11:50 p.m. Scully pulled into the carpark next to the beach and pulled into a spot. The beach was completely deserted which wasn't surprising considering that it was pouring with rain. The weather had cleared up slightly since earlier, but it was still raining enough so that Scully was bound to be soaked through within minutes of stepping out of the car. She wished she'd remembered to bring an umbrella, but in the rush to get to the hospital on time it had slipped her mind. For a moment she considered staying in the car and telling Mulder that she was actually on the dune. 'He'd never know', she thought, but dismissed the idea almost as soon as it came into her head. She simply couldn't bring herself to lie to Mulder even about something as trivial as this. Bracing herself, Scully slipped her cel phone into the pocket of her coat and got out of the car. The rain beat down on her head, plastering her hair to her face and rendering her silk dress rather translucent. She looked down at herself, seeing this transformation and feeling relieved that there was no chance of anyone else being on the beach. 'No-one other than Mulder could possibly come up with the idea of a nice stroll on the beach during a thunderstorm.' she thought. Nevertheless, Scully set off on her walk along the beach to the dunes at the far end. Palm Beach sand dunes 11:57 p.m. Scully tried to wrap her coat around herself more tightly, and shivered as she felt the rain seep down through its collar. Her cel phone remained stubbornly silent. 'What the Hell game is Mulder playing?' she wondered, 'Maybe he's planning for me to get pneumonia and die so that he doesn't have to deal with me anymore' she thought, and then instantly scolded herself for such an uncharitable thought. Just as she was beginning to consider giving up and going back to the car, her cel phone trilled. She answered it with, "Mulder, that'd better be you." and was rewarded with a chuckle. "Yeah, sorry about that Scully. I must say, when I originally planned this I didn't really take the time to consider the fact that the weather might wreak havoc with my arrangements." "Fine, Mulder. Just tell me what the heck is going on here. I'm cold and wet and I've had just about enough of your games." "Dana, I wanted to ask you a question." "And why was climbing a sand dune in the pouring rain a prerequisite of this?" she asked. "Just listen. Please." he insisted. "I'm being completely serious here. If you could have anything in the world right now, what would it be? I want the truth here, okay." he told her, and waited breathlessly for her reply. The wind and rain were tearing about on the hill, and Scully attributed the slight echo of his words to this. She was facing the sea as she pondered his question and how she was going to answer it. "Dana?" Mulder questioned when he didn't hear any reply. "I want total honesty." Scully was so occupied with thinking about how she was going to answer him that she failed to notice that although she was holding the cel phone to her right ear, Mulder's voice seemed to be coming from her left. 'He wants honesty,' she thought, 'Fine, then that's what I'll give him.' "Mulder, I want you with me. Now and forever." Her eyes closed as the suspense was more than she could bear, and she waited for his reply. "Dana, open your eyes." he told her, and she did so, only to find him standing in front of her. She stared at him in amazement and rubbed her eyes with her hands, sure that she must be dreaming or hallucinating or something. But Mulder stood there, gazing at her and held his arms wide open. With a convulsive cry, Scully ran into them. His arms wrapped around her tightly, and they clung together, both of them trying to express what it was impossible to do with words - the agony of their separation and joy at it now being over. The rain and wind which had been at the forefront of their consciousness before, now faded away, and neither could concentrate on anything but the other, their hearts beating rapidly in tandem, their arms clinging to each other as though they feared to be torn apart again even at the instant of their reunion. In reality, they only stood this way for a few minutes, but it seemed like an eternity because it felt so right for them to be together this way in each other's arms. Mulder buried his face in Scully's hair and felt her shaking against him. Cupping her face in his hands and bringing it up so he could look at her, he saw tears running down her face and mingling with the rain which was still coming down although not as strongly as before. He tenderly brushed the tears from her face with his fingers, and spoke to her gently. "Dana, don't cry. What's wrong, love?" She looked up at him and smiled beatifically through her tears. "Mulder, I'm just so happy. Oh God I missed you so much." He smiled back at her. Her hair was wet and plastered to her face, her silk dress was ruined, but she seemed to glow from inside as she gazed at him, and Mulder thought she was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. It felt so natural for him to kiss away her tears, and when Scully shifted her head so that her mouth met his, it felt to both of them as though they'd come home, as though something which they'd been denying for years had finally been fulfilled. They pressed against each other, mouths joining, tongues dueling and entangling, clinging to each other as though to life itself. Finally they broke apart. Scully looked up at Mulder, taking in the deep hazel eyes which she'd missed so much because she could tell what Mulder was thinking just by gazing into them. The face she loved was flushed with arousal and desire, and as she glanced lower she could see all the hard planes and muscles of his body outlined by the wet cloth which was sticking to them. She looked down at herself and saw that the rain had done the same thing for her clothes. Scully blushed and gazed down at the sand as she saw Mulder looking at her. He grasped her face with one hand and forced her to meet his eyes. "Don't be embarrassed, Dana. You are so beautiful. So damned hot. And finally after five long years I can tell you how much you turn me on. I have needed and loved you every single day. You don't know how many times I wanted to throw you down and kiss you, take you, claim you as mine. In your apartment. In mine. In our office. In all those tiny hotel rooms. We were always so close, but never close enough. But now I have you. We have each other." Scully felt her body responding instinctively to his arousing words, and knew that Mulder could see her nipples tightening and hardening because he groaned and pulled her to him. "You want me too, don't you Scully." he whispered into her ear. "You wished for me. I'm so glad you wished for me." She pulled away to look at him. After all this, she marvelled that he could still be insecure, and sought to reassure him immediately. "Of course I wished for you, silly. What did you think I was going to ask for? A diamond ring?" At this, a look came into Mulder's eyes that Scully couldn't identify. She regarded him quizzically. "Mulder?" "Out of curiosity, just how far down your wish list would a diamond ring be?" he asked her. "What?" she questioned, as he fumbled in the pocket of his jeans. Suddenly she realised where this was leading. Mulder dropped to his knees in the wet sand, seeming not to notice the discomfort. He took Scully's hands in his, and looked up at her. As he was about to speak, a large raindrop plopped in his eye and he blinked suddenly. Scully regarded him, and the perplexed look on his face was so endearingly funny that she just couldn't keep from giggling. Mulder looked up at her reprovingly, but that just made it worse and soon she was consumed by paroxysms of laughter. Scully collapsed on the beach next to Mulder and pressed her face into his chest, her shoulders shaking with laughter. He regarded her with amusement for a few moments, and then pulled her into a kneeling position, giving her a mock-stern look. "Having you laughing wildly while I'm trying to propose is not doing my ego any good here, Dana Katherine Scully." he told her. "I'm sorry Mulder. I'll behave now. I promise." she replied seriously, but the twinkling in her eyes betrayed her. Mulder cleared his throat nervously, and Scully burst out laughing again. Mulder abandoned any attempt at being serious and lay down on his side on the beach, one arm supporting his head. Scully's laughter eventually subsided and she lay down next to him. Mulder rolled over until he was lying half on top of her. He looked at her reproachfully. "Oh for goodness' sake Mulder, are you going to ask me or what?" "Marry me?" he asked quietly, watching closely for her reaction. "Yes." she replied, equally softly and sincerely. He leaned down to kiss her, and she wrapped her arms up around his back as their lips met. Their mouths fought against each other fiercely, the passion between them so intense as if they sought to make up for a whole year of being apart in a single day. But when Mulder started to grind his hips into her, Scully forced her brain to co-operate even though her body was crying out with delight at the sensations which were enveloping her. She pushed him off her and he rolled over until they both lay on the beach, side by side, breathing heavily and trying to get their emotions back under some kind of control. Scully finally spoke. "Mulder, no matter how much I love you, I am not going to make love with you for the first time on a cold, wet beach in the rain. We've waited a year, Hell, we've waited five years, so I'm sure we can wait another half an hour while we drive back to my apartment. And then we have three days before we can get a flight out." "Three days, huh?" he replied, as he rolled back on top of her. "Well I guess that leaves plenty of time for you to show me the sights." Scully raised her eyebrows. "Playing tourist wasn't exactly the game I had in mind, Mulder." she told him. "Let me demonstrate." Mulder answered. "First we have the Blue Mountains," he explained, using one hand to caress the soft mounds of her breasts and show her what he was getting at. His hand slid down between her legs, and Scully moaned and arched up towards him as he caressed her through the silk of her dress. "The Harbour Bridge?" he suggested, smiling at her wickedly. It was beginning to look like they wouldn't be leaving this beach anytime in the near future after all. Scully decided that this game sounded like fun and determined that she was going to play an equal part. She slid her hand down to cup him through his jeans and whispered, "Don't forget Centrepoint Tower, Mulder." The End Okay, that's all folks! If you made it to the end, please write to me and tell me what you think. Gemma at gkingsley@hotmail.com Thanks for reading!