Title:           ANY OTHER NAME

Author:          FatCat (feedback to FatCat33047@yahoo.com)
                Feedback always appreciated and answered.

Website:         Please visit the wonderful home Donnilee has
                created to house my stories at
                http://donnilee.tripod.com.  Just follow my name
                to find my stories.  While you are there, take a
                peek at Donnilee’s great stories and those of the
                other authors that she has at her site.
                Thank you Donni!

Rating:          NC-17

Category:        MSR, Post Episode - Two Fathers

Classification:  V, RST

Spoilers:        Two Fathers, Dreamland I & II

Archive:         As you wish, but please keep my name attached and
                let me know where to visit.

Summary:         Mulder and Scully learn to be careful what you ask
                for, even the truth.  You just might not like the
                answer.

Disclaimer:      They aren't mine nor anyone's but CC, Fox, 1013,
                DD and GA own the characterizations.  These works
                are used without permission.  No infringement
                intended.  The rating of "NC-17" is trademarked by
                the MPAA.

                Thank you to Carrik and her site:  Episode
                Transcripts found at www.inimation.com/xfilesgame/
                transcri.htm for invaluable assistance and whole
                paragraphs of the work below.

Author's Notes:  Written for Fandomonium's "A Virtual Season of
                Smut - Season Six" Challenge.

                Thanks to Audu, for stepping up to the plate as my
                beta.

XXXXX

Even though she and Mulder had been caught in Spender and Fowley's
office and put on administrative leave, Dana Scully now had a name
to attach to the man who'd made their lives hell since the
beginning of their partnership.  With an actual name to work with,
she'd pulled in a few favors, made some promises and demanded some
help.  In the end, she'd accumulated a whole boxful of information
about C.G.B. Spender.  She took it to the YMCA gym where Mulder had
headed earlier.  He was shooting baskets as she walked up.

"I bet you're curious about C.G.B." she said.

Mulder kept dribbling the ball as he said, "What's that?"

"C.G.B. Spender -- his name.  Cigarette-Smoking Man?"  She put the
file box down on a bench and waited for him to turn around.

"What's it stand for?" he asked as he shot another basket from in
back of the three point line.

"It's an alias, as far as I can figure, one of hundreds."

"Scully, you want to go one-on-one?  We got nothing but time now
that we're on administrative leave."

"Aren't you curious what I've got in the box?"  When he didn't
answer right away, she said, "Everything I could find on him."

"Nothing you could ever find would be accurate or credible," he
said sarcastically as he shot another basket.

"Maybe.  But there's a picture you're going to wanna see," she
replied as she searched for the photo she'd spotted earlier.

That got his attention.  He walked over and looked at the picture
of two young men.  They had on clothing from the early seventies
and bad hair cuts, but you could still tell who the figures were.

"That's C.G.B. Spender and my father."

"It was taken in 1973.  I traced the connection to something they
worked on together for 25 years at the State Department -- a highly
classified project.  There's more, if you're ready."

Mulder nodded and she pulled out a file with a picture of Cassandra
Spender attached.  "Cassandra is indeed the mother of Agent Jeffery
Spender and the ex-wife of C.G.B. Spender.  But there's something
that you're going to be surprised to find out."  Scully paused to
make sure he was listening.  "She was first abducted in 1973 on the
night of November 27."

"That's the same night as my sister."  His entire demeanor changed.
Mulder was back on the trail and Scully could tell it.  She sat
down on the bench beside the box.

"And there are other names connected to C.G.B. Spender and your
father -- Ph.D's, doctors ... one a Nobel winner for early works
in genetics, a Dr. Eugene Openshaw."  She handed Mulder a picture
of Openshaw.  As he stared at it she continued, "He was the doctor
that was found among the burn victims clinging to life beside
Cassandra Spender.  He died the next day in the hospital, before he
was questioned."

"The project is still going on," he said as he sat down next to
her.

"Yeah," she said.  Her body was on high alert.  He was all male --
sweat and scent and heat, cooling down from his exercise.  She
watched the beads of perspiration roll down his forehead, face and
neck, soaking the neckline of his tee shirt.  She longed to taste
one -- just one drop.  Would his sweat taste salty?  Or would it be
combined with a new taste, one intrinsic to Mulder?

She stared, fascinated, as a drop hung on his jaw line for an
interminable second, then fell to his shoulder when he turned to
glance at her as he spoke.

Scully'd tuned out his words moments before, succumbing to her need
just to see and smell and feel his warmth beside her.  Watching him
had always been one of her secret passions.  Now, it bordered on
being an obsession.  She wanted to know everything about Mulder.
There were women at the Bureau he'd dated; others had made certain
she knew it, even when it had been years in the past.  That hadn't
bothered her.  She was his partner.  'They' were only casual
acquaintances.  Recently, she'd realized she wanted to know the Fox
Mulder these other women did.  She wanted him to want her as a
woman, not just a partner.  She thought they had plenty of time,
but once again she was wrong.

Ever since she'd watched Mulder and Agent Diana Fowley reunited in
the meeting about Gibson Praise, she'd had a distinct feeling of
displacement.  She'd watched Fowley fawn over Mulder, agreeing with
his every word and her disquiet had ratcheted up several notches.
When she got home that night, she'd tried to clarify her
reservations about Agent Fowley.  She finally decided to chalk it
off to a poor night's sleep or bad cream cheese on her bagel --
anything but women's intuition.  She would give Agent Fowley a
chance to prove herself.

As the days went on and the fiasco with Gibson played out, new,
ugly emotions grew within her -- jealousy and distrust.  Diana
Fowley and Mulder had obviously shared more than a casual
acquaintance before Scully had been partnered with Mulder.  He
trusted Fowley automatically, sometimes even more than he seemed to
trust his partner.

Now, when Fowley and Mulder shared those looks across the room,
Scully wondered just how close they had been.  Were Fowley thoughts
of Mulder of a more intimate nature?  When she remembered him,
their time together, was she thinking of their previous cases or of
the nights they spent together?  Everything she and Mulder had
shared up to now seemed to pale in comparison to his relationship
with Fowley.

Her need to know everything about Diana Fowley and Fox Mulder had
done nothing to quell her desire to make love to her partner.  If
anything, it had made the need more compelling.  She hadn't known
how to approach him and now it was too late.  They were on
administrative leave, probably on their way out of the Bureau.
Soon, they wouldn't be partners and she might never see him again.
She watched the sweat drip down his face and felt like crying.

Mulder sat there for a few minutes, contemplating her evidence.
Finally he spoke.  "I'm going to grab a quick shower and then we
can meet back at my place to go over everything you've found.
We've got to stop them, Scully."  He hesitated when she didn't
answer.  "Scully?  Hey, partner, where'd you go?"

"Huh?" she grunted.  She shuddered, then shook her head as if
trying to clear it.  "What?"

"Scully," Mulder said.  "Where were you for a minute?"

"I was ..." she stumbled to a halt.  A blush crept up her neck and
warmed her cheeks.

"Scully?"

Another drop of sweat was trailing down his face, headed for his
neck.  She leaned over and licked it off his cheek with the tip of
her tongue.  Mulder leaned back in surprise, but once he caught
sight of her expression, a contemplative look covered his face.

"What do you want, Scully?"

She stared at him blankly, mortified by her own outrageous action.
"I, uh, we're going back to your place to work, right?"

"I wasn't talking about work.  What do you want from me?
Personally?"

"Mul --"  She wanted to stand up and run away.

"Don't try to deny it, Scully," he said as he grasped her arm.
"What do you want?"

"I don't know," she said honestly.

Mulder stared at her, letting his eyes caress her as lightly and
skillfully as her tongue had touched him seconds ago.  He leaned
closer and said, "I'm going to kiss you, Scully."

"Okay."

"Okay?  That's all you can say?"

"Well.  Yes."

"Forget it," Mulder said.  He stood up and walked over to grab his
towel and duffle bag.

"Mulder!  What do you mean, forget it?"

"I mean, just forget it.  If all you can say to me when I tell you
I'm going to kiss you is 'okay', I don't think I want to play."

"You can't say something like that then just tell me to forget it.
This is not a game, dammit, Mulder."

"I know that.  Do you?"

"Of course I do!" she said indignantly.

Mulder watched her for a moment before shaking his head and saying,
"No, I don't think you do."  He put the lid back on the file box
and started to pick it up.

Scully slammed her hand down on the top of the box, knocking it
back to the bench.  "What the hell does that mean?"

Mulder contemplated his answer before he spoke.  She could almost
see him tally the pros and cons of their conversation before making
his next move.  Finally, he stepped closer to her, crowding her
against the safety mat hanging against the wall.  "What do you want
from me, Scully?"  His lips were right next to her ear.  His breath
washed across her sensitive skin.  Heat flared and dove to her
center.

"I want …"

"The truth.  What.  Do.  You.  Want?"  With each of the last four
words, his lips had brushed against her ear, her neck, her jaw, her
cheek.  She felt her knees weaken and a gush of heat and moisture
flood her labia.

"I want to know you like Di … other women have."

He backed up and tipped his head to the side as he considered her
words.  Her eyes were sparkling, nostrils flared.  Her normally
lush lips were even more pronounced than usual.  There were spots
of pink high on her cheeks.  Her breath was coming in short but
deep gasps that made her breasts rise and fall enticingly.  She was
the perfect picture of a woman aroused.

"You want to know me like others have?  Anyone in particular you
want to ask about, Scully?"  His voice had deepened to a honeyed
growl.

"No."

"Liar," he said as he moved closer to her again.  "You want to know
what I do with 'other women'?  Is that right?"

"Yes," she whispered.

"Be careful what you ask for, Scully.  It may not be what you
want."

Her chin lifted in determination, even as her eyes dilated and a
rosy flush became visible on the skin of her upper chest and neck.
"You asked me what I wanted, Mulder.  Are you incapable of giving
it to me?"

He chuckled and reached for her shoulders, pulling her against his
body.  "I think you have the answer you need right here, Scully."
He ground his erection against her.

She could feel his heat and hardness through all the layers of
their clothing.  His eyes held her captive as he leaned down to
kiss her.  She wanted to watch him as he was her, but her eyes
automatically shut when his lips touched hers.

The kiss started out soft and sweet, but quickly escalated to open-
mouth aggression.  His tongue slid into her mouth and plundered at
will.  She groaned as he engaged her in a battle of wills.  He won.

She slowly realized that while the kiss had taken away her senses
and kept her pinned back against the mat, it hadn't stopped Mulder
from stripping off her jacket, lifting her sweater, or opening the
front clasp on her bra.  His hands were everywhere -- her breasts,
her back, her waist, her pants zipper.  Time seemed to stop then
rush ahead as each new area of her body was touched.

He pushed her pants down and grasped the cheeks of her derriere in
his palms.  His fingers clasped and released her, sliding to
another spot to stroke and grasp.  Her breath was coming in short
puffs, she was dizzy with desire and lack of oxygen as he pulled
her shoes, slacks and panties from her body.

"Mulder," she gasped.  She was standing in front of her fully
dressed partner in just her sweater and opened bra.

"Do you know how many times I've fantasized about this, Scully?"
His voice was a deeply-growled whisper in her ear.

"This?  Here?" she said with a groan.

He gave an ironic chuckle and said, "No, not here, but like this,
up against the file cabinets in our office.  Hard and fast and
hot."

"Jesus, Mulder."

"Against the door, across my desk, in my chair, even on the floor.
Tell me you haven't thought about it too, Scully."  He pushed his
sweat pants down and his erection sprang free.  "Tell me you
haven't wanted it like this and I'll stop."

She shook her head from side to side, trying to clear her brain
enough to stop him.  They were in a public area, right in the
middle of the gymnasium at the freaking, YMCA.  They couldn't do
this here, now, could they?

"Tell, me, Scully.  Say it.  Say stop, and I'll let you go."

"No," she panted.

He backed up an inch or two.  "No?"

She felt the cool air hit her skin instantly and grabbed him,
pulling him back to her.  "No, don't stop."

"Jesus, Scully!"  He slid his hands back down to her ass and cupped
her for a moment as he ground his erection against her soft skin.
When he thought he would go mad if he didn't have her right then,
right there, he lifted her up and thrust her against the mat again.

Her legs automatically wrapped around his body, her knees bent
slightly up around his ribs and her ankles catching and hooking
together.  He looked into her eyes as he poked against her opening.
She moved her hand between them and grasped his cock.  Her eyes
widened as she felt the girth of him.  He was all silk skin and
solid steel.  She tipped forward and placed her head on his
shoulder as his fell against hers.

She slid her hand up and down the length of him, fascinated by the
measure of his penis.  He groaned and jerked in her grasp.

"Now," he ordered.

She stroked him once more before he growled and bumped her back
into the mat in impatience.  She used the muscles of her legs to
lift up slightly higher so she could position him at her center.
He lifted his head and softly said, "Scully."

She automatically looked into his eyes as his voice called her
name.  He thrust up into her as he let gravity bring her down and
she cried out in wonder.  He was big, bigger than she'd experience
before, but not enough to hurt her for more than a second or two.

"Mulder," she groaned.  "Stop.  Give me a moment.  It's been a
while," she said.

"Good," he grunted.

She took several deep breaths, relaxing her long-unused muscles.
"Good, huh?"

"Yeah."

"You don't seem to have much to say right now, Mulder.  Where's
your usual loquaciousness?"

"Jesus, Scully.  I'm buried up to my balls in your sweet body.  I
think that speaks for itself."  He hefted her a little higher and
tipped her so that her clit was pressed against his pelvic bone.
The sudden rush of pleasure made her gasp.

He thrust into her again and again.  Each stroke pressed against
her cervix as it hit her clit, creating a pleasurable rhythm that
caused her mind to lose track of everything but where their bodies
met.

It could have been seconds or minutes or even hours for all she
knew.  Time seemed to do that funny dance again and stand still.
She had the inane thought that she wished she'd had sex with Mulder
before she'd attempted to re-write Einstein in her senior thesis.
That was her last cohesive thought.

Her entire being reduced to feelings, emotions and sensations.  She
knew she was moving against him.  She could feel the burn in the
muscles of her legs, but he was obviously in charge.  He was
simply, the center of her universe.

The slow rhythm of his thrusts changed and he began to pound into
her.  "Scully, I'm close," he muttered.

She reached between them to stroke her clit, but his hand snaked
around her body and pushed hers away.  He pressed her against the
mat harder and let his hand slide between their bodies.  He found
her clit and began to pluck and pull at it.  She gasped and held on
tighter, never breaking their rhythm.

His fingers changed their cadence and he began to strum against
her.  She groaned and said, "Mulder, now."

His strokes up into her changed tempo and lost all control.  He was
wild, driving into her hard and deep as he continued to roll her
clit, pressing harder and harder as his orgasm neared.

She opened her mouth against his shoulder, baring her teeth and
biting him to keep from screaming at the top of her voice.
Wondrous sensations she'd never felt before in her life flooded
through her as she reached her peak and fell into free fall.

His breathing became harsh, and then he began to grunt as each wave
of his ejaculation rocketed into her.  He continued to rock gently
against her in a soothing rhythm.

He finally came to a stop, lifted his hand from between them and
slowly stroked up her side to cup her breast.  "Scully?"

"Yeah," she grunted.

"Hold on.  I gotta sit down."

He grasped her butt again and spun around to collapse on the same
bench that held the file box.  He didn't let her go, but sprawled
his legs out in front of him, completely spent.

The afterglow of great sex began to wane and in its place Scully
felt one clear, burning emotion -- shame.  His tee shirt was wet
with sweat.  She realized he'd never removed it, had merely pushed
down his sweats and boxers to enter her.  She was clinging to him
in nothing more than a shell and dangling bra in the middle of a
public place.

She pulled away from him and tried to back off his lap.

"Scully?"

"Mulder, I …"

"Scully, I warned you," he said as he held her in place.

"Yes.  Yes you did.  I, uh, need to get dressed before someone
comes in here."

She pulled away again, standing up.  She turned her back as she
pulled her bra together, snapped it shut and quickly straightened
her sweater.  She plucked her panties and slacks from the floor,
dressing with out a word to him.  Once she had her pants zipped,
she picked up her shoes and moved back to the other side of the box
to put them on.  She looked around for her coat and realized that
it was under the bench at Mulder's feet.

"Could you, uh," she said as she pointed to her jacket.

Mulder had managed to shimmy his boxers and sweats back up.  He was
sitting, staring at the floor when she spoke.  He automatically
handed her the jacket.  She kept her head down and snatched it from
his hands, pulling in on and around her tightly.

"Scully," he whispered.  "I asked you what you wanted.  You said
you wanted to know me like other women."

She ignored his statement, staring down at her hands.

"Scully," he groaned.

"Mulder, I'm -- fine.  You told me.  I, I knew what I was getting
into."

"No, I don't think you did."  His tone and words bespoke his
despair.

They sat, both silent for several minutes.  Finally Scully stood up
and said, "We better get started on this information, Mulder."

He studied her face for a moment before saying, "Are you sure
you're up to it?"  Hope flickered in his eyes.  Maybe their
partnership could survive after all.

He watched her closely as she stood up straighter and donned her
Agent Scully persona once again.  Her chin had that stubborn slant
by the time she said, "Get moving, G-man.  We have work to do
tonight."

They drove separately to his apartment.  When they got inside,
Scully immediately picked up the phone and said, "Is Chinese food
okay?"

"Yeah, sure, anything," he responded.  He put the box down on his
coffee table and then carried his duffle bag over to his closet.
By the time he'd stowed it, hit the bathroom and returned to the
living room, Scully had all the information out and sorted into
piles.  He didn't dare take time for a shower.  He was afraid she
would run away if he left her for even a few moments.

The food arrived and they worked as they ate.  For the most part
they were silent -- only speaking when they needed to bring an
important fact to the attention of the other.  Almost two hours
later, Mulder reached for a report on the table at the same time
Scully did.  She snatched her hand back as if she'd been burned.

"Scully, this has got to stop," he said with a sigh.  He tossed the
papers he had in his hand down and turned to look at her.

"What?"

"We've got to work through this.  We can't allow what happened
tonight to divide us.  I'm sorry.  It's entirely my fault.  I gave
in when I knew better," he said.

"No!  I asked and you complied.  You have nothing to be sorry for.
I should be the one who apologizes.  I pushed you into making love
to me."

"Is that what you thought happened at the 'Y', Scully?"

"Of course, what would you call it?"

"We had sex, but we didn't make love.  If I remember correctly, you
said, 'I want to know you like other women have.'  Isn't that a
direct quote?"

"Well, yes," she said.  She was confused by his words.

"That wasn't how I would make love to you."

Her eyes flashed as she stared directly into his.  He leaned
forward, silently willing her to give him a chance to absolve
himself from his earlier, brutish actions.

Scully backed away and decided her best course of action was
retreat.  "We've done everything we can tonight," she said.  "I'm
going home."  She jumped up and headed towards the door.

Mulder stood up and walked to the door after her.  She glanced up
at him and gave him a quick smile.

"Scully, wait," he begged as he held the door shut.  "I don't want
to leave things between us as they are now."

"Mulder, I told you it was all right.  I asked.  It's not your
fault."

"Yeah, it is.  You asked for something I never wanted with you," he
began.

She gasped and turned away from him, cut to the quick by his words.

He turned her back to him and wrapped his arms around her.  "No!
Scully, you don't understand."

"I understand perfectly," she whispered.

"No, you don't!"  He placed two fingers under her chin and lifted
her face up so that he could look into her eyes.  "You don't
understand at all.  I never wanted to use you and I certainly
didn't mean to hurt you with my careless words."

"Then tell me, Mulder," she sobbed.  "Because, right now that's
what I feel -- hurt and confused and humiliated."

"Aw, Scully, listen to me."  He pulled her to him tightly.  He
could feel her hot tears through his tee shirt.  He led her back to
the couch and sat down, still wrapped around her.

"Scully, I've wanted you for years, but I never wanted to use you.
You ask how I was with women, not how I'd be with you."

She sniffed and thought about his words for a moment then asked,
"Is there a difference?"

"You bet there is," he said immediately.

She wiped her tears and used the tissue he produced from somewhere
to blot her nose.  "Show me," she whispered.

"What?"

"Show me," she demanded.

So he did.

He stood and pulled her to her feet and led her into the bedroom.
She was surprised to see a water bed, but didn't comment.  He
stripped off his clothing and then gently, removed hers.  Each
piece of cloth was followed by kisses to the exposed area.  Once
she was down to her panties, he laid her down on the bed and
crawled in beside her.

He pulled her into his arms and began to kiss her, over and over.
Each kiss was a new experience, a different nuance.  Some were
meant to inflame, some to soothe, but all made her understand that
this was Mulder making love to her ... to Scully, not just any
other woman.

She gasped and closed her eyes when she spotted the mirror above
the bed.  She held them tightly closed as her arousal built while
his lips and hands worshiped her body.  He kissed, nibbled and
suckled her everywhere, as he chanted unintelligible words of love
against her skin.  She was on fire by the time he moved over her.
As he slid into her, she couldn't hold back the grimace of
discomfort.  He WAS a well-endowed man and she was having sex for
the second time tonight after a long, dry spell.

He stopped and let her body grow accustomed to him.  He continued
to kiss her, lips, eyelids, ears, neck and back to lip again, as
she tried to relax.  Finally she couldn't hold still any longer.
She surged her hips against his and caught him unaware.  He lifted
up on his arms a little higher and smiled down at her.  "Are you
sure you're ready?" he asked.

She nodded and he lowered his lips to hers again.  He began with a
gentle rocking motion that rubbed against her clit and drove her
crazy.  Slowly he escalated his movements until her entire body was
on fire and she swore she could feel her bones melting.

Mulder never quit whispering words of love to her.  He worshiped
her body with every inch of his, driving her crazy with need.  Her
orgasm was just out of reach, hovering, tantalizing her as he
slowly thrust in and out.

She began to plead with him to go harder, faster.  He countered by
slowing down, but adding a twist to his hips at the end of the down
stroke that rubbed against her clit and drove her over the edge.

As she began to quake and shudder, he sped up.  She would no sooner
begin to calm down when he would surge up into her and begin
stroking harder, driving her over the edge again and again.  She
couldn't tell if she had a series of smaller orgasms or one huge,
long one.

His speed increased as he came closer to the end of his endurance.
He lifted her leg away from his back and angled it out, pressing it
against the bed.  The change in position let him slide a few
millimeters farther into her and she could feel him bumping against
her cervix.  She felt a deep heat that she'd never experienced
before.  Stars exploded behind her tightly closed eyes and she fell
into the universe that was being created only for them, by them.

Contractions in her vagina milked his shaft as he drove into her.
He was searching, reaching for his climax.  He began to chant as
his balls clenched and he could feel his ejaculation begin.  "Love
you, Scully.  Love you, love you, love you."

Scully believed him and reveled in his touch, letting it prolong
her orgasm.  His love-making was everything she'd ever dreamed it
would be and more.  No matter how hot and scandalous their sex had
been at the 'Y', it wasn't as satisfying as this long, slow,
sensual feast.

It was only when he'd left her to shower that she began to have
doubts.  She got out of bed and pulled on his tee shirt; it hung
down to her knees but was soft and smelled like Mulder.  She walked
over to the window and stared out at the night.  Even though the
room was comfortable, she crossed her arms and rubbed them as if
trying to get warm.  She stared down at the street below.  Her
thoughts were a jumble of emotions, logic and ethics.  'How did I
let it come down to this?' she thought.

She listened to the noises around her -- the faint hiss of tires on
the wet pavement from the street below; the wind rustling through
the bare branches of the cherry tree that grew next to the
sidewalk; the sound of water flowing through old pipes as her lover
took a shower.

Her lover.  Her friend.  Her partner, Fox Mulder.  She glanced at
the clock beside the bed and realized that he'd only been her lover
for four hours and twenty-five minutes.  Or had he?  Mulder had
been more than her partner for years now.  They had grown as close
as two people could without being intimate.

'No, that was wrong, too,' she thought.  They'd already passed
intimate, years ago.  They'd just never shared their bodies in the
actual act of sex before.

She thought she knew everything about him, knew him as well as she
knew herself.  The only unknown in their relationship was Diana
Fowley, and he'd given her no clue with his actions tonight.

Therein lay her problem.  Tonight, she'd allowed the professional
barriers she had built for years to weaken and collapse in a fit of
passion.  They'd made love -- twice.  It had been the most
exciting, violent, wonderful, tender sexual experience of her life,
but it could never happen again.

He'd said he loved her, but he hadn't said one word about Diana's
place in his life.  He'd told her he didn't want to 'use' her.  If
he wasn't 'using' her, then was he using Diana to assuage his
sexual needs?  What was his relationship to Diana?

Scully knew that Mulder's father had been a terrible example for
him while he was growing up.  Was adultery another part of his
legacy?  She could never accept sharing her lover with another
woman, especially Diana Fowley.  It wasn't in her genetic make-up,
it wasn't condoned by her religion and it certainly hadn't been in
her family dynamic.

All emotions aside, she didn't trust the woman.  Scully wasn't sure
that Fowley was a friend to Mulder and knew that Fowley held no
kind feelings for her.  There was something there that she couldn't
identify -- something that kept her from trusting Fowley.

She decided she couldn't allow herself to become emotionally tied
to a man who would withhold information about another woman from
her.  If any of the men from her past showed up, she felt confident
that she would tell Mulder about them immediately.  She'd always
thought of Mulder as a faithful partner, but now she had her
doubts.  He'd been downright secretive about Diana Fowley.

She would just have to wait and see where this led.  One thing was
certain, there wouldn't be another night like this until things
were cleared up between them.  She would wait and see what he had
to say about Diana.  She prayed she didn't have to ask.  He had
warned her.  'Be careful what you ask for, Scully.'  Why hadn't she
listened to him?  Why hadn't she just asked about his relationship
with Diana right then?  How the hell did life become so
complicated?

The sound of the shower ended and the steady drip of the showerhead
as it finished draining began.  One drop of water at a time
splashed down and joined all the others that were racing back to
the sea.

"God, I'm waxing poetic tonight," she mumbled to herself.  She
frowned and realized that the entire evening had started with just
one drop of water -- one drop of sweat that had rolled down
Mulder's temple to his jaw.

XXXXX

Scully heard the bathroom door open and jolted back to the present.
She saw Mulder's reflection in the window as he walked into the
room, dressed in the clean clothes he'd taken into the bathroom
with him.

"I think we should finish going through the information and call
Skinner from here.  I know he's been forbidden to speak to us but
he needs to see this.  Maybe you should leave before he gets here.
I don't want to implicate you any more than I have already," he
said.

"Mulder," she began.

He walked up beside her and turned her to face him.  "Scully, I
know we're in this together, but I can't help feeling that this is
entirely my fault.  You shouldn't have to suffer because I screwed
up.  We could've had the Gunmen check out those files, but I
insisted that we use Spender's office.  Now we're both suspended."

"We're on administrative leave, Mulder," she corrected him.

"Big difference!  All in all it means that we're going to be booted
out of the F.B.I. just as they've always wanted."

"Not if we can finally prove the connection between our smoking
friend and the conspiracy," she said.

"Scully --" he began.

"No, and that's my final answer.  Call Skinner while I take my
shower."  She walked away before he could kiss her.

XXXXX

Mulder stared after her retreating figure for a moment before going
back into the living room.  He sorted through the piles of
information for a few minutes, giving Scully time to finish her
shower before he pulled out his cell phone to call Skinner.

He'd really screwed up today, not just once but twice.  He knew it
was a mistake when he agreed to her first request, but he couldn't
stop himself.  Once, just once, he wanted to know what it was like
to love Dana Scully.  It had been everything he'd hoped it would be
and more.  It still hadn't been enough, though.  He wasn't
surprised that his earlier words were true.  He didn't want to have
just a hot fuck with Scully.  He wanted to make love to her, again
and again.

For reasons he couldn't fathom, he'd lost that right when he took
the opportunity to make love to her only moments ago.  He knew it
the moment he'd walked back into the bedroom.  Even though she'd
obviously enjoyed it and it was the best sex of his life, he didn't
think things between them could get any worse.  Her posture was
forbidding.  She was totally cut off from him again.  If he'd known
that telling her his feelings for her would be the kiss of death,
he would have walked away.  Well, he'd had his chance and now he
felt as if he'd blown all future opportunities with one, no two
moments of weakness.

He made the call to Skinner and shut off his phone.  He resumed
perusing the files until Scully returned.  They shuffled papers as
they waited for Skinner.  He'd tried several times to convince her
to leave but she was adamant.  She was staying.  She turned her
back on him and strode over to sit on the couch and wait.  She
began working again as soon as she sat down.

"This bastard must have had a hundred names in the last few years
alone," Scully said.

"'What's in a name?  That which we call a rose by any other name
would smell as sweet.'"

"Quoting Shakespeare, Mulder?" Scully said with a small smile.

"I figured it couldn't hurt, after what's happened tonight.
Scully, I'm --"

"No more apologies, please," she begged.  "Skinner will be here
soon and we need to make sure we have this information in order to
convince him that Cassandra is in danger."

XXXXX

Ten minutes later, there was a loud knock on his door.  Skinner had
arrived.  Mulder opened the door and quietly said, "Thanks for
coming.  I know it's late and you've been forbidden to have any
contact with us."

Skinner marched into the apartment, obviously surprised when Scully
got up from the couch.

"Sir."

"You said Cassandra Spender's life is in danger," Skinner said at
last.

Skinner listened to their explanations and believed them.  He
seemed to be as surprised as they had been by C.G.B's connection to
Agent Jeffery Spender.  He hadn't asked to check the documentation
they had prepared, but they knew he'd want to eventually.  He
promised to check on Cassandra immediately.  He marched out as he
had arrived, in a swirl of top coat and authority.

Scully began to work quickly and efficiently to gather the files
and pictures back together.

"Leave that for later.  Talk to me.  What's going on?"

"Mulder, I can't.  I … can't do this.  We're partners and tonight
should never have happened."

"Damn it, Scully, it did and we have to talk about it."

"I think we've said everything that going to be said."

"No, we haven't," he said as he clasped her arms, trying to get her
to stand still while he talked to her.

"I have to take most of this back to the office tonight."

"Scully, we had sex tonight, twice.  You can't sweep that under the
carpet and ignore it."

"I thought we made love the last time, Mulder."

"Sex, love, any other name you want to use for it, things have
changed for us and we can't ignore it."

She opened her mouth to respond to his words when there was a
frantic knocking at his door.  He strode over to the door and
looked through the peephole.

He glanced at Scully in surprise then opened the door for a very
frightened and breathless Cassandra Spender.

Mulder closed the door behind her and said, "Cassandra?"

"I can't believe I found you," Cassandra said.

"How did you find us?  Cassandra?" Scully asked.

Mulder walked up to her and placed a calming hand on her shoulder.
He said, "How did you get here?  How did you get out of your room?"

"How did you get your clothes?" Scully asked almost at the same
time.

Another loud knock sounded at the door, startling Cassandra.  "Oh,
Agent Scully, Agent Mulder, you cannot let them find me."  The
knock grew louder.  The pounding was terrifying Cassandra.

"You cannot let them have me!" she repeated as she grabbed for
Mulder's gun.

Mulder struggled with her, trying to keep the hysterical woman from
his gun.  "Let go!" he ordered.

"You have got to kill me now!" she begged.

Mulder backed up and raised his hand to try to calm her and keep
her away from his gun.

"If you don't kill me, it all starts.  There won't be any stopping
it."  Cassandra begged Mulder with her eyes to believe her.  "I am
THE ONE.  You have to shoot me ...  Please!"

The knocking had changed to pounding and got louder and louder as
Cassandra spoke.

Mulder drew his gun from his holster and lifted it to point at
Cassandra.  "Mulder, what are you doing?" Scully gasped.

"Stand away, Scully."

"Mulder!  Mulder, we have to protect her."

The pounding at the door continued, getting louder, as Mulder aimed
the gun at Cassandra's head, a look of compassion on his face.

Cassandra stood quietly, tears in her eyes, waiting for the kill
shot that would end her misery and save the world.

The pounding at the door ended and now sounded as if someone was
trying to break it down.

"Mulder?  Mulder?"

THE END