Summary: Mulder and Scully tell their teenage grandchild about the beginning of their relationship.

Author's note:Mulder and Scully's first time, told by Mulder and Scully. First time buff, that's me...my take on how the next XF movie should play out in case we have to wait for it for a looong time.... This is a Haven November Challenge: A stalker, fear of clowns, voyeur, a search,...they are all there, hidden in plain sight.

Part I: Katie

"Thinking about that day still puts a smile on my face, you know. I guess it's one of those days you wouldn't mind telling your grandkids about. Well, that's why I'm telling it to you now, Katie."

The young woman smiled at him.

"Well, of course I've had to wait, and now you are old enough, and can better appreciate the finer points....OK, maybe I should skip the details, but the details are always the juiciest, aren't they, they are what makes a story..."

Katie nodded at her grandfather, who had such an adorable pout of the lip that she just had to hang on his every word, well, almost every. She loved his stories, but he always had to sugarcoat and overexplain before he began them. He had once explained to her the importance of a good and enticing prologue. She was fiddling impatiently with the edges of her wicker chair. Good prologues aside, the stories themselves usually held more...

"So, you are my only grandchild, and I've managed to live long enough to see you turn 18, I am now going to tell you this story about a sad, lonely man who finally found true happiness one rainy evening in Georgetown."

Katie rolled her eyes at her grandfather as she looked at him. He was humming ever so contentedly in his favorite wicker chair on her father's porch. She was eternally grateful for this porch and for the wicker chairs. She had learnt so much about love and about life here, she would not trade this place for anything. There was only one thing missing that would complete this picture.

"Where's granny?"

Katie looked around, wondering at what moment she would be the witness to yet another love fest between her favorite grandparents, cause when they were visiting, they were all treated to some free-for-all peepshow. It bordered on perverted at times. She did love her granny dearly, but for the moment she sighed releaved at her gramp's next words. She had a feeling she wanted to hear this story.

"I think she's in the garden somewhere, picking apples. Now, do you want to hear this story, or not?"

Katie nodded vigorously, draping herself in her favorite warm quilt. She'd let him have his way. Of course.

"OK, gramps, go ahead."

"OK, here goes."

He cleared his throat and began his story.

"I still lived at the apartment at Hegal Place. You've seen some pictures of the place, right?"

Katie nodded. Her grandpa was a bit groggy this morning. There weren't pictures of the apartment, there was one picture. And Katie had had it secretly taken with the help of a hidden camera in a bag. She had posed as a vacuum cleaner saleswoman and knocked on the door, just to get a picture of the place. She had had the picture framed and it was now hanging on the wall in her room, close to her desk. Everytime she looked up from her text books, her gaze landed on the fuzzy image, portraying the love nest of her grand parents. Someone else lived there now, it was someone else's furniture in that picture, but it was still Hegal Place, apartment 42.

"OK, I still worked for the bureau, but at this time I had been on vacation for almost six weeks. Can you imagine, six weeks!"

Katie shook her head sympathetically.

"No? Well, it was a rainy day. Again. A bit like this one, actually. It was autumn, about the same time of the year as it is now. It had been pouring down for weeks, and being on vacation it bugged the he..."

Stopping midsentence her grandfather looked at her, but she could only smile at him, finding his foul language endearing. He continued, correcting himself.

"...it was disturbing me immensly."

Katie chuckled. God, he was adorable, she mused and snuggled further into her quilt.

"I stayed indoors, reading and watching...television."

Katie chuckled again. Had her gramps really watched...television?

"Why this mockery of my heart-felt story? Don't interrupt, girl!"

He muttered something under his breath, something he didn't really manage to keep to himself. Katie took a deep breath, hoping she hadn't upset him for real.

"Sorry, gramps, please go on."

He nodded and continued.

"My apartment was a dump. I hadn't cleaned the place up in ages. The Gunmen, I've told you about them, right, had been there a week earlier. They had brought cheese steaks and French fries, and there were still some leftovers stinking away on my kitchen counter...geez, I was a slob! Well, I still am, but that's not relevant. I remember thinking about my partner. What would Scully say if she saw my carelessness regarding hygiene? She would raise her right eyebrow and roll her eyes, that was what she always did around me."

His grandchild rolled her eyes.

"Yes, just like that, she would roll her eyes at me. I sat there and pondered my misery, thought about Scully in a suit, Scully at the office, Scully smiling and I cried. Yes, can you believe it? Your grandpa cried. I realized I missed her. I realized vacations were really not my cup of tea! Being away from my partner and our banter, our pizza nights, going halfway across the country on cases together...Well, vacations really sucked back then. OK, skipping ahead. I thought about calling her. I remember talking to myself. Should I call her? Write her an E-mail? Send her an SMS? What would I say? I miss you, come back to D.C.? Stupid, I though! Couldn't write that! OK, I decided that I would write her an E-mail. And so I wrote her an E-mail."

Katie saw the passion in her grandfather's eyes and the vivid gestures enhanced that expression. She would not interrupt him now.

"Katie, you write E-mails, right?"

"Yes, gramps, what did you write?"

"I wrote:
'S-
How's it going?
Hope everything's OK.
When are you going to come back to D.C. then?
-M.'"

Katie was grinning.

"Yes, it was one of those, God-I-am-pathetic-and-needy E-mails, the kind a self-respecting middle-aged man never should have to write. But I wrote it anyway. And sent it, too. I was very surprised to see my E-mail notice flash indicating I had received mail, and only moments after. It was from her."

Katie witnessed a change in the old man's countenance. He still loved his life's companion so much, she thought, feeling a special kind of warmth wash over her. Her grandfather cleared his throat and continued.

"OK, Katie, on with the story. She wrote
'M-
I'm already in town.
Wanna come over?
-S' Yes, I thought. She was in town. And I could go to her.. I was drying my tears and thinking about storming out of my Apartment, jumping into my car and driving to her place, breaking all speed limits on the way, not to mention running some red lights, too..."

"You?re so full of it, gramps, you wouldn't break the law to get to her right?" Katie rolled her eyes anew.

"Ye of little, or no faith....Don't interrupt this story, girl, learn from it. You have to break a few rules to get what you want in this world...believe you me..."

"Dad wouldn't like to hear you tell me that, not to mention grandma..."

"Katie, they will never be the wiser, am I understood? Katie?"

"Sure. Fine. Whatever."

Katie noticed that her grandfather was looking at her curiously.

"What?" she said.

"You know, you look more and more like your grandma every day?

"I know, you keep telling me that, now, what about the story?"

"Patience is a virtue."

"How would you know?"

"Cheeky girl."

"The story."

Katie loved him. She loved their banter, and she would find no consolation when it was his time to pass to the great beyond. Instantly she felt a lump form in her throat and she swallowed, willing it away, willing it far, far away.

"OK. where was I? Oh, yes, the E-mailing-thing. I immediately replied.
'S-
I'm on my way! :)
-M' and I ran into my bathroom and jumped into the shower. I was hyper, talking out loud. I remember rambling on and on 'OK, a quick shower. Off with the clothes and Jesus...the water's cold, but I don't care, coz she is home, waiting for me! Where's that shampoo now? There it is! And still some left? Oh, my lucky day! I want her to know I care about personal hygiene. Please, God, let her think I'm clean at least, if nothing else. Don't let her think I'm a dirty slob, couldn't handle that'."

Katie had to giggle.

"Pretty messed up, huh?"

Katie nodded and wiped her tears.

"I was ranting like that for a good while, looking for my razor, a clean pair of boxers, socks. I was a mess, Katie. My heart was beating like crazy, and as I washed my hair and toweled it dry I realized that I could spike it up a bit, you know, with mousse. I had let my hair grow, so I searched a long while for the can of mousse, and I finally found it, hidden in the depths of the hamper, can you believe it?"

"Yes, gramps, I can, but a smiley face?"

"Hmprf.... you don't think I knew about smiley faces? Well, on with the story. I managed to almost forget to wear pants as I went out the door, I was so excited about seeing her after such a long time"

"You didn't..."

"No, I remebered all my clothes, Katie."

Katie rolled her eyes and smiled.

"Your smile is so like hers..."

"Yadda yadda, the story, gramps!"

"Sure. Fine. Whatever. OK, just as I was grabbing my leather jacket I heard the tone from my laptop, you know, the one that indicates received E-mail, so I opened my mail box and there was a message from her. Crap, I thought, she had changed her mind. I read her message and my worries of changed plans evaporated"

"What did she write?"

Katie waited patiently for his reply, as her grandfather suddenly had decided to put in a dramatic pause.

"It said
'M-, I hope you didn't leave yet.
Could you bring some wine?
-S'"

Katie made big eyes, and her grandfather nodded sagely.

"Wine, I thought. She wanted me to bring wine, probably wanting to get me drunk and then seduce me, no doubt..."

"Gramps, that's just...eeww."

"Hey, what's wrong with that??!!You kids today, don't know romancing if it bit you on the ass."

Katie chuckled.

"Sorry, please continue, I'm sure there is a nice ending to it somewhere..."

"There is, and if you promise not to tell this story to anyone, I will tell it to you."

"I promise, cross my heart."

"OK. So, I replied.
'S-, White or red?
-M' and she replied
'M-, White, red, potato, potahto, bring beer, that'll solve it!
-S' and I replied
'S-, Beer?
-M' and she replied
'M-, Yupp!
-S' "

"God, how cute, gramps."

"Ain't it just?"

"Well, then you stormed out of your Apartment, giddily, no doubt?"

"Yes. I realized that I had a sixpack, no, scratch that, two of them, in the trunk of my car, just waiting there for a moment like this, and I ran out, in the pouring rain, singing..."

"Not Singing in the Rain'?"

"The very one."

"Gawd."

"Hey, I can sing!"

"Sure you can..."

"OK, so I was soaking wet when I reached my car, but I didn't care, coz I was gonna see my baby, of course she was not my baby just then, but she was going to become my baby, my own little love kitten..."

"Gawd..."

"Don't you roll your eyes at me!"

"What's going on here?"

Katie turned to face the garden, as did her grandfather. They both watched the old woman walk up the steps to the porch and sit herself down in the wicker chair next to Mulder's, putting down the basket full of apples. She glanced at Katie, and then at Mulder.

"So, what gives?"

Part II: Scully

Scully watched Mulder look at her basket of apples. Had he never seen A basket of apples before, she thought.

"Scully, you shouldn't carry heavy loads like that!"

She glared at him and looked over at Katie, reminding her grandchild of her question with her insistant gaze.

"Gramps was just telling me a story."

"Uh-huh," Scully said, warily looking at the old man all wrapped in a quilt.

"What kind of story?" Scully asked Mulder, fearing his answer.

"You know, same ol', same ol'"

Mulder fidgetted in his favorite piece of rotting furniture, not daring to cast a glance at her. Typical senior Mulder behaviour, she thought. She didn't let her face reveal the love for this man that was tingling inside her every pore, vibrantly. She would grill him a little, she decided.

"Grandma, it wasn't about Big Foot this time..."

"Shh, Katie," Mulder hissed.

Scully saw a flush rise into Mulder's face.

"What kind of story has he been telling you, Katie?"

Scully fixed her eyes on her grandchild's yet again.

"I just remembered, I have to go set the table, bye"

Katie tossed the quilt towards them and rushed inside, leaving her grandmother staring after her. Scully grumbled out loud, indicating her reproach.

"Mulder?"

"Scully."

"So, are you going to tell me what kind of yarn you've been spinning, what kind of wives' tale you've been dishing upon the innocent here?"

Scully's no-nonsense voice was just that, no-nonsense, and she felt she delivered it well.

"I was just telling her one of my fondest memories, Scully."

"And what may that be?"

"Our first time."

Scully looked and felt stricken.

"Wha..."

"Take it easy, I didn't get that far..."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

Scully was rolling her eyes, this time with honest reason.

"Scully, do you remember the evening?"

At Mulder's words, the memory of their first night together floated into her consciousness. God, how she had waited for that night, secretly of course. Her pride had stood in their way for such a long time.

"Of course I do. How could I ever forget?"

"Scully, I had missed you so, and....stood there just about to knock on your door, thinking about ways to make you mine, thinking about ways to seduce you and make sweet love to you all night..."

"God, Mulder."

"Don't interrupt!"

"I'm sorry, please continue."

Scully leaned back in her wicker chair. Mulder told stories like a true bard, and she knew that she would enjoy his tale.

"I thought about how I could knock seductively, but I couldn't come up with a way to knock seductively, so I just plain knocked and I could hear the soft shuffle of your feet as you approached the door. I was holding my sixpacks of beers under my arms and when you opened the door, I almost dropped the beers, coz you were so breathtakingly beautiful..."

"Absence makes..."

"No, Scully, it wasn't that. You were, you had always been breathtakingly beautiful and you still are, by the way..."

Mulder motioned for Scully to come sit on his lap, she complied, her movements slightly less graceful now that they were both in their eighties. She sighed content as she sat almost comfortably on his better thigh.

"OK, sweetie, continue your story."

"Only if you give me a kiss."

Scully inched closer, their noses bumping into each other. Their lips met briefly and Mulder continued his story.

"Alright, there I was, in your doorway, dripping wet, sixpacks under my arms and you smiled at me and put your arms around my waist and hugged me. I remember thinking, why the hell am I carrying these sixpacks and I tell you that I have to put them down, and I do, and then we hug each other, properly. Do you remember that? We, partners, had been apart for five weeks and we were hugging like we were lovers, lovers who had been apart for five years! How could we have been so much in denial?"

"I don't know, but at the end of that evening we weren't, were we?"

They kissed again, lingering a bit longer this time.

"I love you, Scully."

"I love you, now on with the story."

"Never enough..."

"Mulder!"

"OK, OK, you're just like Katie..."

"Or, maybe she's just like me?"

"Yadda, yadda, OK, where was I?"

"We were hugging."

"Oh, yeah, and you looked up at me and said 'I've missed you'..."

"I said no such thing!"

"You did!"

"No, I didn't!"

"Did too!"

"OK, I might have."

"HAH!"

Scully muttered something, all the while loving their banter to no end.

"OK, Scully, you looked up at me and you told me that you had missed me, and my mind was reeling. You telling me that you had missed me, well, it was surreal. I told you I had missed you, too, and we hugged even more tightly. You, or, we, had never said anything like that to each other before, Scully. My insides were jello and my legs spaghetti, I just wanted to melt into your warm embrace, wanted to meld together with you right then and there."

"Me too."

"Yes, but we had to talk about the food first."

"Yes, the food.."

Scully sighed.

"Well, next you took my coat and we both noticed, at the same time, that we matched..."

"Blue jeans and white tee shirts, yes, I remember..."

"I saw you smile when you realized we were color-coordinated, Scully. You blushed, too, and..."

"You didn't see me blush!"

"I can't sugarcoat?"

"Sure. Fine. Sugarcoat.."

"Thank you..."

"You know, I never told you this, Mulder, but I planned the whole thing..."

"What thing?"

"I knew you, Mulder, I knew you would wear jeans and a tee shirt..."

"And, so you dressed in...?"

"Yes..."

Mulder looked at her then, tears welling up in his eyes. Scully looked deep into his pooled eyes, as if seeing yet another reason to love him. She heard him clear his throat and watched him wet his dry lips.

"I picked up the beers and put them on your kitchen counter and you took my hand and led me to the kitchen table, which you had set so beautifully, you had lit candles and there was an incredible aroma. Lasagna..."

"We never ate that lasagna..."

"No, but I bet it was the best lasagna I never had."

Scully kissed Mulder's wrinkly nose. God, he was still the most adorable man she knew.

"Then what happened, Mulder?"

"I sat down at the table and asked if I could help you in any way, and you said no. You were checking on the lasagna and you were donning a smile that was melting my heart over and over again, and then you stepped closer to me and asked me what I had been doing..."

"Yes, and you told me that you had been so bored..."

"Yes, and you told me that you had been bored, too..."

"...and then I told you that we should perhaps be bored together next time..."

Mulder looked deep into Scully's eyes, and she could feel her breathing hitch. He could still put the whammy on her.

"Scully, do you have any idea how elated I felt when you told me that? Do you have any idea how happy it made me feel?"

"I guess I have some idea..."

She had waited for that moment for a long time. She had dreamed about telling him that she wanted to spend time with him outside the office. She had wanted to finally come clean, to finally forgo pizza and movie nights and start something wholly different.

"Then you put your right hand on my left shoulder and gazed into my eyes and said..."

Scully remembered the scene as if it had happened an hour ago.

"Being apart from you is torture, Mulder. Every day is wondering how you are, if you're still alive, and worst of all, if you're with someone else...I-could-not-stand-that..."

Mulder looked at her, nodding at her and drying a tear from his wrinkly, old cheek.

"I couldn't believe that you said those words, they still amaze me, Scully. I was so totally blown away by your statement and then you inched closer and straddled me. We were so close. We clung to each other. It was heavenly..."

"Yes..."

Scully put her arms around his neck and hugged him for all she was worth.

"Thank God for that night, for the courage to finally show you how I felt, how I still feel."

"Scully, I wished I could have had your courage to tell you how I feared that we would never..."

"The cancer?"

"Yes, that was always a part of it, Scully, the everpresent shadowy figure in our lives, following us, in stealth...But it wasn't just that. I was scared to death that you would find someone and quit the X-Files, Scully, quit and leave me behind..."

Scully shook her head and pulled back to gaze into his eyes.

"Not in the cards, Mulder."

"Gotta love those cards, Scully..."

"We hugged fiercely, and I could feel your heart pounding in unison with mine, and it felt so right."

"Yes, Scully, it was perfect synchronicity..."

"Then what happened?"

"You know what happened"

"Yes, Mulder, but you tell it so well..."

"Will you help me?"

"Yes..."

They pulled apart from their intense hug and kissed briefly. She loved his lips, she could never grow tired of having them press into hers.

"OK, so we were hugging, and you were straddling my lap, which was just over the top unfuckingbelievable..."

"No swearing, Mulder."

"Oops, sorry, Scully, but it was just so amazing."

"Yupp, get with it!"

"OK, Scully, then I told you that I could never, ever, go be with someone else, that I was already so in love with you that I thought about you every second of every day"

"Oh, God, it felt so good to hear those words come out of your mouth, I thought I would faint then and there..."

"Yes, Scully, I almost passed out myself expressing my feelings in words"

"But then you decided words weren't enough..."

"We both decided, Scully."

"We inched closer still and our foreheads touched..."

"Then our noses did their little nose dance..."

"Mulder, we were like two eskimos, weren't we?"

"Yes, we were, but then it was time to become Frenchmen..."

"Our first kiss..."

"Well, we had kissed before, Scully."

"But not like that, Mulder, not with...intent."

"No, never like that."

"Can you tell me about our kiss?"

"Your hands wandered up to my sexy, moussed-up hair."

"It was very sexy..."

"Yes, I remember you telling me to wear it like that more often, all spiked up and wild-looking."

"Yes, until I realized that I didn't need every straight gal and gay male at work to be drooling over you, because you belonged to me now..."

"Very territorial, Scully."

"You were mine, Mulder."

"Yes, I had belonged to you since Oregon..."

Scully looked at him, breaking their little moment of fluent banter. Could she possibly love him more than she already did?

"The kiss, tell me about the kiss, Mulder."

"OK, you were running your fingers through my hair, inching closer, no doubt feeling me underneath you..."

"Oh, yeah."

"And then you cocked your head a tad and took a deep breath and looked at me and said: 'If I kiss you now, Mulder, I won't ever be able to stop'."

"Yes, I said that, didn't I?"

Scully smiled at the memory. She remebered vividly how her heart had pounded away in her chest at the imminent first liplock with Mulder. She had really been seconds away from fainting.

"We closed our eyes and our lips met..."

"Kiss me, Mulder."

Scully inched closer to Mulder and their lips met in the same fashion as they had done years ago in her apartment in Georgetown. They opened their mouths to let each other in, and the thrill was not gone, not by A long shot. She knew it would never be gone. The kiss was deep, yet tentative, wild yet loving. Perfect. They pulled apart.

"Then we pulled apart, Scully, and I saw that you were crying."

"God, how embarrassing..."

"No, Scully, it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen."

They looked at each other for a good while.

"It's unbelievable, you know."

"What do you mean, Mulder?"

"The way we felt for each other, the way we still feel for each other. How can someone still be so much in love, still feel the way we do after all these years? Think about all the miserable people we've met, about all the people who never find true happiness, or lose it so quickly?"

"I think we were lucky, I guess. I think that all the trials and tribulations we went through, has helped forge us together, has helped create 'us' It hasn't been easy, Mulder. You died on me, for godsakes..."

"Let's not mention that."

"Yes, I want to forget all about that time, but still, it makes me appreciate the time we have had and have together even more."

"Do you want me to go on with the story?"

"Please, Mulder"

Mulder shifted in his seat, judging by the look on his face Scully knew his leg was a bit numb from the weigth of his now slightly plumper life companion.

"Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine, Scully."

They briefly looked at each other and burst out laughing.

"OK, so I owe you a dollar, Scully, big deal."

"Yes, now on with the story, I wanna hear the juicy part, the part where we expressed our love with our young, vibrant bodies."

Scully sighed dreamily.

"Hey, we might be old, but we can still remember how it felt, can't we?"

"Yes, Mulder, please take me down memory lane."

"OK, so we had just kissed, passionately, and we were gazing into each other's eyes. You were still crying..."

"Gawd."

"No it was beautiful, it made me happy to see what an effect our kiss had had on you, I always thought that you could never love me the way I loved you. I was a mess..."

"You still are."

"OK, but that's not relevant now."

"OK, I was crying, then what happened?"

"You were crying into my neck and I took a hold of your head and pulled your face up to mine and said: 'Scully?', coz I was worried that you were really sad cause you were kinda bawling..."

"I was not!"

"You said then, with an incredulous look on your face: 'Mulder, you...love...me?' Your voice was a quiver, a mere whisper, a shadow of its usual assertive self..."

"OK, you make me sound like a wuss now..."

"And then I told you, as you were still crying:'Yupp, partner, utterly, completely, with all my heart and soul...love you...and I'd do anything to be able to hold you like this for the rest of my life'."

Mulder paused and looked around the porch, with a mischievous grin on his face. Scully didn't like the look one iota, or that was of course what she wanted him to believe.

"Scully, you think Wills and Lynn will have dinner ready anytime soon?"

"Mulder! Don't change the subject!"

"No, I'm not changing the subject. Think back, Scully! I dried your tears and the first thing that you manage to say is: 'Do you want to eat?'"

"Ah, yes, the lasagna. You said 'Well', very hesitantly, and then you looked down at your crotch!"

"Scully, don't make my story into a sleazy account of my then overactive libido!"

Mulder was rolling his eyes, and Scully burst out laughing.

"Yes, laugh all you want, Scully, but back then, it wasn't easy working with you, you know..."

"Because of your sleazy overactive libido."

"It's quite natural, actually, to react..."

Scully pressed her lips to his then, efficiently shutting him up. It was a fierce and fiery kiss and it left old Mulder breathless for a while. She felt an inward thrill to be able to mute him in this way.

"I was only joking, Mulder. Please, don't get angry."

"I'm afraid of the fact that behind that shiny veneer of humor lies an unsatisfied beast, ready to go look for satisfaction elsewhere now that my libido is less than exuberant..."

She was running her fingers through his thin, grey hair, giving him little pecks on his cheeks.

"Oh, Mulder..."

She hugged him tightly. Gawd, how wrong he was. She wouldn't trade this feeling for anything in the world. Who cared about sexual gratification when you had perfect love?

"OK, can I finish the story, Scully?"

"Yes, you may proceed,...my sex god..."

Scully licked his earlobe for good measure. OK, well, a little sexuality couldn't hurt. Grandma slut.

"Thank you."

Scully pulled back from his neck and settled herself comfortably on Mulder's other thigh. As Scully heard his grateful sigh she knew blood had rushed down to his toes again.

"I said 'Well', and you looked at me very intensly and breathed 'Well?'"

"God, I remember that moment..."

Scully closed her eyes and envisioned herself straddling Mulder's lap, thinking very unpure thoughts, feeling him through the denim of their jeans, yes, her lasagna had been the last thing on her mind, no matter how delicious it would have tasted...

"I wanted to rip your clothes off and force you take me to bed."

Scully opened her eyes and saw Mulder with a big grin on his face, humming very contentedly.

"Let me remind you, Scully, that was exactly what you did."

"Yeah, well, you didn't seem to be in any urgency...making me feel you and want you, not giving me what I wanted..."

"I was desperate for you, Scully! I just didn't want to ruin it. I was scared shitless, Scully!"

"Alright, alright, tell me the story the way you think it happened."

"Well, that's what I've been trying to do all afternoon, if people could just stop with the interrupting all the time..."

"Stop whining!"

They turned towards the door when they heard footsteps.

"What's this, a lovers' quarrel?"

William stepped out onto his porch and saw his parents sitting in one of the tired old wicker chairs.

"No, your mother was just accusing me of not doing anything about my desire for her..."

"Gawd...not one of your endless tirades about who did what first?"

Scully heard her son sigh vehemently as he turned to go back into the house, his father's question interrupted his retreat.

"Wills, is dinner ready?"

"Yes, soon, dad."

Scully briefly looked at Mulder.

"What's cooking?"

"Lasagna, mom."

William disappeared into the house and left two chuckling oldies on the porch.

"Lasagna, Scully..."

"The story, Mulder!"

"OK, so I had expressed my devotion for you and we were gazing at each other and then you started fingering the hem of my tee shirt..."

"Yes..."

"And your hands were sneaking underneath the fabric and a shiver ran through me at the contact of your soft palms on my sensitive skin."

"Sensitive skin?"

"A man can't have sensitive skin??!!"

"Sorreeeh, please go on."

"Your hands roamed upward on my chest and I mimicked your action and found the hem of your tee shirt, and I could feel you shiver at the contact of my rough calloused fingers on your soft belly"

Scully chuckled.

"God...you sound like Barb Cartland."

"You were fiddling with my chest hair and suddenly decided you needed better access and you started pulling my tee upward. I was a bit angry at you then, coz I had to lift my arms up and leave your soft skin for a while..."

"I had to get closer, Mulder..."

Scully leaned closer to Mulder's chest and breathed in his familiar scent as he continued the story.

"Yes, and you managed to yank the tee off of me and I remember thinking that I hadn't worked out at all during our vacation but that you seemed to worship my chest anyway, feeling every inch of it, kissing it..."

"You were gorgeous, Mulder..."

"I'm not anymore?! Scully, I'm shocked!"

"Baby, you're the hottest grandpa in a 10-mile radius..."

"Only a 10-mile...?"

"OK, you're the hottest grandpa in the country. Happy now?"

"Very"

"Now, I wanna get back to the hot part."

"You always wanna get down to the hot part, Scully."

"Yes, that's me, I just loooove the hotness..."

Mulder pinched her butt.

"Ouch!"

"Just checking..."

"Mulder..."

"The story? OK, things were getting pretty hot at that point. I wanted better access to you, too, so I took a hold of the hem of your tee and you automatically lifted your arms, and I pulled off the garment in one fell swoop..."

"Don't go all Shakespeare on me now..."

"Shut up, Scully, it's my story"

"Sure. Fine. Whatever."

"OK, you owe me at least 5 dollars"

"What?"

"You've said the word at least five times today!"

"I have not!"

"You have, Scully!"

"How much is that in hugs and kisses?"

"Well...two kisses for each 'fine' and at least an hour of huggin' before the sun sets."

"Fine"

"HAH! Scully, 12 kisses you owe me!"

"Grumble, grumble."

"OK, back to our juicy story."

"Grandma! Gramps! Dinner's served!"

Scully and Mulder groaned.

"It seems this time we won't be able to skip the lasagna, Mulder."

"Actually, I was getting a bit hungry, Scully."

"Continue the story after dinner?"

"Definitely, Scully. A quick kiss?"

"Uh-huh."

They kissed and slowly got up from the wicker chair, their porous bones cracking.

Part 3: Wills

They had invited his parents to dinner. His wife Lynn made the most excellent lasagna. Katie was seated between his parents. All was well with the world. The lasagna on his plate looked and smelled delicious.

"So, Katie, what story was grandpa Mulder telling you out on the porch?"

William looked in abject horror at his father. Lynn was looking at their daughter questioningly. Not again, he groaned inwardly.

"Er..." Katie managed.

"Just a little story about Scully and me," his dad supplied.

His father's input made Lynn smile, Katie sigh with relief and his mother roll her eyes and look at his father frowningly.

"What? It's a secret that what we have is kinda special?" Mulder looked at Scully in mock disbelief.

"Dad, it's OK, have some more lasagna."

William shifted slightly in his seat and saw his wife look frowningly at him.

"What?!"

"I think it's lovely that your parents have a special bond, that they have stayed together for all these years and are still so much in love."

He watched his mother delve her fork into her lasagna and start eating with enthusiasm at Lynn's outburst. William looked at his wife pleadingly. All his life he had had to witness the great romance that was his parents' relationship, and he was just hoping to spare his own family the torture of gooey smiles and overly passionate kissing sessions that could take place at any given moment, at any given location. They were old and it was a little gross. He sighed and looked up at his mom. She was eating her lasagna vigorously, seemingly wanting to have nothing to do with the discussion. He let his attention wander to Katie, his eighteen-year-old daughter, who was looking at her grandpa with a corky smile playing on her lips. The reason for it soon became evident as he turned to look at his father making the Mr Potato Head Face. Gawd, did he never grow tired of making that face? Then he felt Lynn's hand on his and he turned to face her.

"Honey, love is important"

Part 4: Mulder

"So, wanna continue the story?"

He and Scully were sitting on the couch in William and Lynn's living room, digesting their lasagna. Mulder had draped his arm over Scully's shoulders the way he had always done, and Scully was no doubt awaiting the juicy part of their first time story. Mulder furrowed his brow and scratched his thinning silvery hair.

"Where were we?"

"Er...you were undressing me..."

"Oh, yes, I was pulling off your tee shirt..."

"I was so excited, Mulder, I wasn't wearing a bra..."

" knew that the moment I walked in, could see your rosy buds poking at the fabric..."

"You did not!"

"Uhm, Scully, I'm a guy, I always notice these things"

"Still?"

"Well..."

"Nevermind, don't answer that, please go on."

Mulder had to chuckle at that. Biting his lip he continued.

"OK, I pulled your tee off and your breast immediately caught my attention..."

Scully chuckled.

"What?"

"Well, you just said that you had noticed my breasts as soon as you had entered my Apartment"

"Yeah, OK, I'll rephrase. As I pulled your tee off your pebbled breasts were finally free of their confine and I could ogle them to my heart's content..."

"You didn't just ogle, Mulder..."

"No, but I did at first."

"Yeah, you cast a glance at my windows to make sure the curtains were drawn and no one else could see me..."

"You were mine, I had to make sure..."

"Very possessive behaviour, Mulder."

Mulder squeezed Scully in his embrace and she squealed.

"Mulder! Do you know how old I am?!"

"Scully, you're never too old for a squeeze..."

He inched closer and gave her a wet kiss on the cheek.

"The story, Mulder."

"OK, Scully."

Mulder lowered his raspy old voice to a mere murmur as he continued his narrative.

"Hotness ensued. I was totally mesmerized by your beauty and all I could think about was how long I had waited for that moment when you would let me in, let me show you my true feelings. We had journeyed together for such a long time, so many years we had danced around our feelings and now they had finally surfaced. I was overcome with relief, Scully. Relief that I had finally come home, relief that I had finally been allowed to feel your love. I was going to love you that night and, however overwhelming the thought was, for the rest of my life..."

Mulder felt it was time for a pause, for quiet reminiscing, for reflection. The fire in the hearth was crackling and bathed the room in vibrant warmth. Scully turned to face him, and they looked at each other. She was old. He was, too. But they were old together.

"Mulder, do you remember when we first met?"

Mulder smiled at the memory.

"Mulder, I was so nervous..."

She smiled at him and shook her head.

"Scully, we were so young."

"You were so cocky, Mulder."

Mulder chuckled. He suddenly remebered how he, during those first awkward weeks, had invaded her space and how he had tried to show off and test her.

"Do you believe in the existence of extraterrestrials?"

Mulder imitated himself from many years ago.

"I love you, Mulder."

Scully closed her eyes and leaned her head against his shoulder. He was in heaven.

"Please, continue the story, my love."

Mulder swallowed the lump of emotion that had formed in his throat. He had been sent an angel, a guardian angel, one who had saved him from himself too many times to count. One who had joined him in his search, his search for Sam. One, who had ultimately turned out to be the one he had set out to find.

"You were perfect. So perfect, Scully. I looked into your eyes and I suddenly realized that I had been given two hands for a reason..."

Scully's giggle interrupted him.

"You mean two reasons..."

"Very funny, Scully. Yes, I had to touch you, but I wasn't sure how I should proceed."

"Yes, and I was thinking that you didn't want to touch me, that I wasn't busty enough for you, I could have hit you then, Mulder. I was contemplating to use one of your beer bottles, you know!"

"My hands were shaking, Scully. You were straddling my lap, slowly moving over my erection, your breasts hovering only a few inches away from my starving mouth. I didn't know how to address the issue."

"Mulder, I was terrified, I know I hid it well underneath my blush, but I was scared to death, just like you, only I was scared that you didn't want me, now that I was exposed to you."

"God, you couldn't have been more wrong, Scully. I was insane with lust for you..."

"Yes, but then something happened."

"Yes, ours fears vanished when we looked into each other's eyes and said, in perfect unison..."

"The bedroom."

They both burst out laughing.

"What are the odds of that happening?"

"I don't know, Mulder, maybe it wasn't so far-fetched. I knew you were aroused, and you knew I was, too..."

"Who knew 'bedroom eyes' really existed..."

"Yes..."

"Scully, want me to continue the story?"

"Uh-huh."

"I couldn't help myself. I had to kiss you again. I inched closer and put my arms around to your back and pulled you up against me. Your breast were pressed up against my chest and I thought I would faint as I felt your nipples against my skin. Your arms went around my neck and we kissed. Real kisses. In between kisses I managed to whisper how beautiful I thought you were, how perfect. And then we kissed more hungrily, moans escaping both our throats. You were gasping for air and I descended on your collarbone, kissing my way down to your left breast. You arched your back for me and gave me easier access. I caressed the underside of your left breast, testing the weigth of it, letting my thumb wander to your puckered nipple and run over it in languid fashion. I looked up and saw you lick your lips, your eyes closed. You were waiting for me to suckle, weren't you?"

"Oh, Mulder..."

"I know, I couldn't resist it any longer. I had to taste you. I leaned in and ran my tongue slowly around the nipple and you moaned. I let the tip of my tongue stab at your rosy little pebble and you shrieked."

Mulder chuckled.

"OK, so I was a little sensitive..."

"A little, Scully? Try super!"

"Sure. Fi..."

"Well, then you shoved at me, and forced me to kiss your mouth again. And your hands went down to my fly..."

"I needed to feel more of you, Mulder, so sue me."

"You unbuttoned the top two buttons of my jeans and I decided it was time to relocate, so I grabbed your thighs and breathed 'Hold on, Scully' and stood up. You weighed nothing, Scully. I felt all macho as I carried you into your bedroom. You were feathering my face with hot kisses, and I could barely see where I was going, but finally there it was. Your bed..."

"My bed..."

"Just waiting for us..."

Someone cleared his throat in the doorway to the living room, and they turned to look at the intruder.

"You guys want some dessert?"

William was standing in the doorway, smiling at his parents.

"William, won't you come sit with us a while."

Mulder watched Scully smiling at their son, her hand outstretched, motioning for him to come and join them on the couch. Wills looked at him questioningly and Mulder nodded and smiled. What else could he do? Wills was their love child. They made room for him between them, and soon they were sitting close together, all staring into the warm glow of the fireplace.

"Are you guys OK?"

"Yes, of course we are, William."

Mulder saw, from the corner of his eye, how Scully squeezed their son's hand, remembering how tiny his hand had been when he had let go of him all those years ago. His stomach twisted in knots at the horrific memory. Thank God, they had got him back from those people.

"It's true, we're not getting any younger, but your mother and me just want to let you know how proud we are of you, and how much we love you."

"I love you guys, too, you know that don't you?"

There was yet another moment of silence in the cosy living room. Mulder thought of food.

"You said something about dessert?"

"Yeah, dad, chocolate cake, left over from Katie's birthday party, she made it herself."

"Katie's so grown up now, William."

"Yes, Mom, she is."

"And we're so ooold..."

"Dad, you're young at heart, and that's what counts."

"I wish I cold be young at..."

"Dessert, Mulder!"

Scully motioned for William to rise and held her hand outstretched so that their son could help her up from the couch. Mulder was smirking at her. Scully was rolling her eyes at him, grunting with the effort of getting up from the couch. He chuckled out loud.

Soon they were all seated around the table again.

"This is excellent, Katie."

Scully was on her second piece of cake, Mulder observed. He couldn't let the moment pass.

"What about your diet, Honeybunch?"

Scully stopped her chewing and didn't even look at Mulder.

"My diet's just...fine...Poopyhead."

Mulder mock sighed and continued shovelling down chocolate cake. It really was excellent. He hummed contentedly as he ate and looked at Katie beaming up at him. This was life, he mused. His and Scully's life. Wonderful family. Each other. Food. Good and tasty food.

"Then what happened, Mulder?"

Mulder and Scully were lying in the bed in the guest room downstairs. William, Lynn and Katie had all turned in, too.

"Well, Scully, then we did the Deed."

"Details, Mulder, details!"

"I carried you into your bedroom and we were kissing ferociously all the way"

"Imagine that..."

"You wanna kiss me ferociously, Scully?"

He turned to face her on the bed. She beamed at him.

"Uh-huh."

"Well, then, I'm waiting."

Mulder puckered his lips in anticipation. Scully inched closer and he heard her gasp in pain.

"Oh, Mulder, it's no use..."

"Is it your back again?"

"Yes, it's not getting any better."

"Shall I rub it for you?"

"Yes, please, sweetheart."

Scully turned her back to Mulder, almost certainly feeling that stabbing kind of pain she had told him about last night as she groaned so much, Mulder thought sadly. As he felt her relax into his care, Mulder murmured his love into her ear.

"Baby, shall I continue our story?"

"Mulder, remember when you massaged my back when I was pregnant?"

Mulder was a little surprised at the shift of topic. It was just gonna get so juicy, too.

"At that hideous class, with all those other pregnant ladies with their hubbies?"

"Yupp, wasn't it just perfect they way you spooned me?"

"Yes..."

"Our baby was inside me then."

"Yes..."

"I was so happy when you came there with me..."

"He was my baby, too, you know..."

"We created him that first night..."

"Want me to tell you exactly how?"

Mulder suggestively snuggled closer, wiggling his old tired pelvis in the general direction of her rear end.

"Yes, Mulder, please continue our first time story."

Mulder stopped his massage of Scully's lower back and breathed into her ear.

"I put you down on the edge of the bed, and you looked up at me and reached for my fly. I just stood there, watching you unbuttoning my jeans and licking your lips, and I thought that I would faint."

"Mmmm..."

"You were licking your lips and I grabbed your wrists, but you were andamant about getting me naked..."

"Don't stop the massage, Mulder"

Mulder continued his massage of her lower back, running his slightly liver-spotted fingers over her welted, wrinkly skin.

"Mmmm, Mmmulder, feelz zo good..."

"You unbuttoned my fly and pulled at my jeans, chanting 'I have to get them off, I have to get them off...'"

"Yes..."

"I let you undress me, and I was so ready for you..."

"Me, too, Mulder...me too..."

"My jeans and boxers were somewhere around my knees and you grabbed me..."

Mulder felt a longing too unbearable to describe at the memory.

"You fondled me, and I moaned when your little hand encircled me."

"You were mine..."

"Yes, Scully, I was all yours..."

"Tell me how the story ends, Mulder, I won't interrupt."

Mulder heard his life companion yawn. She was probably really exhausted. All that picking of apples and eating always made one tired. He was pretty wasted, too. Her yawn was contagious.

"I leaned over you and pushed you down on the bed. Straddling you I attacked your jeans buttons. You let go of my privates and stretched your arms above your head, wantonly, I might add, and I loved watching you in need. I managed to undress you and in seconds I was crawling up your body, my chest hair rubbing against your exposed skin. I felt your warmth and I could smell your need, Scully. I loved you so much. So I kissed you. And kissed you. I forgot what our bodies were doing, because I had just discovered your mouth, your tongue and molars, and you had finally given me access to them. The rest is a haze, Scully..."

Silence.

"Scully?"

No reply.

"Scully?"

Nothing.

"Sweetheart?"

No answer.

"Scully?"

Mulder swallowed and turned her onto her back. There was a smile on her face, of peaceful contentment. A fond memory playing on her still features as she lay there. Mulder felt her pulse.

Nothing.

He tucked a wayward strand of hair behind her right ear.

"I didn't get to finish my story, Scully."

He rested his head on her stilled chest.

"Do you want me to finish our first time story, my love?"

"OK, I was kissing your mouth and we were both moaning in perfect rhythm, it seemed that we had joined in other places as well..."

He looked up at her face, but she wasn't rolling her eyes at him, and he burst out crying.

"I can't do this alone..." he managed.

"I can't..." he croaked.

He felt his heart start pounding in his chest, his palms were sweating and he could barely see.

"I can't, Scully, please help me..."

He clutched at her night gown, but she didn't stir.

"Scully?"

"Mulder?"

He felt a tremendous relief wash over him as he heard her voice.

Part 6: After

Katie softly knocked on their door. It was time for breakfast.

There was no answer.

She tried again.

Nothing.

She opened the door and peered inside. She spotted her grandfather and grandmother in what seemed like a very intimate embrace. He was lying half on top of her, his arms around her.

He was smiling, and so was her grandmother. Katie thought about leaving them to sleep, but something told her not to go.

She stepped closer to the bed and leaned over. She reached out her hand to touch her grandfather's arm.

It was cold.

"Gramps?"

She looked at her grandmother, smiling so contently in her sleep.

"Grandma?"

Neither were stirring. She felt her grandmother's forehead.

It, too, was cold.

Katie sat down on the edge of the bed and looked at her grandparents. She felt the tears before they ran down her cheeks, felt the lump before it even started to clog up her breathing.

They were gone.

The two people she had enjoyed watching for so many years were gone.

She couldn't believe it, yet, as she let her eyes wander over their still forms, she had to.

She had adored them, their banter, their love for each other and for her dad. She knew that they had loved her, too. And now they were there, lying so peacefully in this guest bed.

They had been her role models for as long as she could remember. They had been her idols, and she had been their number one fan. If she ever found the same kind of love that Mr Mulder and Ms Scully had shared, she, too, could die happy.

She wished them alive, but they would live on forever. Others might think them dead and buried, but she knew. She would not forget them. She would always go back and watch those videos, look at those pics and quote them whenever she had the chance. She would tell her grandkids about them. She would pester her friends with stories about them, talk endlessly of the quirkiness that was her gramps and the stalwart that was her granny.

If she ever met dire straits, she would think back upon her grandparents, who although they never married, were the perfect couple, the romance of the millennium, the most beautiful love story ever written and that there would be hope for those who believed. In Love.

It was true she would miss them immensly, but she would never forget what they had represented. She would never forget what her grandparents had done for her, for her father, for Earth, for that matter. She would never be able to.

She cast a last glance at them and left the room.

The End

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