In A Flash

Part 7

The back of Mulder's head needed a few stitches, but the cut on his cheek would heal on its own. Scully admitted to a sore throat, but other than a sultry, raspy voice, which would soon clear up, she was none the worse for wear.

The past two days had been filled with police reports, hospital visits, and cat naps. Despite the flurry of activity, lack of sleep, and mild headache, Mulder felt strangely euphoric.

The VCS was thrilled with his and Scully's conclusion of the investigation. Even though the perpetrator met an untimely death, Mulder's solving the crime reinforced *their* good decision to bring him in on the case. The fact that Mulder uncovered a gay bashing murderer, which gibed with the VCS's initial profiles, was icing on the cake. Mulder's back was virtually aching from all the pats and slaps he was receiving.

Inwardly, he too, was immensely proud of himself. He'd been able to explore extreme possibilities, profile, hunt for, and eventually catch the murderer. A killer who--without Mulder's insight--would have proven too elusive to apprehend using conventional police methods. But most importantly, he'd saved his partner's life. Even in his pervading darkness, he watched her back and kept her alive.

For this he wasn't proud; he was grateful.

Also, the dull haze in his mind was lifting. The memories and the events of his life were slowly coming into focus. A snippet of a conversation - like the one in the Fells Point bar-a song, a voice, a picture of Scully in his mind, they were all coming back clearly. Some of what he remembered was terrifying and sad, but some was glorious.

Yes, she was.

Without the benefit of having sunshine or moonrise, Mulder didn't really know what time it was when he and Scully finally trudged through their front door. They were both filthy and disheveled. His sunglasses had been smashed on the pavement, and Mr. Pointy had met a soldier's death.

"Their" front door. It had a nice ring to it. His and Scully's. She was his partner, his lover, and his best friend. And she loved *him*.

"Me first!" pulled him out of his reverie.

"Okay, first what?" he said.

"Shower, Mulder. I'm dirty and I'm first."

"We could both be first."

A soft chuckle then, "If I wasn't so dirty, I would love us to both be first. But for now..." he heard the water start, "I win," and the shower door clicked.

He sat on the bed, took off his shoes, and peeled off each sock. He threw his socks where he thought the corner might be, and heard them thwap against the wall. He wondered if his charcoal gray Armani slacks would ever be the same. Those came off too and joined his socks. The blue shirt and silk tie had been discarded at the hospital long ago, and he had to borrow a tee shirt from someone. He lifted that gingerly over his face and head, carefully avoiding the bumps and stitches. That met with the rest of his wardrobe by the wall.

He was left sitting in a pair of boxers.

Thwap.

A gust of steam and soap wafted into the room, as Scully must have pushed the shower door open.

"Your turn. Be careful washing around the stitches."

"Aren't you coming in to help me?" He stood up and took a step away from the bed. "After all, I'm wounded, and you're not dirty anymore."

He heard a lip smacking sound before she said, "As much as I would like to..." Mulder felt a small teasing fingernail trail down his chest and come to rest right below his navel. "I want to do a little something first. Get clean and don't use too much cold water."

Clean, yes, get clean.

She'd left the shower running, so when he stepped in, the temperature was warm and mild. Soaping gently, he washed his hair and carefully attended to all the rest. He was pleased when his hand, reaching for the soap, found a toothbrush. He had discovered that Scully had a basket of toiletries hanging from the showerhead. Mulder had sniffed them all the last time he showered and remembered that a tube of toothpaste was among the decidedly feminine scents.

He shut the water off, dried himself lightly, wrapped a towel around his waist and stepped back into the bedroom.

It wasn't lavender this time. The scent of the burning candles was exotic and musky. He suddenly remembered Scully taking him into a little New Age shop in Georgetown and making him smell almost a dozen differently scented candles. He went along, sniffing gladly, knowing what she had in mind for their ultimate use.

Soft music floated all around him, and the air was cool on his damp skin.

He heard a gentle rustling, and a sultry voice whispered from behind, "You used my toothbrush again, didn't you."

He quickly reached around and came back with a silken Scully in his arms.

"If you keep that attitude up with me, FBI woman," he started dabbing kisses down her cheek and onto her throat, "I may just have to introduce you to the intricacies of the penal system of justice." He was concentrating on a spot just below her jaw; "I may have to instruct you in some of the new penal codes." He captured her lips with his.

After several breathless moments she asked, "Would that include serving subpoenas?"

"Just mine, Agent Scully."

Locking his lips to hers, he walked her backwards until he felt her legs bump against the bed. His hands slid up her shoulders and encountered some offending silky material.

"What's this all about?" he said as he fingered the cloth.

"Sensory input, Mulder." Scully's tongue began exploring his stubbled upper lip. "I thought you'd like the feel of silk between your fingertips."

"Yes, yes I would...so to hell with this." He scooped his hands down and found the hem of the fabric. The garment was quickly removed amid the sounds of snagging and tearing.

Scully's laughter lit the room. He felt her arms as she put them around his waist and said, "Turnabout is fair play," and the towel was snatched away.

"No, Scully, in your case, turnabout is *foreplay*." He held her tightly and spun her around and down, so now she was lying on top of him on the bed. She let out a short yelp of surprise, then sought out his tongue with hers. The kiss deepened, and Mulder's hands loosened their grip around her back. One large palm stroked the rise of her ass, and the other hand held the back of her head.

He felt her snake one arm behind his neck, and with the other she slowly stroked the curves of his chest, belly, and hips, stopping so her fingers could graze in the soft hair below.

Softly Mulder groaned, "Oh, God.."

Scully stopped all explorations and asked in a concerned voice, "Are you all right, Mulder? Does your head hurt?"

"Oh God, yes. And you make it hurt so good." He bucked his hips and prodded her belly with the head that was hurting so good.

He heard her voice like liquid chocolate say, "Then let me kiss it and make it feel even better." He felt Scully's mouth as she planted kisses on his face and chest, dampening his skin along the way. She stopped briefly to circle each of his nipples with her tongue, then continued the cascade of kisses to his belly and below until finally arriving at the base of the problem. She grasped his shaft, moved the head to the tip of her wet lips, then took him into her mouth. He felt her throat relax as she drew in his entire length.

Mulder was barely able to whisper, "Ohh...tell me, Scully...oh god...tell me..."

He felt her mouth crawling all over him, working her way up from base to the summit, then back down again. Her cool hands and moist lips gently pulling, wetting, sucking, caressing, and curling around him. The blood was pounding in his ears, but he heard her whisper back, "Tell you? What?" She blew a soft breath, then he felt as her tongue swirled gently at first, then more forcefully around the peak.

His left hand was tangled in her hair, and his right was gripping the edge of the mattress as he said through gritted teeth, "uunngh...tell me...what...oohh Jesus...so good...tell me what you...you see...aahhh Scully..."

Scully changed techniques and started rappelling, the flat surface of her tongue rippling across his slopes and crevices. She stopped for a moment to lick her lips and reply, "Mulder, I can't."

He heard her take a deep breath before she continued with her wet ascent.

"Y...you can't?...ohh, Scully...Scully stop... stop..."

Mulder felt the warm dampness turn cool on his skin as she shifted away from him. He took a few deep breaths to even out his breathing, then said, "Ohh god, Scully...please...please tell me what you see. Describe it to me. I want to see us."

He heard an amused chuff of laughter and felt the mattress shift again. "I can't because it's dark in here. It's almost midnight, but I've closed all the blinds and drawn all the curtains to block out any streetlight. You like to keep me in the dark--just to get even." She laughed, and the mattress shook again.

"How about for tonight, Scully? Let's make love in the light."

She was silent for a few seconds then said, "Mulder, when we make love like this, I feel like I'm sharing your world with you. Even if it's only for a little while, I love sharing the darkness like this." She paused before she spoke again. This time her voice was close to his ear, "Why don't you tell me?"

Suddenly the blackness opened, and there she was. Not only did she choose to share his obsessions, his life, and his love, but now she chose to share his darkness. He felt tears form in the corners of his eyes, and he was glad that Scully couldn't see him. He swallowed around a lump forming in his throat and said, "I can't do it justice. But I'll try."

A happy sigh came from her direction then, "Let's see, where was I?" and the mattress bounced again.

"Scully wait...c'mere." His voice was soft. He felt her scoot up toward the head of the bed where his lips took hers again.

"Hmm..." she hummed into his mouth.

He took her in his arms and opened his mouth to take her. Suddenly, like a dying man, he thirsted for her, and he drank her down. He kissed her neck, her hair, her eyes, and every raised scar on her beloved face. She swallowed each kiss and returned each one.

"Your kisses are soft and sweet, like rain and honey."

He brought his hands down to caress her breasts. His lips ran a line from her neck to her navel, kissing the small gold cross lying over her heart, imprinting his lips with it. Pausing between her breasts, he made a careful decision.

The left one.

"Scully, your skin feels like silk and down. And so smooth...so smooth."

He nuzzled under her breast and breathed her scent. His hand crept over to her right side and lovingly cupped her breast. He heard a small moan as Scully arched her back slightly.

"You are...so lovely...so precious...."

He kissed her breast and sucked her gently. "You taste like sky and wind."

She moaned a sigh.

"You bring me light, Scully. You are my light. You need to know that." He suckled on her right breast while his thumb circled the nipple of her left and he mumbled, "...need to know that..."

He felt Scully's hands in his hair, carefully avoiding the stitches, stroking his face, stroking his neck. She must have craned her neck forward because she was dropping kisses on the top of his head.

"Your touch surrounds me, Scully. Your soul, your dreams, your truths-they're yours and mine. We're bound by them." His head dipped to her soft belly, and he kissed her over and over, inching lower with each lover's kiss. Both his hands were folded in prayer around her breasts.

"...bound...together...forever..."

"Mul...Mul...derrr..." her breath was coming in hitches and pants. He felt her knees bend up, then her thighs parted, inviting him.

He continued peppering her with kisses.

"Scully....to want you, to touch you, to taste you, this is all I'll ever need, this is all..."

He leaned into her and sipped.

Scully's hands moved in his hair then down off his cheeks. He felt as she braced her hands on the bed and lifted her hips, "Mulder...so good...to love you...love you...so good...Ohh..."

She tasted like dark red wine, dusky and smooth. His tongue felt velvet and chrism. A holy oil, a sacred place. His nose dipped into her. Her fragrance was all around him, and he took it in with reverence.

Scully cried out once and continued to moan softly. Her sounds were like music; her voice was a lullaby. Again, tears collected in his eyes as he squeezed them shut and continued to pray.

Harder and faster, he suckled and stroked until her muscles tightened around his tongue.

Her hips came up off the bed, and she cried out his name over and over. Mulder stayed with her, caressing her, stroking her, and embracing her, until she lay still. Listening as he heard her breaths coming in short gasps and pants.

Licking his lips and tasting her on his tongue, he kissed her soft inner thighs, leaving a trail of her scent behind. Running his lips lightly around her soft hair, he kissed her belly, her chest, her neck, and finally, her lips.

"Scully?" He whispered.

"Yeah?" she breathed.

"That was the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

He felt her lips part in a smile as her hands reached down to touch him. He was ready for her. She kissed him lovingly and opened herself to him.

The soft music, the scent of the candles, the touch of her hands, and the taste of her, all so familiar now, became everything. All of forever in a heartbeat. He never wanted it to end.

She took him in her hands, raised her hips, and guided him to her.

He raised up on his arms and slowly lowered himself down and in. "Oh Christ! This is sweet, so sweet. Oh Scully!" There was no space between them any more. They were joined together, one completed by the other.

Their bodies began the primeval dance of life. Rolling like waves, swaying like tall pines in the wind, they moved as one.

Mulder sifted his fingers through her hair, and Scully ran her nails against his neck. Their lips met, crashed, and sparked, creating fire. The heat from their bodies burned into one another as they stoked the flames with their mouths.

Mulder felt droplets of sweat form and fall as he pushed into her, faster and faster. Harder and harder ...building ...building...

He felt Scully's hands grasp his shoulders as she came up to meet him. Mulder's breath bellowed against her neck as his shouted his strangled cries.

"Scully...hang on...love you...love you....aaaah.."

"Mulderrrr...now...now...yess..."

He held his breath as he soared above the darkness. He emptied into her. His heat and seed filling her fully, then spilling over onto the sheets.

He felt Scully's back arch, and her hips bucked in a syncopated rhythm. He heard as her breath caught in her throat, almost as if she refused to breathe.

And he knew, maybe for the first time in his life, what it felt like to be truly happy, and concluded that he would never take this happiness for granted.

Then he realized that he made this vow to himself after every time he and Scully made love.

After several minutes, Mulder didn't know how many, Scully shifted up next to him. She lifted his arm and curled it around her shoulders as he felt her hair move against his neck.

"Well," Mulder said, in a mildly shaky voice, "That was a good idea, wasn't it?

"A *very* good idea," she agreed, and nuzzled him, planting small kisses along the way.

"Thank you, Scully."

"Any time."

"No, I mean...thank you...for loving me"

"Oh Mulder. It's not as hard as I make you think it is." She paused a moment. "Loving you is the most important thing I've ever done."

"After all that's happened to you--to us?" Mulder was incredulous, but very moved.

"I guess what I mean to say is...I feel blessed by you. You make me believe."

"Believe what?" he whispered. He heard the emotion in his own voice.

"I...I know you have trouble with this, Mulder, but I believe that miracles happen. I also believe that when something is taken away, something is also given." She paused then said, "You are my miracle, and I am yours."

Mulder's unseeing eyes were wet, and his voice hitched slightly as he said, "Oh Scully, I changed it from 'I Want To Believe,' to 'I Do Believe.' Didn't I tell you?"

She chuckled lightly against his chest.

"Scully, I want to ask you about something."

"Okay," she said sleepily.

He swallowed first then asked softly, "Well, I just wonder why you never got more plastic surgery done?

He heard a soft gasp, and felt her stiffen under his arms. Mulder immediately regretted the question. Maybe it wasn't a good time to bring it up. This probably didn't make for good afterglow conversation. But he continued gently, "Scully, I know how Lambert's remarks must have affected you...must have hurt you. I know it bothers you more than you let on."

He felt her hands come up to her face. Her palms must have been in front of her mouth as her voice was muffled when she said, " I did have some reconstructive surgery done at the time of the blast. The doctors said that there were specialists in these types of injuries in the big DC hospitals and suggested that I wait until I got back home and make arrangements. They said my chances for success were far better here than in the small hospital where we were admitted."

Mulder gently took her hands in his and kissed her hair. He continued, "Did you have more done when you got back?"

A sigh, then a breath, "No."

"Why didn't you?"

"Well...I...ah...never felt the need. The scars, my face, it all just seemed so trivial next to ...well it seemed unimportant. And you were...you needed me."

He understood her meaning. She felt that, compared to his blindness, her disfiguring scars were just an inconvenience.

"It's not 'unimportant', Scully. Not to you and not to me." His voice was a whisper as he said, "God knows, I don't care. But I care for you. I want you to be happy. Maybe, just maybe, you should reconsider having more done."

"Maybe I will."

He sighed contentedly and snuggeld down against her. To have someone care this much for him was inconceivable.

'I think this is called "joy",' he thought. Another Mulder, from his life before, agreed with him, and he smiled.

"Scully?"

"Mmm?"

"I love you."

He heard her sigh softly, "...me too...always love you, Mulder..."

As his eyes closed, he hugged her close and whispered, "I always will...always..."

And he knew he would.

He kissed her eyes to close them and gently brushed a kiss to her cheek, leaving it wet where his face touched hers. His eyes were closing, and the gentle darkness was quickly wrapping itself around the two of them.

The future, along with the past, would unfold tomorrow.

END

 

Authors Note: I admit to taking some liberties--I won't point them out so you won't look for them <g>. I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it.

A special thanks to my Crystalshipmates for friendship, support and just a dang good time.

 

Please go here: http://www.pubnetwork.com/fellspt.htm and read about the real bars in our Fells Point area.

TCS

 

|Part 6|In A Flash|