----- ARCHIVE NOTE ------ Kelli Rocherolle's Email address has CHANGED. To contact her, please use: kelli@edgenet.net ===================================================================== Captured Mulder stormed through the front door of the hotel with Scully following behind. With out a word he entered the elevator and went to his room. Several minutes later, Scully arrived at his door and knocked tentatively. When she didn't get an answer, she tried the door and found it unlocked. She entered the room. Mulder was sitting on the edge of the bed with his elbows on his knees, his face buried in his hands. Though he sat quiet and unmoving, the rage and frustration pouring from him seemed to spark and ignite the air around him. Scully stayed at the door. "Mulder..." she started. "Scully please go." "Mulder we'll go back tomorrow, we'll try again--" she offered. "I *don't* want to talk about this right now, Scully." Scully watched him and considered events of the recent past. Several weeks ago Mulder's mysterious informant had given him a lead to his sister's disappearance and they had been relentlessly tracking it ever since. A name and location were all they'd been given, and they were operating under the assumption that this name, this man, was the same man who had left Mulder for dead before a Naval Recognizance Squad had picked him off that Arctic glacier and brought him to a local base. The same man who had told Mulder that his sister was still alive. So they had been hopping from town to town, state to state, always seeming to be a step behind. Finally, just when they thought they were close-- a door had been slammed in their faces: a dead end. No more leads, nothing to track. They were back to square one. Scully had watched as the hope had risen with him with each passing day, with each step closer they moved to finding their suspect. He had been wired, driven, and Scully's attempts to ground him were unsuccessful. Now she stood there watching him, the weeks of being so tightly wound finally threatening to snap before her eyes. She tried again "Mulder--" He got up quickly and stalked across the room to her, backing her even further up against the door. He looked down at her, inches from her face. His eyes held back undirected fury. "Please......go...." he said through clenched teeth. They stared at each other. Scully had been momentarily taken aback by his bordering-on-volatile behavior, but she did not fear her friend. She straightened her posture and held his gaze. Mulder sized up his partner, standing defiantly before him, and for a second considered taking her arm and physically removing her from his room... As she watched him, she saw something break in his eyes. He lowered his gaze and, defeated, retreated to the bed where he assumed the same position he'd been in before coming at her. "*Please*, Scully..." he pleaded, his voice tremulous and low "I need to be alone." She knew he didn't want her to see him like this, but she was not about to leave him in such a state. She stood there for a few minutes, trying to decide what to do. Finally, slowly, she approached him, standing before him as she heard his breathing alter. Though she could not see them, she was aware of the tears of frustration welling in his eyes. Her heart went out to him, and she moved her hand to stroke his hair. He let her come to him this time; her touch opening up the flood gates, and he reached for her. He pulled her down to him, burying his face in her neck and seeking comfort there. Her own rage started to build towards those who had done this to her friend. She rested her chin on his head, feeling the tears forming in her own eyes. "It's all right.." she soothed "It's allright...". He just sat there holding her for several minutes, feeding off her strength like she had from him so many times before. His face was hot with raw emotion at her neck, his breath and tears burned against her throat. He held her tighter, reveling in the heavenly smell of her. Slowly, unexpectedly, the air between them seemed to change, as if taking on an electric charge. His hand moved on her back and she felt a tingling sensation dart up her spine. Mulder pulled from her neck, pulled her down further, and rested his forehead against hers. And then there she was right in front of him, soft and warm, her breath sweet against his face. And the thoughts reeled in his mind. At this moment, he needed her solace, but holding her, beautiful and utterly feminine before him, he wanted more. At that moment he would've given anything for a single taste, just one bite of that forbidden fruit... He softly caressed her back through her shirt as his breathing quickened. Her mouth dropped as she realized what was happening, and the apprehension rose in her. Their foreheads still touching, their noses side by side, he moved slowly to kiss her. She let his lips touch hers briefly and felt the adrenaline release from her brain and race through her body. And she let him lay her down gently on the bed and unbutton her shirt as he kissed her again, this time with a wonderous passion. Scully knew he was a product of a household where emotions were kept in check at all times and affection was used sparingly. But right now, he craved physical contact, longed for her affection, and she thought he was confusing these feelings with lust. But his touch...it was intimate and sensual, and she suddenly felt sure that being held by Fox Mulder was quite enough to rob any woman of rational thought. She could feel his desire for her against her, causing fire to burn in her abdomen. Confusion filled her own mind as she wrestled with her thoughts: how far would she let this go? She didn't think he really knew what he was doing, but part of her didn't care. And it had been such a long, long time.... He began to move with more purpose now, coming against her like a driving rain. He slipped a hand around her waist and moved on top of her. The sirens going off in her head, she pulled from him and started to sit up. "Mulder--" she began. But he wasn't having any of that. He pushed her back down on the bed, holding her by her wrists. His face was close, his breath at her lips, he closed his eyes and whispered to her "You know how I feel about you Scully..." Her mouth fell open as she shook her head in protest. Her voice was a whisper "Mulder--" "No." He shook his head back at her. "No, Dana" he whispered "I know what you can show me...." he brushed his lips across her open mouth "...don't hold out on me..." His mouth moved to her ear. "...show me..." And she did... He felt her body relax against his and released his hold. Her arms moved to encircle his neck. For the first time, she kissed him back, enjoying the taste of his mouth, his lips, the bitter taste of his cologne as she kissed his jaw. She gasped as his hand slipped just under the hem of her skirt. It was time: she had to decide what she would let happen: this could change everything, make everything complicated. But would things be worse.... or better? Here he was above her, his hands moving over her with a gentleness she never would've expected, causing her to slip further and further away from her better judgement with each passing second. What was it that drew her to this man, this restless rogue before her? Some intangible part of him had inexplicably captured her. She had to face a simple fact: she was his; undeniably, unconditionally, entirely his. And she had been for a long time. She opened her eyes to find she was looking directly into his. The answer to every one of her questions lay there behind those hazel eyes. And all of the walls came tumbling down.