By XFKirs
jennascully1013@yahoo.com

Rating: R for brief language, brief sexuality,
and descriptions of violent situations
Disclaimer: Mulder and Scully are not mine. I'm
just borrowing them for Chris Carter and 1013.
Spoilers: Nothing major...let's say this takes
place in season....5. Sounds good to me :) Two
tiny references are in here for "Irresistible"
and "Duane Barry"
Keywords: MSR, Angst, Scully POV, Casefile (not
an X-File though)
Summary: Scully is terrified by a case that she
and Mulder run across, so she turns to Mulder
for comfort.
Feedback: Please!! jennascully1013@yahoo.com
Archive: Anywhere, just let me know. Thanks. :)

~~~~~~~~~~
June 24
9:50 AM

     I had to sit down. Mulder had left five
minutes ago. It had taken me this long to
realize I was still standing right inside the
closed door. My knees beginning to give out had
brough me back to reality.

     I collapsed onto the couch in a mixture of
exhaustion and relief. The last 24 hours had
been eventful to say the least.

     I'd spent the night with Mulder. Hey, back
up; I didn't say we had sex. Although now I'm
thinking that won't be too far in the future.
In its own way, last night was better than sex.
OK, so that's an overstatement, but last night
was amazing. There was no doubt about that.
Thinking about it brought a smile to my face. I
think it's time for a recap.
~~~~~~~~~~
June 23
24 hours earlier

     I was scheduled to perform an autopsy on
the last victim in one hour. I didn't think I
could do it. I hadn't seen a case as horrific
as this in all my years with the Bureau.

     It was the case you heard about but
thanked God you didn't have to be a part of.
Well this time Mulder and I landed it. We
actually came across it. We had just wrapped up
a case in Bismarck. Mulder, who I swear was
possessed at the time, thought it would be fun
to drive back home. Don't ask me why I agreed.
OK fine, maybe the prospect of hours in close
quarters with my downright sexy partner without
a case to worry about was beyond appealing.

     So anyway, we were about halfway home. The
drive had been really enjoyable. Mulder and I
talked and joked a lot. The everpresent sexual
innuendo maintained its perfect attendance
record. We bought a few cheap CDs and sang
along, stopped at about 5 fast food places
along the way. I probably gained 10 pounds in a
matter of hours.

     But of course, the whole thing was just
too good be true. We got stopped at a roadblock
on the eastern edge of Michigan. Police were
stopping every car and performing extensive
searches. One look at Mulder told me I'd better
get on the phone and make some motel
reservations. For God's sake it wasn't even an
X-File! I guess he preferred helping out on any
case rather than going through piles of
paperwork in the office in DC.

     After identifying ourselves, the officers
brought us up to speed. It seemed the FBI was
going to be involved in a matter of hours
anyway because the case had just crossed state
lines. They were looking for a serial murderer.
There was no clear motive or pattern of any
kind. The victims spanned every age, gender,
race. The seventeenth victim had been found
overnight. The victims were all in identical
condition. Each had been found naked, dumped on
the side of a rural road. That was only the
beginning.

     All the victims had been sexually
assaulted. The bodies were covered in black and
blue bruises. The autopsies had shown that the
victims were alive during the assault. There
were bond markings around the wrists and
ankles. Next, the perp, who the cops had
determined was a man, had broken the victims'
necks and stabbed them repeatedly. He had
removed their eyes and cut out their tongues.

     As a pathologist, very few sights could
shock me. But when the cops brought us to see
the body of the thirteen year old girl off the
roadside, I felt bile rise in my throat. Tears
stung my eyes as I felt the horror seize my
heart. It was something I had never seen, even
in my darkest nightmares. The blatant
disrespect for humanity slammed into me like a
truck. It reminded me of Donnie Pfaster's
murders. Compared to this, those killings
seemed ordinary, something I never thought I
would think.

     I almost broke down in front of everyone
but managed to keep it together, barely. One of
the officers asked if I could perform the
autopsy, since the coroner was out of town. It
took me a few seconds to be able to respond. I
wanted to scream 'no' but I couldn't. Mulder
went with the cops back to headquarters to go
through the case. If anyone could find the
pattern in this chaos, it was Mulder.

     So here I was, about to face my worst
nightmare. Thank God I was alone. If Mulder
were here, I probably wouldn't be able to mask
my terror much longer. It was funny how I could
only let myself be vulnerable in front of
Mulder, even though I wanted desperately to
show him that I was capable of doing my job. I
guess I knew he wouldn't hold it against me.
But *I* held it against me. I couldn't be weak
like that.
~~~~~~~~~~

     I gathered everything for the autopsy and
steeled myself for what was about to be in
front of my eyes. I detached myself like I
learned in med school.

     I pulled back the sheet: it all went to
hell. After not even a second, I began sobbing
uncontrollably. I looked at the body before me
and saw pure horror and evil. I thought of all
the innocent victims who had suffered and died
because of this sick psychopath.

     Honestly, I was scared shitless. The
thought that this guy was still out there was
something I didn't want to think about, but it
was terrifying me. And to top it off, here we
were *looking* for the guy.

     I collected myself a little bit and
managed to perform the most difficult autopsy
of my career. After I finished, I calmed down
enough to call Mulder and tell him that I was
checking into the motel. I laid down on the bed
and tried to relax, but I didn't have much
luck.
~~~~~~~~~~

     A few hours later I heard a knock on the
door. My hand automatically flew to my gun.

     'Scully, it's me,' I heard Mulder's voice
from outside. I let out the breath I didn't
realize I had been holding.

     I let Mulder in and sat back down on the
bed. Mulder looked at me, concerned.

     "Scully, is everything all right?" he
 asked.

     "I'm fine, Mulder," I replied a little too
quickly. I continued, not giving him time to
question me any further. "So did you find
anything today?"

     "Not really. There doesn't seem to be any
motive at all except to kill in cold blood.
This guy is a monster. There's no doubt that
he's insane. Maybe I've just been out of the
profiling scene so long that I'm not seeing the
pattern."

     "There is no pattern, Mulder. He's sick.
He's a killer. End of story. This isn't an
X-File. What are we doing here?"

     "I thought you'd want to help, Scully."

     "Well, I don't. They've got enough
manpower and this isn't our job. Let's just go
home." I looked up at him for the first time.
Our eyes locked and he must have seen the
desperation in mine.

     "OK, Scully. I guess you're right. We
don't really have anything to offer. It's close
to 4 so now we might as well stay overnight and
leave early tomorrow morning." He paused. "Are
you sure you're OK?"

     "Yes, Mulder." I snapped at him. "I'm
sorry. I'm just tired and want to get home.
It's been a long week."

     I don't think he believed me but he let it
drop. "Well, just try to get some sleep
tonight. We can order pizza or something in a
couple of hours."

     "Sure, Mulder."

     He opened his mouth as if to say something
but thought better of it. "I'll see you in a
couple of hours," he said. He walked out the
door and closed it behind him. God, I was such
an ass. He didn't deserve the shit I'd just
given him. I wasn't in the mood to apologize
though.
~~~~~~~~~~

     Dinner was uneventful. I said about two
words while we ate. Mulder tried to break the
silence by talking about the latest UFO news
the Gunmen had told him about. I felt bad for
making the situation so awkward, but I was so
absorbed in my thoughts that I couldn't help
it.

     After we finished, Mulder said he was
going back to his room to watch some game. I
decided to take a bath and then go to bed. I
think I was in the tub for at least an hour. I
spent the whole time thinking about the
murders. When I shook myself out of my
daydream, the water was cold, my skin was
wrinkled, my face was wet with tears, and it
had begun to rain. This was crazy. What the
hell was wrong with me?

     I changed into my pajamas and got into
bed. I tossed and turned for about an hour.
Then the rain turned into a full-fledged storm.
I started to feel like a little kid. Everywhere
I looked I kept seeing shadows. The lightning
and hunder didn't help the situation at all.

     I must have fallen asleep somehow because
I woke up with a start at around 1:00. I had a
nightmare that I had been the next victim. The
bastard had kidnapped me from the motel room
and assaulted me. I had screamed for Mulder but
he was nowhere nearby. I woke up when the guy
was about to kill me. It was impossible to
explain but I had *felt* the pain of the
experience. It seemed so real. Without even
thinking twice, I got out of bed and opened the
adjoining door into Mulder's room.
~~~~~~~~~~

     The TV was still on. He had actually
fallen asleep. I felt guilty about waking him
up but I had to.

     I approached the edge of the bed and
almost whispered his name.

     He jolted awake at the sound of my voice.
"Scully, what is it? What's wrong?"

     This time I wasn't going to lie. Tears
started streaming down my face as I blurted it
all out. "I don't know what's wrong, Mulder.
It's this case. I've...I've never been this
upset by anything I've ever seen in my life.
I'm terrified, Mulder. I'm terrified by what
this guy has done to all the victims. I'm so
scared to think that he's out there and anyone
could be his next victim, that *I* could be
next. I haven't been able to stop thinking
about it all day. I....I had a nightmare that
he kidnapped me from my room during the
storm....j-just like Duane Barry did. But this
was different. He hurt me, and he k-killed me
and no one was there to save me and-"

     Somewhere in the middle of all of this,
Mulder had gotten up and taken me in his arms.
I couldn't say anymore. I didn't need to.
Mulder just held me and immediately I felt
safer. He held me while I cried. He stroked my
hair gently and held me close until I looked up
to see his face.

     "Scully, everything is going to be OK. I
promise you, I won't let *anyone* hurt you,
ever." The sincerity in his voice brought more
tears to my eyes. He wrapped his arms around me
again and we just stood there for several
minutes.

     I couldn't look at him while I asked,
"Mulder, is it OK if I stay here with you
tonight? I don't want to be alone, and I...only
feel safe when I'm with you."

     He pulled away and lifted my chin to look
me in the eye. "Scully, you don't even have to
ask," he answered.

     He led me to the bed and helped me under
the covers. I felt like such a child, but it
was OK. I laid on my side and Mulder spooned
around me. I felt completely protected. Mulder
was my shield. Together, we could survive
anything just like we had in the past. I was
suddenly overwhelmed by my emotions and my
gratitude to him.

     "Mulder?"

     "Hmm?" he replied.

     "I....I just wanted to say thank you...for
everything. I don't know what I'd do without
you, and not just because of today. I don't
know what I'd do without you in my life. You're
everything to me. And I want you to know that I
love you."

     I heard him gasp. I'm sure he never
expected to hear that from me, especially now.
He rose onto his elbow and I rolled onto my
back to look at him. When I saw his eyes, I
knew that he felt the same way. I saw awe,
relief, and love. I saw *love* in his eyes,
something that I never dared dream to see. And
then I saw something that I'd only seen a
couple of times. Mulder started to cry.
Granted, it was nothing like my spectacle from
a few minutes before but his eyes filled with
tears and a few fell down his face.

     "Oh God, Scully," he said. "I love you so
much it hurts." He gathered me in his arms
again and pulled me so close I thought he would
never let me go. I clung to him as well,
realizing what had just happened between us.

     Then he looked at me again and lowered his
lips to mine. His soft, full lips touched mine
and I almost moaned. It was amazing. I felt his
tongue outline my lips asking for entrance. I
opened my mouth under his and felt his tongue
immediately enter and begin to examine every
detail. I quickly responded and we dueled back
and forth for what seemed like an eternity. It
was heaven. One moment it was wild and rough;
the next, slow and sensual. The passion was
breathtaking. We had waited years for this one
moment. I wanted it to go on forever but
eventually we broke the contact.

     We caught each other's eyes again and I
told him without words that we couldn't
continue tonight. He smiled at me. I knew he
understood that I wasn't rejecting him. We both
knew it wasn't the time yet. But good Lord, if
that kiss was any indication of what was to
come....

     We settled back into our positions from
before, except that now Mulder cuddled even
closer and wrapped his arm around my stomach.
He whispered in my ear, "you'll never have to
live without me, Scully. I'm yours forever and
I always have been."

     I took his hand in mine and squeezed it
tightly. "I love you, Mulder," I told him
again.

     "I love you too, Scully." He laid his
cheek on mine. I fell asleep in a matter of
minutes. I honestly forgot all about the
murders and the killer on the loose. I knew
that right now I was in the safest place in the
world.
~~~~~~~~~~

     In the morning, we dragged ourselves out
of bed and got on the road. Mulder had called
the police department last night and told them
we were going back to Washington.

     We didn't really mention the what had
happened on the way home, but we weren't
ignoring it. It was clear that neither of us
wanted to go back on what we had said. The
drive back was relaxing. I had a new sense of
peace that I couldn't remember ever feeling
before. Mulder seemed to be the same way. The
hours went by quickly as we took turns driving,
took naps, ate, and talked. Before we knew it,
we were on the Beltway.

     Mulder drove me to my apartment and walked
me upstairs, something he didn't usually do
when we got back from trips.

     Before I unlocked the door, he said,
"Scully, thank you for trusting me enough to be
vulnerable with me last night. I know that's
something you have a hard time with. I want you
to know that it's OK for you to be human. I
would never think less of you because something
upsets you. I love you. If something upsets
you, then it upsets me too. I'm your friend,
and I always will be. And I'm in love with you.
There is nothing you need to hide from me."

     Mulder had to be the sweetest man who had
ever lived. I dropped my suitcase and hugged
him in the middle of my hallway.

     "Thank *you* Mulder. I could never ask for
a better friend. I love you so much."

     When we pulled apart he said, "I'm gonna
call Skinner and tell him we aren't coming in
to work today. I think we could both use the
day off. You should get some rest. If you want
to talk later, I'll be at home."

     He kissed me gently on my forehead before
getting on the elevator and leaving. He waved
goodbye and blew me a kiss, grinning from ear
to ear, before the doors closed. I giggled as
soon as he couldn't hear me. The sweetest man
in the world was also such a teenager
sometimes.

     I unlocked my door, walked inside, and
closed the door behind me. I definitely needed
the day to relax. There were still a lot of
things to think about if Mulder and I were
going to have a romantic relationship, but I
knew that everything would be perfect.
~~~~~~~~~~
The End.

So what did ya think? I'd love to hear from
you. Please write some feedback! I do need some
incentive to do this! jennascully1013@yahoo.com
:)

Author's Notes: I started this story with a
vision in mind for the climax scene but I had
no idea had to get there or where to go
afterwards. I hope it turned out all right. I
really had no idea what to title this fic but
as I got into it a song came to mind. There is
a song on LeAnn Rimes' latest CD called "The
Safest Place" that from the first time I heard
it made me think of Scully, particularly after
"Irresistible". As I was writing this, I
realized that it fit this situation perfectly
as well and would be a perfect title. So
without even realizing it, I had found the
inspiration and title for this fic. The lyrics
for the song are below:

Daytime
I'm fine
Last night I thought that I would die
I had nightmares
I was so scared
Thank God that you are by my side
To hold me when I cry

I wanna be strong
But I don't wanna be alone tonight
I wanna believe that I can save the world
And make it right
But I'm only human
And you've got a hero's face
Right here in your arms is the safest place

It feels so real
You showed me I can trust you
With emotions I had locked away
It was your touch, your words
They heal the deepest part of me
That only you can see

I wanna be strong
But I don't wanna be alone tonight
I wanna believe that I can save the world
And make it right
But I'm only human
And you've got a hero's face
Right here in your arms is the safest place

As long as I am with you
As long as I can feel you
That's all I need to keep me going
On and on and on and on

I wanna believe that I can save the world
And make it right
But I'm only human
And you've got a hero's face
Right here in your arms is the safest place
Right here in your arms is the safest place
The safest place, the safest place.