By Gina Rain
ginarain@aol.com
 

Category: MSR, casefile-ish
Rating: NC-17 (mild enough but, if you're underage,
please read something else)
Spoilers: Post- The Unnatural
Summary: Think the X-files meets Love American Style.
Well, not really, but it's a catchy summary for once,
dontcha think?
Special thanks: To Ms. Sybil for her lovely beta
services. Thank you so much!

XXXX

Scully's apartment
1:45 AM, Sunday

Scully opened the window to let in the cool spring
air. It touched her fresh-from-the-shower skin and
sent a shiver down her spine. It wasn't the only thing
that elicited a shiver this evening, but was something
that might help bring back all the memories for a
curtain call. What she needed to capture and hold,
more than anything else that happened tonight was the
feel of his arms as they encircled her body. Being
held by him during a moment of non-duress sparked
feelings of warmth, security and even a strange kind
of vindication. For a few hours, everything that had
ever gone wrong in their lives seemed worth all the
trouble because nothing could feel more 'right.' Their
cares floated away with every ball that joined the
stars for a brief dance in the night sky.

What she needed to release, however, was the one
crushing moment of disappointment she experienced as
they stood by her car door after the dance was done.
He looked down at her with an unguarded smile that
seemed to light from the deepest regions within; she
almost closed her eyes in anticipation of sealing
every promise offered by the look in his eyes. Perhaps
it was the flicker of her lashes that signaled his
guards back to duty. During that brief moment, his
smile faded into one given by one coworker to another.
He wished her a good night as he turned and headed
toward his own vehicle.

It was hard to remember the sweet without
concentrating on the bitter taste that followed all
too soon.

Kalispell, Montana
4:45 AM, Sunday

Anna knew walking through the woods probably wasn't
her wisest course of action. But it was safe. Nothing
bad ever happened in Kalispell, Montana. Besides,
walking through the woods in order to reach the lake
at sunrise, was such an incredible experience, it had
become addictive.

There was that delicious pre-dawn chill in the air as
she strolled among the ancient trees. She was right on
schedule. Just as the sky would begin to lighten, she
would reach the clearing where she could watch the
warm colors of daybreak celebrate their daily victory
over the power of night. She let out a small laugh.
She was reading way too much poetry lately. Ah, well.
She had a lot of spare time. The library was not
exactly overflowing with patrons.

She used her flashlight to guide her through the path
that would take her to the final clearing and stopped
dead in her tracks. The amount of light she was seeing
was much more than the small flashlight could ever
provide.

Anna looked up.

There was a spark-a brilliant white dot of light high
in a small space amongst the trees. It slowly made its
way down until it was about eight feet from the ground
and then simply hovered. There was another spark-this
one blue-that followed the same routine. And finally,
a red spark ignited from nowhere and quietly fell
until it was side by side with the other two.

Anna watched in amazement as the three sparks slapped
against each other and multiplied, dancing in a
whirlwind fashion. They moved faster and faster and
instead of following the laws of gravity and
descending, they rose higher and higher until they
soared above the highest tree and then â€* simply
disappeared.

US Highway 93
Monday, 4:49 PM

"You're awfully quiet today, Scully," Mulder gave her
a quick glance before looking down at the map that lay
on the seat between them.

Scully looked blindly at the scenery passing before
them as they made their way to meet with their
eyewitness to . . . what? She bit her lip, repressing
a rude remark about Mulder's search for patriotic
alien sightings. They had investigated stranger
things, she supposed. It was just the timing that
bothered her. The office wasn't busy. But Mulder *had*
to find something to do every single moment of every
single day. They could have had a free weekend; he had
to go digging through the archives and running off to
meet with Arthur Dales. Still, that didn't have to be
a bad thing. She thought he might have learned
something from the experience. It had seemed to touch
him enough that he actually took a few hours to 'stop
and smell the horsehide.' She had even allowed herself
to hope for more: that the simple, but extremely
intimate, physical encounter signaled a shift in their
relationship.  But she was completely wrong. The
thought, apparently, held no allure for Mulder and as
soon as this quirky report passed his desk, he lost
absolutely no time in booking their flight and having
them jet across the country to investigate.

"Scully?" Damn. He never could leave things alone.

"Yes?"

"Is everything all right?"

"Sure. Fine."

He laughed. "Whatever?"

"What?" She shot him a look.

"Nothing. I'm just remembering another time you seemed
pissed off at me for no apparent reason."

"Mulder, I do not have to fill every moment of every
day with what would amount to useless noise. I don't
have anything to talk about right now, and as far as
the case is concerned, I'm reserving judgement on that
until we hear the details."

"Oh-kay."

She knew the silence was momentary.

"So, Scully," she couldn't suppress a small smile at
the hesitation in his voice, "could you ever live in a
place like this?"

"No," she said, without need for much thought.

"No?"

"I like cities, Mulder."

"Hmmm."

"Hmmm . . . what?"

"I just thought the quiet life would hold more appeal
to you. You've told me so yourself, many times."

She turned to face him. "Just what-in our six years of
partnership, gave you the impression that I was
longing for life in the woods? I would like a few
quiet moments now and then but complete isolation-no."

He looked at the road straight ahead. "Once in a
while, I think I could be happy in a cabin by a lake.
Wake up at the crack of dawn, go fishing . . . "

"Was 'On Golden Pond' rerun again last night?"

She smiled at the sound of his soft laughter. "Face
it, Mulder. You are physically incapable of complete
relaxation. I'm sure when you are lying on your couch
at night watching whatever it is you're watching-
somewhere in the back of your mind-you are waiting to
get the "relaxation bit' over and done with so you can
have enough strength to go running off again."

"Isn't that the goal of relaxation?"

"Not necessarily. Sometimes you do it because it's
enjoyable. Life can have enjoyable moments."

"I know. I had fun Saturday. Didn't you?"

"Of course I did. But it was a fluke. An x-file.
Probably more of one than the red, white and blue
sparks in the sky."

"Scully . . . "

"Forget it, Mulder. I shouldn't have said anything.
You are who you are and I'm not trying to change that.
I just think you could never really enjoy the type of
lifestyle you're dreaming of. I guess you could always
prove me wrong someday."

She went back to looking at the scenery knowing that,
this time, he would not break the silence. He was a
seeker of truth, but sometimes, the truth hurt. He
would always be running--searching for some holy grail
to the exclusion of everything and everyone in his
life.

Sometimes, the truth hurt them both.

Monday, 5:59
Public Library, Kalispell, MT

Anna felt like an idiot. She had to usher them in the
back room when they came in before everyone in town
would know what she had done. If she knew that the FBI
would come flying out the day after, she would never
have reported the incident.

As a case study of people, it was rather interesting
to watch the two agents they sent. The man was leaning
forward, seeming to be interested in every word she
had to say. The woman sat back in her chair and could
only communicate her skepticism more by crossing her
arms over her chest-but she was too well-mannered, or
well-trained-to do that.

She didn't blame Agent Scully. She had been pretty
skeptical herself. She had spent a good hour after
dawn, climbing trees and looking for some sort of
electronic equipment that could account for the
lights. Unfortunately, she couldn't climb that high
due to a bad case of vertigo and found nothing on the
lower halves of the trees.

"This vision-was it frightening?" Agent Mulder asked.

"No, not at all. It was more fascinating than
frightening. And, well, it was pretty. Like a tornado
of color that was just there to kind of amuse you.
There was no scary noise. Just little multiplying
lights spinning together until they were simply gone."

"In red, white and blue?" Agent Scully asked.

"Yes."

"And you reported this because . . . " She was a tough
customer, all right.

"Because I thought I should. I wasn't frightened. I
didn't feel threatened. If anything, it seemed like an
unexpected treat. But it was out of the ordinary, and
even though I looked, I couldn't find a source. So, I
thought someone might want to investigate in case
there was more to it than met my eye. I had no idea
the sheriff would contact the FBI. If I had known, I
might have made another choice."

Anna focused her dark brown eyes on the agent's blue
pair. She hadn't felt like she was in this much of a
staring contest since first grade when Becky Myers bet
her a bag of jelly beans that she would blink first.
She really liked jelly beans and thoroughly enjoyed
the spoils of her victory later.

In a few moments, Agent Scully blinked and Anna
rejoiced in her non-jelly bean victory. She had
convinced Agent Scully she was telling the truth.
Whether the other woman found it important or not, she
didn't think Anna was a complete crackpot and that was
all Anna could ask for.
 
On the road again
7:45 PM
Monday

Scully watched Mulder as he looked at the signs on the
road. She knew he was looking for lodging before he
even said a word.

"Why are we staying over, Mulder?"

"Because Anna Winters isn't the only one who has seen
these lights. They've been seen several times a week
since the original sighting was reported about a month
ago.  And you saw her. She's a reputable witness. This
is not some teenaged prank."

"But what was she doing in the woods at that time of
night, Mulder?"

"You heard her, she likes watching the sun come up and
this particular stretch of woods leads to the duck
pond in Woodland Park, where the sunrise is supposed
to be spectacular."

"And you believed her? A grown woman gets up in the
middle of the night to trek through the woods to share
daybreak with wild fowl."

"Sure, you said so yourself, Scully. It's not the big
city. Standards of excitement are different."

"So, we're staying here in the hopes that you can
share in a little rural thrill?"

"I take my thrills where I can get them."

He made a sharp turn off the road and Scully watched
him park in front of the Glacier Motel.

Thrills. Mulder was a big thrill-junkie, all right.
She adjusted her skirt and followed him.
 
 

An evening apart was just what they needed. Of course,
it wasn't a full evening. They would be meeting around
5 AM to take a little walk in the woods but, for now,
it was a nice break. Scully had taken a short trip to
get some sandwiches and ate in her room. She took a
long, leisurely shower and watched the news on
television.

By 11 PM, she kind of missed him.

By 4 AM, she jumped the gun and went to his room. He
opened the door and his face registered his surprise.
"You're early."

"Well, I figured by the time we found the exact spot .
.. ."

"Okay. Give me a moment." He grabbed a backpack filled
with various essentials and shrugged into a jacket.

They traveled through the countryside in silence and
left the car by the edge of the woods. A small hike
led them to the spot Anna had told them about. And
they waited.

"We could sit," Mulder suggested, as they stood
around, shuffling from one foot to the other and
looking skywards.

"We could."

They sat.

Mulder pulled out a pair of high-powered binoculars
and instructed Scully to flash a beam of light around
the woods. Aside from disturbing a few birds' slumber,
nothing else could be seen or heard.

Scully watched Mulder as he took out each and every
high-tech toy in his backpack and tested them out.

When the sun rose and no light display took place,
Mulder spent a couple of hours climbing trees, further
up than she expected him to.

Finally, he jumped from a fairly high limb and was by
her side once again.

"Nothing?" she asked.

"Nothing.

He put his hand on her shoulder and gave her a small
nudge. "Come on."

"Where are we going now?"

"To the duck pond, of course. I could use a rural
thrill about now, couldn't you?"

They made their way through the woods to a sudden
clearing and walked down a small hill. There it was.
The spectacular colors of dawn had disappeared leaving
a calm, peaceful body of water surrounded by the cool
mist of morning. A few birds were calmly paddling
through the water.  It was easy to forget about
America's vast and varied scenic repertoire when one
lived in the city. Even while traveling here, Scully
had ignored what was right in front of her eyes. But
she was seeing it in all its majesty now. She felt as
if the entire world boiled down to one lake, two
people and a bunch of ducks. She laughed softly.

"You got a little thrill?" Mulder asked in a fairly
good Yiddish accent.

"Yes, I think I did. It's nice."

Mulder dumped the backpack on the ground and stretched
his arms out.  Scully wasn't sure why. He looked like
he was either exercising stiff limbs or embracing the
view before them.

"You see, this is the way to start off a day.
Remembering that there is real beauty in this world
but even this big old lake is just one infinitesimal
speck in the universe. And, if it's a speck, what are
we? And, yet, we have our place."

Oh, uh. There was that feeling again. Mulder was
reminding himself he was only human again, and that
was a very dangerous thing since it reminded her that
she was, too.

"Have you ever made love outdoors, Scully?" he asked.
 

"What?" Surely, her hearing just went haywire.

"I'm not propositioning you. I'm just curious."

"Um. No. Not outside."

"Translation: you did it in a car. Technically, not
outside but not in a warm bed, either."

"What about you?"

"Yes. With Phoebe mostly. She was a bit of a
daredevil-exhibitionist-whatever."

"And you take your thrills where you can."

"Something like that."

Mulder was far away, probably with Phoebe, reliving
past glories. If Scully were a different woman, she
would do something to drag him back to the present.
But she wasn't. They were on duty. It was as simple as
that. And even if they weren't, there were
consequences to impulsive behavior.

She sighed and he turned to look at her. "Let's go
back. We'll stay here another day or so and then, if
we don't clear up this red, white and blue mystery,
we'll leave it as an open x-file and leave, all
right?"

"Okay."
 
~~~

Glacier Motel
Mulder's Room Tuesday, 10:27 AM

They met up in his room an hour later. It gave them
both enough time to shower, change and for Mulder to
do a bagel and coffee run. Breakfast was fairly quiet.
Even though it was mid-morning, the hush that had
surrounded them all night long stayed with them.

"I didn't like it outdoors much," Mulder said
suddenly, sipping his coffee thoughtfully.

"You didn't like what?"

"Making love. Having sex, really."

She gave him a quick glance over her own coffee cup.
"Really?" she said, in a noncommittal manner, hoping
he'd drop this bizarre subject.

"Well, the sex was quick and dangerous and I was young
so that was all good, but it was just something to
talk about later. Kind of like skydiving or any other
extreme sport. Something to tell your grandkids."

"You will be a very strange grandfather if you tell
the kids about that."

He laughed. "I think that would be a given, even
without the sex stories. I just meant, you don't
remember the feelings or even the woman all that much.
You're too busy concentrating on whether someone is
whipping around the corner at that moment and will see
your ass in the air."

Scully nodded with her lips pursed tightly. The
subject matter was not making her comfortable but she
wanted him to feel free to talk to her about anything.
This definitely qualified.

"Did you feel comfortable in a car?"

"I'm not exactly comfortable now. I don't want to talk
about weird sexual encounters. I mean, what's the
point?"

"There is no point. It's just conversation."

She stood up and tossed the remnants of her breakfast
in his trashcan. "Well, maybe we'll continue this
conversation at a later date. Right now, I think I'd
like to catch up on some sleep."

She went over to the door, reached for the knob and
felt his hand come down over hers.

"No."

"No?"

"Don't go," he said, wrapping his arms around her
again. It was different than the batting practice the
other day, when his arms were confident and secure.
She could feel his uncertainty in the ginger way he
was holding her, in the way he was barely breathing.

"Mulder, this is . . ."

"This is what? It's you and me completely alone. As we
always are, in some ways. But it's also different.
It's quiet and relaxed and I just can't do this
anymore, Scully. I can't go back into the back into
the battle-pretending that one man and one woman can
make a difference when half the time, the biggest
battle is with myself--keeping my feelings for you in
check. It's a battle I no longer want to win."

His arms tightened around her a bit and he dipped his
head to her shoulder. He placed a small, tentative
kiss on the top of her sweater and then nuzzled closer
to the neckline. He placed another extremely gentle
kiss on her neck. She felt herself shiver all the way
down to her toes.

"This is what I wanted to do on Saturday," he
whispered, kissing her again, a little more boldly.

"Why didn't you?" she heard herself say over the sound
of the beating of her heart.

"It seemed too big a step to take. I didn't want you
to run off."

"I wouldn't have. Maybe I would. I don't know."

"You would have." He was right. Mulder took her by
surprise that evening and all the hopes for more were
written into the scenario after the moment had passed.
If he had made his move then, she would have run for
the hills because it wouldn't have been in keeping
with the person she expected him to be.

"Are you running now?" he asked her, grazing his face
against the shoulder of her sweater.

It was put up or shut up time. If she really wanted
him to change their relationship, she had to show she
was willing. She took her hand off the door and used
it to guide Mulder's head closer to her neck. This
time, he abandoned his hesitation and applied a full,
open-mouthed kiss to her skin. He let out a low moan
that almost made her knees buckle.

"Can we move away from the door?" he asked and she
nodded in response.

He unwrapped his arms and stepped away from her. She
could run, if she wanted to. She was still facing the
door and she would never have to see his face. If
there was a mark on her skin, she could cover it up
and they'd never discuss it or the momentary insanity
that caused it. That much she knew about both of them.
But he was right. You choose your battles and this one
was over a long time ago. Perhaps it was one that
never should have been undertaken to begin with.

She turned to him and he smiled.

He took her hand in his and lifted it to his lips,
turning it palm side up before placing a kiss in the
center. Who was she kidding? A new battle had just
begun. One with herself to keep from quivering to
death while she held her emotions in check long enough
for him to actually do something that merited actual
quivering. It had just been such a long, long wait
that her body was jumping the gun a bit.

"Say something, Scully."

"What else did you want to do on Saturday?"

He put his hands on her shoulders and drew her into
his arms. He bent his knees a bit and she met him more
than halfway by standing on her toes. Their lips
touched in a soft, sweet caress. Then another, and
then there was nothing gentle about their kissing.
Scully was straining all her muscles to reach as much
of him as she possibly could while realizing all that
stooping couldn't possibly be good for his back.

She pushed him a little and he walked backwards until
he hit his bed and then toppled them both over on it.
Scully adjusted herself over him so she wouldn't be
elbowing or kneeing him in painful areas and then
resumed kissing his sweet mouth. This time, she pushed
aside the quivers and ignored the rapid and audible
breathing. She just wanted more.

And so did he. They touched and then tugged off
clothing in a fairly sloppy manner and weren't even
fully undressed when he reversed their positions and
pushed her on her back. They both had their underwear
on and Mulder was wearing one sock. He held both her
hands out by the sides of her head and kissed her
slowly and deeply.

"We were going too fast," he murmured against her ear.

"I didn't think you minded."

"I didn't. I don't. But we should slow down a bit."

She ran her hands through his hair. He closed his eyes
as she slid her fingers through the soft strands. She
then trailed her hands down his neck, across his back
and to his behind. She slipped her fingers under the
waistband of his boxers and started to slide them off,
gliding her hands across his buttocks as the material
made its way down. He lifted himself up a bit and let
her guide them to his thighs, then he reached down and
pulled them off-laughing as he found the single sock
and removed that as well. He lay down beside her and
she reached over and touched him. She used one finger
to gently outline the length and then used her entire
hand to give him a tentative stroke or two before he
stopped her.
 
He pulled her up to a sitting position and unfastened
her bra. As the material fell away, he didn't let her
flesh cool in the air of the motel room. He ran his
mouth over her soft skin and gave each nipple a kiss,
followed by a small tug, followed by another kiss.
She put her arms around his head and lifted his face
up to hers.

"Mulder, I can't. I just can't," she hurried when she
saw the look of crushing disappointment on his face.
"No, not that. I just can't wait anymore. Please, we
can take it slow later but now-I just want to-please."

He nodded, quickly slipped off her panties and
positioned himself over her. He looked into her eyes
once more and she closed them as he slowly slid just
an inch of himself into her. He was waiting, she had
no idea why. It wouldn't be supremely comfortable this
first time simply because it had been so long since
she made love to anyone. But Mulder was Mulder. He
could push her to do the near superhuman in a work
situation but he obviously thought she'd break in two
in a romantic one. Well, that was not true. Mulder was
not Mulder. He had been full of surprises lately.
Maybe all he needed was a little encouragement.

 She put her hands on his backside and pushed him down
further. It felt like too much and not enough all at
once. She took a deep breath and pushed him as far as
he would go. She whimpered a bit as her body gave a
small, painful protest. He pulled up immediately and
sank in slowly, and then did it again and again until
her body fully accommodated his and their movements
became more fluid and sure. She felt the shift in
their positions when his movements became quicker and
stronger. He was close and trying so hard not to come
before he satisfied her. She opened her eyes and
watched him, his eyes boring into hers, his forehead
and chest glistening in perspiration. He reached out
one hand and grabbed onto the bedpost, thrusting
himself deeper into her and then began pumping much
more quickly. There was that pleasure-pain sensation
again but the pleasure was definitely winning out. He
sensed it and slowed down one last time, thrusting as
deeply as he possibly could. It was enough. She rode
out her orgasm while clutching at his back and
shoulders. In a few seconds, she helped him ride out
his by clutching at his backside. He'd carry those
scratches proudly for days.

They barely said anything to each other for hours
afterwards. And yet they were awake a good deal of the
time. Either one or the other would drift off, only to
be awakened to touches of discovery or long, wet
kisses. Mostly, they stared at each other and smiled
gently. To know someone thoroughly for years and find
a new, undiscovered side to them was somewhat of an
adventure and, most definitely, a thrill.

The day drifted toward evening and Scully was in the
middle of a catnap when she felt Mulder turn away from
her for the first time in hours.  He was trying to
leave and she had a bad feeling about it. Soon, it
would be time for them to go back into the woods and
resume their search for the source of the lights. Work
and duty would rear their heads once again and remind
them both they had no time or business doing what they
did this evening.

She reached out and put a hand on his bare hip. She
leaned forward and kissed his shoulder. "Just one more
minute, Mulder."

"I have to go, Scully."

"No, it's all right. I'll leave. It's your room. I
just, I'm glad about tonight. And it won't get in the
way. We'll be fine. Just the way we always have. I
just need a minute." A minute to soak up the feelings;
to feel bare skin against bare skin; to remember
exactly how he felt in her arms. One minute to
potentially last a lifetime.  She slid her hand up to
his waist and he shivered in response.

Or was it just a shiver? No. It was a laugh. What the
hell was so funny?

"Scully, I have to go to the bathroom. I'm not leaving
or giving you some sort of kiss-off. I just didn't
want to shake the bed since we both had very little
sleep and now-I've *got* to go."

He got up and dragged his naked body over to the
bathroom. Scully could feel the flush on her face but
told herself to get over it. Perhaps she wasn't quite
the Mulder-expert she thought she was.

"Scully?" he said, poking his head back out of the
bathroom. "One other thing-for the record, we're going
to be more than fine. We'll finally be battling with
the right people." He winked at her and went inside.

Kalispell, Montana
Wednesday, 4:30 AM

They were sore, showered, dressed and fed when they
reached the place where they sat the night before.

"You really think we'll see something?" Scully asked,
unsuccessfully holding back a yawn.

"I'm pretty sure we will. As a matter of fact, while
you slept, I almost guaranteed it."

"You what?"

"You'll see in a few minutes."

"You have powers you didn't tell me about, Mulder."

"Ah, Scully. You don't even know the half of it yet,"
he said, giving her a swift kiss on the top of her
head.

"So, you found the source, huh?"

"Maybe. Maybe not."

"Mulder â€* I think you might have to tell me everything
now. Total disclosure. I think those are the rules."

"You *think*?"

"It's been awhile and it's not like my relationships
were much more solid than yours."

"Well, if you were expecting total disclosure, I can
see why." He pointed at the night sky. "Look!"

She watched as a single white spark flared and then
started falling. About midway down, it stopped, only
to be joined by a blue spark, then a red. When all
three were lined up, they bounced, multiplied and spun
around in a frenzy of color. Scully looked up in
wonder. It *was* beautiful. In the quiet of the night
sky, in the sanctity of this forest with a clear sky
above and wide-open spaces just a short distance away,
it was a strange reminder of the magic that existed in
this world. It took something that was naturally
beautiful and added something weird and wonderful that
pushed it into a realm somehow above and beyond the
one they were in.

And then-it was gone. But no sadness remained. The
excitement lingered.

"Wow," Scully said and Mulder laughed at her
uncharacteristic use of the word.

"Now, do you want to know or do you just want to . . .
believe."

She sighed. There was always a catch, wasn't there?
She wanted both and had to choose.

"Tell me."

"Ambrose-come on down."

A short, squat man came down from the tree in record
time.

"You were up there all along and no one spotted you?"
Scully asked after a brief introduction to Ambrose M.
Johannsen, master hologramist.

"No, ma'am. I just set up my equipment. It's very
tiny. Revolutionary, really. The lasers are about the
size of a credit card and I camouflaged them under
some leaves-and then set them on timers. Pretty much
in the same two hours time frame-going off either
every night, or every other night."

"But, why?"

"Because it's pretty. I mean, hell, what was I going
to do? I originally invented it as an alternative to
Fourth of July fireworks-kind of super-sparks without
the noise but-really, folks like the noise. It's part
of the total Independence Day experience.  Then, I
thought, why not remind people of the red, white and
blue kind of unexpectedly-in a different time and
setting than the normal one. You'd be surprised at the
number of people who actually take nature hikes in
this part of the country. I did it myself when I was
inventing this thing. People like this place. It's
quiet and safe and beautiful. Lets them think. I'm
just giving them a little reward.  I didn't mean any
harm."

"I explained that to the authorities," Mulder said.

"And you can actually continue. Word will be spread
about what you have set up and if folks want to come
here and look-it's all right. Just don't charge
admission!" Mulder told him.

"No sir. I just want to give folks a little thrill,
you know?"

Mulder smiled in Scully's direction. "Yes, I know."
 

On the road, 7:45 AM

"So-how did you find out about Ambrose's?" Scully
asked.

"Well, from Anna's description-I thought it was
probably a hologram. I did some research on how many
people worked on them in Kalispell, Montana and, I
know this will shock you, Scully, but Ambrose is it.
He's a science teacher who actually has invented new
and innovative hologram technology."

"And when did you find this out?"

"Before we left DC. I did the research after reading
the police report Anna filed. I just wanted us to get
away. There was always an off chance I could be wrong
and we'd have a real case but I was hoping we
wouldn't. Not this time. I guess I just wanted us to
experience the 'magic' ourselves. We did it on
Saturday and I wanted more. Much more, obviously.
Anyway, when you conked out on me after I went to the
bathroom, I went into your room and called him and he
was very easy to 'break.' I think he was ready to sing
when I introduced myself as an FBI agent. Then I did a
little background check to make sure he's legit. He
is. He's just a nice guy-born on the Fourth of July,
by the way, hence his predisposition toward red, white
and blue-who wants to add a little spark to the life
of this town."

"It's nice that they are letting him continue," she
said, leaning her head back against the headrest and
closing her eyes.

"It might add a little to the tourist industry. Or
maybe not. But it's a little bit of fun for the people
here. That can't be bad. And, who knows, maybe Ambrose
will branch out and do more seasonal holograms. I'd
fly back up here for a dancing shamrock. Wouldn't
you?"

"Mulder?"

"Hmmm?"

"Was this a one-time only thing?"

"As I recall, it's already been more than one time."

"You know what I mean."

"No," he said, getting serious. "I always thought it
would be . . . when I pictured us together. Just sort
of falling into bed due to some extreme stress we were
under and kind of getting it out of the way, almost.
But, reality isn't like that at all. The fact is-I've
wanted you forever and I'm not sure that's ever going
to change just because we've . . . done the deed."

She smiled.

"Scully?"

"Hmmm?"

"Do you have any thoughts on the subject? I've known
you for years and all of a sudden, you pick these few
days to clam up on me. Your timing sucks."

"I agree with you completely. How's that?"

"Ooh. Good start. Keep going."

"You are all wise and wonderful . . . "

"Uh, huh."

"And that's all you're getting out of me. Let me sleep
a little, Mulder. Maybe we can get in some batting
practice, or something, later."

"I'm definitely retiring here," Mulder said and
pointed the car back toward the motel.
 

Kalispell, Montana
8:05 AM

Ambrose climbed the tree to readjust the timer. It
should be set more or less for the same time every
night. Now that people were going to know what to
expect when they came out here, he'd hate for them to
be disappointed. He had spent a long time creating his
little patriotic display and was happy it was going to
be seen and, hopefully, appreciate by others.

He reached the equipment and frowned. The timer was
off.

Theoretically, it shouldn't have worked at all
tonight.

He wondered if he should maybe stop those FBI agents
and tell them.

Nah. He'd just fix the timer and leave things be.

They probably had better things to do.

The End