David Duchovny began his battle with FOX while filming Season 7, definitively declaring he was leaving the show because of a list of (valid) grievances (pay and burnout primarily.) He, the writers, the crew, the actors, the press, the fans all knew he was planning to bail after the finale wrapped-- which was why Spotnitz and Carter began prepping for Scully's surprise pregnancy as early as Amor Fati (e.g. the family planning book hiding in the basement, the boy on the beach referencing the UFO in Africa, CC and Spotnitz writing all things with Gillian Anderson, and Spotnitz confirming all things's opener pointed to William's conception.)

The creed of the show (that Glen Morgan voiced in 2024) was, "Whenever we go back to being at the FOX commissary-- or wherever it was that we were thinking about this stuff-- we had two rules: if Scully ever saw an alien, or they ever kissed, the show was over." However, with DD leaving-- and the old formula, by necessity, changing-- Carter and Spotnitz set up Scully's pregnancy in Requiem to-- as they hoped-- launch a second X-Files movie (which Duchovny, and Anderson, already expressed interest in doing.) And after John Shiban convinced CC to include a New Year's kiss, all bets were off. To quote Wikipedia (because I'm lazy) quoting Marc Shapiro's All Things: The Official Guide to The X-Files: John Shiban developed the idea for a Mulder–Scully kiss, which was described by series creator Chris Carter as a "present for the fans." Shiban noted that the episode's kiss felt like "the logical culmination of their relationship. They had been heading toward the kiss for years". Gillian Anderson later explained that, "David [Duchovny] and I knew the kiss was coming. [...] I felt the editors of that episode milked it in a very effective way." In order to create the atmosphere of the scene, specialized camera angles were used and everything was slowed down to make the scene last longer.

So, Mulder and Scully kissed, and the game changed. The lead writers penned Sein und Zeit and Closure-- a resolution to Mulder's arc-- and collaborated on all things-- a resolution to Scully's arc; and, with Gillian's permission, slipped in a scene confirming the characters' relationship.

Those points have been confirmed; but there are, of course, more points on the "season of secret sex" graph to draw a straight line.

For one thing, the props department sprinkled clues everywhere: an extra toothbrush on Mulder's sink in Orison (thanks to anon and @b0oker18 for noticing), Scully's supplies tucked away in Mulder's bathroom in all things (thanks @unremarkablehouse and @touchstoneaf)-- touches which delicately establish a relationship in full swing. And, as every person working on every level of 1013 attested (on both runs of the show, and the movies), nothing ever happened on-set without CC knowing or approving it.

Scully and Mulder were given more allowances that season, too-- or David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson just... stopped caring about the "will they, won't they?" after Millennium's decisive "they did." Mulder grinning at Scully's arrival and teasing her over her jealousy, Scully territorially bumping into him and playing with his tie, and both of them arriving late for work together in Rush (here); Scully suggestively hinting they wrap up the case (here) and stating she loves baseball now, too (here), in The Goldberg Variation; Mulder having a second toothbrush on his sink (here) in Orison; Scully staying the night with Mulder and not flinching when Skinner catches them (here and here) in Sein und Zeit; Mulder teasing about Catholic girls and snake handling (here) in Signs & Wonders; Scully's beauty tools residing in Mulder's bathroom (here) in all things-- those instances (and more) all highlight the glaringly obvious next step in the agents' partnership. Not to mention Carter's own flirty episode, Fight Club (here.)

I don't know, man, but there's a difference in DD and GA's acting pre-and post-Millennium. It's palpable. They knew the jig was up.

I've touched on Season 7's relationship here, if you're curious.

Also, for the fun of it, I'm including some speculations about the Season of Secret Sex (or all things) that I came across in my archive dive, courtesy of @agent-troi (here) and @deathsbestgirl (here) and @nachosncheezies (here) and @numinousmysteries (here) and @b0oker18 (here) and @thursdayinspace (here.)

While she continues, there is a distinctive rustling of either material-on-material friction or her fingers rubbing material between them.

Her attention remains fixed where her hand is.

Position A is regained after she says, "Please? Just..." and pouts: her arm snaps abruptly back to her side, leveling her shoulders (and dropping whatever she was fondling.)

When she finishes, "...for me?" we get a glimpse of Mulder's face before Scully switches gears and becomes serious again.

Now, granted, Scully could have been fiddling with Mulder's coat or a button hole or a bunch in his shirt or his hand or her hand (though there isn't an audible skin-on-skin noise) if not his tie, but she was fiddling with something. Otherwise moving her hand forward, keeping it in empty air, then pulling it back only after pleading her case wouldn't make sense.

So, the most plausible explanation would be....

-Timeline: Production Drafts-

Here's a fun little aside I've thought up.

One of the quirks in Rush is its timetable, specifically a date printed on one of the teenager's exam papers (here.) If taken at face value, this would place the episode around Thanksgiving, before New Year's 2000.

After investigating the production dates, I discovered (and will prove) the episode was crafted after Millennium.

Millennium, September 13, 1999:

Rush, September 17, 1999 and Rush, September 24, 1999 respectively:

Which means Millennium's kiss (courtesy of John Shiban and Frank Spotnitz) was written no later than September 17.

Which means Rush was written after the kiss was penned.

Which means Rush was created off in the "after" era.

Couldn't find filming dates of either episode (probably wouldn't matter, regardless), but the on-screen goof can probably be explained by an oversight: Rush was aired December 5, which means a lot of its production was taking place during November (leading up to Thanksgiving.) Some exhausted or misinformed crew member must have accidentally included the wrong detail.

(Besides, timelines were never clear in The X-Files, anyway.)

-Bonus-

Want more content?

You can find a gifset of Scully's insane levels of flirtation (and territoriality) here. And this gifset. And this one. And this. And that. And Mulder's crack here.

@agent-troi's Rush meta here (including a line from Mulder) and here. My entrance meta here. @fringephile's thoughts/screenshots here. @scullysbagelbites's thoughts here. @unremarkablehouse's thoughts on Scully's turtleneck (hickies) here and etc. here. My season of secret sex meta here.

And—okay, this is about to be controversial, and younger me would be horrified—but I also just wish they would have committed one way or the other with the Diana storyline. Like, if you want to show us that Mulder has a thing with Diana, then just show it. If you want him to obviously suspect her after Scully’s warnings, show that. Go one way or the other, but choose a lane and commit. While you’re at it, give more definition to Diana’s character, too. Is she sincere in any way—or no? What are her motives?

That’s not even focusing on the most frustrating part of One Son, which is that at best Mulder and Scully painfully miscommunicate, and at worst Mulder treats Scully very badly. There’s not really ever a direct resolution of that. We don’t ever get to see that put right in any satisfying way. But … that’s definitely where fic steps in. (It also helps with giving the decontamination shower scene more of a spotlight, and I'm in favor). 

I’m focusing my recs on One Son fics particularly, but I’ll include a few more generic Diana angst fics, too. There’s absolutely no way I’m going to create a complete list of these, so please forgive any obvious omissions. Hopefully people can chime in with other favorites. 

The Recs

Absolution - SlippinMickeys (@slippinmickeys)This fic fits within the events of One Son perfectly. Scully is still angry, obviously. Angry sex and apology sex. Completely lovely. 

Car Ride by JLB The awkward car ride back from the hangar. Poor Scully’s suffering as she has to deal with Mulder’s continued obliviousness.

The Coldest Night of the Year - oohnotvery This is not One Son specific, but it is some angsty angsty Diana angst. When a snowstorm hits town, Scully goes to Mulder's to shelter in place, but discovers Diana is there with them. World's most awkward sleepover.

Deluge - OnlyFoxMulder While taking shelter from the hurricane in Florida during Agua Mala, Mulder pushes Scully to talk about her anger towards him. I like the dialogue in this, and it’s a good balance between allowing Scully to be angry and still caring about Mulder.

the guts - wtfmulder This fic and its sequels are dark chocolate angst, the kind that says 80% bitter on the wrapper.  It’s not for the faint of heart: both Mulder and Scully behave badly, and the pain, the pain. It starts when Mulder accidentally drops an empty condom wrapper after One Son. It does go in more hopeful directions eventually. 

Hot Shower - Suzanne Barringer This is an AU version of the decontamination shower scene. Interestingly, this is because it was written when the scene was rumored but had not yet aired—and given that, it’s closer to the actual scene than you might think. Still, it focuses on… some different aspects of the scene. A fun and hot read.

Hurt’s Hopeful Plunder - DarlaBlack This is a very satisfying wrap-up to the Mulder being an asshole plot of One Son. 

in this metallic silence - light_loves_the_dark In the aftermath of One Son, Diana manipulates an oblivious Mulder and it results in Scully being physically hurt. This is Angst Level High, but it has a happy ending. It also includes a scene of Mulder really comprehensively taking Diana to task, which is something the author points out is fairly rare.

(In)Visible - 13starbuck42 A shorter piece in which Scully drinks a bottle of wine and plausibly takes Mulder to task in a satisfying way. 

Mulder, Scully, and Diana Fucking Fowley - Sarie_Fairy This fic is post-Milagro, but it is really about the damage wrought during One Son. Sarie_Fairy can construct such a good emotional build-up in her dialogue.

Never Cold With You By My Side - Baroness Blixen Diana requires Mulder and Scully to stay overnight in Fort Marlene after their decontamination shower, which has … effects she may not have intended. 

Pilgrims creeping towards the dawn- softnow  This is one of my favorite Diana angst fics. It's not One Son specific, but still. This one gives it to you pure and unfiltered. Beautifully written little heartbreaker. Ouchy ouch.

Sinking Ships - Benduini A post ep written right after the ep. Scully makes peace with the fact she’s going to lose Mulder to Diana, only to have things turn out unexpectedly.

the waffle house index - audries Subtle, beautifully written story about the aftermath of One Son. It doesn’t mention the events of One Son, yet somehow is entirely about them. It’s also about a partnership that is straining under years of failure to communicate well and a tendency to lean too hard on comfortable patterns. This fic has one of my favorite tags: “Waffle House is a metaphor, Hazel Grace.” (The author says in notes she’s never been to a Waffle House, which is unimaginable for me, honestly.)

A Winter’s Tale - Anjou Scully and Mulder are chilly post-One Son. When Mulder is oddly absent, Scully is not even sure he isn’t secretly meeting Diana. He isn’t, and the truth takes them on a tense cross-country trip. This is a satisfying MSR adventure.

wishbone - light_loves_the_dark This fic imagines a scene where Mulder and Diana go to pick Scully up to go to El Rico. In an intense, angsty conversation, Mulder tries to convince Scully to get into the car. Talking about his feelings just feels manipulative to Scully. Painful, moving, satisfying.

One Hand Tied - me me me (cecilysass) This is my own take on post-One Son with some canon divergence. After One Son, Mulder and his suitcase disappear, last seen with Diana. Scully assumes they have gone away somewhere together, but there’s more going on than that.  Other fics of mine that feature Diana prominently, but not necessarily in One Son context: Honest Man, Pause, The Kaleidoscope, The Marriage Spectacular, Unobserved.

What'd I miss?

My Struggle I-IV were created from three main points: to separate Mulder and Scully, to reunite them (through miraculous means that were, in my opinion, fleshed out later), and to make William immortal.

March 22, 2018:

Carter gave us one major clue in the text at the end of the opening credits. The words “Salvator Mundi” (savior of the world) flash across the screen, in reference to the controversial lost Leonardo Da Vinci piece that resurfaced and sold at auction for $450 million. The painting shows Jesus in Renaissance dress as the savior of the world and master of the cosmos. Carter explained to Den of Geek the significance of the message and how it shaped the dynamic of the finale:

“For me, there were three parts to that. We have William’s immortality and resurrection at the end of the show, that’s the final image. We have Mulder who could be considered to be someone who just saved the world by stalling the Cigarette Smoking Man’s plans. Then, we have the Cigarette Smoking Man who actually looks at himself as the savior of the world, sort of diabolically, he was going to start the planet anew. Like the devil, he believes that he is right.” ...

The breadcrumbs of the William/Jackson arc are all over the later seasons of The X-Files. This storyline was a long time coming for Carter.

“I had those four episodes in mind in that I wanted to tell Mulder’s struggle, Scully’s struggle, the Cigarette Smoking Man’s struggle, and William’s struggle. They were the four characters who, for me, were most central to the mythology of the show,” he said. 

“I had this image of Mulder and Scully being united, once again, with a miracle. So, you got that final image, and that William would be immortal, those were all things I had in mind.”

Scully knew William was alive.

March 21, 2018:

Interviewer: If the show returns and if Gillian returns as Scully, will Scully still be able to sense that William is alive? Or has that connection somehow been severed?

Chris Carter: Because he’s still alive, there is that connection. I imagine right now, that’s what she sensed at the end of the dock at the sugar factory: William might in fact not be dead.

The miracle baby is Mulder and Scully's (and likely has alien DNA, i.e. powers); but will already be narratively baited.

March 21, 2018:

Interviewer: Given the twist about William’s paternity this year, can you confirm this is biologically Mulder and Scully’s kid that she is carrying

Chris Carter: I will confirm it is their child. But I will also confirm Scully has alien DNA.

July 15, 2018:

Interviewer: We’ve seen some really interesting developments in the relationship between Mulder and Scully in season 11. Now that Scully’s pregnant again, how do you see that relationship developing in a hypothetical future season/film?

Chris Carter: We always have the show in real time, so I would imagine that if we come back, there would be a passage of time, and Scully would have had that baby – or not. We might find out things about that child that are unexpected as well, so there are lots of unanswered questions and interesting things there.

Skinner and Monica Reyes probably survived.

March 22, 2018:

Skinner, in an act of sacrifice, tried to gun down Monica Reyes and the Smoking Man. Reyes, it seemed, took a few bullets. And Skinner ended up sandwiched between two cars. Did both characters meet their maker? 

“As I like to say, no one stopped to take their pulses, so of course there’s a possibility that they both survived,” Carter said.  

CSM is not dead.

March 21, 2018:

Fans have seen CSM die multiple times, including his explosive death in the original series finale. Should fans buy that death and if not, what could kill him at this point? That’s a good question and also a part of the cliffhanger: is he a product of the science he claims to have in his possession? Is that what allows him to regenerate? Will it continue to be regenerative?

March 22, 2018:

“Scully had these images of him when she had her visions, with a face that had been totally reconstructed. Then, as we saw in episode, the season opener this season, and the season finale, he seemed to have been completely healed, although he had minor scarring. That was by design. He has powers to rejuvenate. So, is he dead? That’s a question that remains to be answered,” Carter said.

March 24, 2018:

“CSM has access to a lot of science, and we saw him regenerate before. And Scully had those visions of him with horrible disfigurement, but we only saw light scarring in the end, so what is that about? And with Skinner and Monica, no one stopped to take their pulse, so no-one knows. Was it a kill shot?”

Chris Carter believes the finale was perfect.

July 15, 2018:

Interviewer: Do you have any particular favourite episodes from these last two short seasons?

Chris Carter: I have to say there are four, and they’re kind of all equal. I loved the AI episode this season that begins with Mulder and Scully in the sushi bar (Rm9sbG9eZX.Jz). I loved Darin Morgan’s episodes from last season and this season (Mulder And Scully Meet The Were-Monster and The Lost Art Of Forehead Sweat), and I really liked the season finale (My Struggle IV) this season. It struck several chords perfectly.

BONUS

And lastly, we have a bit of post-canon revisionism.

Chris Carter held that CSM was William's father--

March 21, 2018:

Interviewer: Chris! You don't like creative permanence, do you? All right, so does Skinner ever tell Scully that the Smoking Man is William's "father," or does she just figure that out intuitively, or based on her visions?

Chris Carter: You know, she has intuition as we've set up, but he actually tells her in the car, except it's done where we go into Scully's head. We see him all but say the Cigarette Smoking Man is William's father.

--until recently:

July 28, 2024:

Was the CSM William’s father? CC mentions mitochondrial replacement/removal, thanks to which a child can have two fathers and one mother, and “that’s the answer”; DM and the audience boos him! [a way to have your cake and eat it too – both Mulder AND the CSM are biological parents, according to CC, and that’s final....]

Perihelion walks back some MSIV canon.

Per Claudia Gray's book (Eat The Corn's review here): CSM is not William's father, and is dead; Skinner survived; Reyes isn't mentioned; Scully has special powers, and it's suggested her and Mulder's daughter will have them, too. (Also, Mulder and Scully became an official couple...?)

CONCLUSION

There you go.

Thanks for reading~

wanted

She stirs in the crook of his arm, as though even in sleep she’s aware that he’s awake and restless. Clumsily she touches his sternum as if locating him, then loops her arm around his middle, securely attaching herself to him.

“Mm...M’lr,” comes out in a soft, drowsy murmur. Then a happy sigh.

The first time Mulder ever felt loved.

"Could you say that again?"

She is so utterly, unequivocally precious to him, and he can’t stop staring. She lounges here in his bed with his sheets tangled around her waist, looking every bit like she plans to stay the rest of the night, and he prays that she will.

Mulder likes staring at Scully.

the third time

“Mulder, can we make a new rule?” she mumbles sleepily with her eyes closed, and although her tone is relaxed he finds his anxiety rippling just a bit. He doesn’t know how to play this, or where this request could go.

Mulder asks if Scully will stay over.

Prompt List #1 - Chapter 5 

Though he constantly aches not being able to cradle her as she sleeps, he seldom challenges her request of no fraternization while on out of town investigations. She more than makes it up to him once they stumble into one of their respective apartments, anyway. He has no cause to complain.

Scully crashes Mulder's room.

Headcanon Fics (Tumblr Prompt) - Chapter 10

The next night when they part ways for sleep, he makes sure to note that the door is closed. When he comes back however, the gap is there as it was the night before. He gets goosebumps at the possible implications of this—who else could have propped it open but Scully? Was this a signal? Was she telling him it was okay to join her? His heart soars at the thought but again, he doesn’t want to disturb her. He goes to bed.

Mulder notices the dividing door's left open.

Week 1: Sugar

He catches the blissful aroma of home as soon as he walks in her door: sugar and cinnamon and vanilla. He had wondered why she’d be calling him in the middle of a Sunday afternoon with a voice of purpose requesting he drop by. Despite his asking “what for??” twice, she’d simply told him to come over and promptly hung up. She’d sounded business-like—no please-come-over-now-Mulder-I-want-you tone and no distress, leaving him wondering all the way up to unlocking her door and letting himself in.

Mulder drops the "L word."

"Did you just refer to me as your boyfriend?"

She looked so happy, and it made his heart melt. They had a week away at a cabin in Bend, he felt happy and healthy, and Scully was sitting crossed-legged on their bed with a trucker’s breakfast, happily stuffing her face. Her hair was mussed and she had donned the sweatshirt he’d worn while they cuddled up to watch a late showing of “Monsters of Yore” the night before. They’d behaved for all of fifteen minutes before it had been discarded.

Scully drops the "boyfriend" word.

Headcanon Fics (Tumblr Prompt) - Chapter 20

So now he was standing in front of a vending machine, tucked a few yards away from their motel room, staring at the glass and trying to find a Mars Bar for Scully. She never asked for anything, one thing he could do right was to get her one of her favorite candy bars.

Except there weren’t any Mars Bars. There wasn’t even any chocolate. Just Skittles and Starbursts. And one packet of Rice Crispies.

Somehow he felt like he had failed her.

Scully soothes Mulder's guilt.

Week 4: Candy

She returns from her lunch break with two Rite Aid bags worth of party mix candy, all the good stuff: Reeses, Twix, Snickers...He can't resist pilfering some and manages to wrestle two pieces out of the packaging before she swats him away.

"Don't tell me this is a late addition to my birthday present, Scully," he teases around a half-chewed fun size bar, the caramel already sticking to his teeth, "The birthday smacks were more than enough--not to mention the cake."

"No, it's for the kids in my neighborhood," she explains without a beat, neatly tying the plastic bag in a knot to prevent further thievery, "Most of them live in my building."

Mulder, Scully, and Halloween.

Ficlets (Tumblr Prompt) - Chapter 60

She’s startled, whips around, and the goosebumps that rise on her skin tell her who that deep, droning voice belongs to. He looks so tired; at least two days without a shave and he must have fallen asleep on the plane because one side of his hair is simultaneously flattened and spiked. His tie is crooked, but his eyes and mouth are soft with a welcome. Without a word she springs up and wraps her arms around him, burying her face in his collar.

Scully waits for Mulder's plane.

Ficlets (Tumblr Prompt) - Chapter 15 (Ao3)

Maggie made her way quietly to Dana’s bedroom and peeked past the partially closed doorway, reassured when she recognized the fluffed waves of her daughter’s hair amidst the sheets.

What she hadn’t expected to see was Fox in the bed with her.

Maggie busts the duo.

Prompt List #1 - Chapter 3 

He trades between re-reading a sentence of his notes and looking back up at his parter, now girlfriend, always love of his life. She could be anywhere she wanted to be today, and she chose to wake up snuggled against his side and ask him oh so sweetly to make her some toast for breakfast. 

Mulder is surprised at the strength of his love.

Little Things - Chapter 1 and Little Things - Chapter 2 (Ao3)

One cool Friday night she had asked him to stay the weekend. Surprised and a little anxious over her request, he had hesitantly agreed. Saturday they had gone out to breakfast, then they had driven to the National Arboretum where they had walked until they were drunk with sun, starved for food, and their feet ached. They drove back to Scully’s place where she had quickly thrown together a casserole. He had assisted with dessert, laughingly giving her two more scoops of Fudge Nutter ice cream than she had requested while she protested and ate it when a smile.

Sunday morning he had made the mistake of telling her he would be glad to help her with housework, and to his chagrin she had taken him up on it, giving him dusting and vacuuming duties as she scrubbed at the oven. When dinnertime rolled around she had wanted to make him dinner, but he insisted on buying them take-out, one because she had done enough work, and two, he wanted to reward her for making the housecleaning venture enjoyable. When she had fallen asleep against him while they watched AMC, he had longed to carry her to bed, but instead settled for gently guiding her to her bedroom.

“This was nice.” She had sleepily murmured as they lay wrapped in her sheets, her breath brushing over his chest as her head rested on his shoulder. He had stroked her back in agreement.

Mulder, Scully, and the little things they do for each other.

Five Sentence Fics (Tumblr Prompt) - Chapter 3

“Mulder, I’m in a rotten mood today so you’d better be using those lips for better things than making caustic comments.”

Scully's bummy mood.

Ficlets (Tumblr Prompt) - Chapter 6

“I never want to have sex again,” she said pitifully, “I just want to take my ovaries out, set them on the opposite side of the room for a while until they decide to calm down, and then maybe I’ll put them back in.”

Mulder chuckled despite himself.

“Spoken like a true forensic pathologist,” he teased.

“It’s not funny, Mulder. I’m dying.”

Mulder pampers Scully while she battles period cramps.

Headcanon Fics (Tumblr Prompt) - Chapter 15

“Protest all you like,” he chuckles, “but you do, and I think it’s utterly adorable.”

She squints at him deviously, as if she’s mulling over a cutting retort but he knows she can’t come up with anything when she haughtily takes a sip of her coffee. 

Mulder insists Scully snores. Scully doesn't want to believe.

Ficlets (Tumblr Prompt) - Chapter 44

“Mul—what is it?” She suddenly becomes aware of how messy Mulder’s kitchen has become. Medical reference books are piled atop the counter, half-eaten toast (her dinner) rests cold and stiff on a plate beside her, and her laptop is nestled in the one spot not covered in notes and autopsy forms on his kitchen table.

“You’ve been working all evening,” his hand is gentle on her back, “You wanna relax on the couch with me? I can get you something more to eat?”

Scully needs help decompressing during a case.

If your still taking headcanons/Headcanon Fics (Tumblr Prompt) - Chapter 17

He heard her call his name softly just as he had tossed some frozen turkey apple sausage in the pan. He smiled to himself, glad she was awake relatively early this weekend - maybe after breakfast they could drive for a hike somewhere in the afternoon. They never spent enough time outdoors when they had time off.

Mulder finally feels like a normal dude.

Ficlets (Tumblr Prompt) - Chapter 33

“Read to you? Scully we’re on a stakeout!” he almost chuckled.

“Mm hm. And she’s not going to show, you and I both know that. We’ve got fifteen minutes until we can leave and sleep. I want to hear your voice.”

Scully asks Mulder to read to her.

"I like it when you play with my hair"

He may never move again. At least not while his very tired partner is using him as a full-contact body pillow atop her bed sheets.

Mulder's and Scully's soaking in intimacy.

Ficlets (Tumblr Prompt) - Chapter 74

“You’re such a good man,” she whispers into his thick, silky hair. He needs to hear that more.

She feels the hitch in his breathing against her lower abdomen, and the arms loosely bracketing her hips squeeze her enough to let her know that he’s heard. She sinks lower on the bed and shifts so that she can kiss his face: his roughened cheek, his earlobe, his paper-thin eyelids.

Scully marvels at Mulder's peace.

Mulder likes to call scully "baby", and she loves it

Her feet, lower back, and temples ache as she snaps off the latex gloves and disposes of them in the bin. Long hours are par for the course, but she still wouldn’t mind a few nine-to-fivers once and a while. She can’t wait to get out of her scrubs and back home so she can curl into some threadbare sweats and a blanket.

Mulder promises to make her dinner.

Unnamed

Scully snuffling a bit with a small scowl, murmuring a slurry "time isit?", nestling her face into his chest.

Tender snapshots in the night.

24 Days of X-mas Files - Chapter 3 (Ao3)

He's over at her place [again] tonight, his lanky and irritatingly attractive body sprawled across the entire length of her cream-colored couch while she taps away at her desk. He's done absolutely zero work on his report, save for writing down the current date in the upper right hand corner of his yellow legal pad. Said pad is still sitting untouched on her coffee table as he lays on his back tossing a balled up piece of memo paper to himself like a twelve year old on the pitch. She wonders when he stopped coming over to her apartment in his suit and started wearing jeans and Henleys.

Mulder likes distracting Scully from her reports.

Ficlets (Tumblr Prompt) - Chapter 90

The “m” word, a noun that he promised himself to never experience after enduring his parents’ bitter and angry divorce, is flickering around in his head. He keeps having fleeting thoughts about whether Scully likes white or yellow gold, keeps imagining a diamond on her left ring finger. It terrifies him, the fact that he’s even considering this, but the mere concept of being able to call Scully his wife covers his entire body in goosebumps.

Scully's unexpected stay turns into longer, more permanent plans.

home for thanksgiving 

Dana is…Dana’s different now. She seems a little firmer, a little more stoic, and he’s sure from what little she’s told him about her current line of work that it HAS to have an effect on her. The last several years have thrown so much at this family…arguably her most of all.

Charlie observes his sister and her partner.

MSR Ficmas Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4, Day 5, Day 6, Day 7, Day 8, Day 9, Day 10, Day 11, Day 12, Day 13, Day 14, Day 15, Day 16, Day 17, Day 18, Day 19, Day 20, Day 21, Day 22, Day 23, Day 24, Day 25 (Ao3)

“When you’re my wife you won’t have to drive across town if you wanna snuggle,” he’s teasing her, but there’s also something else there…she feels as if he’s testing waters with her. They haven’t talked about details yet since he gave her her ring, knowing him he’s probably wondering if she’s having second thoughts. Truth be told, the ring hasn’t left her finger since he slipped it on in her childhood bed that breathless Christmas night.

Mulder and Scully's first Christmas together as a couple: baking, a surprise weekend getaway, shopping, and a holiday alongside the Scully family.

MSR Ficmas // Day 30 - Fireworks

As she unwraps and reads each of the sparklers from the pile, Scully realizes he is listing off all the things he loves about her, from something as sweet as how she takes her coffee (two sugars, no cream), to the growling noise she makes in her throat when he takes her from behind. There has to be at least thirty of these wrapped notes, culminating in a blazing glow that lights nearly the entire back yard.

It's the eve of Mulder and Scully's wedding.

AUs

Miracle at Charlotte Douglas International Airport (Ao3) and Christmas Eve Call (Ao3)

Scully allowed her body to settle as she remembered the soft words Mulder had murmured only a few hours before as he had pressed soft kisses to her closed eyelids.

“I wonder why things have been so good for us lately.”

Scully insists a stranded Mulder join her and her family for Christmas.

The Hands Resist Him (Ao3)

She had been wondering how long it would take him to ask, and with that in mind she made the conscious decision not to bring it up, however much she was battling with herself to do so. She wasn’t quite sure if she even wanted him to ask, the concept of it equally tantalizing and terrifying.

Mulder and Scully, undercover.

Thanks for reading~