#frizzyhairedbitch85

“Can you climb on that ladder and pin the garland over the curtains? I’ve been at it for almost an hour and I can’t see it when I’m up there, climbing up and down” “Say no more Scully, just tell me when it looks right” “Thanks” He climbed the ladder and pulled what needed to be pulled, moved and loosened, pined and tugged, following instructions surprisingly well, given their history of working together. “You must really love Christmas, Scully” he said pinning a red ribbon she handed to him to the garland. “My favorite time of the year, you don’t?” She chanced, ready for an evasive remark or a joking comment. “I’m half jewish, half atheist, so not really, Christmas was more of a social event when my parent still did social things” he paused, and Scully realized this wasn’t exactly the most comfortable subject “my dad was the one, who was most vehemently against the idea, claiming it was a waste of time.” “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked” she lowered her gaze, suddenly very interested in the pattern of her carpet. “It’s okay, with Sam gone, no one was exactly in the mood to celebrate anything without her” his tone confirmed, that he wasn’t offended but she wasn’t sure if she was comforted “one thing’s for sure, even if the moods were sour, the dinner on those days was always a bit more special” “My dad always made us take the tree down a day after Christmas” she said out of the blue, knowing the second she said it, that she had nothing to complain about next to Mulder’s story “now I keep it up at least until Three Kings” “You go girl, show him who’s boss” they both laughed as Mulder pinned the last bow in the corner of the window and climbed down, eager to help now that he was already at it “What else you need long arms for around here?” “Nothing, that’s all, thank you” she smiled sweetly and took the safety pins from his hands “what’s in the file?” “Oh, just some last minute details from our arson case, if you’re still interested” Mulder passed her the file. As he did, he spotted an angel still in her box, waiting to take her place of honor on top of the tree. Without waiting for Scully to say so, he took the ornament out and lifted it silently asking her approval. She looked up from the file and nodded with a small smile so he placed the angel on top of the tree, smoothing down her skirts and straightening gold wings. “The man heals uncommonly fast” she noted paging through the file, looking at blood work and notes of the attending physician. “Yeah, it’s unfair that this scum gets to live when good people have died for his twisted fantasies” “He won’t get much of a life either way” seeing there was nothing more to do, he went to the door and she followed. “We’ll make sure of that” he assured her taking the coat from her hands. “My parents are coming to dinner sometime after Christmas, maybe you’d like to join us?” Scully tried to make it sound like no big deal, but Mulder the profiler saw right through her charity. “Thank you, but maybe some other time, enjoy your family time, Dana” she looked up, a little surprised by this breach of protocol, but his smile was also different from the one she knew, softer, open even “just remember me if there’s some leftover pie” He winked his funny slow wink, twisting the scarf around his neck, a choking hazard if anyone asked her. “I’ll see you after the holidays” he said, resting one hand on her arm in a friendly farewell “Merry Christmas” “Happy Hanukah Mulder” that made him chuckle. “Thanks, I’ll see you around” “Bye” She stared after him as he walked down the corridor and couldn’t stop herself from having the last word “Drive safely, it’s an ice rink out there” He didn’t turn, but she could feel the smile in the wave of his hand.

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She finally convinced her mother to take something to calm her neves and help her sleep for at least a couple hours. Now Maggie was curled under a blanket on her bed and the clock was approaching 4am. She shut the bedroom door and went back to the couch. Her tea went cold and only light came from the tree she left on before any of the nights tragic events happened. The dinner they had just a few hours ago felt like a whole different lifetime. She had a long day ahead of her, arrangements to be made, people to notify. Bill and Missy already knew and she couldn’t reach Charlie, for which she was secretly grateful because these were the two hardest calls she had to make in her entire life. Still, there was one more call she needed to make tonight. She didn’t fear she’d wake him, he called her at the oddest hours more than once. Dialing Scully took a deep breath to calm her voice and thoughts, this was a business call. “Mulder” he sounded sleepy, she did wake him and instantly felt guilty. Too late to hang up now, so in hushed voice, for her mother’s sake, not because her confidence was someplace far away, she answered “It’s me” “Scully? What time is it? Did something happen?” She tried to convince herself that she didn’t drop her mask, it was the early hour in his voice not concern, this was business. “No” she shook her head as if he could see her and realized the stupidity of that lie before she finished the one syllable “I mean yes, I won’t be able to make it to the office tomorrow, today” she corrected herself and her voice failed her at the end. Mulder picked up on it instantly. “Are you okay?” There it was again, the urgency, the need to know everything. “I’m” her voice got lost somewhere, probably went looking for confidence, she felt tears rolling down her cheeks, Mulder waited patiently. “My father died five hours ago” she finally said, gathering the rest of her will and strength, before she squeezed her eyes shut and bit her lip to stop the sobs. Saying it out loud for the third time made it irreversible and real. “Oh Scully, I’m so sorry” his warm voice fought it’s way through her tears and hit home. Pressing the receiver to her ear she let the tears flow, silently listening to his words of comfort “if is there anything I can do, just say the word. You have someone there with you? I can come over. Don’t worry about work, that doesn’t matter right now. Please, tell me if you need anything, anything at all” She finally took a deep breath and forced herself to calm down, wiping the tears with a clean, paper tissue she pulled from a box under the coffee table. “Thank you” feeling as if she spoke for the first time in months, her words sounded alien but calm “I’ll manage, I’m not alone, my mother is here” “Okay, but my offer still stands” Scully nodded, though again he couldn’t see her, words were still coming and going and speaking was a little beyond her right now. She moved to lean against the armrest and sinking deeper into the couch, spotted the angel on top of the tree and remembered Mulder putting her up and father mentioning the needles and mess. Mulder’s voice was a soothing hum in her ear and she was beginning to relax “you said he was a navy captain, they can arrange the funeral for you, I have a friend there, I can call him” “Mulder, I appreciate it, but my mother hasn’t decided anything yet” there it was, her voice and her calm, reoriented on his voice and ready to stand her ground. Not unkindly, he simply was her new normal and holding on to that, she could for a moment feel like herself again. “Whatever you say, but let me know if you change your mind” he was a good man, crazy, but good, her father... “You know, my dad never approved of me leaving medicine to join FBI” She heard the leather sofa creak on the other end of the line, a deep sigh. “Neither did mine, he never approved of my determination to find Sam, he said I was hurting mom bringing it up all the time” “But it never stopped you from searching” “No, neither did it make me stop wanting to please him somehow” she puled a blanket over herself and watched the tree, the angel there, her flowing skirts, Mulder’s voice soft in her ear “somehow, I imagined that if I could find her, we could be a family again” “You love this job and you will find her, we’ll find her” she could feel sleep calling her with his voice. “Yeah” was it hope she heard, or doubt, her mind was too foggy to decide “go to sleep Scully, come back when you’re ready, I’m really sorry for your loss, pass my condolences to the rest of your family” A mumbled thank you was all she could manage. “Good night” he said softly, but she couldn’t remember saying it back.

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Woken by the scent of coffee and bacon, her mother bustling around the kitchen, making breakfast for what looked like a platoon not two women grieving and with no appetite for food. Scully understood completely, it gave her something to do, a purpose other than seeing to the funeral. This was a connection to the living, living who still needed her. It was always her purpose, to live for others. Scully ate her food, like the obedient daughter she was. Maggie Scully decided to bury her husband with love. The arrangements were made through the funeral home, the ceremony was to be simple, only the family, the ashes given back to the waves and the winds. No one knew better than her, that those three were his only love in life, the navy was just a mean to an end. That second night, when Scully finally had the time to feel the loss was terrible. She cried and cried and even warm arms of her mother couldn’t stop the tears from falling. A card came with flowers from Mulder, and it now rested securely inside her pocket.

“May the winds take away your sorrow, May the water wash away your tears, The ones’ we lost still live within our memory.”

She didn’t sleep well, troubled dreams plagued her all night. She couldn’t get the vision out of her mind, she was sure she saw Ahab in a chair speaking to her, before she got the news. She was sure she saw something like that in Mulder’s files and she needed to understand. She couldn’t sit at home and watch the time go by, she needed to work. She needed to get out and feel normal even for just a few hours.

“I didn’t think you’d be in today” he ignored her quip completely, honestly concerned “how are you Dana” Still Dana, even for Mulder, the way he spoke her name came close to piercing her carefully constructed defenses. “I’m fine, thank you” she tried to smile and succeeded, determined to make this day as normal as possible. 9am office, Noon funeral, 2pm, back at the office or whatever they might have planned. It was the only way she could keep herself together, otherwise the grief would bury her at home for days. Just because she didn’t show them, it didn’t mean she didn’t have any feelings. She felt them deeply, but there was time and place for everything, this was work, and she counted on Mulder to proceed accordingly. “What are you working on?” her voice didn’t crack, she could do this. He presented the case as usual and it really worked, for a moment. He did try one last time to convince her to sit this one out, but in the end accepted her choice. “I need to work” “I’m sorry about your father” His hand rested on her cheek and there was comfort in his touch, strength and understanding, both for her grief and the way she wanted to cope with it. They set out for Raleigh, North Carolina, to face the ghosts of Mulder’s past and for the first time it was Mulder who seemed skeptical.

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Luther Lee Boggs was evil incarnate, ruthless killer and a liar, not even Mulder could trust him. Yet she saw him change, she heard the song, how could he do that? How could he know, Beyond The Sea, Starbuck, those were things even Mulder didn’t know. She sat in her hotel room surrounded by the restless sea and thought about the ghosts she saw, a ghost who still wasn’t speaking. She had to tell Mulder, he was her partner, she had to tell him how she found the warehouse because the lie was weighing on her heavily. His anger still took her by surprise.

“The bureau would expect something like that from “Spooky’ Mulder, but not Dana Scully” he lashed out and immediately felt guilty, the hurt in her eyes made him take a step back. He didn’t believe that, not from her, not really. “I thought that you’d be pleased that I opened myself to extreme possibilities” he would be, if for once they’d agree on something. “Why now? After all we’ve seen, why Boggs?” Mulder felt like he was missing some crucial detail “Does this have to do with your father?” Scully shook her head looking away and finally her body language said something he could understand. Her feelings were still raw and he wanted to help her, but he wasn’t ready to die if something happened because she was distracted. He reached for reasonable arguments, something she couldn’t deny or outright dismiss as his brand of nonsense. “You said he didn’t approve of you becoming an FBI agent. If being on the job now makes you feel guilty or uncomfortable or uneasy, I think you should back away” she finally looked at him, and he saw that she heard what he was trying to say. “Because if it’s clouding your judgment, you’re putting yourself in danger” and I don’t want to lose a partner to this wormtongue’d monster “I love this job” she said softly, hear voice breakingm. Admitting weakness was never easy, he knew that better than anyone. And that’s why she needed to trust him, take a step back and look at all the facts. “You love your father” Two days ago he could be her friend and her partner, he wanted that back, he wanted to trust her. She needed her strength back, and he needed his partner. She could be human around him if that’s what she needed to get back on her feet and he wouldn’t think any less of her for it. As she walked away he saw a glimpse of the human she fought so hard to contain and spoke to that part of her who needed a friend. Her first name seemed to be the key to the door that separated the woman from the FBI agent, and it surely caught her attention. “Dana, open yourself up to extreme possibilities only when they’re the truth. That goes for Luther Boggs and your father” Mulder watched her and saw she was becoming Scully again, the pieces of her were falling back into place. What she needed was to acknowledge her feelings, and know that her little relapse into humanity didn’t mean he thought her incapable of performing her duties. They had their moment and now it was time to get back to business. “As for Luther Boggs, he’s the greatest of lies” he moved to sit next to her and she was there, behind those wet, ocean blue eyes, a woman of steel, reason and skill, already healing “I know he’s working with someone on the outside and they planted that evidence” “Now, we have to be very careful about planing our next move” he was using all his psychology tricks and for once was glad to use them to help someone in need, and she needed to feel that she’s still a part of the team “because he’s five steps ahead. The one advantage we have is time” And time was running out quickly.

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They found the girl, but at what cost? A white cross stained with Mulder’s blood. She watched him covered in blood, barely conscious and the prospect of losing another close person filled her with dread and anger like she never knew before. To be led by the nose by a liar and a murderer, set up to play his game like puppets, and she let him do it! If Mulder dies, she will kill Boggs herself. Mulder tried to warn her, he’ll try to claim you as his last victim, don’t deal with him Scully. The judge was against it, a timely death was all he would offer. But she did it, she lied again, for the greater good, she reasoned with herself. Knowing, that as soon as she gets the information out of him, and her lie will come out, her last chance to hear the last words from her father would be gone. Forever. She chose what she felt was right. And the more she thought about it, how Boggs was capable to gather information and orchestrate the kidnaping, it wouldn’t be hard for him to find out some things about her as well. Public records, obituaries, connecting the facts. Mix some general assumptions with her fragile state, no wonder she believed in his lies disguised as prophecies. Perhaps Boggs’s words served as a warning and had some influence over the fact that she didn’t die on that bridge, but she didn’t go to bare witness to his death, he didn’t deserve the courtesy. She went to see Mulder, and felt comforted by the way balance was restoring itself between them.

Emily didn't have to ask if it was hard to move your whole life someplace new, she had first hand experience. Mulder passed them from time to time, carrying boxes back and forth between rooms, and having done that, decided to help out Danny and Will or they would never go to bed tonight. Emily unwrapped the plates, glasses and mugs, leaving them on the counter to be put away, either into the dishwasher or one of the kitchen cabinets, working in companionable silence until one item caught Emily's eye. "Oh, dad would love this one" she said smiling, holding up a white mug, well used and loved at some point, the edge chipped in one place, the inside a little worn out. The graphic on it showed a boy, sitting on a hovering UFO, a pair of Chuck's on his feet dangling from the edge, looking down at a red haired girl standing in a beam of light. Scully looked up from the dishwasher rack and smiled, taking the mug from her hands. "He did, he gave me this, shortly before I moved to Boston" she rinsed the mug and dried it with a dish towel, then examined the image fondly "It survived a lot over the years" "We have no idea what to get him for Christmas this year" Emily confessed, hoping for some fresh suggestions. "When we were in college he had this thing, it always caught everyone's eye" Scully looked at the girl, then over her shoulder to see if Mulder wasn't around, then leaned in to whisper in her ear.

Some time later, with essentials unpacked and the place looking home enough to sustain life Mulder rounded up the kids and reluctantly they said their goodbyes, taking home a sense of a job well done. With Will in the shower, Scully let herself relax for a moment. Half eaten piece of pie on the coffee table, sinking into the couch, she sipped tea and admired the tree, trying to remember where had she put the Christmas ornaments and if she should take them out or leave the tree the way it was right now. Twinkling lights filled the room with warm glow, soft shadows hiding boxes and all things that needed to be done tomorrow. If only she could keep Mulder to cuddle with right now. “Mom?” Will came into the living room, silent as a cat, startling her from a doze. “What is it sweetie” “Will Danny and Emily come visit tomorrow?” “No, I don’t think so" "Even for a little while?" he whined, trying his best pout. "Will, Grandma is coming back tomorrow, and we still have a lot to do around here" it sounded true and reasonable, but she couldn't stop the light sting of regret from not seeing Mulder either. "Okay" he hung his head, looking as if she canceled Christmas and with a mumbled goodnight went to bed. She knew it was largely a ploy to get her to do what he wanted, but still it made the pain a little sharper. Queequeg got up from his spot by the heater, and came to her, pressing wet nose against her thigh. "You too?" she asked the dog rhetorically, getting nothing more than a blink from the sad black eyes. She got up and went to kiss the boy goodnight.

On the way home, Emily watched the falling snow through the front passenger's window. Getting to know your parent's friends was a process, but it wasn't hard to give them the chance her dad asked for earlier. She had nothing against Scully or Will, liked them actually, and she wasn't a child anymore, not like Danny anyway. At first it felt a little strange to see someone who not as far as this morning was a complete stranger, behave so comfortably around her dad as if a huge chunk of life had already happened. Which in fact was exactly the case, and from the looks of it, they most likely dated,   She thought she'll be angry, expecting the woman to be a glitter bomb with no brain to speak of, but she was wrong. She liked her calm smile and clear eyes, she liked that Dana Scully always knew the answer to every question, had a clear plan. Now, seeing dad around her was like seeing him in a new light. Not so long ago, when he'd come home late from work, physically tired and emotionally exhausted, he'd force a few smiles for their sake and as soon as he'd think they weren't watching, he'd sink into the couch to stare mindlessly at the tv until he fell asleep. It was happening more often than he'd like to admit. Yet since he came back from that date, and now she knew it was a date with Scully, he wasn't as depressed as he used to be. Now, although they were all tired, he smiled and listened to Danny talk about Will's comic book collection and how many times Will thought he saw a UFO through his telescope. It felt as if something healed inside him, and she knew it was all thanks to Dana Scully.

"Grandma!" Will shouted and jumped in the air, hand waving above the crowd, trying to get Maggie's attention. She spotted him and waved back, bag trailing behind her like a faithful dog, used to traveling back and forth between her children scattered around the world. Now when she had her favorite daughter and grandson close to home, she would be happy to breathe a little. "Will" she hugged the boy who flung himself into her arms the moment she stepped through the gate "you've grown since last time I saw you" Scully hugged her mother a little tighter than usual "He did not"   "So good to have you here Dana" she sighed, rubbing her back a little, truly happy to be home, with family. "It's good to be back" Scully kissed her mother's cheek "How's Charlie?" "Oh, you know your brother, he has a new boyfriend and is up on cloud number 9 all over again" "Let's hope this time it last longer than Valentines" Scully sighed, equal parts fond, concerned and exasperater "This means he's not coming for Christmas?" "No, they have a week planned in Provence, from Christmas Eve till New Year's Day, and he wishes he could be here" "But he's not really sorry and we'll all get lavender scented candles" Scully finished for her, smirking. "He's got a wonderful scarf for you too" Maggie hugged her non-nonsense daughter who not-so-secretly had a dozen of scented candles, bath salts and oils in her bathroom "I got it with me, and you'll get it for Christmas" "What have you got for me, Grandma?" Will walked backwards through the crowd, somehow managing not to bump into anyone. "It's a secret and you'll have to wait to find out" "But you told mom!" He argued. "Because your mother hates surprises" "It's not fair" Will turned, playing frustrated, making both of them laugh.

Scully unlocked the door and before she knew Queequeg was dancing around Maggie's feet. "Sorry about the mess, we're still unpacking" "It's okay, I didn't expect you to get everything done in one evening" "We had help" Will chimed in, wrestling with his scarf "from Danny and Emily" "Who?" Maggie handed Dana her coat and immediately Will pulled her away, ignoring the question and pushing open one of the doors "This is my room, it's bigger than mom's" "Very nice" Maggie praised and hugged him, dropping a kiss on top of his head before moving on to the living room, where she paused a little surprised "You just moved in, but you found the time to put up a Christmas tree?" "It was a housewarming gift" Scully said brushing past her into the kitchen, to put coffee on "from Mulder" "Danny's dad" Will added by way of explanation, unaware that his grandmother knew perfectly well who Mulder was. "How sweet of him" she smiled, glad that some things didn't change despite the years that passed "Will, I've got something for you in my bag, could you get it for me?" "Sure" he ran off and Maggie followed her daughter, taking a place at the table. "So, Will met Fox" "Yes" Scully stood with her back to the room, filling the pot with fresh water "and his kids, the boys are apparently best friends now" "Dana" the older woman sighed, concerned but not really surprised. "Got it" Will came back running and Maggie smiled at him, rummaging through her purse until she found a small box. "Here you go, that's from Uncle Charlie" "A Concorde model!" Will exclaimed and shook the box, making plastic parts rattle before he ran of to his room, already tearing it open. "What do you say Will?" Scully shouted after him, placing the last of the pie on the table. "Thank you!" the door slammed behind him and Maggie looked up at her daughter. "They met" she stated, Scully nodded, reaching for mugs and milk for coffee from the fridge "and?" "Mulder didn't say anything" she kept her voice low in case Will came back for something. "You think he noticed anything?" "I don't know" the coffee machine gurgled in the background, Scully hid her face in her hands, the words came out muffled "but you should see them together mom, Will and Danny, they look like two peas in a pod" she sighed letting go of the fear that kept coming back in waves since yesterday. Peeling one hand free and squeezing it in silent reassurance, Maggie spoke softly "You have to tell him, soon" "I know" Scully looked up at her mom, the angel who forgave her adultery and loved her son without reservations. Her warm gaze and smile was something Scully could depend on, even more than her own judgment. Glancing at the pie, the older woman's smiled widened. "Now I know you don't usually bake, not to mention the lack of time, don't tell me this is" "It's all Mulder, mom" Scully smiled and cut them each a solid slice. Maggie took a bite and sighed, just like Scully the first time. And no wonder, from all the men in her daughter's life, boyfriends, even husbands, Mulder was always her number one.

Mulder's week flew by. Between work and Christmas shopping it consisted mostly of standing in lines and sitting in traffic. Still, by Friday the turkey was waiting in the freezer, the produce for stuffing were bought and chopped. He made the pie on Christmas Eve, the scent putting all three of them in festive mood. What seemed daunting at first turned out to be quite exciting, and he felt more confident about this fancy-ish dinner with his brutally honest kids than about taking them to see their mom in California and facing three awkward days of sunshine and her new man, to whom he was completely indifferent. He bought two ugly sweaters in memory of his mother who passed away last summer, and one item each from the kid's Christmas lists. The softest blanket he could find for Emily and adult sized acoustic guitar for Danny. The gift he'd grudgingly buy for Diane, was blissfully easy to pick when it came to Scully, although they agreed they wouldn't exchange gifts. A pair of soft leather gloves and a book of feminist poetry, for Will he found a puzzle, two thousand pieces of night sky with Milky Way in the middle. If the boy was as stubborn as his mother, he won't be able to resist the challenge. As Mulder prowled the mall during lunchtime in search for these gifts, his mind kept wandering to a comfortable apartment where a young boy most likely helped his mother unpack shopping bags of her own, pestering her with millions of questions. He watched Danny and Will reading comic books instead of unpacking and assemble the telescope, dragging him to come see the lights they saw through it, pulling his leg knowing perfectly well that it was a plane approaching landing. He couldn't believe how similar the boys looked, even acted sometimes. His psychology training spun theories in his gut, memory brought back facts he pushed out of his mind, his brain did the math. Now, deep down in his heart, he had a feeling and a few questions of his own, all he needed was a right moment to ask.

Waking up to a buzzing phone became Mulder's favorite part of his morning, but on this particular Christmas Sunday, apart from now customary text from Scully wishing him a great day, he woke up to loud sounds of wrapping paper being ripped apart followed by happy gasps and cheers. With a warm smile he gathered himself up and trotted to the living room, changing bed for couch, dropping a kiss on each head on his way, thankful for groans and yucks and you-have-to-do-that-s. "This had your name on it" Emily pushed a large cylindrical package into his hands. "You didn't have to do this" he sighed, happily exasperated. "You always say that" Danny munched on a candy cane, tuning the guitar as Mulder forced his way though layers of wrapping paper. "Did you pay the salesgirl to pack it extra tight?" "Gently! It's" Emily tried to warn him but he tore through the package and found a foil wrapped roll of glossy paper. Tugging at the last layer, he peeled it off in one long transparent lock of plastic and unrolled the poster, his eyes growing wider with every inch. "No way!" Mulder exclaimed, the paper rustling through his hands, the UFO and the white letters at the bottom feeding his grin "Who told you about this?" "Santa" Emilly said innocently, wrapping herself in her new blanket. "More like Scully" he smiled and leaned over to kiss Emily's cheek, knowing full well it was her doing. She scooted closer and caught the end, unfolding the image to see it in it's full glory again. Bold letter at the bottom shouted 'I want to believe' into the sky or at whoever lay his eyes on the poster, and it was probably the most essential truth about their father, who never buried his missing sister, who believed in mystic creatures and aliens despite getting into the heads of worst scum of the earth on daily basis. He believed in them, that they could be whoever they wanted, Danny who preferred music over sports, herself the computer geek bored by dolls. Emily watched her father smile, some memory glowing through his eyes and was glad she asked Scully for advice.

The turkey didn't burn into a black unidentifiable mass, no one sustained any injuries operating a hot frying pan, the cranberry sauce was too sour to eat but other than that, they licked their plates clean. Scully and Will came, gifts in hands, kisses and hugs and well wishes exchanged. They shared promised pie and the kids disappeared in Emily's room to watch a movie, leaving the adults on the couch. "You told Emily about the poster" he whispered, keeping his arm around her, watching her play with a twig of mistletoe he just used as an excuse to kiss her breathless. "I just told her that you had something like it and where she could find it" she turned to kiss the corner of his mouth sweetly "not that we argued over it, naked between the sheets after the first time we had sex" "Thank God" he sighed, brushing her lips again "it was a great night, wasn't it." "One of best nights of my life" she snuggled closer, wrapping one arm around his chest. "by the way, my mother sends you her best wishes, " "She knows we're" he paused, looking for the right word. "Seeing each other?" she supplied, filling the words with much more warmth than they implied "yes, she always liked you." "Really? I thought she was so sweet for people in general" he stifled a yawn, the week and the day catching up to him surrounded by her warmth. "Tired?" Scully asked freeing herself from his embrace, noticing his hooded eyes and sleepy smile, he missed her immediately "why don't you sit here, while I clean up" "Leave it, it's just dishes" he tried to keep her hand in his, but she got up and, cupping his cheek kissed him sweetly one last time. "Rest for a while, I'll handle the cleanup" he gave up, simply happy to have her around. "Maybe I could rest my eyes for a few minutes"