Title: "And To All A Good Night"

URL: "Between the Lines - A Fanfic Archive" http://www.agentsndoctors.50megs.com/

Category: M/S UST, maybe romance. Scully POV.

Spoilers: "How the Ghosts Stole Christmas", slight one for "Small Potatoes"

Archive: Permission only, ple-eease. J

"Mulder…socks? What made you pick this?" Scully smiled as she held the large tube of socks she had just unwrapped. There was one pair for each color of the rainbow, plus white and black. They were thick wool socks, nice ones… just the kind she would wear while padding around her apartment after work, to protect her feet from the chill of her hardwood floor.

Mulder smiled a bit sheepishly, "You can exchange them if you want. I know it's not jewelry."

"No, no…I like them. A lot. It's just…what made you think of this?"

He looked at her for a minute, as if trying to decide whether to tell the truth or make a flippant remark and end the conversation. He took the socks gently from her hands and stood gazing at them as he struggled to come up with the correct words to justify his choice. Then, with a sigh, he started explaining.

"Well…sometimes I just get tired of seeing you in nylons."

She raised her eyebrows in mock indignation to hide her confusion and questioned, "Does that mean you think I should make a change in my wardrobe?"

He laughed softly and clarified, "No, Scully, I…I like the way you dress. Especially lately…I mean, the light-colored blouses you wear…"

He stopped and shook his head in self-depreciation, "Maybe we should have gone to that communication seminar after all."

She remained serious, sensing what it was he was trying to make her understand, and said, "Thank you, Mulder. You've never…well, I guess I just assumed you didn't take much notice to what I wear."

He looked up at her again and smiled slightly, almost as if he knew some secret that he wasn't telling her. He silently handed the tube back to her, and put his hands awkwardly in the pockets of the leather jacket he had never removed from the night before.

"But that still doesn't explain to me why the socks," she pushed gently, feeling as though he wanted to say something more.

He paused, then continued, "Well, I was panicking, roaming aimlessly through this fancy mall downtown. I mean, I'm not a big one for department stores anyway, so I'm already out of my element amongst the merry and gay holiday shoppers. I couldn't think of anything to get you...but whatever I ended up with, I wanted it to mean something. Let's face it, there aren't many people on my Christmas list."

She felt a prick of sadness at the realization that she was probably the only one he exchanged gifts with on Christmas. That was, after all, the motivation for his last-minute invitation to spend Christmas Eve with him staking out a supposedly haunted house. Although she didn't buy into the extreme ramblings and suppositions of Maurice and Lydia, she did believe that Mulder was a lonely individual. Whether he wanted to admit it to himself or not.

He didn't seem to be pondering this at the moment, however, because he went on.

"So I was just about to give up and order you a subscription to The Lone Gunmen magazine," he smiled to make sure she knew that was a joke, "and then I passed the footwear section. I was reminded of how I have always admired your taste in shoes…"

She raised her eyebrows again, this time in surprise, and he quickly added, "It's…no, it's not like a fetish or anything, I just…I like the way your shoes make you look. Commanding and in control…taller. But still very feminine."

She smiled now, because he could read her like a book. Those were exactly the criteria each pair of shoes she purchased had to meet. She wondered how many other things she had let slip through her actions over the course of their six-year partnership. She simply never realized he paid attention that closely. She didn't interrupt, though, willing him to get to the point. Despite the fact that she enjoyed spending time with him, she absolutely did not want to catch it from Bill when she arrived at her mom's later than she'd said she would.

He continued, "But I started thinking to myself, standing there in the middle of the women's shoe department like an idiot. I found myself remembering how much smaller you seemed when you had your shoes off…but only in stature. Not personality. Then I realized that I've only seen you in truly casual clothes a couple dozen times in the thousands of days I've spent with you. I…"

He looked at her then, and finished slowly, "I guess the socks come with the symbolic request that you let me see you in them sometimes, preferably often. Along with sweats and jeans and all those clothes I know you have stashed away somewhere for a rainy day."

She looked at him for what seemed like a long time before she replied. She was touched at his gift, and the meaning behind it. She thought back to Eddie VanBlunht suddenly, and how she had always held the very secret wish that it had been Mulder who had wanted to get to know "Dana" better, as opposed to always "Scully". She had been very wary at the beginning of gaining his respect and never letting down her professional guard, the unconquerable wall of efficiency she had erected to survive in a male-dominated field. By the time she and Mulder were close enough that she didn't need the wall anymore, it was just a force of habit.

"Mulder, are you saying you want to be a part of even my rainy days?" she asked with humor and an unmistakable note of affection in her voice.

He didn't smile. He just nodded slowly and said, "So…can I consider that an invitation, Scully?"

She felt her heart speed up a little. Why did everything he say have to have a hidden meaning? Or maybe it didn't, maybe it was a mere case of her imagination running away with her. Wishful thinking? Nope…she didn't want to go there right now. Instead, she swallowed and answered, "Mulder…you're always welcome in my home and in my life- professional or private, on any day. I want you to know this, and remember it…"

He looked at her mouth. Uh-oh. She had to shatter the mood fast, or she was going to lose control of the situation. That would definitely not be a good thing, especially as far as her job went. And his.

"…the next time you can't find anyone else who'll watch "Teenagers From Outer Space" with you."

He looked back at her eyes, and grinned widely. The spell was broken.

"Hey, not that I want you to leave, or anything, but…isn't your family gonna start wondering where you are?"

"Oh. Yeah, they probably already are."

She stood up and walked slowly to the door. The truth of the matter was, she didn't want to leave. It made her sad to think that he would spend the whole day alone in his apartment, watching Christmas movies on TV and observing other people's happiness. She knew he was probably used to it, and she knew it probably didn't bother him…but still. She hated to think that her gift was the only present he would open today.

"So, Mulder…what are you going to do for the rest of the day?"

He shrugged and said, "I'll probably get some sleep, watch a movie- you know, just relax a bit. Avoid going outside like the plague."

She smiled at him. "Well... Merry Christmas, Mulder."

He looked at her for a lingering moment, almost as if he wanted to say something else but couldn't.

"Merry Christmas, Scully. Wish your mother well for me."

She nodded, then turned and, with one last smile, left.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Please let him be home.

She couldn't stop thinking this one thought over and over as she turned onto Mulder's street. She didn't expect he would be anywhere else, but she still had an "irrational fear" that she'd make a fool of herself and show up with all this stuff, only to find him gone.

She thought maybe she had gone overboard, but then again, it was a holiday. Turkey, ham, potatoes, gravy, stuffing, rolls…even a little smidgen of cranberry sauce. This was compliments of Scully herself. Well dammit, if he didn't have anyone to cook Christmas dinner for him then she'd sure as hell find it in her heart to share hers. Lucky for her that she knew he hadn't eaten yet, even though it was nine o'clock. Just a habit of his…he eats dinner late. She had learned some things about him in the past six years.

She finally got to his building and managed somehow to carry everything up to his place. Knocking on the door without dropping everything proved a more difficult chore, but again she succeeded. It was a good thing she had developed her balancing skills waiting tables all those years ago.

He opened the door with a look of befuddlement on his face, obviously confused at her encore appearance. He looked like hell- obviously he'd recently woken up from a long sleep on his beloved couch, judging by the way his hair looked. He also hadn't felt the need to clean himself up, and two days worth of stubble graced his jaw.

"Scully? What are you doing back?"

"I umm…I have some stuff for you. But it's heavy, so…"

He quickly stood back to let her in. She had been right, she noted as she set the things down on the coffee table- "It's a Wonderful Life". Probably for the fourth time today. Funny, she hadn't seen it yet this season.

"What is all this?" he asked as he came up behind her.

"Consider it part two of my Christmas present to you. It's dinner- you haven't eaten yet, I assume?"

He shook his head as he stared at the large plastic containers. "No…no, I was just about to heat up a TV dinner."

He smiled at her and took the food.

"A TV dinner? Good God, Mulder…"

He shrugged. "It's a bachelor's life, Scully."

She nodded her agreement wryly, then took his dinner from his hands and started for the kitchen, calling back over her shoulder, "I think I'll give you a break from your "bachelorhood" and heat this up for you."

"What, you think I don't know how to use an actual oven, Scully?" he called playfully.

"You know me, Mulder…can't believe in things I haven't seen."

"Then why celebrate Christmas?" he countered.

"I make exceptions occasionally."

After heating up the food in his ancient oven and piling it all on a plate, she brought it in to him and found him watching, enthralled, as George Bailey and Mary Hatch danced the night away in the school gym.

He looked up at her, a smile illuminating his face as he replied, "Scully, you know how to dance the Charleston?"

"Umm…no. I guess I didn't take that course at Quantico." she smiled and handed him his dinner.

He took it eagerly with a thank-you, and then looked up at her. She was making no move to sit down, as she was too busy thinking about how glad she was to be here right now- a thought that took her somewhat by surprise. It made her feel good because she was doing something nice for him, but also…maybe she did want to be here, for herself. She might as well accept it. She had only planned to drop off the food and go home to make use of the woolen socks he had given her earlier, but here she was still standing in his living room.

He set the plate down and stood up, saying, "Well, thanks for the food, Scully. It was a very nice gesture, and nothing your mom cooks can be bad, so I'm sure I'll enjoy it."

She looked at him, puzzled. She thought she detected a note of disappointment in his tone…what brought that on?

"Mulder, are you rushing me out?" she asked seriously, but with a touch of humor mixed in.

He looked at her for a second, seemingly confused.

"You, uh…I thought you were on your way out. You never took your coat off or anything…"

She looked down and saw that he was right. She just hadn't thought about it.

"Do you want me to go? It's alright, I understand if you want to watch the movie…"

He reached out and put his hand on her arm as he replied, "No, no…I just assumed you were only passing by. I didn't think you'd want to stay long."

Oh, so you thought I was on a pity mission, eh Mulder? Now she realized why he had sounded so despondent just a minute ago.

"Mulder…if it's alright with you, I'd like to stay and watch the movie. I haven't seen it yet this year."

A slow smile crept across his face and he lifted his arms and spun her around, taking her coat off of her from behind. He went to hang it on the rack by his front door, and on his way back he went into the kitchen.

"Something to drink, Scully?"

She smiled, "Eggnog is good."

He poked his head out into the front room and said apologetically, "You're out of luck there…I didn't get around to buying any this year. Sorry."

She nodded as she made herself comfortable on his couch, kicking her shoes off, and said, "Check your fridge. I covered all the bases."

He stared for a minute as if he didn't understand, then went back into the kitchen. A few minutes later, he came out with two tall glasses of eggnog and, shaking his head, handed one to her with a chuckle.

"Here you are, Dr. Scully."

She took it and sipped, then set it on the end table next to the phone. She wanted to make it last. He sat down next to her and she could feel herself sink lower as the couch cushions succumbed to his familiar weight. She looked at him, about to make a comment, and his eyes suddenly filled with…some emotion. Tenderness? Gratitude? Wait…maybe some laughter thrown in?

He reached out and held her cheek with his palm as he gently wiped her upper lip with his thumb. She blushed slightly…it had been awhile since she had last had a milk mustache. She blushed even more, though for different reasons, when he seemingly unconsciously licked the spare eggnog off his thumb.

Enough of that. "Thanks," she said dryly, hoping to ease the intimacy of the gesture if only for herself.

He smiled at her, and asked, "Do you want me to rewind this?"

"What?"

"Do you want to watch it from the beginning?"

Scully was stupefied. He owned this movie? "This is a tape?"

He laughed a little and said, "Yeah…why's that so hard to believe?"

"I don't know. I guess I thought your tastes in movies ran along different lines, Mulder."

He shook his head and smirked, "Not always," Pause. "Well?"

She thought for a minute. "I don't know, how long is it? We can just watch it from here, or else I'll fall asleep in the middle."

Without saying anything, he hit stop and then rewind.

"I don't mind, Scully," he said quietly after a minute.

She swallowed. "Okay. I guess I do like how this one begins…"

He smiled at her again…he was doing that a lot tonight.

"Eat your food, Mulder, or it's gonna get cold."

He nodded and picked up the plate, setting it on his lap. He started eating just as the tape stopped rewinding, and he pressed play. She remembered that this had always been one of Melissa's favorite movies, and when they were kids she used to insist that the family watch it every single time it was run during the holiday season. Of course, not everyone in the family complied…but Scully always had. It may have been because she had nothing better to do, or it may have been that she also enjoyed the movie- but she tended to believe that it was really because she was thrilled at the prospect of spending time with her much-loved older sister. Shaking the thought from her head as she realized she was missing important plot points, she returned her attention to the movie.

She woke up to an infomercial selling kid's building blocks. She had fallen asleep just as George had lent Violet the money to skip town…and sometime between then and now, she and Mulder had lain down together on the couch. She didn't know how, but she had a feeling he had orchestrated it…after all, there was a blanket covering them. She could feel him behind her, spooned at her back. His arm was draped around her waist, and his steady breathing ruffled her hair. Their legs were slightly entwined.

She thought seriously about getting up. She really did. Then she considered that they had been through too much together to make such a tame thing as sleeping together- in a literal sense- a big deal. They both still had all their clothes on and all. Besides, they were just going to wake up tomorrow morning, compose themselves, and never acknowledge that it happened. That's the way they were…it's the way they've always been.

So she didn't get up. She merely went back to sleep and enjoyed the last remaining hours of Christmas night, very content to be right where she was.

FINIS

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