April 10, 1999

Bryson City, NC

10:17 am

I had no idea what kind of mood Scully would be in when we got back to the hotel after our conversation on the side of the road. It was definitely the most significant talk we'd had since our relationship changed. Our sex had been passionate up to this point, to say the least. For my part, I would almost describe it as hungry. But after our roadside discussion, we definitely made love. It was slow, sensual and sexy as hell. If anyone in the neighboring rooms was listening, they'd know I loved Scully. I told her so many times; a couple of them quite loudly.

We slept in on Saturday morning and after a return to our normal enthusiastic sex, we enjoyed a leisurely shower.

"Your ankle is looking better," Scully commented as we were drying off. "How does it feel?"

"Better."

"Do you think you can put any weight on it?" She dropped to one knee to prod at it.

"I put some weight on it last night and this morning," I reminded her with a grin.

"When?" She looked up at me, obviously missing my meaning.

"Uh, in bed with you. Remember?"

She rolled her eyes at me and sighed. If we hadn't made love less than half an hour ago, I would've been well on my way to a full-fledged erection at the sight of her crouched naked in front of me. I don't know what it said about the way my brain is hard-wired, but her eye roll turned me on even more. My balls ached from desperately trying to give me another hard-on.

"I meant can you stand on it," she said as she stood up.

"I stood on it in the shower."

"No, you used your toes for balance, like you are right now." She looked at me like I'd dropped 50 IQ points.

I felt another twinge in my testicles. First an eye roll and then talking to me like I was an idiot aroused me? Maybe I had an underlying fetish I wasn't aware of.

"Try putting your foot flat on the floor." She leaned back against the vanity to watch.

When I did as she asked I felt a searing pain immediately followed by a wave of nausea.

"No, huh?" She was at my side immediately, hand gently resting on my chest. "But it is better?"

"Than Tuesday? One hundred percent." I nodded vigorously. "But I think I'll still need crutches for a while." I grabbed them from where they were propped up against the wall.

"Go lie on the bed and I'll wrap it for you." She smiled up at me and gave my chest a gentle caress.

That action made my cock actually twitch. So I didn't have a deep-seated fetish, after all. I was simply reacting to Scully; every little nuance that made her who she was made me horny. It shouldn't have been news to me.

By the time she massaged my calf and rewrapped my ankle, there was no hiding my erection. Since she didn't want to shower again, Scully decided to take care of it in the tidiest way possible.

When my post-orgasmic fog lifted, I pulled her into a fierce kiss. I didn't care that I could taste myself. As I explored her mouth, I let my hands wander over her. When I slipped my fingers between her thighs, I discovered how wet she was.

I broke our kiss with a growl. "Scully, you have no idea how much it turns me on that giving me a blow job does this to you."

"You were expecting a different reaction?" She looked at me through heavily-lidded eyes.

"Well," I began, but then decided against telling her about my past experiences. "I guess not."

She chuckled; a low, lusty laugh that reverberated through me. "I saw that."

"Saw what?"

"You were going to say something, then you changed your mind." She leaned in and kissed me softly. "I can't speak for anyone else, but knowing that you enjoy what I'm doing is a powerful aphrodisiac for me. And from what you just said, I gather it's the same for you. Isn't that the way it should be?"

She didn't wait for me to answer. Instead she kissed me again. To show her I whole-heartedly agreed, I rolled her to her back as I stroked her mouth with my tongue. When I tried to insinuate my fingers further between her legs, she pulled out of the kiss.

"Mulder, we don't have time."

"Sure we do." I tried to recapture her lips, but she turned her head and my mouth landed on her cheek.

"Amy is expecting us. If we don't hurry, we'll be late." She pushed at my shoulders. "I told her we'd bring lunch."

Scully had planned to make sandwiches but there wasn't enough time, so we hit Bojangles on our way out of town. She ended up violating several sections of the traffic laws on the way, but we made it to the base of the mountain with enough time to spare that I didn't have to rush up the slope.

Amy met us about three quarters of the way to the gully. Her eyes were shining with excitement. She quickly offered to help Scully, who was not only carrying our lunches, but the camera bags as well.

"Oh good, you brought your cameras," she said breathlessly as she took the Bojangles bag from Scully. "I think I know what the trick is, but my dad said I wasn't allowed to take fairy pictures anymore."

As soon as the word 'trick' left Amy's mouth my heart fell.

"Trick?" Scully asked with no accusation in her voice.

"Yeah." Amy nodded. "Sometimes my pictures had fairies in them and sometimes they didn't. I think I know why now."

"Why?" I asked, not sure I really wanted to hear the answer.

"Well, you have to use a really fast shutter speed and then make sure there's a trillium in the frame. No trillium, no fairy, but the trillium has to be a little out of focus, so you can't use an auto-focus camera. You have to set it up so the focus is just in front of the flower." She smiled up at me.

"So you've never actually seen them?" I was shocked.

Amy shook her head. "Nuh-uh, only in the pictures. But they are really fairies, aren't they, Agent Mulder?"

"I believe they are, Amy," I told her sincerely.

"What do you believe, Agent Scully?" Amy turned her head to look at my partner.

"Well, Amy." Scully took a deep breath. I was very curious to hear what she would say to the little girl. "I'm not sure what to think. As a scientist, I find it difficult to accept that tiny winged magical beings are real. But we have pictures that seem to show they do exist. I would really like to believe in the existence of fairies, but I don't think the pictures we have will convince anybody but us."

"I know," Amy said with a tsk. "It would be cool if there was some other way to prove it." Her head was still turned toward Scully. "Kinda like the freckles."

"What do you mean?" Scully's brow furrowed.

"Well, you and I both have freckles on our noses and they say that freckles are fairy footprints, but you can't prove that you were visited by fairies just 'cause you have some freckles on your nose."

I couldn't help grinning over Amy's head at Scully. Her eyes were wide with surprise.

"I've never heard that before," she told our companion quietly.

Amy bobbed her head. "Yeah, and there's lots of fairy rings around here, but I never crossed the veil when I stepped inside one. At least, I don't think I did. What does that mean, 'crossed the veil'? I read that in a book at school about fairy rings."

The difference in Amy's behaviour between the previous night and that afternoon was amazing. I'd been expecting her to be this animated when we had supper together, but she must have known that her dad wouldn't be happy to hear her talk this way.

As we approached the gully I explained how some people believed the fairy realm was separated from the earthly one by a veil and if you could cut a hole in that veil you'd be able to go back and forth between the two realms.

"Fairy rings are thought to be holes in the veil," I finished.

"I didn't cross into the fairy realm," Amy said dejectedly. "So is that stuff just made up?"

"I don't know, Amy." I looked at Scully, but she narrowed her eyes at me and I took her hint. "Maybe not everyone can cross the veil."

"Yeah, maybe." She shrugged. "I wonder if the trilliums are another way to cross and that's why we only see fairies when there are trilliums in the pictures too." She looked up at me.

"Could be." I nodded in agreement. The open mindedness of children never ceased to amaze me.

"Oh," Amy said excitedly. "Maybe trilliums are like windows into the fairy realm, instead of doors, like the fairy rings."

"The trillium flowers do have three petals." I nodded toward a group of them. "Three is supposed to be a magical number."

"Oh, look!" Amy shouted exuberantly. We'd reached the gully and she was pointing at a patch of trilliums there. "Not just three petals, but three small leaves surrounding them and then three bigger leaves. That's lots of threes. Do all of those threes make them extra magical, Agent Mulder?"

"I'm not an expert on magical numerology, but since trilliums are always in the photos with the fairies, it makes sense. Don't you agree, Scully?" I asked as I sat down on a rock.

"I won't argue with you." She set the camera bags down. A slight smile was tugging at her lips.

I needed to argue with Scully more around people she didn't want to upset. I quite enjoyed it.

"The trilliums are starting to wilt." Amy ran her index finger gently over the petals of one bloom. "They'll be gone soon. Then no more fairy pictures 'til next year."

I couldn't help wondering what one year would do to Amy's imagination. When did that curtain drop that signalled the end of childhood? Was it the onset of puberty or an event that triggered the change? I know Scully would say that my curtain still hadn't fallen.

"Well, let's eat this chicken before it gets any colder. And then we'll take some pictures," Scully said decisively, putting an end to my musing.

All but one of the cameras I brought had autofocus, so I had to use all of my film in that one camera. Amy showed me the right shutter speed and where to set the focus and then I began to snap pictures. Having to refocus every shot made it slow work. Scully seemed content to sit on one of the rocks and watch us. I still had one roll left when Amy announced that she had to hurry home to beat her father there and with that, she was off like a jackrabbit.

"Be careful, Amy!" Scully called after her.

Stopping her flight, she turned around to promise, "I will. It was nice to meet you." She smiled openly at us before taking off running again.

"I'll send you copies if I get anything," I yelled to her.

"Thank you!" Her voice was already faint.

Scully had turned to watch Amy leave. A little smile was evident on her face. Before she noticed, I snapped a couple of pictures and then lowered the camera. I stooped to pick one of the trilliums that still looked fresh, retrieved my crutches and hopped over to her, camera bouncing against my chest as I went. Scully turned her eyes toward me in curiosity.

After setting my crutches aside and crouching down in front of her, I tucked her hair behind her ear and wove the flower stem through her hair to keep it in place.

"There." I smiled in satisfaction. "Beautiful."

"Mulder," she murmured and lowered her eyes.

"What?" I sat down about two feet from her. "Am I not allowed to tell you that you're beautiful?" I picked up the camera and took another picture. "It's not like I'm frenching you in the elevator at work."

"Stop wasting film on me," she scolded when she raised her eyes.

"I hardly call it waste." I ignored her and snapped another picture. "The flower suits you. You would've been a popular flower child."

As I spoke, her cheeks grew pink and her eyes slightly hazy. I prayed I still had film left as I pressed the button again. I was rewarded with a satisfying click and then the whir of the film advancing.

"Imagine if we'd been ten years older and we'd met during the summer of love." I grinned at her.

She rolled her eyes at me. "I still only would've been thirteen, Mulder."

"Okay, fifteen years older then." She'd moved a little, so I had to refocus before I could take another picture. "Mmm, a wreath of flowers in your hair, a halter top and some bell-bottom jeans." I sighed at the image.

"I doubt there were many Catholic-schooled navy brats flitting around Haight- Ashbury or Telegraph Avenue in '67, Mulder."

"It's a fantasy, Scully," I complained. "You can do anything you want." She'd always sucked at games like this.

"Okay," she said slowly. Her eyes had grown hazy again making my cock twitch in expectation. "I'm checking out Telegraph Avenue because I've been accepted to Berkley. Missy told me that's where all the hippies hang out. I feel more at home on the west coast because of all the time we spent in San Diego. The east coast just doesn't have the same feel - too uptight. My parents would have kittens if they knew what was going on out here. They've had me under their thumbs for so long that I couldn't wait to get away."

Her blue eyes were fixed on me as she spoke and her husky tone left me feeling breathless.

She moistened her lips with her tongue before continuing, "Thank God my dad is at sea and my mom didn't trust Missy or Bill to look after Charlie. I was worried for a while that she might bring the whole clan so she could help me 'settle in'. Luckily it would've been way too expensive, so I'm here by myself, free to explore. As soon as I turned eighteen, I got myself a prescription for the pill. Mom would kill me if she knew, but I'm planning to learn more than what they'll be teaching in the classroom."

Rising languidly, she seemed to cross the short distance between us in slow motion. I stared up at her, mouth agape, as she straddled my legs and then lowered herself to my thighs. I moved the camera aside to ensure she would be comfortable.

"My hair is ironed, my halter is short, my jeans are tight and my Jesus-sandals are well worn in. How do we meet, Fox?" She practically purred my given name. It was almost enough to make me like it.

My cock jumped gleefully when she rocked against it. My opinion of Scully's role playing abilities flip-flopped dramatically.

"I was at Oxford, but I decided I wanted to do my master's at Berkley. Dad was happy about Oxford. Berkley, not so much, but now that I'm twenty-one, the trust my grandparents set up is in my name, so I can go to school wherever I want."

"I'm so lucky you picked Berkley." The smile on her face made my cock twitch again. "But how do you get your hands on the trust? Your birthday isn't until October."

"Fantasy, Scully," I reminded her before I pulled her into a kiss.

"Sorry, forgot." She laughed into my mouth and then leaned back a little. "Still...how do we meet? I'm taking physics."

"I'm a Good Samaritan." I waggled my eyebrows at her. "I volunteered to show freshmen around campus," I explained before I pulled her close and stuck my tongue into her mouth.

Before I knew what was happening, Scully started to suck my tongue. I groaned and my hips bucked involuntarily. Dropping my hands to her breasts, I discovered her nipples were already hard. She moaned when I ran my thumbs over them, breaking our kiss.

"Didn't you just get here, too?" She asked, breathing hard.

"Huh?" I lowered my lips to her throat.

"How could you show freshmen around? You're new, too."

"Oh, uh..." I ran the tip of my tongue from her collarbone to the little space between her ear and her jaw as I thought. I'd never known anyone who wanted so much detail in their fantasies before. "I've been here for a month already. I had to meet my thesis advisor and go over my proposal, stuff like that."

She planted a soft kiss on my chin and then nodded sagely. "I see. And you decided volunteering to give tours would be a good way to meet co-eds."

"Damn straight," I told her emphatically before capturing her lips with mine.

As I happily explored her mouth with my tongue, I lowered my hands to slide them under her shirt. Unfortunately for me, that ended our little fantasy trip. Scully broke our kiss as soon as my hands touched her skin.

"Mulder, we can't."

"Sure we can." I leaned forward in search of her mouth again. "It's the Summer of Love. Remember?"

"Mulder!" She scooted backwards and scrambled to her feet. "Not here. The Appalachian Trail is right there." She pointed up the slope behind me. "And Amy left us not ten minutes ago. What if she decided to come back for some reason?"

I strongly doubted that was going to happen, but I knew Scully well enough to know there'd be no convincing her.

I grabbed my crutches. "How fast do you think I can get down this mountain on these fucking things?"

Scully must have been as anxious to get back to our hotel as I was because she ignored the speed limit for the entire return trip. Once in our room, I was free to do whatever I wanted, maybe not in the FBI's opinion, but I only cared what Scully thought.

We ended up having the most energetic sex of our short relationship. Okay, we fucked - for a long time. It might have been an hour. I'd never fucked anyone for that long in my life. I knew age was supposed to give me endurance, but I wasn't expecting an hour. The fact that we'd had sex twice that morning probably gave me some added time. Then the raging hard-on I had at the gully waned on the way down the mountain which might have given me some bonus minutes, too. I did slow my pace a couple of times, which confused Scully.

"Why are you stopping?" She looked up at me, slightly dazed.

"Not stopping," I explained as I nuzzled her neck. "Just taking a breather. I don't want to come yet."

"Mmm, okay," she said with a contented sigh.

I didn't think she'd object. After all, she'd already come at least three times. Eventually I let myself come. It was either succumb to orgasm or complete exhaustion. Orgasm seemed like a preferable option. Then I went with the exhaustion. Scully let me nap for about an hour.

She woke me with a sharp slap to my ass. "Go take a shower."

"Still sleepy," I told her, granting her one squinty eye.

"Our plane leaves in two and a half hours. I've showered already and I'm almost finished packing. Now hustle your butt!"

"We're leaving?" I sat up.

"Was there something else you wanted to do here?" She looked at me in confusion.

"Uh," I paused to think. "No, I guess not. I just didn't realize that we'd decided to go."

"I thought the only thing left to do was develop the pictures you took today and I thought you might want Chuck to do that on Monday."

"Yeah, that's a good idea," I acquiesced.

"Besides, I'm looking forward to sleeping in my own bed," she added as I prepared to get up.

"Okay." I reached for my crutches feeling suddenly deflated. We'd just had what qualified as the best sex of my entire life and Scully was anxious to get home to her bed.

"Mulder," she said with a chuckle as she moved closer to me. "Open." She nudged at my good foot. When I complied wordlessly, she stepped between my legs. "Look at me." Putting a finger under my chin, she lifted my face toward hers. "I meant I'm looking forward to sleeping in my own bed with you!"

"Oh." I grinned like a fool.

"And I'm not even going to ask what else you possibly could've thought after everything that's happened between us."

"Sorry, Scully. I guess I'm still a little insecure." I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her closer.

"Insecure! Mulder, I love you and an hour ago I think I was shouting that loudly enough for everyone in a five mile radius to hear."

"You were pretty boisterous." The memory flooded me with warmth.

"I'm sorry if I don't say I love you enough other than in bed. It's still hard for me to let my guard down, but please never question the depth of my feelings, Mulder. I love you more than I've ever loved anyone." She kissed the top of my head.

"Love you, too." I breathed into her shirt.

"But that doesn't mean I wouldn't have kicked your ass if you'd balked about leaving just because you hadn't given the word." Her tone held no amusement.

"Yes, dear," I said meekly.

"That's 'yes, ma'am', to you." She still tried to sound stern, but I could hear the smile in her voice. "Now get your ass in the shower!"

Our trip back to DC was uneventful, but by the time we got back to Scully's apartment it was after eleven. Neither of us had the energy for sex, but just spooning up to Scully in her bed fulfilled one of my fantasies, so I fell asleep a happy man.

We both had energy to spare on Sunday morning and I was allowed to indulge my penchant for morning sex. Scully never admitted it, but from the way she enjoyed herself, I think she had a penchant of her own. She also seemed to have a fondness for after-play. Having Scully's soft, warm, sexually sated body close to mine was a trial I would just have to endure for her sake.

After holding her against me as I kissed her softly, I rolled her to her back so I could caress her breasts, strictly in her interest, of course. As I ran my finger around her areola, teasing her nipple to hardness, I noticed she still wasn't wearing her cross. She hadn't worn it the whole time we were in North Carolina, but I assumed she'd been worried about losing it in the woods.

"Scully?" I bent to kiss her nipple before I continued.

"Mmm?" she answered lazily.

"When are you going to put your cross back on? I know we tend to be rambunctious in bed, but I think you're safe to wear it again." I was surprised to feel her body tense at my words. "What?" I lifted my head to look at her.

"I lost it," she told me quietly.

"What!" I sat up. "When?"

"That night we spent in the woods." She pushed herself to a sitting position, as well.

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"Like what?" She shook her head. "Hey, sorry about your ankle there, Mulder, but I've got more important problems. I lost my necklace."

"We were back on that mountain twice, Scully. We could've looked for it." I felt terrible, knowing how much that necklace meant to her; to us.

She took a deep breath before responding. "Mulder, we never went back to the sink hole, which is where I assume I lost it. And did I lose it when I pulled you out of the hole or when I took my shirt off to use as a compress for you? Or did it break one of those times and it actually fell off when we walked back down to the car?"

"We still could've tried," I argued.

"With you on crutches, Mulder? And how could we possibly have retraced our steps? I'm upset that I lost it. I should've left it at the hotel, but there's nothing we can do."

"I'll get you a new one."

"I appreciate the sentiment, Mulder, but it was the memories attached to that necklace that made it special. It's not replaceable."

"Shit, Scully," I said with a sigh. "I want to do something. Hey!" I said excitedly. "When my ankle is better, we could go back and look. It was nice there. We could have a little vacation."

Her eyes searched my face almost sadly and she brought her hand up to cup my face. "Sure, that's a good idea," she said softly and leaned in to kiss me.

I could tell she was just appeasing me. She didn't hold out any hope of finding her cross again, but I refused to give up that easily. She smiled gently at me when she broke our kiss and stroked my cheek again.

"What are your plans for today?" she asked, obviously trying to change the subject.

"Later on, I thought I might see if Chuck is up for developing the pictures today."

"I thought you might not want to wait until tomorrow," she said with a knowing smile. "Do you mind if I just drop you off for your play date? I'd like to visit my mother."

"You know, Scully, I could use my left foot to drive." I wasn't particularly fond of having to depend on anyone for transportation, even Scully.

"You know, Mulder, as I doctor, I can have your license revoked until I deem you fit to drive."

I could tell by the way her eyes were fixed on me that she was completely serious.

"You wouldn't dare!"

"Not unless you force the issue. You'll be fine to drive in about a week. But with one phone call, I can pull your license and Mulder, the paperwork to get it reinstated is atrocious. It could be weeks before you're legal to drive again."

"But why would-"

"Your reaction time wouldn't be the same with your left leg, and I'll be damned if I'm going to let you get killed in a car accident less than a week after I admitted my feelings to you."

"So you're being a bitch because you love me?" I asked with a grin.

She beamed back at me. "Yes."

"Fine, but when my ankle is better, I'm driving."

"Whatever." She rolled away from me. "I'm going for a shower. Are you coming?"

Chuck Burks was more than willing to meet me at his lab to develop my pictures. I knew he would be as anxious as I was to see if I'd been successful. While the film processed I told him about the way Amy had me set up each shot. He was impressed that an eleven year old had the patience to figure out such an elaborate technique. Our conversation gradually drifted toward different photographic methods and then we ended up discussing some digital images from a haunting he was investigating.

"They're spectacular, Mulder." His eyes were wide. "I've never seen anything so clear."

"Won't they be hard to authenticate?"

He grimaced in agreement. "Yeah, that's why I prefer to take the pictures myself. When I joined the Bureau I didn't expect that I was going to be spending the majority of my career proving that extraordinary pictures are fakes."

He sounded so disheartened that I tried to console him. "You do more a more than that, Chuck."

"Not much more," he said with a shrug. "Except when you bring me stuff, Mulder, so let's see what we've got!"

Seconds later the first picture emerged. It showed nothing except a tranquil woodland scene. I tried not to feel let down. When the second picture revealed nothing, it was harder not to be disappointed. When the third showed just trees and flowers, I heaved a dejected sigh.

I was inspecting the pictures more closely when Chuck gasped.

"Holy shit!"

There it was! Exactly like in Amy's pictures; a tiny winged creature hovering in front of the blurry trillium. Sunlight glinted off its delicate wings. The fairy's entire body seemed to radiate light creating a shimmering effect.

"Wow." I stared at it in amazement. "This is better than I'd hoped for."

"It's the fucking Holy Grail, Mulder!" Chuck was breathless.

Only five of the pictures out of all the rolls I took actually had fae in them and only three were as clear as the fourth print, but they were so amazing neither Chuck nor I cared. The few we had were stunning. Every picture I took of Scully was breathtaking. Chuck wasn't quite as impressed with that last roll and looked at me with a somewhat amused expression on his face when they began to emerge from the machine.

He was offering to enlarge the pictures of the fairies so we could get a closer look at their faces when Scully called to say she was on her way back to pick me up.

"It'll take me a couple of hours to make the enlargements," Chuck told me when I got off the phone. "I'll slip them under your door when I'm done." He didn't try to disguise his grin.

"Scully wants to work on the report." I ignored his goofy smile. "I'll just take these and leave you the negatives, okay?"

"Don't forget these ones of Scully." He held them out to me so I could slide them into the envelope. His smile hadn't faded in the least.

"Thanks for your help on this, Chuck and thanks for coming in on a Sunday."

"I'd come in on Christmas day if it meant being a part of the first credible pictures of fairies, Mulder. You know that." He took off one glove and reached for my hand. "Thanks for asking me and let me know if you decide to publish."

"I don't think the Bureau would be happy with that publicity, Chuck, but if someone was to leak a picture or two, without any mention of the FBI..." I gave his hand a firm shake.

Scully and I worked at our report sporadically but managed to have it complete before ten, which was bedtime, or so I was informed. When we arrived at work Monday morning I called Kimberly to set up an appointment with Skinner. She was able to slot us in at eleven.

I spent most of the morning going through my e-mail and flagging anything that looked intriguing. Scully had been asked to consult on a VCS case and said she'd meet me at Skinner's office. I was reading an article on a series of disappearances in Wyoming when my phone rang.

I picked it up distractedly. "Yeah, Mulder."

"What are you doing?" Scully sounded annoyed. "It's after eleven."

Checking my watch, I discovered it was 11:05. "Shit. Be right there."

After quickly gathering up the report and enlargements Chuck had slid under the door, I hurried toward the elevator. Hurrying on crutches is not easy. I dropped the file twice before I got to Skinner's office.

When I hobbled through the door Scully was filling the AD in on my injury.

" - a severe sprain, but it could've been worse. Initially, I was concerned that it was broken."

"Mulder, nice of you to join us," Skinner said dryly. "Your partner was just telling me about your ankle. I hear it's improved."

"Yes, sir. Sorry I'm late. I was researching a potential case." I handed him the file.

"I have to say, Mulder, I was surprised when you expressed an interest in a fraud case, until I read the file." He opened the folder. "Fairies," he said with a remarkably straight face.

"Yes, sir." I nodded.

Scully and I remained silent while Skinner read our report. He remained stoic the entire time. Stealing a glance at Scully, I found her sitting, head hanging, as if she was studying her knees closely. Her eyes flicked over at me. She gave me a look that said she had no idea what Skinner's reaction to our report would be. I gave her a little shrug that said I had no idea, either.

When I looked back at our boss, I found him peering over his glasses at us quizzically. Before I had a chance to react, he dropped his eyes to the report again. Finally, as he flipped through the pictures, he drew a breath and began to speak.

"So, from what I see here, the two of you spent a couple of thousand dollars of the taxpayer's money to go to North Carolina to reproduce some pictures taken by an eleven year old girl."

I straightened up in my chair. "As I see it, sir, we saved the tens of thousands of taxpayer's dollars by stopping the Bureau from pursuing an unwarranted fraud case." "And if Chris McKinnon had sued for defamation, we potentially saved hundreds of thousands."

"Don't press your luck, Mulder." Skinner scowled at me. "The fact that you and Agent Scully were able to produce similar pictures gets Chris McKinnon of the hook and closes this case. Let's leave it at that."

"Yes, sir," I agreed reluctantly.

"And, Mulder," Skinner continued as Scully and I stood up. "While you do seem to have some talent with a camera and the subject is intriguing, I don't think this picture belongs in the case file." He handed a photo to me.

As I took it, Scully leaned in to have a look. I felt her body tense. It was a close-up of her with a trillium behind her ear and lips slightly parted. But it was what her expression seemed to be saying that set the picture apart. Scully would not be pleased that Skinner had seen a photo of her 'fuck me' eyes. I felt my testicles lift into my abdomen in self-defense.

As expected I spent the rest of the day apologizing and doing penance, but to my relief by the time we left work, Scully had forgiven my faux pas. We stopped at the dry cleaners and the grocery store on the way to her apartment. When we got there she made a beeline to the bathroom.

I'd just managed to get myself settled onto the couch when I heard her voice.

"Mulder, did you do this?"

I was positive I'd put the toilet seat down after I used it that morning. "Do what?"

"C'mere."

When I got to there, Scully was pointing at a small shelf to the side of her sink. Her hand was shaking slightly, her eyes wide with shock. I followed her finger to a trillium bloom adorning the shelf.

"I wish I'd thought of it, Scully, but no, I didn't." It was too bad I couldn't claim the romantic gesture. "And I didn't see you bring any back, so how did it get there?"

"Look closer," she whispered, making the hairs on the back of my neck stand up

Leaning forward brought me closer to Scully's arm, and I could see she was covered in goose bumps. As I peered at the flower more closely, I suddenly saw what she was pointing at. And then I too, was covered in gooseflesh.

"You didn't go out this morning and buy it?" Her voice trembled.

"How Scully? I'm not allowed to drive. Remember?"

"Then how did it get here?"

"I could only speculate, but I don't think I'm alone in thinking you're extraordinary." I smiled as I carefully pulled her cross from its nest in the cone of the flower.

End chapter 10

End Smoky Mountain Folk