TITLE: Before and After
AUTHOR: Genie
E-MAIL: Genie.phile@gmail.com
DISTRIBUTION: Wherever, just let me know!

RATING: PG-13
KEYWORDS: Mulder/Scully Romance, Season 7
SPOILERS: Millennium

SUMMARY: Mulder and Scully feel their relationship is moving 
forward after New Years. But what will be the final straw to 
propel them into unknown territory?

DISCLAIMER: Not mine, although I certainly have fun with them



PART 1 OF 2


Chapter One


Everyday he watched her. It seemed a lifetime had gone by simply
watching. Somehow he had convinced himself it was enough. But 
somehow, somewhere along the line, he had lied, even to 
himself.


*****


The world was a whirlwind of colours. Thoughts, emotions, urges, 
all painted themselves within his memories. He remembered when 
she was sick, the colour was blue. When she was strong, the 
colour was amber. When she was gentle, he saw soft violet. No- 
where before had anyone evoked in him such a spectrum. But it was 
his to keep, and he hoarded it to himself.


*****

Scully looked across the office and wondered for the umpteenth 
time what thoughts were going through her partner's head. She was 
bold in her scrutiny, his thoughts obviously elsewhere. She 
noted the glazed look his eyes had, the faint smile playing 
across his lips. His fingers were swirling patterns on his ink 
blotter, seemingly unaware of their circuits. It had been 
another strange year for them in a long line of strange years. 
But 2 days ago, at the start of this new year, he had kissed 
her, thus signalling what may prove to be the strangest year 
yet. He had been sweet, gentle, loving. But decidedly dis-
passionate. Since the kiss, she had lay awake until late into 
the nights scrutinizing every look, every touch, and every 
comment since that moment. Her conclusion? Nothing had changed. 
And since the start of her scrutiny, she had been wondering how 
she herself could change that. It was time, she felt fully 
confident about that. So what was holding her back?

Mulder shifted in his seat snapping Scully out of her inner 
reverie. She realized that what started out as a scrutiny had 
quickly shifted, and she was now the object of said action. Whew, 
and it certainly was intense. Mulder's eyes pierced her, 
communicating something. She just didn't know what. For all 
their silent communication, she was finally at a loss. She slowly 
opened her mouth to ask him just what he was looking at when the 
phone rang on his desk.

"Mulder," he answered clearly, still watching her. "Mmm hmmm, 
okay, we'll be right up." She arched an eyebrow in his direction 
as he hung up. "Skinner," was the answer.

Scully sighed and resigned herself to prolonging her ruminations 
into yet another long night.


*****


"Agents, take a seat." Skinner was gruff, but Mulder was fairly 
certain they had remained well behaved since the New Year. Well, 
unless he had a copy in his desk of their first shared kiss that 
is. He adjusted his tie and took a seat. He noticed Scully out of 
the corner of his eye smoothing her skirt as she also sat down. 

Skinner sorted through some papers keeping the agents in suspense 
until he spoke again. "I received your report on the Millennium 
group. It was top notch, but there was one thing I wanted 
to clear up." 

Scully inwardly groaned. Her and Mulder had split duties writing 
that report. She could only imagine.

"You are stating in the report that the millennium group was 
attempting to bring about Armageddon, but I was under the 
impression that the true millennium didn't begin until *next* 
year."

Skinner's words hung in the air for a moment, Mulder and Scully 
remained frozen as they were unable to form a response. Finally, 
Skinner's mouth cracked the slightest hint of a smile. Mulder 
barked out a laugh at the uncharacteristic joke and Scully 
politely smiled. She found her palms were sweating.

"Actually, agents, the reason I called you in here was for 
another matter. I got a call from a detective Jared Simcoe. He 
works for DCPD and he has helped me on several occasions when it 
wasn't necessary for him to do so. I'm trying to return the 
favour. Last night we were supposed to meet after work for a 
beer, but he had to call and cancel. It seems his daughter 
had a run in with a ghost."

"Oh really?" Mulder exclaimed, with far too much enthusiasm for 
Scully's liking.

"Yes, Mulder. This man is a single parent, and he takes no 
nonsense from his daughter. Not to say he runs a hard ship, but 
he is not the type to let something like this spook him. I told 
him I would send some agents specialized in the field to have a 
look. Keep in mind, this is not a case, it is a personal favour. 
I figure it shouldn't take you two more than an afternoon to get 
to the bottom of things. Dismissed." 

Mulder sprung from his chair with barely concealed enthusiasm, as 
Scully slowly followed behind, softly shutting the door after 
them. She smiled softly to herself at Mulder's eagerness, after 
all, it would only be an afternoon before she returned to her 
ruminations and perhaps this time, worked up the courage to share 
them with Mulder.


*****


Jared Simcoe's Residence
1:15pm

Detective Jared Simcoe lived in an older home in a crowded 
neighbourhood of DC. The houses were all closely spaced, but 
well kept. The neighbourhood was obviously a family 
neighbourhood, with children's toys laying out, and harried 
and unkempt front yards. Jared's was no exception. Mulder rang 
the bell and they waited.

Jared finally came to the door, looking as harried as his front 
yard. There was the sound of a crying child in the background. 
"Come in, come in agents. Thank you for coming, I know this 
sees somewhat ridiculous. I can't believe it myself, but when 
Walter said he could send someone, I couldn't decline. See, we 
just moved here, and Sarah immediately knew something was 
wrong. That's her crying, she didn't want me to leave her. I've 
had to call in sick since New Years. I..." Jared trailed off and 
caught his breath. He was obviously flustered, and embarrassed 
by it.

Mulder was the first to speak up, "Detective Simcoe, firstly, I 
assure you there is nothing to worry about here. I'm Agent 
Mulder, and this is Agent Scully." He put out his hand and the 
detective shook it vigorously. He turned to Scully and stopped, 
as though seeing her for the first time. She put out her hand and 
he took it in a daze. And then he wouldn't let go. Scully 
extricated her hand silently and Jared shook his head. 

"Sorry, Agent....Scully, I guess I'm just not totally there today." 
He offered her a sheepish smile, and she accepted.

The three entered the house, and Jared made a hasty apology 
and returned to his daughter. Mulder and Scully were left alone 
for a moment. Scully glanced at her surroundings, boxes 
cluttered the floors, some half opened, some still tightly sealed. 
There were no pictures on the walls, but there were toys 
scattered over the floor. She continued her circuit and stopped 
at Mulder. He was watching her, she knew it. She began to lift 
her eyes to meet his, suddenly very nervous.

"Agent Mulder! Scully! Can you, uh, come back here a 
minute?" Detective Simcoe's call broke the spell before Scully's 
eyes could reach their final destination, and the two headed 
toward the back of the house. They found Jared with a small 
girl, about 4 years old perhaps, sitting in the kitchen. The 
girl had quieted down considerably as Jared spoke to her 
soothingly and confidentially. The girl nodded.

"Sarah," Jared whispered, "this here is agents Mulder and 
Scully of the FBI. Have you heard of the FBI?" She shook her 
head. "They fight the bad guys, just like your daddy does. Ok?" 
She nodded now. "They want to ask you some questions about 
the bad guys here in our house. If you tell them, they will catch 
him. Ok sweetheart?" she bit her lip in response. Mulder took 
this as his signal.

His voice was soft and gravely as he spoke, "Sarah is it? That is 
a pretty name." Sarah smiled shyly at that. Mulder continued, 
"My name is Fox, kinda silly, huh?" Sarah giggled, and Scully 
knew Mulder had her. "This is my partner, Dana. She is a very 
nice lady, don't you think?" Sarah looked suspiciously at Scully. 
At least Mulder was trying.

"Can you tell me, Sarah, about the bad guys?" Mulder's eyes 
pleaded with her.

Sarah looked at him intently, then she looked to Scully and 
Jared. "Only you." This statement she directed at Mulder. That 
was the cue for the others to leave, so Scully followed Jared 
into what she assumed would be a living room. He sighed as they 
entered, "She's never been this way before. Hearing voices, or 
bangs, or anything of the sort. It's only been since we moved. 
She refuses to hardly eat, sleep, let alone go to school. I just 
don't know what to do anymore."

Scully felt sad for this man. He was a single parent, with a 
career that demanded most of his time and energy. And here 
was his only daughter, inexplicitly suffering. She rested her 
hand on his elbow in a gesture of comfort. "I am sure, if anyone 
can get to the bottom of this, it will be Mulder."

Detective Simcoe smiled at her, instantly calming. Scully 
removed her hand, but as she did so, he reached for her. She 
was too stunned to comprehend what was happening right 
away. She found herself in the midst of a groping hug, too 
familiar to be considered merely friendly. She tried to pull away 
from him, but he only gripped tighter. Of course, at that 
moment, Mulder walked swiftly around the corner.

The image before him stunned him. Scully, wrapped in the arms 
of a strange man. He paused for an interminable moment caught 
in a moment of indecision. She managed to peek at him from 
behind the shoulder of Detective Simcoe, her eyes expressing 
confusion and discomfort. This sprung him into action. He 
reached for the detective and grabbed his shoulders, pulling him 
off Scully as though pulling a leech off one's body. Scully 
quickly ducked away, and he heard the front door click closed. 
Mulder spun the detective around to look at him face to face, 
seething. 

"I, I, Jesus, I don't know what I was thinking Agent Mulder. 
Your, um, partner, she, ah, offered comfort, I guess I took it 
too far."

"Damn straight."

Detective Simcoe winced at that. To say he was embarrassed 
would be an understatement. Mulder looked towards the door, 
wanting nothing more than to follow Scully out of it. But he had 
one last thing to say to the sorry looking detective before him. 
"I talked to your daughter, Detective, and I must admit her story 
is quite clever. However, I think she is merely homesick. She is 
not adjusting well. I suggest you spend time with her, and show 
her that new, or in this case old, houses are nothing to fear." 

He curtly nodded his head and turned on his heel slamming the 
front door behind him. Detective Simcoe stared at the empty 
space, haggard and utterly ashamed.


*****


Mulder was fuming. He saw red, and black with bright spots of 
yellow. He quickly stalked his way to the car, unsure of what 
exactly he would say to Scully when he got there. And also, not 
caring. He didn't know what sort of invitation Scully had sent 
out, if she sent one at all, but he was pissed, and at this 
moment he didn't care to whom he directed this anger. No one 
should touch her that way, no one.

He flung open the driver's door and dropped himself into the 
seat. Scully was looking out her side window, tense. He stared at 
her, she was obviously uncomfortable. He turned on the ignition 
and started to drive away, his initial anger dissipating. 
Finally he spoke. 

"Scully." 

She made a non-committal noise in the back of her throat. He 
tried again, this time with a less serious bent. "Scully, talk 
about a shoulder to cry on..." Ok, perhaps that wasn't the 
best idea.

Silence, that was the answer here. Pleasant, easy, unassuming 
silence. 

But she broke it. "Mulder, I offered that man a small gesture of 
condolence and he latched onto me like I was the last warm 
body on this planet. I want you to know, I did not instigate it. 
That being said, neither should I have to defend myself for what 
happened back there." 

Was he that obvious? Did she see that he wanted to blame her? And 
if she did, does that mean she also sees that he only would blame 
her because she never lets him do that with her? That he so 
desperately wanted to be Detective Simcoe at that moment that it 
was palpable? 

Perhaps not. But maybe that was the problem. Did she have any 
idea how much he always wanted to touch her? How he 
dreamed of it? Did she know how he lied to himself as he told 
himself he didn't want any of those things at all?





Chapter 2


He spent the night pacing. He knew he loved her. That was no 
revelation. He knew he wanted her. Again, nothing new. Hell, 
he even knew that she wanted him, loved him. At least he 
thought he did. No, she did, he was sure. Ok, maybe not 100%, 
maybe 95%. But seeing another man touch her, another man seek 
comfort in her embrace, it ignited something feral inside him. 
That was *his* spot. 

Did she know that?

He thought he was content with the state of their relationship. 
He thought that it was progressing well, and it was only a 
matter of time before they finally completed the circuit. He had 
kissed her only a few days ago! Their first kiss! He could admit 
it was a kiss that she probably would write off as a friendly New 
Years peck. Perhaps it was time he started moving things faster? 

He started to formulate a plan.

*****

The next morning Scully entered the office somewhat late. She 
had lain awake yet again last night and contemplated Mulder's 
reactions to Detective Simcoe. Jealous seemed like such an 
understatement. Then in typical Mulder fashion, he had 
appeared to shrug it off. She was unsure of what would await 
her this morning. She peeked around the door, and noted the 
office appeared empty. Mulder had been and gone already this 
morning.

Scully sighed and looked around. She set down her bag and a 
few files she had taken home with her. Before she could register 
it, Mulder had breezed in behind her and passed her non-
chalantly. She felt a burning sensation across her hip. Had he 
just caressed her there? Puzzled, she stepped up to him at his 
desk. Before she could open her mouth he handed her a 
steaming cup of coffee. And not the cheap bureau variety.

"Wow Mulder, what gives?"

"Hmmm?" was her only response.

She chuffed and headed to her corner to take her seat. She 
arranged herself comfortably and opened her coffee. The scent 
of the fresh brew wafted into her nostrils. She smiled slightly 
and took a sip. Absolutely perfect. It took a minute before she 
noticed the discreet box on the corner of her desk. Furrowing 
her brow, Scully picked up the tiny box and pulled open the red 
bow. Pulling off the lid, she discovered tissue paper cradling 
something unknown. Very carefully she removed the paper to 
expose a small, blue, pristine, seashell. 

Strange indeed.

Immediately her eyes flew to Mulder. He was apparently busy 
with something that looked suspiciously like nothing. She 
looked back at the shell and admired its symmetrical beauty. 
There was a slight sheen to it, and she smiled. Putting the box 
aside, she set the shell front and centre on her desk. 

"Mulder?" 

"Oh, Scully, um, yeah?" He seemed slightly flustered, 
confirming her theory of the gift giver. She wanted to ask about 
the shell, but found herself equally tongue tied. So she said 
nothing. First the touch, then the coffee, then the gift. She 
didn't have to think hard as to what spurred on this behaviour. 
She also knew that as dense as Mulder could be, he knew what 
happened yesterday meant absolutely nothing. So where was he 
going with this?


*****


A day of wondering and contemplation had gotten her nowhere. 
Mulder didn't mention the shell, but he had been touching her 
more frequently. On the hip, the back, the shoulder, the arm. 
But it was all innocuous. Scully was still at a loss as to where 
he was headed with his actions. Everything seemed orchestrated, 
and she didn't dare hope what the final outcome may be.

Meanwhile Mulder was quietly pleased with his efforts for the 
day. He had given Scully a gift. Something very personal to 
him, and he would tell her in time. It had been Samantha's, the 
shell, and he thought it was beautiful. The blue actually 
reminded him of Scully's eyes. Then after she received her gift, 
she was touched he noted satisfactorily, despite the fact that 
she didn't say anything or even realize what it was the gift
meant.

And he had touched her. Then he touched her again, and again. 
His fingers had burned all day, and he had ceaselessly wondered 
if she had felt that burning as well. So far his plan was going 
accordingly. Tomorrow, he thought anxiously, would be part 2. 


*****


The next morning when Scully entered the office, she didn't 
know what to expect. This filled her with trepidation, but also 
exhilaration. If Mulder had any idea how he affected her, he 
would probably run screaming.

At her table she noted no new gift, but the shell from yesterday 
winked up at her. 

The phone rang, breaking the quiet stillness. "Scully"

"Hey Scully, it's me."

"Mulder, where are you?"

"I ah, well, I'm just outside the Hoover building."

"Okaaay... did you lose something?" Your marbles perhaps? She
thought mirthfully.

"No, no, I was just thinking. About you. And, um, I couldn't 
wait to hear your voice."

Silence.

"Scully? Hello?"

"Mulder?" This had gone far enough.

"Yeah Scully?" his voice had lost the confidence of earlier, and 
she felt herself relax.

"I'll meet you there."

Scully hung up before he could say anything. She knew which 
entrance he was likely to be near. She was still on rough 
footing, unsure of what sort of game he was playing, but it was 
obvious the stakes had just been raised. She needed to gain 
control of this situation, and soon. 


*****


As Scully exited the Hoover building, a cold gust of January air 
whipped her hair around her head in a frenzy. Mulder watched 
from afar, his heart almost bursting at that moment. She finally 
noticed him slouching against a tree and strode towards him. 
Yikes, she looked like she was on a mission. He realized he may 
have just lost control of his little charade. 

And then she was there before him. "Mulder," she sighed. 

He gazed at her unabashedly. She met his gaze, and his heart 
stopped and his breath hitched at what he saw. He saw a woman 
in love, and she was looking at him. 

"Let's get out of here, Scully," he whispered, his words carrying 
towards her in the breeze. She nodded curtly in response and 
they both headed down the street side by side. Their arms would 
brush every once in awhile, but neither made a move to touch the 
other.

Eventually they came upon a coffee shop, the very one where 
Mulder had picked up Scully's fresh cup yesterday, and he 
hurried her inside. They took a seat near the back in a booth, 
relatively sheltered from view. She slid in first, and he slid in 
next to her, rather than across from her.

Unnerved, Scully let out a small laugh. She looked sidelong at 
Mulder and was startled by what she saw. Hungry, that was the 
only word to describe the look. He was hungry. For her. They 
should never have stopped here, she vaguely thought, this wasn't 
the place, it was all wrong. 

She turned to him to tell him they should leave, go somewhere 
more private. But his head was mere inches from hers, his 
eyes boring into her, and all words disappeared from her mind. 
Suddenly nervous, Scully slowly licked her bottom lip.

And then he was kissing her. She gasped in shock and arousal, 
opening her mouth instantly to him. She felt his lips slide over 
hers, their teeth clattered against each other's, and then there 
was his tongue. It slid easily through her mouth, needing to 
demand no entrance. It was soft and gentle and rough at the same 
time. Scully felt her pulse quicken and her breathing deepen. She 
frantically reached inside his coat and grabbed onto his back. 
She felt his shoulders bunch and relax under her touch. It was 
scorching.

Mulder couldn't believe what was happening. He hadn't meant 
to kiss her. This was not part of his plan. He had intended to 
woo her, not to grope her. But my, was she ever a willing 
recipient. He could feel her short breaths and gasps on his 
mouth as her tiny tongue probed him. It was so intimate he 
wanted to cry. He held one hand deep in her hair, and the other 
wrapped around her petite form holding her securely to his 
body. He was charged and alive, and unbelievably aroused. He 
stared to nip at her bottom lip and she softly moaned. He 
shifted his hips to try and relieve some strain, but to no 
avail. Suddenly, Scully took control again and was tugging on his 
lower lip, suckling it, then lathing it, and then biting it. 

Mulder had to keep his head clear, they were in a coffee shop, 
pawing at each other like a couple of teenagers. It was 
wonderful, beautiful, but it was degenerating very quickly. And 
he did *not* want to embarrass himself. He pulled himself away 
from Scully, she tried to follow, but he held her away. She 
looked hurt for a moment, but quickly recovered as she took in 
their surroundings. 

"Oh shit," she said as she took in Mulder's appearance. Hair 
askew, lips swollen, face red, clothes rumpled. Freshly kissed. 
She winced thinking about how she must look at the moment.

They stared at each other as they tried to calm their breathing. 
The sounds of the coffee shop filtered back into their 
consciousness. Dishes clanking, idle chatter, doors opening and 
closing, it was just an ordinary day. Only the most extraordinary 
ordinary day of both their lives.

"Bathroom?" Mulder pleaded. Scully was shocked for a 
moment. Mostly by how aroused his question had made her. 
But she would not have their first time together occur in a 
questionably clean bathroom at Parkade Coffee Palace.

"No, Mulder," his face fell, "not here," she amended.  She 
looked around Mulder to the door and grabbed his hand, pushing
him out of the booth and striding with purpose out of the 
coffee shop. 

As they exited the shop, they both noticed the figure of a 
strong, imposing, and very bald man head around the corner. 
He was carrying a take-out mug of Parkade coffee.

"Oh shit." Now it was Mulder's turn to mutter. This is not 
happening, he thought. No, we do not know what he saw. We 
were at the back, in a booth. I am taking Scully home and we 
are going to finish this for once. But the object of his love 
and desire was hurriedly heading away from him. He ran to catch 
up to her and grabbed her elbow. The glare she shot him shrank 
his balls to the size of peanuts. 

"Come on Scully, we don't know if he saw anything. And 
frankly, I don't give a rats ass if he did." She kept marching 
forward, and he kept up. "Scully, really, I don't care, it 
doesn't matter! What matters is *us*!"

She stopped at that. She was breathing heavy, he could see that. 
Mortification laced her features. "Mulder, we just had our first 
real kiss, in a public place, with, potentially, our boss as an 
audience. I mean, we were all over each other!"

"Yeah, I remember, it was great."

"Mulder!"

"Don't you see Scully, no one in that shop cared! But it was 
probably the single most important moment of my *life*. I am 
not going to let what other people may or may not think about it 
ruin that moment." Mulder finished on a soft and subdued note. 
He searched Scully's eyes. She looked at him squarely, for the 
first time since leaving the shop. It was then he noticed the 
single tear track. He swiped it slowly with his thumb.

Finally, she smiled up at him. His heart managed to start 
beating again. She took his hands and laced their fingers 
together.

"I love you, Mulder."

The words took a few moments to register. What had she just 
said? No, she didn't say that... But a slow smile spread over his 
features. He didn't notice until his cheeks started to hurt. Her 
eyes shone at him, and he wondered what the hell took them so 
long to reach this point. 

This time when he kissed her, he did it with all the love he 
could muster. Slow, thorough, as though telling her through his 
actions what she meant to him. That he loved her back, so much 
so he could hardly breathe at the moment. 

As they kissed, people walked by. Some were indifferent, some 
paused, some stared outright. But all knew that they were in the 
presence of something great. That the truest of truths was 
contained in these two warm bodies, sharing their most secret 
intimacies. Baring themselves naked. All contained within a 
single kiss.


*****


Everyday he had watched her.  A lifetime had passed him by. 
Now he was at the precipice. A new life. Before and After. 
Everyday he would watch her, but this time, there would be no 
more lying.


*****


Their colour together was a deep magenta. Bright, but not 
glaring, hot, but not burning, strong, but not brawny. This they 
shared together, starting on that curb side on a blustery January 
day. They would hoard it together, let it swirl around them and 
cocoon them. It would be their secret.


END PART 1


Notes: PART 2 coming at some point (and depending on feedback!)
So please, feedback to my email. Constructive criticism welcome.

Keep in mind, this is my first ever attempt at a fic. I 
apologize if it is full of cliches. Or simply not too good. So
please be kind :)

This is my response to the first passionate kiss challenge.
I think this first kiss could have happened a million 
different ways...this is but one.