Disclaimer: Fox Mulder, Dana Scully, the X-Files, and associated characters are property of David Duchovny, Gillian Anderson, Chris Carter, Ten-Thirteen Productions and Fox Broadcasting Corporation. They are used without permission and no copyright infringement is meant. Any elements not recognized as being taken from the show copyright Christina Shuy. Comments and other things sent to cshuy@netcom.com are much appreciated. Rating: PG, MSR, Story. Spoilers: "Gethsemane" at least Summary: Mulder and Scully get more flowers and 'discuss' their feelings. Started 27 July 1997 - Sunday/Finished: 21 August 1997 - Thursday Note: I got a request to do a sequel to my original Valentine's Day story, so here it is. I've set it around the time of the Season 5 opener, meaning it's invalid as of then... oh well. Wishes, Roses, and Valentines II: "More Wishes, More Roses" by Christina Shuy cshuy@netcom.com Special Agent Fox William Mulder woke one early autumn morning and sighed. As he remembered where he was, he turned over and draped an arm over the body in bed next to him. It felt good not to wake up alone. Over the years, he'd been adept at waking up alone. Which was one of the reasons he didn't sleep much anymore. Until now. For once in a very long while, he'd managed to get to sleep at a reasonable hour and sleep all the way through the night, which, apparently, was exactly what his body had needed. Mulder had just been reinstated, as well as declared alive after faking a suicide. It had been a difficult summer, sometimes having been a matter of life and death, but now things were much better. He and Scully'd found the way to put her cancer into remission just in the nick of time. It had taken a lot of work, and the faking of his own death to do it, but in the end, things had come out all right. Now, the next step in fighting the cancer was to get rid of it. Completely and entirely. To do that, Scully needed to keep a positive outlook. "Fox...?" A sleepy, half-yawned inquiry. "Shhh, Dana... I'm right here." He leaned in and kissed her on the forehead, pulling her closer to him. "Oh, good... I thought I'd been dreaming..." Dana Scully smiled as she turned over and snuggled in close to him. "And you're *much* better in person than in a dream." As she snuggled closer, her lips brushed his chin and her eyes opened just slightly so she could look at him. "*Much* better..." She smiled. "Is that a hint?" There was a light laugh from Scully. "No, Fox, it isn't... I just had a dream about you... well, about *us* actually..." She'd slipped a hand under his grey t-shirt, and it was resting warmly on his chest. Mulder brushed a hand along the sleeve of Dana's light blue coloured flannel nightshirt she'd worn to bed the previous night. Then, he planted a kiss on top of her head. "Care to tell me what the dream was about, Scully?" "Well, okay, but I'd much rather show you at least part of what the dream was about..." Before Mulder could ask, he found Scully's lips against his own, and he reacted in kind, intensifying the kiss. When the doorbell rang, interrupting them, Scully groaned. "Don't... please?" Mulder mumbled against her mouth, and she nodded in agreement, staying locked in the kiss. Unfortunately, the person at the door was insistent. The doorbell rang again, this time accompanied by what sounded like a shoe kicking at the door and someone's muffled shouting. "I'll be right back, Mulder, don't go anywhere." Dana pulled away, though reluctantly. "Don't see any reason to. I like it where I am." He answered, and she smiled at him. "Hurry back, though." As Dana pulled on a bathrobe over her nightshirt, she shot Mulder a brilliant smile and then headed for the front door. "Who is it?" she asked, looking through the peephole. "Alexandria Florists," was the reply. Upon opening the door, she saw the florist delivery person standing there holding two vases in her hands. Both of them were filled with roses. In each vase, there were nine white roses, nine red roses, and one sunset coloured. The pattern seemed familiar and Scully smiled, as she remembered her Valentine's Day surprise. "Are you Dana Scully?" The delivery person appeared to be a gawky teenager with more freckles than Scully could count. She gave Dana a slight smile which reminded her of members of her own family. "Yes." "These are for you... and this other one is for Fox Mulder. The person who ordered them said he'd be here. Can I leave them with you?" "Certainly." Scully took the vases and set them just inside the doorway. "Everything's been taken care of, ma'am. Have a nice day." With that, she was gone, and Scully closed the door. "What was that all about?" Mulder stood in the doorway to the hall, looking like a lost little boy, his hair sticking up at weird angles. Dana had to laugh. "I thought I told you to stay where you were." "Sorry, Dana... I got curious. Who was at the door? Flowers?" "I think Victoria sent these..." She indicated the two vases of roses. Mulder walked over to them, counted them, and chuckled. "You better believe she has... She also has this thing for the number ninteen, though I think the white, red, and single sunset rose really gave it away." Mulder grinned, pulling the two cards from the arrangements. He handed Scully the one with her name on it, and opened his own. "Mulder, Welcome back to the land of the living, old friend. It's about time... on both accounts. You know exactly what I mean... To quote Shakespere: "Love is a giddy thing." I wish you all the best. V. J." Mulder grinned and showed Scully what Victoria had written. Scully was also smiling as she opened her own card. Mulder peeked over her shoulder at what was written. "Dana, I'm glad to know that your health is improving. Glad, also, to know you and Mulder getting along. Please take care of yourself, and him. I wish you joy and happiness, As well as a long, loving life. Till Later. V. J." "She always knows what to say, doesn't she, Mulder." "And her timing is generally flawless." "That I'll agree with. Let's put these on the table and then go back to bed." That last was spoken in a languid tone. "Better yet, forget putting the flowers on the table. Let's just go back to bed." Mulder suddenly looked concerned. "You're still tired, Dana? Have you had any nosebleeds?" Dana smiled at him. "Not to sleep, Fox... I think today calls for a lazy day. You and me in bed, all day. Who knows? Maybe we'll even get a chance to try some, ah, extracurricular activity. You know... try to resolve some of that 'unresolved sexual tension' I know we both feel between us." Her eyes sparkled. "Why, Agent Scully, may I remind you that those sorts of thoughts are decidedly unpartnerly." he teased. "You mean 'unprofessional'?" "Umm... yeah." "Mulder, that's never stopped me before." There was a gleam in her eye. Abruptly, Mulder gulped. "Are you sure? I mean... I don't want to rush you into anything." "Mulder... we've been avoiding this for years. This attraction between us has been there since day one, though we both admitted we love each other only a few months ago... I love you and I want to make love with you, if you want it as well. I really don't think I'm rushing into anything. After all, we've known each other for almost five years. I think the time is right, but if you don't want to, we can still just be together in other ways." "I... I'm a little nervous." "Why?" "I've... uh... I've... well, let's just say I've never actually made love with anyone." "You're a virgin?" Dana sounded surprised. "No... not so much that as just..." Mulder took a deep breath. "I've, quite literally, never made love with anyone. Before, it was just sex... E-even with Phoebe... I guess that's why I was so stuck on my porn stuff... I figured it was the only way I was going to get any, since no one else-" Before he could continue, Dana had pulled him to her and kissed him lovingly. "Enough said. I love you, Fox Mulder. Never forget that." she smiled at him. "I love you too, Dana Scully. I think... I think I always have. Even during that first case in Oregon. Only now I love you more than I did before." "Let's go back to bed." she smiled. "Yes, ma'am." he returned her smile, his eyes shining brightly. The end (?) "The Truth is Out There. Trust No One."- from "The X-Files" Pursuing a BS degree(Electrical Engineering)-EE 332(Systems Analysis)-Su97 "In the moment that you think you can't, you'll discover that you can." - Celine Dion - "Power of the Dream" "Let's get Dangerous!" - Darkwing Duck. Looking for work and a place to live... somewhere in the SanFran Bay Area.