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. Okay, okay... so I left the ending of "More Wishes, More Roses" a little... shall we say... ambiguous. Therefore, here is "A Rose by Any Other Name..." (AKA: Wishes, Roses, and Valentines III) Rating: MSR, R (adult situations), only minor spoilers if any Summary: Mulder and Scully decide to do something about their relationship. As I said in part 2, this was set at the beginning of Season 5, meaning that anything said here is invalid... then again, there's not much here about anything except, well... the elimination of the U from UST... =) Started: 5 September 1997 - finished: 2 October 1997 Wishes, Roses, and Valentines III: "A Rose by Any Other Name" by Christina Shuy cshuy@netcom.com "Let's go back to bed, Fox." "Yes, ma'am." Mulder's smile was bright enough to light up his entire being. He followed Scully back to her bedroom where they'd spent the previous night in the comfort of each other's arms. Mulder continued to mull over in his mind what he was planning to do or say to the woman he loved almost more than life itself. He realised he must have been staring when he felt Scully's hand against his cheek and her other one running through his hair. Her beautiful green-blue eyes were looking at him curiously. "Mulder, is something wrong?" she asked. "Scully..." Mulder's throat was tightening uncomfortably as he realised exactly what it was he felt for the woman standing in front of him. "I..." His voice failed him. "Fox William Mulder, I think this is the first time I've seen you at a loss for words. You usually have some sort of snappy comeback for every situation." She smiled gently. "The only thing I have to say right now is that I love you so much, Dana... I love you so so much that it hurts sometimes to think about." he managed to mumble out. "Oh, Mulder..." Dana smiled and cupped her palm to his cheek. He leaned closer and kissed her, softly. It was a kiss of the calibre they had shared repeatedly since Valentine's Day earlier in the year, when they'd first admitted that, yes, they were in love with each other. It spoke of trust, love and overwhelming passion as well as the bond that had been between them since the beginning, back when they didn't trust one another. "Dana, I love you." he whispered, eyes shining with the joy that was radiating from his soul. The smile on his lips lighting up his eyes, and his entire being like no other. As Dana looked into his eyes, there was a not-so-small part of her which was soaring, almost delirious with happiness because she knew that she was the reason he was smiling so brightly. As she looked into his eyes, she could see that the feeling and expression were reciprocated and that made things even better. "I love you, too, Fox. Now, are you going to take me to bed or aren't you?" "I... I don't want to rush you into anything." He looked uncertain, though she could also clearly see his desires in his eyes. He was broadcasting his feelings of love and desire. "Make love to me, Fox... please." she murmured. "Only if you're sure this is what you want..." he answered, and she realised that he was trying to protect both of them from hurting and being hurt. "I do want this, and I want you. Please. Make love with me." There was a flash of Mulder's cocky grin. "Thought you'd never ask." he murmured, his tone solemn, before sweeping her into his arms. Intimacy was not new to either of them. However, the level of nonverbal communication between them increased dramatically. It was as though they had each found the key to fit their own lock. The one which opened the connection between heart and mind. It was not as though they had been incomplete in the past. Being together had just made them both feel *more* whole. "Dana... I was wrong before... forget Melissa Ephesian, Bambi Berenbaum, Detective White, or the video collection soon to be Frohike's... even Phoebe Green. I found the woman of my heart. *You* are my soul mate. You and no one else." He smiled at her, his touch sending shivers through her body. "But I remember what Melissa Ephesian said..." There was still a hint of doubt in her eyes. "Souls mate eternal. Scully... it's you. It always has been, and I think it always will be." Mulder's voice held infinite tenderness. "And you are mine..." she whispered. "I certainly hope so... no one else would want me." "*I* want you, and I am a very jealous, selfish person, so I'm glad I have you all to myself." she teased. Fox Mulder had only one response. He kissed his partner, best friend, and soon-to-be lover with every ounce of passion he had. And said partner did her very best to reciprocate. When he finally entered her, it felt like a homecoming... almost as though he had been waiting his entire life for this one moment. "Oh, God, Mulder..." she gasped. "That... You... Feel... Wonderful." "So do you..." he breathed, his breath hot on her shoulder. "Oh, God, Dana... so do you..." Their lovemaking was, quite literally, soulshaking. Although both of them had been involved in other relationships, the coming togther of their souls as well as their bodies had never occured before. This time, however, was vastly different. With every touch, new emotions were being revealed and shared. As they lay together in the aftermath, Fox heard Dana sigh happily. "Is everything okay, Scully?" he asked. Dana smiled, biting back a laugh as she answered. "I'm fine, Mulder." Fox rolled his eyes and groaned softly. "What, again?!" SHe laughed. "No, seriously... this time, I really *am* fine... now that I have you right where I want you." He rolled them both over until he was on top of her. "Right where you want me, eh?" "Of course... I'm also right where *you* want me." she beamed. "You better believe it!" he grinned, leaning down to kiss her. Just as he touched her lips, he heard her laugh. He looked at her, inquiringly. "And just what, if I may ask, is so funny?" he sounded a touch offended, even as she tried to stifle her laughter, failing miserably. "I guess we should thank Victoria for the roses... without them, we wouldn't have finally admitted what I think we've both felt for a long time..." Mulder raised an eyebrow at her. "She's got good timing, I'll give her that. And from what she *hasn't* said, I think that was her way of nudging us to the truth. But I get the feeling that even if she hadn't sent those flowers on Valentine's Day, I still would have told you how I felt that night. After all, she didn't arrange dinner. *You* did." "That's right... I did, didn't I..." she shivered as he trailed kisses down her neck and shoulder. "Ayup... Right now, though... let's get back to what we were doing... I want to thank you for being the one person to finally make love to me the *right* way." "Oh, Mulder..." She pulled him close, and, for a while, neither of them spoke much. -THE END- Nope... still haven't got the guts to write an NC-17... Maybe this would be consider a PG-13? I don't know... "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.