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Scully sighed, standing up. She closed her eyes and stretched her arms upwards in a slow, strong strain. Her muscles got a new burst of energy, and she sighed again, but this time in satisfaction. Mulder looked up at her from the bed, where he had been sitting for the last few hours, going over notes that had been taken. He was surprised when she headed to the door.

"Where ya going, Scully?" he asked.

"Out. We've been crammed in this hotel room for three hours, going over evidence and trying to make connections in the case, and we've gotten nowhere. I'm restless, and besides, its beautiful in Minnesota this time of year. I'm going for a walk to clear my head. Wanna come?"

Mulder shrugged slightly, then bounced his way to the edge of the bed.

"Sure. I could use some fresh air," he said, coming next to her, getting his coat. She slid on her own coat and went out the door, Mulder following.

Bright sunlight and a chilly breeze greeted them the moment they stepped outside. Scully stuffed her hands in her pockets, and inhaled deeply. The smell of fall was strong today. She heard Mulder's footsteps behind her after she heard him fumble with the keys in the lock of the door.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Let's go," she replied, taking in the scent of the air again. "Mmm. It smells like fall... I love it."

"What exactly does fall smell like, Scully?" Mulder asked as they turned on to the sidewalk. She looked up at him, amused.

"It smells wonderful, a very distinct scent. Like...dry leaves, wet grass, and rain. I love it."

"Oh, THAT'S what that is...." Mulder said.

"I guess not everybody can relate to autumn the way I can. My grandparents had a cabin in Minnesota and I would go there every year to visit with them. We almost always went there in the fall or spring. Spring has a good smell, too," she said.

Mulder nodded, watching her carefully as she spoke. The wind blew stray strands of red silk hair onto her ivory skin. The sunlight highlighted her hair brightly. Mulder tried to picture her as a child, laughing, running through thick woods, leaves crunching beneath her feet. Scully looked up at him and he looked away, feeling stupid and guilty for staring.

"What, Mulder?"

"Nothing. I was just thinking about the summer house we had in Quanticotaug. We used to go there a few times in the fall and have big bon fires. Samantha and I would grab big handfuls of leaves and throw them in the fire. We always grabbed some wet leaves once in awhile, and the fire would go out. Dad go so pissed at us....but he never yelled much. He just sighed and shook his head, and then he re-started the fire again."

His hazel eyes looked dark and sad, his face showing neither happiness nor sadness. Scully reached out and took his hand for a moment, squeezing gently, then let go again. They looked at each other for awhile, reading one another's eyes, as they neared a street with big houses and large trees. Scully unexpectedly broke their gaze and let her eyes wander up the sidewalk.

The old-growth trees were positively breath-taking. The colors were amazing and stunning in their different hues. Deep crimson, firey orange, blinding yellow, gold, pale green, bright red, pale browns. The colors and combinations were so perfect and brilliant that it looked like a painting. Scully looked up into the sky, thanking God for the gift that He had created.

"This is beautiful," Mulder said in awe.

"I know. Aren't you glad you came?" she said, smiling. The leaves rustled softly in the breeze, the trees whispering their own poems and secrets to each other in the afternoon sunlight. The sun hid behind the clouds suddenly and the world grew dim for a moment. The wind grew colder and Mulder and Scully instinctively moved closer to each other. Mulder put his arm around Scully's shoulder when she shivered. He looked at her, suddenly feeling awkward, like a teenage boy trying to put a move on his first girlfriend. But that feeling passed immediately when Scully smiled and leaned into him, wrapping an arm around his waist as they walked. Mulder looked up the walk.

"Hey, look, Scully," he said, pointing ahead.

Scully's eyes searched in the direction his finger pointed at. At the end of the street was a large house with an enormous pile of leaves in the center of the yard.

"Let's go!" he said, smiling.

"Mulder. No."

She struggled to keep a straight face. He removed his arm from its resting place around her shoulders and headed to the leaves.

"C'mon, Scully, it'll be fun!"

"No. Absolutely not! What are the neighbors going to think?"

"Who care what the neighbors think? Look at that pile! You could hide the entire FBI headquarters in that!" he said.

"Well, what if somebody that lives here sees us? They'll call the police," she said, stopping on the sidewalk in front of the house.

Mulder rolled his eyes.

"Kay, fine. Stay here," he said, heading up the front walk to the porch.

"What are you doing?"

"Making sure that nobody's home."

"What if they're home? Are you going to ask permission to jump in their leaf pile?"

"Scully, settle down!" he said, ringing the doorbell. He waited, looking back at his partner, who was standing on the sidewalk, hands on hips. He rang it again and waited. He rang it a third time. No answer.

"No one's home," he announced coming down the steps.

Scully shook her head.

" I'm not going in there, Mulder. You're on your own."

"You mean I have to go in there all by myself?" he asked, walking towards her. He stopped next to her, looking hurt.

"You can make a fool of yourself if you really want to," she said.

"I don't want to make a fool out of myself," he said. He suddenly lurched towards her, scooping her up quickly in his arms.

"MULDER! PUT ME DOWN!" she yelled.

"I want to make a fool out of BOTH of us!" he said, laughing as he ran towards the leaf pile, jumping in with his objecting partner in his arms.

The leaves flew up in the air above them and crunched below them. They were buried under four feet of leaves. Mulder felt Scully wiggle her way from him, sitting next to him under the blanket of leaves. Mulder carefully swept aside the leaves above him, and started un-burying his partner. He moved a handful of leaved away to find a pair of blue eyes glaring at him. He removed the leaves around his partner's face and he grinned.

"That WASN'T funny," she said coldly.

He stifled a laugh and got to his feet, offering her a hand.

"You're right. It wasn't. It was HYSTERICAL!" he said, dissolving into laughter after they were both on their feet again.

"You're asking for it, Mulder," she warned.

"Hey! You're Miss 'I Love Fall!' If you wouldn't have said anything, I never would have done that," he said, reaching out to pull a leaf from her now messy hair. "Nice look, Scully," he said, laughing again. With that, Scully smiled sweetly, then suddenly stepped forward and pushed his hard into the leaf pile. She started to laugh, burying him in the leaves. Mulder reached out and grabbed her wrist, pulling her into the leaf pile with him. They laughed, throwing handfuls of leaves at each other, pushing one another back into the pile of leaves.

Across the street, an old woman watched as a young 'couple' got into a rolling leaf-pile fight at the Jenkins' house. She smiled and chuckled as they continued. After awhile, they stopped and the man pulled his girlfriend into a long, tight hug, then released her. Wiping the tears of laughter away, the woman stood up, and offering a hand to the man in the leaves. He only glared at her suspiciously, eyeing her hand as if he was unsure if she was going to push him down again. The old woman smiled as she watched the girl convince her companion she wasn't up to anything. After a moment, he took her hand and he got to his feet. She sighed as she watched him reached for her carefully, smoothing her leaf-tangled red hair, and leaned forward, brushing his lips over hers. The 'couple' stood there for a moment, unmoving, as if unsure what to do next. It was at that point that she realized she was spying and quickly closed the white-lace curtain. When she looked again, the pair was gone. All that was left was a mess of leaves in the front yard. She chuckled again. Autumn was the loveliest time of year.